"Certainly," answered the blackbird, also politely. "I only took itoff in fun. Here it is back. I'm sorry I bothered the garden maid,but I had to, as it's that way in the Mother Goose book."
Off to Uncle Wiggily flew Jimmie, the crow boy, with the younglady's nose, and soon Dr. Possum had fastened it back on the gardenmaid's face as good as ever.
"Now you can smell the perfume," said Uncle Wiggily, and when heheld up the bottle the maid said:
"Oh, what a lovely smell!"
So the bunny uncle left a little perfume in a bottle for the gardenmaid, and then she went on hanging up the clothes, and she felt veryhappy because she had a nose. So you see how kind Uncle Wiggily andJimmie were, and Nurse Jane, too, liked the perfume very much.
So if the little girl's roller-skates don't run over the pussy'stail and ruffle it all up so she can't go to the moving pictureparty, I'll tell you next of Uncle Wiggily and the King.
CHAPTER XXVI
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE KING
Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice old rabbit gentleman, was sittingin an easy chair in his hollow-stump bungalow, one day, looking outof the window at the blue sky, and he was feeling quite happy. Andwhy should he not be happy?
Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, his muskrat lady housekeeper, had just givenhim a nice breakfast of cabbage pancakes, with carrot maple sugartied in a bow-knot in the middle, and Uncle Wiggily had eaten nine.Nine cakes, I mean, not nine bows.
"And now," said the bunny uncle to himself, "I think I shall go outand take a walk. Perhaps I may have an adventure. Do you want anyperfume, or anything like that from the store?" asked Mr. Longearsof Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy.
"No, thank you, I think not," answered the muskrat lady. "Just bringyourself home, and that will be all."
"Oh, I'll do that all right," promised the bunny gentleman. So awayhe hopped, over the fields and through the woods, humming to himselfa little song which went something like this:
"I'm feeling happy now and gay, Why shouldn't I, this lovely day? 'Tis time enough to be quite sad, When wind and rain make weather bad. But, even then, one ought to try To think that soon it will be dry. So then, no matter what the weather, Smile, as though tickled by a feather."
Uncle Wiggily felt happier than ever when he had sung this song,but, as he went along a little further, he came, all at once, to avery nice house indeed, out of which floated the sound of a sadvoice.
Uncle Wiggily was surprised to hear this, for the house was such anice one that it seemed no one ought to be unhappy who lived there.
The house was made of gold and silver, with diamond windows, and thechimney was made of a red ruby stone, which, as every one knows, isvery expensive. But with all that the sad voice came sailing out ofone of the opened diamond windows, and the voice said:
"Oh, dear! It's gone! I can't find it! I dropped it and it rolleddown a crack in the floor. Now I'll never get it again. Oh, dear!"
"Well, that sounds like some one in trouble," said the bunny uncle."I must see if I cannot help them," for Uncle Wiggily helped realfolk, who lived in fine houses, as well as woodland animals, wholived in hollow trees.
Uncle Wiggily hopped up to the open diamond window of the gold andsilver house, with the red ruby chimney, and, poking his noseinside, the rabbit gentleman asked:
"Is there some one here in trouble whom I may have the pleasure ofhelping?"
"Yes," answered a voice. "I'm here, and I'm surely in trouble."
"Who are you, and what is the trouble, if I may ask?" politely wenton Uncle Wiggily.
"I am the king," was the answer. "This is my palace, but, with allthat, I am in trouble. Come in."
In hopped Uncle Wiggily, and there, surely enough, was the king, buthe was in the kitchen, down on his hands and knees, looking with oneeye through a crack in the floor, which is something kings hardlyever do.
"It's down there," he said. "And I can't get it. I'm too fat to gothrough the crack."
"What's down there?" Uncle Wiggily wanted to know.
"My money," answered the king. "You may have heard about me," and herecited this little verse:
"The king was in the kitchen, Counting out his money; The queen was in the parlor, Eating bread and honey; The maid was in the garden, Hanging out the clothes, Along came a blackbird, Who nipped off her nose."
The fat man got up off the kitchen floor.
"I'm the king," he said, taking up his gold and diamond crown from akitchen chair, where he had put it as he kneeled down, so it wouldnot fall off and be dented. "From Mother Goose, you know; don'tyou?"
"Yes, I know," answered Uncle Wiggily.
"I dare say you'll find the queen in the parlor eating bread andhoney," went on the king. "At least I saw her start for there with aplate, knife and fork as I was coming here. And, no doubt, the maidis in the garden, where she'll pretty soon have her nose nipped offby a blackbird."
"That part happened yesterday," said Uncle Wiggily. "I was therejust after it happened, and I got Jimmie Caw-Caw, the crow boy, tofly after the blackbird and bring back the maid's nose. She is aswell as ever now and can smell all kinds of perfume."
"Good!" cried the fat king. "You were very kind to help her. I onlywish you could help me. But I don't see how you can. My money, whichI was counting, fell out of my hands and dropped down a crack in thefloor. I can see it lying down there in the dirt, but I can't get atit unless I move to one side my gold and silver palace, and I don'twant to do that. I don't suppose you can move a palace, can you?"And he looked askingly at Uncle Wiggily.
"No, I can't do that," said the bunny uncle. "But still I think Ican get your money without moving the palace."
"How?" asked the king.
"Why, I can go outside," said Mr. Longears, "and with my strongpaws, which are just made for digging, I can burrow, or dig, a placethrough the dirt under your palace-house, crawl in and get what youdropped."
"Oh, please do!" cried the king.
So Uncle Wiggily did.
Down under the cellar wall of the palace, through the dirt, dug thebunny gentleman, with his strong paws. Pretty soon he was rightunder the kitchen, and there, just where they had dropped throughthe crack, were the king's gold and silver pennies and other piecesof money. Uncle Wiggily picked them up, put them in his pocket andcrawled out again.
"There you are, king," he said. "You have your money back."
"Oh, thank you ever so much!" cried the king. "I'll have the cookgive you some carrots." And he did, before he went on counting hismoney in the kitchen. And this time he stuffed a dish-rag in thecrack so no more pennies would fall through.
"Well, Uncle Wiggily, where are you going now?" asked the King, ashe saw the bunny gentleman hopping away with the bunch of carrots.
"I hardly know that myself," answered the rabbit. "I want to havemore adventures, either with the friends of Old Mother Hubbard andMother Goose, or with some of the animal or birds that live in thewoods."
"I think some adventures with birds would be exciting," spoke theKing. "This blackbird who nipped off the maid's nose was a livelysort of chap."
"He was, indeed," agreed the bunny gentleman. "I think I should likesome adventures with my feathered friends who fly in the air. When Icome back I'll tell you about them, Mr. King."
"Please do," begged the gentleman with the gold and diamond crown.And so, as long as the rabbit wishes it, and if the condensed milkdoesn't jump out of the molasses jug and scare the coffee pot sothat it drinks tea, I shall make the next book "Uncle Wiggily andthe Birds," and I hope you will like it.
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