Uncle Wiggily's Travels Page 4

  "Hide! Hide! Uncle Wiggily. Hide as quickly as you can!"

  "Why should I hide?" asked the old gentleman rabbit. "Is there a giantcoming after me?"

  "Worse than a giant," said the voice. "It is a bad wolf that jumped out ofhis cage from the circus, and he is just ready to eat up anything hesees," and the July bug, for it was he who had fluttered out of thebushes, to tell Uncle Wiggily, made his wings go slowly to and fro like anelectric palm-leaf fan.

  "A wolf, eh?" cried the old gentleman rabbit. "And do you think he willeat me?"

  "He surely will," said the July bug. "I happened to fly past his house,and I heard him say to his wife that he was going out to see if he couldfind a rabbit supper. So I know he's coming for you. You'd better hide."

  "Oh! where can I hide?" asked the rabbit, as he looked around for a hollowstump. But there wasn't any, and there were no holes in the ground, and hedidn't know what to do.

  Then, all at once there was a crashing in the bushes and it sounded likean elephant coming through, breaking all the sticks in his path.

  "There's the wolf! There's the wolf!" cried the July bug. "Hide, UncleWiggily," and then the bug perched on the high limb of a tree where thewolf couldn't catch him.

  Well, the poor old gentleman rabbit looked for a place to hide himselfaway from the wolf but he couldn't seem to find any, and he was just goingto crawl under a stone and maybe hurt himself, when all at once he heard avoice say:

  "Jump up here, Uncle Wiggily. I'll hide you from the wolf."

  So the rabbit traveler looked up, and there he saw a flower calledJack-in-the-pulpit looking down on him. I've told you about them before,how the frog once took his bath in one, and how, when you pick awood-bouquet you put them in with some ferns to make the bouquet lookpretty. They are a flower like a vase, with a top curling over, and athing standing up in the centre whose name is "Jack."

  "Jump in here," said the Jack. "I'll fold my top down over you like anumbrella, and the wolf can't find you."

  "But you are so small that I can't get inside," said the rabbit.

  "Oh, I'll make myself bigger," cried the Jack, I and he took a longbreath, and puffed himself up and swelled himself up, until he was largeenough for Uncle Wiggily to jump down inside. Then the Jack-in-the-pulpitclosed down the umbrella top over the rabbit, and he was hidden away asnice and snug as could be wished.

  Pretty soon that bad savage wolf came prancing along, and he looked allover for the rabbit. Then he sniffed and cried:

  "Ha! I smell him somewhere around here! I'll find him!" But he couldn'tsee Uncle Wiggily because he was safely hidden in the Jack-in-the-pulpit.So the wolf raged around some more and chased after his tail, and just ashe smelled the rabbit hidden in the flower, the July bug flew down out ofthe tree, bang! right into the eyes of the wolf, and then the savagecreature felt so badly that he ran home and ate cold bread and water forsupper, and he didn't bother Uncle Wiggily any more that day.

  So that's how the Jack-in-the-pulpit saved the rabbit and very thankfulUncle Wiggily was. And he stayed that night in a hollow stump, and thenext day he went on to seek his fortune.

  And quite a curious thing happened to him, as I shall have the pleasure oftelling you about soon, when in case our canoe boat doesn't turn upsidedown and spill out the breakfast oatmeal, the next bedtime story will beabout Uncle Wiggily and the lost chipmunk.

  STORY IX

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE LOST CHIPMUNK

  Uncle Wiggily was walking along the road one morning, after he had sleptall night in the hollow stump. He didn't have any breakfast either, forthere was nothing left in his valise, and of course he couldn't eat hisbarber-pole crutch. If the crutch had had a hole in it, like in theelephant's trunk, then the old gentleman rabbit could have carried alongsome sandwiches. But, as it was, he had nothing for breakfast, and hehadn't had much supper either, the night before.

  "Oh, how hungry I am!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "If only I had a piece ofcherry pie now, or an ice cream cone, or a bit of bread and butter and jamI would be all right."

  Well, he just happened to open his valise, and there on the very bottom,among some papers he found a few crumbs of the honey sandwiches the bumblebee had given him. Well, you never can imagine how good those few crumbstasted to the old gentleman rabbit, which shows you that it is a goodthing to be hungry once in a while, because even common things taste good.

  But the crumbs weren't enough for Uncle Wiggily. As he walked along hekept getting hungrier and hungrier and he didn't know how he was going tostand it.

  Then, all of a sudden, as he was passing by a hollow stump, he saw a wholelot of little black creatures crawling around it. They were going up anddown, and they were very busy.

  "Why, these are ants," said the rabbit. "Well, I s'pose they have plentyto eat. I almost wish I was an ant."

  "Well! Well!" exclaimed a voice all at once. "If here isn't Uncle Wiggily.Where did you come from?" and there stood a second cousin to the ant forwhom Uncle Wiggily had once carried home a pound of beefsteak withmushrooms on it.

  "Oh, I am traveling about seeking my fortune," said the rabbit. "But Ihaven't been very successful. I couldn't even find my breakfast thismorning."

  "That's too bad!" exclaimed the ant who wore glasses. "We can give yousomething, however. Come on! everybody, help get breakfast for UncleWiggily."

  So all the ants came running up, and some of them brought pieces ofboiled eggs, and others brought oatmeal and others parts of oranges andstill others parts of cups of coffee. So take it altogether, withseventeen million, four hundred and seventeen thousand, one hundred andeighty-five ants and a baby ant to wait on him, Uncle Wiggily managed tomake out a pretty fair sort of a breakfast.

  Well, after the old gentleman rabbit had eaten all the breakfast he could,he thanked the kind ants and said good-by to them. Then he started offagain. He hadn't gone on very far through the woods, before, all of asudden he saw something bright and shining under a blackberry bush.

  "Well, I do declare!" cried the old gentleman rabbit. "I think that lookslike gold. I hope I'm not fooled this time. I will go up very slowly andcarefully. Perhaps I shall find my fortune now."

  So up he walked very softly, and he stooped down and picked up the shiningthing. And what do you think it was? Why a bright new penny--as shiny asgold.

  "Good luck!" cried Uncle Wiggily, "I am beginning to find money. Soon Iwill be rich, and then I can stop traveling," and he put the penny in hispocket.

  Well, no sooner had he done so than he heard some one crying over behind araspberry bush. Oh, such a sad cry as it was, and the old gentleman rabbitknew right away that some one was in trouble.

  "Who is there?" he asked, as he felt in his pocket to see if his penny wassafe, for he thought that was the beginning of his fortune.

  "Oh, I'm lost!" cried the voice. "I came to the store to buy a chocolatelollypop, and I can't find my way back," and then out from behind theraspberry bush came a tiny, little striped chipmunk with the tears fallingdown on her little paws.

  "Oh, you poor little dear!" cried Uncle Wiggily. "And so you are lost?Well, don't you know what to do? As soon as you are lost you must go to apoliceman and ask him to take you home. Policemen always know whereeverybody lives."

  "But there are no policemen here," said the chipmunk, who was somethinglike a squirrel, only smaller.

  "That's so," agreed Uncle Wiggily. "Well, pretend that I am a policeman,and I'll take you home. Where do you live?"

  "If I knew," said the chipmunk, "I would go home myself. All that I knowis that I live in a hollow stump."

  "Hum!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "There are so many hollow stumps here,that I can't tell which one it is. We will go to each one, and when youfind the one that is your home, just tell me."

  "But that is not the worst," said the chipmunk. "I have lost my bright,new penny that my mamma gave me for a chocolate lollypop. Oh dear. Isn'tit terrible."

  "Perhaps this is your penny," said the old gentleman rabbit a bit
sadly,taking from his pocket the one he had found.

  "It is the very one!" cried the lost chipmunk, joyfully. "Oh, how good ofyou to find it for me."

  "Well," thought Uncle Wiggily with a sorrowful sigh as he handed over thepenny, "I thought I had found the beginning of my fortune, but I've lostit again. Never mind. I'll try to-morrow."

  So he gave the penny to the chipmunk, and she stopped crying right away,and took hold of Uncle Wiggily's paw, and he led her around to all thehollow stumps until she found the right one where she lived.

  And he bought her an ice cream cone because he felt sorry for her. And,just as she was eating it, along came a big, black bear and he wantedhalf of it, but very luckily the July bug flew past just then, and he bitthe bear in the eyes, so that the bad bear was glad enough to run home,taking his little stumpy tail with him. Then the chipmunk took UncleWiggily back to her home, and he stayed with her papa and mamma all night.

  Now, in case the rocking chair on our porch doesn't tip over in the middleof the night, and scare the pussy cat off the railing, I'll tell you nextabout Uncle Wiggily and the black cricket.

  STORY X

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE BLACK CRICKET

  Uncle Wiggily, the nice old gentleman rabbit, was feeling quite sad onemorning as he hopped along the dusty road. It was a few days after he hadhelped the lost chipmunk find her way back home, and he had given her thelost penny which he had also picked up.

  "Oh, dear me!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, as he thought of the penny."That's generally the way it is in this world. Nothing seems to go right.I naturally thought I had found the beginning of my fortune, even if itwas only a penny, and it turned out that the money belonged to somebodyelse. Oh dear!"

  Well, the old rabbit traveler actually felt so badly that he didn't muchcare whether he found his fortune or not, and that is a very poor way tofeel in this world, for one must never give up trying, no matter whathappens.

  Then Uncle Wiggily looked in his satchel to see if he had anything to eat,but my goodness sakes alive and a ham sandwich! There wasn't a thing inthe valise! You see he was thinking so much about the penny that he forgotto put up his lunch.

  "Humph! This is a pretty state of affairs!" exclaimed the old rabbitgentleman. "Worse and worse, and some more besides! I do declare! Hum!Suz! Dud!"

  Well, he didn't know what to do, so he sat down on a log beside a shadybush and thought it all over. And the more he thought the sadder hebecame, until he began to believe he was the most miserable rabbit in allthe world.

  "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "I might as well go backhome and done with it."

  But no sooner had he said this, than Uncle Wiggily heard the jolliestlaugh he had ever known. Oh! it was such a rippling, happy joyous laughthat it would almost cure the toothache just to listen to it.

  "Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! He! He!" laughed the voice, and Uncle Wiggily looked up,and he looked down, and then he looked sideways and around a corner, buthe could see no one. Still the laugh kept up, more jolly than ever.

  "Humph! I wonder who that is?" said the rabbit. "I wish I could laugh likethat," and Uncle Wiggily actually smiled the least little bit, and hedidn't feel quite so sad.

  Then, all at once, there was a voice singing, and this is the song, and ifyou feel sad when you sing it, just get some one to tickle you, or watchbaby's face when he smiles, and you will feel jolly enough to sing thissong, even if you have been crying because you stubbed your toe.

  "Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! I gladly sing, I sing about most anything. I sing about a pussy cat, Who caught a little mousie-rat. I sing about a doggie-dog, Who saw a turtle on a log. I sing about a little boy, Who cried because he broke his toy. And then he laughed, 'Ha! Ha! He! He!' Because he couldn't help it; see?"

  "Well, well!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, "I wish I knew who that was.Perhaps it is a fairy, and if it is, I'm going to ask her for my fortune.I'm getting tired of not finding it," and when he thought about that hewas sad again.

  But a moment later a little black creature hopped out from under a leaf,and who should it be but a cricket.

  "Was that you laughing?" asked the old gentleman rabbit, as he againlooked in his valise to see if he had any sandwiches there. "Was it you?"

  "It was," said the cricket. "I was just going--Oh, kindly excuse me, whileI laugh again!" the cricket said, and then he laughed more jolly thanbefore.

  "What makes you so good-natured?" asked the rabbit.

  "I just can't help it," said the cricket. "Everything is so lovely. Thesun shines, and the birds sing, and the water in the brooks babble suchjolly songs, and well--Oh, excuse me again if you please, I'm going tolaugh once more," and so he did then and there. He just laughed andlaughed and laughed, that cricket did.

  "Well," said Uncle Wiggily, still speaking sadly, "of course it's nice tobe jolly, anybody can be that way when the sun shines, but what about therain? There! I guess you can't be jolly when it rains."

  "Oh! when it rains I laugh because I know it will soon clear off, andthen, too, I can think about the days when the sun did shine," said thecricket.

  "Well," spoke Uncle Wiggily, "there is something in that, to be sure. Andas you are such a jolly chap, will you travel along with me? Perhaps withyou I could find my fortune."

  "Of course I'll come," said the cricket, and he laughed again, and then heand the old gentleman rabbit hopped on together and Uncle Wiggily keptfeeling more and more happy until he had forgotten all about thechipmunk's penny that wasn't his.

  Well, in a little while, not so very long, the rabbit and the cricket cameto a dark place in the woods. Oh! it was quite dismal, and, just as theypassed a big, black stump with a hole in it, all of a sudden out poppedthe skillery-scalery-tailery alligator.

  "Ah, ha!" exclaimed the unpleasant creature. "Now I have you both. I'mgoing to eat you both, first you, Mr. Cricket, and then you, UncleWiggily."

  "Oh, please don't," begged the rabbit. "I haven't found my fortune yet."

  "No matter," cried the alligator, "here we go!"

  He made a grab for the cricket, but the little black insect hopped to oneside, and then, all of a sudden he began to laugh. Oh, how hard helaughed.

  "Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! He! He!" My, it was wonderful! At first the alligatordidn't know what to make of it. Harder and harder did the black cricketlaugh, and then Uncle Wiggily began. He just couldn't help it. Harder andharder laughed the cricket and Uncle Wiggily together, and then, all atonce, the alligator began to laugh. He couldn't help it either.

  "Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! He! He!" laughed the 'gator, and great big alligatortears rolled down his scaly cheeks, he laughed so hard. Why, he giggled sothat he couldn't even have eaten a mosquito with mustard on.

  "Come on, now!" suddenly cried the cricket to Uncle Wiggily. "Now is ourchance to get away."

  And before the alligator had stopped laughing they both hopped away in thewoods together, and so the bad scalery-ailery-tailery creature didn't geteither of them.

  "My! it's a good thing you made him laugh," said the rabbit when they weresafely away.

  "It's a good thing to make anybody laugh," said the black cricket, andthen he and Uncle Wiggily went on to seek the old gentleman rabbit'sfortune.

  And in the next story, in case the sunshine doesn't make my pussy catsneeze and spill his milk, on the new door mat, I'll tell you all aboutUncle Wiggily and the busy bug.

  STORY XI

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE BUSY BUG

  Everywhere Uncle Wiggily and the black cricket went in the next few days,every one was glad to see them. For they were both so jolly, and laughedand joked so much along the road, that no one who heard them could be sad.

  They came to one place where there was a boy sick with the toothache, andhis mamma had done everything for him that she could think of, even toputting mustard on it, but still that boy's tooth ached.

  Well, as soon as that boy saw the cricket and the old gentleman rabbit,and heard them laugh, why the boy smiled, and then t
he pain, somehow,seemed to be better, and he smiled some more, and then he laughed.

  Then Uncle Wiggily told a funny story about a monkey who made faces athimself in a looking-glass, and got so excited about it that he jumpedaround behind the glass, thinking another monkey was there, and therewasn't, and the monkey fell into the freezer full of ice cream and caughtcold because he ate so much of it.

  Well, that boy opened his mouth real wide to laugh at the funny story andhis mamma all of a sudden slipped a string around the aching tooth and shepulled it out in a moment, and it never ached again.

  "Oh, how glad I am!" cried the little boy. "I wish you would always staywith me, Uncle Wiggily--you and the jolly cricket."

  "I'd like to, but I can't," said the old gentleman rabbit. "I must keep onafter my fortune."

  "I'll stay with you for a little while," said the cricket, and he did,telling some funny stories to other boys who had the toothache, and rightaway after that they allowed their bad teeth to be pulled, and their painwas over.

  So Uncle Wiggily said good-by to the cricket and went on by himself. Hewas feeling very good now, for he and the cricket had met a kind muskrat,a thirty-fifth cousin to Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and this muskrat gaveUncle Wiggily a lot of sandwiches for his satchel, so he wouldn't behungry again for some time.

  "And I don't mind so much about the cent, either," thought the rabbit, ashe remembered the one that belonged to the chipmunk. "After all a cent isnot so much, and I need more than that for my fortune. Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho!"