| The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter | |
| Season 1, Episode 4b | |
| Series: The Berenstain Bears (2002) | |
 | |
| Air date | September 14, 2002 (Treehouse TV) January 17, 2003 (PBS) |
| Written by | Bob Ardiel |
| Directed by | Gary Hurst & Kervin Faria |
| Preceded by The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Pets |
Followed by The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV |
“Brother: Mama and Papa are going out.
Sister: Gramps and Gran are too.
Brother: Who will stay at home with us?
Brother and Sister: Not just anyone will do.”
—Opening quote for The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter
The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter is the first segment of the fourth episode in season one of The Berenstain Bears. It first aired on Treehouse TV on September 14, 2002, and later on PBS on January 17, 2003. It is based on the book of the same name.
Summary[]
Brother and Sister are left in care of Mrs. Grizzle while Mama and Papa go to an important meeting at the Bear Country Town Hall. The cubs are upset at first, but eventually warm up to Mrs. Grizzle.
Plot[]
As Brother and Sister are on the playground tossing a baseball back and forth. Brother then prepares to hit the baseball with the bat and after doing so, Sister watches the ball soar over her head and land in Mrs. Grizzle's yard. They run to go and find it, but after climbing over the fence, Sister accidentally tramples a few flowers, then proceeds with Brother to the corn patch to find the baseball. Brother bumps his head on a scarecrow pole, knocking it over and scaring Sister, who then starts screaming.
As Mrs. Grizzle opens her back door, Brother and Sister both race to get out of her garden. Sister gets her ankle caught on the hose pipe and pulls the sprinkler toward Mrs. Grizzle, splashing her with water. Back at the Bear family tree house, Papa recites a speech about coffee and donuts served at meetings while he and Mama prepare to head out. Sister is excited about Gramps and Gran coming to watch her and Brother, but Mama tells her that they're going to the meeting, as are Aunt Maude and Cousin Wilbur. She then states she arranged Mrs. Grizzle to watch other the cubs, much to their dismay. While the cubs are nervous, they don't mention what they did this afternoon, instead they say that she may not know how to take care of them. Mama assures them that she's raised seven cubs of her own. Mrs. Grizzle arrives at the Bear family treehouse just as Mama and Papa get ready to head out while Brother and Sister both go and hide.
Mrs. Grizzle assures she'll find Brother and Sister and says that Mama and Papa should hurry off to their meeting. She sees the cubs in the living room reading books which she is pleased by. After she leaves, the cubs go upstairs, feeling assured that Mrs. Grizzle won't climb the stairs. In their room, the cubs are playing checkers until Mrs. Grizzle calls for them. Brother hurriedly closes the room door while Sister turns the lights off, then they both get into bed. As Mrs. Grizzle enters with a plate of cookies, Sister tells them they're "really tired" and are in bed at 7:00. After Mrs. Grizzle leaves, Brother smells the cookies and sits up in bed with Sister joining him. They both realize that they won't get a cookie after Mrs. Grizzle sees who they are following the flower garden and sprinkler incident. Their worries subside as they hear Mrs. Grizzle playing the piano in the living room.
In the kitchen, the cubs get a cookie each and eat them. Sister goes to the fridge to get the milk and pour a cup for her and Brother, but she makes a mess while doing so and Brother knocks over the stool. Mrs. Grizzle enters the kitchen and tells the cubs she'll get a mop and clean up the spilled milk. Brother was quick to notice that Mrs. Grizzle didn't recognize him and Sister.
Meanwhile at the town hall, a meeting was going on. Just as Papa was about to give his speech, an angry bear complains about the town council approving a garbage dump behind his house, making Papa angrily sit down while folding his arms saying that people will complain about anything. Back at the treehouse, Mrs. Grizzle shows Brother and Sister how to play tiddlywinks. At the meeting, Papa impatiently waits for his turn to speak, but Mama goes to call the cubs to see how things are going. At home, Brother and Sister make a building out of dominoes while Mrs. Grizzle goes to check on her tea kettle. After learning how nice Mrs. Grizzle is, Brother and Sister apologize to her for damaging her flowers, knocking over her scarecrow, and spraying her with the sprinkler.
Mrs. Grizzle remembers Brother's Bear Ruth baseball and gives it back to him, knowing that he was the one who sent it into her garden as she knows every cub in the neighborhood. Despite being mad, Mrs. Grizzle got over it. To make up for what they did, the cubs offer to replant Mrs. Grizzle's flowers and fix her scarecrow, which she agrees to. Back at the meeting, Papa prepares to give his speech, but Mama tells him that she couldn't get an answer from home and drags Papa with her out of the town hall. At home, Brother, Sister, and Mrs. Grizzle are looking at constellations until Mama and Papa return. Sister tells Papa everything that happened, and Mama realized that she and Papa ran home for nothing after learning that the cubs were safe and sound. Mrs. Grizzle takes Brother and Sister into the house for a bedtime story while Mama and Papa agree to get chairs, sit them under the cubs' bedroom window, and listen to the story.
Characters[]
- Papa Bear
- Mama Bear
- Brother Bear
- Sister Bear
- Mrs. Grizzle
- Teacher Bob (non-spoken cameo)
- Teacher Jane (non-spoken cameo)
- Principal Herbert Honeycomb (non-spoken cameo)
Errors[]
- In one scene, Sister's baseball cap is blue just like Brother's, but in the next shot, it is purple again.
Differences From the Book[]
- In the book, the story began where the Bear Family were hanging outside when Papa got the notice from the mailbox. In the cartoon, the story began where Brother and Sister were playing baseball.
- Mama's relatives Aunt Maude and Cousin Wilbur both had physical appearances in the book, though in the episode, Mama mentions them.
- In the book, Mama and Papa become worried about the cubs before the important meeting at the town hall, prompting Mama to phone the treehouse before the meeting began. In the episode, Mama is the only one to worry about the cubs as Papa gives his speech. She leaves the town hall while dragging Papa with her.
- In the book, Mama and Papa came home while Brother and Sister were already asleep (even Ms. Grizzle). In the cartoon, Brother and Sister were still awake when Mama and Papa came home.
Trivia[]
- Bear Ruth is a reference to the famous baseball player Babe Ruth.
Watch Episode[]
