Uncle Wiggily's Travels Page 2

  "Oh, if we only had some feathers now, we would be all right," said Mrs.Wren. "It's a very good nest for a rabbit to make."

  "Don't say a word!" cried some small voices on the ground. "We willgather up the feathers for you." And there came marching up a lot of thelittle ants that Uncle Wiggily had been kind to, and soon they hadgathered up all the scattered feathers. And the nest was made on a mossystump, and lined with the feathers, and the warm eggs were put in it byMrs. Wren, who then hovered over them to hatch out the birdies. And shewas very thankful to Uncle Wiggily for what he had done.

  Now, in case the water in the lake doesn't get inside the milk pail andmake lemonade of it, I'll tell you in the next story how the birdies werehatched out, and also about Uncle Wiggily and the sunfish.

  STORY III

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE SUNFISH

  Uncle Wiggily slept that night--I mean the night after he had helped Mrs.Wren build her nest--he slept in an old under-ground house that anotherrabbit must have made some time before. It was nicely lined with leaves,and the fortune-hunting bunny slept very nice and warm there.

  When the sun was up, shining very brightly, and most beautifully, UncleWiggily arose, shook his ears to get the dust out of them, and threw thedried-leaf blankets off him.

  "Ah, ha! I must be up and doing," he cried. "Perhaps I shall find myfortune to-day."

  Well, no sooner had he crawled out of the burrow than he heard a mostbeautiful song. It was one Mrs. Wren was singing, and it went "tra-la-latra-la-la! tum-tee-tee-tum-tum-tee-tee!" too pretty for anything. Andthen, afterward, there was a sort of an echo like "cheep-cheepcheep-cheep!"

  "Why, you must be very happy this morning, Mrs. Wren!" called UncleWiggily to her as she sat in her new nest which the rabbit had made forher on the mossy stump.

  "I am," she answered, "very happy. What do you think happened in thenight?"

  "I can't guess," he answered. "A burglar crow didn't come and steal youreggs, I hope!"

  "Oh, nothing sad or bad like that," she answered. "But something verynice. Just hop up here and look."

  So Uncle Wiggily hopped up on the stump, and Mrs. Wren got off her nest,and there, on the bottom, in among some egg-shells, were a lot of tiny,weeny little birdies, about as big as a spool of silk thread or evensmaller.

  "Why, where in the world did they come from?" asked the old gentlemanrabbit, rubbing his eyes.

  "Out of the eggs to be sure," answered Mrs. Wren. "And I do declare, thelast of my family is hatched now. There is little Wiggily out of the shellat last. I think I'll name him after you, as he never could keep stillwhen he was being hatched. Now I must take out all the broken shells sothe birdies won't cut themselves on them." And she began to throw them outwith her bill, just as the mother hen does, and then one of the new littlebirdies called out:

  "Cheep-cheep-chip-chip!"

  "Yes, I know you're hungry," answered their mamma, who understood theirbird talk. "Well, I'll fly away and get you something to eat just as soonas your papa comes home to stay in the house. You know Mr. Wren went awaylast night to see about getting a new position in a feather pillowfactory," said Mrs. Wren to Uncle Wiggily, "and he doesn't yet know aboutthe birdies. I hope he'll come back soon, as they are very hungry, and Idon't like to leave them alone to go shopping."

  "Oh, I'll stay and take care of them for you while you go to the store,"said the old gentleman rabbit, kindly.

  "That will do very well," said Mrs. Wren. So she put on her bonnet andshawl and took her market basket and off she flew to the store, whileUncle Wiggily stayed with the new birdies, and they snuggled down underhis warm fur, and were as cozy as in their own mother's feathers.

  Well, Mrs. Wren was gone some time, as the store was crowded and shecouldn't get waited on right away, and Uncle Wiggily stayed with thebirdies. And they got hungrier and hungrier, and they cried real hard.Yes, indeed, as hard as some babies.

  "Hum! I don't know what to do," said the old gentleman rabbit. "I can'tfeed them. I guess I'll sing to them." So he sang this song:

  "Hush, birdies, hush, Please don't cry; Mamma'll be back By and by.

  "Nestle down close Under my fur, I'm not your mother, but I'm helping her."

  But this didn't seem to satisfy the birdies and they cried "cheep-cheep"harder than ever.

  "Oh, dear! I believe I must get them something to eat," said UncleWiggily. So he covered them all up warmly with the feathers that lined thenest, and then he hopped down and went limping around on his crutch tofind them something to eat.

  Pretty soon he came to a little brook, and as he looked down into it hesaw something shining, all gold and red and green and blue and yellow.

  "Why, I do declare, if here isn't the end of the rainbow!" exclaimed theold gentleman rabbit, as he saw all the pretty colors.

  He rubbed his eyes with his paw, to make sure he wasn't dreaming, but thecolors were surely enough there, down under water.

  "No wonder the giant couldn't find the pot of gold, it was down in thewater," spoke the rabbit. "But I'll get it, and then my fortune will bemade. Oh, how glad I am!"

  Well, Uncle Wiggily reached his paw down and made a grab for the red andgreen and gold and yellow thing, but to his surprise, instead of liftingup a pot of gold, he lifted up a squirming, wiggling sunfish.

  "Oh, my!" exclaimed the rabbit in surprise.

  "I should say yes! Two Oh mys and another one!" gasped the fish. "Oh,please put me back in the water again. The air out on land is too strongfor me. I can't breathe. Please, Uncle Wiggily, put me back."

  "I thought you were a pot of gold," said the rabbit, sadly. "I'm alwaysgetting fooled. But never mind. I'll put you in the water."

  "What are you doing here?" asked the fish, as he slid into the water againand sneezed three times.

  "Just at present I am taking care of Mrs. Wren's new little birdies," saidthe rabbit. "She has gone to the store for something for them to eat, butthey are so hungry they can't wait."

  "Oh, that is easily fixed," said the sunfish. "Since you were so kind tome I'll tell you what to do. Get them a few little worms, and some smallflower seeds, and feed them. Then the birdies will go to sleep."

  So Uncle Wiggily did this, and as soon as the birds had their hungrylittle mouths filled, sound to sleep they went. And in a little while Mrs.Wren came back from the store with her basket filled, and Mr. Wren flewhome to say that he had a nice position in a feather factory, and how hedid admire his birdies! He hugged and kissed them like anything.

  Then the two wrens both thanked Uncle Wiggily for taking care of theirchildren, and the rabbit said good-by and hopped on again to seek hisfortune. And if the trolley car conductor gives me a red, white and bluetransfer, for the pin cushion to go to sleep on, I'll tell you in thefollowing story about Uncle Wiggily and the yellow bird.

  STORY IV

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE YELLOW BIRD

  Once upon a time, when Johnnie Bushytail was going along the road toschool, he met a fox--oh, just listen to me, would you! This story isn'tabout the squirrel boy at all. It's about Uncle Wiggily Longears to besure, and the yellow bird, so I must begin all over again.

  The day after the old gentleman rabbit had helped Mrs. Wren feed herlittle birdies he found himself traveling along a lonely road through abig forest of tall trees. Oh, it was a very lonesome place, and not evenan automobile was to be seen, and there wasn't the smell of gasoline, andno "honk-honks" to waken the baby from her sleep.

  "Hum, I don't believe I'll find any fortune along here," thought UncleWiggily as he tramped on. "I haven't met even so much as a red ant, oreven a black one, or a grasshopper. I wonder if I can be lost?"

  So he looked all around to see if he might be lost in the woods. But youknow how it is, sometimes you're lost when you least expect it, and againyou think you are lost, but you're right near home all the while.

  That's the way it was with Uncle Wiggily, he didn't know whether or not hewas lost, so he thought he'd sit dow
n on a flat stone and eat his lunch.The reason he sat on a flat stone instead of a round one was because hehad some hard boiled eggs for his lunch, and you know if you put an egg ona round stone it's bound to roll off and crack right in the middle.

  "And I don't like cracked eggs," said the rabbit. So he laid the eggs hehad on the flat stone, and put little sticks in front of them and behindthem, so they couldn't even roll off the flat stone if they wanted to.Then he ate his lunch.

  "I guess it doesn't much matter if I am lost," said the travelingfortune-hunting rabbit a little later. "I'll go on and perhaps I may meetwith an adventure." So on he hopped, and pretty soon he came to a placewhere the leaves and the dirt were all torn up, just as if some boys hadbeen playing a baseball game, or leap-frog, or something like that.

  "My, I must look out that I don't tumble down any holes here," thoughtUncle Wiggily, "for maybe some bad men have been setting traps to catch usrabbits."

  Well, he turned to one side, to get out of the way of some sharp thorns,and, my goodness! if there weren't more sharp thorns on the ground on theother side of the path. "I guess I'll have to keep straight ahead!"thought our Uncle Wiggily. "I never saw so many thorns before in all mylife. I'll have to look out or I'll be stuck."

  So he kept straight on, and all of a sudden he felt himself going downinto a big hole.

  "Oh! Oh dear! Oh me! Oh my!" cried Uncle Wiggily. "I've fallen into atrap! That's what those thorns were for--so I would have to walk towardthe trap instead of going to one side."

  But, very luckily for Uncle Wiggily, his crutch happened to catch acrossthe hole, and so he didn't go all the way down, but hung on. But hisvalise fell to the bottom. However, he managed to pull himself up on theground, though his rheumatism hurt him, and soon he was safe once more.

  "Oh, my valise, with all my clothes in it!" he cried, as he looked downinto the hole, which had been covered over with loose leaves and dirt sohe couldn't see it before falling in. "I wonder how I can get my thingsback again?" he went on.

  Then he looked up, and in a tree, not far from him, he saw somethingbright and yellow, shining like gold.

  "Ah, ha!" cried Uncle Wiggily. "At last I have found the pot of gold,even if the rainbow isn't here. That is yellow, and yellow is the color ofgold. Now my fortune is made. I will get that gold and go back home."

  So, not worrying any more about his valise down the trap-hole, UncleWiggily hopped over to the tree to get what he thought was a big bunch ofyellow gold. But as he came closer, he saw that the gold was moving aboutand fluttering, though not going very far away.

  "That is queer gold," thought the old gentleman rabbit. "I never sawmoving gold before. I wonder if it is a good kind."

  Then he went a little closer and he heard a voice crying.

  "Why, that is crying gold, too," he said. "This is very strange."

  Then he heard some one calling:

  "Oh, help! Will some one please help me?"

  "Why, this is most strange of all!" the rabbit cried. "It is talking gold.Perhaps there is a fairy about."

  "Oh, I only wish there was one!" cried the yellow object in the tree. "IfI saw a fairy I'd ask her to set me free."

  "What's that? Who are you?" asked the rabbit.

  "Oh, I'm a poor little yellow bird," was the answer, "and I'm caught in astring-trap that some boys set in this tree. There is a string around mylegs and I can't fly home to see my little ones. I got into the trap bymistake. Oh! can't you help me? Climb up into the tree, Uncle Wiggily, andhelp me!"

  "How did you know my name was Uncle Wiggily?" asked the rabbit.

  "I could tell it by your ears--your wiggling ears," was the answer. "Butplease climb up and help me."

  "Rabbits can't climb trees," said Uncle Wiggily. "But I will tell you whatI'll do. I'll gnaw the tree down with my sharp teeth, for they are sharp,even if I am a little old. Then, when it falls, I can reach the string,untie it, and you will be free."

  So Uncle Wiggily did this, and soon the tree fell down, but the goldenyellow bird was on a top branch and didn't get hurt. Then the oldgentleman rabbit quickly untied the string and the bird was out of thetrap.

  "I cannot thank you enough!" she said to the rabbit. "Is there anything Ican do for you to pay you?"

  "Well, my valise is down a hole," said Uncle Wiggily, "but I don't see howyou can get it up. I need it, though."

  "I can fly down, tie the string to the satchel and you can pull it up,"said the birdie. And she did so, and the rabbit pulled up his valise asnicely as a bucket of water is hoisted up from the well. Then some badboys and a man came along to see if there was anything in the hole-trap,or the string-trap they had made; but when they saw the bird flying awayand the rabbit hopping away through the woods they were very angry. ButUncle Wiggily and the yellow bird were safe from harm, I'm glad to say.

  And the rabbit had another adventure soon after that, and what it was I'lltell you soon, when the story will be about Uncle Wiggily and theskyrockets. It will be a Fourth of July story, if you please; that is ifthe bean bag doesn't fall down the coal hole and catch a mosquito.

  STORY V

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE SKY-CRACKER

  Let me see, I think I promised to tell you a story about Uncle Wiggily andthe skyrocket, didn't I? Or was it to be about a firecracker, seeing thatit soon may be the Fourth of July? What's that--a firecracker--no? Askyrocket? Oh, I'm all puzzled up about it, so I guess I'll make it asky-cracker, a sort of half-firecracker and half-skyrocket, and that willdo.

  Well, after Uncle Wiggily had gotten the little yellow bird, that lookedlike gold, out from the string-trap in the tree, the old gentleman rabbitspent two nights visiting a second cousin of Grandfather PricklyPorcupine, who lived in the woods. Then Uncle Wiggily got up one morning,dressed himself very carefully, combed out his whiskers, and said:

  "Well, I'm off again to seek my fortune."

  "It's too bad you can't seem able to find it," said the second cousin toGrandfather Prickly Porcupine, "but perhaps you will have good luckto-day. Only you want to be very careful."

  "Why?" asked the old gentleman rabbit.

  "Well, because you know it will soon be the Fourth of July, and some boysmay tie a firecracker or a skyrocket to your tail," said the porcupine.

  "Ha! Ha!" laughed Uncle Wiggily. "They will have a hard time doing that,for my tail is so short that the boys would burn their fingers if theytried to tie a firecracker to it."

  "Then look out that they don't fasten a skyrocket to your long ears," saidthe second cousin to Grandfather Prickly Porcupine, as he wrapped up somelettuce and carrot sandwiches for Uncle Wiggily to take with him.

  The old gentleman rabbit said he would watch out, and away he started,going up hill and down hill with his barber-pole crutch as easily as if hewas being wheeled in a baby carriage.

  "Well, I don't seem to find any fortune," he said to himself as he walkedalong, and, just as he said that he saw something sparkling in the grassbeside the path in the woods. "What's that?" he cried. "Perhaps it is adiamond. If it is I can sell it and get rich." Then he happened to thinkwhat the second cousin of Grandfather Prickly Porcupine had told him aboutFourth of July coming, and Uncle Wiggily said:

  "Ha! I had better be careful. Perhaps that sparkling thing is a spark ona firecracker. Ah, ha!"

  So he looked more carefully, and the bright object sparkled more and more,and it didn't seem to be fire, so the old gentleman rabbit went up close,and what do you suppose it was?

  Why, it was a great big dewdrop, right in the middle of a purple violet,that was growing underneath a shady fern. Oh, how beautiful it was in thesunlight, and Uncle Wiggily was glad he had looked at it. And pretty soon,as he was still looking, a big, buzzing bumble bee buzzed along andstopped to take a sip of the dewdrop.

  "Ha! That is a regular violet ice cream soda for me!" said the bee toUncle Wiggily. And just as he was taking another drink a big, ugly snakemade a spring and tried to eat the bee, but Uncle Wiggily hit the snakewith his crutch
and the snake crawled away very much surprised.

  "Thank you very much," said the bee to the rabbit. "You saved my life, andif ever I can do you a favor I will," and with that he buzzed away.

  Well, pretty soon, not so very long, in a little while, Uncle Wiggily cameto a place in the woods where there were a whole lot of packages done upin paper lying on the ground. And there was a tent near them, and itlooked as if people lived in the white tent, only no one was there justthen.

  "I guess I'd better keep away," thought the old gentleman rabbit, "or theymay catch me." And just then he saw something like a long, straight stick,standing up against a tree. "Ha, that will be a good stick to take alongto chase the bears away with," he thought. "I think no one wants it, soI'll take it."

  Well, he walked up and took hold of it in his paws, but, mind you, hedidn't notice that on one end of the stick was a piece of powder string,like the string of a firecracker, sticking down, and this string wasburning. No, the poor old gentleman, rabbit never noticed that at all. Hestarted to take the stick away with him when, all of a sudden, somethingdreadful happened.

  With a whizz and a rush and a roar that stick shot into the air, carryingUncle Wiggily with it, just like a balloon, for he hadn't time to let goof it.

  Up and up he went, with a roar and a swoop, and just then he saw a wholelot of boys rushing out of the woods toward the white tent. And one boycried:

  "Oh, fellows, look! A rabbit has hold of our sky-cracker and it's on fireand has gone off and taken him with it! Oh the poor rabbit! Because whenthe sky-cracker gets high enough in the air the firecracker part of itwill go off with a bang, and he'll be killed. Oh, how sorry I am. The hotsun must have set fire to the powder string."