the room was finally cleared. Mother
Blossom had managed to save some ice-cream for the players, and they
had this in great state in the kitchen while Sam was putting in the
chairs for the audience. Then Aunt Polly came out and swept every
child who was to take part into the dining-room, and said they must all
get into their costumes.

The living-room was long--it had once been two rooms--and a part of it
had been reserved for the stage. Aunt Polly didn't bother with
scenery, and yet no one had any difficulty in recognizing the first
scene when two of the children jerked back the portiere curtains.

"Well, what do you know about that!" said a surprised father right out
loud.

It was the story of the Three Bears they were playing, and there they
all were, the Big Bear and the Middle-Sized Bear and the Littlest Bear,
with their bowls of porridge and their beds made by putting two chairs
together.

"Isn't that great!" said Miss Mason, when the curtain was pulled
together again. She was so excited she never noticed she had used
slang. "Who was the cunning littlest bear?"

"Dot and Twaddles," Father Blossom informed her proudly. "But wait
till you see the next."

"A Day at the Zoo" came next, and Aunt Polly had planned this to give
each child a chance to play. There were six animals on the stage--five
besides the cinnamon bear that was Dot and Twaddles--a lion, a tiger, a
polar bear, a great flapping seal, and a zebra.

Each animal came forward and made a polite little bow, then recited
some verses about what he thought of life in the Zoo.

When it came the polar bear's turn, he ambled to the front of the stage
with an easy lope that convulsed the audience and started off bravely
with this verse, which you may have heard before. Perhaps your mother
knew it when she was a little girl:

"I'm a poor little bear, I belong to the show,
I stand here and sulk, but it's naughty, I know.
They want me to bow, to behave very nice,
But I long to go home and sleep on the ice."

The polar bear, wagging his red flannel tongue, recited very nicely
till he came to the last line. Then a big sneeze suddenly shook him.

"Oh, dear!" said part of him, most distinctly.

And another section of him piped up quickly, "Please excuse me!"

The audience clapped and clapped and laughed. They wanted the polar
bear to recite again, but he backed off and refused to come out. So
they drew the curtains together again and op