Max and Aliida were busy packing for their summer holiday with Grandma Frances. Aliida was taking ages, not able to decide what to put in Big Black Bag (BBB). Max was more interested in which of his friends to take with him. Little Charlie was always hard to resist. He had such a sweet, appealing face.

‘I won’t take up hardly any room in the bag. I can scrunch myself up really small. Look!’ said Charlie. ‘And I will cry if you don’t take me,’ he added, putting on a very sad face.

‘Oh, dear,’ said Max. ‘How can I say no?’

‘You can’t, said Charlie and hopped into a corner of BBB.

The other toys all clamoured to go as well but Aliida put her foot down. ‘One more,’ she said firmly. ’Just one more, Max, or else I won’t be able to zip BBB up.

It took him ages to decide and Aliida was threatening to close BBB without any more of Max’s friends in it. In a rush, he gave in to the loudest voice: Soldier, who was stamping his feet, swinging his arms and yelling: ‘Left, right, left right!’ Stamp, stamp. ‘Permission to board BBB, Sir?’ Stamp, stamp. 

So, in went Soldier. Charlie cowered in his corner of BBB. He was quite scared of Soldier with his loud voice, stamping feet and swinging arms. Once, Soldier had swung his arms so high that he had knocked Charlie right off the windowsill where he liked to sit and watch street people going by.

Then, they were off! Through the busy streets of the city, on to the bypass with so many fast, fast cars and lorries. Charlie and Aliida sat in the front of the car beside Daddy. They played the ‘I Packed my Suitcase’ game and they had got to the letter T by the time the car left the motorway and was driving along a pretty, leafy road towards GF’s house. Aliida packed a teddy-bear and Charlie packed a tomato.

They were called Charlie and Tucker

Charlie! There was a DOG called Charlie! Max decided he wouldn’t tell Charlie Bear. It was just as well he was still tucked up in BBB and couldn’t see. Truth to tell, Max was a bit frightened of the dogs at first but Aliida showed him how to pat them gently on their backs and speak softly to them. Soon Max Bear and Charlie Dog were good friends. Tucker was an old dog and he spent most of the afternoon sleeping but Max and Charlie played happily on the big lawn chasing balls and sometimes even chasing each other.

The best bit of all was when everyone left at the end, even Archie, but . . . Aliida stayed! 

She took BBB into the spare bedroom and unpacked Charlie Bear and Soldier. 

GF brought Suzy Squirrel through to meet them and all five of them stayed up late chatting and laughing until GF said, sternly, ‘No more noise. It’s time for sleeping.’  

Next day was sunny so they had A PICNIC in the garden. Brilliant fun!

    

Aliida, Max, Charlie and Soldier stayed at GF’s house for three whole days. They went shopping and swimming. They went to the cinema – twice! 

They even went to the zoo. There they saw meercats and otters and lions and monkeys and snakes - and rabbits, too! Aliida loved petting the rabbits. Max felt jealous.

BUT they didn’t see any bears! There was a big sign saying ‘BEARS’ But there was actually NO sign of them! Aliida had to make do with climbing on the huge bear statue. Max squealed in terror when he saw that statue. What kind of bear grows that big?

Aliida explained that it wasn’t a real bear and it couldn’t move or speak or laugh or cry – none of the things that Max and Charlie and Soldier and Suzy could do. 

‘Phew!’ said Max. ‘Thank goodness for that. Can we go and get some lunch now?”

‘All he thinks about is eating,’ said Aliida.

‘Really,’ said GF. ‘I think I know a little girl a bit like that. I wonder who that could be?’