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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
BEAR 55PB
“What do you think, Tante Margarete?” Richard Steiff held up a stuffed bear. “His arms and legs move. He’s soft and cuddly mohair.”
Richard’s creative aunt who’d been paralyzed by polio as a toddler had against all odds, founded Steiff Manufacturing in 1880. Her felt elephants and other animals were favorites of thousands of German children.
She took the bear in her arms. “He is darling. But will he sell?”
“May I enter him in the Leipzig toy trade fair?”
“Viel Glück.”
Margarete’s question was answered in 1903 when an American trader ordered 3,000 bears and renamed them Teddy Bear.
*viel glück – good luck in German
Conflicting stories abound when it comes to the Teddy Bear named for President Theodore Roosevelt. This one seems feesible to me. CLICK HERE to learn more about this remarkable woman.
CLICK HERE if you’d like to read the other side of the Teddy Bear’s history. I don’t propose to know which story is true. One thing is for sure and certain and that’s the popularity of the Teddy bear.


