Brummel is Homesick

Whit a regular interval the water hits against the houseboat. It is cold outside, and the temperature is already far below zero. This means that the water that is still hitting the boat will soon turn into ice. Brummel cannot sleep from the noise that the water makes that crashed against the boat. He decides to take a look through the porthole and rubs the porthole window dry with his handkerchief. In the clear winter evening, he sees the full moon high in the sky. Maybe Daddy is looking at the moon right now and maybe he misses me as much as I do.

Brummel is sad and softly he whispers: “I want to go back to my treehouse, and I miss my friends.” In his mind, he wonders how it is whit Mieke, the rabbit. Mieke lives under his treehouse, which Brummel and his dad had built.

But Brummel had to move because Daddy accepted a job as captain of a huge boat. Of course, Brummel was happy for his dad, but that meant that he can no longer be with him every day. Brummel is a little brown bear and he lived with his dad for as long as he can remember. Of course, all little bears live with their daddy, but for Brummel, it was not so natural. His daddy is not a bear, but a human. Brummel has long forgotten why he lives with a human daddy. For him is his daddy the sweetest in the whole world, human or not.  They always had a lot of fun together, but now he is far away with that big boat. Angry and stamping on his feet’s, he had shouted that he wanted to go with him. Dad had just looked at him and patiently waited until his anger was over. Then he took him on his lap and said: “No, Brummel that will not work. I really can’t take care of you over there. I will not have time to do something nice with you. I’ll take you to Uncle. You will have a good time there. Uncle has promised to take good care of you. You always liked it very much when we visited him. Do you forget that he always plays games with you? And he is the only one who knows that you are a very special bear.”

Then the day had come that his daddy had brought him to Uncle. He had sat on the couch sulking and glared at his daddy, but it had not helped.

“Can’t you sleep Brummel?”

“No uncle, I’m homesick.”

Uncle picks him up and puts him on the seat he made especially for Brummel. He scratches Brummel behind his ear and says, “I understand that, but your daddy really couldn’t take you whit him.”

“I know that I do, but I miss him so much,” Brummel answers.

Uncle nods stroke his head and says. “I spoke to your daddy on the phone this afternoon and he was sad too. He told me he would have preferred to stay with you. But yes, you know that grown-ups have to earn money to live, eat and do funny things. As soon as he returns from his first voyage, he comes right here to see you,” and he taps Brummel’s shiny black nose with a tip of his finger. “Come on, I’ll put you back in your bed. Try to get some sleep and stay deep under your blanket, because it is very cold outside. I don’t think it will be taken long before the lake is frozen.”

Brummel listens carefully and he does indeed hear the water lapping against the boat less loudly.

“Uncle, can you teach me to skate too?”

“Brummel of course, but then the ice must be strong enough first. You can see you’re still going to like it here,” he says, smiling. “Listen, I have to get up early in the morning because I too have to earn money so that we can eat and do fun things.”

‘Yes, Nice. Sandwiches with honey,” exclaims Brummel.

“Exactly, I’ll prepare the honey and sandwiches for you. When I get home, we’ll do something fun. Now try to get some sleep. Or shall I make you another glass of warm milk with honey?

Brummel nods and he is already feeling a lot better. His uncle is sweet, but of course, he has known that for a long time and his warm voice makes him feel at home.

Uncle returns with a cup of warm milk with honey and Brummel greedily drink it.

“You can move freely here in the houseboat because no one else lives in this area. You will like it here, but now you are going to rest a bit first. Because even if you don’t sleep, you still rest. My grandfather used to say that. “

Brummel allows himself to be tucked in, closes his black beady eyes and soon dreams about Mieke the Rabbit.

The next morning, Brummel wakes up early. He feels as fit as a strong bear. Before he gets out of bed, he looks through the porthole and sees that there is snow glittering on the lake.

“Yippie, there is snow,” he shouts happily. Jumps out of bed and runs to the front door. When he opens the door, he is shocked to see footprints in the snow. He stares silently at the footprints on the gangway. But then he realizes with relief that they are of course Uncle’s prints and he breathes a sigh of relief. Brummel walks back to the kitchen where Uncle has prepared the sandwiches with honey for him before he went to work. Satisfied, he eats his sandwich and waits patiently for Uncle to come home.

The End