These books have plenty of unbearably stupid moments, do they not?
The Picture Books
- "The Berenstain Bears and The Bully":
- Sister comes home disheveled and crying in pain, much to Mama and Papa's consternation, while Brother speculates that she was beaten up, which turns out to be correct. Inside the house, Sister calms down to the point where she explains she had been bullied by a cub named Tuffy. Papa is justifiably outraged.
You'd Expect: Mama and Papa to immediately contact the school staff and explain what happened or advise Sister to report any future bullying incidents so that Tuffy can be dealt with and Sister can go about her school days in peace.
Instead: They conclude that Sister should simply avoid Tuffy. Keep in mind that (as Sister herself explains) she was attacked at the school playground for no reason.
Meanwhile: Brother has gone to the school intent on giving Tuffy what for only to find out Tuffy is a girl and sensibly walk out on her dare to fight. Brother, realizing that no adult can help his sister and he can't defend her without being a bully, borrows equipment from the gym teacher at school, and spends the weekend teaching Sister boxing moves for the next time she gets bullied. Brother does tell Sister that she shouldn't look for a fight and should only use the moves in self-defense.
So: Sister goes two days without an encounter with Tuffy. During the next day at recess, she sees Tuffy throwing rocks at a baby bird that is unable to fly. This upsets her so much that she scolds Tuffy, resulting in a fight. Sister manages to dodge Tuffy but successfully lands a punch to her nose, resulting in a nosebleed. The scuffle grabs the attention of a recess teacher.
You'd Then Expect: The teacher to question the two in order to get a reliable account of what happened and deal with the situation accordingly. Another recess teacher is stated to have witnessed the entire fight, so they could explain this to the teacher about disciplining Sister and Tuffy.
Instead: The first recess teacher drags them both into school and sits them outside the principal's office without a word. Just then, Tuffy tearfully confides in Sister her fear of getting physically punished for the incident, which gives Sister an epiphany that domestic abuse can turn someone into a bully.
On Top Of That: Sister is let off with a slap on the wrist after a recess teacher vouches for Sister's attempt to protect the baby bird. Tuffy, however, has to spend a week of recess indoors and see the school psychologist as a result.
- Sister comes home disheveled and crying in pain, much to Mama and Papa's consternation, while Brother speculates that she was beaten up, which turns out to be correct. Inside the house, Sister calms down to the point where she explains she had been bullied by a cub named Tuffy. Papa is justifiably outraged.
- "The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies":
- Mama and Papa had regaled Brother and Sister with goodies enough times that they have become quite greedy as a result. One day at the supermarket, Mama is anticipating the worst when she sees the cubs eyeing the candy in the checkout line and they start begging for it.
You'd Expect: Mama to warn Brother and Sister that there will be consequences if they don't cut it out.
Instead: Before she can properly scold them, Papa goes right ahead and buys the cubs their favorite treats. Shortly after they leave, the two see a coin-operated kiddie ride outside the supermarket and want to ride it.
You'd Then Expect: Mama and Papa to deny their request since they had just bought them candy and escort them home before things get out of hand.
Instead: Papa just caves in and the two have their ride. They haven't made it out of the parking lot yet before Brother and Sister spot a vendor selling rubber bath toys.
You'd Then Expect: Mama and Papa to, once again, remind the cubs that they had previously gotten several indulgences paid for and quickly herd them into the car.
Instead: They barely even try to stop Brother and Sister, even when they throw a massive tantrum in the parking lot. When Papa yells at them to stop, they just ignore him, forcing him to cave in yet again.
Then: At home, Papa is outraged by Brother and Sister's "case of the galloping greedy gimmies," but Mama, for her part, admits that they're also at fault for caving in to the cubs' tantrums and decides it's high time they put the cubs in their place. Papa calls the cubs into the living room and diplomatically explains to them why it's not good to be constantly demanding and selfish and they seem to understand what he has to say. Just then, Grizzly Gramps and Gran arrive.
You'd Expect: Brother and Sister to remember what they were taught minutes ago and say hello to their grandparents.
Instead: They scream, "Whaja-bringme? Whaja-bring me? Whaja-bring me?". This proves to be the final straw for Papa, who furiously sends them both to their room and grounds them.
However: Upon Mama and Papa's statement that the two have become very spoiled, Gramps points out that Papa acted the exact same way at the general store when he was a cub. Fortunately, they offer a method they had put in place to prevent future incidents... but it amounts to having the cub choose a single item they want for the next errand and taking them home with nothing if they act up. While the family approves and their next trip to the supermarket goes without a hitch, it undermines what Mama and Papa intended to teach the cubs earlier by still allowing them to get what they want. note
- Mama and Papa had regaled Brother and Sister with goodies enough times that they have become quite greedy as a result. One day at the supermarket, Mama is anticipating the worst when she sees the cubs eyeing the candy in the checkout line and they start begging for it.
- "The Berenstain Bears and the In-Crowd":
- During summer, Sister often jumps rope with her friends Lizzy, Anna, Millie, and Linda. They have been practicing Double Dutch, which involves "the jumper jumps over two ropes that are being turned in opposite directions", and therefore requires at least three participants. One day, however, a new cub named Queenie McBear, who wears hoop earrings and has a fancy 10-speed bike, arrives and allows Anna, Millie, and Linda to take turns riding her bike (Sister and Lizzy aren't yet big enough for two-wheelers). Sister greets Queenie in her usual friendly manner, but Queenie's attitude towards Sister is condescending. She makes fun of Sister's name and clothes, and then treats Anna, Millie, and Linda to ice cream at the Dairy Bear.
You'd Expect: Anna, Millie, and Linda would either decline this offer, since Queenie had made fun of their friend Sister, or insist that Sister and Lizzy be allowed to come, as well.
Instead: Anna, Millie, and Linda accept the offer, and depart with Queenie.
Later: Sister, on her trike, encounters Queenie, along with Anna, Millie, and Linda, riding their bikes together. Queenie continues making fun of Sister ("Well, if it isn't Little Miss Hair Bow on her tricycle! Excuse our dust!").
You'd Then Expect: Now Anna, Millie, and Linda would rejoin Sister.
Instead: They still think nothing of Queenie's condescending attitude towards Sister.
Fortunately: Later on, Anna, Millie, and Linda "get tired of Queenie's snooty ways", and go back to jumping Double Dutch with Sister and Lizzy. As is shown in later books, Sister and Queenie become friends, as well, after Queenie's failed attempt at jumping Double Dutch (her earrings get caught in the rope).
- During summer, Sister often jumps rope with her friends Lizzy, Anna, Millie, and Linda. They have been practicing Double Dutch, which involves "the jumper jumps over two ropes that are being turned in opposite directions", and therefore requires at least three participants. One day, however, a new cub named Queenie McBear, who wears hoop earrings and has a fancy 10-speed bike, arrives and allows Anna, Millie, and Linda to take turns riding her bike (Sister and Lizzy aren't yet big enough for two-wheelers). Sister greets Queenie in her usual friendly manner, but Queenie's attitude towards Sister is condescending. She makes fun of Sister's name and clothes, and then treats Anna, Millie, and Linda to ice cream at the Dairy Bear.
- "The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers":
- Brother Bear notices that Sister is overly friendly with the bears and animals they meet while going to the park. Instinct tells him that it could be dangerous due to her naivete if she gets lured away by a stranger.
You'd Expect: He would just make sure that his little sister has some common sense. Tell her that saying "hello" is fine but don't walk off with someone.
Instead: He equates her saying "Hello!" to everyone as "talking to strangers". The two aren't the same at all, and wishing someone good morning or greeting them is basic manners. Sister is more focused on playing by herself in the park. In fact, later on, he breaks his own internal rule by having a conversation with a model plane enthusiast who invites him to fly a high-definition model, thus making himself a hypocrite.
You'd Then Expect: When Sister asks him why it's a bad thing, he would say to talk to their mother. He knows that Papa Bear is an overprotective dad who goes overboard. Mama Bear is more reasonable about these things.
Instead: He says for Sister to talk to Papa Bear, without thought for how their father will want to Scare 'Em Straight.
Predictably: Papa Bear, to illustrate his point, shows Sister a news clipping of a kidnapped child who was found, with a suspect being questioned. Then he reads her a bedtime story about Wily Fox tricking Silly Goose into entering his lair, and eating the Goose in a few bites; Sister spends the whole night lying awake in bed, thinking about the story and the headlines. Mama Bear has to step in the next day to explain to Sister about common sense; you shouldn't be afraid of everyone, but trust your instincts. It's found that you are more likely to be hurt by someone you know than by a stranger. As a visual aid, while Mama and Sister are making applesauce, Mama shows Sister an apple that looks strange on the outside but is fine on the inside. She then shows her an apple that looks fine on the outside but is full of worms on the inside. - Later on in the book, Brother runs into another bear in the park that has an RC Plane.
You'd Expect: Brother to have remembered what he told Sister about not talking to strangers.
Instead: He completely forgets about what he said to Sister, talking with the stranger and almost ending up in his car.
Predictably: Sister tells Brother on Mama and Papa, with Brother protesting that Sister was being a tattletale. Papa explains that "tattling is telling just to be mean".
- Brother Bear notices that Sister is overly friendly with the bears and animals they meet while going to the park. Instinct tells him that it could be dangerous due to her naivete if she gets lured away by a stranger.
- "The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room":
- As stated at the beginning of the story, every room in the Bears' tree house is neat and clean except Brother and Sister's room. Brother and Sister barely even try to maintain cleanliness and instead waste much of their time arguing when it comes time to do the job, much to Mama's indignation.
You'd Expect: Mama to warn Brother and Sister that there will be consequences unless they stop fighting and start cleaning their room as they're expected to do, or at the very least encourage them to work together somehownote .
Instead: Mama just cleans the room herself while the cubs continue to squabble.
Eventually: The chore inevitably becomes too much for Mama and she barges into the cubs' room with a large box and proceeds to hoard their possessions into it to throw it all away.
Luckily: Papa, who had heard all the commotion from his workshop, rushes in and halts the situation. He then explains the problem to Brother and Sister, raising the point that it is unfair for both the cubs and the parents, which isn't entirely invalid.
However: Mama apparently made no attempt to talk things out with the cubs earlier and started to make them excessively suffer for it without warning; she doesn't even apologize for her outburst. Shortly thereafter, they agree to keep Brother and Sister's things organized in boxes and on a pegboard (with Papa's woodworking skills handy) and the issue is ultimately resolved but had they thought about it earlier, the entire situation wouldn't have escalated.
At The Very, Very Least: Mama seems to acknowledge her mistake. Some of the bird's nests from Brother's collection are falling apart, and these are the only things that she ends up discarding.
- As stated at the beginning of the story, every room in the Bears' tree house is neat and clean except Brother and Sister's room. Brother and Sister barely even try to maintain cleanliness and instead waste much of their time arguing when it comes time to do the job, much to Mama's indignation.
- "The Berenstain Bears and the Slumber Party":
- Lizzy prepares to host a sleepover with Queenie, Anna, Millie, and Sister. However, soon enough the news of this travels and more girls ask if they can come.
You'd Expect: Lizzy to check in with her parents and make sure it's okay if there are more guests. Furthermore, you'd expect that the parents of these cubs would check in with Lizzy's parents to make sure it's okay, and ask what they should expect. It's implied that a lot of Lizzy's friends are young enough to have never attended a sleepover before, and it requires a high level of trust to let your child, especially those Sister's age (she is between five and eight depending on the book), sleep away at an acquaintance's house.
Instead: Apparently not a single parent checked in with Lizzy's family, nor did Lizzy check with her folks. So, effectively she now has a giant laundry list of uninvited guests.
Compounding It: In the TV adaptation of this book, the way this plays out is that Lizzy hears the request for another guest to come, and her excuse is always "Sure, what's one more?" every single time.
During this whole sequence, there is also a moment where Too-Tall and his gang run by Queenie to show his new boombox.
You'd Expect: Queenie to realize that Too-Tall, being the neighborhood bully and more than reckless enough to stick his nose wherever he desires, is best not told about the sleepover. Queenie should especially know better considering she's older than most of Sister's friend group.
Instead: She decides to mouth off about it, which of course gives Too-Tall the idea of wanting to crash the sleepover. This is especially idiotic in the TV adaptation where she's given a downward Age Lift and thus not flirty with Too-Tall.
Furthermore, it's also stated that this is Lizzy's first sleepover.
You'd Expect: That her parents would be there to supervise the sleepover to ensure nothing goes wrong, like any parents with their head screwed on straight would.
Instead: They go out for the evening and leave her with nothing more than her teenage babysitter (whose name is Cindy in the TV adaptation), which is not only an extremely irresponsible thing to do at such a major social milestone in your child's life, it also means she has very little power if anything gets out of hand, not to mention she likely doesn't know any of Lizzy's friends at all.
The Result: Instead of four guests, Lizzy now has seven (Sister, Anna, Millie, Queenie, Stacey, Karen, and Linda, and Too-Tall and his gang crashing the party brings the total to eleven). What was intended to be a small sleepover descends to utter chaos in a matter of seconds. It gets so noisy in the house that the neighbors even call the police note , and by the time Lizzy's parents get back home late at night, the house is in complete shambles. Sister is grounded quite severely (a day in her room and a week in the house) and presumably so are all of the other invited guests. Too-Tall and his gang sneak away undetected, seemingly getting away with their actions. However, it's likely that Lizzy's parents called Too-Tall's father, Two-Ton Grizzly, and told him what happened. He's made it clear that he doesn't approve of his son's mischief and his son's gang.
At the Very, Very Least: Papa is rather quick to point out that both he and Mama share part of the blame; she and Papa should have checked in with Lizzy's folks first before sending Sister off, and admit they would have called it off if they had known Mr. and Mrs. Bruin weren't going to be home in the first place. But considering the ridiculous amount of house guests, that still doesn't address all of the other parents who didn't think to do the same.
On The Other Hand: Since Mama realizes that she and Papa are partly to blame, she cancels the grounding the following day. Admittedly, Sister still doesn't get off scot free, because a new punishment, she brings Sister over to Lizzy's to help clean up the mess. Anna's, Millie's, and Queenie's mothers have the same idea. Lizzy suggests making this a "clean-up party", but Sister declines, stating that "I don't want to hear the word party again for a long time".
- Lizzy prepares to host a sleepover with Queenie, Anna, Millie, and Sister. However, soon enough the news of this travels and more girls ask if they can come.
- "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Birthday":
- The plot involves Sister having an exciting 6th birthday party, which doesn't go quite as expected. One of the disappointments she experiences involves her pinning the tail on the donkey exactly where it should go, but the runner-up is given the prize because "it wouldn't be polite" for Sister to get a prize at her own party.
You'd Expect: If Mama and Papa thought that a birthday child accepting a game prize at her own party is bad form, they would have taken the time to prepare Sister for that outcome before the party, hopefully giving some explanation behind the principle (e.g. it's a way to show appreciation for your guests coming and for bringing you lots of presents). Alternatively, they could have run the game without a prize or even allowed Sister to choose whether "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" would be played prize-free or whether there would be a prize but she could not claim it if she won.
Instead: Sister wins fair and square; Papa nonchalantly hands the prize to the runner-up, ignoring Sister and the question of whether or not she knew what would happen.
The Result: Sister feels cheated (in the book, her lack of foreknowledge is implied; in the cartoon, it is made explicit when she complains about not getting the prize to Mama, who briefly explains to her the rationale of it "not being polite", leaving Sister unconvinced).
Furthermore: This and everything else that goes wrong for Sister causes her to break down during the singing of "Happy Birthday". When Mama asks her what the matter is, she wails out, "It isn't fair!" and runs off a list of complaints, including not getting the donkey game prize. Her outburst is addressed with an invitation to open her presents. This does cheer her up, and the incidents that caused Sister to feel upset are not shown to affect anything else that happens during the rest of the story. But no one addresses Sister's actual complaints. She doesn't even get an "I'm sorry some things didn't work out for you". Thus, Sister is given no closure as to the matters that made her cry.
- The plot involves Sister having an exciting 6th birthday party, which doesn't go quite as expected. One of the disappointments she experiences involves her pinning the tail on the donkey exactly where it should go, but the runner-up is given the prize because "it wouldn't be polite" for Sister to get a prize at her own party.
- "The Berenstain Bears' Trouble at School":
- The plot features Brother Bear getting pretty sick and having to miss school for a week. During this, his math class learns how to divide (a pretty major aspect of arithmetic). Brother Bear is given makeup homework, which he doesn't do. When he returns, Teacher Bob gives a division test.
You'd Expect: That since Brother Bear was expected to learn how to divide without a teacher's input and that he arrived back to school on the day of the test he didn't know was coming, that his teacher would at least cut him some slack and instead make sure Brother Bear understands division.
Instead: His teacher assumes he did the homework and learned division without his input (not something done easily)... and expects him to take a test.
The Result: Brother Bear fails the test.
Furthermore: His parents apparently didn't know that he had makeup homework — either because Sister didn't tell him, or the school didn't call them first — ergo, they could have just sat down and made sure Brother did his homework when he was starting to feel better.
- The plot features Brother Bear getting pretty sick and having to miss school for a week. During this, his math class learns how to divide (a pretty major aspect of arithmetic). Brother Bear is given makeup homework, which he doesn't do. When he returns, Teacher Bob gives a division test.
- "The Berenstain Bears Get In A Fight"
- Brother and Sister wake up one morning in a foul mood, resulting in animosity towards each other.
You'd Expect: Mama and Papa would notice their normally well-behaved cubs are suddenly acting differently, question why they're not amicable to one another, and try to resolve the dispute peacefully.
Instead: Aside from Papa reprimanding Brother for shouting at Sister (because she was intentionally taking too long in the bathroom to annoy him), Mama and Papa make no comment whatsoever about their cubs openly ignoring each other for seemingly no reason, even at the breakfast table with both of them clearly seeing it happen.
Because Of That: Brother and Sister's disagreement lasts all day, well into after school. Only when the feud eventually escalates to the point of Brother and Sister getting into a shouting match (also involving an irritated Papa whose attempt to defuse the situation only throws fuel onto the fire) does Mama finally intervene and talk things out with the cubs. While she does resolve the issue and both cubs make up in the end, it could've easily been done a lot sooner.
- Brother and Sister wake up one morning in a foul mood, resulting in animosity towards each other.
- "The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Grown-Ups"
- Brother and Sister have had enough of their parents giving them a hard time about the simplest mistakes, from borrowing a newspaper to giving a late reminder about a parent-teacher conference. note
You'd Expect: Mama and Papa to realize they were being too hard on their children, especially when they admit later on that they were cubs once too.
Instead: It takes their cubs putting on a small play mimicking their actions to come to their senses.
You'd Then Expect: The parents to apologize to their kids and thank them for making them see how strict they were acting.
Instead: They decide to dress up like Brother and Sister and show them what it's like being parents, in a completely exaggerated manner.
Luckily: They all have a good laugh about it and make amends.
- Brother and Sister have had enough of their parents giving them a hard time about the simplest mistakes, from borrowing a newspaper to giving a late reminder about a parent-teacher conference. note
The Chapter Books
- The Berenstain Bears and the Dress Code
- During a bout of changing fashion trends, Queenie comes to school wearing a mini-skirt and a leotard; she was inspired by what her mother wore as a cub. Miss Glitch, a strict teacher, sees her and takes offense, despite Queenie not being her student.
You'd Expect: Miss Glitch would either talk to Queenie's teacher about the outfit or send Queenie to Principal Honeycomb's office.
Instead: Miss Glitch sends Queenie home to change, despite Queenie protesting that Miss Glitch isn't her teacher. Everyone in the school sees this because this happens in a busy corridor full of lockers.
The Result: Queenie's mother calls Principal Honeycomb in a fury, saying that Miss Glitch overstepped her bounds and that the outfit should be school appropriate. The kids rebel by upping their "rad" clothing; even Sister Bear, who was a neutral party, gets involved. Principal Honeycomb, unfortunately, happens to be leaving for a work-related trip that day, but it's implied he would have told off Miss Glitch. - After this, Vice-Principal Grizzmeyer becomes acting principal when Honeycomb's trip accidentally gets extended. He decides to take a stricter approach to the dress code and ally with Miss Glitch. They even rope Papa Bear into it.
You'd Expect: He and Miss Glitch would create a nondisruptive group to get the neutral students on their side.
Instead: They bump the school concert to the week after to make the next assembly all about the dress code. Brother Bear happens to hear and protests because the entire school band, including him, wants to play and move on to new music.
The Result: Brother, who was even more neutral than Sister, forms a resistance group and organizes the kids. - During all this, Vice-Principal Grizzmeyer has faced a lot of students who respect him but are fighting for the principle of wanting to wear what they like. He finally puts in an Obvious Rule Patch that the clothes have to meet his approval.
You'd Expect: He would actually talk to the kids, to hear out their perspective, so that both parties can compromise. Principal Honeycomb actually succeeds in doing this when he returns.
Instead: He keeps promising more hardline punishments, including when the students plan to "strike," and threaten they'll face suspension and land their parents in prison.
The Result: The last neutral party, Ferdy, finds this The Last Straw. He convinces the kids that if they strike in numbers then Vice-Principal Grizzmeyer can't suspend all of them or arrest their parents. Had the strike gone through as planned, it would have looked embarrassing for Grizzmeyer to see how many students are standing up to him, Miss Glitch, and Papa Bear. If not for Mama Bear interfering and insisting that both parties have a debate on a weekend, bad publicity would have ensued.
- During a bout of changing fashion trends, Queenie comes to school wearing a mini-skirt and a leotard; she was inspired by what her mother wore as a cub. Miss Glitch, a strict teacher, sees her and takes offense, despite Queenie not being her student.
- The Berenstain Bears in the Freaky Funhouse
- Dr. Grizzly wants to hold a fundraiser for the hospital where she works. Ralph Ripoff, a noted Con Artist and Snake Oil Salesman, asks a circus owner who's a friend of his to bring the circus to town and donate most of the profits to the hospital. The Bear family, of course, is suspicious of this because Ralph has a history of running cons.
You'd Expect: Dr. Grizzly would know Ralph's reputation, or that the adults or cubs would warn her. And that she would have the hospital lawyer read through the contract just to make sure this isn't another scam.
Instead: Dr. Grizzly trusts Ralph and his friend the circus ringmaster.
The Result: The circus cons Dr. Grizzly by having her sign multiple contracts which donate most of the profits to them and leaving the hospital with pennies. While it turns out Ralph had no idea and is angered on Dr. Grizzly's behalf because he thinks stealing from a hospital is too low for him, the circus people nearly drown him when he confronts him, and the cubs have to find the original contract to prove the circus committed fraud.
- Dr. Grizzly wants to hold a fundraiser for the hospital where she works. Ralph Ripoff, a noted Con Artist and Snake Oil Salesman, asks a circus owner who's a friend of his to bring the circus to town and donate most of the profits to the hospital. The Bear family, of course, is suspicious of this because Ralph has a history of running cons.
- The Berenstain Bears and the Haunted Hayride
- Brother, Sister, and their friends need money between Halloween and Christmas to buy presents, so they consider finding work to pay it off. After enough deliberation, they eventually agree on assisting Farmer Ben, whose farm is on the verge of financial ruin as a result of Ed Hooper's supermarket putting farmers out of business by selling goods at inflated prices. At some point later on, while the cubs are working, Hooper himself drops by the farm and offers to buy the goods to be sold at his supermarket but Ben naturally distrusts him, asking if he could afford to pay farmers higher prices than he usually does.
You'd Expect: Hooper to try and feign sympathy for Farmer Ben's financial plight, promising to increase the fees paid to Ben specifically. Sure, Farmer Ben is well aware of Hooper's underhanded tactics but the latter could at the very least take advantage of the situation and try to blackmail him into a business relationship.
Instead: Hooper smugly admits he could pay them more but won't, angering Ben even further to the point of chasing him off his property.
Later: The cubs, who witnessed the feud as they were working in the pasture, agree to set up a market for Farmer Ben's goods which he also approves of. The market opens and becomes a huge success but Hooper takes umbrage against it as his customers abandon his supermarket in droves.
You'd Then Expect: Hooper, who has enough monetary clout as is, to try and concoct an advertising gimmick to draw his customers back to the supermarket.
Instead: Hooper surreptitiously drops by the farm to ruin his goods, rendering them unfit to sell at the market.
The Result: Farmer Ben suspects Hooper was behind it and calls the police, who also note that Big Bear University is missing numerous test tubes of blight. Eventually, at the Halloween Festival the cubs and Farmer Ben (after convincing from them) set up for yet another fundraiser, the police interrupt the titular attraction for everyone's safety as a cartwheel came loose. On top of that, they have connected the dots and have caught Hooper trying to sabotage Farmer Ben's market and the festival. He is then arrested and his supermarket ends up under the ownership of the farmers whose markets went under because of his business.
In Addition: Papa, of all bears, lampshades this by pointing out that all Hooper had to do was lower his supermarket prices in order to put Farmer Ben in the red.
- Brother, Sister, and their friends need money between Halloween and Christmas to buy presents, so they consider finding work to pay it off. After enough deliberation, they eventually agree on assisting Farmer Ben, whose farm is on the verge of financial ruin as a result of Ed Hooper's supermarket putting farmers out of business by selling goods at inflated prices. At some point later on, while the cubs are working, Hooper himself drops by the farm and offers to buy the goods to be sold at his supermarket but Ben naturally distrusts him, asking if he could afford to pay farmers higher prices than he usually does.
- The Berenstain Bears Get Lost in Cyberspace
- As an experiment, Teacher Bob's students all receive laptops. Teacher Bob is interested to see if the students using the Internet will improve their grades. At this point, the Internet allows all the cubs to find chatrooms and search for information about sports or the news.
You'd Expect: Teacher Bob would have the local Internet connection installed with parental controls, and start the class by talking about basic Internet safety, like using a safe pseudonym and don't share personal information with a stranger.
Instead: The computers seem to have no parental controls, and Teacher Bob only outlines safety concerns the next day in class, where someone like Lizzie might have already given her real name and information.
The Result: At one point Queenie's sister sets her up with a guy she's met online, who ends up being Too-Tall fortunately, and they both laugh about it. Lizzie, by some weird luck, encounters extortionists on a chatroom that are planning to blow up Squire Grizzly's mansion, and Squire Grizzly happens to be Bonnie's uncle. The kids' grades also go down except for those who had computers at home, so Teacher Bob decides to confiscate the laptops and put them in a lab at the school.
- As an experiment, Teacher Bob's students all receive laptops. Teacher Bob is interested to see if the students using the Internet will improve their grades. At this point, the Internet allows all the cubs to find chatrooms and search for information about sports or the news.
- The Berenstain Bears and No Guns Allowed
- The school teachers are having a staff meeting about gun control. They are concerned since recently a cub in another school brought a loaded gun to his class and could have caused a lot of damage, while nice kids like Brother and Sister play cops and robbers and Milton has been caught trash-talking Too-Tall during wrestling. Miss Glitch suggests removing violent literature, but Principal Honeycomb vetoes that on the ground that it would lead to removing a lot of classics. Teacher Bob decides to take an approach in the classroom to proactively prevent an instance of violence.
You'd Expect: Teacher Bob would discuss with his students about guns, to get their viewpoints and to try and impress the nature that real guns aren't toys. They could discuss the recent case and why a cub would be so reckless to bring a loaded weapon. It could also lend some perspective about why some homeowners like Farmer Ben have guns — to protect livestock from varmints, or Two-Ton shooting rats in the dump— and how to avoid tragedy.
Instead: Teacher Bob thinks the best solution is to break up all the cliques in his classroom by reinstating assigned seating and insisting the students partner up on science projects according to his wishes. While the other kids find out they have a lot in common outside of their cliques when talking about inventions, it isn't a solution to reducing bullying. His biggest mistake is pairing up Ferdy, the class nerd, with Too-Tall, the latter of whom would easily beat up Ferdy if allowed.
The Result: After a rocky start, Ferdy and Too-Tall find out the only invention they have a mutual interest in is guns, and Ferdy decides to make a safe rubberband gun that is absolutely harmless for their demonstration. Teacher Bob forgets that Too-Tall is a vengeful bully, and just as Too-Tall makes headway, he is humiliated when he loses his cool, and Ferdy stays calm on a run to his father's dump for inner tubes. Too-Tall brings a water pistol to school that looks like a real gun and squirts Ferdy, and Ferdy retaliates with the rubberband gun. The police come, confiscate the gun, and give Too-Tall a warning for his foolishness. Much afterward, Brother and Sister are still shaken by the events. So Teacher Bob accidentally created the situation by trying to prevent it.
- The school teachers are having a staff meeting about gun control. They are concerned since recently a cub in another school brought a loaded gun to his class and could have caused a lot of damage, while nice kids like Brother and Sister play cops and robbers and Milton has been caught trash-talking Too-Tall during wrestling. Miss Glitch suggests removing violent literature, but Principal Honeycomb vetoes that on the ground that it would lead to removing a lot of classics. Teacher Bob decides to take an approach in the classroom to proactively prevent an instance of violence.
The 1985 Animated Adaptation
- A basic staple: This adaptation's Canon Foreigner Card-Carrying Villain Raffish Ralph is frequently shown to be distrustful, deceitful, and often in cahoots with the weasels to take over Bear Country. He's shown he's not above potentially breaking the law to get what he wants, including but not limited to things like running a scam insurance corporation ("The Terrible Termite") and recklessly destroying wildlife ("Save the Bees").
You'd Expect: That the grown-ups would catch onto this and refuse to have anything to do with him. You'd also expect law enforcement to hold him liable for his misdeeds.
Instead: The cubs are the only ones who hold any sort of skepticism, while the adults seem oddly forgiving of him for any past misdeeds and/or willing to shrug him off whenever he's clearly attempting another blatant con scheme of his. Furthermore, law enforcement apparently doesn't consider him a worthwhile issue. - "The Giant Bat Cave" is a particularly great example from Ralph. Ralph hoodwinks all the grownups (except for Gramps and Gran) into supporting an initiative to turn the titular bat cave into a tourist trap.
You'd Expect: The saner grownups, such as Mama (the embodiment of Women Are Wiser) or Farmer Ben (a frequent target of Ralph's schemes, but unlike Papa, smart and savvy enough to be wary of Ralph) to speak up and object.
Instead: They all pick up the Idiot Ball very hard and get wrapped up in how they can profit on the tourist trap, callously brushing off Brother and Sister's objections. It falls upon the cubs (with the support of Gramps and Gran) to help the bats defend their cave. - Exclusive to this adaptation of "The Truth", the episode opens with Brother and Sister "fooling around" with their soccer ball in the house, which Mama immediately reminds them is against the well-established house rules, and points out that the outdoors exists for a reason.
You'd Expect: That they would heed this warning.
Instead: Well, okay, they do at first. But later on, barely only a little while later in the episode, they seem to suffer a case of fifteen-minute Aesop Amnesia and "fool around" with the ball again, leading to them breaking Mama's lamp and setting the episode's plot in motion.
