diff --git a/src/documentation/content/xdocs/status.xml b/src/documentation/content/xdocs/status.xml
index 0da406cdc3..5038f83145 100644
--- a/src/documentation/content/xdocs/status.xml
+++ b/src/documentation/content/xdocs/status.xml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 
     <changes>
         <release version="3.7-beta3" date="2010-??-??">
+           <action dev="poi-developers" type="fix">49936 - Handle HWPF documents with problematic HeaderStories better</action>
            <action dev="poi-developers" type="fix">49933 - Support sections in Word 6 and Word 95 files (HWPFOldDocument)</action>
            <action dev="poi-developers" type="fix">49941 - Correctly handle space preservation of XSSFRichTextRuns when applying fonts to parts of the string</action>
            <action dev="poi-developers" type="fix">Correct XWPFRun detection of bold/italic in a paragraph with multiple runs of different styles</action>
diff --git a/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/HeaderStories.java b/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/HeaderStories.java
index 4afaba9d1e..c0322115b3 100644
--- a/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/HeaderStories.java
+++ b/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/HeaderStories.java
@@ -157,10 +157,18 @@ public final class HeaderStories {
 			// Empty story
 			return "";
 		}
+		if(prop.getEnd() < prop.getStart()) {
+		   // Broken properties?
+		   return "";
+		}
+
+		// Ensure we're getting a sensible length
+		String rawText = headerStories.text();
+		int start = Math.min(prop.getStart(), rawText.length());
+		int end = Math.min(prop.getEnd(), rawText.length());
 
 		// Grab the contents
-		String text =
-			headerStories.text().substring(prop.getStart(), prop.getEnd());
+		String text = rawText.substring(start, end);
 
 		// Strip off fields and macros if requested
 		if(stripFields) {
diff --git a/src/scratchpad/testcases/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/TestProblems.java b/src/scratchpad/testcases/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/TestProblems.java
index 3ca917514f..19e67a46db 100644
--- a/src/scratchpad/testcases/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/TestProblems.java
+++ b/src/scratchpad/testcases/org/apache/poi/hwpf/usermodel/TestProblems.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import org.apache.poi.EncryptedDocumentException;
 import org.apache.poi.hwpf.HWPFDocument;
 import org.apache.poi.hwpf.HWPFTestCase;
 import org.apache.poi.hwpf.HWPFTestDataSamples;
+import org.apache.poi.hwpf.extractor.WordExtractor;
 import org.apache.poi.hwpf.model.StyleSheet;
 
 /**
@@ -232,6 +233,27 @@ public final class TestProblems extends HWPFTestCase {
          }
       }
    }
+   
+   /**
+    * Bug #49936 - Problems with reading the header out of
+    *  the Header Stories
+    */
+   public void testProblemHeaderStories49936() throws Exception {
+      HWPFDocument doc = HWPFTestDataSamples.openSampleFile("HeaderFooterProblematic.doc");
+      HeaderStories hs = new HeaderStories(doc);
+      
+      assertEquals("", hs.getFirstHeader());
+      assertEquals("\r", hs.getEvenHeader());
+      assertEquals("", hs.getOddHeader());
+      
+      assertEquals("", hs.getFirstFooter());
+      assertEquals("", hs.getEvenFooter());
+      assertEquals("", hs.getOddFooter());
+      
+      WordExtractor ext = new WordExtractor(doc);
+      assertEquals("\n", ext.getHeaderText());
+      assertEquals("", ext.getFooterText());
+   }
 
    /**
     * Bug #48245 - don't include the text from the
diff --git a/test-data/document/HeaderFooterProblematic.doc b/test-data/document/HeaderFooterProblematic.doc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a4d9d303d2
Binary files /dev/null and b/test-data/document/HeaderFooterProblematic.doc differ