bear-napping-thief

Ch. 9, Post 3: The Rescue

While Flapjax lay inside his apron pocket dreaming of Libby, Libby was wide-awake all night worrying about him.

The day before, Libby, Mom, and Dad frantically searched all over hoping to find him. They realized they must have left Flapjax somewhere during their trip, so they returned to all of the places they had visited, thinking maybe Flapjax had slipped from Libby’s hands or had possibly been bear-napped!

bear-napping-thief

They drove to a flea market they had visited, walked up and down the rows of used trinkets and old books, piles of worn clothes and antique furniture.

No Flapjax.

Thinking maybe he had been accidentally thrown out with the trash at the end of the day, they dug and dug through the scraps, but still no Flapjax.

They went back to the river where they had splashed around under the sun, but there was no Flapjax to be found. Libby prayed he hadn’t been caught in the current and swept downstream!

Then Libby remembered something: the bakery, delicious chocolate all over the place, Flapjax pouting in the corner.

They quickly drove down the mountain, passing the many farms and the cows grazing in pastures, but Libby was so worried about Flapjax that she didn’t even notice them. She was afraid that she would never see her best friend again.

When they parked in front of the bakery, Libby and the grownups eagerly looked out the window. Libby sighed and leaned back, tears streaming down her face. There was a “closed” sign in the dark window of the bakery door.

closed-sign

Continue reading “Ch. 9, Post 3: The Rescue”

Flapjax-bakery-counter

Ch. 9, Post 2: The Great Bakery Sleepover

Flapjax was generally a good bear, until it came to sweets…boy, did he have a sweet tooth!

So while Libby was enjoying her hot chocolate and pancakes, Flapjax was focused on getting his paws on all of the yummy treats surrounding him. When the rest of his human family left the bakery, Flapjax quietly hid in the corner of their booth until the old woman in the apron with the silver hair finally turned off the lights for the night and left the shop empty. Empty…except for Flapjax, that is.

With the bakery completely dark, Flapjax tippy-toed across the floor and used his nose to lead him to all the tasty treats. A few sniffs and he found his way to a chocolate cake filled with raspberry jam and covered in goey chocolate frosting. After a few pawfuls, Flapjax moved on to a moon-shaped shiny bread, which he discovered was crispy outside but fluffy and soft inside. Heavenly.

Flapjax-bakery-counter

Flapjax licked his paws clean and moved on with his search. Soon, he stumbled upon a thick metal contraption with hoses and wheels poking out every which way. On top of this strange machine were containers filled with a dark brown bead. Flapjax was very curious. It smelled yummy and looked like crunchy chocolate. He grabbed a handful with one paw and stuffed it into his mouth. He crunched down, expecting something sugary sweet.

Yuck!

Flapjax spit it out. He looked at the bins holding the crunchy substance and noticed the letters on the metal machine: “C-O-F-F-E-E”. He wondered what that spelled. Whatever it was, it was definitely not candy!

Continue reading “Ch. 9, Post 2: The Great Bakery Sleepover”