The bunny uncle and the little kitten boy cut out some red paper in theshape of a kite. Then they pasted it on the crossed sticks, which weretied together with string.
"The kite is almost done," said Uncle Wiggily, as he held it up. "Andcan you tell me, Tommie, why your kite is like Buddy, the guinea pigboy?"
"Can I tell you why my kite is like Buddy, the guinea pig boy?"repeated Tommie, like a man in a minstrel show. "No, Uncle Wiggily, Ican not. Why is my kite like Buddy, the guinea pig boy?"
"Because," laughed the old rabbit gentleman, "this kite has no tail andneither has Buddy."
"Ha, ha!" exclaimed Tommie. "That's right!"
For guinea pigs have no tails, you know, though if you ask me why Ican't tell you. Some kites do have tails, though, and others do not.
Anyhow, Tommie's kite, without a tail, was soon finished, and then heand Uncle Wiggily went to a clear, open place in the fields, near thewoods, to fly it.
There was a good wind blowing, and when Uncle Wiggily raised the kiteup off the ground, Tommie ran, holding the string that was fast to thekite and up and up and up it went in the air. Soon it was sailingquite near the clouds, almost like Uncle Wiggily's airship, only, ofcourse, no one rode on the kite.
"Have you any more string, Uncle Wiggily?" asked the kitten boy, aftera bit.
"String, Tommie? What for?"
"Well, I want to make my kite string longer so it will go up higher.But if you have none I'll run home and get some myself. Will you holdthe kite while I'm gone?"
"To be sure I will," said Uncle Wiggily. So he took hold of the stringof Tommie's kite, which was now quite high in the air. And, sittingdown on the ground, Uncle Wiggily held the kite from running away whileTommie went for more string.
It was a nice, warm, summer day, and so pleasant in the woods, with thelittle flies buzzing about, that, before he knew it Uncle Wiggily hadfallen asleep. His pink nose stopped twinkling, his ears foldedthemselves down like a slice of bread and jam, and Uncle Wiggily's eyesclosed.
All of a sudden he was awakened by feeling himself being pulled. Atfirst he thought it was the skillery-scalery alligator, or the bad foxtrying to drag him off to his den, and Uncle Wiggily, opening his eyes,cried:
"Here! Stop that if you please! Don't pull me so!"
But when he looked around he could see no one, and then he knew it wasTommie's kite, flying up in the air, that was doing the pulling.
The wind was blowing hard now, and as Uncle Wiggily had the kite stringwound around his paws, of course he was pulled almost off his feet.
"Ha! That kite is a great puller!" said the bunny uncle. "I must lookout or it might pull me up to the clouds. I had better fasten thestring to this old stump. The kite can't pull that up."
So the rabbit gentleman fastened the kite cord to the stout old stump,winding it around two or three times, and he kept the loose end of thestring in his paw.
Uncle Wiggily was just going to sleep again, and he was wondering whyit took Tommie so long to find more string for the kite, when, all of asudden, there was a rustling in the bushes, and out jumped the bad oldbabboon, who had, once before, made trouble for the bunny uncle.
"Ah, ha!" jabbered the babboon. "This time I have caught you. Youcan't get away from me now. I am going to take you off to my den."
"Oh, please don't!" begged Uncle Wiggily.
"Yes, I shall, too!" blabbered the babboon. "Off to my den you shallgo--you shall go--you shall go. Off to my den. Oh, hold on!" criedthe bad creature. "That isn't the song I wanted to sing. That's theLondon Bridge song. I want the one about the dinner bell is ringing inthe bread box this fine day. And the dinner bell is ringing for totake you far away, Uncle Wiggily."
"Ah, then I had better go to my dinner," said the bunny uncle, sadly.
"No! You will go with me!" cried the babboon. "Come along now. I'mgoing to take you away."
"Well, if I must go, I suppose I must," Uncle Wiggily said, looking atthe kite string, which was pulling at the stump very hard now. "Butbefore you take me away would you mind pulling down Tommie's kite?"asked the bunny uncle. "I'll leave it for him."
"Yes, I'll pull the kite down," said the babboon.
"Maybe you will," thought Uncle Wiggily, laughing to himself. "Andmaybe you won't."
The bad babboon monkey chap unwound the string from the stump, but nosooner had he started to pull in the kite than there came a very strongpuff of wind.
Up, up and up into the air blew the kite and, as the string was tangledaround the babboon's paws, it took him up with it, and though he criedout: "Stop! Stop! Stop!" the kite could not stop, nor the babbooneither.
Up, up and up into the air blew the kite and, as thestring was tangled around the babboon's paws, it took him up with it.]
"Well, I guess you won't bother me any more," said Uncle Wiggily, as helooked at the babboon, who was only a speck in the sky now; a verylittle speck, being carried away by the kite.
And the babboon did not come back to bother Uncle Wiggily, at least fora long time. Tommie felt badly when he found his kite blown away. Buthe was glad Uncle Wiggily had been saved, and he and the bunny unclesoon made a new kite, better than the first. They had lots of funflying it.
And in the story after this, if the chocolate pudding doesn't hide inthe coal bin, where the cook can't find it to put the whipped cream on,I'll tell you about Uncle Wiggily and Johnnie's marbles.
STORY XXI
UNCLE WIGGILY AND JOHNNIE'S MARBLES
It was a nice, warm spring day, when the ground in the woods where theanimal boys and girls lived was soft, for all the frost had melted outof it; and, though it was a little too early to go barefoot, it was nottoo early to play marbles.
Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, the squirrels; Sammie Littletail, therabbit, and Jimmie Wibblewobble, the duck, were having a game under thetrees, not far from the hollow stump bungalow which was the house ofUncle Wiggily Longears, the bunny gentleman.
"First shot agates!" cried Johnnie.
"No, I'm going to shoot first!" chattered his brother Billie.
"Huh! I hollered it before either of you," quacked Jimmie, the duckboy, and he tossed some red, white and blue striped marbles on theground in the ring. The marbles were just the color of Uncle Wiggily'srheumatism crutch.
The animal boys began playing, but they made so much noise, crying"Fen!" and "Ebbs!" and "Knuckle down!" that Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, themuskrat lady housekeeper, went to the bungalow door and called:
"Boys! Boys! Will you please be a little quiet? Uncle Wiggily islying down taking a nap, and I don't want you to wake him up with yourmarbles."
"Oh, I don't mind!" cried the bunny uncle, unfolding his ears from hisvest pockets, where he always tucked them when he went to sleep, so theflies would not tickle him. "It's about time I got up," he said.
"So the boys are playing marbles, eh? Well, I'll go out and watchthem. It will make me think of the days when I was a spry young bunnychap, hopping about, spinning my kites and flying my tops."
"I guess you are a little bit twisted; are you not?" asked Nurse Jane,politely.
"Oh, so I am," said Uncle Wiggily. "I mean flying my kite and spinningmy top."
Then he pinkled his twink nose--Ah! you see that's the time I wastwisted--I mean he twinkled his pink nose, Uncle Wiggily did, and outhe went to watch the animal boys play marbles.
Billie, Johnnie and Jimmie, as well as Sammie, wanted the bunny uncleto play also, but he said his rheumatism hurt too much to bend over.So he just watched the marble game, until it was time for the boys togo home. And then Johnnie cried:
"Oh, I forgot! I have to go to the store for a loaf of bread forsupper. Come on, fellows, with me, will you?"
But neither Jimmie, nor Sammie nor Billie wanted to go with Johnnie, sohe started off through the woods to the store alone, when Uncle Wiggilycried:
"Wait a minute, Johnnie, and I'll go with you. I haven't had my walkthis day, and I have
had no adventure at all. I'll go along and seewhat happens."
"Oh, that will be nice!" chattered Johnnie, who did not like to go tothe store alone. So, putting his marbles in the bag in which hecarried them, he ran along beside Uncle Wiggily.
They had not gone far when, all of a sudden, there came a strong puffof wind, and, before Uncle Wiggily could hold his hat down over hisears, it was blown off his head. I mean his hat was--not his ears.
Away through the trees the tall silk hat was blown.
"Oh, dear!" cried the bunny uncle. "I guess I am not going to have anice adventure today."
"I'll get your hat for you, Uncle Wiggily!" said Johnnie kindly. "Youhold my bag of marbles so I can run faster, and I'll get the hat foryou."
Tossing the rabbit gentleman the marbles, away scampered Johnnie afterthe hat. But the wind kept on blowing it, and the squirrel boy had torun a long way.
"Well, I hope he gets it and brings it back to me," thought UncleWiggily, as he sat down on a green, moss-covered stone to wait for thesquirrel boy. And, while he was waiting the bunny uncle opened the bagand looked at Johnnie's marbles. There were green ones, and blue andred and pink--very pretty, all of them.
"I wonder if I have forgotten how to play the games I used to enjoywhen I was a boy rabbit?" thought the bunny gentleman. "Just now, whenno one is here in tile woods to laugh at me, I think I'll try and seehow well I can shoot marbles."
So he marked out a ring on the ground, and putting some marbles in thecenter began shooting at them with another marble, just the way youboys do.
"Ha! A good shot!" cried the bunny uncle, as he knocked two marblesout of the ring at once. "I am not so old as I thought I was, even ifI have the rheumatism."
He was just going to shoot again when a growling voice over behind abush said:
"Well, you will not have it much longer."
"Have what much longer?" asked Uncle Wiggily, and glancing up, there hesaw a big bear, not at all polite looking.
"You won't have the rheumatism much longer," the bear said.
"Why not?" Uncle Wiggily wanted to know.
"Because," answered the bear, "I am going to eat you up and therheumatism, too. Here I come!" and he made a jump for the bunny uncle.But did he catch him?
That bear did not, for he stepped on one of the round marbles, whichrolled under his paw and he fell down ker-punko! on his nose-o!
Uncle Wiggily started to run away, but he did not like to go and leaveJohnnie's marbles on the ground, so he stayed to pick them up, and bythen the bear stood up on his hind legs again, and grabbed the bunnyuncle in his sharp claws.
"Ah ha! Now I have you!" said the bear, grillery and growlery like.
"Yes, I see you have," sadly spoke Uncle Wiggily. "But before you takeme off to your den, which I suppose you will do, will you grant me onefavor?"
"Yes, and only one," growled the bear. "Be quick about it! What isit?"
"Will you let me have one more shot?" asked the bunny uncle. "I wantto see if I can knock the other marbles out of the ring."
"Well, I see no harm in that," slowly grumbled the bear. "Go ahead.Shoot!"
Uncle Wiggily picked out the biggest shooter in Johnnie's bag. Then hetook careful aim, but, instead of aiming at the marbles in the ring heaimed at the soft and tender nose of the bear.
"Bing!" went the marble which Uncle Wiggily shot, right on the bear'snose. "Bing!" And the bear was so surprised and kerslostrated that hecried:
"Wow! Ouch! Oh, lollypops! Oh, sweet spirits of nitre!" And away heran through the woods to hold his nose in a soft bank of mud, for hethought a bee had stung him. And so he didn't bite Uncle Wiggily afterall.
"Well, I guess I can play marbles nearly as well as I used to," laughedthe bunny uncle when Johnnie came back with the tall silk hat.
And when Mr. Longears told the boy squirrel about shooting the bear onthe nose, Johnnie laughed and said he could have done no better himself.
So everything came out all right, you see, and if the butterfly doesn'ttry to stand on its head and tickle the June bug under the chin, I'lltell you next about Uncle Wiggily and Billie's top.
STORY XXII
UNCLE WIGGILY AND BILLIE'S TOP
Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice rabbit gentleman, was sitting on thefront porch of his hollow stump bungalow one day, when along cameBillie Bushytail, the little squirrel boy.
"Hello, Billie!" called the bunny gentleman, cheerful-like and happy,for his rheumatism did not hurt him much that day. "Hello, Billie."
"Hello, Uncle Wiggily," answered the chattery squirrel chap. Then hecame up and sat down on the porch, but he seemed so quiet andthoughtful that Uncle Wiggily asked:
"Is anything the matter, Billie?"
"No--well--that is, nothing much," said the squirrel boy slowly, "butI'd like to ask you what you'd buy if you had five cents, UncleWiggily."
"What would I buy if I had five cents, Billie? Well now, let me see.I think I'd buy two postage stamps and a funny postcard and write someletters to my friends. What would you buy, Billie?"
"I'd buy a spinning top, Uncle Wiggily," said the little squirrel boy,very quickly. "Only, you see, I haven't any five cents. You have,though, haven't you Uncle Wiggily? Eh?"
"Why, yes, Billie, I think so," and the old gentleman rabbit put hispaw in his pocket to make sure.
"This is a funny world," said Billie with a long, sorrowful sigh."Here you are with five cents and you don't want a top, and here I amwithout five cents and I do want a spinning top. Oh, dear!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Uncle Wiggily in his most jolly fashion. "Isee what you mean, Billie. Now you just come along with me," and UncleWiggily picked up off the porch his red, white and blue stripedbarber-pole rheumatism crutch that Nurse Jane had gnawed for him out ofa cornstalk.
"Where are we going?" asked Billie, sort of hopeful-like and expectant.
"I'm going to the top store to buy a spinning top," answered bunnyuncle. "If you think I ought to have one, why I'll get it."
"Oh, all right," said Billie, sort of funny-like. "Do you know how tospin a top, Uncle Wiggily?"
"Well, I used to when I was a young rabbit, and I guess I can remembera little about it. Come along and help me pick out a nice one."
So the bunny uncle and the squirrel boy went on and on through thewoods to the top store kept by Mrs. Spin Spider, who had a little toyshop in which she worked when she was not spinning silk for the animalladies' dresses.
"One of your best tops for myself, if you please," said Uncle Wiggily,as he and Billie went into the toy store. Mrs. Spin Spider put anumber of tops on the counter.
"That's the kind you want!" cried Billie, as he saw a big red one, andpointed his paw at it.
"Try it and see how it spins," said the bunny man.
Billie wound the string on the top, and then, giving it a throw, whilehe kept hold of one end of the cord, he made the top spin as fast asanything on the floor of the store. Around and around whizzed the redtop, like the electric fan on Uncle Wiggily's airship.
"Is that a good top for me, Billie?" asked Mr. Longears.
"A very good top," said the squirrel boy. "Fine!"
"Then I'll take it," said Uncle Wiggily, and he paid for it and walkedout, Billie following.
If the little chattery squirrel chap was disappointed at not getting atop for himself, he said nothing about it, which was very brave andgood, I think. He just walked along until they came to a nice,smooth-dirt place in the woods, and then Uncle Wiggily said:
"Let me see you spin my top, Billie. I want to watch you and see howit's done--how you wind the string on, how you throw it down to theground and all that. You just give me some lessons in top-spinning,please."
"I will," said Billie. So he wound the string on the top again andsoon it was spinning as fast as anything on the hard ground in thewoods.
"Do you want me to show you how to pick up a top, and let it spin onyour paw?" asked Billie, of Uncle
Wiggily.
"Yes, show me all the tricks there are," said the bunny gentleman.
So, while the top was spinning very fast, Billie picked it up, and,holding it on his paw, quickly put it over on Uncle Wiggily's paw.
"Ouch! It tickles!" cried the bunny uncle, sort of giggling like.
"Yes, a little," laughed Billie, "but I don't mind that. Now I'll showyou how to pick it up."
Once more he spun the top, and he was just going to pick it up when,all of a sudden, a growling voice cried:
"Ah, ha! Again I am in luck! A rabbit and a squirrel! Let me see;which shall I take first?" And out from behind a stump popped a bigbear. It was the same one that Uncle Wiggily had hit on the nose withJohnnie's marble, about a week before.
"Oh, my!" said the bunny man.
"Oh, dear!" chattered Billie.
"Surprised to see me, aren't you?" asked the bear sticking out histongue.
"A little," answered Uncle Wiggily, "but I guess we'd better be gettingalong Billie. Pick up my top and come along."
"Oh, oh! Not so fast!" growled the bear. "I shall want you to staywith me. You'll be going off with me to my den, pretty soon. Don't bein a hurry," and, putting out his claws, he grabbed hold of UncleWiggily and Billie. They tried to get away, but could not, and thebear was just going to carry them off, when he saw the spinning topwhizzing on the ground.
"What's that red thing?" he asked.
"A top Billie just picked out for me," said Uncle Wiggily.
"Would you like to have it spin on your paw?" asked Billie, blinkinghis eyes at Uncle Wiggily, funny-like.