Uncle Wiggily in the Woods Read online

  Bedtime Stories

  UNCLE WIGGILY IN THE WOODS

  by

  HOWARD R. GARIS

  Author of "Sammie and Susie Littletail," "Uncle Wiggily and MotherGoose," "The Bedtime Series of Animal Stories," "The Daddy Series," Etc.

  Illustrated by Louis Wisa

  [Frontispiece: She put her sled on the slanting tree, sat down andJillie gave her a little push.]

  A. L. Burt CompanyPublishers ------------ New YorkCopyright 1917, byR. F. Fenno & Company

  UNCLE WIGGILY IN THE WOODS

  CONTENTS

  STORY

  I Uncle Wiggily and the Willow Tree II Uncle Wiggily and the Wintergreen III Uncle Wiggily and the Slippery Elm IV Uncle Wiggily and the Sassafras V Uncle Wiggily and the Pulpit-Jack VI Uncle Wiggily and the Violets VII Uncle Wiggily and the High Tree VIII Uncle Wiggily and the Peppermint IX Uncle Wiggily and the Birch Tree X Uncle Wiggily and the Butternut Tree XI Uncle Wiggily and Lulu's Hat XII Uncle Wiggily and the Snow Drops XIII Uncle Wiggily and the Horse Chestnut XIV Uncle Wiggily and the Pine Tree XV Uncle Wiggily and the Green Rushes XVI Uncle Wiggily and the Bee Tree XVII Uncle Wiggily and the Dogwood XVIII Uncle Wiggily and the Hazel Nuts XIX Uncle Wiggily and Susie's Dress XX Uncle Wiggily and Tommie's Kite XXI Uncle Wiggily and Johnnie's Marbles XXII Uncle Wiggily and Billie's Top XXIII Uncle Wiggily and the Sunbeam XXIV Uncle Wiggily and the Puff Ball XXV Uncle Wiggily and the May Flowers XXVI Uncle Wiggily and the Beech Tree XXVII Uncle Wiggily and the Bitter Medicine XXVIII Uncle Wiggily and the Pine Cones XXIX Uncle Wiggily and His Torn Coat XXX Uncle Wiggily and the Sycamore Tree XXXI Uncle Wiggily and the Red Spots

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  She put her sled on the slanting tree, sat down and Jillie gave her alittle push . . . . . . _Frontispiece_

  Down toppled Uncle Wiggily's hat, not in the least hurt.

  As they passed a high rock, out from behind it jumped the bad oldtail-pulling monkey.

  The tree barked and roared so like a lion that the foxes werefrightened and were glad enough to run away.

  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.

  "Ker-sneezio! Ker-snitzio! Ker-choo!" he sneezed as the powder fromthe puff balls went up his nose and into his eyes.

  Jackie was so surprised that he opened his mouth.

  Before Uncle Wiggily could stop himself he had run into the bush.

  STORY I

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE WILLOW TREE

  "Well, it's all settled!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears, the rabbitgentleman, one day, as he hopped up the steps of his hollow stumpbungalow where Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, his muskrat lady housekeeper,was fanning herself with a cabbage leaf tied to her tail. "It's allsettled."

  "What is?" asked Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy. "You don't mean to tell me anythinghas happened to you?" and she looked quite anxious.

  "No, I'm all right," laughed Uncle Wiggily, "and I hope you are thesame. What I meant was that it's all settled where we are going tospend our vacation this Summer."

  "Oh, tell me where!" exclaimed the muskrat lady clapping her paws,anxious like.

  "In a hollow stump bungalow, just like this, but in the woods insteadof in the country," answered Uncle Wiggily.

  "Oh, that _will_ be fine!" cried Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy. "I love the woods.When are we to go?"

  "Very soon now," answered the bunny gentleman uncle. "You may begin topack up as quickly as you please."

  And Nurse Jane and Uncle Wiggily moved to the woods very next day andhis adventures began.

  I guess most of you know about the rabbit gentleman and his muskratlady housekeeper who nursed him when he was ill with the rheumatism.Uncle Wiggily had lots and lots of adventures, about which I have toldyou in the books before this one.

  He had traveled about seeking his fortune, he had even gone sailing inhis airship, and once he met Mother Goose and all her friends from OldKing Cole down to Little Jack Horner.

  Uncle Wiggily had many friends among the animal boys and girls. Therewas Sammie and Susie Littletail, the rabbits, who have a book all tothemselves; just as have Jackie and Peetie Bow Wow, the puppy dog boys,and Jollie and Jillie Longtail, the mice children.

  "And I s'pose we'll meet all your friends in the woods, won't we, UncleWiggily?" asked Nurse Jane, as they moved from the old hollow stumpbungalow to the new one.

  "Oh, yes, I s'pose so, of course," he laughed in answer, as he pulledhis tall silk hat more tightly down on his head, fastened on hisglasses and took his red, white and blue striped barber pole rheumatismcrutch that Nurse Jane had gnawed for him out of a cornstalk.

  So, once upon a time, not very many years ago, as all good storiesshould begin, Uncle Wiggily and Nurse Jane found themselves in thewoods. It was lovely among the trees, and as soon as the rabbitgentleman had helped Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy put the hollow stump bungalow torights he started out for a walk.

  "I want to see what sort of adventures I shall have in the woods," saidMr. Longears as he hopped along.

  Now in these woods lived, among many other creatures good and bad, twoskillery-scalery alligators who were not exactly friends of the bunnyuncle. But don't let that worry you, for though the alligators, andother unpleasant animals, may, once in a while, make trouble for UncleWiggily, I'll never really let them hurt him. I'll fix that part allright!

  So, one day, the skillery-scalery alligator with the humps on his tail,and his brother, another skillery-scalery chap, whose tail was doublejointed, were taking a walk through the woods together just as UncleWiggily was doing.

  "Brother," began the hump-tailed 'gator (which I call him for short),"brother, wouldn't you like a nice rabbit?"

  "Indeed I would," answered the double-jointed tail 'gator, who couldwobble his flippers both ways. "And I know of no nicer rabbit thanUncle Wiggily Longears."

  "The very same one about whom I was thinking!" exclaimed the otheralligator. "Let's catch him!"

  "That's what we'll do!" said the double-jointed chap. "We'll hide inthe woods until he comes along, as he does every day, and the we'lljump out and grab him. Oh, you yum-yum!"

  "Fine!" grunted his brother. "Come on!"

  Off they crawled through the woods, and pretty soon they came to awillow tree, where the branches grew so low down that they looked likea curtain that had unwound itself off the roller, when the cat hangs onit.

  "This is the place for us to hide--by the weeping willow tree," saidthe skillery-scalery alligator with bumps on his tail.

  "The very place," agreed his brother.

  So they hid behind the thick branches of the tree, which had leafed outfor early spring, and there the two bad creatures waited.

  Just before this Uncle Wiggily himself had started out from his hollowstump bungalow to walk in the woods and across the fields, as he didevery day.

  "I wonder what sort of an adventure I shall have this time?" he said tohimself. "I hope it will be a real nice one."

  Oh! If Uncle Wiggily had known what was in store for him, I think hewould have stayed in his hollow stump bungalow. But never mind, I'llmake it all come out right in the end, you see if I don't. I don'tknow just how I'm going to do it, yet, but I'll find a way, never fear.

  Uncle Wiggily hopped on and on, now and then swinging hisred-white-and-blue-striped rheumatism crutch like a cane, because hefelt so young and spry and spring-like. Pretty soon he came to thewillow tree. He was sort of looking up at it, wondering if a nibble ofsome of the green leaves would not do him good, when, all of a sudden,out jumped the two bad alligators and grabbed the bunny gentleman.

  "Now we have you!" crie
d the humped-tail 'gator.

  "And you can't get away from us," said the other chap--thedouble-jointed tail one.

  "Oh, please let me go!" begged Uncle Wiggily, but they hooked theirclaws in his fur, and pulled him back under the tree, which held itsbranches so low. I told you it was a weeping willow tree, and just nowit was weeping, I think, because Uncle Wiggily was in such trouble.

  "Let's see now," said the double-jointed tail alligator. "I'll carrythis rabbit home, and then--"

  "You'll do nothing of the sort!" interrupted the other, and not verypolitely, either. "I'll carry him myself. Why, I caught him as muchas you did!"

  "Well, maybe you did, but I saw him first."

  "I don't care! It was my idea. I first thought of this way ofcatching him!"

  And then those two alligators disputed, and talked very unpleasantly,indeed, to one another.

  But, all the while, they kept tight hold of the bunny uncle, so hecould not get away.

  "Well," said the double-jointed tail alligator after a while, "we mustsettle this one way or the other. Am I to carry him to our den, oryou?"

  "Me! I'll do it. If you took him you'd keep him all for yourself. Iknow you!"

  "No, I wouldn't! But that's just what you'd do. I know you only toowell. No, if I can't carry this rabbit home myself, you shan't!"

  "I say the same thing. I'm going to have my rights."

  Now, while the two bad alligators were talking this way they did notpay much attention to Uncle Wiggily. They held him so tightly in theirclaws that he could not get away, but he could use his own paws, and,when the two bad creatures were talking right in each other's face, andusing big words, Uncle Wiggily reached up and cut off a piece of willowwood with the bark on.

  And then, still when the 'gators were disputing, and not looking, thebunny uncle made himself a whistle out of the willow tree stick. Heloosened the bark, which came off like a kid glove, and then he cut aplace to blow his breath in, and another place to let the air out andso on, until he had a very fine whistle indeed, almost as loud-blowingas those the policemen have to stop the automobiles from splashing mudon you so a trolley car can bump into you.

  "I'll tell you what we'll do," said the hump-tail alligator at last."Since you won't let me carry him home, and I won't let you, let's bothcarry him together. You take hold of him on one side, and I'll takethe other."

  "Good!" cried the second alligator.

  "Oh, ho! I guess not!" cried the bunny uncle suddenly. "I guess youwon't either, or both of you take me off to your den. No, indeed!"

  "Why not?" asked the hump-tailed 'gator, sort of impolite like andsarcastic.

  "Because I'm going to blow my whistle and call the police!" went on thebunny uncle. "Toot! Toot! Tootity-ti-toot-toot!"

  And then and there he blew such a loud, shrill blast on his willow treewhistle that the alligators had to put their paws over their ears. Andwhen they did that they had to let go of bunny uncle. He had his tallsilk hat down over his ears, so it didn't matter how loudly he blew thewhistle. He couldn't hear it.

  "Toot! Toot! Tootity-toot-toot!" he blew on the willow whistle.

  "Oh, stop! Stop!" cried the hump-tailed 'gator.

  "Come on, run away before the police come!" said his brother. And outfrom under the willow tree they both ran, leaving Uncle Wiggily safelybehind.

  "Well," said the bunny gentleman as he hopped along home to hisbungalow, "it is a good thing I learned, when a boy rabbit, how to makewhistles." And I think so myself.

  So if the vinegar jug doesn't jump into the molasses barrel and turnits face sour like a lemon pudding, I'll tell you next about UncleWiggily and the winter green.

  STORY II

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE WINTERGREEN

  Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice old gentleman rabbit, knocked on thedoor of the hollow tree in the woods where Johnnie and BillieBushytail, the two little squirrel boys, lived.

  "Come in!" invited Mrs. Bushytail. So Uncle Wiggily went in.

  "I thought I'd come around and see you," he said to the squirrel lady."I'm living in the woods this Summer and just now I am out taking awalk, as I do every day, and I hoped I might meet with an adventure.But, so far, I haven't. Do you know where I could find an adventure,Mrs. Bushytail?"

  "No, I'm sorry to say I don't, Uncle Wiggily," answered the squirrellady. "But I wish you could find something to make my little boyBillie feel better."

  "Why, is he ill?" asked the bunny uncle, surprised like, and he lookedacross the room where Billy Bushytail was curled up in a big rockingchair, with his tail held over his head like an umbrella, though it wasnot raining.

  "No, Billie isn't ill," said Mrs. Bushytail. "But he says he doesn'tknow what to do to have any fun, and I am afraid he is a littlepeevish."

  "Oh, that isn't right," said Mr. Longears. "Little boys, whether theyare squirrels, rabbits or real children, should try to be jolly andhappy, and not peevish."

  "How can a fellow be happy when there's no fun?" asked Billie, sort ofcross-like. "My brother Johnnie got out of school early, and he andthe other animal boys have gone off to play where I can't find them. Ihad to stay in, because I didn't know my nut-cracking lesson, and now Ican't have any fun. Oh, dear! I don't care!"

  Billie meant, I suppose, that he didn't care what he said or did, andthat isn't right. But Uncle Wiggily only pinkled his twink nose. No,wait just a moment if you please. He just twinkled his pink nosebehind the squirrel boy's back, and then the bunny uncle said:

  "How would you like to come for a walk in the woods with me, Billie?"

  "Oh, that will be nice!" exclaimed the squirrel lady. "Do go, Billie."

  "No, I don't want to!" chattered the boy squirrel, most impolitely.

  "Oh, that isn't at all nice," said Mrs. Bushy-tail. "At least thankUncle Wiggily for asking you."

  "Oh, excuse me, Uncle Wiggily," said Billie, sorrylike. "I do thankyou. But I want very much to have some fun, and there's no fun in thewoods. I know all about them. I know every tree and bush and stump.I want to go to a new place."

  "Well, new places are nice," said the bunny uncle, "but old ones arenice, too, if you know where to look for the niceness. Now come alongwith me, and we'll see if we can't have some fun. It is lovely in thewoods now."

  "I won't have any fun there," said Billie, crossly. "The woods are nogood. Nothing good to eat grows there."

  "Oh, yes there does--lots!" laughed Uncle Wiggily. "Why the nuts yousquirrels eat grow in the woods."

  "Yes, but there are no nuts now," spoke the squirrel boy. "They onlycome in the Fall."

  "Well, come, scamper along, anyhow," invited Uncle Wiggily. "Who knowswhat may happen? It may even be an adventure. Come along, Billie."

  So, though he did not care much about it, Billie went. Uncle Wiggilyshowed the squirrel boy where the early spring flowers were coming up,and how the Jacks, in their pulpits, were getting ready to preachsermons to the trees and bushes.

  "Hark! What's that?" asked Billie, suddenly, hearing a noise.

  "What does it sound like?" asked Uncle Wiggily.

  "Like bells ringing."

  "Oh, it's the bluebells--the bluebell flowers," answered the bunnyuncle.

  "Why do they ring?" asked the little boy squirrel.

  "To call the little ants and lightning bugs to school," spoke UncleWiggily, and Billy smiled. He was beginning to see that there weremore things in the woods than he had dreamed of, even if he hadscampered here and there among the trees ever since he was a littlesquirrel chap.

  On and on through the woods went the bunny uncle and Billie. Theypicked big, leafy ferns to fan themselves with, and then they drankwith green leaf-cups from a spring of cool water.

  But no sooner had Billie taken the cold water than he suddenly cried:

  "Ouch! Oh, dear! Oh, my, how it hurts!"

  "What is it?" asked Uncle Wiggily. "Did you bite your tongue or stepon a thorn?"

  "It's my toot
h," chattered Billie. "The cold water made it ache again.I need to go to Mr. Stubtail, the bear dentist, who will pull it outwith his long claws. But I've been putting it off, and putting it off,and now--Oh, dear, how it aches! Wow!"

  "I'll cure it for you!" said Uncle Wiggily. "Just walk along throughthe woods with me and I'll soon stop your aching tooth."

  "How can you?" asked Billie, holding his paw to his jaw to warm theaching tooth, for heat will often stop pain. "There isn't anythinghere in the woods to cure toothache; is there?"

  "I think we shall find something," spoke the bunny uncle.

  "Well, I wish we could find it soon!" cried Billie, "for my tooth hurtsvery much. Ouch!" and he hopped up and down, for the toothache was ofthe jumping kind.

  "Ah, ha! Here we have it!" cried Uncle Wiggily, as he stooped oversome shiny green leaves, growing close to the ground, and he pulledsome of them up. "Just chew these leaves a little and let them restinside your mouth near the aching tooth," said Mr. Longears. "I thinkthey will help you, Billie."

  So Billie chewed the green leaves. They smarted and burned a little,but when he put them near his tooth they made it nice and warm and soonthe ache all stopped.

  "What was that you gave me, Uncle Wiggily?" Billie asked.

  "Wintergreen," answered Uncle Wiggily. "It grows in the woods, and isgood for flavoring candy, as well as for stopping toothache."

  "I am glad to know that," said Billie. "The woods are a nicer placethan I thought, and there is ever so much more in them than I dreamed.Thank you, Uncle Wiggily."