The Bear Who Borrowed Wednesday

How it begins

Bramble borrowed Wednesday from the week and put it in a jam jar. He thought he would return it after lunch.

Tuesday had been terribly busy. There were plums to wash, labels to write and seven empty shelves looking at him. The roof dripped. The kettle rattled. His best spoon had fallen behind the stove.

'I only need a little extra time,' he told the jar.

Wednesday glowed pale blue. It smelled of clean towels and things that could wait. Bramble put it on the windowsill and sat down. Just for a moment. Just until the kettle stopped rattling.

He woke when Olive the duck knocked on his door.

'Have you seen Wednesday?' she asked.

Bramble put his elbow in front of the jar. 'What does it look like?'

'Usually, the day after Tuesday.'

Outside, the village was in a muddle. The baker's bread had risen halfway. The postman was halfway across the bridge. A frog had begun a very long Wednesday song and was now stuck on the first note.

Bramble looked at his jam. Every jar was half full. Even the one he had finished yesterday.

'I may have borrowed it,' he said.

Olive came in. She looked at the blue light on the windowsill, then at the bear asleep in his chair with one slipper on.

'Why?'

'Because Tuesday was too much.'

That was a small sentence. Once he said it, the room became very quiet. Even the kettle seemed to understand.

Olive sat on the other chair. 'Did Wednesday make Tuesday smaller?'

Bramble shook his head. The shelves still needed filling. The roof still dripped. Somewhere outside, the frog took another enormous breath.

'Perhaps,' Olive said, 'we need a different sort of jar.'

She found his notebook and wrote one word on an empty page.

REST.