The Love Match

by Stan

  Contents

  1. Massive Milton

  2. Shy Guy

  3. Family Discussion

  4. A Budding Friendship

  5. On His Own Turf

  6. A Shocking Decision

  7. The Sleeping Giant Wakes!

  8. A New Life

  9. Two Rights Make a Wrong

  10. Let’s Get It On!

  11. Pancake, Anyone?

  12. You Light Up My Life

  About the Authors

  The Berenstain Bears and the New Girl in Town

  Chapter 1: Something in the Air

  Copyright

  Back Ad

  About the Publisher

  Chapter 1

  Massive Milton

  As towns go, Beartown was a rather small one. That made Bear Country School, as schools go, a pretty small school. Most of the cubs there knew each other, and most of the new cubs each year were the incoming kindergartners who were the brothers and sisters of cubs in the higher grades.

  But every once in a while, a different kind of new cub appeared at school: a cub whose family had just moved to Beartown. To such a cub, every other cub in the school was a total stranger. That made it kind of hard to adjust to school life. And it was especially hard for a new cub who looked unusual in some way. No cub knew that better than Harry “Wheels” McGill. Harry’s legs had been injured in an auto accident when he was a little cub, and he had to use a wheelchair to get around. That made other cubs uncomfortable around him at first. All except for Too-Tall and his gang. They weren’t uncomfortable around him—they just teased him without mercy.

  Ever since his difficult experience, Harry had taken a special interest in helping other new cubs adjust. But he suspected that his wheelchair made new cubs uncomfortable, so he usually teamed up with Brother Bear and his friends, the cubs who had helped him in his own ordeal. That’s why, at this very moment, Harry was steering his wheelchair across the crowded school playground to where Brother and friends were talking.

  “Hi, Wheels,” said Brother. “What’s up?”

  “Something’s comin’ down, that’s what’s up,” said Harry.

  “I object,” sniffed Ferdy Factual, peering through his thick lenses at Harry. “A thing cannot be both up and down at the same time. It’s a contradiction in terms. Unless, of course, you’re speaking about quantum physics—”

  “I’ll give you a contradiction right in the nose, Ferd,” said Harry good-naturedly. “No time for wordplay. We’ve got to act fast.” He pointed across the playground to a cluster of girl cubs gathered closely around a boy cub who stood head and shoulders above them.

  “Wow,” said Brother. “Kinda tall, isn’t he?”

  “That’s not all he is,” said Harry. “He’s also wide. Very wide. His name’s Milton.”

  “Milton?” said Barry Bruin. “He’s gonna get teased about that name.”

  “Not to mention his weight,” said Harry. “And, to top it all off, he’s also very shy. Look, Too-Tall and the gang are coming up the road now. I want you guys to make friends with Milton before they get here and start messin’ with him. But no remarks about his weight. Or his clothes. Got that?”

  The cubs nodded. “Don’t worry,” said Brother. “We’ll all just say, ‘Hi, Milton. It’s very nice to meet you.’”

  “Good,” said Harry. “A little stiff, but good. Come on.”

  As they approached the cluster, they could hear the girls’ voices, high and shrill. Queenie McBear: “Oh, Milton, you’re such a big bear on campus!” Babs Bruno: “I’m sure you’re just as big-hearted as you are big, Milton!” Bermuda McBear: “May I put my arms around you, Milton? Never mind, I don’t think they’ll go all the way around!” Each tease was greeted by a gale of squeals and giggles and by a deeper reddening of Milton’s broad face.

  “What are you girls up to?” scolded Harry.

  Queenie looked over her shoulder at Harry in mock surprise. “We’re just havin’ a little ol’ blushing contest,” she said. “With Milton as the only contestant!” More squealing and giggling.

  “Well, break it up,” said Harry. “It’s time for Milton to meet some of the guys.”

  The cluster of girls parted, revealing Milton in all his glory. Brother could see why Harry was concerned for the poor guy. He was wearing a pair of overalls. And he wasn’t just tall and wide. He was enormous.

  Brother stepped forward to be introduced first.

  “Milton,” said Harry, “I want you to meet a good friend of mine, Brother Bear.” Milton thrust his meaty hand at Brother as Harry continued, “Brother, this is Milton Chubb.”

  Brother had his opening line well memorized by now, but hearing Milton’s last name threw him off balance. He grasped the new cub’s hand and said, “Hi, Milton. It’s very fat to meet you.”

  Bonnie Brown gasped. Harry looked at Brother in horror. Milton’s ongoing blush turned a deeper shade of red.

  “And this,” said Harry quickly, pulling Ferdy forward, “is Ferdy Factual. He’s our resident genius and nephew of the great scientist Actual Factual.”

  Again Milton put out his huge hand. “Gee,” he said softly. “It’s an honor, Ferdy.”

  Ferdy, delighted at the respect he was being shown, smiled and shook Milton’s hand. But he too could not get Milton’s last name out of his mind. “Thank you very large,” he said, then added, “Ouch!” as Cousin Fred elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Way to go, Brother and Ferdy!” boomed a familiar voice behind them. Too-Tall and his gang had arrived. “You sure got off a couple of zingers there!”

  Brother said quickly, “But we didn’t mean—”

  “Of course, you didn’t,” sneered Too-Tall. “You straight arrows would never stoop to making fun of a new cub, would you?” He looked Milton up and down. The cub was as tall as he was and much heavier. “Well, look what the cat dragged in—or maybe I should say lion.” The gang snickered. Too-Tall frowned and tapped his chin with a forefinger. “Nah. Let’s forget about cats altogether. Look what the elephant dragged in!”

  The rest of the gang doubled over in fits of laughter.

  “Come on, big guy,” pleaded Harry, who was Too-Tall’s best chess buddy. “Be nice.”

  “Be what?” said Too-Tall. “You gotta be kiddin’! I couldn’t be nice if I tried. It ain’t in my nature.” He turned back to the new cub. “What’s your name, big fella?”

  Milton cleared his throat. “Milton Chubb,” he said softly.

  Skuzz, Smirk, and Vinnie rolled around on the blacktop, roaring with laughter. Too-Tall just grinned broadly. “What was that?” he said, cupping his hand behind his ear. “I didn’t quite get that—Milton Blubber, was it?”

  The new cub was blushing so hard now you could almost see steam rising from his head. “Chubb,” he muttered, looking at the ground.

  “Oh, Chubb!” said Too-Tall. “Chubb’s the name, fat’s his game! But he needs a nickname, too.”

  “I know, boss!” cried Skuzz. “Let’s make him a gang member! I’ll even let him be your right-hand bear. The two of you would be great together. Too-Tall and…Too-Fat!”

  When the crowd’s laughter had died down, Too-Tall waved a hand. “Nah. I got a better nickname.” He stepped forward and brought his right hand down on the new cub’s shoulder in a slow karate-chop motion. “I dub thee…Massive Milton!”

  Harry, Brother, and Bonnie gritted their teeth as they watched Milton fix his gaze on the blacktop before him. He seemed to be trying to burn a hole in it with his eyes so he could climb in and hide.

  “Wait a minute,” said Too-Tall, sniffing the air. “What’s that I smell?”

  Vinnie hurried to Too-Tall’s side. He had the gang’s sharpest nose. “Smells like a combinatio
n of hay and chicken feed, boss,” he announced.

  Too-Tall looked up at Milton. “You wouldn’t happen to live on a farm, would you?” he asked.

  “My dad and mom are the new hands at Farmer Ben’s,” said Milton. “I help them out.”

  “You know, you really ought to take a shower before you come to school,” said Too-Tall in a helpful tone of voice.

  Milton’s eyebrows raised. “I did,” he said.

  “Well, tomorrow take two,” said Too-Tall. “Like I always say, Milt. The first test you have to pass at Bear Country School is the sniff test. Let’s go, gang.”

  As they strolled away, Too-Tall looked back and called, “Hang with us after school, Miltie! We’ll show you the town!”

  “I don’t know about that, boss!” shouted Skuzz for all to hear. “How they gonna keep him down on the farm after he’s seen Beartown?”

  When they’d gone, Harry eased his wheelchair up to Milton. “If you haven’t already guessed,” he said, “that was our resident gang leader and bully. Sorry you had to meet him so soon.”

  Just then the morning bell rang, signaling the start of school.

  “If you’re in Teacher Bob’s class,” said Brother, “we’ll walk with you.”

  Milton just looked around the group of cubs, then stared off at Too-Tall and the gang. “Smart-aleck city cubs,” he muttered. He turned and trudged off alone to the schoolhouse entrance.

  Brother caught Harry’s eye, and they both sighed and shook their heads. It wasn’t going to be easy helping Milton Chubb adjust to Bear Country School.

  Chapter 2

  Shy Guy

  Brother, Harry, and their friends thought Milton’s remark about “city cubs” a bit odd until they heard about the new cub’s background in Teacher Bob’s class. Whenever a new cub joined the class, Teacher Bob asked him to stand up and say a little about himself. It turned out that the Chubbs came from a farming area whose biggest town consisted of a few homes, a gas station, a mom-and-pop grocery store, and a feed store. The nearest Greybear Bus station was twenty miles away. So, to Milton, Beartown must have seemed like a big city.

  Unfortunately, Milton didn’t make a good impression on the class when he rose to speak. His shyness got in the way. Teacher Bob had to pull every little bit of information out of him by asking questions. Soon Milton began to blush again. It didn’t help that most of the class was whispering and snickering. Especially the girls. The only girl who wasn’t, besides Bonnie Brown, was Bertha Broom. Bertha was almost as big as Milton and had lived on a farm for years before coming to Beartown. She looked up at Milton with interest and admiration as Teacher Bob asked questions. Seeing her rapt attention might have boosted the confidence of a cub less shy with girls than Milton. But as soon as she caught Milton’s eye, he blushed more deeply and his knees started to shake.

  “Tim-ber-r-r!” shouted Too-Tall. “Look out below!”

  The class broke up laughing. Milton sighed and sank back into his chair as Teacher Bob motioned for quiet.

  “Good talk, Milt,” said Too-Tall. “Heavy.”

  Things didn’t go any better for Milton in gym class later that day. The cubs were right in the middle of a two-week gymnastics program, and today was the day for vaulting the horse. Milton took one look at the imposing apparatus and gulped. But Mr. Grizzmeyer, the gym teacher, insisted that everyone give it a try. Brother vaulted first while Mr. Grizzmeyer spotted for him, and he cleared the horse with room to spare. Then Brother replaced the teacher as spotter for the rest of the cubs. Everyone cleared the horse without a hitch, except for Babs Bruno, who caught a foot on the apparatus and tumbled off to one side. Luckily, Brother was a good spotter and caught her before she hurt herself.

  Meanwhile, Milton kept moving backward rather than forward in line, letting other cubs go ahead of him. Finally, there was no one left in line but Milton. He took a deep breath and readied himself for an awkward run at the horse.

  But now that Mr. Grizzmeyer had taken a closer look at the new cub, he was having his doubts about Brother’s ability to spot for him. Clearly someone bigger and stronger was needed. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Too-Tall and the gang sneaking off across the gym. (They had a habit of trying to leave early.) “Hey, you guys!” he barked. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Too-Tall grinned and said, “I think we’ll observe this one from a safer distance, if you don’t mind, Mr. G.”

  “Well, I do mind!” snapped Mr. Grizzmeyer. “Get back over here. In fact, Too-Tall, I want you to replace Brother as spotter.”

  “Replace who as what?” asked Too-Tall in mock horror. “Are you tryin’ to get me killed?”

  The cubs all laughed. All except Milton and Bertha.

  “Quit bellyaching and do it,” ordered Mr. Grizzmeyer.

  Winking at the class, Too-Tall strutted over to the horse and took up his position. With supreme confidence, he called, “Okay, Miltie! Let ’er rip!”

  Milton took another massive breath and lumbered toward the horse. When he was about halfway there, some of the cubs noticed that the look of confidence on Too-Tall’s face had vanished. And as Milton planted his hands on the horse’s handles and, with legs spread wide, thrust his enormous body into the air, Too-Tall looked as if he might panic. But he didn’t. When both of Milton’s huge feet hit the horse, causing him to pitch forward, Too-Tall rushed to catch him.

  Milton hit the mat with a resounding thud. Actually, it was more complicated than that: Milton hit Too-Tall, and Too-Tall, with Milton on top of him, hit the mat with a resounding thud.

  “Wow!” said Barry Bruin as the new cub picked himself up amid much laughter from the class. “Maybe we could get Milton a job in a pancake restaurant!”

  This time it wasn’t only Milton and Bertha who didn’t laugh. Too-Tall was quiet, too. As the bell rang ending the period, he peeled himself off the mat and stomped off toward the exit, without even inviting his gang to follow.

  As the rest of the class headed for the exit, too, Mr. Grizzmeyer hurried over to Milton. “I like the way you carry that weight, son,” he said brightly. “We could sure use a hefty lad like you on our football and basketball teams.”

  “Yeah!” said Skuzz. “We need a wide body in the low post in basketball.”

  “And he could play wide receiver on the football team!” cracked Smirk.

  “No way!” said Vinnie. “He should play offensive end. ’Cause he has the most offensive end of any cub in the school!”

  “That’s enough out of you three!” snapped Mr. Grizzmeyer. “Don’t listen to those bums,” he told Milton.

  But the damage had been done. Milton was already trudging toward the exit. It looked as if he didn’t want to have anything to do with school sports.

  Chapter 3

  Family Discussion

  The fact that Too-Tall rather than Milton had gotten the worst of Milton’s horse vault was bad news for Milton. At afternoon recess, Too-Tall was on the new cub’s case even worse than before. Brother and his friends watched in disgust as the gang hurled a steady stream of abuse at their victim.

  That evening, at the Bear family’s dinner table. Papa brought up the subject of Farmer Ben’s new hired hands. He wondered if they had any children.

  “Sure do,” said Sister. “Milton Chubb. Which is a real kick, because he’s the chubbiest cub in the school. Isn’t that hilarious?”

  “It’s not funny, Sis,” said Brother.

  “Hey, what happened to your sense of humor?” chided Sister.

  “I’ll admit it must seem funny if you’ve never seen the poor guy in action,” said Brother. “But if you’d seen what I saw today in Teacher Bob’s class, in gym class, and on the playground, you might be crying instead of laughing.”

  “Oh, dear,” said Mama. “That bad?”

  Brother nodded. He told them all about the girls teasing Milton and Too-Tall getting on his case with a vengeance.

  “Sounds pretty rough,” said Papa. �
��There aren’t many cubs who’ll stand up to Too-Tall.”

  “That’s just what I’ve been thinking,” said Brother. “I’m just about the only cub who’s ever succeeded at it. That’s why I’m gonna confront Too-Tall tomorrow morning. I’ll tell him that if he doesn’t lay off Milton, he’ll have to fight me.”

  “Are you kidding?” said Sister. “I hear Too-Tall’s still furious at Milton for falling on him in gym class. I don’t think he’ll back down. And that means you’ll get beat up!”

  “Then so be it,” said Brother grimly. “Somebody has to put a stop to this nonsense.”

  Mama, Papa, and Sister looked at Brother in astonishment. They had never seen him so determined about anything before.

  Finally Papa said, “It’s very noble of you to take one on the chin for a cub you hardly know, Brother. But I wonder if you’ve given enough thought to finding a way to solve this problem short of violence.”

  “Papa’s right, dear,” said Mama. “Besides, solving Milton’s problem for him might make it that much harder for him to earn the respect of other cubs. Wouldn’t it be better for Milton if you could find a way to help him solve his own problem?”

  Brother thought for a moment. He nodded. “I see what you mean, Mama. But I don’t see how he could solve it. He’s such a wimp.”

  “Now, wait just a minute,” said Mama. “Nothing you’ve told us about Milton suggests he’s afraid of Too-Tall. He might just be shy and soft-spoken. That doesn’t make him a wimp.”

  “Hmm,” said Brother. “You might be right again. Come to think of it, he didn’t seem afraid of Too-Tall on the playground. He did a lot of looking down out of embarrassment. But he didn’t even flinch when Too-Tall put his hand on his shoulder and dubbed him Massive Milton.”

  “There you are!” said Papa. “You don’t know this cub well enough to say whether or not he can solve the problem. It seems to me that the first step to helping him is getting to know him better. Why don’t you pay Farmer Ben a visit after school tomorrow, son?”