Once upon a time, there was a stuffed animal that lived on a shelf in a toy store. This stuffed animal was not a very pretty stuffed animal, and no one really knew what he was supposed to be. His three eyes were colored differently, and his legs and arms were squiggly and limp. One day, he was taken to a house and was wrapped in decorative paper. Then, everything went black. For weeks, the stuffed animal was trapped in this dark box. After a long time, he saw the light again when a girl ripped open the paper and took him out of his box. She had a huge smile on her face and a festive hat on her head. 

 

"I love him!" The girl shouted as she hugged the stuffed animal, "I will call him Gigsbee!"

 

After that day, Gigsbee spent all of his time with the girl. He snuggled with her when she was sad and played with her when she wanted to.

 

Many years later, the girl celebrated her 11th birthday. Gigsbee had noticed that the girl rarely ever played with him. He was at the bottom of the toy basket, where it was dark and lonely. It reminded him of when he was stuck in that box many years ago. He was sad and wished the girl would play with him again. Suddenly, Gigsbee was pulled out from the basket by unfamiliar hands and carried to the girl.

 

"This should work," She said, barely even looking at Gigsbee.

 

Work for what? Gigsbee thought as he was taken downstairs and outside. Without warning, music started playing, and Gigsbee was thrown from the girl to another person and then another person until the music stopped. The person who held him as the music stopped gave him back to the girl and sat down. The music started up again, and the game resumed. The game went on and on until, without noticing, Gigsbee fell asleep.

 

When he woke up, Gigsbee was very confused and startled. He looked around and realized that he was in a tree. It wasn't just any tree but the tallest tree in the yard. Plus, the only way Gigsbee could get down was by jumping to the ground, which was at least 20 feet away, or by jumping to the window, which was 4 feet away. Gigsbee didn't want to do either of these, for the risk of falling was too high. So, he had no choice but to sit there and accept his sad fate. The girl doesn't even care anymore, Gigsbee thought, Otherwise, I would have been in her room, snuggling up tight in her cozy bed. Just then, Gigsbee got an idea. He looked to the window and saw that it was the girl's window, so he started waving his arms, trying to get her attention. No matter how hard he tried, the girl's attention was kept on her friends. I'll have to wait until the party is over, Gigsbee thought, then she'll be alone and will have to notice me. So, Gigsbee patiently waited until the party was over.

 

After 2 hours, 13 minutes, and 56 seconds, the last of the girl's friends left. Gigsbee, having been woken up by a car turning on, looked down from the tree to see the girl waving goodbye to her friend. Suddenly, the girl ran inside. Gigsbee saw her walk into her room and flop on her bed a few seconds later. Then, Gigsbee started wiggling his arms in the air and jumping up and down. The girl paid no attention to this commotion outside. She was busy putting her pajamas on and then left the room to brush her teeth. Gigsbee was getting very upset as he thought, The girl doesn't even care about me anymore! I'll be stuck in this tree for as long as I live, knowing that no one in the entire world loves me! He curled up into a ball and continued to be sad, wanting nothing more in the world than a warm hug from the girl. When the girl returned to the room, she went to her closet and frantically searched her stuffed animal basket to find Gigsbee. When she reached the bottom of the basket and couldn't find him, she ran to her bed and started crying.

 

Gigsbee heard her sobs and wondered aloud, "What is she crying for?"

 

Somehow, the girl heard this question and suddenly got up. She walked to the window and found what she was looking for. The girl opened the window, reached out, and grabbed Gigsbee. 

 

"For you," she said, answering his question. Then, she hugged him tight, and he hugged her back. 

 

"Why?" Gigsbee asked.

 

"Because you are not forgotten,"