Why did the bear wear slippers?

This joke is another example of a pun, where the humor comes from the play on words involving the phrase “bear feet.” In this context, “bear” is a homophone, meaning it sounds like another word with a different meaning — in this case, “bare,” which means uncovered or exposed. The joke sets up an expectation by asking why a bear would wear slippers, an unusual behavior for an animal. The punchline humorously resolves this by playing on the similarity in pronunciation between “bear feet” (the animal’s paws) and “bare feet” (uncovered feet).