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The bear, the doggy and the rabbit

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Once upon a time there was a bear, a doggy and a rabbit. They were best friends and always did everything together. They went to school together, played football together, went camping together, went to each other's houses for dinner and sleep overs. They were inseparable.

One day they were playing in the park when rabbit said "shall we go fishing in the big green lake this weekend?"

"Yippee!" said Bear excitedly.

But Doggy shook his head. "Sorry guys," he explained, "this weekend I'm going on a rocket to the moon. It's something I've always wanted to do and I've been saving my pennies in a big jar in my bedroom. Finally I have enough so I'm going to realise my dream."

"Doggy. Please don't go." pleaded Bear. "Rockets are still very dangerous. They sometimes break down in space."

"Yes", said Rabbit, "and I've heard the moon isn't very interesting anyway. Just a load of dusty old rock. It'll be much more fun fishing with us."

But Doggy wouldn't be dissuaded.

Weekend came and Rabbit and Bear set off for their fishing trip, and Doggy made his way excitedly to the rocketport.

Doggy had to have a medical and then he had to listen to an hour's safety lecture. As the safety officer explained about the emergency procedures Doggy's excitement began to give way to nerves. When he finally stepped out of the lift and into the rocket he was terrified. He wanted to turn round and run back to his home. But what would Bear and Rabbit say.

He closed his eyes and tried to tell himself that the rocket was his dream.

He said a little prayer as the rocket took off. He was pushed back in his seat by the power of the engines. After a little while the rocket seemed to be just floating in space, although it was really travelling very fast indeed.

When the lady brought round dinner Doggy refused. He was still absolutely terrified.

After a couple of hours the rocket's engines stopped.

"We apologise for the delay due to a slight technical problem." said the captain.

Doggy remembered Bear's warning, and he remembered reading about the rocket that broke down and was left forever to drift through space.

But a few minutes later the engines restarted and they were on their way again.

The rest of the journey passed without problem and the captain landed the rocket right next to the entrance to the Hotel Moon.

Doggy was shown to his room. Most of the guests went to the restaurant or bar, or up to the observation room at the top of the hotel. But Doggy just sat in his room and cried, feeling very homesick and very alone.

That night Doggy couldn't sleep at all. He was worried about the rocket breaking down on the way home.

At around 3 am he got out of bed to get a glass of water. He looked out of the window and saw the most beautiful, incredible, amazing sight. It was planet earth glowing like a big blue ball in the dark sky. Doggy thought of his friends, smaller than little dots on the surface of that wonderful ball. And he realised how wonderful his planet, and the entire universe really were.

He got dressed and took the lift to the hotel observation room. Already there was an old owl. "Amazing, isn't it." he said.

"It sure is." replied Doggy, realising that his dream had been a good one all along.

Next day Doggy got up bright and early, ate a huge breakfast, borrowed a space suit and went for a long walk exploring the mountains and craters of the moon. He thought how long this had been here without anyone touching, or even seeing it. And he felt very small as he looked at the vastness of space around him, but he felt very important and privileged too to be a part of all this.

He went back to the hotel in time for lunch and joined the owl on a bus tour in the afternoon.

They returned in time for a truly delicious dinner of fish and chips.

Doggy felt sad when the rocket captain announced it would soon be time to leave. It had taken him a long time to save up for this trip and maybe he could never come back. But he felt happy that he had been here and seen everything he'd seen.

The journey back was a smooth one and when they got to the rocketport he was delighted to find Bear and Rabbit waiting to greet him. "We're so pleased you got back safely." they said.

"No problem." said Doggy, "It was fantastic."

After that the bear, the doggy and the rabbit remained friends, but not as close as before. Bear still works in a grocery store, rabbit still drives a bus. But Doggy quit his job at the Post Office to become a writer and artist. Now he works from a studio in New York and travels the world telling people how they can improve their lives.

And sometimes he still goes fishing with his old friends.

Next: Rabbit, Bear and the dangerous mountain

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