“Omri sat up sharply in bed and peered into the dark corners. Suddenly he saw him. But he wasn’t on the shelf anymore, he was in the bottom of the cupboard. And he wasn’t standing upright. He was crouching in the darkest corner, half hidden by the front of the cupboard. And he was alive.”
“The Indian was made of plastic again. Omri knelt there, appalled- too appalled to move. He had killed his Indian, or done something awful to him. At the same time he had killed his dream- all the wonderful, exciting, secret games that had filled his imagination all day.”
“Omri stuck his finger in his mouth and sucked it and thought how gigantic he must look to the tiny Indian and how fantastically brave he had been to stab him.”
″ ‘Look at the dark, Little Bear.’ And Little Bear looked. ‘I’ve brought you the moon, Little Bear,’ said Big Bear. ‘The bright yellow moon and all the twinkly stars.’ ”
″ ‘I’ve brought you the Biggest Lantern of Them All!’ he told Little Bear. ‘That’s to keep you from being scared!’ ‘Thank you, Big Bear,’ said Little Bear, curling up in the glow and watching the shadows dance.”
″ ‘I’m scared,’ said Little Bear. ‘Why are you scared, Little Bear?’ asked Big Bear. ‘I don’t like the dark,’ said Little Bear. ‘What dark?’ said Big Bear. ‘The dark all around us,’ said Little Bear.”
″ ‘Where are we going?’ asked Little Bear. ‘Out!’ said Big Bear. ‘Out into the darkness?’ said Little Bear. ‘Yes!’ said Big Bear. ‘But I’m scared of the dark!’ said Little Bear.”
“Little Bear padded up and peeked into her pail. Of course, he only wanted to taste a few of what was inside, but there were so many and they were so close together, that he tasted a Tremendous Mouthful by mistake. ‘Now, Sal,’ said Little Sal’s mother without turning around, ‘you run along and pick your own berries. Mother wants to can these for next winter.’ Little Bear tasted another Tremendous Mouthful, and almost spilled the entire pail of blueberries.”
“Little Bear and Little Sal’s mother and Little Sal and Little Bear’s mother were all mixed up with each other among the blueberries on Blueberry Hill.”
“On the other side of Blueberry Hill, Little Bear came with his mother to eat blueberries. ‘Little Bear,’ she said, ‘eat lots of berries and grow big and fat. We must store up food for the long, cold winter’. “
“Little Bear’s mother turned around to see what on earth could make a noise like kuplunk!
‘Garumpf!’ she cried, choking on a mouthful of berries, ‘This is not my child! Where is Little Bear?’ She took one good look and backed away. (She was old enough to she shy of people, even a very small person like Little Sal.) Then she turned around and walked off very fast to hunt for Little Bear.”
“ ‘Let’s try making ourselves into a tower,’ said Duck. ‘Good idea!’ said Bramwell. Little Bear climbed on top of Rabbit’s head and Rabbit hopped onto Duck’s beak. They stretched up as far as they could, but then Duck opened his beak to say something. Rabbit wobbled, and they all collapsed on top of Bramwell.”
“ ‘I’ve got it!’ he cried. ‘I could climb up this plant, swing from the leaves, kick the trap door open and jump in!’
In case it wobbled, Bramwell Brown, Duck and Rabbit steadied the pot. Little Bear bravely climbed up the plant until he reached the very top leaf. He took hold of it and started to swing to and fro, but he swung so hard that the lead broke and he went crashing down. Luckily, Bramwell Brown was right underneath to catch him in his paws.”
“Bramwell gave Little Bear two big handkerchiefs and a flashlight so he could see into the attic. Then he began to wind up the propeller of the plane. Rabbit and Little Bear climbed aboard and Bramwell began the countdown: ‘Five! Four! Three! Two! One! ZERO!’ They were off! The plane whizzed along the carpet and flew up into the air.”
“From somewhere quite near he heard a muffled ‘Grrrrr,’ followed by, ‘Did somebody say something?’ Little Bear moved a few things aside and there, propped up against a cardboard box and covered in dust, was Old Bear.”
“The two bears leapt bravely from the hole in the ceiling. Their handkerchief parachutes opened out and they floated gently down...landing safely in the blanket.”
“That night, when all the animals were tucked in bed, Bramwell thought about the day’s adventures and looked at the others. Rabbit was dreaming exciting dreams about bouncing as high as an airplane. Duck was dreaming that he could really fly and was rescuing bears from all sorts of high places. Little Bear was dreaming of all the interesting things he had seen in the attic, and Old Bear was dreaming about the good times he would have now that he was back with his friends. ‘I knew it was going to be a special day,’ said Bramwell Brown to himself...”
“The little plane flew beautifully and the first time they passed the trap door Little Bear was able to push the lid open with his paintbrush. Then Rabbit circled the plane again, this time very close to the hole. Little Bear grabbed the edge and with a mighty heave he pulled himself inside.”