The Berenstain Bears

and the Joy of

Giving

Written by Jan Mike Berenstain

‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

Acts 20:35

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Begin Reading

Copyright

About the Publisher

Begin Reading

It was the week before Christmas, and all over Bear Country everyone was busy getting ready for the big day. They were Christmas shopping and Christmas decorating and Christmas everything.

Down at the Chapel in the Woods, the cubs of Bear Country were busy getting ready for their Christmas Eve play.

It was The Story of the First Christmas, and Brother and Sister had an important role. They were to be the camel of the three wise bears. Sister was the front end of the camel, and Brother brought up the rear. They thought it was the best costume ever.

Missus Ursula, their Sunday school teacher, was directing. “All right, Wise Bears,” she called, “enter, stage right!”

The three wise bears came on stage. They carried gifts and wore long robes, crowns, and fake beards. They followed the Christmas star made of foil-covered cardboard that hung above the stage. The First Wise Bear was played by Sammy Bruno who had a loose front tooth that made him a little hard to understand.

“A thtar! A thtar!” he cried. “I thee a thtar!”

Missus Ursula sighed. “Okay, camel,” she called. “You’re on!”

Sister and Brother followed the three wise bears. But it was hard to see out of the costume, and Sister accidentally knocked over a palm tree. The three wise bears tripped, going down in a tangle.

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” said Missus Ursula. “Will we ever be ready?”

“Sorry, Missus Ursula,” said Sister, poking her head out. “It’s hard to see in there.”

“I’ll need to make your peepholes bigger,” said Missus Ursula. “That’s enough for today, cubs. It’s time to go home.”

The cubs took off their costumes and went into the chilly evening air.

“Brrr!” shivered Sister. “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!”

“Yeah,” agreed Brother, “and looking that way, too.”

The whole neighborhood was decorated for Christmas. Sister and Brother walked home in the soft glow of many colored lights.

The next day, the Bear family went shopping. It was time for Brother and Sister to pick out a few special gifts. This year they had two crisp ten-dollar bills from Grizzly Gramps and Gran to spend on others.

Of course, Brother and Sister hoped they would have some money left for themselves. Sister was saving for a brand-new Bearbie doll, and Brother wanted a special rubber band-powered model airplane.

Papa and Honey helped Brother do his shopping while Mama went with Sister. Brother picked out a Bearbie doll outfit that he found on sale for Sister, and Sister bought a small airplane model for Brother. Each cost just a few dollars.

Mama and Papa thought that maybe each cub should have spent more money on one another.

“What about the joy of giving?” whispered Mama to Papa. “It seems Brother and Sister only care about the joy of getting.”

“True,” agreed Papa, “but let’s not interfere. They’ll learn about the joy of giving for themselves.”

Over the next few days, Christmas excitement in Bear Country grew and grew. Brother and Sister could hardly wait. They were going to be a camel and get lots of presents too.

Play rehearsals went well. Sister could see better out of the bigger peepholes, and everyone knew their lines. But it was still a little hard to understand Sammy Bruin.

When Christmas Eve finally arrived, practically everyone in Bear Country jammed the Chapel in the Woods to see the cubs perform. A hush fell as the curtain opened and the play began.

First, the angel Gabriel came to Mary telling her that she would give birth to Jesus.

Then Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem where the innkeeper gave them shelter in a stable.

There, Mary gave birth to a tiny baby who was laid in a manger.

An angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, sharing the good news of Jesus’ birth so they could go and worship the newborn King.

Finally, the three wise bears and their faithful camel trooped on stage. The foil-covered Christmas star hung high above the stable, sparkling in the spotlight.

“A star! A star! I see a star!” Sammy said clearly. His lose tooth had come out backstage.

The three wise bears kneeled before Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The shepherds and the angel joined them.

Everyone bowed low before the tender baby. The three wise bears opened their treasures and gave Jesus their precious gifts.

The audience grew very still. Then someone in the back began to softly sing:

Silent night, Holy night,

All is calm, all is bright …

And the rest of the audience joined in near the end:

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Peeking out of the camel costume, tears came to Sister’s and Brother’s eyes. It seemed they had never understood the joy of giving until that moment. All the gifts of all the Christmases of all the years went back to those first gifts given to the tiny baby long ago.

The Christmas Eve play was over, and the audience cheered. Everyone felt the true spirit of Christmas had been with them that night.

On Christmas morning, Brother and Sister led the family downstairs, bright and early. But instead of heading to their own piles of presents, they went to their gifts for each other.

“Merry Christmas!” they said, holding out their presents.

“From one end of the camel to the other,” said Brother.

“Thanks!” laughed Sister. “You’re a first-rate backup.”

Brother and Sister were delighted with their gifts and gave each other big bear hugs. Honey opened her presents, and Brother and Sister joined in. In the back of their minds, though, they were still thinking about the money they had left over from their shopping trip.

Later that morning, the family went to the Chapel in the Woods for the Christmas Day service. A light snow covered the ground, and all of Bear Country glistened in the sun.

On the way, Sister and Brother noticed a group of bears playing Christmas carols. They were collecting money for the needy in a big black pot. Brother and Sister looked at each other, dug into their pockets, and dropped all of their money into the pot.

Mama and Papa smiled with pride.

“You know what the Good Book says,” Mama told them. “‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

“We know,” said Brother. “We receive an awful lot, so it’s time we gave some of it back.”

“Look!” said Sister, feeling in her pocket. “I still have a quarter.”

Honey reached for it, and Sister put it in her hand.

Then little Honey, holding onto Papa, toddled over to the big black pot and dropped the quarter in. The bears playing music paused.

“Merry Christmas!” they all said.

“Merry Christmas!” answered the Bear family.

Copyright

ZONDERKIDZ

The Berenstctin Bears® and the Joy of Giving

Copyright © 2010 by Berenstain Bears, Inc.

Illustrations © 2010 by Berenstain Bears, Inc.

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Berenstain, Jan, 1923-

The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving/written by Jan and Mike Berenstain.

p. cm.

Summary: Brother and Sister Bear are excited about the coming of Christmas, when they will perform in a pageant and receive presents, but they also learn an important lesson about giving to others.

ISBN 978-0-310-71255-8 (softcover)

[1. Generosity—Fiction. 2. Christmas—Fiction. 3. Christian life—Fiction. 4. Bears—Fiction.] I. Berenstain, Michael. II. Title. III. Title: Joy of Giving.

PZ.B44826Bel 2010

[E]—dc22

2009037517

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version™, TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

EPub Edition © AUGUST 2010 ISBN: 978-0-310-42350-8

Editor: Mary Hassinger

Printed in China

10 11 12 13 14 15 /LPC/ 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Publisher

Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (www.zondervan.com) holds exclusive publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Begin Reading

Copyright

About the Publisher