One last attempt before I write this off forever
Siiiiiiiiiigh I really wish I could find this, but I just can't. I've posted about it before a while ago, and this is the last time I'm gonna try. Praying a newer member may have heard of it!
It's a children's book, about some kind of shop in a forest. The shop is built into a big tree, and a girl and her (grandfather?) work there and sell all sorts of pretty little knick-knacks to the forest animals. Then a boy and his (grandfather?) move to the area and set up their own shop, but they're nasty and just want to exploit the animals. I think at some point they set up some kind of doctor's practice and make the animals think they're sick so they have to buy their useless medicine.
The girl and her grandfather are the only ones who seem to realise that these other two are shysters, because the animals are far too trusting.
One character I can remember is a bear that escaped from a circus by chewing his paw until he could break free from his restraint. For some reason I vividly remember the mental picture I made of that part of the book, but I can't remember the bear's name. There was a sign or something outside his cage that said he was a bear from the russian steppes. When he broke free and went to live in this forest (and arrived half dead from exhaustion), he was very proud of the fact he was from Russia and pretended to be able to speak russian (by adding 'ski' to the end of words I think?) to impress everybody else. He thought the russian steppes were some kind of 'grand staircase'. I think he changed his name to Boris, or something suitably russian.
At some point the boy and his grandfather kidnap the bear and blackmail him into working for them, by threatening to return him to the circus because the boy recognises him from there. I also vividly remember the boy playing Patience and cheating at some point in the book, for some reason.
The book may have been british, I'm just not sure. The cover was of a VERY large tree, maybe with the girl sitting on a tree-swing and the grandfather in a hammock. I think my brain is just making stuff up now, actually. Meh!
If anyone can help me find this, I'll love you forever. And this is my last post about it, honest!
It's a children's book, about some kind of shop in a forest. The shop is built into a big tree, and a girl and her (grandfather?) work there and sell all sorts of pretty little knick-knacks to the forest animals. Then a boy and his (grandfather?) move to the area and set up their own shop, but they're nasty and just want to exploit the animals. I think at some point they set up some kind of doctor's practice and make the animals think they're sick so they have to buy their useless medicine.
The girl and her grandfather are the only ones who seem to realise that these other two are shysters, because the animals are far too trusting.
One character I can remember is a bear that escaped from a circus by chewing his paw until he could break free from his restraint. For some reason I vividly remember the mental picture I made of that part of the book, but I can't remember the bear's name. There was a sign or something outside his cage that said he was a bear from the russian steppes. When he broke free and went to live in this forest (and arrived half dead from exhaustion), he was very proud of the fact he was from Russia and pretended to be able to speak russian (by adding 'ski' to the end of words I think?) to impress everybody else. He thought the russian steppes were some kind of 'grand staircase'. I think he changed his name to Boris, or something suitably russian.
At some point the boy and his grandfather kidnap the bear and blackmail him into working for them, by threatening to return him to the circus because the boy recognises him from there. I also vividly remember the boy playing Patience and cheating at some point in the book, for some reason.
The book may have been british, I'm just not sure. The cover was of a VERY large tree, maybe with the girl sitting on a tree-swing and the grandfather in a hammock. I think my brain is just making stuff up now, actually. Meh!
If anyone can help me find this, I'll love you forever. And this is my last post about it, honest!