Please meet Nosy, Steiff's Gentle Rhinoceros and Teddy Bear friend!

Please meet Nosy, Steiff's gentle Rhinoceros and Teddy bear friend!   He was made in the 1960s.  He's missing his chest tag, but he has his button and yellow ear flag.   He is in excellent condition.  He's only 3 inches tall, so he isn't much of a threat, and he only weighs 2 ounces.  He is small enough to fit into any bear hug.

I bought Nosy with several  other small Steiff toys in 2010.   He was quite a bargain, and I liked his pleasant smiling face and cute little braided tail.  I loved the yellowish green shading around his eyes and on his feet, which I thought gave him character.  

Nosy grew up in West Germany on the outskirts of Stuttgart.    He lived with many other Steiff toys, enough to form a little wild animal park.   He was the very last toy to join the group.   The late 1960s was a turbulent time in the world, and even his little colony of animals was affected.   The elephants were stampeding a little too often and were making the others nervous.   The lions were roaring far too loudly, and the tigers were crouching down whenever someone passed too close!  The monkeys were constantly chattering in the night, and the zebras' hooves made such a thundering sound that everyone was sleep deprived.   There was friction between the different groups, and before you knew it, misunderstandings were a regular occurrence.   Something had to be done. 

Nosy considered the problem for a time and finally decided to gather everyone together.   He posted hand-painted signs inviting all the residents to come to the tent on the last Friday of October.   The animals were so intrigued by this little newcomer with the big horn, they waited patiently at the canvas doors.   Even the monkeys were on their best behavior.   Nosy let them in one at a time, and they slowly spread out, filling the tent to capacity.   There on the wooden stage Nosy had set up a huge screen.   He shuffled to the back of the crowd and turned on a projector.   He showed nature films all night long, about elephants, lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, zebras, leopards, cheetahs, hippos, meerkats, crocodiles, giraffes, gazelles, kudu, okapi and even gnus. 

After that night, the animals understood one another much better.   Sure, there were mild disagreements once in a while, but come every Friday night, they were reminded just who they were and who everyone else was, too.   Today, Nosy's favorite thing to do is watch nature films on demand, as just a little reminder of who he is and who everyone else is, too

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