"Perry Bear," I said to myself, "it’s time to think."

I sat on the floor of our hotel room. Runaway babies William and Merri were asleep on my lap. Miss Cynthia and Doctor Steve were away at the concert. The housekeepers could come at any minute. I had to have a plan!

"What would Alexander do?" I wondered.

Alexander is my twin brother. We are the kind of twins who don’t look alike. Even though we both joined the Ewer bear family on the same day, inside, we are very different bears.

I am only a little teddy bear. There is stuffing where my brain should be. I have to work very hard to learn new things. I like to learn! It’s fun—but for most teddy bears, it’s hard work.

Alexander is very clever. He is a bear doctor, like Doctor Steve is a human doctor. Miss Cynthia says that she relies on Alexander, with such a large bear family to care for. Everyone goes to Alexander if they have a problem or a question. He is always loving and patient.

I love Alexander very much, but sometimes I’m glad I’m not a clever bear. Alexander has a lot of responsibility. If he were here, he would know what to do, right away.

I thought and thought about what Alexander might do. If he were here with two tired, scared, lost little baby bears, he would take care of the babies, first! I could imagine Alexander hugging William and hugging Merri. He would tell them that everything would be all right.

"Okay, Perry Bear," I said. "Take care of the babies, that’s the first thing." I looked down at the sleeping baby bears. William snored softly. Merri moved quietly in her sleep. For now, I thought, the babies would be okay. I would hold them very tightly. They wouldn’t run away again!

What else? Oh, how I wished Miss Cynthia would come back from the concert! She would know what to do. 

"Wait a minute!" I thought. Earlier this evening I had wanted to go to the concert so badly that I had kicked the pillow with my back paw. But what if I had gone? What if the babies had come out of the suitcase, but nobody was here? They might have been truly lost!

I thought about Alexander again. How worried he must be! All the bears must be searching and searching the house on the hill, looking for the missing babies. I wished that Alexander were here. I could tell him that the babies were safe.

Maybe I could tell him! I looked up at Baby Supercomputer. Baby would help me get a message to Alexander. I could send Alexander an e-mail. He would read it, and know the babies were all right.

Oh, dear! I had never sent an e-mail all by myself. Miss Cynthia always helped me with the typing part. How would I write the message with my paws? You needed fingers to make a message on the computer.

I wiggled into a more comfortable position under the babies, still thinking. Poor Alexander! He would have to wait and worry until Miss Cynthia came home to help.

Maybe I could send a message, I thought. After all, when Doctor Steve makes a message on the computer, he only uses two fingers. Could I use my two paws just like Doctor Steve? One look at little William and Merri made up my mind. If the baby bears were brave enough to travel in the little black suitcase, Perry Bear could try to use the computer, all by himself.

I moved the sleeping babies to a nice warm place on the carpet. I pulled myself up onto the chair at the desk. "Wake up, Baby Supercomputer!" I said. "I have to send a very important message!"

I tried to remember what we did each morning when we answered my e-mail. Miss Cynthia always clicked on the little picture of a letter to send e-mail, so I clicked it, too. Look! There was the special e-mail screen. Could my little brain remember everything I had to know?

Carefully, I used my paws to tap each key. It took a long time to write my message. I could only tap one key at a time. I looked back often to check on the babies. They must have been very tired, because they were sound asleep!

Letter by letter, I typed my message to Alexander. Here is what it said:

dear alex. and bear famly:

willym and merri are ok      
they were in suitcas
perry bear found them       
they are here sleepng

perry bear

I looked at my message. I had worked very hard, but it didn’t look like the messages Miss Cynthia helped me write.

I heard Merri sighed in her sleep. I looked back to check on the little bears. They were fine. "First, take care of the babies," I told myself, "and then send Alexander a message that they’re okay." My e-mail letter would have to do.

I pushed the button that told Baby Supercomputer to send my message. Miss Cynthia always let me send the mail by pushing the button! The telephone line screeched and squawked as Baby connected to the Internet. Baby’s lights flashed. The message went through!

I went back to the sleeping babies. I needed to move them somewhere safe, somewhere out of the middle of the floor. I looked around. Where would be a good place?

Knock-knock! There was a rap at the door. Oh, no—the housekeeper! I jumped down next to the babies, and held them very tightly. The door opened. "Don’t make a sound!" I told myself. The babies slept on.

A pretty housekeeper in a starched gray dress came into the room. She made the bed all ready to sleep in. Pillows were plumped, full and soft. The blanket was folded down, just so. I peeped with one eye as the housekeeper put two chocolate candies on the bed. Good! She was leaving. I closed my eye and scrunched down small, next to William and Merri.

Oh, no! All of a sudden, I was in the housekeeper’s hands, moving toward the bed. She plumped my tummy and fluffed my fur just like I was a pillow! Then she settled me gently into the center of Miss Cynthia’s pillow.

But the babies? What about William and Merri? There they were, in the housekeeper’s hands. William squirmed sleepily as she fluffed his fur. I saw Merri’s eyes open, then shut again. Soon the babies had joined me on the pillow, one on either side. I squeezed them to me tightly. No baby bears would get lost while Perry Bear was in charge!

The door closed. The room was quiet once again. The babies hardly stirred. They settled back into a deep sleep, one on either side of me.

I was sleepy, too! What would Miss Cynthia think? Soon she would come back from the concert. I yawned. I hoped she would be proud of me!. I had kept the babies safe. I had made a message on the computer and sent it to Alexander. 

What an evening for Perry Bear, Bear In Charge!