The Berenstain Bears®

Show Some

Respect

written by

Jan and Mike Berenstain

“Honor your father and your mother …”

—Exodus 20:12

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Begin Reading

Copyright

About the Publisher

Share Your Thoughts

Begin Reading

It was a beautiful summer morning and the Bear family was going on a picnic. Mama and Papa packed up the picnic things. Brother, Sister, and Honey were very excited. Grizzly Gramps and Gran were coming too.

“I made a pot of my special wilderness stew for the picnic,” said Gran.

“Mmm-mmm!” said Gramps. “Wilderness stew—my favorite!”

“Yuck-o!” muttered Brother. “Wilderness stew—not one of my favorites.”

Sister laughed.

“What was that, Brother?” asked Mama.

“Oh, nothing, Mama,” said Brother. “Come on, Sis. Let’s pick out a good picnic spot.”

The family headed down the sunny dirt road to find the perfect spot for their picnic. Sister and Brother ran on ahead.

“Wait for us please, cubs,” said Mama. But Sister and Brother paid no attention.

“Hmmm …,” said Mama, none too pleased.

“I remember a good picnic spot right in these trees,” said Papa. “We used to come here when I was in school.”

“That was about a hundred years ago,” said Sister. “It’s pretty run down now. Let’s find a better spot.”

“Hmmm!” said Papa, none too pleased.

“I know a lovely spot down by that pond,” said Mama. “Papa and I came here on our first date.”

“That was an awful long time ago,” said Brother. “It’s full of mosquitoes now. Let’s find a better spot.”

“Hmmm!” said Mama and Papa, none too pleased.

“I recall a time when Gramps and I had a nice picnic on top of Big Bear Hill,” said Gran as they went on their way. “There was a lovely view, and …”

“Now, Gran,” interrupted Mama. “We don’t want to climb all the way up Big Bear Hill. Let’s find a better spot.”

“Hmmm!” said Gran, none too pleased.

The Bear family trudged across the countryside. They were getting hungry, hot, and tired.

“I have a good idea for a picnic spot,” said Gramps. “How about we all …”

“Now, Gramps,” interrupted Papa. “We don’t need any help—we know what we’re doing.”

Gramps stopped short.

“Now, just a doggone minute!” he said. “It seems to me that you folks aren’t showing much respect for your elders.”

“That’s right,” agreed Gran. “Brother and Sister are being disrespectful to Mama and Papa.”

“And Mama and Papa are being disrespectful to you and me,” added Gramps. “You know, us old folks know a thing or two. As the Bible says, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’”

“But, Gramps!” said Papa.

“But me no ‘buts,’ sonny!” said Gramps. “‘A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,’ “he added, quoting the Bible, again.

“Sonny?” said Brother and Sister. It never occurred to them that Papa was someone’s “sonny.”

When they thought it over, Brother, Sister, Mama, and Papa realized that Gramps and Gran were right. They were being disrespectful.

“We’re sorry!” said Brother and Sister. “We were excited about the picnic and forgot our manners. We’ll be sure to show more respect from now on.”

“And we’re sorry too!” said Mama and Papa. “We know we shouldn’t speak to our elders that way.”

“That’s fine,” smiled Gran. “All is forgiven. Now come along. Gramps will pick a good picnic-spot for us. He’s Bear Country’s foremost picnic-spot picker-outer.”

“Yes, indeedy,” said Gramps. “Besides, if we leave it up to all of you, we might starve!”

“Where are we going, Gramps?” asked Brother and Sister as Gramps led them across the countryside.

“Never fear,” said Gramps. “Grizzly Gramps, the picnic-spot picker-outer, is here!”

They marched over hill and dale, through wood and field.

“Now there’s the perfect picnic spot!” said Gramps, at last.

“But, Gramps!” said Sister. “That’s your own house.”

“That’s right, young’un,” he smiled. “Didn’t you ever hear of a backyard picnic?”

Gramps and Papa got the grill fired up and they added honey grilled salmon to Gran’s wilderness stew.

“Mmm-mmm!” said Brother and Sister. “Honey grilled salmon—that’s our favorite!”

They raised glasses of lemonade to Grizzly Gramps, the eldest member of the family.

“To Grizzly Gramps,” said Papa, “Bear Country’s best picnic-spot picker-outer!”

“You know,” said Gramps, as he dug into a big helping of wilderness stew, “it’s about time I got a little respect around here.”

ZONDERKIDZ

The Berenstain Bears® Show Some Respect

Copyright © 2011 by Berenstain Publishing, Inc.

Illustrations © 2011 by Berenstain Publishing, Inc.

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 © MAY 2011 ISBN: 978-0-310-42358-4

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 show some respect/by Jan and Mike Berenstain.

p. cm.

Summary: Brother and Sister Bear are reminded of the importance of respecting their elders when they set out for a picnic with Mama, Papa, Gran, and Gramps.

ISBN 978-0-310-72086-7 (softcover)

[1. Respect—Fiction. 2. Picnicking—Fiction. 3. Family life—Fiction. 4. Christian life—Fiction. 5. Bears—Fiction.] I. Berenstain, Mike, 1951-II. Title.

PZ7.B44826Bjv 2011

[E]—dc22 2010027037

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. 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.

Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Editor: Mary Hassinger

Art direction: Cindy Davis

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 LPC 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 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.

Share Your Thoughts

With the Author: Your comments will be forwarded to the author when you send them to zauthor@zondervan.com.

With Zondervan: Submit your review of this book by writing to zreview@zondervan.com.

Free Online Resources at

www.zondervan.com/hello

Zondervan AuthorTracker: Be notified whenever your favorite authors publish new books, go on tour, or post an update about what’s happening in their lives.

Daily Bible Verses and Devotions: Enrich your life with daily Bible verses or devotions that help you start every morning focused on God.

Free Email Publications: Sign up for newsletters on fiction, Christian living, church ministry, parenting, and more.

Zondervan Bible Search: Find and compare Bible passages in a variety of translations at www.zondervanbiblesearch.com.

Other Benefits: Register yourself to receive online benefits like coupons and special offers, or to participate in research.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Begin Reading

Copyright

About the Publisher

Share Your Thoughts