The Berenstain Bears' Nature Rescue Page 3

  But the cubs had yet another surprise when they got home. They found Papa in the kitchen talking excitedly to Mama. He greeted them with a big grin.

  “Great news, cubs!” he said. “I just had my meeting with Squire Grizzly. He’s going to build more than four hundred homes on Buzzard Flats. And I’ll be in charge of the whole job! We’re going to use Birder’s Woods for lumber. We’ll start cutting it down Saturday morning.”

  “But, Papa! You can’t do that!” cried Brother.

  “Not all by myself, of course,” said Papa. “I’ve already lined up a chainsaw crew. We’ll have that woods down in nothing flat.”

  Brother quickly told his parents about the yellow popinjay. Mama looked worried. So did Papa—but only a little.

  “It’s too bad about this yellow what-chamacallit,” he said. “But a deal’s a deal. Besides, we’re talking about more than four hundred homes. That means lots of jobs for my fellow members of the Association of Woodsbears.”

  “But it isn’t just the yellow popinjay,” said Brother. “Plenty of other creatures have their homes in Birder’s Woods.”

  “Oh, they’ll find new homes,” said Papa.

  “Not the yellow popinjay!” said Brother. “Where else in Bear Country are there so many bugleberry bushes? Think of the dodo and the passenger pigeon!”

  “I never met any Mr. Dodo,” said Papa. “And as far as I know, pigeons don’t take passengers . . .”

  “No, Papa!” cried Sister. “The dodo and the passenger pigeon are extinct!”

  “Well, I’m sorry about Mr. Dodo and his pigeon pals. But the way I look at it, it’s a case of this yellow popinjay versus hundreds of houses and gobs of jobs.”

  “Papa-a-a!” cried the cubs together.

  Mama raised her hands for quiet. “I think we’d all better calm down before continuing this discussion,” she said.

  “What’s the use?” said Brother. “Papa won’t even listen! Let’s go, Sis.”

  The cubs marched upstairs and began calling their friends on the phone. They soon found out that arguments about Birder’s Woods were going on in lots of other families too.

  But arguments were only the first step. Queenie McBear and her mother were already hard at work organizing a demonstration against cutting down Birder’s Woods. According to their plan, dozens of citizens would show up at Birder’s Woods on Saturday morning to stop Papa and his chainsaw crew.

  Queenie and Ms. McBear convinced quite a few grownups to be on their side, including Teacher Bob, Teacher Jane, and Dr. Gert Grizzly. But others were against the demonstration. Cousin Fred’s dad, who was a lawyer, thought it might be against the law. Babs Bruno’s dad, Police Chief Bruno, said he might even have to arrest the demonstrators for trespassing on Squire

  Grizzly’s property. And Biff Bruin, Barry and Lizzy’s dad, said that any kind of trouble was bad for business.

  Later that night, Brother got a call from Queenie.

  “Guess what!” she said. “We’ve got five more demonstrators! Too-Tall and the gang are on our side!”

  “Great!” said Brother. “But that’s only four. Who’s the fifth?”

  “You’ll never guess,” said Queenie. “It’s Too-Tall’s dad.”

  “Two-Ton?” said Brother. “Wow! He could probably stop a chainsaw gang all by himself. Funny—I never pictured Two-Ton Grizzly as a bird lover.”

  “Oh, he doesn’t care about the yellow popinjay,” said Queenie. “But he cares a whole lot about keeping Cozy Corner Cottages out of his ‘space.’ Well, gotta go.”

  As Brother hung up, he noticed that Sister looked upset. “What’s wrong, Sis?” he asked. “Are you scared of being in a demonstration?”

  “It’s not that,” said Sister. “But a demonstration against Papa? He’s so excited about getting that big job . . .”

  “I feel bad about it too Sis,” said Brother. “Just think of it this way. Papa will get another big job sooner or later no matter what he does about Birder’s Woods. But if he cuts it down, the yellow popinjay could be gone forever.”

  Sister nodded. But now Brother looked upset. “What’s the matter?” she asked. “Afraid we’ll get arrested?”

  “It’s not that,” said Brother. “It’s Bonnie. She’s really mad at me.”

  “So call her up,” said Sister. “Try to smooth things over.”

  Brother glanced at the phone. “Maybe you’re right,” he said.

  Lady Grizzly answered the phone at Grizzly Mansion and went to get Bonnie. In a minute she was back. “I’m sorry, Brother,” she said. “Bonnie refuses to come to the phone. What’s going on between you two?”

  Brother told her about the argument over Birder’s Woods.

  “Birder’s Woods, you say,” said Lady Grizzly. “Hmm. That’s the first I’ve heard about it . . .”

  10

  Thursday and Friday seemed to fly by as the bears of Beartown argued about Birder’s Woods and busied themselves with making protest and anti-protest signs.

  Saturday came in a hurry. Shortly after dawn, the main road along the edge of Birder’s Woods was lined with bears. On one side, with their backs to the woods, stood Teacher Bob’s class and a handful of other protesters. They held signs that said SAVE THE YELLOW POPINJAY!, REMEMBER THE DODO!, and THE SPECIES YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN! Along the other side of the road, facing the woods, were Papa Bear with this chainsaw crew and their supporters.

  Papa’s crew carried heavy chainsaws and their supporters held signs that said UP WITH WOODSBEARS, DOWN WITH TREE HUGGERS, and BEARS, NOT BIRDS!

  Brother Bear wasn’t really surprised to see Bonnie Brown standing with the chainsaw crew, holding a sign that said LOYAL TO MY UNCLE! But Brother—and everyone else—was very surprised to see who had joined the protesters.

  Looking sideways down the line of protesters, Brother tapped Cousin Fred on the arm. “Hey, isn’t that Lady Grizzly?” he said.

  “Couldn’t be,” said Fred. But as he looked again, his mouth opened in surprise. “It is Lady Grizzly!” he said. “And she’s carrying a sign that says PROUD TO BE A TREE HUGGER!”

  But the biggest shock of all was for Two-Ton Grizzly.

  “Hey, Pop,” said Too-Tall. “Look who’s on the other side.”

  Two-Ton took a look and gasped. “Why, it’s . . . it’s . . .”

  “That’s right, Pop,” said Too-Tall. “It’s Mom and Sis.”

  Two-Ton couldn’t believe his eyes. And he couldn’t believe the sign Too-Too was carrying. It said COZY CORNER COTTAGES, HERE I COME!”

  “But sweetie,” cried Two-Ton. “How can you do this to me?”

  “Easy!” shouted Too-Too. “I’m tired of livin’ in a dump! I wanna live in one of them Cozy Corner Cottages!”

  “Me too Daddy!” called Too-Much. “I’m sick of furniture with seat belts!”

  “But why didn’t you say something?” said Two-Ton.

  “I’m sayin’ it now, buster,” said Too-Too. “So live with it!”

  Two-Ton looked as if somebody had let the air out of him.

  Down the line of protesters, Brother and Sister Bear were looking across the street at Papa. It wasn’t easy going against their own father.

  “We’ve got to stand firm,” said Brother. “The yellow popinjay is counting on us!”

  “Where’s Mama?” asked Sister. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

  “She must have stayed home,” said Brother. “Probably couldn’t make up her mind which side to be on. No one loves nature’s creatures more than she does. But no one loves it more than Mama when Papa gets a big job, either.”

  Across the road, Papa Bear was looking back at Brother and Sister. He didn’t like going against his own cubs. But he had a job to do.

  “Out of the way!” he shouted to the protesters. “We’re coming across to cut down those woods!”

  “Stand your ground!” Queenie shouted up and down the line of protesters.

  “This is your last warning!” called Papa.

>   The protesters didn’t budge.

  With a lump in his throat, Papa turned to his crew. “All right,” he said. “Let’s make a run at them. When you get past them, start your saws and head straight for the trees. Get ready . . . get set . . .”

  But before Papa could yell, “Go!” he heard something that made him pause.

  Bonnie Brown heard it too. “What’s that whirring sound?” she said.

  “It’s getting closer,” said Papa. “And it’s coming from the sky . . .”

  Now everyone could hear the put-put-put-put. They all looked up at once.

  It was a helicopter!

  As the big helicopter came slowly down toward the road, a bullhorn poked out of one of the windows.

  “This is the police!” boomed Chief Bruno’s voice, through the bullhorn. “Back away from the road, everyone! We’re going to land!”

  11

  The two lines of bears pulled back from the road. As the helicopter landed, the wind from its rotor blades raised a huge cloud of dust. Signs on both sides were blown every which way.

  The door of the helicopter opened, and steps were let down to the ground.

  “It looks like Chief Bruno decided not to arrest us,” said Brother to Sister.

  “How do you know?” asked Sister.

  “If he came to arrest us, he’d bring a bunch of paddy wagons, not a helicopter,” said Brother.

  And, indeed, it did look as though Chief Bruno had something else in mind. For it wasn’t just Officer Marguerite who followed him out of the helicopter. Out came Mayor Honeypot, Squire Grizzly, Professor Actual Factual, and—to everyone’s surprise—Mama Bear!

  Mayor Honeypot took the bullhorn from Chief Bruno and cleared his throat. The mayor had a way of mixing up the beginnings of his words, and this time was no exception.

  “Sellow fitizens,” he said. “Er, fellow citizens! Quire Squizzly—er, Squire Grizzly—has something to tell you!”

  Squire Grizzly took the bullhorn. “You probably all know what a stubborn old coot I am,” he said. “I want to thank my dear wife, Lady Grizzly, for opening my eyes about the yellow popinjay. Birder’s Woods will stand. I am giving it to the bears—and birds—of Bear Country . . . forever!”

  A cheer went up from the protesters. They waved their signs with glee. But the chainsaw crew and its supporters didn’t move a muscle. They were stunned.

  Squire Grizzly raised his hands for quiet.

  “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to build Cozy Corner Cottages,” he said. “We will! All four hundred plus! I’ll buy the wood from Big Bear City Lumber Company. And there will be plenty of work for all you woodsbears!”

  A cheer went up from Papa’s chainsaw crew and their supporters.

  “What about the yellow popinjay?” shouted Bertha Broom when the cheering had died down. “Is he safe?”

  Professor Actual Factual took the bullhorn. “She—I repeat, she— is quite safe,” he said. “As soon as I heard about the squire’s plan to cut down Birder’s Woods, I moved her to my bird refuge across town.

  “And I am pleased to announce that she has just laid eggs! There are only a few bugleberry bushes at the refuge. But for the time being they will provide enough food for the mother, as well as for her babies when they hatch. As soon as the babies are old enough, we will move them and their mother back to their natural habitat in Birder’s Woods, where they can eat bugleberries to their hearts’ content. Now I will ask Mama Bear to say a few words. Mama?”

  Mama shook her head. She refused to take the bullhorn from Actual Factual.

  “Mama Bear is much too modest,” said Actual Factual. “But I must tell you, it was Mama who saved the day. It was she who went to Mayor Honeypot and explained that, while there may not be two sides to every question, there are definitely two sides to this one. So let’s hear it for Mama Bear!”

  Mama got the biggest cheer of all.

  When the helicopter took off to head back to town, Mama stayed behind. She motioned for Papa and the cubs to come together with her for a big family hug.

  “Phew!” said Papa. “I’m sure glad that’s over! Now I can get back to my carpentry work. Being in charge of a whole big job wasn’t any fun. Too much excitement, too many phone calls, and too many papers to fill out.”

  Brother went over to Bonnie and held out his hand. “I’m sorry about the argument we had,” he said.

  “Me too,” said Bonnie. “Let’s be friends again.”

  They shook hands. Soon they were talking happily, just like old times.

  12

  Before long, four little yellow popinjays hatched from Mother Popinjay’s eggs. As soon as they were old enough to be moved, Professor Actual Factual put them and their mother in a bugleberry bush in the deepest, safest part of Birder’s Woods.

  The “almost war” over the yellow popinjay was long remembered in Bear Country. And so were the lessons it taught. The main lesson was that, as often as not, there are two sides to every question—even tough ones.

  Over the next few months, Cozy Corner Cottages was built on Buzzard Flats. And Two-Ton Grizzly, high up in his truck-cab office, learned to live with more than four hundred houses in his “space.” He even learned to like living in one of them. For, as it turned out, Two-Ton was tired of living in a dump too.

  1

  So far, it had been a fun summer.

  On most days, Sister went to the playground with her best friend, Lizzy Bruin.

  They ran around the track.

  They pushed each other on the swings.

  They jumped rope.

  There was always a third for double Dutch.

  There was another good thing about the playground.

  Teacher Jane was in charge. Teacher Jane was Sister’s teacher. Watching the playground was her summer job.

  There wasn’t a lot of trouble at the playground. But there was some. It was mostly caused by Too-Tall and his gang.

  They pushed and shoved.

  They picked on younger cubs.

  They threw hats into trees.

  They did all the mean things bullies do.

  Then one day, Too-Tall snatched Sister’s best hair bow from her head.

  Sister tried to grab it back. But Too-Tall was too tall!

  Sister screamed and shouted, “Give me back my hair bow, you big bully!”

  Too-Tall laughed down at her.

  Then he threw Sister’s best hair bow up into a tree.

  Sister screamed and shouted some more.

  That was when Brother came along.

  He had been playing basketball with Cousin Fred. Brother marched up to Too-Tall.

  He stood toe-to-toe with Too-Tall. His nose came up to Too-Tall’s chest.

  Too-Tall really was tall.

  “Why don’t you climb up and get Sister’s hair bow?” said Brother.

  “Yeah?” said too-Tall. “What are you gonna do to me if I don’t?”

  Too-Tall stood nose-to-nose with Brother. He had to bend down to do it. It was scary how big he was.

  But Brother stood his ground.

  “If you don’t—” began Brother.

  That was when Teacher Jane came over.

  “What seems to be the problem?” she asked.

  Sister said, “Too-Tall threw my best hair bow into the tree.”

  “I just asked him to climb up and get it down,” added Brother.

  “That sounds like a good idea to me,” said Teacher Jane to Too-Tall. “And after you’ve done that, I’d like you and your gang to please leave the playground. Bullies aren’t welcome here.”

  Too-Tall grumbled. But he climbed up the tree. He got the hair bow. He gave it back to Sister.

  Then he took his gang and left.

  “Thanks, Brother,” said Sister.

  But Brother was staring off after Too-Tall and his gang.

 
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