The Berenstain Bears and the Homework Hassle

**Lisa Bueno** (0:00)
Okay, our friends, so today we are going to read a book for you that has been, people request The Berenstain Bears quite a bit, and I am happy to do them. I've done most of them, but I'm happy to do more, and if I can get my hands on them, I will read them. So today we will be reading a Berenstain Bears book. This one is called The Berenstain Bears and The Homework Hassle.
It was written by Stan and Jan Berenstain, and we're reading it just in time to go back to school and start having to do things like homework. Oh, no.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:42)
Homework is the worst.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:43)
But it must be done in order to improve ourselves. So we're going to talk about it and we're going to read it. But first, we have to do our.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:51)
Patron shout out!

**SPEAKER_3** (0:55)
You know it.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:56)
Patron shout out today is to Ford and Remy. Ford and Remy's dad, Robbie, messaged me and said, Hey, you know, Ford and Remy really love the Berenstain Bears. And I said, Me too. We have so much in common. We should do a story for them. And so this one is for you guys. I hope that you will be good students this year, wherever you are going, whatever you are learning, put your whole heart into it. Okay, my friends? And be good students and make your mom and dad proud.
And let's see what happens in this story, shall we? The Berenstain Bears and the Homework Castle was written by Stan and Jan Berenstain, and it is read today by Mommy, and... Philip! Let's go. If you're a bear for TV, loud music and fun, how are you gonna get your homework done?
Seriously, Mama was sitting in her favorite chair, straightening up her sewing basket when she sniffed the air and said, What's that funny smell? Papa looked up from the evening paper and sampled the air.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:30)
He said, I smell it too.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:33)
It smells like garbage, said Mama. It smells like garbage.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:41)
Papa sniffed again.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:43)
Now, where do you suppose?

**Lisa Bueno** (2:46)
Now, before we go any further, I want to just point something out here.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:51)
You're probably smelling the trash can.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:52)
You think? Do you know what it says here? It says, Papa looked up from the evening paper.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:59)
Do you know?

**SPEAKER_6** (2:59)
This is a long time ago, because we don't do the evening paper anymore.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:03)
We don't do the evening paper anymore. But do you know what that means?

**SPEAKER_6** (3:07)
It's like a newspaper.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:09)
It's a newspaper, right? They would print a newspaper in the morning, and they would print newspaper in the evening, so that you would know what the news was for the day. Okay.
I'll tell you where I suppose, said Mama, who had put aside her sewing basket, and sniffed around the room.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:29)
It's coming from Brother's backpack.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:33)
Sure enough, it was.
There was an old banana peel, a brown apple core, and a moldy piece of bread in Brother's backpack. Ew!

**SPEAKER_5** (3:48)
That's disgusting!

**Lisa Bueno** (3:51)
But that wasn't all that was in Brother's backpack. Among the books and papers was a letter. It was old and wrinkled, and it was from his teacher.
Mama read it. Then she passed it to Papa. After Papa read it, he looked across the table at Brother, who was doing his homework.
At least, he was supposed to be doing his homework. And maybe he was, but it was hard to tell by looking at him. He had a card table set up in front of the television, which was showing his favorite program, The Bear Stooges. He was listening to his boombox, and talking into a cell phone at the same time. There was a game bear and a bowl of popcorn on the TV, and oh, yes, there were some school books, and a paper, and pencil, too.

**SPEAKER_4** (4:51)
Excuse me, young sir, said Papa.

**SPEAKER_6** (4:56)
Is this the Mars space station?

**Lisa Bueno** (5:01)
I'll get back to you, Fred, said Brother. He put down the cell phone and turned off the boombox.
I'm not quite reading you, Dad.

**SPEAKER_6** (5:12)
You're not reading much of anything, according to this letter from your teacher. You may as well have been on Mars for all the attention you've been paying to your homework lately, said Papa.

**Lisa Bueno** (5:26)
Letter?
What letter? asked Brother.

**SPEAKER_6** (5:30)
This old wrinkled letter your mama found in your backpack, said Papa.