I was a really spoiled kid, so there were tons of different toys competing for my attention, but my all-time favourite was a teddy bear. When I was about 7, my dad came home with a giant box. When I opened it, I saw a brown bear with a big head and black beady eyes staring at me. I started leaping for joy because this toy had been on my wishlist for a long time and I begged parents for it. It was really cute and cuddly. The whole next day I was really busy choosing the best name for my fluffy furry friend. I'm afraid it wasn't original but I called my teddy Winnie, after my favourite cartoon character Winnie-the-Pooh. It became my best buddy for many years.

Not that I didn't like spending time with my peers, but unlike my friends, Winnie was always by my side, sharing all the moments of my life. I dragged it around everywhere. Once I found out that one eye was missing. I tried to find it, but didn't succeed. I was really upset because I thought it wouldn't have happened if I had looked after Winnie more carefully. So my mom had to get a replacement on the same evening.

Winnie and I spent a lot of time together. I fed it and talked to it. In the evenings I read stories to my teddy bear. When it got sick, I treated it with pretend tea and honey. It is without doubt I took it to bed and it even had its own pillow. Probably it was Winnie that chased away bad dreams. I also taught my bear to read and write, and it was a really assiduous student. Besides, my Winnie must have been the most fashionable bear of all. In the summer it had on some shorts, a tee shirt, sandals, sunglasses, and a hat. When it was cold and wintry out, I would put on it a jacket, sweater, boots, shoes, and a cute snowy hat! Winnie is much more than a toy, it is a symbol of my childhood, so it is still with me, hibernating in one of my closets.