Toy Story 3 (7 page)

A
ndy stopped the car in front of a pretty little house and looked at the address on the gate. Then he checked the address on the sticky note. “1225 Sycamore.”

Andy paused a moment. Then he grabbed the box on the seat next to him and started up the front walk.

Bonnie was in the front yard, playing. Her mom and dad were working in the garden nearby. “No!” Bonnie cried. “Don’t go in there! The bakery is haunted! Look out! The ghosts are throwing pies!
Splat! Splat! Splat!
”

Bonnie looked up in surprise as Andy walked toward her. “Mom?” she called.

Bonnie’s mom looked over. “Andy!”

“Hi!” He let himself in at the gate.

“Wow! Look at you!” Bonnie’s mom beamed. “I hear you’re off to college?” Bonnie hid behind her mom.

“Yeah. Right now, actually. Uh . . . I have some toys here.” Andy held out the box.

“Oh! You hear that, Bonnie?” asked her mother. Bonnie peeked around her mom, suddenly interested.

Andy crouched down so that he was eye to eye with the little girl. “So you’re Bonnie? I’m Andy,” he said. “Someone told me you’re really good with toys. These are mine, but I’m going away now, so I need someone really special to play with them.”

He sat down and pulled Jessie and Bullseye out of the box. “This is Jessie, the roughest, toughest cowgirl in the whole West. She loves critters, but none more than her best pal, Bullseye.
Yee-haw
! Here.” He held Jessie and Bullseye out to the little girl.

Bonnie smiled. She took the toys as Andy pulled a dinosaur out of the box.

“This is Rex—the meanest, most terrifying dinosaur who ever lived.
Rawr!
” Andy thrust Rex at Bonnie. Rex had never looked fiercer! Bonnie backed up a moment, then grinned and took the dinosaur.

“The Potato Heads—Mister and Missus,” Andy said as he pulled them from the box. “You gotta keep them together ’cause they’re madly in love.” Bonnie nodded seriously as Andy went on. “Now, Slinky here is as loyal as any dog you could want. But Hamm? You gotta watch this guy. He’ll keep your money safe, but he’s also one of the most dastardly villains of all time . . . evil Dr. Porkchop!”

Next, Andy removed the Aliens. “These little dudes are from a strange, alien world—Pizza Planet! And this is Buzz Lightyear—the coolest toy ever. Look—he can fly.” Andy deployed Buzz’s wings. “And shoot lasers. He’s sworn to protect the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg!” Andy handed Buzz over. Bonnie pressed the red button on Buzz’s chest.

“Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!” Buzz’s voice box said.

“Now, you gotta promise to take good care of these guys,” Andy said. “They mean a lot to me.”

Bonnie smiled at him. She glanced into the box, and her eyes went wide. “My cowboy!”

Andy looked down. Woody was lying in the box. “What’s he doing in there?” he said as he picked Woody up.

“There’s a snake in my boot!” Bonnie cried.

Andy blinked at her. Then he pulled Woody’s string. “There’s a snake in my boot!” Woody’s voice box said.

Bonnie giggled, reaching for Woody. Andy hesitated. Finally, he sighed and held out the cowboy.

“Now, Woody, he’s been my pal for as long as I can remember,” Andy told Bonnie. His voice was gentle and serious. “He’s brave, like a cowboy should be. And kind, and smart. But the thing that makes Woody special? He’ll never give up on you. He’ll be there for you, no matter what. You think you can take care of him for me?”

Bonnie nodded solemnly.

“Okay, then.” Andy handed Woody to Bonnie. She gave Woody a huge hug.

Andy smiled at her, then grabbed Hamm. “Oh, no! Dr. Porkchop’s attacking the haunted bakery!” He made laser-gun sounds.
“Pchoo! Pchoo!”

“Oh, no!” Bonnie chimed in. “The ghosts are getting away! Woody to the rescue!”

Woody couldn’t remember ever having a better playtime. Maybe it felt special because all his friends were there. Or maybe it was special because all Bonnie’s toys were there, too. But Woody knew that the most special part was that it was the last time he’d ever get to play with Andy.

Finally, Andy had to say goodbye. He climbed into his car and took one last look at all his toys. They were safely on Bonnie’s porch. Woody was in her arms.

“Bye, guys,” Andy said softly, to himself. Then he pulled away.

Bonnie turned to her mother. “Look, Mommy! New toys!” She put Woody down and ran over to give her mother a hug.

“Come on,” her mother said. “Let’s get some lunch.” She scooped her daughter into her arms and swung her around. Bonnie laughed as they went into the house.

The toys sat up. They watched as Andy drove away.

“So long, partner,” Woody said sadly.

Buzz put his arm around Woody. The other toys gathered close as Andy rolled out of sight. They had one another. And now they had Bonnie and some new toy friends.

But they would always love Andy . . . because he had loved them first.