Dear bear friends:

When a reporter wants to find out something, he asks people who know! That's why I started to learn about Santa Claus with a phone call to my good friend, Miss Erin.

Miss Erin is very old - she's six! I knew she could tell me lots of information about Santa.

Miss Cynthia let me sit in her big desk chair, and dialed the telephone for me. Ring-ring! Ring-ring!

A voice answered on the line: "Hello!" I was a little bit startled. I'm glad Miss Cynthia helped me learn good telephone manners! I said, "Good afternoon, Miss Jackie. This is Perry Bear. May I speak to Miss Erin, please?"

Soon, Miss Erin came to the phone. I asked my first question: "Miss Erin, who is Santa Claus?"

Miss Erin answered, "Okay. He is a man that's very, very, very old. And he gives presents to children!"

"Presents?" I said, "Santa brings presents? When does he do this?"

"On Christmas night!" exclaimed Miss Erin. "You have to hang up your stocking. Then he puts presents in it."

"Miss Erin, what's a stocking?" I asked.

"Well, it's like a big sock with a hook. You hang it up by the fireplace," replied Miss Erin. "But you only get presents if you're good."

"What if you aren't good?" I asked. I gulped, thinking of the time Miss Cynthia caught the bear family playing poker.

"Well," said Miss Erin, "then Santa will leave a lump of coal instead of the presents."

"Coal?" I asked, "What is coal?"

"Perry, you ask too many questions. Coal is black stuff like you cook hamburgers with." answered Miss Erin.

I sat back and thought for one moment. Presents. Santa. Stockings. Coal. Suddenly, I had a wonderful thought! "Miss Erin, do you think Santa would bring presents to bears?" I asked.

Miss Erin was quiet. Then she said, in a small voice, "Maybe! But you have to ask him! You have to make a list and tell him what you want. And tell him if you've been good."

That was it! I would talk to the other bears. We would make a special list. I would travel to New York City to find a special Santa. Maybe, just maybe, Santa would come for bears, too!

Your bear friend,

Perry Bear Ewer