One day, Mary Poppins rushes around in a bad mood. Jane and Michael hide behind the sofa and count the money in their money boxes to avoid her ire. Michael explains that he is saving his money to buy an elephant, and when he offers to take Mary Poppins for a ride on his elephant, “she was not quite so cross as before” (118). Michael wonders out loud what happens “‘in the Zoo at night, when everybody’s gone home’” (118). That night, Mary Poppins puts Jane and Michael to bed quickly and “went away as hurriedly as though all the winds of the world were blowing behind her” (119). They soon wake up to hear a voice telling them to dress, and they rush to find their clothes and go out to the lane where they find themselves led by something they cannot see.

The children arrive at the zoo, where “Special Visitors are allowed in free” (120) according to the bear giving out tickets. Michael recognizes the bear and asks him why he isn’t in his cage, and the bear explains that “when the Birthday falls on a Full Moon” (121), he is able to be free.