Not only did the humans give Theodore a hard life, he’s not spared even by the family canine- Brownie!

“This silly dog Brownie (he’s not brown, by the way)- when will he ever realise that I’m not food?” cried Theodore, infuriated. “And mind you, this is my only clean shirt!”

This was the worst family ever!

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

With that, Theodore went to check out the fridge.

There was nothing but fish, vegetables, fruits,… more vegetables and more fruits… except for one mysterious box next to the mushrooms (Yucks! Mushrooms!) which said “Keep out of reach from children!”

“What else would adults want to keep out of reach from children, other than sweets and candies? Simple logic!” Sometimes, Theodore couldn’t help but marvel at his own intelligence.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Then it started to rain.

It rained and rained and rained non-stop.

With nothing else to do, Theodore started to feel rather bored. He climbed onto a chair and peered out of the window, wondering where the Chow family had gone…

“Were they caught in the rain? Did they bring umbrellas?” Theodore was starting to get a little worried.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Theodore knew he had to get help.

Being quick witted, he immediately stacked together a few thick magazines and used them as a stool to reach the telephone.

But no matter how he tried, he just couldn’t press the correct numbers. “Why do they make telephone buttons so small?” growled Theodore.

He had no choice but to give up. He couldn’t really remember what was the number to dial to begin with.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

There was no time to lose!

The thought of aliens cutting up the Chows simply made Theodore’s head spin.

His imagination started to run wild and he could already picture Baby Brian crying hysterically, poor little Annabelle sobbing uncontrollably and Mrs Chow passing out in terror.

Theodore quickly put on his rain coat and, armed with a city map and a big red umbrella, he set off on his heroic mission to rescue the Chow family!

Theodore knew he had to get help.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Theodore to have his first setback. He was, after all, an unfortunate bear.

As he was walking and studying the map  at the same time to decide where to go, a car sped past and splashed a huge puddle of water all over him!

Theodore was drenched from head to toe! The sudden impact also made him lose his balance and fall helplessly onto the      pavement. The map was ruined too!

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Poor Theodore sat alone sorrowfully on the pavement, looking lost and dazed… So many people walked past him but nobody stopped and helped. What a pitiful bear!

Suddenly, through his soaking hood still dripping with water from the puddle, Theodore saw a familiar pair of hands reaching out for him. It was Susie and May! What a surprise!

They were so worried about Theodore that they had followed him the moment he had left the house!

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

And they were right!

Not long after Theodore had disappeared from their sight, a sudden gust of wind came from out of the blue and swept Theodore up into the sky!

There was nothing Theodore could do but hang on to the umbrella for his dear life, as he watched the buildings get smaller and smaller below him.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Blame it on his tiny size. Theodore was so light he kept flying higher and higher like a breakaway kite!

“What if I were to keep flying higher and higher, until I hit the ceiling of the sky?” Theodore began to worry. “Will I poke a hole in the sky with my umbrella? Will all the air in the atmosphere leak out into outer space?”

Even at times like this, Theodore couldn’t help but feel proud of his general knowledge about science and astronomy.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Theodore was wet and tired as he continued to drift endlessly in the limitless sky. The rain kept pattering on him and he became so exhausted that he finally fell asleep, his paws still hanging on tightly to the umbrella.

Suddenly, with a loud thud, Theodore hit something blue and hard, waking him up abruptly.

“Oh my, have I reached the ceiling of the sky?” said Theodore as he hurriedly looked around for the hole in the sky he had made with his umbrella. But all he could see around him was grass!

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

No one had any idea how Brownie got there. If only he could speak.

But even as Brownie tried his best to get help from the countless cars that drove past, nobody cared to stop and help.

Suddenly, Brownie had a flash of inspiration. He decided to do what he did best– pretend! And this time he decided to play dead.

It was super effective!

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Since then, Theodore stopped finding the Chow family (not forgetting the twin sisters and Brownie the family dog) so horrible anymore.

In fact, he even started to enjoy the tea parties hosted by Annabelle! It was more fun when more people joined in! Best of all, Annabelle had finally grown tired of birthday parties!

“It sure feels nice being part of the family,” smiled Theodore.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Theodore checked the bedrooms, the toilet, the kitchen, and even the storeroom… There was not a single soul around!

Hurray, they were really gone! Peace, at last!

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Theodore felt so touched by the kindness of the sisters. Now, he was even more determined to rescue the Chows! Finding renewed strength to go on, Theodore quickly picked up his umbrella and bade farewell to the sisters.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” asked the sisters as they watched Theodore’s tiny figure disappear around the corner.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!” came the answer. The sisters were not so sure…

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’

Theodore kept flying higher and higher. Suddenly he saw something big and silvery, with widespread wings, glide past below him. It had a pointed nose and made a loud booming noise as it flew past.

Theodore wondered if that was what they called an ‘eagle’, as he had read somewhere that eagles had a pointed nose and a very large wingspan.

“I’m sure the sisters had never seen an eagle before…” thought Theodore very smugly to himself.

~ From my book ‘Theodore the Unfortunate Bear’