"Oh, I might as well, before I carry you off to my den," said the bear,sort of careless-like and indifferent. "Spin the top on my paw."
So Billie picked up the spinning top and put it on the bear's broad,flat paw. And, no sooner was it there, whizzing around, than the bearcried:
"Ouch! Oh, dear! How it tickles. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! Ho! Itmakes me laugh. It makes me laugh. It makes me giggle! Ouch! Oh,dear!"
And then he laughed so hard that he dropped the top and turned asomersault, and away he ran through the woods, leaving Billie and UncleWiggily safe there alone.
"We came out of that very well," said the bunny uncle as the bear ranfar away.
"Yes, indeed, and here is your top," spoke Billie, picking it up offthe ground where the bear had dropped it.
"My top? No that's yours," said the bunny gentleman. "I meant it foryou all the while."
"Oh, did you? Thank you so much!" cried happy Billie, and then he ranoff to spin his red top, while Mr. Longears went back to his bungalow.
And if the sofa pillow doesn't leak its feathers all over, and make theroom look like a bird's nest at a moving picture picnic, I'll tell youin the next story about Uncle Wiggily and the sunbeam.
STORY XXIII
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE SUNBEAM
Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice rabbit gentleman, was walking along inthe woods one day, sort of hopping and leaning on his red, white andblue striped rheumatism crutch, and he was wondering whether or not hewould have an adventure, when, all at once, he heard a little voicecrying:
"Oh, dear! I never can get up! I never can get up! Oh, dear!"
"Ha! that sounds like some one who can't get out of bed," exclaimed thebunny uncle. "I wonder who it can be? Perhaps I can help them."
So he looked carefully around, but he saw no one, and he was just aboutto hop along, thinking perhaps he had made a mistake, and had not heardanything after all, when, suddenly, the voice sounded again, and calledout:
"Oh, I can't get up! I can't get up! Can't you shine on me this way?"
"No, I am sorry to say I cannot," answered another voice. "But try topush your way through, and then I can shine on you, and make you grow."
There was silence for a minute, and then the first voice said again:
"Oh, it's no use! I can't push the stone from over my head. Oh, suchtrouble as I have!"
"Trouble, eh?" cried Uncle Wiggily. "Here is where I come in. Who areyou, and what is the trouble?" he asked, looking all around, and seeingnothing but the shining sun.
"Here I am, down in the ground near your left hind leg," was theanswer. "I am a woodland flower and I have just started to grow. Butwhen I tried to put my head up out of the ground, to get air, and drinkthe rain water, I find I cannot do it. A big stone is in the way,right over my head, and I cannot push it aside to get up. Oh, dear!"sighed the Woodland flower.
"Oh, don't worry about that!" cried Uncle Wiggily, in his jolly voice."I'll lift the stone off your head for you," and he did, just as heonce had helped a Jack-in-the-pulpit flower to grow up, as I have toldyou in another story. Under the stone were two little pale greenleaves on a stem that was just cracking its way up through the brownearth.
"There you are!" cried the bunny uncle. "But you don't look much likea flower."
"Oh! I have only just begun to grow," was the answer. "And I neverwould have been a flower if you had not taken the stone from me. Yousee, when I was a baby flower, or seed, I was covered up in my warm bedof earth. Then came the cold winter, and I went to sleep. When springcame I awakened and began to grow, but in the meanwhile this stone wasput over me. I don't know by whom. But it held me down.
"But now I am free, and my pale green leaves will turn to dark green,and soon I will blossom out into a flower."
"How will all that happen?" Uncle Wiggily asked.
"When the sunbeam shines on me," answered the blossom. "That is why Iwanted to get above the stone--so the sunbeam could shine on me andwarm me."
"And I will begin to do it right now!" exclaimed the sunbeam, who hadbeen playing about on the leaves of the trees, waiting for a chance toshine on the green plant and turn it into a beautiful flower. "Thankyou, Uncle Wiggily, for taking the stone off the leaves so I couldshine on them," went on the sunbeam, who had known Uncle Wiggily forsome time. "Though I am strong I am not strong enough to lift stones,nor was the flower. But now I can do my work. I thank you, and I hopeI may do you a favor some time."
"Thank you," Uncle Wiggily said, with a low bow, raising his tall silkhat. "I suppose you sunbeams are kept very busy shining on, andwarming, all the plants and trees in the woods?"
"Yes, indeed!" answered the yellow sunbeam, who was a long, straightchap. "We have lots of work to do, but we are never too busy to shinefor our friends."
Then the sunbeam played about the little green plant, turning the paleleaves a darker color and swelling out the tiny buds. Uncle Wiggilywalked on through the woods, glad that he had had even this littleadventure.
It was a day or so after this that the bunny uncle went to the storefor Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady, who kept his hollow stumpbungalow so nice and tidy.
"I want a loaf of bread, a yeast cake and three pounds of sugar," saidNurse Jane.
"It will give me great pleasure to get them for you," answered therabbit gentleman politely. On his way home from the store with thesugar, bread and yeast cake, Uncle Wiggily thought he would hop pastthe place where he had lifted the stone off the head of the plant, tosee how it was growing. And, as he stood there, looking at the flower,which was much taller than when the bunny uncle had last seen it, allof a sudden there was a rustling in the bushes, and out jumped a badold fox.
"Ah, ha!" barked the fox, like a dog. "You are just the one I want tosee!"
"You want to see me?" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "I think you must bemistaken," he went on politely.
"Oh, no, not at all!" barked the fox. "You have there some sugar, somebread and a yeast cake; have you not?"
"I have," answered Uncle Wiggily.
"Well, then, you may give me the bread and sugar and after I eat them Iwill start in on you. I will take you off to my den, to my dear littlefoxes. Eight, Nine and Ten. They have numbers instead of names, yousee."
"But I don't want to give you Nurse Jane's sugar and bread, and go withyou to your den," said the rabbit gentleman. "I don't want to! Idon't like it!"
"You can't always do as you like," barked the fox. "Quick now--thesugar and bread!"
"What about the yeast cake?" asked Uncle Wiggily, as he held it out,all wrapped in shiny tinfoil, like a looking-glass. "What about theyeast cake?"
"Oh, throw it away!" growled the fox.
"No, don't you do it!" whispered a voice in Uncle Wiggily's ear, andthere was the sunbeam he had met the other day. "Hold out the yeastcake and I will shine on it very brightly, and then I'll slant, orbounce off from it, into the eyes of the fox," said the sunbeam. "Andwhen I shine in his eyes I'll tickle him, and he'll sneeze, and you canrun away."
So Uncle Wiggily held out the bright yeast cake. Quick as a flash thesunbeam glittered on it, and then reflected itself into the eyes of thefox.
"Ker-chool!" he sneezed. "Ker-chooaker-choo!" and tears came into thefox's eyes, so he could not see Uncle Wiggily, who, after thanking thesunbeam, hurried safely back to his bungalow with the things for NurseJane.
So the fox got nothing at all but a sneeze, you see, and when he hadcleared the tears out of his eyes Uncle Wiggily was gone. So thesunbeam did the bunny gentleman a favor after all, and if the coal mandoesn't put oranges in our cellar, in mistake for apples when he bringsa barrel of wood, I'll tell you next about Uncle Wiggily and the puffball.
STORY XXIV
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE PUFF BALL
"Are you going for a walk to-day, as you nearly always do, UncleWiggily?" asked Nurse Jane Fuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, of therabbit gentleman, as he got up from
the breakfast table in the hollowstump bungalow one morning.
"Why, yes, Janie, I am going for a walk in the woods very soon,"answered Uncle Wiggily. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"There is," said the muskrat lady. "Something for yourself, also."
"What is it?" Uncle Wiggily wanted to know, sort of making his pinknose turn orange color by looking up at the sun and sneezing. "What isit that I can do for myself as well as for you, Janie?"
"Cream puffs," answered Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy.
"Cream puffs?" cried the bunny uncle, hardly knowing whether hishousekeeper was fooling or in earnest.
"Yes, I want some cream puffs for supper, and if you stop at thebaker's and get them you will be doing yourself a favor as well as me,for we will both eat them."
"Right gladly will I do it," Uncle Wiggily made answer. "Cream puffs Ishall bring from the baker's," and then, whistling a funny little tune,away he hopped to the woods.
It did not take him long to get to the place where the baker had hisshop. And in a few minutes Uncle Wiggily was on his way back with somedelicious cream puffs in a basket.
"I'll take them home to Nurse Jane for supper," thought the bunnyuncle, "and then I can keep on with my walk, looking for an adventure."
You know what cream puffs are, I dare say. They are little, round,puffy balls made of something like piecrust, and they are hollow. Theinside is filled with something like corn-starch pudding, only nicer.
Uncle Wiggily was going along with the cream puffs in his basket when,coming to a nice place in the woods, where the sun shone on a green,mossy log, the bunny uncle said:
"I will sit down here a minute and rest."
So he did, but he rested longer than he meant to, for, before he knewit, he fell asleep. And while he slept, along came a bad old weasel,who is as sly as a fox. And the weasel, smelling the cream puffs inthe basket, slyly lifted the cover and took every one out, eating themone after the other.
"Now to play a trick on Uncle Wiggily," said the weasel in a whisper,for the bunny uncle was still sleeping. So the bad creature found alot of puff balls in the woods, and put them in the basket in place ofthe cream puffs.
Puff balls grow on little plants. They are brown and round and hollow,and, so far, they are like cream puffs, except that inside they have abrown, fluffy powder that flies all over when you break the puff ball.And, if you are not careful, it gets in your eyes and nose and makesyou sneeze.
"I should like to see what Uncle Wiggily and Nurse Jane do when theyopen the basket, and find puff balls instead of cream puffs," snickeredthe weasel as he went off, licking his chops, where the cornstarchpudding stuff was stuck on his whiskers. "It will be a great joke onthem!"
But let us see what happens.
Uncle Wiggily awakened from his sleep in the woods, and started offtoward his hollow stump bungalow.
"I declare!" he cried. "That sleep made me hungry. I shall be glad toeat some of the cream puffs I have in my basket."
"What's that?" asked a sharp voice in the bushes. "What did you sayyou had in the basket?"
"Cream puffs," answered Uncle Wiggily, without thinking, and then, allof a sudden, out jumped the bad old skillery-scalery alligator with thehumps on his tail.
"Ha! Cream puffs!" cried the 'gator, as I call him for short, thoughhe was rather long. "Cream puffs! If there is one thing I like morethan another it is cream puffs! It is lucky you brought them with you,or I would have nothing for dessert when I have you for supper."
"Are you--are you going to have me for supper?" asked Uncle Wiggily,sort of anxious like.
"I am!" cried the alligator, positively. "But I will eat the dessertfirst. Give me those cream puffs!" he cried and he made a grab for thebunny's basket, and, reaching in, scooped out the puff balls, thinkingthey were cream puffs. The 'gator, without looking, took one bite anda chew and then----
"Oh, my! Ker-sneezio! Ker-snitzio! Ker-choo!" he sneezed as thepowder from the puff balls went up his nose and into his eyes. "Oh,what funny cream puffs! Wow!" And, not stopping to so much as nibbleat Uncle Wiggily, away ran the alligator to get a drink of lemonade.
"Ker-sneezio! Ker-snitzio! Ker-choo!" he sneezed asthe powder from the puff balls went up his nose and into his eyes.]
So you see, after all, the weasel's trick saved Uncle Wiggily, who soonwent back to the store for more cream puffs--real ones this time, andhe got safely home with them.
And nothing else happened that day. But if the trolley car stopsrunning down the street to play with the jitney bus, so the pussy catcan have a ride when it wants to go shopping in the three and four-centstore, I'll tell you next about Uncle Wiggily and the May flowers.
STORY XXV
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE MAY FLOWERS
"Rat-a-tat!" came a knock on the door of the hollow stump bungalow,where Uncle Wiggily Longears, the rabbit gentleman, lived in the woodswith Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, his muskrat lady housekeeper.
"My! Some one is calling early to-day!" said the bunny uncle.
"Sit still and eat your breakfast," spoke Nurse Jane. "I'll see who itis."
When she opened the door there stood Jimmie Wibblewobble, the boy duck.
"Why where are you going so early this morning, Jimmie?" asked UncleWiggily.
"I'm going to school," answered the Wibblewobble chap, who was namedthat because his tail did wibble and wobble from side to side when hewalked.
"Aren't you a bit early?" asked Mr. Longears.
"I came early to get you," said Jimmie. "Will you come for a walk withme, Uncle Wiggily? We can walk toward the hollow stump school, wherethe lady mouse teaches us our lessons."
"Why, it's so very early," Uncle Wiggily went on. "I have hardly hadmy breakfast. Why so early, Jimmie?"
The duck boy whispered in Uncle Wiggily's ear:
"I want to go early so I can gather some May flowers for the teacher.This is the first day of May, you know, and the flowers that have beenwet by the April showers ought to be blossoming now."
"So they had!" cried Uncle Wiggily. "I'll hurry with my breakfast,Jimmie, and we'll go gathering May flowers in the woods."
Soon the bunny uncle and the boy duck were walking along where thegreen trees grew up out of the carpet of soft green moss.
"Oh, here are some yellow violets!" cried Jimmie, as he saw some nearan old stump.
"Yes, and I see some white ones!" cried the bunny uncle, as he pickedthem, while Jimmie plucked the yellow violets with his strong bill,which was also yellow in color.
Then they went on a little farther and saw some bluebells growing, andthe bluebell flowers were tinkling a pretty little tinkle tune.
The bluebells even kept on tinkling after Jimmie had picked them forhis bouquet. The boy duck waddled on a little farther and all of asudden, he cried:
"Oh, what a funny flower this is, Uncle Wiggily. It's just like thelittle ice cream cones that come on Christmas trees, only it's coveredwith a flap, like a leaf, and under the flap is a little green thing,standing up. What is it?"
"That is a Jack-in-the-pulpit," answered the bunny uncle, "and the Jackis the funny green thing. Jack preaches sermons to the other flowers,telling them how to be beautiful and make sweet perfume."
"I'm going to put a Jack in the bouquet for the lady mouse teacher,"said Jimmie, and he did.
Then he and Uncle Wiggily went farther and farther on in the woods,picking May flowers, and they were almost at the hollow stump schoolwhen, all at once, from behind a big stone popped the badear-scratching cat.
"Ah, ha!" howled the cat. "I am just in time I see. I haven'tscratched any ears in ever and ever so long. And you have such nice,big ears, Uncle Wiggily, that it is a real pleasure to scratch them!"
"Do you mean it is a pleasure for me, or for you?" asked the bunnyuncle, softly like.
"For me, of course!" meaouwed the cat. "Get ready now for theear-scratching! Here I come!"
"Oh, please don't scratch my ears!" begged Uncl
e Wiggily. "Pleasedon't!"
"Yes, I shall!" said the bad cat, stretching out his claws.
"Would you mind scratching my ears, instead of Uncle Wiggily's?" askedJimmie. "I'll let you scratch mine all you want to."
"I don't want to," spoke the cat. "Your ears are so small that it isno pleasure for me to scratch them--none at all."
"It was very kind of you to offer your ears in place of mine," saidUncle Wiggily to the duck boy. "But I can't let you do that. Go on,bad cat, if you are going to scratch my ears, please do it and have itover with."
"All right!" snarled the cat. "I'll scratch your ears!" She was justgoing to do it, when Jimmie suddenly picked up a new flower, andholding it toward the cat cried:
"No, you can't scratch Uncle Wiggily's ears! This is a dog-toothviolet I have just picked, and if you harm Uncle Wiggily I'll make thedog-tooth violet bite you!"
And then the big violet went: "Bow! Wow! Wow!" just like a dog, andthe cat thinking a dog was after him, meaouwed:
"Oh, my! Oh, dear! This is no place for me!" and away he ran, notscratching Uncle Wiggily at all.
Then Jimmie put the dog-tooth violet (which did not bark any more) inhis bouquet and the lady mouse teacher liked the May flowers very much.Uncle Wiggily took his flowers to Nurse Jane.
And if the umbrella doesn't turn inside out, so its ribs get all wetand sneeze the handle off, I'll tell you next about Uncle Wiggily andthe beech tree.