“Was it a purple bird with green winged tips and yellow feet? Or a yellow bird with purple wing tips and green feet? Or was it a white bird with black spots like that soccer ball behind my easy chair?”
″ ‘It wasn’t a bird!’ said Sister, ‘It was a soccer ball.’
‘And it was all my fault!’ shouted Brother.
‘It was just as much my fault!’ shouted Sister.”
“I’m not worried about the lamp. We can always get another lamp, or we can glue this one back together. What I’m sad about is the thought that maybe, just maybe, my cubs, whom I’ve always trusted, aren’t telling me the truth. And trust is not something you can put back together again.”
“And it turned out that Mama had been right: things did go more smoothly. Once they got into the good manners habit, they didn’t even have to think about it.”
“There was his snug little bed with a new baby in it. Small Bear had outgrown his snug little bed just in time for his new baby sister. And now he was a big brother!”
“Mama Bear wasn’t quite sure how or why it happened. But she was sure of one thing-- whatever the reason, the Bear family had become a pushing, shoving, name calling, ill mannered mess!
“A habit is something you do so often you don’t even have to think about it. Habits are a very important part of our lives. And most of them are good- like brushing your teeth and combing your fur when you get up in the morning, and looking both ways before crossing the road. But some habits aren’t so good.”
“She reached out with her knee and blocked the ball, which bounced against a bookshelf, against a chair, against a footstool, and into Mama’s most favorite lamp, which fell to the floor with a crash!”
“This looks just like a honey tree. And ... it feels just like a honey tree. And... it goes ‘Buzz! Buzz!’ like a honey tree. And... it tastes just like a honey tree!”
“You see, there are some kinds of medicine that you take after you get sick, and those are very useful. But this kind of shot is a special medicine that keeps you from getting sick.”
“But it didn’t work the way they expected. Mama didn’t get fed up at all. After a while Brother and Sister forgot about being super polite and were just polite.”
“While Dr. Bearson checked Brother Bear’s teeth, Sister looked at the other tools on his work tray- there were little picks, a scraper, a tamper, and ULP!- A yanker! ”
“The cubs looked into Mama’s eyes, then at each other, and then they began to tell one of the biggest whoppers that has ever been told in Bear Country. ”
“Brother bear was cautious and careful and a little weary of strangers. Sister, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit wary. She was friendly to a fault. ”
“The reason you should never talk to a stranger and never ever take presents from a stranger and never ever go anywhere with a stranger is that it’s dangerous.”
″ ‘There’ll always be a couple bad apples in every barrel.’ That’s the way it is with strangers. Cubs have to be careful because of a few ‘bad apples’.”
″ You know, what Papa told you was quite right. It’s not a good idea to talk to strangers or accept presents or rides from them. But, that doesn’t mean that all strangers are bad.”