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Honey Bear, a tubby sort of fellow who loved sweet stuff more than anything, hummed a little song that went “Hummy hum hum, yummy yum yum.” His tummy felt empty and wanted some of that good, yellow goo. He knew the best yellow goo was way up high in the Big Tree, where the buzzy, stripy things lived.
“Oh, dear,” Honey Bear said to himself, touching his tight blue shirt. “My tummy says it’s time for some sweet goo.”
He waddled over to the Big Tree. Underneath it, his friend Little Pig was shaking a bit.
“Oh, Honey Bear,” Little Pig squeaked, “are you… are you going up there again?”
“Yes, Little Pig,” Honey Bear said, looking up high. “I can smell the yummy goo way up there.”
Little Pig wiggled his little nose. “But… but last time… well, getting you out took a long time.”
Honey Bear waved his paw like it wasn’t a big deal. “Don’t worry, Little Pig! I have a new plan. This time, I’ll go up being very… not so big.” He sucked in his chest, trying to look smaller. It didn’t really work.
Honey Bear started to climb. He held onto the bark with his little paws and pushed with his little legs. Up and up he went, and the buzzing of the goo-makers got louder. At last, he found a good spot where the yellow goo was dripping out.
“Oh boy!” he said, pushing his head and shoulders into the hole. The sweet goo smelled even better now. He wiggled his body, trying to reach more of it.
And then, he felt that tight feeling again. He couldn’t go forward, and he couldn’t go backward.
“Oh, bother,” Honey Bear said. “It looks like my… not so big plan didn’t work very well.”
Little Pig, who was watching from down below, squeaked, “Oh no, oh no! You’re… you’re stuck again, aren’t you, Honey Bear?”
“It seems that way,” Honey Bear said, sounding a little sad. “But maybe if I just… wiggle a bit?”
He wiggled as hard as he could, his little bottom going round and round. All that happened was some bark fell off, and he got stuck even tighter.
Just then, Tiger bounced by, his tail going springy-springy.
“Hoo-hoo-hoo-HOO!” Tiger called out. “What’s all the bouncelessness down here?” He bounced a few more times, then stopped, noticing Honey Bear’s predicament. “Say now! What’s the trouble, tubby buddy? Looks like you’ve got yourself in a bit of a… squish-uation!”
“Oh, hello, Tiger,” Honey Bear mumbled, sounding rather squished. “I seem to be… stuck in the sweet goo place.”
Tiger’s stripes seemed to wiggle with amusement. “Stuck, eh? Well, don’t you worry your fuzzy little head! The Tiger is here! We’ll just… un-stickify you with a super-duper bounce-pull!”
Before anyone could say “Oh dear,” Tiger grabbed Honey Bear’s back legs and started to bounce up and down, pulling with all his might.
“Whoa there, Tiger!” Honey Bear cried. “That’s not helping! It’s making it… more squishy!”
Little Pig squeaked and hid behind a fern. “Oh, Tiger, be careful!”
Tiger bounced a few more times, his enthusiasm outweighing his effectiveness. Finally, he stopped, panting. “Hmmph. That didn’t work like I thought it would. Tigers are usually good at un-stickifying!”
Just then, Eeyore (who was still called Eeyore, because why bother changing things?) shuffled over, his head hanging low.
“Well, look at this. Another fine mess.” He stopped and looked at Honey Bear stuck in the tree. “Bound to happen, I suppose. Always does.”
“Oh, Eeyore,” Honey Bear said, his voice muffled. “I’m stuck.”
Eeyore sighed a long, gloomy sigh. “Yes. Seems that way. Not much one can do about it, I expect. Just have to wait for the worst to be over.”
“But the sweet goo! It’s so close, but I can’t reach it!” Honey Bear cried.
Eeyore nodded slowly. “That’s how it goes. You want something, and you can’t have it. Story of my life.”
Little Pig looked worried. “But… but how long will he be stuck, Eeyore?”
“Oh, a good long while, I shouldn’t wonder,” Eeyore said, his tail drooping even further. “Things usually take longer than you think. Especially getting unstuck from sweet goo. It’s sticky stuff.”
Honey Bear’s ears drooped. The thought of being stuck for a “good long while” was very upsetting.
Finally, after what felt like a very long and gloomy time, Honey Bear felt a little bit looser. He wiggled one last time, and pop! He fell out of the tree, landing with a soft thud. He was a little bit thinner and a lot quieter.
He looked up at the hole with the sweet goo, and his eyes were different. “Maybe,” he said slowly, “just a little bit of sweet goo is enough.”
His friends looked at each other. Little Pig looked relieved. Tiger looked ready to bounce again. Eeyore just looked the same.
But the next morning, a certain tubby bear in a red shirt was looking at a big jar of “golden yummy” with that same old happy look in his eyes. And a certain stripy tiger was suggesting they bounce over to the Big Tree for a “goo-finding expedition.” And Eeyore was muttering something about how it would probably end in a sticky situation.
Some things, it seemed, were different in name, but stayed the same in their hearts… and their tendencies to get stuck.