Unexpected Turns: The Painted Bear

her eyes with her tiny hands.

"How would you break the glass?" she asked, "Wouldn't that make my mummy angry?"

"It might," said Panda, "But you can cover the hole with a piece of paper. Do a great big drawing and stick it over the hole. Your mother will never find out!"

"OK," said Kasia, "You can go outside for a while."

Panda smiled and walked round the room happily.

"This will be fun!" he laughed.

Later, as the evening light turned the window into a rectangle of darkness, Kasia helped Panda break the window. She did it very carefully, so as not to make too much noise. She hit it with the leg of her little stool, until the cracks in the glass intersected and split. A large dagger of glass dropped away and fell, followed by several others, until a large hole was there. Panda quickly slipped through and swung over onto the tree. He sat in the darkness and smiled, then he waved, and climbed down through the leaves. Kasia stood at the window and watched until he was gone, then she picked up the picture she had drawn and stuck it over the hole.

When night had fallen, her mother returned.

"Has you friend gone?" she demanded.

"Yes," said Kasia, "He's gone."

"You're not lying to me?"

"No mummy."

"What's that picture doing there?"

"Its mine," said Kasia, suddenly very afraid that her deception might be found out. Her mother assessed the picture, decided it was rubbish, and left the room. A few minutes later she was back, with a bowl of spaghetti and a bread bun.

"Eat that and get into bed," she ordered, "You've been a bad girl today."

Kasia ate in silence. Her hands trembled with fright. What if her mother discovered the broken window? What if Panda came back when her mother was listening? Would he look before he came through the hole in the glass? Would he keep his voice down when he spoke?

Kasia finished her meal and put the bowl over by the door. She kicked off her socks, used the potty, and climbed into bed. She pulled the sheets up over her,