Please meet Ernst, an antique plush German Teddy bear

Please meet Ernst, an antique plush German Teddy bear.  I think he might be manufactured by Fechter, but that's a pure guess.   He's from the 1950s.   He is made of a reddish plush, but his muzzle and feet are mohair.   He has an open mouth, and on his lip there's a slight hole where you can see the straw poking through.  His left ear needs to be restitched properly, and his press squeaker isn't working.   Unusually, he has a plastic tag that says, "Hardarbeit, 100 Jahre WWD," which is translated as Handmade, 100 Years.  He's a bear with some cosmetic issues, but he has a heart of gold.

Ernst had a rough beginning.   His neighborhood in Post War Germany was very poor.   Nobody was interested in a new Teddy bear.   Food and clothing were much more important.   He sat on display in a store window for well over two years before anyone even inquired about him.   By this time, his red fur was slightly faded from all the sunshine, but he thrilled to have any attention.    He had been waving to passersby for so long, his little arms were sore.   Now was his chance for a forever home, and he wanted to make a good impression.  When he was plucked out of the display by his ear, he winced.   Teddy bears should always be held by the paw and then gently but firmly hugged.  Before he knew it, he was wrapped in tissue paper and placed into a paper bag.

On the way to his new home, Ernst remembers hearing the squeaks and sounds of a rusty bicycle going down a road that was in desperate need of paving.   He peeked out of the bag and saw he was in a wicker basket attached to the handlebars, along with some vegetables, fresh flowers  and a newspaper.   The cyclist  was a young woman, dressed shabbily in oversized clothing.   She turned up a long driveway, bumping along until they reached the door of a large brick building.   Ernst could just make out the word "Krankenhaus," as the woman climbed off her bike and stowed the basket and its contents under her arm.   A hospital?  What was he doing there?  Just then, she smiled down at him.  He smiled back.

Ernst watched as his new friend delivered the vegetables to the cook, put the blooms in a glass vase on the nurse's desk, handed the newspaper to a man with a bandage around his head in the men's ward, and head down a long hallway.   "I have someone I'd like you to meet," she told him.   "She could do with a little cheering up."

Ernst was lifted into the arms of a very pale young girl.  When she saw him, she giggled with delight, pressing him to her chest and kissing his nose.   He, of course, hugged her back.  It was the least he could do.   He did a little tumble on the blanket and waved his arms high in the air at her, making her laugh.  In the weeks to come, as he stayed at her bedside and entertained her, her health improved, and when it was time for her discharge, she shook his little paw and thanked Ernst for being her faithful friend.  The doctors were all of the opinion he was instrumental in her recovery, and told him so.  Ernst's heart filled with joy.

During the next several months, other Teddy bears were brought to the children's ward by Dr. Madeline again and again and handed to a sick child, with the hope that the bear would bring a smile to the patient's face and send them on the long journey to health.   Ernst and his Teddy bear friends over many years continued to give hugs to young and old patients alike, cheering them up and making them laugh, and although today he looks a little worn, he is glad he made so many people happy because as every Teddy bear knows, a merry heart does good like medicine.