I’m a bear, I’m called Benny, and I’m slightly used
Lemme tell youse a tale, ya won’t read in the news

I tell it to people, on Christmas ya see
It could happen to youse, ‘cause it happened to me

A banker from Brooklyn whose first name was Sid
Went and bought me at Macy’s, to give to his kid

From the shelf, to box in a bag, to the trunk
And then under the tree with a buncha’ wrapped junk

Sid’s kid’s name was Stanley, and Stanley was spoiled
And thoughtless, impatient; his slick hair was oiled

He picked up my package, from under the tree
And he tore out the corner, to peek in at me

The brat couldn’t wait, to arise Christmas morning
He pulled me right out, and with no further warning

He kicked me around and he pulled off my eye
And he ripped up my fur, for no good reason why

Day before I was perfect, but now wuz a mug
I wanted revenge on this 8 year old thug!

I wuzn’t the only one, havin’ no fun
In December, in Brooklyn, Nine-teen Thirty-one

The Depression had broken the spirit of men
Who all shared the same story, with brudders and their friends

And up under the bridge, in the cold, in a tent
Was the place where Ralph Wilson, and his family went

Ralph was a teller, but his bank went bust
At the Brooklyn Fidelity Savings & Trust

People were scared, and withdrawals were mounting
Till there was no dough, for the loaning or counting

Poor Joe would go fishing, and when he caught fishes
He’d trade them for cash, to put food on their dishes

Sally his wife, would sew clothes and sit tots
To all comers who came, both the haves and have nots

Their only son Tom, barked the news to sell papers
You’d hear his voice boom, as his breath turned to vapors

Each penny and nickel, was carefully managed
So they could live on, and might gain an advantage

On the cold Christmas Eve, after Sid left his work
His wife Bess and kid Stanley, the little fat jerk,

Were collected by him, and then taken to eat
For a festive and fanciful, Christmas Eve treat

If they’d have looked out, of the car’s frosty glass
They’d have seen all the sufferin’, of people they passed

But instead, self-involved and uncaring they went
To the diner, where their loot, was soon to be spent

Back at Sid’s, there I lay on the floor; no one cared
About what used to be, a first class Teddy Bear

Then I hears a sound; there were burglars outside
Who had come to take Sid, and the rest for a ride

Two mugs broke the window, and crawled ‘cross the sash
They were looking for watches, and jewelry and cash

One of the guys, found the safe right behind
A big painting of Sid, so’s they shuttered the blinds

The safe-guy then tickled, and swirled ‘round the dial
He was good, and it opened, and made them both smile

There in a pile, was the treasure they sought
They worked fast and they left, so’s they wouldn’t get caught

They took all the cash, and the jewels they could see
Then they picked me right up, and they shoved it in me!

The mugs didn’t know, that the neighbors called coppers
They ran towards the bridge, dodging beggars and shoppers

With cops quickly closing, the guys made a pact
That they’d toss me away; not get caught in the act

The bridge to the city, from Brooklyn is tall
As I dropped out of sight, good old Ralph broke my fall

He gathered me up, for to give me to Tom
But I needed some sewing, from Sally his Mom

She started to mend, and found treasure inside me
She took me to Ralph; they decided to hide me

The two of them pondered, and Ralph said to Sal,
“We have to return, all these riches old gal.”

To the precinct they went, to tell Sergeant O’Toole
He said “We nabbed your pals, and now we’ve collared you.”

Ralph didn’t care what the coppers believed
He said “We may be poor, but the Wilsons ain’t thieves!”

The coppers suspicions, would soon disappear
They checked out Ralphs story, and quickly were cleared

The coppers called Sid, to come down to the station
He shook hands, and told Wilson, his name and vocation

“I am a banker, and my name is Sid.”
“And my friend, here’s is a twenty, for all that you did.”

Ralph said, “Thanks a lot, and don’t think me a jerk.”
“Won’t you please keep your twenty and give me some work?”

“You run a bank, and my trade is a teller.”
We’re tired of our life, as 3 Brooklyn Bridge dwellers.”

Ralph’s good wife Sally, went over to Tom
And she got me, and gave me, to young Stanley’s Mom.

I now had two eyes, both a black one and blue one
Then Stanley said, “Keep it. I’ll just get a new one.”

Ain’t it funny at Christmas, how people give in
To a feeling that tingles all over their skin

So’s we all got together, inside Sid’s big house
And Sid’s kid played with Tom, and stopped being a louse.

We ate and we drank, and we sang and we slept
And the Wilsons gave thanks, for how Christmas was kept.

As for me; I’m okay, hey…I’m no worse for wear
And I’m doin’ alright, for a worn Teddy Bear

There’s a goodness at Christmastime, make no mistake
Bears and People will thrive, if ya give ‘em a break

Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”