er of little birds
hopping about there, picking up the crums that were left, though they
took care to keep out of the way of the bears. Rollo and Carlos bought
some cakes of gingerbread of a woman who kept a stall near by, and,
breaking them into pieces, they threw them down to the bears. They threw
the most to a great white bear that was in one of the dens, and who
particularly attracted their attention. Rollo told Carlos that he
supposed this bear must have come from the north pole. The boys were
both by this time rather hungry; but they were so much interested in
seeing the bears try to catch the pieces of gingerbread that they did
not think to eat any of it themselves, but threw it all down to them,
all except one piece which Rollo gave to a little girl who stood beside
him, to let her throw it, because she had none of her own. For this
kindness the girl thanked Rollo, in French, in a very polite and proper
manner.

After being satisfied with seeing the bears, the boys wandered on
wherever they saw the most to attract them, until at length they came to
what is called the palace of the monkeys, which pleased them more than
any thing they had seen. This palace is an enormous round cage, as high
as a house, and nearly a hundred feet in diameter, with a range of stone
buildings all around it on the back side. These buildings have little
rooms in them, where the monkeys live in the winter, and where they
always sleep at night. They go out into the cage to play. The cage is
formed of slender iron posts and railing, so that the people standing
outside can see the monkeys at their sports and gambols. They play with
each other in every possible way, and frolic just as if they were in
their native woods. They climb up the smooth iron posts, pursuing one
another; and then, leaping across through the air, they catch upon a
rope, from which they swing themselves across to the branch of a tree.
Some of these branches have bells attached to them; and the monkey, when
he gets upon such a one, will spring it up and down till he sets the
bell to ringing, and then, assisted by the return of the branch, he
bounds away through the air to some rope, or pole, or railing that he
sees within his reach. The agility which these animals display in these
feats is truly astonishing.

Rollo and Carlos watched their evolutions with great interest. There was
an excellent place to see, for the land opposite the cage ascended in
such a manner that