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 Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:09 pm
They talked it over for well into the night as this was a very important decision. There are very few things as important as one's name.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:12 pm
But finally, just before the dawn rose in the eastern sky, Rita had convinced him
that Woolly was the best choice.
"You’re right," Wolstencroft said as he closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.
"It’s nice to be dignified, but not to be stuffy."
And so it was that Wolstencroft became known as Woolly for short.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:14 pm
"I bet someone will come along and buy you tomorrow," Rita predicted as she fetched a black felt pen from the stationery department and underneath Wolstencroft, wrote Woolly for short.
But Rita was wrong. It was she, and not Wolstencroft, who went to a new home the next day.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:16 pm
Nobody bought Wolstencroft that day. Or the next day. Or the day after that.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:18 pm
In fact, all through that entire year, which felt very long indeed to Wolstencroft, nobody took him home to love and to hug him. And by this time he longed to be hugged so badly that sometimes he thought he just couldn’t stand it any longer. Because, of course, no hug is too big for a teddy bear.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:25 pm
Soon it was almost Christmas time again. And the tinsel and the holly were decorating the drug store. And the shoppers were all very merry and wearing gaily colored scarves and mittens. But still no one bought Wolstencroft, who was feeling extra sad and lonely sitting there all by himself high above the Christmas cards and wrapping paper
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:27 pm
It’s my name he decided sadly, as a tear rolled down his furry cheek. I hate it. And so does everyone else. I wish I were called anything but Wolstencroft. Even though it’s now Woolly for short. 
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:29 pm
Then one frosty evening when the stars were sparkling in the night sky and snowflakes were dancing past the windows, a little boy and his daddy came into the store
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:39 pm
"Hey look at this," said the daddy when he noticed Wolstencroft’s name tag. "This teddy bear has the same name as you! Only you’re called Sten for short and he’s called Woolly."
"What?" The boy called out in surprise. "I didn’t think anyone else in the whole great big world was called Wolstencroft."
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:40 pm
And just like Wolstencroft the bear, he was beginning to hate his name.
"Why don’t you two get to know each other?" the daddy suggested as he lifted Wolstencroft down from the shelf.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:42 pm
And the little boy wrapped his arms around his namesake, which means someone who has the same name as yourself, and stroked his soft fur. And they both loved each other from that moment on.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:44 pm
"I love him daddy, can I have him for Christmas?" he asked hopefully. And when his daddy said yes, danced around the store with Wolstencroft, almost colliding with other shoppers as he did so.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:45 pm
Wolstencroft really wasn’t such a bad name after all they both decided as they whirled around the Christmas tree at the front of the store. In fact, it was starting to sound better all the time now that they had found each other in this wonderful way
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:52 pm
Wolstencroft the bear had never remembered feeling this happy before.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:53 pm
Indeed, he felt so chock-full of joy that he thought he just might burst. He was going to a new home at last. And he knew that this little boy, who was called Sten, would be his very best friend forever
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