De e p e s t T h a n k s t o My He a ve n l y Fa t h e r w h o p l a c e d t h i s s t o r y i n m y h e a r t a n d g a ve m e t h e c o u r a g e a n d p e r s i s t e n c e t o w r i t e i t .

Ma n y t h a n k s a l s o t o Tr i s h a Ed w a rd s , A K A P J Fr i e l , a n d Me l o d y Ke t t l e we l l , Go d’s s p e c i a l A n g e l s w h o s e s u p p o r t a n d t a l e n t s m a d e t h i s s t o r y b e c o m e re a l .

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T H I S B O O K B E L O N G S T O :

F R O M :

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T HE sun was hiding just behind the t ree tops when

Hooty May owl hopped out of her nest , f luf fed her feathers , s t re tched, and f lew down to her favor i te t ree branch.

She rubbed her eyes and c leared her throat to get ready for s tory te l l ing t ime.

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It was Thursday, Hooty May’s favor i te day of the week, and the day the l i t t le fores t animals would gather together under Hooty May’s t ree branch to hear her s tor ies .

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“Have you ever heard the s tory about a bear named Clare?” asked Hooty May. The fores t animals shook thei r heads . “Nooooo…”

“No?” repeated Hooty May. “Wel l , gather around and I ’ l l te l l you a l l about Clare and her fores t f r iends .”

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T was a happy l i t t le brown bear named Clare , who l ived in the Black Forest woods . Nobody knew why i t was ca l led Black Forest because the woods were anything but b lack, except a t n ight when the shadows came out .

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The fores t was magica l , fu l l o f a l l sor t s of co lor ful f lowers and t rees that b loomed a l l year long, and i t a lways smel led l ike sweet roses . Clare loved her fores t home because she could a lways f ind creamy honey in the t rees and sugary f lower peta l s to munch on.

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Clare Bear l ived in the fores t with her Mama and Papa and her baby brother, Just Teddy, or J .T. for shor t . She had many f r iends .

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There was Andy, the chipmunk; Harry, the rabbit ; and P.J . , the f inch whose name s tands for Pure Joy because her feathers looked l ike pure gold, and her whis t le was such a joy to hear.

Her best f r iend of a l l , though, was Rachae l , the raccoon.

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Always happy to do what her Mama asked her to do, she put on her s t raw hat and s tar ted out to the f lower patch.

One day Clare’s Mama asked her to go out in the woods to gather a bouquet of f lowers .

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“Have fun, but be careful ,” Clare’s Mama ca l led out to her f rom the k i tchen window. “And be back before dark so you don’t get los t in the fores t ,” she added.

“I wi l l , Mama,” Clare shouted back as she sk ipped down the path toward the f lowers .

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On her way, Clare dec ided to s top by and ask Rachae l Raccoon to go with her. Rachae l , so happy and exc i ted to jo in Clare , p lopped her hat on backwards . Clare took one look at Rachae l , pointed at her hat , and began to g igg le and g igg le and g igg le some more .

“What’s so funny?” Rachae l s tammered.

“Your hat !” laughed Clare .

“What’s wrong with my hat? That’s not very nice ,” cr ied Rachae l . “Didn’t your Mama teach you that i t ’s not nice to make fun of others?”

“I ’m sorry, Rachae l ,” smi led Clare . “I d idn’t mean to laugh at you, but you put your hat on backwards , and i t jus t looks so funny.”

“Oh!” Rachae l exc la imed and reached up and turned her hat around. “I ’ l l bet that does look funny. I would have laughed too,” she g igg led.

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So of f went the two best f r iends hand- in-hand to pick a beaut i fu l bouquet of f lowers for each of the i r mothers .

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Along the way to the i r favor i te f lower patch, they ran into Andy Chipmunk.

“Where are you going? Where are you going?” chattered Andy.

“We are going to pick f lowers for our mothers ,” the two f r iends sa id in unison.

“Can I go? Can I go?” asked Andy.

“Sure ,” sa id Clare . “The more the merr ier.”

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Not far f rom where they met Andy l ived the i r other f r iend, Harry Rabbit . As they came near hi s cottage , they saw him outs ide with hi s k i te .

“Hi Harry,” ca l led Clare . “Whatcha doing?”

“Hi, everybody,” Harry cheer ful ly answered. “I ’m ty ing a new s t r ing and ta i l to my ki te . I thought I would take i t down to the meadow by the f lower patch and tes t i t out .”

“That’s where we’re going. Let’s go ! Let’s go !” Andy squeaked.

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