The Berenstain Bears and the Haunted Hayride

by Stan

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  1. Job Hunt

  2. A Farmer’s Pride

  3. Farm Hand Ferdy

  4. A Visit from the Enemy

  5. Trudy’s Great Idea

  6. Market Madness

  7. Dark Days

  8. A Brilliant Plan

  9. A Farmer’s Pride Revisited

  10. Ghosts of Farmers Past

  11. The Secret of the Ghosts

  12. Hayride Mischief

  13. Business or Revenge?

  About the Authors

  Excerpt from The Berenstain Bear Scouts and the Run-Amuck Robot

  Chapter 1. “I Say, Young Chaps! I Say!”

  Chapter 2. Trouble at the Bearsonian?

  Copyright

  Back Ad

  About the Publisher

  Chapter 1

  Job Hunt

  Brother Bear’s great idea didn’t just come out of nowhere. It came out of something Lizzy Bruin said as the cubs walked home from school one day in early fall.

  As the cubs walked, they complained about their money problems. Every year, in late September, the cubs started saving money from their allowances to buy costumes for Halloween. And the moment Halloween was over, they had to start saving all over again for Christmas. Christmas gifts for family members could be quite expensive. That meant no movies at the mall multiplex, no shakes at the Burger Bear, and no video games at the arcade from Halloween to Christmas.

  “Here we go again,” groused Queenie McBear. “First we get squeezed by Halloween, and then we get totally crushed by Christmas.”

  “Bummer,” said Barry Bruin.

  “Yeah,” agreed his sister Lizzy. “But what can we do? Our allowances are the only money we have.”

  That’s what gave Brother his idea. “I know what we can do,” he said. “Instead of complaining, like we do every year, we can get jobs. That way we’ll have our allowances and our wages.”

  “That’s a great idea!” said Babs Bruno. “But who would hire us? We’re just a bunch of cubs.”

  Brother was quick to point out that several of them had parents or other relatives who owned businesses. Papa Q. Bear, for example, had a successful carpentry business. Lizzy and Barry’s father owned Biff Bruin’s Pharmacy. And then there was Squire Grizzly, Bonnie Brown’s uncle. The squire owned Great Grizzly National Bank, the Burger Bear chain, and a half-dozen other Beartown businesses. Bonnie was away, traveling with a musical show, so she couldn’t ask her uncle for help. But Squire Grizzly had long been Papa Bear’s best customer. Brother could ask Papa to telephone the squire about their job hunt.

  Most of the cubs thought it would be cool to work at the Burger Bear, their favorite after-school hangout. But Ferdy Factual had his heart set on being a research assistant for his uncle Actual Factual at the Bearsonian Institution.

  After dinner, the cubs gathered at the Burger Bear, where they had agreed to meet to celebrate their new jobs. Brother and Sister were late, but the others didn’t have to worry about waiting for them to start the celebration. That’s because there were no jobs to celebrate.

  “What a letdown,” Barry was saying. “My dad says business isn’t so good right now. He can’t afford to hire anyone. Not even cubs.”

  “I’m afraid the Bearsonian won’t be of ny assistance, either,” said Ferdy. “Uncle Actual says it runs on donations from Bear Country businesses. Lately a lot of businesses have been doing poorly, so donations are down. He will take us on as volunteers, however.”

  “Oh, great!” said Queenie. “That’ll be a big help!”

  Ferdy shrugged. “It would keep us out of trouble, at least,” he said. “Away from the mall and the arcade and this place.”

  “You just like all that science stuff!” snapped Queenie. “You don’t even really want a job!”

  “Chill out, Queenie,” said Cousin Fred. “Here come Brother and Sister. And they’re both smiling.”

  Indeed they were. With big grins on their faces, Brother and Sister slid into the booth and ordered shakes.

  “So, tell us the good news!” said Babs. “What did your dad say?”

  “He’s been working alone for so many years,” said Brother, “that he wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to use any assistants.”

  “Then he must have asked Squire Grizzly to hire us,” said Trudy. “So, where are we working? Here or the bank?”

  Still grinning, Brother and Sister shook their heads.

  “Neither?” Queenie said. “Then why in the world are you two sitting there with those silly grins on your faces?”

  “Just as Papa was about to pick up the phone to call Squire Grizzly,” Brother explained, “Farmer Ben called about an oak table Papa’s repairing for him. They got to talking, and Ben told Papa that the farm has run into hard times. He had to fire his fulltime farm hand. And now a lot of chores aren’t getting done. So Papa asked him if he would hire us to do them. And he said yes!”

  “Super!” cried Babs.

  “Outta sight!” said Queenie.

  “How much is he gonna pay us?” asked Lizzy.

  “Not much,” said Brother. “Just chicken feed.”

  “Chicken feed?” gasped Barry. “We can’t pay for Christmas gifts with chicken feed! We’ll get kicked out of every store!”

  “It’s just an expression,” said Fred. “It means ‘money, but not a lot.’”

  “I knew that,” said Barry, blushing.

  “But that’s perfect,” said Trudy. “We don’t need a lot of money. And Farmer Ben needs help but can’t afford to pay high wages. So it’s a good deal for us and him. I think we should celebrate with another round of shakes. Right, Ferd?” She turned to her boyfriend, then frowned. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “You don’t look happy.”

  Ferdy shrugged. “I never look happy,” he said.

  “But you don’t even look your usual bored,” said Trudy. “You look upset.”

  Ferdy folded his arms and looked away. “Well, why shouldn’t I be upset?” he said. “Farmwork?”

  “What’s wrong with farmwork?” asked Sister.

  “Are you joking?” said Ferdy. “It’s dirty. And smelly.”

  “Oh, gimme a break!” moaned Queenie. “As if you’ve never done dirty or smelly work before! What about when you helped your uncle study the algae in Great Grizzly Lake and came back every day with your knickers full of muck?”

  “Yeah,” said Barry. “And what about the time you studied the plants and animals of Forbidden Bog and fell in quicksand?”

  “That’s different,” said Ferdy coldly. “That was science!”

  Trudy was eyeing Ferdy with suspicion. “I think I know what’s really bothering you,” she said.

  “Oh?” said Ferdy. “And what is it, pray tell?”

  “You think farmwork is beneath you, don’t you?” said Trudy. “You don’t think it will challenge your mind.”

  “Well, how could farmwork possibly challenge the mind of a genius?” Ferdy scoffed.

  “Oh, come on, Ferd,” said Brother. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. At least give it a chance.”

  With a sigh, Ferdy unfolded his arms. “All right,” he said. “I’ll try it. For one day. But if it’s boring …”

  Chapter 2

  A Farmer’s Pride

  The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when the cubs reached the front porch of the Bens’ farmhouse the following Saturday. Ferdy let out a yawn as Brother reached up and rang the doorbell. But it wasn’t his usual bored yawn. It was a sleepy yawn. And as sleepy yawns have a way of doing, it set of
f a wave of yawning among the cubs.

  “Why in the world did we have to get up while it was still dark?” asked Queenie.

  “I heard that!” boomed Farmer Ben’s deep voice as the front door swung open. That made the cubs jump, but they relaxed as soon as they saw that he was grinning. “The answer is: to learn how a farmer lives,” Ben continued. “A farmer always wakes while it’s still dark and gets to work at the crack of dawn.” He looked off to the east. “I see that dawn’s a-crackin’ already. Come in, cubs.”

  The cubs followed Farmer Ben into the living room, where they sat on a sofa and some chairs.

  “Today is just for watching, listening, and learning,” said Farmer Ben. “Next Saturday you’ll start doing chores all by yourselves. Before then you’ll each need to buy a pair of overalls like mine. Now, any questions before we go outside?”

  Sister started to raise her hand, then remembered she wasn’t in school. “I have one, Farmer Ben,” she said. She pointed to three portraits that hung on the wall behind Ben. “Who are they?”

  “Why, they’re my ancestors,” said Farmer Ben. “This one on the left is my great-grandfather, Ben Ezra, and the one in the middle is my grandfather, Ben Abner. And the last one is my father, Ben Noah.” His eyes got misty as he looked at the portraits of bears in overalls. “This farm has been passed down from father to son for generations,” he explained. “I plan to pass it down to my own son, Ben Wilmer, who’s studying farm science at Big Bear University. I’m mighty proud of that. We Bens are bears of the land, and we’ll never leave it.”

  Farmer Ben spoke these words with a catch in his voice and a tear in his eye. It was clear to the cubs that he had deep feelings about his farm. But there was something else about his speech. Something troubling.

  The cubs were all thinking the same thing, but, as usual, it was Queenie who blurted it out. “Papa Bear said your farm is having hard times and that you had to fire your farm hand,” she said. “Is that true?”

  The cubs saw a hardness come into Farmer Ben’s face. At first they thought he was angry with Queenie for raising the subject. But after a moment he relaxed and said, “It’s true, cubs. And it’s a darn shame. Jake is a fine farm hand. I hated to let him go. But I had no choice. Mrs. Ben did his chores for a while. But then things got so bad that she had to take a job at the fabric store in town to help support the farm. That’s why I’ve hired you cubs.”

  “But why have things gotten so bad for the farm?” asked Sister.

  Farmer Ben sighed. “It’s a long story,” he said. “For years and years I’ve sold my fruits, vegetables, and dairy products to the five grocery stores in the Beartown area. But about six months ago, Ed Hooper opened Hooper’s Sooper-Dooper Market out on the highway near Birder’s Woods. Maybe some of you have been there.”

  “I have,” said Queenie. “It’s huge. And it’s got everything.”

  “That’s just the trouble,” said Ben. “Hooper’s sells everything the small grocery stores sell and more. Plus, it sells everything cheaper. The small stores have lost so many customers to Hooper’s that three of them have already gone out of business. That’s been real tough on the farm.”

  “Why is it tough on the farm?” asked Brother. “Can’t you sell your goods to Hooper?”

  “Oh, I do,” said Ben. “But Hooper doesn’t pay us farmers nearly as much as the grocery stores do. He claims he can’t afford to pay as much because he sells cheap. But I’m not so sure about that.”

  “Why?” asked Brother.

  “Because of what happened when Hooper opened his first Sooper-Dooper Market over in Bearville,” said Ben. “Before that, he was just an ordinary small business-bear with a successful grocery store in Bearville. Then he borrowed a lot of money from some big businessbears in Big Bear City and opened the first Hooper’s Sooper-Dooper Market. At first he sold everything cheap. Of course, he lost money because of his low prices. But the loans kept him going until all the other grocery stores went out of business. As soon as Hooper’s was the only supermarket left in Bearville, he raised his prices. In fact, he raised them higher than they had been at the small grocery stores. But by then his customers had nowhere else to shop.”

  “But when Hooper raised his prices,” said Brother, “couldn’t he also pay farmers more for their goods?”

  “He could,” said Farmer Ben, “but he didn’t. That way he made a huge profit. At first, local farmers refused to sell their goods at such low prices. But Hooper had enough money to pay truckers to bring farm goods in from all over Bear Country. Finally, the local farmers were forced to sell to Hooper. So Hooper and his backers got richer while the farmers and shoppers got poorer.”

  The cubs were silent for a while after Farmer Ben finished speaking. Finally, Sister asked, “So, what will you do if Hooper tries the same thing here?”

  Ben thought for a moment. “I don’t know, cubs,” he said. “I’m already just hanging on by the skin of my teeth. Some folks are saying I should sell the farm. And I’ve had lots of offers from land developers who want to turn it into a housing development or a parking lot or some such thing. But I refuse to sell. The Bens have farmed this land ever since Ben Ezra first plowed, planted, and harvested it. And I just can’t let him and my other farmer ancestors down by selling it.”

  Ben was misty-eyed again as he looked long and hard at the portraits. “But don’t worry, cubs,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I’ll think of something.”

  Ben kept staring at the portraits, as though the solution would somehow come from them. And then he said something that made the cubs realize that he really was expecting some kind of help from his ancestors.

  “I have faith, cubs,” said Ben. “Faith in the wisdom of my ancestors. They wouldn’t let anything happen to this farm. You know, sometimes I feel as if their spirits are still here, protecting the farm.”

  That gave the cubs a strange, shivery feeling. They looked at one another, wondering what Farmer Ben would say next.

  Chapter 3

  Farm Hand Ferdy

  “All right,” said Farmer Ben. “Let’s get crackin’.”

  Just then Ferdy let out a yawn. Farmer Ben smiled and said, “Still sleepy, son?”

  “That’s not his sleepy yawn,” said Trudy, glaring at Ferdy. “That’s his bored yawn. He probably won’t be back next week. He doesn’t think farmwork will be challenging.”

  Ben looked down at Ferdy and nodded. “I hear you’re a real smart one, just like your uncle,” he said. “I guess I can understand why farmwork would look boring to a cub like you.”

  “Well,” said Ferdy, “it doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to do farmwork.”

  “True enough,” said Ben. He had a sneaky little gleam in his eye. “I’ll bet those chores would be mighty easy for you.”

  Ferdy yawned again. “I expect so,” he said.

  “In that case,” said Ben, “how about doing me a favor?”

  “What kind of favor?” asked Ferdy.

  “I was going to show you cubs how to perform the chores,” said Ben, “but my poor ol’ back is kinda sore this morning. I’d be mighty grateful if you’d do the demonstratin’ for me, Ferdy. That is, if you think you can handle it.”

  “Of course I can handle it,” said Ferdy. “But what about my clothes?”

  Farmer Ben’s young nephew kept a pair of overalls at the farm for his visits. Ferdy changed into them in the bathroom and came back into the living room. The other cubs giggled. For one thing, the overalls were a couple sizes too big. For another, Ferdy hadn’t really changed his clothes. He’d just pulled the overalls on over his knickers and tweed jacket. Standing there in his maroon cap, with his tweed jacket and turtleneck showing, Ferdy didn’t look much like a farm hand.

  A brisk wind was blowing from the west as the cubs followed Farmer Ben along a narrow path to the edge of a small plot of dark soil. “I finished planting potatoes here yesterday,” said Ben. “Now it needs some fertilizer.”
/>   “What’s ‘fertilizer’?” asked Sister.

  “It’s made from manure, which has more nutrients than ordinary soil,” said Farmer Ben. “The nutrients help plants grow bigger and faster.”

  Farmer Ben disappeared into a nearby shed and came back carrying two buckets. Some of the cubs covered their noses.

  “It’s not the best-smelling stuff in the world,” said Ben, “but potatoes love it.” He handed one of the buckets to Ferdy. “Now, son, I want you to toss a bucketful of fertilizer over each half of this plot. Go to it.”

  Ferdy stood at the edge of the plot, facing east. But the rising sun was in his eyes. So he walked around to the other side and faced west, away from the sun. He got a good two-handed grip on the bucket and steadied himself.

  “Uh-oh,” the cubs heard Farmer Ben mutter.

  With all his strength, Ferdy flung the bucketful of fertilizer into the wind. And the wind flung it right back in his face.

  “Ar-r-r-gh!” cried Ferdy.

  “Hope you had your mouth closed!” cracked Queenie as the other cubs laughed. No one laughed harder than Trudy.

  “Beginner’s mistake,” said Farmer Ben, handing Ferdy a rag to wipe his face with. “I’ll finish up here later. Let’s head for the barn.”

  They took a shortcut through the cow pasture. Ben often left the pasture gates open when the cows weren’t outside.

  “Where are the cows?” asked Lizzy, looking around.

  “In the barn, waiting to be milked,” said Farmer Ben. “But they left plenty of cow pies out here yesterday, so watch your step.”

  To one side of the barn stood the chicken coop. Ben stopped in front of it and said, “Before milking the cows, we have to feed the chickens.”

  The chicken coop was even smellier than the fertilizer. “Pew!” said Queenie. “Go ahead, Ferdy. You’ll fit right in!”

  Farmer Ben picked up a large bag of chicken feed and poured the feed into a bucket. He handed the bucket to Ferdy. “Now, how hard can feeding chickens be?” he said. “Show us how to do it, my boy.” He unlatched the door to the coop and held it open. “Go on, son. Git!”