The Cinnamon Bear 🐻🌟

[Breanna]

Christmas is such a magical time, isn't it? Personally I'm not one for big celebrations but one thing I do every year is listen to a very *magical* little radio show from the 1930's called The Cinnamon Bear. 

It's rather silly but full of charm. I'm not sure the little bear's Irish accent is authentic 😂 but he does his best. I thought it would be fun to do a little listen-along throughout the month. For those who aren't up for listening to singing bears, I'll post a description of the episode in the comments each day. 

The first one is below! Feel free to listen ahead, of course.

Ep. 1: Paddy O'Cinnamon

Twins Judy and Jimmy are writing their letters to Santa when their mother asks them to help go through a treasured box of Christmas tree ornaments. The tinsel, ornaments and lights are all there, but the silver star is missing! Uncle Jed might have put it away in the attic so the siblings head up the steep stairs to search.

After racing up the stairs, they spot an old spinning wheel and a music box...and there's the old trunk mother told them to look for! It's heavy and covered with an old crazy quilt, but still no silver star.

The children begin to dig through the trunk and find some curious little things: a box of broken ornaments, a golden glass aeroplane, and a teeny little teddy bear with a green ribbon round his neck.

And, oh boy, there's a telescope too! Jimmy takes a look and it makes everything a million times bigger. The teddy bear is the smallest Judy has ever seen so the pair decide they might be able to take a look at him with the telescope they found. Bigger he grows indeed but then...he moves!

Garah! Garooh!

He talks! Judy is a bit frightened and asks Jimmy to ask the teddy who he is. He sings:

I'm the Cinnamon Bear
With the Shoe-button eyes
And I'm looking for someone
To take by surprise
I go growling and prowling
Each night after dark
But the folks say my growl's
Just a cinnamon bark...

Paddy O'Cinnamon is his name and the children ask him if he's seen their beloved silver star.

"Oh I've seen it lots of times," he says. But it's gone now. It's been stolen away by the Crazy Quilt Dragon who's terribly fond of shiny, bright things. Judy is rather distraught about the star, but Paddy offers to help them find it. He think Crazy Quilt will have taken it to the Lollipop mountains which is just through a little hole in the wall by the music box.

"But we'll never fit through there," says Jimmy. "Oh, yes you will," Paddy replies, "all you have to do is de-grow. Just de-grow! Get smaller and smaller and smaller until you're four inches high like me!"

The children think that is rather impossible, but the Cinnamon Bear says he'll tell them how to do it. 

See you tomorrow! 😉

[pgn]

Alikazaam is another magic word - also the names given to our two new moggies, Ali after the Aladdin song "Prince Ali, Handsome is He", and Kazaam, because in a flash he's there where you least expect him.

Now, about this Silver Star... 🤔

[Breanna]

Clever names @pgn. Kazaam sounds like a trouble maker. My husband is forever naming the cats we've rescued things like Frank and Steve 😂

[Cleoriff]

I have a feeling the roly poly policeman isn't going to give up the silver star anytime soon..

[J9el]

Listened to a couple of episodes @Breanna - really enjoyed it!!

[Breanna]

So glad you could stop by @J9el! 

[Breanna]

Let's see what befalls them now @Cleoriff. 

As you kindly pointed out, this is meant to be one episode a day from Thanksgiving until Christmas. Quite frankly, I'll be disappointed if we don't figure this out by then so let's do a speed run, shall we? Two today, three tomorrow, and ten the next day haha!

 

Ep. 9 Roly Poly Policeman

As the host begins today's story "Right now, the Suzie Q is about to drop anchor and the children will have their Silver Star back in just a few minutes, that is, if nothing happens." (Yeah, right!)

The Candy Pirates are off to hunt marshmallows singing Candy ho, candy ho... so they drop the children and the Cinnamon Bear into the ocean in their own little rowboat. 

As they get closer, Jimmy and the Cinnamon Bear give a shout. "Hey you! What're you doing wearing that silver star?!" says Paddy in his biggest beary voice.

"Well I'm wearing it. What d'you supposed I'd be doing with it?" replied the policeman.

The way they see it, he's just got no right and they indignantly paddle as fast as they can. In an unsurprising turn of events, they're not going anywhere. The policeman informs them they've been caught in a magic wave. Go figure.

Paddy is just furious and he asks the policeman what he does all day anyway, seeing as he doesn't have any feet. Grrah...Grrrrah! Lollipops and swizzlesticks...

"I patrol. I patrol all day! I can go three feet on either side. Just roll this way and roll that way, you see."

Judy decides to try a different approach by asking nicely for him to give it back. The Roly Poly Policeman says he'd give it back if they just get to shore. They've just got to go around this magic wave and get to it.

They've got to aways down the shore and walk back and as they make their way, they wonder what Crazy Quilt must be up to. He was a good friend after all.

Finally, the policeman is in sight and wouldn't you know it...no silver star on his chest.

As the trio were paddling, apparently a dragon came up to the policeman and told him he'd take the star on their behalf. I wonder who that was...

Grrrrah am I ferocious! grumbled the Cinnamon Bear and off he ran to catch Crazy Quilt. 

Ep. 10 Professor Whiz

On they walk until they encounter a little green house. On a post outside they see a sign that says 

PROFESSOR WHIZ

THE EDUCATED OWL

And perched beneath, an owl wearing spectacles. 

"Excuse me please, Professor Whiz? We seen your name on the sign and..." 

"SAW! You saw my name, you mean. It matters a great deal, you see. 'We seen' is a gross grammatical error." replied the owl. 

This isn't the kind of owl that say "whoo whoo." He says "to whom." 😂

Now as it turns out the house belongs to the Wintergreen Witch who's left on her broomstick just this morning. Professor Whiz gives her English lessons sometimes and has been left to keep an eye on her house.

For reasons unknown, he did allow Crazy Quilt to go into the witch's house so the trio are ready to go after him. It's a small house with not many places to hide, but there is a picture hanging that takes up the whole wall. It looks so life-like that even the trees move!

Paddy goes to take a closer look and sure enough it's real as can be. Through the picture they go and right away they meet a little cat who sings a lovely song about being a 'Fraidy Cat and warns them about a giant tromping in the woods.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. You've should try to be like me; courageous, undaunted, a pillar of strength, a tower of AHHH..."

Well wouldn't you know it, the brave Cinnamon Bear might just be afraid of giants.

[Cleoriff]

So a Roly Poly policeman, an educated owl and what next? I just bet it's enormous giant!!

[pgn]

I'll bet there's a sorcerer in the mix somewhere (and not one you put your tea-cup on either!), and the giant's just been somewhat, er, reduced in stature... down to the size, say, of an Oompa-Loompa?  

[Breanna]

I suspect something is afoot as well @pgn. Something always going on with these guys! I wonder if their mother has noticed they've been up in the attic for quite a long time...

Ep. 11 Fee Foo the Gentle Giant

Judy and Jimmy, followed by the Cinnamon Bear and little 'Fraidy cat are making a break for it but the giant's strides are just too big. Soon they're right under his feet and Paddy pleads for him to be careful and not step on them.

"Of course, I won't hurt you," says the giant, "I'm Fee Fo, the Gentle Giant. I wouldn't hurt anyone."

Fee Fo is happy to see Judy and Jimmy because they look just like him. He hasn't seen any other people except the Wintergreen Witch for a long long time. He picks them all up to get a closer look.

Now if you'll remember, Presto the Magician was really no good at conjuring food so when they spy a tree of cinnamon buns, they're eager to have Fee Fo help them pick some to eat.

As they ate, they asked Fee Fo how he got inside the picture in the Wintergreen Witch's house. One day while he was napping on the beach out on the Island of Obie, the witch came and shrunk him right down and then put him in her panting and made him giant again. Now he's too big to get out!

The giant isn't sure which way Crazy Quilt might have gone but the three set out in search of him, leaving 'Fraidy cat with Fee Fo since she's not so afraid with him around.

Suddenly it's pitch dark and they can't even see each other. Jimmy thinks the witch might have forgot to pay her power bill. And wouldn't you know it, as they look up, they see two yellow eyes looking right at them.

Ep. 12 Rhyming Rabbit

Without warning the lights came back on and the three were able to see that the yellow eyes they'd seen were in fact those of the Crazy Quilt dragon who was lying in a heap on the forest floor. He seemed to be in a daze.

Thankfully they were able to snap him out of it and he told them the story of how he'd followed them all the way from the Candy Pirates ship, after he ate a sufficient amount of corks. He was right behind them as they got stuck in the magic wave and as they rowed down the shore, he was able to swim under it and make it to the Roly Poly policeman. He wanted to get their star and return it to them, but he kept hearing a voice in his left ear saying "Get the star and come this way...." and he just couldn't resist it. 

After he got the star, he was drawn to the house over the beach, through the house, and into the picture frame where the star was taken by none other than the Wintergreen Witch.

Unfortunately, since he was in a trance, Crazy Quilt doesn't know the way out. Conveniently, for the plot of this story, a rabbit comes hopping by and he sings a pretty good tune. He knows the way out but before he can show them, he gets stung by a bee and runs away.

Just before the departed, their giant friend gave the children a whistle to blow in case of any trouble. Crazy Quilt thinks he's got the best chance of blowing it loud enough, but wouldn't you know he manages to swallow it instead...

Transcriber edit: Starting to feel a bit suspicious of this dragon!

Ep. 13 The Wintergreen Witch

Thankfully Fee Fo hears the commotion (and the hiccupping, whistling dragon) and comes to help. Unfortunately he's too big to fit through the picture frame, but he takes them all to the edge so they can get out. 

As soon as they do they hear it...

Hee hee hee 

Hee hee hee hee hee

That's right my pretties, it's me the Wintergreen Witch

They try to run to the door or back to through the picture frame but she uses her magic to stop them from escaping. She's going to keep the silver star and put it up in the sky but she's not letting them leave either. The twins would just make a perfect pair of little white mice...

Judy tries to think what she could use to bargain for the silver star and pulls a little mirror from her pocket. Seeing her own reflection in the looking glass sends her into a right panic so they use this to their advantage to take their star and make her let them go.

At last! The star in their own hands!

They're afraid it might get washed away if there's a big wave, so Crazy Quilt offers to help them by storing it in his hind pocket. Away they swim back to the Maybeland Mainland.

The journey was long and Crazy Quilt is knackered so he wants to rest. As he leans back against a rock, the horrifying sound of glass shattering erupts from his pocket... 😞 😞 😞

Now the star is busted in a million pieces. Whatever will they do???

Didn't see that one coming did ya? @Cleoriff, @TallTrees, @pgn  😂

[TallTrees]

Heck need the super glue 😁

@Breanna