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When my oldest child was a toddler, he would ask for his favorite soda pop by asking if he could have some "root beard." I would tease him that someday I was going to write a series of stories about a pirate that liked to drink root beer. When I started to write the story, Root Beard turned out to be a toy bear that loved to play dress up and loved root beer. I hope you enjoy the first story of the toys in Angie's playroom which my boys helped me to write.

Root Beard the Pirate
© 2009 Joanney Uthe, Gregory & Simon Miller

Dolly and Baby Doll, fresh out of tea, poured root beer at their tea party just as Root Beer Bear and Meow the Cat donned their pirate gear and set sail with the toybox as their ship. Root Beard the Pirate loved root beer more than any treasure buried on any forgotten island. He could smell it a mile away and didn’t care whose it was or how he got it. Root beer was his favorite and he was going to have some.

Sailing around behind the dolls, the two pirates planned their attack.

“Would you like some pie, Baby Doll?” asked Dolly as she rose to get some.

"Yes, I will help you get it.”

“With the dolls in the kitchen, this will be even easier than we thought,” said Root Beard to his matey. “You grab the cans while I finish off the cups.”

“Meow,” answered the cat.

“Where is our root beer?” asked Baby Doll when they came back with the pie. “It was here a minute ago.”

“Maybe Root Beer Bear stole it,” answered an angry Dolly.

“BINGO!” they heard a voice say. It was Root Beer Bear as he sailed away on his toychest ship.

“You…You pirates, you!” cried the dolls.

“That’s Root Beard to you!” responded Root Beer Bear. “We have come to plunder your root beer.”

“Meow,” agreed his matey.

***

“Land-ho” shouted Root Beard as they approached an inland. “We land here and seek our treasure.”

“Look, newcomers!” Dolly and Baby Doll hurried towards the pirate ship.

“Does this island have any root beer on it?” demanded Root Beard.

“Oh, yes!” replied Baby Doll, pointing east. “There is a whole lake of it.”

With that, Root Beard and his matey set off to the east. They got to the lake, really a punch bowl set on the floor of the playroom, and took a drink. “Yuk!” exclaimed Root Beard. “This is not fresh root beer. It is all sandy!”

“Meow!” agreed his matey.

“That’s because we dumped sand in the root beer,” said Dolly’s familiar voice behind them.

“Why’d you do that?” asked Mother Dog, returning from walking her puppies.

“Because we were having a tea party with root beer instead of tea and these pirates stole our root beer.” Baby Doll’s tears made it hard for her to finish.

“We would have shared with them if they had asked, but since they stole it, we got angry and ruined Root Beer Bear and Meow’s root beer.” Dolly finished.

“I see. Is this all the root beer that is left in the playroom?” Mother Dog often acted like a mother to all the toys.

“No, there is one can left. That one is yours.” Dolly handed her the last can of root beer, holding it as far away from Root Beer Bear and Meow as possible.

“Well, then, let’s all enjoy this can of root beer and be friends again.” Mother Dog lead her puppies, the dolls and the pirates to the playroom table where Dolly and Baby Doll still had their tea party set up. “And perhaps we can learn a little something about sharing.”