Mr. Popper is restless following the excitement of his conversation with Admiral Drake, and he is impatient to learn what the Admiral meant when he said, “Watch for a surprise” (11). The following morning, Mr. Popper wishes that he had the distraction of painting and papering local houses in Stillwater, but his work is finished for the season. He offers to wallpaper the living room for his wife; she refuses firmly and leaves for a meeting of the Ladies’ Aid and Missionary Society.

Later on, Mr. Popper does not answer the doorbell when it rings because he assumes that it is “just the postman” (14); however, the bell rings again loudly. A messenger from Air Express delivers a box from Antarctica; it has air holes and is marked with messages reading “Unpack at Once” and “Keep Cool.” When Mr. Popper unpacks the box and its outer layer of dry ice, he “suddenly hear[s] a faint “Ork” (15). The opened box contains a penguin that jumps out of the debris. He is the “size of a small child” and “beg[ins] to inspect the house” (16). The animal is very pleased with the bathroom; Mr. Popper fills the tub with cold water, and the penguin begins to play.