Sinclair and his Excellent Plaid Paws

by Fred Shook

Sinclair had just started school. Already the teachers had begun to notice his excellent vocabulary. Sinclair was a handsome teddy bear with beautiful plaid paws and a sweater hand-knitted in New Zealand. He knew more words than many grownup bears. One of his favorites was the word, “discombobulated.” But he only used such words to express his ideas, never just to impress someone.

“I feel discombobulated this morning,” he had told his teacher.

“I know just how you feel, Sinclair,” said his teacher. “Sometimes I feel that way too, especially on the first day of school.”

The teacher turned to the other bears in the classroom. “Class, do you know the word, discombobulated?”

Some bears nodded. Others shook their heads. “It’s a rather large word,” said one bear from the back of the room.

“Yes, such a large word, but such an easy meaning, too,” said the teacher. She turned to Sinclair.

“Sinclair, perhaps you could please stand and tell the class the meaning of the word, discombobulated.” Sinclair wanted to hide behind his book. Suddenly his throat felt very dry, but he stood up, cleared his throat and faced the class. “Discombobulated just means confused,” he said.

Everybody nodded. Then from somewhere in the room, someone whispered loudly, “Sinclair has plaid paws.”

For a moment Sinclair felt a sense of pride. In all his travels, he had never seen another bear with plaid paws. Girls, including his own mother, had told him his paws were beautiful. They made him feel special.

Now, here and there in the classroom, a bear began to giggle. Soon, several bears said in loud whispers, “Sinclair has plaid paws.”

Sinclair sat down, pretending not to pay any attention to the whispers. He kept his eyes on his book. The teacher shot a stern frown at the whispering, laughing bears, each in turn. Gradually the laughing and whispering stopped, but Sinclair kept his eyes on his desk, his paws hidden beneath his book. If the room had been very quiet, the students could have heard his tears splash on the pages.

        

Sinclair of
Teddy Bear Hamlet