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The Adventures of A.G. Bear
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Book 1
CAT TALES
The Tea Party
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Amanda Grey
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A.G.Bear's Friends
Isadora LeChat
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Mrs. Duck
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Prologue
Amanda Grey has three best friends;
her kitty, Isadora Le Chat,
her teddy bear, A.G. Bear,
...and of course there's Mrs. Duck. |
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Well, of course she's a duck, what did you think
she'd be, an alligator??
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Miss Amanda loves to entertain, and her friends are
often invited to tea. To her parents amazement, Amanda's friends not
only enjoy tea parties, they appear delighted to be invited to dress
for the occasion.
Mrs. Duck wears her best pearls, and Isadora LeChat
often tucks a flower behind her ear.
A.G. Bear?, well, teddy bears have always dressed
nicely for tea parties.
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Miss Amanda sets a beautiful table. She and
her Mommy have spent hours rummaging through the attic, looking through bags
and boxes and trunks to find just the right things.
They've found odds and ends, and bits and pieces
of silverware and china. They even found an old tea service. Although badly
tarnished, and a good part of the silver plating long since worn away, Miss
Amanda has polished and polished until the silver fairly gleams! As for the
table's centerpiece, well, it was a bit of a struggle getting the label
off that old blue bottle, but it looks ever so nice, doesn't it?
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During one particular tea party, Miss Amanda and her
friends had just seated themselves, when Miss Amanda heard a voice calling
her back to the house.
She arose, and politely excused herself, asking Mrs.
Duck to assume the role of hostess during her absence.
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The Tea Party
Isadora Le Chat, A.G. Bear, and Mrs. Duck sat sociably around
a small table in the shaded garden.
More milk for your tea, Isadora? asked Mrs. Duck, holding
a shiny little silver pitcher aloft.
Why, yes... thank you, said Isadora, Don't mind if
I do.
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A.G.?
offered Mrs. Duck. |
| No thank you,
said A.G. Bear, I prefer honey in mine. |
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Quite right, Mrs.
Duck corrected herself. Do forgive me, she said, apologetically, and
politely passed the cut crystal honey bowl.
Mrs. Duck nibbled happily, but ever so mannerly, on one of
the wonderful little sandwiches cut in the shape of stars and quarter moons
and diamonds. The sandwiches, framed by a paper lace doily, were heaped on an
antique flowered porcelain platter.
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To the right of the sandwiches, was a small silver serving
tray, and the elegant centerpiece for the little tea table was a sapphire
blue vase of freshly cut daisies.
Mrs. Duck refilled Isadora's pretty little flowered cup
from a silver pot which contained catnip tea.
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Isadora sighed and stretched ever so delicately,
reaching politely for a star-shaped watercress and sardine sandwich. |
Isadora dearly loved tea parties, but one simply cannot live
by catnip alone.
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I've work to do,
she scolded herself, And here I am lollygagging over lunch. |
Isadora discretely raised her tiny mother-of-pearl inlaid field
glasses and gazed longingly towards the nearby orchid tree.
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Oh dear,
she mused.
So many birds, so little time.
Isadora Le Chat's fondest wish is to someday survey the
entire yard and learn the name of every single type of bird that visits.
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Isadora,said Mrs.
Duck pointedly. What do you think?
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Pardon me?
inquired Isadora, whose attention had momentarily wandered to the brilliantly
plumed songbird perched high in the orchid tree. |
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The vacation, dear,
said Mrs. Duck, cocking her head to one side inquiringly. What do you
think? |
Having missed the entire first part of the conversation, Isadora
was momentarily embarrassed. She turned to A.G. Bear and raised a questioning
eyewhisker, shrugging her shoulders ever so slightly.
A.G., thinking nobody was watching, had stuck out his tongue
and was trying to retrieve a tiny little dribble of honey from his chin. This
accomplished satisfactorily, he was happy to explain.
| Miss Amanda's Daddy got a
promotion, and to celebrate, he's decided to take the family on a vacation.
Maybe we'll go camping, Isadora!, A.G. Bear said
excitedly. We could go to the national forest! And have a picnic in the
woods! |
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True to his species (and like most Teddy Bears), A.G. Bear
was absolutely passionate about picnics.
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Or maybe Miss Amanda's Daddy will decide
to take us to the lake!, Mrs. Duck chimed in,
And we could go swimming and water-skiing, and... she paused, out
of breath. Mrs. Duck was wild about watersports. |
| Oh my! Isadora
enthused, her imagination afire. Maybe we'll go to the city. Think of
it! We could get all dressed up and go to the theater. We might even get
to see a Broadway musical ! How thrilling! |
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| WHICH musical? inquired
A.G. Bear. |
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Why CATS! of course!
Isadora replied. |
| A.G. Bear groaned. For goodness sakes, Isadora, you've
seen that thing six times. |
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Well, some of us consider it a classic,
Isadora sniffed, mildly insulted. |
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Now, now,
said Mrs. Duck. I'm afraid we've forgotten the most important question.
Will we three be invited? |
A.G. and Isadora looked at Mrs. Duck in surprise. We'll
have to be invited, said A.G. Bear, Why, who would guard Miss
Amanda while she slept if not me?
And who would purr her to sleep and keep her toes warm at
night if not for me? asked Isadora Le Chat.
| True enough,
said Mrs. Duck, thoughtfully, Why, if not for me, how could anyone know
which was the right direction to go? she mused. |
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Well, that settles it,
said Isadora, Naturally we'll all go. The family needs us. |
Adventures of A.G. Bear - Cat Tales, Book 1 - The Tea Party
By Cynthia Gurin - Copyright 1994 - 2023
Here are the A.G.Bear Books in order. Simply
click on the name to go to that story.
Background: The
Making of The Adventures of A.G. Bear
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cynthia Gurin lives in South Florida
with her husband Bob, a quartet of cats, two dogs, a remarkably wise
duck, and a teddy bear or two. She has achieved recognition in both
the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal for innovative marketing
techniques. She considers the Personal Ad, through which she met her
husband, to be her most rewarding literary endeavor. She holds a senior
corporate position in the real world. Send Mail to
Cynthia Gurin
This author has other tales online at Bedtime-Story.
See the Author/Illustrator Directory
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CAT SOUP
We're invited
for lunch,
Miss Amanda and me..
First alphabet soup,
then cookies and tea.
There's bowls full of letters
like A, B, and C,
This bowl must be mine
'cause it spells C-A-T
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ABOUT THE
ILLUSTRATOR: Jeff Meyers is a talented writer and a talented illustrator.
Jeff makes his home in Ohio. He enjoys writing fiction for all ages
and has been drawing and painting all his life. His artwork includes
cartoons, illustrations, computer graphics, and still life drawings.
When he's not working at his computer, Jeff enjoys spending time with
his wife and three children. Jeff has wonderful examples of both his
artistic as well as his writing talent on display throughout Bedtime-Story.
Check the Author/Illustrator directory
for a complete listing of Jeff Meyers work. Contact Jeff at thejeffworks@gmail.com,
or visit his new website: The JEFFWORKS
for Creative solutions to your communication needs.
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