The Berenstain Bears in the Wax Museum Read online

  Igor bowed so low that his nose almost touched the floor, which wasn’t hard to do since he was already bent over so far.

  “I have come to zis lovely little town,” continued Madame Bearsaud, “to bring you zee fame and fortune.” She paused until the cheering and clapping died down. “As you must realize, my new vax museum and entertainment center vill be a great boon to zee business district of zis town.” Now she looked straight at Fred Furry in the first row. “Even zee lovely old Bearjou Theater vill benefit, since parents from all over zee area vill attend its matinees after dropping zeir cubs off at my horror movie palace. Zank you all very much.”

  As a great wave of applause swept over Madame Bearsaud and Igor, Fred Furry jumped up and cried, “My gosh, she’s right!” He ripped off his ABATE button and threw it on the floor, then hurried over to Madame Bearsaud. “Please, Madame, take my seat,” he said. “Here, let me help you.” He led Madame Bearsaud to his front-row seat as Mayor Honeypot raised his hands to quiet the audience.

  “Thank you, Badame Mearsaud—er, Madame Bearsaud,” said the mayor. “Those are inspiring words indeed. But let’s not forget that Lady Grizzly still has the deciding vote. Well, Lady Grizzly, how do you vote?”

  Once again Lady Grizzly opened her mouth to speak. But again she was interrupted by Madame Bearsaud, who suddenly rose and said, “Is that you, Meg?”

  Lady Grizzly froze. She stared straight at Madame Bearsaud. “Oh, my goodness!” she cried. “I didn’t recognize you in all that makeup and jewelry!”

  Lady Grizzly hurried down from the stage. Madame Bearsaud met her at the side of the auditorium. They fell into each other’s arms like long-lost friends, which is exactly what they were. The audience was fascinated. Some tried to crowd close to hear what was going on. But fierce, threatening Igor made them keep their distance.

  The old friends spoke in hushed voices so as not to be overheard. “My goodness gracious!” said Lady Grizzly. “Minnie McGrundy! I haven’t seen you since we were kicking up our heels together in the chorus line of the Folies Beargère! When did you become the great Madame Bearsaud?”

  “Oh, years ago,” said Madame Bearsaud. “And it’s been marvelous!” She held Lady Grizzly at arm’s length. “Meg Moxie! Just look at you! It took me awhile to recognize you in such beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry. So you’re the one who married Squire Grizzly. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy, my dear?”

  “Charity work, mostly,” said Lady Grizzly. “I’m chairbear of FOTH—Friends of the Hospital. Every year we raise money for Bear Country Memorial Hospital here in Beartown.”

  “That’s wonderful!” said Madame Bearsaud. Then, with the light of an idea in her eyes, she said, “Igor, clear the way to that microphone. I have an announcement to make.

  “My dear friends,” she said into the microphone. “I hereby pledge all the proceeds from the grand opening of Madame Bearsaud’s Wax Museum and Entertainment Center to Friends of the Hospital, Lady Grizzly’s marvelous charity!”

  “And in honor of this great event,” said Lady Grizzly, not to be outdone, “I shall wear my priceless diamond necklace for the first time in public. That should sell a few extra tickets!”

  The audience, which had been listening in stunned silence, broke into wild applause.

  Lady Grizzly looked up at Mayor Honeypot on the stage. “Mr. Mayor,” she said, “I wish to change my vote. I now cast my vote in favor of Madame Bearsaud!”

  That, of course, made the vote two to one in favor of Madame Bearsaud. The town hall shook from all the cheering and applause. And when the noise finally died down, Farmer Ben changed his vote again to make it unanimous.

  Chapter 10

  Lingering Suspicions

  As Brother and Fred walked home from the town hall, Brother seemed lost in thought. But Fred didn’t notice. He was too busy talking.

  “What just happened is great, of course,” he was saying. “But it’s kind of sad, too. Because it means our Great Adventure is pretty much over. Our Great Adventure was watching that building go up and dreaming about what it would be like inside. And sneaking in and seeing all that stuff was the climax. I tell ya, we can’t top that. It’s like reading an adventure story and realizing you’ve already read the most exciting chapter. Going to the grand opening will be cool, but it won’t be as good as sneaking in was—or even as good as all the anticipation … Hey, are you listening?”

  “Huh?” said Brother.

  “I’ve been telling you our Great Adventure is over,” said Fred. “We’ll go to the grand opening and see the horror movies and eat at the restaurant. It’ll all be fun, but it’ll get normal real quick. You know—predictable.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” said Brother.

  “What do you mean?” asked Fred.

  “I recognized Igor—or whatever his real name is,” said Brother.

  “You did?”

  “He was the supervisor of that work crew we watched from inside the barrel,” said Brother. “Only he wasn’t hunched over and limping then. He stood up straight and walked just like you and me. And I seem to remember a booming voice shouting orders—anyway, he sure wasn’t mute.”

  “So what?” said Fred. “He’s probably an actor playing a role. The whole thing’s kind of show biz.”

  “I know,” said Brother. “But there’s something else about Igor that bothers me. He looks like someone I’ve seen before. Someone from the Beartown area. I just can’t put my finger on who it is. Anyway, he’s not who he seems to be. And then there are those workbears. Remember, they looked familiar? I think I’m having one of those premonitions you talked about … Anyway, something’s wrong.”

  Fred liked the idea of there being a mystery about Igor and the workbears. But he didn’t put much stock in it. He figured Brother was just trying to keep the excitement going.

  As Fred parted company with Brother at the Bears’ tree house and headed for his own home, he had no idea that the most exciting chapter of their Great Adventure had not been written yet. Or that it was about to unfold, just a few nights later, at the grand opening of Madame Bearsaud’s Wax Museum and Entertainment Center.

  Chapter 11

  Grand Opening!

  Over the next few days, Brother’s suspicions increased. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure he knew that face—Igor’s face. The Beartown Gazette claimed Igor really did hail from Grizzylvania, the legendary home of Count Bearcula. But Brother knew better. He just couldn’t figure out exactly where and when he’d seen Igor before.

  At last it was the evening of the grand opening. The reception was at seven o’clock in Chez Bearsaud, to be followed at eight by the opening of the wax museum. At nine there would be a showing of Bearzilla in the Screaming Room. Then, at midnight, there would be a special showing of the cult rockhorror classic The Grizzly Horror Picture Show.

  By seven-fifteen, Chez Bearsaud was packed. Waiters in costumes served drinks and appetizers. Brother and Fred took glasses of soda from a tray held by the Frankenbear Monster. Then they were offered crackers by Queen Elizabear.

  “What’s that black stuff on the crackers?” Brother asked.

  “Caviar,” replied Queen Elizabear.

  “What’s caviar?” said Brother.

  “It’s fish eggs,” said Fred.

  “Uh, no thanks,” said Brother. “I’ll pass on the fish eggs. Got any of those little hot dogs?”

  “Gullibear has those,” said Queen Elizabear, “but he’s tied up at the moment. Haha!”

  “Comedian,” muttered Brother as Queen Elizabear moved off through the crowd.

  “We should have taken some of those crackers,” said Fred. “This is our dinner, you know.”

  “I got news for you,” said Brother. “Those fish eggs are spoiled. They’ve already turned black!”

  Fred was about to tell Brother that fish eggs are supposed to be black when Madame Bearsaud’s voice was heard above the din. “Ladies and gentlemen,”
she said into the mike she was holding, “velcome to zee grand opening of Madame Bearsaud’s Vax Museum and Entertainment Center. At eight I shall open zee museum, vhere you can see Queen Elizabear’s crown jewels, vhich I just took from zee safe and placed on Her Royal Highness’s head. But first I vant you to see somezing just as magnificent: Lady Grizzly’s priceless diamond necklace, never before vorn in public. And here is my great and good friend now!”

  As Madame Bearsaud gestured to the entrance, all eyes turned to witness the arrival of Lady Grizzly. She emerged on Squire Grizzly’s arm, with a glowing smile on her face. But around her neck was something that glowed even more brightly. The priceless necklace gleamed and twinkled as it reflected the overhead lights.

  The buzzing crowd had gone silent the instant the necklace had come into view. Now there was a chorus of oohs and aahs, followed by enthusiastic applause.

  “Wow,” said Fred to Brother. “Look at the size of those diamonds! I’ll bet they’re worth a gazillion!”

  “More,” said Brother, staring. “Two gazillion, at least!”

  Lady and Squire Grizzly made their way through the admiring crowd. Chief Bruno and Officer Marguerite followed them as closely as they could. Marguerite even had a police dog on a leash.

  “Hey,” said Fred, “why the police dog?”

  “Maybe the chief’s worried about someone stealing the necklace,” suggested Brother.

  “While she’s wearing it?” said Fred. “And in front of everybody? Who’d be dumb enough to try that?”

  All of a sudden, the lights went out. The reception was plunged into total darkness. There were a few gasps of surprise, some shuffling of feet, then a crash. The lights came back on.

  “Remain calm,” said Madame Bearsaud, standing by the light switch. “Zere is nuzzing wrong wis zee lights. Someone must have bumped zee switch by accident.”

  “What was that crash?” said Squire Grizzly.

  “Something brushed against me, dear,” said Lady Grizzly, “and made me drop my plate. Oh, my goodness. There’s caviar all over my feet!”

  The last words were barely out of Lady Grizzly’s mouth when the police dog lunged forward and began licking her feet. “Ha-ha-ha!” cried Lady Grizzly. “Stop that, you brute! It tickles!”

  The dog lapped up all the caviar in an instant. But then the dog did something very strange. It jumped up, put its paws on Lady Grizzly, and began to sniff at her necklace.

  “Down, Spike!” said Officer Marguerite. “That’s not caviar!”

  “No, it isn’t,” said Lady Grizzly, lifting the necklace to her nose. “But—how odd—it actually smells a little like caviar … Would you have a look at this, dear?”

  Squire Grizzly, who knew a thing or two about the jewelry business, sniffed at the necklace and frowned. “This isn’t your necklace!” he said. “It’s paste—paste with a fish glue base! It’s a cheap imitation!”

  “Cheap imitation?” wailed Lady Grizzly. “That means my precious necklace has been stolen!” And with that she fainted, keeling over and falling flat on her back.

  Squire Grizzly reached down and patted his wife’s face as Chief Bruno and Officer Marguerite rushed to his side. “Get back, folks!” barked the chief. “Give her some room!”

  “She said something brushed against her!” Fred said to Brother. “Someone must have switched the necklaces while the lights were out!”

  “And I think I know who it was,” said Brother, looking all around. “Just before the lights went out, I saw Igor hanging around the light switch. I’ll bet he turned out the lights and switched the necklaces. And now he’s gone …”

  “When the lights came back on,” said Fred, pointing, “I noticed that door closing, as if someone had just gone through it. Let’s check it out!”

  Chapter 12

  In the Wax Museum

  When the cubs had slipped through the door, they found themselves in another large room. It was dimly lit, except for spotlights shining down on a collection of lifesize wax figures of famous bears.

  “It’s a side entrance to the wax museum,” whispered Brother. “Maybe Igor’s behind one of the statues. Let’s split up and check ’em out.”

  “Wait,” whimpered Fred. “What do I do if I find him?”

  “Grab ahold of his leg and scream your head off,” said Brother. “I’ll run and get Chief Bruno. And if I catch him, you do likewise.”

  Fred nodded, but he was trembling with fear. Brother gave him a little push, and off he went to look behind Blackbear the Pirate, Genghis Bear, and Count Bearcula. Meanwhile, Brother looked behind Queen Elizabear, Bearjamin Franklin, Gullibear, and the Frankenbear Monster.

  But no Igor.

  “Hey,” called Fred. “There are three new statues over here! Wax statues of the Bogg Brothers! And they’re perfect!”

  Brother hurried over and looked. Then he took Fred by the arm and pulled him away from the statues of the Bogg Brothers. “Don’t look now,” he said in a hushed voice, “but they’re too perfect.”

  “Huh?” said Fred, looking back at the statues.

  “I said, don’t look now!” said Brother. “Listen to me. Doesn’t it seem odd to you that Madame Bearsaud would put statues of Billy, Bobby, and Bert Bogg, three local-yokel criminals, in her world-famous museum?”

  “Now that you mention it, it does seem a little odd,” said Fred. Then his eyes widened in the semi-darkness. “You mean …”

  “That’s right,” said Brother. “Those aren’t statues. Those are the real live Bogg Brothers pretending to be statues …”

  The last words out of Brother’s mouth before the Bogg Brothers grabbed him and Fred and covered their mouths were, “Help, Chief!”

  As if on cue, Chief Bruno burst into the room. “Back off or I’ll shoot!” he cried. His pistol was pointing at Billy, the head Bogg.

  “Okay, Chief, you got us,” said Billy, putting up his hands. Bobby and Bert did likewise.

  “All right, you three!” barked the chief. “Empty your pockets!”

  Out of Bert Bogg’s pocket came Queen Elizabear’s pearl earrings and a ruby-encrusted bracelet. Out of Bobby Bogg’s pocket came Queen Elizabear’s beautiful pearl necklace. And out of Billy Bogg’s pocket came … nothing.

  “Turn around!” ordered the chief.

  Billy Bogg turned his back to Chief Bruno.

  “Well, well,” said the chief. “First time I ever noticed that your backside is shaped like a crown. Come on, out with it!”

  Billy pulled the crown from his pants and glared at Chief Bruno. Keeping his pistol trained on Billy, the chief turned to the cubs and said, “While I don’t like to see cubs messing around with dangerous criminals, I’ll say this: as a policebear and as a citizen, it does my heart good to know we’ve caught the three Bogg Brothers red-handed.”

  “Would you like to try for four?” came a voice from the rear. It was Officer Marguerite. She was standing in the rear exit with Igor, who was in handcuffs. And she was holding his ill-gotten gains: Lady Grizzly’s priceless necklace.

  “Four what?” asked Chief Bruno.

  “Four Bogg Brothers,” Marguerite answered. “Found him in the getaway car with the motor running.”

  Chief Bruno and the cubs took a good look at Igor. He was no longer shambling and bent over. And though he was taller, slimmer, and better looking than Billy, Bobby, and Bert, he looked every inch a Bogg.

  “Is this guy your brother?” Chief Bruno asked Billy Bogg.

  “Yep,” said Billy. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s our brother Buster. Sort of the black sheep of the family. He went and became an international jewel thief.” He shook his head sadly. “Don’t know where we went wrong with that one.”

  “Okay, Marguerite,” said the chief. “Cuff the rest of ’em and get them all into the police wagon.”

  “You know, Fred,” said Brother as the Boggs were led out in handcuffs, “if I’d realized why Igor looked so familiar—just like a Bogg brother—I’d have kn
own that those workbears were the Bogg Brothers and prevented this whole mess from happening.”

  “True,” said Fred. “But think of it this way: one cub’s mess is another cub’s Great Adventure.”

  Brother smiled and nodded.

  “Hey,” said Fred, “let’s go get some of that leftover food. I’m hungry.”

  Chapter 13

  Downhill Summer

  It turned out that Chief Bruno had been on the lookout for jewel thieves the moment he’d heard about Lady Grizzly’s plan to wear her diamond necklace to the grand opening of Madame Bearsaud’s. But he never for a minute suspected Madame Bearsaud’s assistant, Igor. And neither had Madame Bearsaud.

  For years afterward, the grand madame was too embarrassed to tell anyone how Buster Bogg had fooled her into believing he was “Igor” from faraway Grizzylvania. But Beartown folks understood how it could have happened when they read the Beartown Gazette’s report on Buster Bogg’s life story. Anyone who could go from a backwater like Beartown to becoming a world-famous jewel thief had to be very clever indeed.

  Brother and Fred were the talk of the town for the rest of that summer. Chief Bruno even gave them Crimestopper medals at a special ceremony in the town square. But, despite the opening of Madame Bearsaud’s Wax Museum and Entertainment Center, things sort of went downhill from there. They had more adventures, of course. But no great adventures. And certainly not another Great Adventure (the kind with a capital G and a capital A). Nothing could quite compare with watching Madame Bearsaud’s building go up and sneaking in to snoop around before it opened. Not to mention helping catch a pack of jewel thieves in the middle of one of the biggest events in Beartown history.

  Now that was a Great Adventure!

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