“When cubs are at play, it's always the same. Accidents happen. Who's to blame?”
—Opening quote for The Berenstain Bears and the Blame Game
The Berenstain Bears and the Blame Game is a book in the Berenstain Bears series. It was first published on October 7, 1997.
Summary[]
Brother and Sister break things around the house and get embroiled in a seemingly-endless blame game, with the cubs pointing back and forth and blaming each other for the things they did prior. It gets on Mama's nerves and later Papa's.
Plot[]
Mama Bear hadn't been in a good mood recently because of Brother and Sister playing the blame game after both had made messes around the house. One day, Brother and Sister both knock over Mama's vase full of water and roses on the floor, shattering it and leaving a pile of glass, a puddle of water, and three roses in its wake. When Mama angrily asks who knocked the vase over, Sister states that Brother did it, with Brother objecting that Sister poked his ribs. It then fell into a long story of "But" and "Because" as Sister and Brother explain to Mama about the things they did to each other.
Papa, who was outside fixing up the downstairs bay window, steps inside to put a stop to the blame game and help with the broken vase. He has Brother get the dustpan and Sister get the paper towels. Mama then picks up the roses and puts them in a new vase while Papa places paper towels on the puddle of water and sweeps them, along with the small pieces of broken glass, into the dustpan.
However, while the cubs were outside playing, Papa, who was putting his paint and putty away, hears that Brother and Sister broke the bay window. He runs over to see Brother wearing a baseball glove and Sister holding a baseball bat. The cubs started pointing at each other and another blame game ensues, with Papa exploding like a volcano. Mama then comes outside with a pail and some pairs of gloves and aids Papa and the cubs in fixing up the bay window.
Mama takes the baseball bat and glove back into the treehouse while Papa takes his tools back to his toolshed, stating that there is someone to blame, but there's usually enough blame to go around.
Trivia[]
- Moral: When you and another person engage in something wrong, you're both at fault regardless.