It was a perfectly lovely day outside, but Mary Cattermole lay huddled in bed, feeling very sorry for herself. She'd come down with the flu, and though she was tired, could not make herself fall asleep with the thoughts of her friends playing outside.
She began to get a little lonely. It was, after all, very quiet, and her mother had forgotten to put her teddy to bed with her. Little Mary stubbornly decided that she would not sleep unless the bear joined her. The trouble was, the toy was all the way across the room, and she felt too sick to go fetch it.
"Teddy," she called hoarsely. In response, the fuzzy brown bear stood up and waddled towards her, sometimes tripping over its own feet. It climbed the bedpost with some difficulty and pushed itself into Mary's waiting arms. She smiled, turned over, and fell asleep at once.