Chapter 1
The Good Old Days
Every spring, when Bear Country School let out for summer vacation, cubsâ hopes were sky-high. Whether they planned to be at home or at camp, most of them expected to have a great time. But summer was a funny thing. It had a way of turning out to be not quite as great as youâd expected.
That was often the case for Brother Bear. And he was a summer bear if ever there was one. He liked school well enough. But summer meant fun, excitement, adventure. Of course, Brotherâs best friend, Bonnie Brown, wasnât usually around in the summertime. She lived at Grizzly Mansion with her aunt and uncle, Lady and Squire Grizzly, during the school year, but often went out to Hollywood for the summer to act in TV commercials and sitcoms and spend time with her movie actor and actress parents.
Fortunately for Brother, though, he could always count on good old Cousin Fred to keep him from getting too bored in the summertime. He and Fred went way back. When they were babies, they played together in the same playpen in Brotherâs backyard in the summertime. When they were toddlers, they were inseparable in their summer playgroup.
But it was when Brother and Fred were old enough to go to Bear Country School that the summers really started to heat up, so to speak. They had all kinds of summer adventures together: running races, playing softball, fishing, hiking, going to Grizzlyland Amusement Park, and snooping around in places they werenât supposed to beâlike Farmer Benâs hayloft.
And this summer wonât be any different , Brother thought as he walked home from the last half-day of school. He was going to phone Fred right away to make plans for the afternoon. But he never had the chance, because Fred beat him to it.
Fred, who was known to read the dictionary for fun, never used words he couldnât define. âPremonition,â he said. âA feeling of anticipation about a future event.â
âOkay,â said Brother. âSo whatâs your premonition?â
âYou know how we always said that summer is for adventure?â said Fred.
âSure,â said Brother. âAnd itâs true. Whenâs a better time for adventure?â
âBut we always end up doing the same things summer after summer,â said Fred. âFishing, hiking, Grizzlyland, and all that stuff. The same adventures. Well, I had a premonition that weâre gonna have a new adventure this summer. Just you and me. And itâll be more than an adventure with a small a. Itâll be a Great Adventureâyou know, the kind with a capital G and a capital A.â
âWhat kind of Great Adventure?â asked Brother.
âDunno,â said Fred. âThatâs where the premonition left off.â
âWell, I donât know about any Great Adventure,â said Brother. âBut I have a premonition that you and I are gonna do something this afternoon.â
âYou must be psychic,â said Fred. âBut why wait till this afternoon? We could go downtown for lunch right now.â
âDeal,â said Brother. âBurger Bear or Pizza Shack?â
âLetâs decide when I come by and pick you up,â said Fred. âSee ya â¦â
As the cubs got ready to go out, neither of them had the slightest idea that their Great Adventure would begin that very day. In fact, it would begin before they even had a chance to eat lunch â¦
Chapter 2
Dullsville
Minutes later, Brother and Fred were walking through downtown Beartown on their way to the Pizza Shack for lunch. As they strolled through the town square, someone called to them from the bench in front of Old Shag, Beartownâs historic back-scratching tree. It was Grizzly Gramps.
âHey, you two,â said Gramps, rising. âWait up. I just happen to be headed in the same direction you are.â
Now, Brother and Fred usually liked to run into Gramps. Gramps was