Copyright © 1980 by Stanley and Janice Berenstain.

Copyright renewed 1994 by Stanley and Janice Berenstain.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

www.randomhouse.com/kids

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Berenstain, Stanley. The Berenstain Bears and the missing dinosaur bone. Summary: The three Bear Detectives search for a dinosaur bone that is missing from the Bear Museum. [1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Bears—Fiction. 3. Stories in rhyme.] I. Berenstain, Jan, joint author. II. Title. PZ8.3.B4493Bg [E] 79-3458 eISBN: 978-0-375-98316-0

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Title Page

Copyright

First Page

Bears lining up

outside the door.

Dr. Bear, inside,

pacing the floor.

What’s wrong in there?

What’s up? What’s up?

wonder three little bears

and one little pup.

A dinosaur bone

is missing in there!

“Somebody took it!”

said Dr. Bear.

“Who took that bone?

Who took it? Where?”

Three little bears

and their hound dog, Snuff,

come inside

with their detective stuff.

There’s no case too hard,

no case too tough,

for the Bear Detectives

and their hound dog, Snuff!

The search begins!

And none too soon.

The Bear Museum

opens at noon.

They will search the place.

Every cranny and nook.

Will they find the bone?

Will they find the crook?

A dark, dark room.

A mummy’s tomb!

Is that the thief?

That spooky face?

No.

That’s the museum’s

mummy case.

Eleven fifteen.

Time grows short.

Now, where would one hide

a bone of that sort?

It could be there,

inside that vase.

The bone thief’s

perfect hiding place!

“You can look

in that valuable vase

if you must.”

“There’s nothing

in there

but some valuable dust.”

Not much time left.

Just half an hour!

The Bear Detectives

search the tower.

There he is! The thief!

And the bone he stole!

Wrong again.

That’s an

Indian totem pole.

It’s getting late

but still they look.

And still no bone,

and still no crook.

“Say …

maybe bone thieves work in packs.

Three thieves!

With a sword, and a gun, and an ax!”

Wrong again!

It’s the museum’s

famous statues of wax!

They had better find

that leg bone soon.

There’s just one minute

left till noon!

With no more time

to search and look,

they know they will not

catch that crook.

They failed!

This case is much too hard.…

Wait!…

What’s that out there in the yard?

That lump of ground—

that bone-shaped mound!

The missing bone!

It’s found! It’s found!

With hound dog paw prints

all around.

THE CASE IS SOLVED!

No job’s too hard,

no case too tough,

for the Bear Detectives …

and that

bone thief, Snuff.