8-Year-Old Abby Finds Teddy Bear in Dumpster, Sees Name on It & Recalls Girl from Morning News — Story of the Day

A young girl finds a teddy bear near a dumpster and brings it home, only to realize later that the name on it refers to a little girl she saw on the morning news. When her parents get in touch with the cops regarding the find, they learn something shocking.

Abby was a young girl of 8 and a single child to her parents, Morgan and Julia. She craved company at home and wanted to be a big sister to a little brother, but Julia couldn't have any children after conceiving Abby, which put Abby's dreams of becoming a sister on hold.

Another thing about Abby was that she was always very different and mature compared to the other kids her age. While a typical 8-year-old would love watching cartoons, Abby loved watching the news. She wanted to become a journalist one day, so every morning before going to school and in the evenings after dinner, she would sit with her parents and watch the news intently.

Little Abby was fascinated by the world of news and media. | Source: Pexels

One evening, Abby was walking home from the neighborhood park with her friends when she spotted a giant teddy bear by the dumpster. Abby waved goodbye to her friends and stopped in front of the teddy bear.

"Wow! You're huge and fluffy! Why would someone throw you out, Mr. Fluffy?" she asked the teddy bear as she hugged it out of the trash bin. She dusted it off as much as her little hands could and took it home.

Julia winced when her daughter arrived home, her clean clothes soiled and muddy and a dirty teddy in her arms. "Abby, honey!" she cried. "From where did you get such a filthy bear? Look at how you ruined your clothes!"

Abby frowned, her hands on her hips. "He looked sad and lonely, mommy! Can you believe someone just left him near the trash bins? That's so mean ... I don't want Mr. Fluffy to be sad again! Can we please keep him?"

"Oh honey," Julia sighed and shook her head. "Well ... okay, fine, but Mr. Fluffy needs a good wash before we can keep him, and you too need a bath, naughty girl! To the bathroom, now! And leave Mr. Fluffy for the laundry."

Mr. Fluffy was saved from the dumpster by little Abby. | Source: Pexels

"Okay!" Abby chirped and ran to the laundry basket. She placed Mr. Fluffy atop the clothes pile and hugged him. "Mommy will wash you, then I'll show you around my room!" she promised him. "I'll go and take a quick shower! Bye!"

Since the laundry basket was almost full, Mr. Fluffy tumbled to the floor, and that's when Abby noticed something. Mr. Fluffy had a note pinned under the ribbon around his neck. "To my sweetheart, Lacey Edwards," it said.

Abby re-read the note and recalled the girl from the morning news feed. She was sure they were discussing Lacey Edwards that morning. Lacey had fled from her aunt's after her parents died and cops were on the lookout for her.

Abby ran to Julia and showed her the note. "Mommy! I remember her! She was on the news this morning!" she said.

Julia verified the name online and was shocked. There was indeed a Lacey Edwards the cops were looking for.

Julia told Morgan everything that night, and the following morning, they called the detectives and informed them about the teddy bear Abby had found. The cops confirmed Mr. Fluffy was Lacey's as he was in several of the photos in her case file.

Mr. Fluffy belonged to a little girl named Lacey. | Source: Unsplash

As this word reached the media, several TV stations reported the breaking news that a teddy bear belonging to the missing girl had been discovered in a dumpster. Still, there was no substantial movement in the case for days until a little girl approached a detective at a police station and pleaded with him with weeping eyes to return her teddy.

"Could you please get back my teddy? That was mommy's last gift to me. Please!" she begged.

The cops at the station exchanged glances as they looked at the girl. She was none other than 5-year-old Lacey Edwards. They took her into custody and asked why she ran away from her aunt's house. Lacey then shared her tragic story, and the cops were shocked!

She said her aunt, Molly, hated her and mistreated her. She threw away the teddy because Lacey adored it. But that wasn't the only thing. She wouldn't let Lacey play with her daughter, she had cut off her long, gorgeous hair, and she forced her to scrub the bathroom floors and hardly fed her.

The cops assured Lacey that she was safe. | Source: Pexels

"I didn't want to stay with her. She is bad! Please don't send me there!" Lacey begged the cops who consoled her and assured her she'd be fine. But they intended to give Molly a visit.

Later that day, when a representative from Child Services showed up at Molly's doorstep, she pretended to be the angel she clearly wasn't. "Oh, there must be some sort of misunderstanding! Lacey is like my own daughter to me! Oh, you don't know how much I adore her!"

But it didn't take long for Molly's fake mask to fall off, as her daughter testified against her. "Please stop pretending, mommy! You hurt Lacey! You didn't love her..." She turned to the cops and said, "Mommy would never let me play with Lacey, and Lacey used to be so sad here. It's a good thing she got away!"

When the accusations against her were proven, Molly was asked to pay a fine and face charges for assaulting her niece. Meanwhile, Morgan and Julia had approached the local court regarding Lacey's adoption after Molly gave her up.

"I don't care if I have a sister or a brother, mommy!" Abby had told her parents, pleading with them to adopt Lacey. "I would make a good big sister. We can also play with Mr. Fluffy while she stays with us..."

Julia and Morgan welcomed Lacey home. | Source: Pexels

After much thought, Morgan and Julia agreed to adopt Lacey, and through them, Lacey didn't only get her teddy back but also a loving family.

One night, after Julia tucked the girls into their beds, Lacey asked Abby if she was awake. "I want to tell you something, Abby," she whispered.

Abby opened her eyes immediately. "Are you all right?" she responded in a light whisper.

Lacey nodded, "I just want to say that I like the name Mr. Fluffy a lot. I hadn't given him a name before. Thank you for saving me, Abby, and Mr. Fluffy too…."

In response, Lacey nodded and returned her smile.

What can we learn from this story?

• Sometimes our dreams are fulfilled in unexpected ways. Abby had wished for a younger brother, but fate had it that she was blessed with a little sister instead. While Abby's wish was granted in a different way than she had hoped, she was delighted to be a big sister finally.
• Kindness still exists in the world; you never walk alone. Morgan and Julia were kind people who rescued Lacey from her horrible situation and welcomed her into their loving family.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a mom who follows her little son into their basement one night and sees him giving his teddy bear to an unknown man.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.