Flat Paul's Travel Diary
December 10, 1999

Dear Mrs. Lewis and Second Grade class:

Oh, I had such a long, lovely nap.  Snug and warm in my envelope, I dozed and dreamed my way across the United States.  I rode in mail trucks and airplanes.  I traveled with thousands of envelopes and packages.

I woke up this morning to find myself in Richland, Washington!  I yawned and stretched as a very nice lady opened my envelope.  She smiled at me as she read my letter.

"Perry Bear, come here!" she called.  "I have a new friend for you to meet!"

Suddenly, a pair of shiny bear eyes looked down at me.  A fuzzy bear paw helped me stand up.  I had been in that envelope for such a long time!  Soon I was face to face with a plump white teddy bear.  He wore a nice bow tie and had a kind face.

"Hello, Flat Paul!" said the lady.  "My name is Miss Cynthia, and this is my teddy bear, Perry Bear."  Perry Bear shook my hand.

"Flat Paul," said Perry Bear, "I am so very glad to meet you.  Paul Edward and I are very old friends."

"This is exciting!" said Miss Cynthia.  "Perry, Flat Paul is visiting us to help Paul Edward and his school class.  The children are learning about geography.  We can help, if we show Flat Paul some of the interesting things to see and do in eastern Washington state."

"What a wonderful idea!" said Perry Bear.  "We will show Flat Paul our beautiful rivers.  We will tell him about the explorers, Lewis and Clark, who visited our area almost 200 years ago.  We will learn about the grains, fruits and vegetables that are grown in the Mid-Columbia region. This will be fun!"

"But Flat Paul," asked Miss Cynthia, "how will we share all of your adventures with Paul Edward's school class?"

"Miss Cynthia," I said, "you could take a photo of me and send it to Paul Edward's class.  We could write a letter.  Maybe we could even send some souvenirs back to my home in Georgia."

Miss Cynthia smiled.  "Flat Paul," she said, "we can do a lot better than that!  Can't we, Perry Bear?"

Perry Bear nodded.  "You see, Flat Paul," he explained, "I'm not just an ordinary teddy bear.  I have a job.  I am the Cub Reporter for Kidzone, the children's page at our local newspaper.  And I have something else, too.  I have my very own Web page!.  Miss Cynthia, couldn't we share Flat Paul's adventures on Perry Bear's Fun Page?"

"Perfect!" said Miss Cynthia.  "Flat Paul, you are going to visit cyberspace, too!  We will make a Web page so all the children can follow your adventures in Washington state."

Perry Bear patted my back.  "I hope you will like visiting us, Flat Paul. We have lots of fun."

I nodded my head.  Even though I'd only been awake a very short time, I was excited about everything I would see and do on my visit to eastern Washington state.

"Perry," said Miss Cynthia, "why don't you take Flat Paul to meet the rest of the Ewer bear family?  I will get to work to make a special Web page for all his adventures."

Perry Bear held my hand.  "Come along, Flat Paul!  You can meet all my bear brothers and bear sisters. There are seventeen of us, so get ready for a big bear greeting!"

Your flat friend,

Flat Paul