You see those boys had come out in the woods to have their Fourth of July,where the noise wouldn't make any one's head ache.
Well, Uncle Wiggily went on, up and up, with the sky-cracker, and he feltvery much afraid for he had heard what the boys said.
"Oh, this is the end of me!" he cried, as he held fast to the sky-cracker."I'll never live to find my fortune now. When this thing explodes, I'll bedashed to the ground and killed."
The sky-cracker was whizzing and roaring, and black smoke was pouring outof one end, and Uncle Wiggily thought of all his friends whom he feared hewould never see again, when all of a sudden along came flying the buzzingbumble bee, high in the air. He was much surprised to see Uncle Wiggilyskimming along on the tail of a sky-cracker.
"Oh, can't you save me?" cried the rabbit.
"Indeed I will, if I can," said the bee, "because you were so kind to me.You are too heavy, or I would fly down to earth with you myself, but I'lldo the next best thing. I'll fly off and get Dickie and Nellie Chip-Chip,the sparrow children, and they'll come with a big basket and catch you soyou won't fall."
No sooner said than done. Off flew the bee. Quickly he found Dickie andNellie and told them the danger Uncle Wiggily was in.
"Quick," called Dickie to Nellie. "We must save him."
Off they flew like the wind, carrying a grocery basket between them. Rightunder Uncle Wiggily they flew, and just as the sky-cracker was going toburst with a "slam-bang!" the old gentleman rabbit let go, and into thebasket he safely fell and the sparrow children flew to earth with him.Then the sky-cracker burst all to pieces for Fourth of July, but UncleWiggily wasn't on it to be hurt, I'm glad to say.
He spent the Fourth visiting the Bumble bee's family, and had ice creamand cake and lemonade for supper, and at night he heard the band play, andhe gave Nellie and Dickie ten cents for ice cream sodas, and that's all tothis story.
But on the next page, if the baker man brings me a pound of soap bubbleswith candy in the middle for Cora Janet's doll, I'll tell you about UncleWiggily and the buttercup.
STORY VI
UNCLE WIGGILY AND BUTTERCUP
I hope none of you were burned by a sky-cracker or a Roman candle stickwhen you had your Fourth of July celebration, but if you were I hope youwill soon be better, and perhaps if I tell you a story it will make youforget the pain. So here we go, all about Uncle Wiggily and the buttercup.
The old gentleman rabbit spent a few days in an old burrow next to thebumble bee's house, and then one morning, when the sun was shiningbrightly, he started off again to seek his fortune.
"I never can thank you enough," he said to the bee, "for going after thesparrow children and saving me from the exploding sky-cracker. If ever Ifind my fortune I will give you some of it."
"Thank you very kindly," said the bee, as she looked in the pantry, "andhere are some sweet honey sandwiches for you to eat on your travels. Thisis some honey that I made myself."
"Then it must be very good," said the old gentleman rabbit politely, ashe put the sandwiches in his valise and started off down the dusty road.
Well, he hopped on and on, sometimes in the woods where it was cool andgreen and shady, and sometimes out in the hot sun, and every minute or sohe would stop and look around to see if he could find his fortune.
"For, who knows?" he said, "perhaps I may pick up a bag of gold, or somediamonds at almost any minute. Then I could go back home and buy anautomobile for myself to ride around in, and my travels would be over. Ihave certainly been on the go a long time, but my health is much betterthan it was."
So he kept on, looking under all the big leaves and clumps of ferns forhis fortune. But he didn't find it, and pretty soon he came to a hole inthe ground. And in front of this hole was a little sign, printed on apiece of paper, and it read:
"COME IN! EVERYBODY WELCOME."
"Humph! I wonder if that means me?" thought the old gentleman rabbit."Let's see, gold grows under ground, in mines, and perhaps this is a goldmine. I'm going down. I'm sure there is a fortune waiting for me. Yes,I'll go down."
So he laid aside his valise and barber-pole crutch and got ready to godown in the hole, which wasn't very big.
"But I can scratch it bigger if I need to," said Uncle Wiggily.
Well, he had no sooner gotten his front feet and part of his nose down thehole, but his ears were still sticking out, when he heard a voice calling:
"Here! Where are you going?"
"Down this hole after gold," replied Uncle Wiggily.
"You mustn't go down there," went on the voice, and pulling out his noseand looking about him, the old gentleman rabbit saw a white pussy catsitting on a stump. And the pussy cat was washing his face with his paws,taking care not to let the claws stick out for fear of scratching hiseyes.
"Why can't I go down this hole, Pussy?" asked the rabbit. "Do you havecharge of it?"
"No, indeed," was the answer, "but there is a bad snake who lives downthere, and he puts up that sign so the animals will come down, and then heeats them. That's the reason he says they are welcome. No, indeed, Iwouldn't want to see you go down there!"
"Ha! Hum! I wouldn't like to see myself!" spoke Uncle Wiggily, and hecrawled away from the hole just in time, for the snake stuck out his uglyhead and was about to bite the rabbit. It was the same snake that hadnearly caught the bumble bee.
"Say!" cried the snake, quite angry like, to the pussy cat, "I wish youwould get away from here! You are always spoiling my plans. I thought Iwas going to have a nice rabbit dinner, and now look at what you havedone," and that snake was so angry that he hissed like a boilingteakettle.
"I will never let you eat up Uncle Wiggily!" cried the pussy. "Now lookout for yourself, Mr. Snake!" and with that the pussy made his back roundlike a hoop, and he swelled up his tail like a bologna sausage, and heshowed his teeth and claws to the snake, and that snake popped down thehole again very quickly, I can tell you, taking his tail with him. Oh, my,yes, and a bucket of sawdust soup besides.
"I thank you very much for telling me about that snake, little pussy cat,"said Uncle Wiggily. "Well, I am disappointed about my fortune again. Ishall never be rich I fear. But I almost forgot that I have some finehoney sandwiches and I will give you some, for you must be hungry. I knowI am."
"I am, too," said the pussy. So Uncle Wiggily opened his valise and tookout the honey sandwiches which the bee had given him, but when he went toeat them he found that the bee had forgotten to butter the bread.
"Oh, that is too bad!" cried the pussy, when Uncle Wiggily spoke of it."Still they will do very well without butter."
"No, we must have some," said the rabbit. "I wonder how I can get butterin the woods?" So he looked all around and the first thing he saw was ayellow buttercup flower. You know the kind I mean. You hold them underyour chin to see if you like butter, and the shine of the flower makesyour chin yellow.
"Ha!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "Now we will have butter."
"But you are not going to eat the flower, are you?" asked the pussy.
"No, indeed!" cried the rabbit, "I'll show you."
Now there was a cow in the field a short distance away, and Uncle Wiggilywent over and got some milk from the cow in a little tin cup. "Butter ismade from milk," said the rabbit to the pussy. "So I will just pour somemilk in the buttercup flower, and shake it just as if it was a churn, andthen we'll have butter for our honey sandwiches."
So he did this. Into the buttercup he poured the milk, and it becameyellow like butter at once. But Uncle Wiggily did not have to shake theflower, for a little wind came along just then and shook it for him.
And pretty soon, in a little while, the milk in the buttercup was churnedinto lovely sweet butter, and the rabbit and pussy spread it on theirhoney sandwiches, and what a fine feast they had. Just as they were eatingit the bad alligator came along, and wanted to take the honey away fromthem, but the pussy scratched the end of the savage beast's tail with hisclaws, and the bad alligator ran away as fast as
he could.
Then Uncle Wiggily and the pussy traveled on together and the next daythey had quite an adventure. What it was I'll tell you in the next storywhen, in case the steamboat stops at our house for a little girl wearing agreen sunbonnet, with horse chestnuts on it, I'll tell you about UncleWiggily and the July bug.
STORY VII
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE JULY BUG
"Well, what shall we do to-day?" asked the white pussy of Uncle Wiggily,as they traveled on together, the next day after the adventure at thesnake hole. They had slept that night in a nice hollow stump.
"Hum! I hardly know what to do," replied the old gentleman rabbit. "Ofcourse I must be on the watch for my fortune, but, as I don't seem to befinding it very fast, what do you say to having a picnic to-day?"
"The very thing!" cried pussy. "We will get some lunch, and go off in thewoods and eat it. Only we ought to have a lot more people. Two are hardlyenough for a picnic."
"I would like some of my friends to come to it," spoke Uncle Wiggily, "butI am afraid they are too far off."
"Couldn't you send them word by telephone?" inquired the pussy. "I'm sureI would like to meet them, for I have heard so much about Sammie andSusie Littletail, and Johnnie and Billie Bushytail."
"There is no telephone in these woods," replied Uncle Wiggily, "and wehaven't time to send them postcards. I wish I could get word to them,however, but I don't s'pose I can."
"Yes, you can!" suddenly cried a voice down in the grass. "I'll tell allyour friends to come to the picnic if you like."
"Indeed, I would like it," said the rabbit, "but who are you, if I may beso bold as to ask? I can't see you."
"There he is--it's a big June bug!" exclaimed the pussy.
"I beg your pardon," spoke the bug quickly, as he crawled out from under aleaf and sat on a toadstool. "But I am not a June bug, if you please."
"You look like one," said Uncle Wiggily politely.
"I am a July bug," went on the funny little creature. "I was intended fora June bug, but there was some mistake made, and I didn't come out of myshell until July. So you see I'm a July bug, and at first I thought itwould be jolly fun, to hear all the firecrackers and skyrockets go off."
"It isn't so much fun as you imagine," said Uncle Wiggily, as he thoughtof the time he went sailing into the air on the sky-cracker. "But don'tyou like being a July bug?"
"Not very much. You see I'm the only one there is, and all the others areJune bugs. The June bugs won't speak to me, nor let me play with them, soI'm very lonesome. I heard you talking about a picnic you were going tohave, and so I offered to call all your friends to it. I thought perhapsif I did that you would let me come to it also."
"To be sure!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "You may gladly come, but how areyou going to send word to all of my friends?"
"I will fly through the air and tell them to come," was the answer. "I ama very swift flyer. Watch me," and then and there the July bug buzzedaround so fast that Uncle Wiggily and the pussy couldn't see his wings goflip-flop-flap.
Well, they decided it would be a good plan to have the July bug act as apostman, so Uncle Wiggily wrote out the invitations on little pieces ofwhite birch bark, and gave them to the bug. Off he flew into the airwaving one leg at Uncle Wiggily and the pussy.
"Well, now we must get ready for the picnic--get the things to eat--forthat bug flies so fast that soon all my friends will be here," said therabbit, so he and the pussy began to get the lunch ready.
Uncle Wiggily had some food in his valise, but they got more good thingsfrom a kind old monkey who lived in the woods. He used to work on a handorgan, but when he got old he bought him a nest in the woods with thepennies he had saved up, and he lived in peace and quietness, and played amouth organ on Sundays.
Well, you will hardly believe me, but it's true, no sooner had UncleWiggily and the pussy put up the lunch, wrapping some for each visitor innice, green grape leaves, than the first ones of the picnic party began toarrive. They were Dickie and Nellie Chip-Chip, the sparrows, for theycould fly through the air very quickly, and so they came on ahead.
"We got your invitation that the July bug left us, Uncle Wiggily, and wecame at once," said Dickie.
"Where are the others?" asked the old gentleman rabbit.
"They are coming," answered Nellie, as she tied her tail ribbon overagain, for the bow knot had become undone as she was flying through theair.
Well, in a little while along came hopping, Sammie and Susie Littletail,the rabbit children, and Billie and Johnnie Bushytail, the squirrelbrothers, and Bully and Bawly the frogs, and Dottie and Munchie Trot, theponies, and Lulu and Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble, the duck twins, andBuddy and Brighteyes Pigg, and oh, all the boy and girl animals I haveever told you about.
And oh! how glad they were to see Uncle Wiggily. He had to tell them allabout his travels after his fortune before they would go off in the woodsto the picnic. But at last they went, each one with a little leaf-packageof lunch. The July bug came along, too, and he had a very little packageof good things, because he was so small, you see, but it was enough.
They all sat down on the ground with flat stones for plates, and sticksfor knives and forks, and they ate their picnic lunch there. Oh, they hadthe finest time, and it didn't matter if some ants did get in the sugar.Uncle Wiggily said they could have all they wanted of the sweet stuff.
And, when the picnic was almost over, there was a sudden noise in thebushes, and two bad foxes sprang out. One tried to grab Uncle Wiggily, andanother made a dash for Lulu Wibblewobble.
"Oh dear!" cried Dottie Trot, without looking to see if her hair ribbonwas on straight. "We shall all be eaten up!"
"No, you won't!" cried the brave July bug. "I'll fix those foxes!"
So that brave July bug just buzzed his wings as hard as he could, andstraight at those foxes he flew, bumping and banging them on their nosesand in the eyes, so that they gave two separate and distinct howls, andran away, taking their big tails with them.
So that is how the July bug saved everybody from being eaten up, and thenthe picnic was over and every one said it was lovely.
"Well, I'll start on my travels again to-morrow," said Uncle Wiggily, ashis friends told him good-by.
Now what happened to him the next day I'll tell you very soon, for, incase I see a chipmunk with a blue tail and a red nose climbing up theclothes pole, the story will be about Uncle Wiggily andJack-in-the-pulpit.
STORY VIII
UNCLE WIGGILY AND JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT
Uncle Wiggily was slowly hopping along through the woods, sometimesleaning on his crutch, when his rheumatism pained him, and again skippingalong when he got out into the warm sunshine. It was the day after thepicnic, and the old gentleman rabbit felt a bit lonesome as all hisfriends had gone back to their homes.
"I do declare!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, as he walked slowly along by alittle lake, where an August rabbit was running his motor boat, "if Idon't find my fortune pretty soon I won't have any vacation this year. Imust look carefully to-day, and see if I can't find a pot full of gold."
Well, he looked as carefully as he could, but my land sakes and a pair ofwhite gloves! he couldn't seem to find a smitch of gold and not so much asa crumb of diamonds.
"Hum!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, "at this rate I guess I'll have to keep ontraveling for several years before I find my fortune. But never mind,I'm having a good time, anyhow. I'll keep on searching."
So he kept on, and all of a sudden when he was walking past a pricklybriar bush, he heard a voice calling:
"Hey, Uncle Wiggily, come on in here."
"Ha! Who are you, and why do you want me to come in there?" asked the oldgentleman rabbit.
"Oh, I am a friend of yours," was the answer, "and I will give you a lotof money if you come in here."
"Let me see your face," asked the rabbit, "I want to know who you are."
"Oh! I have a dreadful toothache," said the creature hiding in the bushes."I don't want to stick my fac
e out in the cold. But if you will take myword for it I am a good friend of yours. I would like very much for you tocome in here."
"Well, perhaps I had better," said the old gentleman rabbit, "for Icertainly need money."
And he was just going to crawl in under the prickly briar bush when all ofa sudden he happened to look, and he saw the skillery-scallery tail of thealligator accidentally sticking out. Yes, it was the alligator trying tofool dear old Uncle Wiggily.
"Oh, ho!" cried the wise old rabbit. "I guess I won't go in there afterall," so he hopped to one side and the alligator kept waiting for him tocome in so he could eat him, but when the rabbit didn't come in the savagecreature with the skillery-scallery tail cried:
"Well, aren't you coming in?"
"No, thank you," said the rabbit. "I have to go on to seek my fortune,"and away he hopped. Well, that alligator was so angry that he gnashed histeeth and nearly broke them, and he crawled after Uncle Wiggily, but ofcourse, he couldn't catch him.
Uncle Wiggily was pretty careful after that, and whenever he came near aprickly briar bush he listened with both his long ears stuck up straightto see if he could hear any sounds like an alligator. But he didn't, andso he kept on.
Well, it was coming on toward evening, one afternoon, and the oldgentleman rabbit was tramping along the road, wondering where he wouldsleep, when all of a sudden something came bursting out of the bushestoward the rabbit, and a voice cried out: