“When asked to do something that they hate, most bears will procrastinate.”
—Opening quote
The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores is a book in the Berenstain Bears series. It was published by HarperCollins in 2005.
Synopsis[]
Mama asks her family to do chores, but they come up with excuses on why they can't do them and both Brother and Sister argue over whose turn it is to do things. As the family continues to neglect their chores, the treehouse becomes messier and messier.
Plot[]
Brother and Sister were good about school work, safety, and manners while Papa was good about helping the cubs with their homework, keeping his tools sharp, and helping neighbors. However, they were not good about doing chores. One day, Mama tells Papa that the grass needs cutting, but Papa can't do it because a spider had spun a web on the lawnmower and he doesn't want to undo all her hard work. That night, Brother asks Mama if he could skip setting the table because there was a TV show about the Ice Age airing and he had to do a report on the Beast of Belugastan. Sister tells Mama that she plans on waiting for Little Lady's poop to dry so it'll be easier to get up.
An argument between Brother and Sister ensued when the latter complained to Mama about Brother getting "easy" jobs, where Brother protests that his job, which was setting the table, is not easy. Mama then took it upon herself to do all the housework and tend to Baby Honey. After a while, Papa calls for a family meeting and says that they should ease up on the chores a little as there are other things to do such as hiking, going fishing, riding bikes, and jumping rope. To Papa and the cubs' surprise, Mama slyly agreed with them as she brings up that she hasn't been to her quilting club and she has to get her exhibit for the flower show ready. Mama asks Papa for his opinion on shasta daisies and silver moon roses, then has Sister go upstairs to water her grapefruit plant due to the kitchen sink being overloaded with dishes, and Brother tells Mama that his marbles are gone. She tells him to look in the vacuum cleaner as she has sucked them up while vacuuming, then leaves to go to her quilting club.
As time went on, the treehouse got messier with the bathroom being a mess, burnt crumbs in the toaster, crooked pictures, fruit flies over the sink, a green mold growing on the shower curtain, and while Sister was taking a bath, a millipede swam toward her. One day, as Mama went off to her flower club, Papa, Sister, and Brother all decide to take care of the mess immediately. After a while, Papa, Brother, and Sister were all exhausted and took a rest and waited on Mama to come home. When she did, Mama notices that the entire house is clean and gave everyone a big hug while giving Papa a kiss.
Trivia[]
- Moral: Procrastinating on something will only cause trouble in the end. Even if you don't like doing something, take care of it immediately.