The Berenstain Bear Scouts and the Evil Eye (9 page)

BOOK: The Berenstain Bear Scouts and the Evil Eye

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“Who was the worst?” asked Cousin Fred.

“Follow me and I'll show you,” said Bonnie.

She led them to the very end of the hall, where a large portrait hung high on the wall. It was a painting of a very mean-looking bear dressed in what might have been pirates' clothes. He wore a black wide-brimmed hat with a feather in it and a black waistcoat with huge gold buttons. In one side of his belt was tucked an old-fashioned pistol; in the other was an antique dagger. Across his eyes stretched a black mask, and his mouth was twisted into a snarl.

“Is
that
a Grizzly?” asked Sister, staring up at the portrait.

“The very first one,” said Bonnie. “He was an orphan, and no one knows who his parents were. Have you guys ever heard of Bad Bart Grizzly?”

“The Maniac of Mountain Highway?” said Cousin Fred. “You mean
he
was related to the squire?”

“That's the only reason he's here on the wall,” said Bonnie.

“Who was he?” asked Sister.

“He was a famous highway robber from centuries ago,” said Fred. “He and his band of thieves used to rob stagecoaches along Old Mountain Highway in the Great Grizzly Mountains. It was just called Mountain Highway in those days.”

“Like Robin Bear of Bearwood Forest?” asked Sister.

“Not exactly,” said Bonnie. “Robin Bear robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Bad Bart robbed from the rich, stole from the poorâand kept everything for himself! He didn't just rob travelers, either. At night he would break into the cottages of the poor mountain folk, scare them out of their wits, and take everything they owned. That's why they called him a maniac.”

Sister looked up at the portrait again and shivered. “Can we go back downstairs now?” she said. “It's kind of creepy up here.”

Cousin Fred groaned. But Brother was feeling protective toward his little sister. “Come on, Sis,” he said. “We'll go see the ballroom instead.”

As they passed the portrait of Farnsworth Grizzly on their way to the stairs, Brother suddenly felt Sister's hand on his arm. “What's wrong, Sis?” he said.

She glanced over her shoulder at the portrait. “Is that a trick painting?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” said Bonnie.

“The eyes followed me as I went past!” said Sister.

Brother chuckled and put his arm around Sister's shoulders as they went down the stairs. “Isn't it amazing what your imagination can do when you're scared?” he said.

About the Authors

STAN AND JAN BERENSTAIN
began writing the Berenstain Bears series in 1962, with
The Big Honey Hunt
. Since then, more than 250 Berenstain Bears books have been published and sales of the series are nearing 300 million. Stan and Jan have left behind a legacy of arguably the best-selling children's book series ever. Making the books has long been a family affair, with son Mike Berenstain writing and illustrating new stories about everyone's favorite Bear family. You can visit the Berenstains online at www.berenstainbears.com.

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Copyright

T
HE BERENSTAIN BEAR SCOUTS AND THE EVIL EYE
. Copyright Â© 1998 by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Berenstain Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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 HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition June 2013 ISBN 9780062189103

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FIRST EDITION