Fluff's Adventure

Deep in the North Pole,

Fluff tried to ignore

A desperate longing

to travel once more.

He watched as Santa

Flew off everyday,

Up high in the sky

In his great big sleigh.

Fluff, the Polar bear

Decided to ask

To help Santa out,

Whatever his task.

"Where is it you go?

What is it you do?

Wherever you're going,

I want to come too!"

Santa looked thoughtful

And slowly, he said,

"I could use some help

To load up my sled.

I like to give gifts

To all living things

To different species,

Presents I bring.

The Christmas for bears

Is next on my list

You can ride with me

If you do insist."

The time came at last,

but puzzled was Fluff

For on the sleigh was

A lot of weird stuff.

He looked at the gifts

Of all shapes and size

"No bear will want these!

Oh, Santa be wise!"

Among the strange gifts,

Fluff found some bamboo,

Some stuff called honey,

Sticky, like glue!

He found lots of bugs

And baskets of fruit

It would seem, he thought,

That Santa is rude!

Santa was certain

The presents were right,

So off they both glided

Into the night.

The first little cub

On the big long list

Was a sight to be seen;

Fluff pinched his own wrist!

"Why, this is no bear!

How can this be so?

He has black circles

On his eyes, you know!

With black ears and limbs,

A white fluffy belly,

what is this creature?

Please, Santa, tell me!"

"This is a Panda,

He eats just bamboo.

Make no mistake,

He's a bear just like you!"

Fluff raised an eyebrow,

Still rather unsure,

He thought the bamboo

Tasted quite poor.

The next on the list:

A cub small and black,

So strange to behold,

Fluff was taken aback.

The bear had one patch

Unlike all the rest;

A gold bib-like shape

On his small chest.

"Why, this is no bear!

How can this be so?

He has a gold chest

And a long tongue, you know!"

Fluff scratched his soft head,

As Santa explained

This too was a bear,

Or so he did claim.

"This is a Sunbear.

He has such long claws

He loves to eat honey

with those sticky paws."

When Fluff was well out

Of Santa's clear sight,

Fluff tried some honey;

It tasted alright.

Fluff saw the next gift

and he did believe

The bear was like him;

A fish he'd recieve.

Fluff was however,

Not perfectly right,

The bear had brown fur!

What a strange sight!

"Why, this is no bear!

How can this be so?

He has brown fur!

And snores loud, you know."

"This is a grizzly,

In the winter he sleeps.

The title of 'bear'

He'll definitely keep."

As the night drifted on,

They flew through the sky,

Giving out presents

To bears far and wide.

Bears with spetacles,

Bears with sharp, long toes,

Bears who eat bugs!

(Fluff didn't try those.)

Pink stained the night sky,

The morning was near,

The last cub awoke!

She saw they were here!

With wide, shiny eyes,

At Fluff she did stare,

She quickly became

So frightfully scared.

"Mother! Oh, Mother!

I'm in a bad dream!

There's a monster here!

I think I might scream!

It looks like a bear

But the fur is quite strange.

It's fluffy and white,

It's big and derranged!"

Fluff was quite startled,

But calmed the cub down.

He sat down with her

On the grassy ground.

"My dear little bear,

I'm sorry I scared you.

I'm not a monster,

I'm a bear too.

You like to eat bugs,

I much prefer fish,

You've glossy brown fur,

My fur is light-ish.

We like different things,

But that is ok,

We can still be friends

And we can still play!"

So they frolicked and laughed

In the sunrise glow,

Until Santa said

It was time to go.

Fluff, sad to leave

A new friend so dear,

They agreed to meet

For a picnic each year.

They made a great plan

To gather all bears;

An annual meet,

Their own foods to share.

Fluff was so quiet

While on the way home

Santa then asked

Fluff's thoughts to know.

"By learning so much,

I'm starting to see

The world would be dull

If all were like me.

I'm happy to know

There's bears far and wide,

All fine and unique,

I feel good inside."

They continued on

Through many time zones,

Until at long last

They got to their homes.

Fluff saw his dear mum

And his heart was glad.

"My trip was fun, but

I missed you like mad!"

As Fluff told mum all

The memories he'd keep,

His eyes grew heavy

And fell fast asleep.