00:00The
00:27Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation by Stan and Jan Berenstain
00:32Well, that's everything, said Mama Bear as she and Sister and Brother Bear held the car
00:40trunk lid so that Papa could tie it down.
00:47Not quite, said Papa, running back into the treehouse.
00:50We almost forgot the camera, he said when he reappeared.
00:55What good is a wonderful vacation without photographs to remember it by?
01:04Good thinking, Papa, said Brother.
01:06May I take some pictures when we get there?
01:09And how about me, Sister wanted to know.
01:12Of course you may, said Papa as they bundled into the car.
01:16We're all going to take pictures of the most wonderful vacation the Bear family has ever
01:22had.
01:23But for right now, everybody buckle up and we'll be on our way.
01:27Four safety belts clicked into place and they left their safe, comfortable treehouse and
01:33headed for the excitement and adventure of a vacation high up in the wilds of the Great
01:38Grizzly Mountains.
01:43It had been Papa's idea to take their vacation in the Great Grizzlies.
01:47It'll be a real wilderness experience.
01:50We'll live off the land.
01:52We're getting too soft here in the valley with all our supermarkets and other conveniences.
01:58When he saw the ad in the newspaper, there was no holding him back.
02:03It said, try a wilderness vacation, a lovely mountain cabin complete with a rowboat by
02:09beautiful Crystal Lake.
02:12Ah, said Papa, painting beautiful word pictures, to wake with the rising sun and catch our
02:18breakfast from a clear mountain lake, to bathe in its sparkling water, to snack on
02:26delicious wild berries as we tramp the mountain trails, to gaze at the beauty of a mountain
02:36sunset, then to sleep through the peace and quiet of a mountain night, far from the noise
02:42of traffic and neighbors barking dogs.
02:46It all sounded great to the cubs.
02:49What kind of fish will we catch, Papa? asked Brother.
02:52Trout, no doubt, he answered with supreme confidence.
02:56But Mama wasn't so sure he would catch anything.
03:00So when she packed, she took along some canned goods in case the trout weren't biting, and
03:05some books and games in case of a rainy day.
03:09I can almost taste that fresh-caught trout, said Brother as the road led ever higher into
03:14the mountain forest.
03:16And I can almost taste those yummy wild berries, said Sister.
03:24And don't forget my terrific wilderness stew, said Papa as he turned onto an even steeper
03:29road.
03:31But we didn't bring things for stew, objected Mama.
03:34All we brought are some canned goods.
03:37Of course we didn't, laughed Papa.
03:40I'm talking about my special live-off-the-land survival stew.
03:44It's my secret recipe.
03:46I make it from bark, leaves, and roots that I find in the woods.
03:51When will we get there? asked the cubs.
03:54Very soon.
03:55I can tell by the smell of that mountain air, said Papa, taking a deep breath.
04:04That's not mountain air, complained Brother, making a face.
04:08Skunk!
04:09Hmm, said Papa, wrinkling his nose.
04:12A good time to start taking those pictures, thought Mama.
04:16Pew! said Papa.
04:18Click, said the camera.
04:24There's the cabin, shouted Sister as they rounded a bend.
04:32And there it was indeed, a mountain cabin beside a lake, complete with a rowboat.
04:38Of course, it wasn't quite as they had pictured it from the ad.
04:41Crystal Lake looked more like a mud soup.
04:45The lovely mountain cabin looked more like a tumble-down shack.
04:49There was a rowboat, all right, but it was half sunk in the lake.
04:56But Papa wasn't the least bit discouraged.
04:59He was more excited than ever.
05:01It's perfect, he shouted.
05:04The most perfect live-off-the-land vacation spot I've ever seen.
05:09Mama wasn't so sure.
05:11She noticed that there were no wires leading into the cabin, which meant there was no electricity.
05:18That's the last thing we need, scoffed Papa.
05:22What you need on a live-off-the-land vacation is plenty of can-do spirit and lots of forest
05:27smarts, and I've got enough of those for all of us.
05:34He took a cooking pot and a folding chair from the car trunk.
05:37Here, he said, making a seat for Mama.
05:40This is a vacation.
05:42You relax while I gather the fixings for my fabulous wilderness stew.
05:47And you two tidy up the cabin, he called to the cubs as he headed into the forest with
05:52the cooking pot.
05:57But Mama didn't expect to do much relaxing on this vacation, and she wasn't surprised
06:03to find that the cabin was an even worse mess inside than it was outside.
06:08There was an ankle-deep carpet of twigs, branches, and dead leaves on the floor, and it was practically
06:14a museum of spiderwebs, cocoons, and mouse nests.
06:19Time for another picture, thought Mama.
06:21Scurry, scurry, scurry went the mice.
06:24Click went the camera.
06:28What's this? asked Sister as she cleaned leaves out of the sink.
06:33That's a hand pump for water, answered Mama.
06:37Just what I need.
06:38It was Papa back with the cooking pot full of strange-looking bark, leaves, and roots.
06:43A little water for my stew.
06:46He worked the handle.
06:47The pump gurgled and squeaked, and after a while began to squirt water.
06:52Rusty, brown water.
06:54But he wasn't discouraged.
06:56Just what I need for my stew, he said cheerfully.
07:00Ready-made gravy.
07:03He carried the pot outside where he had prepared a cooking fire.
07:07It was very exciting for the cubs, but Mama wasn't so sure.
07:12So she made a fire in the fireplace and warmed up a supper of canned beans and dried honeycomb.
07:22When Papa cried, stew time, the cubs ran out for a first taste.
07:27Mama followed with the camera.
07:29Here's to living off the land, said Papa, holding up a big spoon of the strange-looking
07:34stuff.
07:35Then he, Brother, and Sister each took a taste.
07:38Yuck, said Sister.
07:40Blech, said Brother.
07:42But chewy, said Papa.
07:44Click, said the camera.
07:51Papa Bear's supper of beans and honeycomb proved very tasty.
07:55Papa Bear stretched and yawned.
07:58Now, early to bed so I can get up with the sun and catch our breakfast.
08:04The sun did rise, and it was very beautiful.
08:08But Papa snored right through it.
08:10The frogs, crickets, and owls had made such a racket during the night that he hadn't
08:15fallen asleep until just before the rising sun lit up the sky.
08:22Papa began to get a little discouraged when he went out to catch breakfast.
08:27The boat sank as soon as he stepped into it, and all he caught was a gloppy mudsucker that
08:32made snuffling noises and stared.
08:35Snuffle, snuffle, glop, said the mudsucker.
08:38Click, said the camera.
08:44It was Papa's turn to snap the picture when Mama and the cubs tasted the wild berries.
08:49The thorns were something fierce, and the berries were so sour even the birds puckered.
08:57Later, there was a perfectly beautiful sunset, but the Bear family didn't get to see much
09:04of it.
09:05They were too busy swatting the swarms of hungry mountain mosquitoes that swooped in
09:10from the lake.
09:12Live off the land, you say, shouted Mama as they ran for the cabin.
09:17With all these thorns and mosquitoes, it's more like the land is living off us.
09:25It began to rain just as they reached the cabin, but the roof leaked badly, and pretty
09:31soon they had more leaks than they had pots and pans.
09:35They spent a miserable night.
09:37By morning, they were soaked to their fur, and there was a foot of water in the front
09:42stairwell.
09:43Don't worry, said Papa.
09:50The rain can't last forever, and just as soon as I sweep out this water.
09:56But instead of Papa sweeping the water, the water swept Papa out the door, down the muddy
10:02slope, and into the muddy, mucky lake.
10:06When Mama and the cubs reached him, he looked more like a mud ball than Papa Bear.
10:11Say, he said, looking up at them, I have a terrific idea.
10:16Let's go home.
10:19So the Bear family loaded the trunk, put the car top up, bundled into the car, and bumped
10:25and splashed down the mountain in the driving rain.
10:29The rain had stopped and the sun had come out by the time they reached the valley, and
10:33their treehouse had never looked so good to them as it did that day.
10:41The next day, Mama took the film to the camera store to be developed.
10:45When the pictures came back a few days later, the Bear family wrote titles on them.
10:50They began to chuckle as they passed the pictures around.
10:53The chuckles grew to roaring laughter, and soon they were laughing so hard they cried.
10:59Papa smells the mountain air.
11:02We are greeted upon our arrival.
11:05We taste Papa's wilderness stew.
11:08Papa catches our breakfast.
11:11Our first taste of wild mountain berries.
11:15Papa decides it's time to go home.
11:21And every so often, through the years, they take out those pictures and have an absolutely
11:27wonderful time enjoying the worst vacation the Bear family ever had.
