S e c r e t s

Ebsy came into our lives a few months before our son Sam was born. I bought him from a store in Suffolk where I was signing my work. We weren’t to know it at the time but this zebra and Sam were going to become inseparable. Ebsy goes everywhere with Sam and sleep is impossible unless Ebsy is at hand. It is this that makes Ebsy indispensable. I’m sure every parent knows that feeling of dread when they hear those words “I’ve lost Ebsy” especially when in a busy shopping centre. Miraculously Ebsy has always turned up after much retracing of steps. He’s usually been plonked down on a shelf or a bench somewhere. Once he was found sat next to Buzz Lightyear in a Disney store and another time half hidden among some flowers at a garden centre. The relief when finding him is indescribable. Ebsy’s now faded and battered and gets frequent visits from a needle and thread but is still loved just as much by Sam. In fact he is one of the family. Once, we contemplated finding a “spare Ebsy” just in case that fearful day came when he was lost for good but even ebay could not find an early “99” Jelly Cat Zebra. I don’t think Sam would accept an impostor anyway. I hope you will forgive me for carving a model that means so much to me but I’m sure there must be millions of cherished friends like Ebsy out there.