“What is this?” asked Snythergen, as they came into an odd little room in the basement with circular wall and a spotless aluminum floor. To cross it they walked on a bridge, raised several feet above the floor. “This is the pie room,” said the housekeeper. “The crust is rolled out on the pie pan floor and the work of putting in the filling is managed from the bridge. When it is ready, we light the gas under the floor and the pie is cooked.” “But who could ever eat such a big one?” asked Sancho Wing. “Oh, the bear eats most of it,” said the housekeeper. “The bear!” cried they in great alarm. “Is there a bear?” “Yes,” said the housekeeper. Snythergen turned pale and looked for the door. Squeaky had already started to run and Sancho Wing flew up to the ceiling. “Stay right here—there’s nothing to fear,” said the housekeeper, calling them back. “The bear arrived about a week ago,” she continued when they were able to listen. “We did not want to let him in but Santa Claus telephoned the keeper at the zoological gardens and asked if bears were safe.” “‘They are,’ said he, ‘if you feed them olives and custard pie.’ “We tried it and it worked, and now there is not a quieter member of our family than the bear after he is fed. When he is hungry is the only time he is quarrelsome. But at such times we keep food between ourselves and him.” “We had a bear too,” said Snythergen, “but he always stole away as soon as he had eaten, and never came near except when he was hungry.” “That’s just like our bear,” said the housekeeper, “forever trying to hide when he is not at his best. But Santa Claus has him sit around and visit after dinner, though he makes a very sorry figure.” “Why, what does he do?” asked Squeaky. “As soon as he is fed his spirit is gone,” replied the housekeeper. “He becomes as timid as a mouse, and trembles if you look at him; jumps if you speak to him; blushes if you pay him any attention.” “How does a bear blush?” asked Snythergen. [Illustration: _“Bears should not talk when their mouths are full of food,” said Santa Claus kindly_] “He does it with his lips. They change color back and forth very rapidly from pink to red. But Santa Claus is coming and it is time for dinner.” As she spoke they entered a dining room so large, the huge table and ancestral chairs seemed like dolls’ furniture in its vast interior. And now Santa Claus entered smiling blandly. He was attired in gorgeous evening clothes—a flaming swallowtail coat lined with crimson, deep purple vest with large white buttons; a ruby glowing like a burning eye adorned his shirt. Cream silk stockings and pale blue knickerbockers he wore, and his boots were red with black trimmings. Scarcely had Santa Claus entered the room when the bear came lumbering after him. Eying the “three wise men” with a swift look of recognition he licked his chops. “Why, it’s our bear!” said Snythergen in a sickly whisper. “How did he follow us?”