Living Books: The Berenstain Bears in the Dark

At the library, Brother Bear checks out The Case of the Crying Cave while Sister Bear picks something far less threatening. Boredom gets the better of her, and she starts reading along with Brother—right up until he dramatically howls, and Sister's imagination takes the wheel. That night, every shadow looks menacing. Brother wails again; Sister panics; Mama and Papa come running and end up in a heap at the bedroom door. No amount of reassurance convinces Sister that the dark is safe, and the argument over whether the lights stay on or off leaves the whole family exhausted the next morning. Papa takes Sister to the attic for a lesson—one about how imagination distorts what the dark actually is. He shows her his old night light and admits, to her considerable disbelief, that he once feared the dark too. That evening Sister finally finishes The Case of the Crying Cave, only to be disappointed that the mysterious wailing turns out to be the wind. She mentions this to Brother—and notices, with some satisfaction, that he looks just a little uneasy.