Uncle Wiggily in the Woods

by Howard Roger Garis

  STORY XXVI

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE BEECH TREE

  "Will you go to the store for me, Uncle Wiggily?" asked Nurse JaneFuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, of the rabbit gentleman oneday, as he sat out on the porch of his hollow stump bungalow in thewoods.

  "Indeed I will, Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy," said Mr. Longears, most politely."What is it you want?"

  "A loaf of bread and a pound of sugar," she answered, and Uncle Wiggilystarted off.

  "Better take your umbrella," Nurse Jane called after him. "All theApril showers are not yet over, even if it is May."

  So the rabbit gentleman took his umbrella.

  On his way to the store through the woods, the bunny uncle came to abig beech tree, which had nice, shiny white bark on it, and, to hissurprise the rabbit gentleman saw a big black bear, standing up on hishind legs and scratching at the tree bark as hard as he could.

  "Ha! That is not the right thing to do," said Uncle Wiggily tohimself. "If that bear scratches too much of the bark from the treethe tree will die, for the bark of a tree is just like my skin is tome. I must drive the bear away."

  The bear, scratching the bark with his sharp claws, stood with his backto Uncle Wiggily, and the rabbit gentleman thought he could scare thebig creature away.

  So Uncle Wiggily picked up a stone, and throwing it at the bear, hithim on the back, where the skin was so thick it hurt hardly at all.

  And as soon as he had thrown the stone Uncle Wiggily in his loudestvoice shouted:

  "Bang! Bang! Bungity-bang-bung!"

  "Oh, my goodness!" cried the bear, not turning around. "The hunter manwith his gun must be after me. He has shot me once, but the bullet didnot hurt. I had better run away before he shoots me again!"

  And the bear ran away, never once looking around, for he thought thestone Mr. Longears threw was a bullet from a gun, you see, and hethought when Uncle Wiggily said "Bang!" that it was a gun going off.So the bunny gentleman scared the bear away.

  "Thank you, Uncle Wiggily," said the beech tree. "You saved my life bynot letting the bear scratch off all my bark."

  "I am glad I did," spoke the rabbit, making a polite bow with his tallsilk hat, for Mr. Longears was polite, even to a tree.

  "The bear would not stop scratching my bark when I asked him to," wenton the beech tree, "so I am glad you came along, and scared him. Youdid me a great favor and I will do you one if I ever can."

  "Thank you," spoke Uncle Wiggily, and then he hopped on to the store toget the loaf of bread and the pound of sugar for Nurse Jane.

  It was on the way back from the store that an adventure happened toUncle Wiggily. He came to the place where his friend the beech treewas standing up in the woods, and a balsam tree, next door to it, wasputting some salve, or balsam, on the places where the bear hadscratched off the bark, to make the cuts heal.

  Then, all of a sudden, out from behind a bush jumped the same bad bearthat had done the scratching.

  "Ah, ha!" growled the bear, as soon as he saw Uncle Wiggily, "you can'tfool me again, making believe a stone is a bullet, and that your'Bang!' is a gun! You can't fool me! I know all about the trick youplayed on me. A little bird, sitting up in a tree, saw it and told me!"

  "Well," said Uncle Wiggily slowly, "I'm sorry I had to fool you, but itwas all for the best. I wanted to save the beech tree."

  "Oh, I don't care!" cried the bear, saucy like and impolitely. "I'mgoing to scratch as much as I like!"

  "My goodness! You're almost as bad as the ear-scratching cat!" saidUncle Wiggily. "I guess I'd better run home to my hollow stumpbungalow."

  "No, you don't!" cried the bear, and, reaching out his claws, he caughthold of Uncle Wiggily, who, with his umbrella, and the bread and sugar,was standing under the beech tree. "You can't get away from me likethat," and the bear held tightly to the bunny uncle.

  "Oh, dear! What are you going to do to me?" asked the rabbit gentleman.

  "First, I'll bite you," said the bear. "No, I guess I'll first scratchyou. No, I won't either. I'll scrite you; that's what I'll do. I'llscrite you!"

  "What's scrite?" asked Uncle Wiggily, curious like.

  "It's a scratch and a bite made into one," said the bear, "and now I'mgoing to do it."

  "Oh, ho! No, you aren't!" suddenly cried the beech tree, who had beenthinking of a way to save Uncle Wiggily. "No, you don't scrite myfriend!" And with that the brave tree gave itself a shiver and shake,and shook down on the bear a lot of sharp, three-cornered beech nuts.They fell on the bear's soft and tender nose and the sharp edges hurthim so that he cried:

  "Wow! Ouch! I guess I made a mistake! I must run away!"

  And away he ran from the shower of sharp beech nuts which didn't hurtUncle Wiggily at all because he raised his umbrella and kept them off.Then he thanked the tree for having saved him from the bear and wentsafely home. And if the cow bell doesn't moo in its sleep, and wake upthe milkman before it's time to bring the molasses for breakfast, I'lltell you next about Uncle Wiggily and the bitter medicine.

  STORY XXVII

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE BITTER MEDICINE

  "How is Jackie this morning, Mrs. Bow Wow?" asked Uncle WiggilyLongears, the rabbit gentleman, one day, as he stopped at the kennelwhere the dog lady lived with her two little boys, Jackie and PeetieBow Wow, the puppies. "How is Jackie?"

  "Jackie is not so well, I'm sorry to say," answered Mrs. Bow Wow, asshe looked carefully along the back fence to see if there were any badcats there who might meaouw, and try to scratch the puppies.

  "Not so well? I am sorry to hear that," spoke the bunny uncle."What's seems to be the matter?"

  "Oh, you know Jackie and Peetie both had the measles," went on Mrs. BowWow. "They seemed to get over them nicely, at least Peetie did, butthen Jackie caught the epizootic, and he has to stay in bed a weeklonger, and take bitter medicine."

  "Bitter medicine, eh?" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "I am sorry to hearthat, for I don't like bitter medicine myself."

  "Neither does Jackie," continued Mrs. Bow Wow. "In fact, he reallydoesn't know whether he likes this bitter medicine or not."

  "Why, not?" asked the rabbit gentleman.

  "Because we can't get him to take a drop," said the puppy dog boy'smother. "Not a drop will he take, though I have fixed it up for himwith orange juice and sugar and even put it in a lollypop. But hewon't take it, and Dr. Possum says he won't get well unless he takesthe bitter medicine."

  "Well, Dr. Possum ought to know," said Uncle Wiggily. "But why don'tyou ask him a good way to give the medicine to Jackie?"

  "That's what I'm waiting out here for now," said Mrs. Bow Wow. "I wantto catch Dr. Possum when he comes past, and ask him to come in and giveJackie the medicine. The poor boy really needs it to make him well."

  "Of course he does," agreed Uncle Wiggily. "And while you are waitingfor Dr. Possum I'll see what I can do."

  "What are you going to do?" asked Mrs. Bow Wow, as the bunny unclestarted for the dog kennel.

  "I'm going to try to make Jackie take his bitter medicine. You juststay out here a little while."

  "Well, I hope you do it, but I'm afraid you won't," spoke Mrs. Bow Wowwith a sigh. "I've tried all the ways I know. I was just going, asyou came along, to get a toy balloon, blow it up, and put the medicineinside. Then I was going to let Jackie burst it by sticking a pin init. And I thought when the balloon exploded the medicine might beblown down his throat."

  "Oh, well, I think I have a better way than that," said Uncle Wiggilywith a laugh. He went in where Jackie, who had the measles-epizootic,was in bed. "Good morning, Jackie," said the bunny uncle. "How areyou?"

  "Not very well," answered Jackie, the puppy dog boy. "But I'm glad tosee you. I'm not going to take the bitter medicine even for you,though, Uncle Wiggily."

  "Ho! Ho! Ho! Just you wait until you're asked!" cried Mr. Longearsin his most jolly voice. "Now let me have a look at that bittermedicine which is making so much trouble. Where
is it?"

  "In that cup on the chair," and Jackie pointed to it near his bed.

  "I see," said Uncle Wiggily, looking at it. "Now, Jackie, I'm a goodfriend of yours, and you wouldn't mind just holding this cup of bittermedicine in your paw, would you, to please me?"

  "Oh, I'll do that for you, Uncle Wiggily, but I'll not take it," Jackiesaid.

  "Never mind about that," laughed the bunny uncle. "Just hold themedicine in your paw, so," and Jackie did as he was told. "Now, wouldyou mind holding it up to your lips, as if you were going to makebelieve take it?" asked Uncle Wiggily. "Mind you, don't you dare takea drop of it. Just hold the cup to your lips, but don't swallow any."

  "Why do you want me to do that?" asked Jackie, as he did what UncleWiggily asked.

  "Because I want to draw a picture of you making believe take bittermedicine," said the bunny, as he took out pencil and paper. "I'll showit to any other of my little animal friends, who may not like theirmedicine, and I'll say to them: 'See how brave Jackie is to take hisbitter medicine.' Of course, I won't tell them you really were afraidto take it," and without saying any more Uncle Wiggily began to drawthe puppy dog boy's picture on the paper.

  "Hold the cup a little nearer to your lips, and tip it up a bit,Jackie," said the bunny man. "But, mind you, don't swallow a drop.That's it, higher up! Tip it more. I want the picture to looknatural."

  Jackie tipped the cup higher, holding it close to his mouth, and threwback his head, and then Uncle Wiggily suddenly cried: "Ouch!" AndJackie was so surprised that he opened his mouth and before he knew ithe had swallowed the bitter medicine!

  Jackie was so surprised that he opened his mouth.]

  "Oh, why I took it!" he cried. "It went down my throat! And it wasn'tso bad, after all."

  "I thought it wouldn't be," spoke Uncle Wiggily, as he finished thepicture of Jackie, and now he could really say it showed the doggie boyactually taking the medicine, for Jackie did take it.

  So Dr. Possum didn't have to come in to see Jackie after all to makehim swallow the bitter stuff, and the little chap was soon all wellagain. And if the clothesline doesn't try to jump rope with the Jackin the Box, and upset the washtub, I'll tell you next about UncleWiggily and the pine cones.

  STORY XXVIII

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE PINE CONES

  Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice rabbit gentleman, was out walking inthe woods one day when he felt rather tired. He had been looking allaround for an adventure, which was something he liked to have happen tohim, but he had seen nothing like one so far.

  "And I don't want to go back to my hollow stump bungalow without havinghad an adventure to tell Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy about," said Mr.Longears.

  But, as I said, the rabbit gentleman was feeling rather tired, and,seeing a nice log covered with a cushion of green moss, he sat down onthat to rest.

  "Perhaps an adventure will happen to me here," thought the bunny uncleas he leaned back against a pine tree to rest.

  It was nice and warm in the woods, and, with the sun shining down uponhim, Uncle Wiggily soon dozed off in a little sleep. But when heawakened still no adventure had happened to him.

  "Well, I guess I must travel on," he said, and he started to get up,but he could not. He could not move his back away from the pine treeagainst which he had leaned to rest.

  "Oh, dear! what has happened," cried the bunny uncle. "I am stuckfast! I can't get away! Oh, dear!"

  At first he thought perhaps the skillery-scalery alligator with thehumps on his tail had come softly up behind him as he slept and had himin his claws. But, by sort of looking around backward, Mr. Longearscould see no one--not even a fox.

  "But what is it holding me?" he cried, as he tried again and again toget loose, but could not.

  "I am sorry to say I am holding you!" spoke a voice up over UncleWiggily's head. "I am holding you fast!"

  "Who are you, if you please?" asked the rabbit gentleman.

  "I am the pine tree against which you leaned your back. And on my barkwas a lot of sticky pine gum. It is that which is holding you fast,"the tree answered.

  "Why--why, it's just like sticky flypaper, isn't it?" asked UncleWiggily, trying again to get loose, but not doing so. "And it is justlike the time you held the bear fast for me."

  "Yes, it is; and flypaper is made from my sticky pine gum," said thetree. "I am so sorry you are stuck, but I did not see you lean backagainst me until it was too late. And now I can't get you loose, formy limbs are so high over your head that I can not reach them down toyou. Try to get loose yourself."

  "I will," said Uncle Wiggily, and he did, but he could not get loose,though he almost pulled out all his fur. So he cried:

  "Help! Help! Help!"

  Then, all of a sudden, along through the woods came Neddie Stubtail,the little bear-boy, and Neddie had some butter, which he had justbought at the store for his mother.

  "Oh!" cried the pine tree. "If you will rub some butter on my stickygum, it will loosen and melt it, so Uncle Wiggily will not be stuck anymore."

  Neddie did so, and soon the bunny uncle was free.

  "Oh, I can't tell you how sorry I am," said the pine tree. "I am ahorrid creature, of no use in this world, Uncle Wiggily! Other treeshave nice fruit or nuts or flowers on them, but all I have is stickygum, or brown, rough ugly pine cones. Oh, dear! I am of no use in theworld!"

  "Oh, yes you are!" said Uncle Wiggily, kindly. "As for having stuck mefast, that was my own fault. I should have looked before I leanedback. And, as for your pine cones, I dare say they are very useful."

  "No, they are not!" said the tree sadly. "If they were only ice creamcones they might be some good. Oh, I wish I were a peach tree, or arose bush!"

  "Never mind," spoke Uncle Wiggily, "I like your pine cones, and I amgoing to take some home with me, and, when I next see you, I shall tellyou how useful they were. Don't feel so badly."

  So Uncle Wiggily gathered a number of the pine cones, which are reallythe big, dried seeds of the pine tree, and the bunny uncle took them tohis bungalow with him.

  A few days later he was in the woods again and stopped near the pinetree, which was sighing and wishing it were an umbrella plant or a goldfish.

  "Hush!" cried Uncle Wiggily. "You must try to do the best you can forwhat you are! And I have come to tell you how useful your pine coneswere."

  "Really?" asked the tree, in great surprise. "Really?"

  "Really and truly," answered Uncle Wiggily. "With some of your conesNurse Jane started her kitchen fire when all the wood was wet. Withothers I built a little play house, and amused Lulu Wibblewobble, theduck girl, when she had the toothache. And other cones I threw at abig bear that was chasing me. I hit him on the nose with them, and hewas glad enough to run away. So you see how useful you are, pine tree!"

  "Oh, I am so glad," said the tree. "I guess it is better to be justwhat you are, and do the best you can," and Uncle Wiggily said it was.

  And, if the roof of our house doesn't come down stairs to play with thekitchen floor and let the rain in on the gold fish, I'll tell you nextabout Uncle Wiggily and his torn coat.

  STORY XXIX

  UNCLE WIGGILY AND HIS TORN COAT

  "Do you think I look all right?" asked Uncle Wiggily Longears, therabbit gentleman, of Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, his muskrat ladyhousekeeper. He was standing in front of her, turning slowly about,and he had on a new coat. For now that Summer was near the bunny unclehad laid aside his heavy fur coat and was wearing a lighter one.

  "Yes, you do look very nice," Nurse Jane said, tying her tail in a knotso Uncle Wiggily would not step on it as he turned around.

  "Nice enough to go to Grandfather Goosey Gander's party?" asked therabbit gentleman.

  "Oh, yes, indeed!" exclaimed Nurse Jane. "I didn't know Grandpa Gooseywas to give a party, but, if he is, you certainly look well enough togo with your new coat. Of course, it might be better if it had somelace insertion around the button holes, or a b
it of ruching, withoyster shell trimming sewed down the back, but--"

  "Oh, no, indeed!" laughed the bunny uncle. "If it had those things onit would be a coat for a lady. I like mine plainer."

  "Well, take care of yourself," called Nurse Jane after him as he hoppedoff over the fields and through the woods to the house whereGrandfather Goosey Gander lived.

  "Now, I must be very careful not to get my new coat dirty, or I won'tlook nice at the party," the old rabbit gentleman was saying to himselfas he hopped along. "I must be very careful indeed."

  He went along as carefully as he could, but, just as he was going downa little hill, under the trees, he came to a place which was soslippery that, before he knew it, all of a sudden Uncle Wiggily felldown and slid to the bottom of the hill.

  "My goodness!" he cried, as he stood up after his slide. "I did notknow there was snow or ice on that hill."

  And when he looked there was not, but it was covered with long, thinpine needles, which are almost as slippery as glass. It was on thesethat the rabbit gentleman had slipped down hill.

  "Well, there is no great harm done," said Uncle Wiggily to himself, ashe found no bones broken. "I had a little slide, that's all. I mustbring Sammie and Susie Littletail here some day, and let them slide onpine needle hill. Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, the two squirrels,would also like it, and so would Nannie and Billie Wagtail, my two goatfriends."

  Uncle Wiggily was about to go on to the party when, as he looked at hisnew coat he saw that it was all torn. In sliding down the slipperypine needle hill the coat had caught on sticks and stones and it hadmany holes torn in it, and it was also ripped here and there.