I Love Animal Stories. Aesop
“Oh, please do!” cried the king.
So Uncle Wiggily did.
Down under the cellar wall of the palace, through the dirt, dug the bunny gentleman, with his strong paws. Pretty soon he was right under the kitchen, and there, just where they had dropped through the crack, were the king’s gold and silver pennies and other pieces of money. Uncle Wiggily picked them up, put them in his pocket and crawled out again.
“There you are, king,” he said. “You have your money back.”
“Oh, thank you ever so much!” cried the king. “I’ll have the cook give you some carrots.” And he did, before he went on counting his money in the kitchen. And this time he stuffed a dish-rag in the crack so no more pennies would fall through.
“Well, Uncle Wiggily, where are you going now?” asked the King, as he saw the bunny gentleman hopping away with the bunch of carrots.
“I hardly know that myself,” answered the rabbit. “I want to have more adventures, either with the friends of Old Mother Hubbard and Mother Goose, or with some of the animal or birds that live in the woods.”
“I think some adventures with birds would be exciting,” spoke the King. “This blackbird who nipped off the maid’s nose was a lively sort of chap.”
“He was, indeed,” agreed the bunny gentleman. “I think I should like some adventures with my feathered friends who fly in the air. When I come back I’ll tell you about them, Mr. King.”
“Please do,” begged the gentleman with the gold and diamond crown. And so, as long as the rabbit wishes it, and if the condensed milk doesn’t jump out of the molasses jug and scare the coffee pot so that it drinks tea, I shall make the next book “Uncle Wiggily and the Birds,” and I hope you will like it.
Uncle Wiggily's Squirt Gun
1. One day when Uncle Wiggily was out early to see the sun rise, he passed a rocky ledge from which hung many icicles. As the sun shone on the sticks of ice they turned all the colors of the rainbow. “How wonderful!” exclaimed the bunny. “Who made them?” A little chap beside him said: “I did! I am Jack Frost. And, because you have been kind to me, I’ll give you the power to make icicles!”
2. “Whenever you wish to make icicles,” Jack Frost told Uncle Wiggily, “just push the squirt gun. Out will come water, and by magic power it will freeze into icicles.” The bunny thought this would be fine. So he hopped through the woods. Soon he came to a deep ravine he wished to cross, but there was no bridge and it was a long way around. “I’ll try Jack Frost’s trick now,” said Uncle Wiggily.
3. Out of the magic Jack Frost gun squirted water. It fell and froze, making a bridge of icicles across the gully. “Ha! This is just fine!” laughed Uncle Wiggily, crossing the ice bridge. He did not see the bad Fox looking after him. “What game is that rabbit up to now?” growled the Fox. “I must follow and see. He has made a bridge where there was none before. I can cross after him and catch him!”
4. Having crossed the icicle bridge, Uncle Wiggily kept on until he came to the home of Uncle Butter the goat. “Help me down, Uncle Wiggily!” he bleated. “I was mending a leak in my roof, and the Old Fox came along and took my ladder.” The bunny said he would help his friend, and pointed the squirt gun. “Oh, I said HELP me—not SHOOT me!” cried Uncle Butter, and Mr. Longears just laughed.
5. “I’m not going to shoot you!” said Uncle Wiggily. “This is Jack Frost’s magic icicle gun. I’ll make a ladder for you!” So the bunny did, and the goat gentleman came safely down. The Bad Old Fox, who had stolen the ladder away, thinking it would help him catch Uncle Wiggily, peeked around the corner. “I wonder how I can get that rabbit?” thought the Fox, as the bunny was about to hop on.
6. After having helped Uncle Wiggily down off the roof, the bunny traveled on with the magic Jack Frost squirt gun. Soon he came to where Mrs. Twistytail the pig lady lived. “Oh such trouble!” squealed the pig lady. “My clothes sticks are gone and all my nice clean clothes will sag down in the dirt!” Uncle Wiggily made ready the gun. “I’ll freeze some icicle clothes sticks for you, Mrs. Twistytail,” he said.
7. “Icicle clothes sticks! I never heard of such things!” squealed Floppy, the little piggie chap who was using the rake to help his mother hold up the line. “It can’t be done!” declared Curly. “I’ll soon show you!” laughed Uncle Wiggily. He squirted three or four streams of water up in the air. When the water froze it turned into icicles, and the pig lady used them to hold up the sagging lines.
8. Having done a kind act for Mrs. Twistytail, by making icicle clothes sticks Uncle Wiggily hopped along. He was tramping through the woods when, all of a sudden, the bad Fuzzy Fox ran out from behind a bush. “Now I have you!” he howled. “You can’t get away!” Uncle Wiggily pointed his magic gun. “Ha! Ha! I’m not afraid of a bit of water!” snickered the Fox. “You can’t do anything!”
9. All of a sudden Uncle Wiggily began to squirt streams of water from Jack Frost’s magic gun. Up and down the bunny made icicles in the air, their ends resting on the ground, until he had made a cage with bars of ice all about the Fox. “Let’s see you get me now!” laughed the bunny, as he started for his bungalow. “Fooled again!” howled the Fox. “Who would think he could freeze me in like this?”
Now if the tacks in the carpet don’t turn upside down and tickle the toes of the pussy cat when she’s dancing for the rag doll, the next pictures and story will be about Uncle Wiggily’s queer Umbrellas.
UNCLE WIGGILY WAS SO VERY KIND HE LOANED HIS UMBRELLA. AND WHEN THE ’GATOR CAME ALONG, THE BUNNY FED THE HUNGRY “FELLAH.” REALLY HE DID!
1. Uncle Wiggily hopped out one day to have an adventure, and, as it looked cloudy when he started he took his umbrella. The rabbit gentleman had not hopped very long before it began to April shower. “I’ll just hoist my umbrella,” said the bunny. He was going along when he noticed Aunt Lettie, the goat lady, without an umbrella. “Oh, please take mine!” begged the bunny. “I like to get wet!”
2. “Oh, thank you!” bleated Aunt Lettie. “But can’t we both walk under this umbrella?” Uncle Wiggily said no, as he wasn’t going her way. The bunny was getting quite wet when up hopped Mr. Croaker. “Here is a large toadstool for you, Uncle Wiggily,” grunted Mr. Croaker. “You may use that for an umbrella. I am used to the rain.” Uncle Wiggily thanked the toad, and