for he'd
heard it was such a good place to keep things, and perhaps he could get
some ideas for the Hollow Tree; and Mr. 'Possum said that Mr. Bear had
the name of having a bigger pantry and more things in it than all the
rest of the Deep Woods People put together.

So they left Mr. Bear all nice and comfortable, sleeping there by the
fire, and lit another candle and went over to his pantry, which was at
the other side of the room, and opened the door and looked in.

Well, they couldn't say a word at first, but only just looked at one
another and at all the things they saw in that pantry. First, on the top
shelf there was a row of pies, clear around. Then on the next shelf
there was a row of cakes--first a fruit-cake, then a jelly-cake, then
another fruit-cake and then another jelly-cake, and the cakes went all
the way around, too, and some of them had frosting on them, and you
could see the raisins in the fruit-cake and pieces of citron. Then on
the next shelf there was a row of nice cooked partridges, all the way
around, close together. And on the shelf below was a row of meat-pies
made of chicken and turkey and young lamb, and on the shelf below that
there was a row of nice canned berries, and on the floor, all the way
around, there were jars of honey--nice comb honey that Mr. Bear had
gathered in November from bee-trees.

Mr. Crow spoke first.

"Well, I never," he said, "never in all my life, saw anything like it!"

And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum both said:

"He can't do it--a breakfast like that is too much for _any_ bear!"

Then Mr. Crow said:

"He oughtn't to be _allowed_ to do it. Mr. Bear is too nice a man to
lose."

And Mr. 'Possum said:

"He _mustn't_ be allowed to do it--we'll help him."

"Where do you suppose he begins? said Mr. 'Coon.

"At the top, very likely," said Mr. Crow. "He's got it arranged in
courses."

"I don't care where he begins," said Mr. 'Possum; "I'm going to begin
somewhere, now, and I think I will begin on a meat-pie."

And Mr. Crow said he thought he'd begin on a nice partridge, and Mr.
'Coon said he believed he'd try a mince-pie or two first, as a kind of a
lining, and then fill in with the solid things afterward.

So then Mr. 'Possum took down his meat-pie, and said he hoped this
wasn't a dream, and Mr. Crow took down a nice brown partridge, and Mr.
'Coon stood up on a chair and slipped a mince-pie out of a pan on the
top shelf, and everything would have been all rig