Buttons the teddy bear had been given to the little girl on her third birthday and had been her constant companion ever since. Almost as large as the girl at first, she dragged that bear around everywhere. However, Buttons didn’t mind. After spending months sitting on a store shelf, he finally had someone who loved him. As the girl grew older, tea parties and imaginary adventures filled their days, but it was bedtime he liked best. Once her parents had tucked her in and turned out the light, the girl would snuggle against him and whisper all her secrets to him. Buttons couldn’t be happier.

The morning of the girl’s sixth birthday seemed like any other to Buttons. As usual, he sat on the chair next to the little girl while she ate breakfast and pretended to feed him. As she was finishing, her father’s voice rang out from the living room.

“Hey, look what I found!”

The girl grabbed Buttons and whispered excitedly. “Come on Buttons. Maybe it’s a birthday present.”

Rushing into the living room, the girl stopped in her tracks and dropped Buttons to the floor. There stood her father holding a small brown and white kitten. Blinking its eyes, the kitten stared at the girl and mewed softly.

“Is it for me?” she exclaimed, gingerly petting its head.

Her parents smiled. “Yes,” answered her mother. “She’s your kitten.”

“I’m going to call her Martha,” declared the little girl, rocking the kitten in her arms.

“Martha,” grumbled Buttons still lying on the floor. “What a silly name for a cat.”

Poor Buttons’ day got no better as he was tossed in a corner as preparations were made for the girl’s birthday party. Even worse, the girl carried the kitten everywhere, showing it to all her party guests. They gathered around to pet it and say how cute it was.

“Cute,” muttered the unhappy bear. “Who wants cute when you can have handsome?”

It wasn’t until bedtime that the girl finally came to get him. “I’m so sorry Buttons,” she apologized, “but the kitten needed me.”

Well, thought Buttons, I can understand that. The kitten is rather small after all.

However, his acceptance quickly turned into annoyance as he saw the kitten lying in his spot by the girl’s pillow. The girl put Buttons down by the kitten. “That’s my spot!” he growled at the kitten. Martha looked over and began stiffing at him.

“What are you doing?” said Buttons, angrily.

As if in answer, the kitten put her front paws on Button’s stomach and began kneading.

“Stop that!” he cried, but the kitten ignored him.

“Oh Buttons,” exclaimed the little girl, “Martha likes you.”

“Get her off me!” ordered the angry teddy, but the girl just knelt by the bed to get a better view.

“You’re such a good kitten,” she said in a soothing voice while gently stroking Matha’s head. The kitten responded by purring loudly and kneading poor Buttons’ stomach even harder.

“That hurts!” He roared as loud as he could, but it had no effect. As the girl got into bed, the kitten jumped off Buttons and curled up beside her head. The girl shared no secrets with him that night as she nuzzled the kitten, whispering to it until she fell asleep.

To his surprise, Buttons woke up on the floor in the morning. “Help!” he cried. Looking up, he saw the kitten looking over the edge of the bed at him. Jumping down, the kitten once again began kneading his stomach.

“Get off me you little beast!” he ordered, brimming with rage.

“That’s enough of that,” said the girl, picking up the kitten. “You can play with Buttons later, but first you have to eat your breakfast.” Leaving Buttons on the floor, the girl carried the kitten out of the room.

“Playing indeed,” grumbled Buttons. “That cat pushed me to the floor so it can take my place.”

All day, Buttons lay there alone on the floor. Occasionally, the girl brought the kitten in to play, but paid no attention to him. It wasn’t until bedtime that she finally picked him up. “Sorry we didn’t play today Buttons, but taking care of a kitten is a lot of work,” she explained.

“But what about me?” he complained, feeling hurt.

Things didn’t get any better for poor Buttons. Each morning he now found himself on the floor, and sometimes the girl just left him there. At first he’d just lay there feeling sorry for himself, but as he spent more and more nights on the floor, he started growing angry.

“That cat’s trying to steal my owner,” he grumbled, wishing he could climb up on the bed and teach Martha a lesson.

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While cleaning the bedroom one day, the girl’s mother encountered Buttons on the floor and gave him a sad smile. “I guess my little girl’s getting too old for a teddy bear.”

“That’s not true!” cried Buttons, but the little girl’s mother didn’t seem to hear him. She instead placed him high up on the bookshelf where the little girl’s long abandoned toys sat gathering dust.

Night after lonely night he sat there, angrily staring down at Martha and the little girl sleeping on the bed. If it weren’t for that cat, he thought, I’d be on the bed where I belong.

One night, he couldn’t take it anymore and said, “I wish that cat would just disappear!”

. . .

From far atop Fairy Godbear Castle, a bell rang out signaling the arrival of a new wish. Cries of delight filled the castle as every fairy rushed to the courtyard. Everyone was eager to see the new wish because only the most special wishes, those made with all of one’s heart, could travel there.

As the Fairy Godbear king walked onto the balcony, the courtyard grew silent. Raising his wand skyward, the king swirled it above his head and one by one, giant letters appeared in the sky spelling out the wish: “I wish that cat would just disappear.”

Gasps and cries of disbelief erupted from the crowd. They’d never seen a wish that wasn’t for something good and kind. The Fairy Godbear King motioned for silence.

“As you all know, by our laws we must grant all the wishes we receive. However, fulfilling this wish would cause harm, something no Fairy Godbear is allowed to do.” He paused and looked out over the crowd. “I assure you, that as your king, I will find a solution to this problem.”

The king summoned his advisors, but instead of finding an answer to the problematic wish, all they did was argue amongst themselves. After several hours of this, the exasperated king had finally had enough. “This arguing is getting us nowhere,” he said. “You all seem more concerned with being right than saving this kingdom.” With a dismissive wave, he sent them away.

As the advisors left, a young fairy stood at the doorway and bowed. “What is it?” called the king brusquely. “Sire,” he replied nervously, “I think I have an idea that might work.”

. . .

As the last word of the wish left Buttons’ mouth, there was a bright flash of light. When his eyes cleared, he saw a small bear with wings hovering before him. The bear had a gold crown on its head and wore a bright red robe. In his hand he held a wand.

“Who are you?” asked Buttons, now more curious than startled.

“I’m your Fairy Godbear,” answered the visitor with a bow. “I’ve come to grant your wish.”

Buttons could hardly contain his excitement. “You’re going to get rid of that cat?”

“That’s the reason I’m here.”

Without another word, the fairy pointed his wand at Martha and with a zap, she was gone.

Before Buttons could thank him, the fairy had vanished. Now that the cat is gone, he thought happily, my girl will love me again. Everything will be just as it was before that beast arrived.

The next morning, instead of rushing over to Buttons, the little girl searched the bedroom for her missing kitten. “Martha,” she called, looking under the bed, in the closet, and even in her drawers. As each location turned up no sign of the kitten, the girl’s voice grew more frantic.

Buttons waited impatiently on the bookcase as he listened to the girl and her mother calling out Martha’s name throughout the house.

“Hope she finishes looking soon so we can play,” complained the teddy bear.

However, it was several hours before the girl returned to the bedroom. And instead of reaching for Buttons, she perched on the edge of the bed and began to cry. “Poor Martha,” she sobbed, “I hope she’s all right.”

The girl’s mother came in and sat beside her. “We’ll find her honey,” she whispered, gently stroking the girl’s hair. “We’ll make some lost kitten signs to hang up around the neighborhood.”

“But what if something happens to her?” the little girl answered between sobs.

The mother wrapped her arms around the little girl. “Cats are very smart and know how to take care of themselves.”

Watching from the bookcase, Buttons suddenly didn’t feel like playing anymore. He’d seen the little girl sad before, but never like this. He was startled to find himself being picked up.

“Why don’t you lie down with Buttons,” the girl’s mother suggested, handing her the teddy bear. “I’ll call your father so he can get some poster paper for the signs.”

“Okay,” she answered hugging Buttons tightly.

Buttons finally had what he’d wanted for so long, but it felt empty. All he could think about was how sad he’d made his little girl.

Laying down, the little girl pressed her face against his. Only this time, instead of sharing secrets with him, all she shared were the tears falling from her face onto his.

“Please don’t cry,” begged Buttons, but his words had no effect.

“Martha’s so little,” she wept, “and she’s somewhere outside all alone.”

Suddenly Buttons realized that he had no idea where his Fairy Godbear had sent the kitten. He’d never wanted to hurt Martha, only to get her out of the way so the little girl didn’t ignore him. Getting his wish was supposed to make him happy, but seeing his little girl crying about the lost kitten only made him miserable.

As the girl finally began to doze off exhausted from crying, the unhappy teddy bear stared up at the ceiling and knew he’d made a terrible mistake. “I wish I’d never made that stupid wish,” he said.

The next thing he knew, it was nighttime and he found himself back on the bookshelf. Before him hovered his Fairy Godbear. “What happened?” asked Buttons, entirely confused.

“Look on the bed,” instructed the fairy.

Looking over, the teddy bear was surprised to see the little girl sleeping with Martha.

“Thank goodness they found her,” said Buttons, and he meant it.

“She was never gone,” said the fairy.

“But you made her disappear. They were looking all over for her,” said Buttons.

The Fairy Godbear laughed good-naturedly. “I’m sorry Buttons, but that was all a dream. Your wish was a very big one and I wanted you to understand what it would do. I am now ready to grant your wish if you want me to.”

The teddy looked down longingly at the little girl asleep on the bed. “As much as I want to be with my little girl, I can’t do that to her. Let Martha stay.”

“Very well my good bear,” answered the fairy with a bow. “However, before I go, please allow me to do something for you.”

As the Fairy Godbear vanished in a flash of light, Buttons opened his eyes to find himself lying on the bed beside the girl and kitten. “Thank you Fairy Godbear,” he whispered.

Waking up in the morning, the happy teddy bear found the kitten curled up on his stomach and the girl’s arm stretched across him. Opening her eyes, the little girl smiled and hugged the bear a little tighter.

However, things weren’t quite the same as they were before. There were now three for tea instead of two, and two pairs of ears to listen to the girl’s bedtime secrets. Only now, Buttons couldn’t be happier and even got used to Martha kneading his stomach.