My lovely new white tennis ball
By Jezza Bear
Many years ago as a young bear cub, I think I was 9 years old, I owned a lovely white tennis ball.
Ma and Pa Bear had taken me on a very special day trip away from the Magic Forest to a place called Wimbledon. Wimbledon is a special place where bears from all over the world come to play tennis and try and win a big silver cup.
Ma and Pa Bear didn't have a lot of money in those days and they told my sisters (Ginger and Tufty Bear ) and I that we had been such darling little bears that we were allowed something special from the village shop, a souvenir of our day out in Wimbledon.
I knew what I wanted and I went straight to the basket with the big label "Second Hand Tennis Balls, as used in the Wimbledon Tennis Championship".......and there it was, my lovely new white tennis ball. Ma and Pa Bear gladly bought it for me whilst Ginger and Tufty got head bands ( thankfully not used in the championship).
Oh, my lovely new white tennis ball was well, lovely and I looked at it and bounced it all the way home whilst on the train back to the Magic Forest. Oh the power my lovely new white tennis ball would give me, I would make friends with my lovely new white tennis ball, for you see I was quite a shy little bear when I was younger and I never really had a special friend just a gang and I was never in charge. That is sad I hear you say but my lovely new white tennis ball was going to make all the difference because I could now be in charge of the games of football in the playground and for once I could tell who could play and who couldn't, I could say who was in goal and who was the striker, my lovely new white tennis ball and I would rule the football pitch , I would be king bear for the day.
Ma Bear told me "Jezza Bear, DO NOT take your lovely new white tennis ball to school, I know you love your tennis ball but you will lose it, listened to what I say. I heard what she said but I didn't listen so I hid my lovely new white tennis ball in my satchel and went off to school the very next day.
In the playground I called the gang together and showed them my lovely new white tennis ball and they were really impressed, I could tell, they wanted to play with it so they let me be captain of the game and I told them what postion they could go in and I chose the teams. I was king of the football pitch and all my friends loved my lovely new white tennis ball just as much as me ( but I loved it a little bit more).
The game started and I was allowed to score the first goal because I put Michael Turnip in goal; he was usually the striker and he wasn't very good at stopping balls and I grinned, I never liked Michael, he was such a show off and had his own real football, it wasn't as nice as my lovely new white tennis ball though and he used to tease me.
The ball was passed back and forwards, this side and that side and suddenly David Windsock had it, he was great and in the school team and he kicked it really hard and it flew through the air, hit Michael Turner square on the head and it bounced high in the air, over the goal posts and over the fence, my lovely new white tennis ball was gone and I couldn't see it anymore. "OH NO," I screamed "my lovely new white tennis ball." The ball had gone over the fence and into the alley way next to the school. Michael Turnip ran off crying like a big girl because he though it I was going to blame him.
In those days, it was against the rules to sneak out of the school during hours but I loved my lovely new white tennis ball and it was the only ball I had. So I got the gang to stand around me by the gate and I sneaked out so the teacher wouldn't see me go and David Windsock stayed there as look out, I ran down the path, out of the gate and there was my lovely new BROWN tennis ball. Aghast at this new turn of events, I looked at it, picked it up and cried, my lovely new white tennis ball had now turned into a lovely old brown tennis ball for it had rolled into a big muddy puddle. Still crying, I took it back into school and the gang patted me on the shoulders and we played with lovely old brown tennis ball. The gang didn't care, they just wanted to play football and let me a king for the day for tomorrow we said somebody else can bring in their lovely new white tennis ball.
