The Berenstain Bear Too Tall's Reign of Terror
It was a hot afternoon in Bear Country. The sun shown down on a quaint tree house as Brother Bear was completing his exercise routine in the front yard.
"Twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-five," said Brother as he finished his last few push-ups.
"Trying to stay in shape for baseball season Brother?" asked Papa Bear as he came down the front steps.
"Yes. I want to break the home run record this season," Brother told Papa as he began to run in place.
"Well, keep up the good work and I am sure you can do it. If you need anything, I will be in the woodshop," replied Papa.
Brother continued to run in place. Sweat rolled down his bare chest. Looking down the drive, he sees a distraught Sister Bear running straight for him.
"Brother! Brother! Help! Too-tall and his gang took my hair ribbon and won't give it back!" yelled Sister.
"Those guys always pick on smaller cubs. Don't worry Sis, I will get your ribbon back, said Brother as he ran off in the direction of Too-tall's clubhouse.
Brother noticed something was wrong when he arrived at the clubhouse. Too-tall and his gang were not there, but the door was wide open. Brother saw Sister's pink ribbon on the floor right inside the door.
"All I need to do is run in, grab the ribbon, and get out of here," said Brother reassuring himself that this would be easy.
"Don't hesitate, just go!" said Brother as he went in the clubhouse.
Brother had just bent down to get Sister's ribbon when he heard Too-tall yell "Grab him!"
Skuzz and Smirk each grabbed one of Brother's arms and held him as Too-tall came in the clubhouse.
"You didn't think I would let you have that ribbon back that easy, did you" asked Too-tall.
Brother just stared straight at Too-tall and decided not to say anything. Skuzz then tied Brother's wrists together with one end of a long rope. Smirk threw the other end over a board in the ceiling and tied it to the side of the clubhouse. Brother knew he had fallen right into Too-tall's trap!
"Now that you are out of the way, my reign of terror can begin," announced Too-tall as Brother's tied wrists were raised above his head.
"I won't let you get away with this!" snapped Brother.
"I don't think you will be much of a problem," replied Too-tall poking Brother in the chest. "Now, let's roll!"
Too-tall and his gang left the clubhouse to start terrorizing the smaller cubs of Bear Country. Brother, mad at himself, tried to squirm out his predicament.
"Man, Skuzz sure tied these knots well! It's going to take too long to untie these, but there is no way Too-tall can beat me!" exclaimed Brother Bear.
Brother exhaled and let his chin fall down against his chest. He could not think of a way out of this mess. Suddenly, the door to the clubhouse started to open. Brother wondered if Too-tall was coming back to brag some more about how he out-smarted him. As the door swung all the way open, Brother was amazed at who he saw.
"What are you doing here," Brother asked.
Brother Bear had been tricked by Too-Tall and was left tied up in his clubhouse. Too-tall and his gang where on their way to the school playground to terrorize some young cubs. Brother knew he had to get away as fast as possible, but he could not untie the knots while his arms were stretched above his head.
Suddenly, the door to the clubhouse opened. In came a surprise for Brother, who thought Too-tall was back to punish him.
"What are you doing here?" asked Brother.
"Well, I was just looking at the fauna and flora of this part of Bear Country. Then I noticed an imbecile bare-chested addition to the fauna and thought I should follow it," replied Ferdy Factual.
"Instead of insulting me, you could help untie me," Brother responded.
Ferdy Factual proceeded to untie Brother, but not before he got Brother to agree to be his guinea pig for his next experiment.
"Thanks Ferdy," said Brother as he rubbed the fur on his wrists.
"No problem. I am certain that you will stop Too-tall and his gang from bullying someone," replied Ferdy. Ferdy remembered how Brother helped him with Too-tall when he first came to Bear Country.
"You betcha!" yelled Brother back to Ferdy as he ran off towards the school yard.
Meanwhile, Too-tall and his gang had been playing tricks and picking on all the cubs at the school yard. Sister Bear had gone with Lizzy to try and stop Too-tall, but were unable to and were picked on to.
"Hey little missie, where's your hair bow?" Too-tall asked Sister.
"You know you took it and I want it back, please" said Sister.
"I don't know what your are talking about, but maybe I should take something else too," replied Too-tall laughing sinisterly.
"Leave them alone!" yelled Brother as he entered the school yard.
"Well, well, well. Look who escaped our trap and came back for more punishment. Grab him boys!" Too-tall yelled back.
Brother was immediately surrounded by the rest of Too-tall's gang. Skuzz and Smirk each grabbed one of Brother's arms. Queenie wrapped her arms around Brother's bare chest. Brother was quickly immobilized. Brother knew better than to waste his energy struggling and was led toward the swing set in the school yard.
Brother was held with his back up against the wooden swing set. His arms were pulled around the wooden post and his wrists were tied up. Too-tall and his gang kept adding ropes all the way from his bare upper chest to his ankles. Brother winced a few times as the ropes were pulled tight on his bare fur. Too-tall loved watching Brother struggle as he was tied up.
"Now that we have taken care of you again, I can resume my pranks on your Sister and her friend," Too-tall told Brother.
"I will never let you get away with this Too-tall. You will not bully my Sister or any other cub!" yelled back Brother as he grimaced in pain from the ropes.
"You are in no position to say anything Brother," said Too-tall.
Too-tall and his gang turned on Sister and her friends. They began poking, tripping, and just making fun of each cub. Brother was getting upset while he watched this happen. Too-tall normally respected Brother. But now that Brother was out of the way, Too-tall could have his reign of terror.
Brother Bear struggled against his bonds. The ropes rubbing his bare fur caused to wince in pain, but Brother knew he must get untied. Slowly, Brother managed get his wrists free, yet he was still pinned by many other ropes to the wooden swing set.
Brother kept watching Too-tall and his gang bullying the smaller cubs. He knew that it was now or never for him to break free. Brother took a deep breath and summoned all the strength he had. He started to bend his body forward, hoping to break the ropes. He knew if this didn't work, he would not be able to help his Sister and his friends.
Suddenly, Brother heard a cracking sound behind him. The wooden post on the swing set started to crack and bend. Brother kept stretching forward as the cracking sounds grew louder. After a few minutes, Brother felt himself falling to the ground. The force of him trying to escape had splintered the wooden post of the swing set. Brother got up and began to untie himself.
Too-tall was too busy poking a young cub to notice Brother had broken out of his bonds. Sister began to run towards Brother, but Brother shook his head and she stopped.
"Too-tall! Why don't you deal with a cub your size?" yelled Brother.
"Who said that?" Too-tall asked as he turned around.
Too-tall noticed that it was Brother who had yelled to him. He looked from all the loose ropes around Brother's feet to the splintered wood from the swing set and finally at Brother's confident face. Too-tall knew Brother had escaped from his trap yet again.
"Well, I guess I have to deal with you one more time," said Too-tall.
"Fine. I am ready whenever you are," Brother said back.
Too-tall started walking towards Brother. Brother stood in the strongest pose he could think of and kept a confident look on his face. As Too-tall approached, Brother would not back down. Too-tall began to get worried about this and slowed his pace. Finally, Too-tall just stopped in his tracks.
"You know what? I'm tired of all this today. I will go home and deal with you later Brother," said Too-tall as he walked away.
As Too-tall and his gang left, Brother relaxed and fell to the ground in exhaustion. Sister ran over to him and helped him up. The other cubs came over to thank their hero. Brother appreciated the thanks, but would have done everything the same way without it.
"Thank you Brother," said Sister as Brother returned her hair bow.
"You're welcome, Sis," replied Brother.
Brother put his arm around Sister's shoulder and they began their walk home. Sister was amazed at how strong and courageous her big brother had become. She knew she could always count on him to help her out of any problem.
When they got home, Mama and Papa saw how bad Brother looked. Brother had rope burns on his bare fur from being tied so tightly, as well as splinters from the swing set post in his hair. Mama and Papa were so concerned that Brother and Sister had to tell them the whole story. Papa called the school's principal and reported the incident. He was not the only one. Other parents had reported what their cubs had told them.
Too-tall and his gang were punished and had to clean up the whole school yard and fix the swing set that was broken when Brother escaped. Too-tall was working raking leaves when he noticed another cub watching him.
"What do you want?" Too-tall asked.
"Just wondered if you could use some help," replied Brother.
"You will help us even after all the bad stuff we did to you?" asked Too-tall.
"You betcha," replied Brother grabbing a rake.
"Thanks, Brother. I am sorry for what me and the gang put you through the other day," Too-tall said.
"It's okay Too-tall," Brother replied.
Brother helped Too-tall and his gang complete the clean up and fix the swing set. Thus ended Too-tall's reign of terror.