 CHAPTER 1. DEAR CHILDREN. This is quite a different book from any others you may have read about me. In this volume, I have some adventures with real children like yourselves, as well as with my animal friends. These stories tell of the joyous, funny, exciting, and everyday adventures that happen to you girls and boys. There is the story about a toothic which you may read, or have read to you, when you want to forget the pain. There is a story of a good boy and a freckled girl, and there is the story about a bad boy. But not everyone is allowed to read that. There is a story for nearly every occasion in the life of a little boy or girl, about the joys of Christmas, of a birthday, of different animals, about getting lost, and one about falling in a mud puddle. And there are stories about having the measles and mumps, and getting over them. I hope you will like this book, as well as you seem to have cared for the other volumes about me, and you will find some beautiful pictures in this book. Now as Nurse Jean is calling me, I shall have to hop along. But I hope you will enjoy these stories. Dear friend, Uncle Wiggly Long Years. Uncle Wiggly's Storybook. Story One. Uncle Wiggly's Toothache. Once upon a time there was a boy who had the toothache. It was not a very large tooth that pained him, and really it was quite surprising how such a very large ache got into such a small tooth. At least that is what the boy thought. But I'm not going to the dentist and let him pull it, cried the boy, holding his hand over his mouth. And I'm not going to let anybody in this house pull it either, so there. He ran, and hid himself in a corner. Girls aren't that way when they have a toothache. Only boys. Perhaps the tooth will not need pulling, said Mother, as she looked at the boy and saw how much pain he had. It's so, exclaimed Grandma, who was trying to think of some way in which to help the boy. Maybe the dentist can make a little hole in your tooth, Sonny, and fill the hole with cement, as the man fill the hole in our sidewalk, and then all your pain will stop. No, I'm not going to the dentist, I'm not going, I tell you, cried Sonny. And I think he stamped his foot on the floor. The least little bit. It may have been that he saw a tack sticking up and wanted to hammer it down with his shoe. But I'm afraid it was a stamp of his foot, and afterward that boy was sorry. But anyhow his tooth kept on aching, and it was the kind called jumping, for it was worse at one time than another. Sometimes the boy felt the pain jumped from one side of his tongue to the other side, and again it seemed that it leaped away from the roof of his mouth. The toothache even seemed to turn somersaults and pepersaults, and once it appeared to jump over backward, but it never completely jumped away, which is what the boy wished it would do. You'd better let me take you to the dentists, said his mother. He'll either fix the tooth so it won't ache any more, or he'll take it out, so a new tooth will grow in, and really the pain the dentist may cause will only be a little longer, and it will be all over in a moment, while your tooth may ache all night. No! I am not going to the dentist! I am not going!" cried Sunny Boy. And then again he acted just as if there were a tack in the carpet that needed hammering down with his foot. Now it was about this time that Uncle Wiggly Longhears, the bunny rabbit gentleman, was hopping from his hollow stump bungalow in the woods to go look for an adventure. But as yet, Uncle Wiggly knew nothing about the boy with the toothache. That came a little later. Are you going to be gone long? asked Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper of the bunny gentleman. Only just long enough to have a nice adventure, answered Mr. Longhears, and away he hopped, on his red-white-in-blue striped rheumatism crutch, with his pink twinkling nose held in front of him, like the headlight of a choo-choo train. Now as it happened, Uncle Wiggly's hollow stump bungalow was not far from the house where the toothache boy lived, though the boy had never seen the rabbit's home. He had often wandered into the woods almost in front of the bunny's bungalow, but not having the proper sort of eyes, the boy had never seen Uncle Wiggly. It needs very sharp eyes to see the creatures of the woods and fields, and to find the little houses in which they live. At any rate, the boy had never noticed Uncle Wiggly, though the bunny gentleman had often seen the boy. Many a time when you go through the woods, the animal folk look at you and see you, when you never even know they are there. And pretty soon Uncle Wiggly hopped right past the house where the toothache boy lived. And just then, for about the tenth time, mother was saying, you had better let me take you to the dentist and have the toothache stopped, sonny. No, no, I don't want to. I'm a—I guess it will stop itself, said the boy, hopeful-like. Uncle Wiggly, hiding in the bushes in front of the boy's house, sat up on his hind legs and twinkled his pink nose. By a strange and wonderful new power which he had, the bunny gentleman could hear and understand boy and girl talk, though he could not speak it himself. So it was no trouble at all for Uncle Wiggly to know what the boy was saying. He's afraid. That's what the boy is, said the bunny uncle to himself, leaning on his red, white and blue striped crutch. He's afraid to go to the dentist and have that tooth filled or pulled. Now that's very silly of him, for the dentist will not hurt him much and will soon stop the ache. I wonder how I can make the boy believe this. His mother and grandmother can't seem to. For Mr. Longyear's heard mother and grandma trying to get that toothache boy to let them take him to the dentist, but the boy only shook his head and made believe hammer tacks in the carpet with his foot. And he held his hand over his mouth. But all the while the ache kept aching, achier and achier and jumping, leaping, tumbling, twisting, turning and flip-flopping, almost like a clown in the circus. No, no, I'm not going to the dentist, cried the boy. Then Uncle Wiggly had an idea. He could look in through the window of the house and see the boy. In front of the window was a grassy place near the edge of the wood, and close by was an old stump, shaped almost like the easy chair in a dentist's office. I know what I'll do, said Uncle Wiggly, I'll make believe I have the toothache. I'll go get Dr. Possum, and I'll sit down in the stump chair, then I'll tell Dr. Possum to make believe pull out one of my teeth. I suppose if Nurse Jane were here she might ask what good that would do. Thought Uncle Wiggly, but I think it will do a lot of good. If that boy sees me, a rabid gentleman, having a tooth-pulled, which is what he will think he sees, it may make him brave enough to go to the dentists. I'll try it. Away hopped Uncle Wiggly to Dr. Possum's office. What's the matter, rheumatism again? Ask the animal doctor. No, but I want you to come over and pull a tooth for me, said Uncle Wiggly, blinking one eye, and twinkling his pink nose, so repetitious-like. Bullet-tooth, why your teeth are all all right? cried Dr. Possum. It's to give a little lesson to a boy, whispered the bunny, and then Dr. Possum blinked one eye in understanding fashion. A little later Uncle Wiggly sat himself down on the old stump that looked like a chair, and Dr. Possum stood over him. Open your mouth and show me which tooth it is that hurts, said Dr. Possum, just like a dentist. All right, answered Uncle Wiggly, and from the corner of his left eye the bunny gentleman could see the toothache boy at the window looking out. The boy saw the rabbit and Dr. Possum at the old stump, and he saw Mr. Longhears open his mouth and point with his paw to a tooth. Oh, mother! cried the boy, very much excited. Look! There's a funny rabbit, all dressed up in a tall silk hat, having a tooth pulled. Grandma, look! Well, I do declare, murmured the old lady. Isn't that perfectly wonderful? I didn't know that animals ever had the toothache. Oh, I suppose they do once in a while, said the toothache boy's mother. But see how brave that rabbit gentleman is, not to mind having the animal dentist stop his ache, just fancy. Neither grandma nor mother said anything to Sunny Boy. All three of them just stood at the window and watched Uncle Wiggly and Dr. Possum, and as they looked, Dr. Possum put a little shiny thing like a button-hook in the bunny gentleman's mouth. He gave a sudden little pull, and a moment later held up something which sparkled in the sun. It was only a bit of glass, which Uncle Wiggly had held in his paw ready for this part in the little play, but it looked like a tooth. Well, I declare, laughed Grandma, the bunny had his tooth pulled. And he doesn't seem to mind it at all, added mother. Surely enough, Uncle Wiggly hopped off the make-believe dentist stump, and with his red, white, and blue striped rheumatism crutch began to dance a little jiggity-jig with Dr. Possum. This dance is to show that it doesn't hurt, even to have a tooth pulled, much less to have one filled, said the bunny. I understand, laughed Dr. Possum, and as he and Uncle Wiggly danced, they looked out of the corners of their eyes and saw the toothache boy standing at the window watching them. Well, I never in all my born days saw a sight like that, exclaimed Grandma. Nor I, said mother, isn't it wonderful? Sonny boy took his hand down from his mouth. I... I guess, mother, he said. As he saw Uncle Wiggly jump over his crutch in a most happy fashion, I guess I'll go to the dentist and have him stop my toothache. Hooray! Softly cried Uncle Wiggly, who heard what the boy said. This is just what I wanted to happen, Dr. Possum. Our little lesson is over. Now we may go. Away hopped the bunny to tell Nurse Jane about the strange adventure, and Dr. Possum, with his bag of powders and pills on his tail, where he always carried it, shuffled back to his office. Sonny boy went to the dentists, and soon his tooth was fixed, so it would not ache again. He hardly felt at all what the dentist did to him. I... I didn't know how easy it was until I saw the rabbit have his tooth pulled, said the boy to the dentist. Hmm... said the dentist, non-committal-like. Some rabbits are very funny. And if the puppy-dog doesn't waggle his tail so hard that he knocks over the milk-bottle when it's trying to slide down the doormat, I shall have the pleasure next of telling you the story of Uncle Wiggly and the Freckled Girl. End of Section 1. CHAPTER II. Uncle Wiggly's Storybook. This is a LibriVox recording. While LibriVox recordings are in the public domain, for more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Uncle Wiggly's Storybook by Howard R. Garris. CHAPTER II. Uncle Wiggly and the Freckled Girl. Uncle Wiggly was hopping through the woods one summer day, when, as he happened to stop to get a drink of some water, that the rain clouds had dropped in the cup of a jack-in-the-pulp-it flower, the bunny gentleman heard a girl saying, Oh, I wish I could get them off! I wish I could scrub them off with sandpaper or something like that. I've tried lemon juice and vinegar, but they won't go! And oh, they make me so homely! Uncle Wiggly stopped suddenly, and rubbed the end of his pink twinkling nose, with the brim of his tall, silk hat. This is very queer, said the bunny uncle to himself. I wonder what is it she has tried to take off with lemon juice. She seems very unhappy, this little girl does. The bunny uncle looked through the trees, and seated on a green mossy stump, he saw a girl about ten or twelve years old. She held a looking-glass in her hand, and as she glanced at her likeness in the mirror, she kept saying, How can I get them off? How can I make them disappear? So I will be beautiful! Oh, how I hate them! What in the world can be the matter? thought Uncle Wiggly to himself. For as I have told you, the bunny gentleman was now able to hear and understand the talk of girls and boys, though he could not himself speak that language. He hopped a little closer to the unhappy girl on the green mossy stump, but the bunny stepped so softly on the leaf carpet of the forest, that scarcely a sound did he make, and the girl with the mirror never heard him. I wonder if I said a little verse, such as I have read in fairy books, whether they would go away, murmured the girl. I've tried everything but that. I'll do it. I'll say a magical verse, but I must make one up, for I never have read of the kind I want in any book. She seemed to be thinking deeply for a moment, and then shutting her eyes and looking up at the sun, which was shining through the trees of the wood, the girl recited this little verse. Sun, sun, who made them come, make them go away. Then I'll be like the other girls, happy all the day. This is like a puzzle, or a riddle, whispered Uncle Wiggly to himself, as he kept out of sight behind a bush near the stump. What is it she wants the sun to make go away? It can't be rain or storm clouds, for the sky is as blue as a baby's eyes. I wonder what it is. Then as the girl took up the mirror again and looked at it, Uncle Wiggly saw the reflection of her face. It was covered with dear little brown freckles. Ho, ho! Softly crooned Uncle Wiggly to himself. Now I understand this girl is unhappy because she is freckled. He thinks she doesn't look pretty with them. Why, if she only knew it, those freckles show how strong and healthy she is. They show that she has played out in the fresh air and sunshine, and that she will live to be happy a long, long while. Freckles! Why, she ought to be glad she has them instead of sorry. But the girl on the stump kept her eyes shut, clenching the mirror in her hand, and as she held her face up to the sun, she resided another verse of what she thought was a mystic charm. This is what she said. Freckles! Freckles! Go away! Don't come back any other day! Make my face most fair to see, then how happy I will be! Slowly, as Uncle Wiggly watched, hidden as he was behind the bush. The girl opened her eyes and held up the looking glass. Over her shoulder, the bunny gentleman could still see the freckles in the glass, the dear, brown, honest, healthy freckles. But when the girl saw them, she dropped the mirror, hit her face in her hands, and cried, Oh! They didn't go away! They didn't go away! Now I never can be beautiful! Uncle Wiggly twinkled his pink nose thoughtfully. This is too bad, said the bunny gentleman. I wonder how I can help that girl. For since he had helped the toothache boy by letting Dr. Possum pretend to pull a naking tooth, the bunny gentleman wanted to do other favors for the children who loved him. I'd like to make that girl happy, even with her freckles, said the bunny. I'll hop off through the woods, and perhaps I may meet some of my animal friends who will show me away. The bunny gentleman looked kindly at the girl on the stump. She was sobbing and did not see him or hear him as she murmured over and over again. I don't like freckles. I hate them. Away through the woods hopped Uncle Wiggly. He had not gone very far before he heard a bird singing a beautiful song. Oh! So cheerful it was, and happy that song! Good morning, Mr. Bird, greeted Uncle Wiggly. For you know it is the father bird who sings the sweetest song. The mother bird is so busy, I suppose, that she has little time to sing. You are very happy this morning? The rabbit said to the bird. Why, yes, Uncle Wiggly, I am very happy, answered Mr. Bird. And so is my wife. She is up there in the nest, but she told me to come down here and sing a happy song. Why, asked the bunny, because we are going to have some little birds, was the answer. There are some eggs in our nest, and my mate is sitting on them to keep them warm. Some little birds will come out, and I will sing a still happier song. That's fine, said Uncle Wiggly, thinking of the unhappy freckled girl on the stump. May I see the eggs in your nest? Of course, answered the father singer. Your nest is in a low bush, but it is well hidden. Here, I'll show you. Mrs. Bird will not mind if you look. The father bird fluttered to the nest, and Mrs. Bird raised her fluffy feathers to show Uncle Wiggly some beautiful blue eggs. Why, why they're freckled, exclaimed the bunny gentleman. Aren't you birds sad because you have freckled eggs? Why, your little birds will be freckled, too, and if they are girl birds, they will cry. Why, asked Mr. Bird in surprise, why will our girl birdies cry? Because they'll be freckled, answered the bunny. I just saw a girl in the woods crying to break her heart because she is freckled. Nonsense, chirped Mrs. Bird. In the first place, these are not freckles on my eggs. Though they look so, my eggs are spotted or mottled, and they would not be half so pretty if they were not colored that way. Besides, being spotted as they are makes them not so easily seen in the nest. And when I fly away to get food, bad snakes or cats cannot so easily see my eggs to eat them. I just love my freckled eggs, as you call them. Mrs. Bird. Well, they are pretty, admitted Uncle Wiggly. But will your little birds be speckled, too? Not at all, sang Mr. Bird. Say, Uncle Wiggly, he whistled. If we could get that girl here so she could see our spotted eggs and know how beautiful they are, even if they are what she would call freckled, wouldn't that make her happier? Perhaps it would, said the bunny rabbit. I never thought of that. I'll try it. You will not be afraid to let her see your eggs, will you? He asked. No, for girls are not like some boys. They don't rob the nests of birds, replied the mother of the speckled eggs. Bring the unhappy girl here, and Mr. Bird and I will hide in the bushes while she peeps in our nest. I will, said Uncle Wiggly, away he hopped through the woods, and soon he came to the place where the freckled girl was still sobbing on the stump. Now how can I get her to follow me through the woods, to see the nest, when I can't talk to her? whispered Uncle Wiggly. Then he thought of a plan. I'll toss a little piece of tree bark at her, chuckle the bunny. That will make her look up, and when she sees me, I'll hop off a little way. She'll follow, thinking she can catch me, but I'll keep ahead of her, and so lead her to the woods. I want to make her happy. The bunny tossed a bit of bark, hitting the girl on the head. She looked around, and then she saw Uncle Wiggly, all dressed up as he was with his tall silk hat, and his red white and blue striped rheumatism crutch. Oh, what a funny rabbit, exclaimed the girl, smiling through her tears, and forgetting her freckles. For a while, at least. I wonder if I can catch you, she said. Well, not if I know it, whispered Uncle Wiggly to himself, for he knew what the girl had said, but I'll let you think you can, the bunny chuckled to himself. He hopped on a little further, and the girl followed. But just as she thought she was going to put her hands on the rabbit, Uncle Wiggly skipped along, and she missed him. Still she followed on, and soon Uncle Wiggly had led her to the bushes where the birds had built their nest. Mr. and Mrs. Bird were watching, and when they saw Uncle Wiggly and the freckled girl, Mr. Bird began to sing. He sang of blue skies, or rippling waters of sunshine, and sweet breezes scented with apple blossoms. Oh, what a lovely song, murmured the freckled girl. Some birds must live here. I wonder if I could see their nest and eggs. I wouldn't hurt them for the world, she said softly. Uncle Wiggly shrank back out of sight. The girl looked around for the singing birds, and just then the wind blew aside some leaves, and she saw the nest. But she saw more than the nest, for she saw the eggs that were to be hatched into little birds, and more than this. The girl saw that the eggs were spotted, or mottled, freckled, as she was herself. Oh, oh, murmured the girl, clasping her hands, as she looked down at the speckled eggs in the nest. They have brown spots on, just like my face. They are freckled eggs. But oh, how pretty they are! I never knew that anything freckled could be so beautiful. I never knew. Oh, how wonderful! As she stood looking at the eggs, Mr. Bird sang again, a sweeter song than before, and the wind blew softly on the freckled face of the unhappy girl. No, not unhappy now, for she smiled, and there were no more tears in her eyes. Oh, how glad I am that the funny rabbit led me to the nest of freckled eggs, said the girl. I wonder where he is. She looked around, but Uncle Wiggly had hopped away. He had done all that was needed of him. The mother bird softly fluttered down onto her nest, covering the beautifully mottled eggs with her downy wings. She was not afraid of the girl. The girl reached out her hand and timidly stroked the mother bird. Then she gently touched her own freckled cheeks. I'm never going to care any more, she whispered. I do not know that freckles could be so pretty. I'm glad I got them. The freckled girl walked away, leaving the mother bird on the nest, while the father of the speckled eggs, that soon would be little birds, sang his song of joy. The freckled girl, with a glad smile on her face, went back to the stump, and without looking into the mirror, she tossed the bit of looking-glass into a deep spring. I don't need you any more, she said, as the glass went sailing through the air. I know now that freckles can be beautiful. And if the pussycat doesn't think the automobile tire is a bologna sausage and tried to nibble the piece out to make a sandwich for the ragdoll's picnic, I'll tell you next about Uncle Wiggly and the Mud Puddle. End of Section 2. Chapter 3 of Uncle Wiggly's Storybook. This is a LibriBox recording. All LibriBox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriBox.org. Uncle Wiggly Storybook by Howard R. Garrus. Uncle Wiggly and the Mud Puddle. Did you ever fall down in a mud puddle? Perhaps this may have happened to you when you were barefooted with old clothes on, so that it did not much matter whether you splashed them or not. But that isn't what I mean. Did you ever fall into a mud puddle when you had on your very best clothes with white stockings that showed every speck of mud, if anything like that ever happened to you when you were going to Sunday school or to a little afternoon tea party? Why? You know how dreadfully unhappy you felt. To say nothing of the pain in your knees. Well, now for a story of how a little boy named Tommy fell in a mud puddle and how Uncle Wiggly helped him scrub the mud off his white stockings. Off Tommy's white stockings, I mean. Not Uncle Wiggly's. Tommy was a little boy who lived in a house on the edge of the wood near where Uncle Wiggly had built his hollow stump bungalow. No, Tommy wasn't the same little boy who had the toothache. He was quite a different chap. One day the postman rang the bell at Tommy's house and gave Tommy a cute little letter. Oh, it's for me, cried Tommy. Look, Mother, I have a letter. That's nice, said Mother. Who sent it to you? I'll look and tell you, answered the little boy. The writing in the letter was large and plain. And though Tommy had not been to school very long, he could read a little. So he was able to tell that the letter was from a little girl named Alice, who wanted him to come to a party she was going to have one afternoon a few days later. Oh, may I go? Tommy asked his mother. Yes, she answered. And wear my best clothes. Surely you will put on your best clothes to go to the party, said Mother. And I hope you have a nice time. Tommy hopes so, too. But if only he had known what was going to happen, perhaps it is just as well he did not. For it would have spoiled his fun of thinking about the coming party. And half the fun of nearly everything, you know, is thinking about it beforehand or afterward. At last the day came for the tea party Alice was to give at her home, which was a little distance down the street from Tommy's house. Oh, how happy I am, saying Tommy as he ran about the porch. But when, after breakfast, it began to rain, Tommy was not so happy. He stood with his nose pressed against the glass of the window until it was pressed quite flat. I mean, his nose was flat. For the glass was that way anyhow. You know, and Tommy watched the raindrops flash down, making little mud puddles in the street. Can't I go to Alice's party if it rains? Asked Tommy. Well, no, I think not. Mother answered, but perhaps it will stop raining before it is time for you to go. You don't have to leave here until after lunch. Tommy turned again to press his nose against the glass, glad that the rain was outside, so that the drops which rolled down the window could not wet his face, and he hoped the clouds would clear away and that the sun would shine before the time for the party. Now about this same hour, Uncle Wigley Longheirs, the bunny rabbit gentleman, was also looking out of the window of his hollow stump bungalow in the woods, wondering, just as Tommy wondered, whether the rain would stop. But surely you won't go out while it is still raining, said Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper. No, answered Uncle Wigley. My going out is not so needful as all that. I was going to look for an adventure, and I had rather do that in the sunshine than in the rain. I can wait. And then, almost as suddenly as it had started, the rain stopped. Oh, I'm so glad, saying Tommy as he danced up and down. Now I can go to the party. And I can go adventuring, said Uncle Wigley. Now, of course, he did not hear Tommy, nor did the little boy hear the bunny. But, all the same, they were to have an adventure together. Tommy had been ready, for some time, to start down the street to go to the party Alice was giving for her little girl and boyfriends. All that Tommy needed, now, was to have his collar and tie put on, and his hair combed again. For it had become rather tossed and twisted, topsy-turvy, when he pressed his head against the window, watching the rain. Be careful of the mud puddles, Tommy's mother called to him, as, all spick and span, he started down the street toward the home of Alice, a block or so distant. Don't fall in any puddles, I'll be careful, Tommy promised. And as Uncle Wigley started out about this same time for his adventure, Nurse Jane called to the bunny, be careful not to get wet on account of your rheumatism, I'll be careful, promised Uncle Wigley, just as Tommy had done. Now everything would have been all right if Tommy had not stubbed his toe as he was going along the street, about halfway to the party, but he did stumble, where one sidewalk stone was raised up higher than another, and, before he could save himself, down in the puddle fell poor Tommy, he fell on his hands and knees, and they were both soaked in the muddy water of the puddle on the sidewalk. Of course it did not so much matter about Tommy's hands, he could easily wash the mud and brown water off them, but it was different with his white stockings. Perhaps I forgot to tell you that Tommy wore white stockings to the party, but he did, and now the knees of these stockings were all mud, and as he looked at his mud-soiled stockings, and at his hands, from which water was dripping down on the sides of his legs, Tommy could not help crying. I can't go to the party this way, sobbed Tommy to himself, for he was big enough to go down the street alone, and there were no other children on it just then. I can't go to the party this way, but if I go home mother will make me change my things, and I'll be late, and maybe she won't let me go at all. Oh dear. And in order to keep out of sight of any other boys or girls who might come along, Tommy stepped behind some bushes that grew along the street, and what was his surprise to see, sitting on a stone behind the same bush an old gentleman rabbit wearing glasses, and with a tall silk hat on his head. On the ground beside him was a red, white and blue striped crutch for rheumatism. But the funniest thing about the rabbit gentleman, who, as you have guessed, was Uncle Wiggly. The funniest thing was that he had a bunch of dried grass in one paw, and he was busy scrubbing some dried spots of mud off his trousers. So busy was Uncle Wiggly doing this, that he neither saw nor heard Tommy come behind the bush, and Tommy was so surprised at seeing Uncle Wiggly that the little boy never said a word. Why? Why? thought Tommy, as he saw the bunny take up a pine tree cone, which was like a nutmeg grater, and scrape the dried mud off his trousers. He must have fallen into a mud puddle just as I did. And that is just what happened to Uncle Wiggly. He had been walking along, thinking of an adventure he might have. When he splashed into a puddle and spattered himself with mud, and spattered himself with mud, but instead of crying, Uncle Wiggly said about making the best of it, cleaning himself off, so he would look nice again to go in search of an adventure. I'll let the mud dry in the sun, said Uncle Wiggly out loud, speaking to himself, with his back partly turned to Tommy. Then it will easily scrape off. The sun was so warm after the rain that it soon dried the mud on the bunny gentleman's clothes. And with the bunch of grass and the sharp pine tree cone he soon had loosened the bits of dirt. Now I'm all right again, said Uncle Wiggly out loud. And though of course Tommy did not understand Robert talk, the little boy could see what Uncle Wiggly had done to help himself after the mud puddle accident. I say, cried Tommy before he thought, will you please lend me that pine tree cone clothes brush? I want to clean the mud off my white stockings so I can go to the party. Uncle Wiggly looked up in surprise. He had not known before that Tommy was there, but the bunny heard what the little boy said, with a low and polite bow of his tall silk hat, Uncle Wiggly tossed the bunch of grass and the pine cone to Tommy. By that time the mud had dried so the little boy could scrape most of it off his stockings. I hope you have a nice time at the party, said Uncle Wiggly in rabbit language, of course. And then as Tommy scraped the last of the dried mud away, leaving only a few spots on his stockings, the funny gentleman hopped out of the bush and on his way. And I can go to Alice's house without having to run home to change my stockings, but Tommy, I wonder who that rabbit was. And when Tommy reached the party he found that he was not the only little boy who had fallen in a mud puddle. The same thing had happened to Sammy and Johnny, two other boys. But how did you get your stockings so clean? Without going home and changing them, asked the other boys of Tommy, oh, an old rabbit gentleman with a tall silk hat white and blue crutch showed me how to scrape off the dried mud with a pine cone. Tommy answered, I cleaned my white stockings as the bunny brushed his clothes. Oh, is that a fairy story? cried the boys and girls at Alice's party. Well, he looked like a fairy, laughed Tommy, who had washed his hands in the bathroom at Alice's house. So they were clean for eating cake and ice cream. And I'm not afraid of mud puddles anymore. I know what to do if I fall in one, said Tommy. And if the onion doesn't make tears come into the eyes of the potato when they're playing tag around the spoon in the soup dish, the next story will be about Uncle Wiggly and the Bad Boy. End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of Uncle Wiggly's Storybook This is a labor box recording. All labor box recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit laborbox.org Uncle Wiggly's Storybook by Howard R. Garrus Chapter 4 Uncle Wiggly and the Bad Boy Once upon a time there was a bad boy. He lived on the edge of the wood in which Uncle Wiggly long years. The bunny rabbit gentleman had built his hollow stump bungalow. The bad boy did not know Uncle Wiggly. But Mr. Longhears knew about the bad boy. And so did nurse Jane Fuzzy, was he? The bunny's muskrat lady housekeeper. Don't ever go near that bad boy's house, said Miss Fuzzy, was he one morning as the rabbit gentleman started out with his red, white and blue striped rheumatism crutch. Why not? asked Uncle Wiggly. Because answered Miss Fuzzy, was he? That boy will throw stones at you and maybe hit you on your pink, twinkling nose. He can't throw stones now, said Uncle Wiggly. He can't find any. The ground is covered with snow. Then he'll throw snowballs at you, said the muskrat lady housekeeper. Please keep away from him. I'll think about it, promised the bunny gentleman today, with his tall silk hat on his head. Now you know why. Once upon a time there was a bad boy. He was bad because he threw stones and snowballs at rabbits and other animals. There were more things bad about him than this. But one is enough for a story. Uncle Wiggly hopped on and on across the fields and through the woods. And soon he came to the house of the bad boy. It was a regular house, not a hollow stump bungalow, such as that in which Mr. Long Airs lived. I wonder if there isn't any way of making that bad boy good, thought the bunny-rabbit gentleman. Bad boys aren't of much use in the world. But good boys or girls who put out crumbs for the hungry birds to eat in winter, they are of great use in the world. I wonder if I could make that bad boy good. But no sooner had Uncle Wiggly began to wonder in this fashion than, all of a sudden, he heard a loud boy shouting, Hi! There he is! A rabbit! I'm going to throw a snowball at him. Uncle Wiggly looked over his shoulder and saw the bad boy rushing out of his house, followed by another boy. Oh, what a nice, funny rabbit! cried the second boy. He looks as if he came from the circus, all dressed up. I'll make him turn a somersault if I can whang him with a snowball, shouted the bad boy, running toward the bunny gentleman. Perhaps I had better be going, said Uncle Wiggly, who could understand boy and girl talk, though he could not speak it himself. I'll wait until some other day about trying to make this boy good. Mr. Long Air started to run, but he had not seen many hops before. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp dumping pain in his side and he was almost knocked over by a snowball thrown by the bad boy. Hi there! I hit him! I hit him! How old the bad boy? Dancing up and down? Yes, sadly, said the other chap. You hit him. But what good did it do? It shows I'm a straight shot! proudly answered the other. Maybe I can catch that rabbit now. He ran over the snow but though Uncle Wiggly had been knocked down by the ball thrown by the bad boy, the rabbit gentleman managed to get to his feet and away he hopped on his rheumatism crutch so fast that the bad boy could not get him. Then the bad boy and the other chap, who was not so bad, played in the snow until it was time to go home. Uncle Wiggly hopped to his hollow stump bungalow but he said nothing to nurse Jane about the pain in his side. If I tell her, she won't let me go out to the movies tonight with Grandpa Goosey, thought Mr. Longyear's so, though his side pained him. Uncle Wiggly said never a word. But early that evening he hopped over to Grandpa Goosey's home in the duck pin and on the way Uncle Wiggly had to pass the house of the bad boy. But it is getting dark and he will not see me, thought the bunny gentleman. I guess it will be safe. Now it happened that just as Uncle Wiggly was hopping under the window of the bad boy's house the bunny heard a voice inside saying, oh, dear, how my ear aches. Oh, what a pain. Can't you do something to stop it, mother? If I had some soft cotton I could put a little warm on it and that, in your ear, would make it feel better. Answered a lady's voice, but I have no cotton in the house. If you'll wait until I go to the drugstore. No, no, howled the voice of the bad boy. I don't want you to go to the store and leave me alone. Can't you get some cotton without going to the store? No, answered the mother. You shouldn't have played out in the cold and thrown snowballs at the rabbit. You must have gotten some snow in your ear to make it ache. Oh, do something to make it stop! cried the bad boy. Oh, why haven't we some cotton? Uncle Wiggly outside under the window heard all this talk. Now the bunny-gentleman knew where to find something like cotton without going to the drugstore. Inside each of the big brown buds of the horse chestnut tree there's a lot of cotton. Mother Nature puts the cotton there to keep the bud warm through the winter, so green leaves will come out in the spring. Uncle Wiggly looked around and saw, lying on the snow a branch which the wind had broken from a horse chestnut tree hopping across the newly fallen spring snow to this branch. Uncle Wiggly nod off some of the buds, breaking these open his teeth. He took out some of the soft, fluffy cotton. I'll just leave this on the bad boy's doorstep, thought the bunny. I'll tap with my crutch and hop away. So the bunny-gentleman with the wad of cotton skipped up the front steps of the house when no one saw him. His paws made funny little marks in the soft snow. Uncle Wiggly put the cotton on the sill, tapped once, twice, three times with his rheumatism crutch and then hopped away. Somebody's at the door, said the bad boy. Maybe that's Daddy coming home so he can go to the drugstore and get that cotton from my aching ear. Maybe, said his mother, I hope it is. She opened the door and when she saw there the bunch of cotton, just what she wanted, you can imagine how surprised she was. Why, who could have left it? asked the bad boy when his mother told him what had happened. Who do you suppose did? I don't know, she answered. But I saw some rabbit tracks in the snow on our steps. Rabbit tracks? repeated the boy, wonderingly as his mother softly put some warm cotton and oil in his ear making the pain almost stop. Yes, rabbit tracks, said the mother, and if I were you I'd never throw any more snowballs at rabbits. The boy, I'll not call him bad anymore, put his head down on the pillow of his bed. He could go to sleep now, as the pain in his ear had almost stopped. I wonder if that funny rabbit dressed up like a little old man could have brought me the cotton said the boy. I wonder too, softly spoke mother with a smile. Anyhow, I won't ever throw stones or snowballs at rabbits anymore, promised the boy. Or cats or dogs, either his mother asked. Or cats or dogs, either added the boy. Then he went up to sleep, an uncle wiggly picking the bits of fuzzy horse chestnut tree cotton off his tall, silk hat hopped on to Grandpa Gossy's house and went to the movies. So that's the story of the bunny gentle man and the bad boy. And I hope you liked it. But if the ragdoll's go-kart doesn't race with the baby carriage and slip on the banana skin as though it had on roller skates, I'll tell you in the next story about Uncle Wiggly and the Good Boy. End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 of Uncle Wiggly's Story Book This is a Libre Fox recording. All Libre Fox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibreFox.org Uncle Wiggly's Story Book by Howard R. Garrus Chapter 5 Uncle Wiggly and the Good Boy Now, do be careful today, please Uncle Wiggly big nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy the muskrat lady housekeeper of the bunny rabbit gentle man. As he hopped down off the steps of his hollow stump bungalow one morning. Careful. Why? I'm always careful. Answered the bunny. As he twinkled one side of his pink nose and looked to make sure that his red white and blue striped rheumatism crutch was not painted green. Don't you think so? Nurse Jane asked Mr. Long Years Indeed I do not. Miss Fuzzy-Wuzzy answered it so excited. Looking for adventures. That you don't care whether you are chased by the Pipsy-C-Waw or Ski-Six. But I always get away from them, don't I? Asked Uncle Wiggly and the Woozy-Woof the Fuzzy-Fox and even the Skillary-Scalary alligator. I always get away, Nurse Jane. It is hard work for you, sometimes said the muskrat lady. I do wish you would be more careful. Wiggy. Besides, these new adventures of yours, helping real girls and boys out of their troubles, are dangerous. Of course, I love children and I know you do also. But someday you'll be caught by one of these bad boys or girls. There aren't any bad girls, laughed Uncle Wiggly. They are just a bit funny. That's all. As for bad boys, well, I hope to see them all turn good. And anyhow, the children love me so much I don't believe they'll harm me. Well, you'd better be careful just the same. Nurse Jane said then she went in to dust the dishes and sweep the furniture. And Uncle Wiggly hopped over the fields and through the woods, looking for an adventure. The bunny-gentleman had not gone far from his hollow-stump bungalow before he saw a crowd of boys on their way to school. One of the boys had a tin can in his hand and another carried a piece of rope. Oh, maybe those boys are going camping, thought Uncle Wiggly. And they're going to build a campfire and cook their carrot soup or whatever they eat in the tin can over the fire. I'll hide in the bushes and watch them and I can hear what they say. By means of a gift which a good fairy gave him, Uncle Wiggly, for a time, was able to hear and understand the talk of boys and girls, though he could not himself speak their language. He wanted to hear what these boys would say so the bunny-gentleman hid in the bushes. The boys came along laughing, shouting and trying to sing, but that last they did not do as well as girls would have done. Somehow or other, girls are better singers than boys. Well, anyhow, the boys came nearer to where Uncle Wiggly was hiding in the bushes and all of a sudden one of the lands gave a whoop like a wild Indian and cried there's a dog let's get him there now, thought Uncle Wiggly to himself. I knew boys were good. They want to take that dog with them to camp and give him some of the soup they are going to boil in the tin can. I hope they don't give it to him too hot though and burn his tongue. Uncle Wiggly peaked over the top of the bush and saw one of the boys chasing the dog. It was a little dog rather thin, so you could almost count his ribs and he did not seem to have much to eat of late. And as soon as the dog saw the boy running after him, that dog began to run also. Why? That's queer, said Uncle Wiggly. Why does the dog run away from that good boy? If I were only nearer I'd tell the dog that the boy is going to be kind to him and give him tomato can camp soup. Oh, let the dog go! cried a red-haired boy to the one who was running along with the tin can in his hand. No, I'm going to catch him and tie this tin can on his tail. The first boy answered, you ought to see how fast he'll run when he has this tin can on his tail. Dear me, thought Uncle Wiggly, hardly able to believe what he heard. Tie a tin can on a dog's tail? And I thought that boy was going to be kind. Oh, oh, what a mistake I made. Most of the boys turned off on another path and went to school. But the one with the tin can chased after the dog and another boy who seemed very nice and quiet stayed near the bush behind which Uncle Wiggly was hidden. Finally, the boy with the tin can caught the poor thin, yelping dog and carried him back to the bush. Where's that piece of rope? Asked the bad boy. Holding the yelping, squirming little dog under one arm. While in the other hand he carried the empty tin can. What are you going to do with the rope? Asked the quiet boy. He held his hands behind his back. I'm going to use the rope to tie this tin can on the dog's tail. Answered the bad boy. That's what I am. Then I won't give it to you. Quiet lad. I'm not going to let you tie any tin can to a dog's tail if I can help it. There, you can't have the rope. With a sudden motion he threw, a way over in the weeds, the rope which he had picked up after another lad had dropped it to go to school. Oh, ho! So that's what you're going to do, is it? Cried the bad boy. I'll fix you for that. I'm going to tie the tin can but still holding the poor dog under his arm. The bad boy rushed at the quiet chap. I'll make you get that rope and help me tie the tin can on this dog's tail. Cried the bad boy. I think it is about time for me to do something. Said Uncle Wigley to himself. The bunny gentleman hidden behind the bush had heard all that was said. All of a sudden, just as the bad boy was going to hit the quiet lad they were not helping to tie the tin can on the dog's tail. Uncle Wigley turned and in the soft sand and dirt began to dig very fast with his paws. Now, a rabbit gentleman is one of the best diggers in the world. With his paws he can make himself a burrow or underground house almost before you can eat a lollipop. And Uncle Wigley, pawing in the dirt, made a regular shower of sand. Gravel and little stones fly right in the face of the bad boy. By looking over his shoulder Uncle Wigley could see which way to dig so that the sand would go in the eyes of the bad boy. But not in the face of the one who was kind to animals. Whiff, whiff, whiff. The sand, gravel and little stone shot over at the top of the bushes and spattered all over the bad boy. Say, who's doing that? Bride the unkind chap trying to hold his arm in front of his face to keep the sand out of his eyes. If you fellows don't stop that. But he couldn't say anymore for a lot of sand went flying into his mouth. He dropped the poor then dog who ran away and hid himself in a hollow tree. And then the bad boy had to use both hands to wipe out the gravel that rattled down inside his shirt and couldn't hit the kind boy. Who's scattering that gravel? cried the bad boy scowling. I don't see anyone. said the other, smiling. But there was Uncle Wigley behind the bush scattering the gravel with his paws in a regular shower. I wish Nurse Jean could see me now chuckled the bunny gentleman. She surely would laugh. At last so much gravel sand and little stone showered that he ran away, crying. Oh! Oh! Oh! Something terrible must have happened. I guess I better not tie any tin cans on dogs tails anymore. I guess you better not. said the other boy. And I say the same. laughed Uncle Wigley as he brushed some dust off his tall silk hat and straightened his necktie. Then the bunny gentleman watched the fine boy went to the hollow tree and patted the poor frightened little dog. And then this boy hid the tin can where no other boys could find it and went on to school. And I think, mind you, I'm not sure. But I think that bad boy turned good after that. Anyhow, if he didn't he ought to. Well, I had quite an adventure. said the bunny rabbit gentleman. As he hopped on to his hollow stump bungalow a very good adventure. And if the jumping jack doesn't cut a slice off the mud pie with the bread knife and tell the rag doll it's a piece of chocolate cake I'll tell you the next about Uncle Wigley's Valentine. End of Chapter 5 Chapter 6 of Uncle Wigley's Storybook This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Catherine Phipps Uncle Wigley's Storybook by Howard R. Garris Uncle Wigley's Valentine Uncle Wigley quickly hopped across the room and closed the door of his hollow stump bungalow where he was busy in the sitting room. He heard Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy coming along. Well, that's queer! exclaimed the muskrat lady housekeeper as she noticed what Uncle Wigley did. I wonder what he means? Wiggy? she called. Are you getting ready for some strange new adventure? Such as stopping bad boys from tying tin cans on dogs' tails? Nothing like that now. No, my dear. answered the bunny rabbit and he quickly pulled the table cover over something he had been looking at. She is a secret. Oh, a secret? exclaimed Nurse Jane puzzled like. The muskrat lady looked at a calendar hanging on the wall and noticed that the day was February 14. I think I can guess what your secret is. Uncle Wigley, she said to herself I suppose it's something for Mrs Twisty Tail, the Pig Lady or maybe for Grandpa Goosey Ganda. Well, I hope you enjoy it. Then Nurse Jane went back to the dining room where she was giving the dishes their morning bath and Uncle Wigley began to rustle some paper and tie knots in a piece of gold string, the while murmuring to himself. I hope she likes it. Oh, I do hope she likes it. I'll put it on the steps, throw a stone at the door so she thinks someone is knocking and then I'll run and hide behind a bush and how surprised she is when she opens it. Uncle Wigley had been very busy all that morning after having been out in the woods the day before. What he had made, I shall tell you about in a little while. Enough now for you to know that the bunny rabbit had something he did not want Nurse Jane to see. Pretty soon after opening the door a crack and listening to Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy wash the face of the clock, Uncle Wigley hopped softly out and down the front steps with a box under his paw. His tall silk hat was on rather sideways and he carried his red, white and blue striped rheumatism crutch upside down but when you remember that it was February 14 I think you will kindly excuse the bunny gentleman. Uncle Wigley hopped on through the woods and over the fields. Every now and then he would stop and with his crutch brushed to one side the dried leaves and little heaps of snow that were scattered here and there in the forest. I hope I may find some said Mr Long Ears to himself. It won't be half so pretty without them I hope I find some. He searched in many places and at last he found what he was looking for. Carefully he picked something up off the ground and put it in the box he carried. Nurse Jane will surely like this said the bunny gentleman. He was about to hop on again when all of a sudden he heard someone crying in the woods. There was a sobbing sound and looking around the corner of a tree Uncle Wigley saw a little girl sitting on a log and she was crying as hard as she could cry. Look that isn't the freckled girl said the bunny gentleman to himself. She said she wouldn't mind her freckles after she looked at the pretty speckled bird's eggs. It isn't the freckled girl I wonder who she is and what's the matter and pretty soon Uncle Wigley found out for he heard the sobbing girl say I wish I had money enough to buy one or the other girls and boys can buy valentines to send teacher but I can't and she'll think I don't like her but I do. I wish I had a valentine. My goodness me sakes alive and some peanut pudding whispered the bunny rabbit gentleman that girl is crying because she hasn't a valentine for her teacher. Then the bunny gentleman looked down at the box wrapped into shoe paper which he carried under his paw the box in which he had placed something he had found under the leaves and snow of the forest a little while before she wants a valentine mammoth bunny rabbit gentleman and here I have one that I made for Nurse Jane I was going to leave it on the steps and surprise my muskrat lady housekeeper but I suppose I could give it to this little girl and well Nurse Jane won't care when I tell her I'll do it I'll give this girl my valentine said Uncle Wigley so suddenly that his pink nose almost twinkled backward he looked over the top of a bush behind which he had sat down to wrap up Nurse Jane's valentine then the bunny hopped over to the girl who sat on the log still sobbing because she had no token for her teacher the girl heard the rustling in the leaves made by Uncle Wigley's paws as he hopped and she looked up suddenly then she wrapped her eyes hardly able to believe what she saw why why she murmured am I dreaming? is this a fairy? a rabbit gentleman dressed in a tall silk hat and with his red white and blue striped rheumatism crutch oh why it's Uncle Wigley it's Uncle Wigley out of my bedtime story books oh how glad I am to see you dear Uncle Wigley please come up and sit by me on this log but Uncle Wigley was not allowed to do this before over his lips to show that though he could hear and understand what the girl said he could not talk to her in reply then he placed his valentine beside her on the log and quickly hopped away oh Uncle Wigley wait a minute please wait a minute cried the girl but the bunny gentleman did not stay I must try and find Nurse Jane another valentine he said to himself as he skipped along with the other valentine the girl on the log opened the box Uncle Wigley had left it was made from pieces of white birch bark such as the indians use for their canoes inside were some sprigs from an evergreen tree with some round brown buttons from the sycamore tree and in the middle of the evergreen sprigs were some lovely pink and white blossoms of the trailing Arbitus the earliest flower of spring growing under the leaves and late snows it was these Arbitus flowers which the bunny had come to the woods to find and complete his valentine now he had given it to the girl oh how lovely she murmured tears no longer in her eyes won't teacher be surprised when I put this on her desk and tell her Uncle Wigley gave it to me oh there's a verse too and there was written on a piece of white birch bark which is what the animal folk use instead of paper was this little verse these twigs of cedar like my heart are evergreen for you the blossoms whisper that I am your valentine so true I know teacher will just love this said the little girl and she was so excited she could hardly run to school she had to hop and skip here's a valentine Uncle Wigley gave me in the woods the little girl told her teacher all excited and out of breath Uncle Wigley how strange exclaimed the teacher I hope you didn't dream it she said to the little girl but at any rate the valentine is real and how lovely it's the very nicest one I ever saw then you can imagine how pleased the little girl was Uncle Wigley hopping back to his bungalow poured a piece of white birch bark off a tree and with a burned black stick for a pencil he scribbled on it dear nurse Jane this is my valentine I love you Uncle Wigley and when the muskrat lady found that on the doorstep a little later she laughed and said it was the nicest valentine she could wish for and when Uncle Wigley told about giving the other valentine to the sad little girl the muskrat lady said you did just right Wiggy now let's go to the movies so they did and if electric light doesn't cry when it has to go down cellar in the dark to get a piece of coal for the fire to play with you shall next hear about Uncle Wigley and the bad dog end of chapter 6 chapter 7 of Uncle Wigley's storybook this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps Uncle Wigley's storybook by Howard R. Garris Uncle Wigley and the bad dog once upon a time, about as many years ago as it takes a lollipop to slide down the back cellar door they lived in a kennel not far from Uncle Wigley's hollow stump bungalow a bad dog and the bunny rabbit gentleman once wished that this dog would always stay in his kennel or remain chained in front of it so he couldn't get loose for that dog said Uncle Wigley to Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy is the best of my life every time he sees me he chases me he isn't at all like Jackie and Petey Bow Wow or Old Dog Possible why don't you scratch sand and gravel in his eyes in the face of the bad boy asked the muskrat lady housekeeper you can't treat dogs as you do boys replied Uncle Wigley though of course some boys and some dogs are great friends but this dog seems always to want to chase me then you must be very careful if you go off in the woods today looking for an adventure said Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy I will promise the bunny rabbit gentleman away he hopped on his red white and blue striped rheumatism crutch and his tall silk hat and this time Uncle Wigley took with him his glasses which he sometimes wore in order to see better and I want to see the very best I can today said Mr Longheos to himself as he hopped along I want to see that bad unpleasant dog before he sees me Uncle Wigley was skipping along thinking perhaps that he had better pick a bunch of violets and take them to the lady mouse teacher in the hollow stump school when all of a sudden there sounded through the woods allowed that isn't the fox nor yet the wolf nor even the skillery scullery alligator said Uncle Wigley looking around the corner of the mulberry bush and surely enough it was and a moment later the dog came bursting through the bushes barking and growling and headed straight for Uncle Wigley I'll make believe I am playing baseball and try for a home run said the rabbit gentleman to himself and through the bushes turning and twisting this way and that he ran for his hollow stump bungalow Uncle Wigley reached it only just in time too for as he hopped up the steps and closed the door locking it the dog jumped over the gate my goodness me sakes alive in a basket of soup bubbles cried nurse Jane what's the matter Wiggy is the house on fire it's that dog chasing me panted the bunny for he was quite out of breath the idea how impolite of him exclaimed the muskrat lady shook her broom out of the window at the bad chap well you got away from me this time but the next time I'll get you growled the dog as he slunk away why is he so anxious to catch you asked nurse Jane as Uncle Wigley sat down in an easy chair to rest oh I guess he chased any of the animal folk he saw in the wood answered the bunny gentleman he chased Sammy little tailed the rabbits Johnny or Billy bushy tailed the squirrels and I'm sure he would make Lulu Alice and Jimmy Wibblewobble the duck children lose their feathers in trying to flutter away from him it's too bad said nurse Jane you ought to speak to old Percival the policeman dog about this bad chap I shall said Uncle Wigley he did too but the bad dog was so sly that old Percival could not catch him Uncle Wigley also spoke to the little dog whom he had saved from having a tin can tied on his tail by a bad boy I'll tell the savage dog to let you alone the little chap promised but all this did no good every time the bad dog saw Uncle Wigley in the woods he chased the rabbit gentleman and once nearly caught the bunny I don't know why this dog was so innocent and mean toward Uncle Wigley I guess maybe the dog didn't know any better perhaps he thought Uncle Wigley didn't like dogs but Mr Longiers did especially Jackie and Petey Bow Wow the little puppy chaps well as it happened one day the people who owned the big savage dog that always chased Uncle Wigley went away on a visit and they went in such a hurry that they left the dog chained to his kennel and they forgot to leave him any water to drink or food to eat at first the dog was not hungry but later in the day when it was time for him to have had a meal and some water that dog began to feel very unhappy Bow Wow Wow he barked trying to call someone out to feed him and pour water in the sun dried pan but no one came and the dog grew more hungry and so thirsty that his tongue and his mouth just about this time Uncle Wigley was going through the woods on his way to the six and seven cent store to get Nurse Jane a spool of thread the bunny rabbit heard the barking of the dog and started to run for he knew that voice but as he paused to listen and find out from which direction the sound came so he could run away from it instead of toward it Uncle Wigley heard a voice saying Bow Wow hungry I am how thirsty I am it was the savage dog speaking and Uncle Wigley of course understood animal talk even better than he had learned to know as he had of late what boys and girls said hmm so that dog is hungry and thirsty is he said the bunny to himself well why doesn't he go and dig up some of the bones he must have buried and why doesn't he go to the duck pond and get a drink no wonder Uncle Wigley thought there was something strange about this and as the barking and animal talking voice of the dog did not come any nearer the bunny hopped over to see what was the matter there he saw the savage dog fastened by a heavy chain to his kennel with nothing to eat no water to drink and no one to bring him any oh how hungry I am how thirsty I am but the dog politely asked Uncle Wigley looking out from behind a stone he was not afraid to be this near the bad dog for the savage chap was chained and could not get loose yes I'm very thirsty and hungry but of course I don't expect you to feed me or give me water I've been too bad to you I've chased you too often I can't ask you to help me I don't see why not said Uncle Wigley politely if I were ill in my bungalow with rheumatism and Nurse Jane wasn't there to wait on me and you came along wouldn't you get me a drink of water the dog thought a moment before answering then he sort of drooped his tail sorry like and softly said yes I believe I would then said the bunny gentleman I'll bring you a drink and if you tell me where you have buried I'll dig them up for you since I can't loosen your kennel chain to let you dig them yourself oh how kind you are said the dog I really don't deserve this most often nonsense laughed Uncle Wigley we all make mistakes that's why they put rubbers on the end of lead pencils as someone has said I'll help you when you're in trouble then the bunny found a half a coconut shell and dipping this in the nearby brook brought water to the thirsty dog and when he had taken a long drink calling his parched and hot tongue the dog pointed to where he had buried some bones behind the barn Uncle Wigley dug up the bones with his paws which were just made for such work and carried them to the dog oh I can't thank you enough said go rub which was the dog's name I promise Mr Longhears that I'll never chase you again thank you laughed the bunny as he hopped on to the three and four cent store I hoped you wouldn't so this teaches us that it doesn't hurt the needle to put the thread in its eye and if the apple doesn't jump out of the dupling and try to hide in the chocolate cake when it ought to take the pie to the moving pictures on the next page you will find a story about Uncle Wigley and Puss in Boots End of Chapter 7 Chapter 8 of Uncle Wigley Storybook This is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Catherine Phipps Uncle Wigley Storybook by Howard R. Garris Uncle Wigley and Puss in Boots Where are you going Uncle Wigley? Called Nurse Jane Fuzzy one day as the muskrat lady saw the bunny gentleman hopping away from his hollow stump bungalow I am going to get myself a new pair of rubber boots said Mr Longhears My old ones are wearing out and they have little holes in so they leak we have had so much rain of late that I will need a new pair of boots if I am to look for any more adventures so I'm going to the shoemakers But why are you taking your old boots along? asked Nurse Jane for Uncle Wigley had them under his paw I am taking them to the shoemaker to show him what size I want my new boots answered the bunny also he may be able to mend these old ones so they will do to wear in the garden That's a good idea said Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy and while you are out I wish you would go to the 7 and 8 cent store for me I want some needles and thread some balls of red yarn and some white flannel My all that Are you going to make a bed quilt? asked the bunny gentleman No laughed Nurse Jane I am going to use the white flannel to make me a new petticoat the red yarn I am going to use to nip Sammy and Susie little tail the rabbit children some mittens and the needle and thread I will use to sew up a hole in this curtain very well spoke Uncle Wigley politely you shall have all three and I will get myself a new pair of boots it did not take the bunny rabbit gentleman long to hop to the shop of the monkey doodle shoemaker where Mr Longhears bought himself a new pair of rubber boots asked for those old ones said the monkey chap I can mend them for you so they will do to wear many times yet begged the bunny and when his old boots were mended he carried them over his shoulder with the new ones for he was wearing his shoes along he hopped to the seven and eight cent store Uncle Wigley bought the needles thread white flannel and red yarn for the rabbit children's mittens and he was hopping back to his hollow stump bungalow when all of a sudden coming from behind a sassafras bush he heard a voice saying Oh dear how sad now I suppose they'll take me out of all the story books and the children will never love me anymore hmm this is strange said Uncle Wigley to himself I wonder who it is that can't be in the story books anymore that is very sad I wouldn't want them to put me out of all the bedtime story books in which I have my adventures so the bunny gentleman looked around the corner of a lollipop bush and there he saw a cat dressed in a coat, trousers and cap but without anything on his hind paws sitting on a stump good afternoon Mr cat politely greeted Uncle Wigley you seem to be in trouble I am was the answer only my name is Puss and not cat though of course that's what I really am Puss and boots is my right name but there is no use trying to keep it any longer why not Uncle Wigley asked because I've lost my boots answered Puss a little while ago I met a cross dog who chased me I ran across a swamp and became stuck in the mud I managed to pull my paws out of the boots but the boots themselves remained fast in the mud now I have no boots and I can be called Puss and boots no longer I shall have to keep out of all the story books nonsense laughed Uncle Wigley why I have two pairs of boots here take one of them I can only wear one pair of boots at a time and very politely Mr Longiers gave his new boots to the cat but I can't take your new boots objected Puss the old ones will do me very well no kindly insisted Uncle Wigley please take the new ones since my old ones were mended they will answer me very well and they'll be easier on my paws so Uncle Wigley gave Puss the new boots keeping the old mended ones for himself and as the cat put the boots on his paws he looked just as he ought to like his pictures in the story books now I can keep my place the children will not miss me thank you Uncle Wigley mewed Puss pray do not mention it said the bunny I'm glad I don't have to carry two pairs of boots so Mr Longiers hopped on a little father and soon he heard some tiny voices saying oh mother dear look here look here and mittens we have lost oh I should know who they are said the bunny those must be the three kittens and surely enough they were as the bunny saw a moment later it turned around the corner of a mulberry tree there were three little pussy kittens holding up their paws for their mother to see and there wasn't a single mitten on any one of the paws what do you think of that what lost your mittens you careless kittens now you can't have any pie thus sang the mother cat and when the three little kittens who had lost their mittens began to cry Uncle Wigley felt so sorry for them that he stepped up and said excuse me Mrs Cat but I have a lot of red yarn I bought for Nurse Jane to knit mittens for Sammy and Susie Little Tail there is more than Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy needs I'm sure so I shall give you some to knit mittens for your pussies oh how kind you are as Uncle Wigley gave her three balls of red yarn still leaving plenty for the rabbit children's mittens now you may have some pie and I'll give Uncle Wigley a piece too said the cat mother to her kittens you are very kind remarked Mr Long-Ears but I must hop on with the needle and thread and the piece of white flannel Nurse Jane is going to use to make herself a new petticoat so on hopped the bunny while the mother cat sat down to knit some new mittens for her kittens and Uncle Wigley had not gone very far before all of a sudden he heard another sad mewing sound and a voice said dear me the hole goes all the way through I shall never be able to go see old mother Hubbard this way oh what an accident that sounds like more trouble thought Uncle Wigley and looking over the top of a stone wall he saw a pussy cat lady sitting on a stump sadly looking at her skirt what is the matter asked Mr Long-Ears oh how you surprise me mewed the cat lady but here is the trouble I jumped over a call and in my best petticoat burned a great hole and she showed the edge of her petticoat where surely enough a hole was burned through and I ought to be at mother Hubbard's now to go with her to the movies said pussy cat mole but alas I cannot go oh yes you can said Uncle Wigley not with this big burned hole in my petticoat mewed the cat ah but you shall so on a patch said the bunny I have here needle and thread and some white flannel can't you mend your best petticoat with all those indeed I can mewed pussy cat mole thank you so much Uncle Wigley gave her a needle and thread and with her claws Miss Mole tore off a piece of white flannel for there was more than nurse Jane needed she sewed the patch neatly on and then with her petticoat nicely mended pussy cat mole went on to mother Hubbard's ah how delightful it is to be helpful said Uncle Wigley as he hopped back to his bungalow and she was very glad he had met the three cats one after another for a little later that day the bad woozy wolf chased the bunny but the mother of the three kittens after she had nipped their mittens tickled the wolf with her knitting needles puss with the boots stepped on the wolf's tail so hard that he cried ouch and pussy cat mole ran at the wolf with a piece of red stone which he pretended was a red hot coal that in her best petticoat had burned a great hole I'll burn you I'll burn you she mewed at the wolf then this is no place for me he held and away he ran not hurting the bunny at all and how the bunny gentlemen on the three cats laughed so if the elephant from the Noah's Ark doesn't drop a cold penny down the back of the goldfish and make it sneeze the next story is going to be about Uncle Wigley and the lost boy end of chapter 8 chapter 9 of Uncle Wigley's story book this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps Uncle Wigley's story book by Howard R. Garris Uncle Wigley and the lost boy there goes that boy out again flying his kite said nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy as she looked from the window of the hollow stump bungalow one morning what boy Uncle Wigley wanted to know the new boy who was just moved into the red brick house answered the muskrat lady housekeeper I hope he isn't a bad boy it will chase you Uncle Wigley and come to the forest to play tricks on Sammy and Susie Little Tail and the other animal boys and girls oh he doesn't look like that kind of a boy said the bunny rabbit gentleman as he sat down to eat his breakfast of carrot pancakes with turnip maple sugar gravy sprinkled down the middle but I'll be careful until I get to know him better Uncle Wigley's hollow stump bungalow had lately been rebuilt near the edge of a wood and just beyond the thicket of trees and tangle of bushes was a small town where lived many boys and girls only a few of these boys and girls knew about the bunny rabbit gentleman and his muskrat lady nurse and those who did were kind to Uncle Wigley because the rabbit gentleman had been kind to them doing them favours but now that a new boy had moved into the red brick house Uncle Wigley felt that he must not hop around in too lively a fashion until he found out whether the boy was bad or good for there are some bad boys you know he seems quiet enough said nurse Jane as she spread some lettuce marmalade on a slice of bread for Uncle Wigley he sits there flying his kite I guess it will be safe for you to go to the store for me Wiggy what do you want from the store asked the bunny gentleman as he took his tall silk hat down off the piano sometimes he went to the store quite dressed up at other times he would put on an old cap and overalls just as he came from the garden I want another ball of red yarn nurse Jane answered I did not have quite enough to knit the mittens for Sammy and Susie the rabbit children why suppose that's because I gave some of the yarn to the three little kittens who lost their mittens said the bunny twinkling his pink nose upside down to make sure it would not fall off as he hopped along well that's one of the reasons nurse Jane answered but I'm glad you helped the little kittens you can easily get me another ball of yarn of course Uncle Wigley agreed and soon he was hopping over the fields and through the woods on his way to the store not one of the stores where the boys and girls bought their toys and lollipops but a special animal store kept by a monkey doodle gentleman and as Uncle Wigley hopped along under the bushes near the house of the kite boy the bunny heard the boy's mother say don't go away and get lost buddy no I won't promised the boy as he held his kite string in his hand and watched his toy fly high in the air Uncle Wigley stopped for a moment underneath a big burdock plant and looked at Buddy which was the boy's pet name Buddy could not see the rabbit gentleman if he had, Buddy would have been much surprised to notice a bunny with glasses and a tall silk hat the wind blew the kite higher into the air and Uncle Wigley thought of the many times he had helped Johnny and Billy Bushetail the squirrels fly their kites and how he had more than once made kites for Jackie and Petey Bowell the puppy dog boys then the bunny gentleman hopped on to the store to get the ball of red yarn for Nurse Jane he stayed some little time Mr Longhears did he met grandfather Goosey Ganda and talked to the old gentleman duck about rheumatism and what to do when you sneeze too much but finally Uncle Wigley started back for his hollow stump bungalow and soon he was in the middle of the wood about half way home and all of a sudden the bunny gentleman heard a crying voice saying oh dear oh dear I don't know where my home is I'm lost oh dear I'm lost Mr Longhears peered through the bushes and there he saw the boy from the red brick house who held in his hand a broken kite oh I see what has happened said the bunny his kite broke loose from the string forgetting what he promised his mother about not going away the boy ran after his kite over into the woods and now he is lost I wonder if I can help him find his way home Uncle Wigley did not show himself yet hiding behind the bushes the bunny followed the lost boy as he wandered about among the trees not knowing which way to go oh where is my house said the boy over and over again why can't I find it then a mournful voice cried whew whew whew what's that exclaimed the lost boy suddenly stopping it's only an owl bird Uncle Wigley to himself he wished he might speak to the boy and tell him this but though the bunny could understand boy talk the boy couldn't understand rabbit language the kite boy went on a little farther and then he heard a rustling in the dried leaves gasped the lost boy maybe that's a snake nonsense laughed Uncle Wigley to himself it is only a brown thrush bird scattering the leaves to look for something to eat and even if it were a snake it wouldn't hurt the boy I wish I might tell him so the boy wandered along a little farther and suddenly they're boomed out through the forest a sound of grump grump oh maybe that's a giant cried the boy dropping his broken kite ha ha laughed Uncle Wigley that's only grandpa croaker the big bullfrog who tells such funny stories to bully and bully no tale the frog boys how grandpa croaker will laugh when I tell him the lost boy thought him a giant but I must help this boy out of the woods or his mother will be worried let me see how can I do it without letting him see me ah I have it this ball of red yarn I'll hop to the edge of the wood near his house and fasten one end of the red yarn to a tree there then I'll come back unwinding the ball on the way and when I get to the boy I'll toss him what is left of the ball then all he'll have to do will be to follow the red cord right to his house no sooner said than done Uncle Wigley knew his way through the forest even in the dark and he soon reached the edge of the wood and saw the boy's red brick house then tying one end of the red yarn to the bush when the boy had been sitting to fly his kite Uncle Wigley turned back unrolling the ball as he hopped along he soon came to the lost boy again and the poor little chap was crying harder than ever over the bush and at the feet of the boy the bunny tossed the little ball of yarn that remained oh what's that cried Buddy almost ready to jump out of his skin but when he saw the little red ball and the red string stretching off through the trees he was no longer afraid oh maybe this is a fairy string and will lead me home he joyfully cried as he began to follow it and though we know it wasn't a fairy string still it was just as good for it led the boy home as he followed the yarn winding up the ball as he walked along and oh how fast he ran when he came with inside of his house crying as he dropped the ball here I am mother here I am I'm not lost anymore well I'm glad of that mother answered you shouldn't have gone into the woods I was just coming to look for you well whispered Uncle Wigley to himself I'm glad I could be of some help in this world then the rabbit who had followed the lost boy until Buddy found his home wound up the red yarn again and took it to Nurse Jane my that was quite an adventure said the muskrat lady when the bunny gentleman told her about it and if the boiled egg doesn't try to go sailing in the gravy boat and splash condensed milk on the bread knife I'll tell you on the page after this about Uncle Wigley and stubby toes end of chapter 9 chapter 10 of Uncle Wigley's storybook this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lyndon Godsell Uncle Wigley's storybook by Howard R. Garris Uncle Wigley and stubby toes there are some children who are always stubbing their toes and falling down that was what happened far too often to the little boy in the story and I'm going to tell you how Uncle Wigley helped cure him perhaps you may think it's strange that an old rabbit gentleman with a pink twinkling nose and a tall silk hat could cure a boy of stubbing his toes but this only goes to show that you never can tell what is going to happen in this world so we shall start by saying that once upon a time there was a boy who looked and stumbled so often that he was called stubby toes stubby toes was not a very big boy in fact one of the reasons he stubbed his toe so often first the big toe of one foot and then the big toe of the other foot the reason I say was because he was so small he had not yet grown up so that he knew how to step over things that lay in his path causing him to stumble why sometimes that boy would stumble over a pin on the sidewalk and again I have known him to trip and almost fall because he saw in his way a leaf from a tree Upsy Daisy his sister would cry as she caught him by the hand but fall Upsy Daisy stubby toes it was sister who really gave stubby toes his name but she was only in fun of course well one day when Uncle Wiggly had started out of his hollow stump bungalow to look for an adventure sister took her little brother stubby toes for a walk and as it happened the path taken by sister stubby toes stretched along through the woodland where the bunny gentleman lived I think I'll go see baby Bunty today said Uncle Wiggly to himself as he hopped along twinkling his pink nose in the sunshine I have a little touch of the rheumatism and baby Bunty is so lively and always playing tag that in the way of games that she'll make me spry and chase the pain away but as the bunny gentleman came near the place where the little boy and his sister were walking all of a sudden stubby toes tripped over a little stone about as large as the end of your lollipop stick and down he almost fell Upsy Daisy cried sister as she pulled brother to his feet Upsy Daisy oh boo-hoo I stubbed my toe cried the little boy of course you did said sister laughing I think I forgot to tell you that stubby toes often cried when he slipped this way yes almost every time he cried sister wished he wouldn't and so did mother boo-hoo boo-hoo the boy wailed I bunked myself sister laughed and recited this little verse which is a good one to sing whenever anything happens it is a verse I read once many years ago oh fee do not cry if you stub your toe say oh and let it go be a man if you can and do not cry after sister had sung this for brother she wiped away his tears which just started to trickle down his cheeks and they walked on again this is a good little girl said uncle Wigley to himself for hidden in the bushes he had heard and seen all that went on I wish I could teach stubby toes not to stumble so much I wonder how I can I'll ask baby Bunty about it so uncle Wigley hopped on to baby Bunty's bungalow and meanwhile brother and sister walked through the woods well I wish you could have seen what happened to stubby toes but nope perhaps on second thought it is better that you did not but oh so many times he almost fell he tripped over a little baby angle worm who was crawling to the store to get a loaf of cake for his mother and next stubby toes almost landed on his nose because the shadow of a bird fitted across his path oh stubby toes cried sister as she kept him from falling on his face will you ever learn to walk without stumbling boo-hoo was all that stubby toes answered for just then he tripped over a blade of grass and this time he fell down all the way only it happened to land on some soft green moss so he was not much hurt I'm glad to say this is too bad uncle Wigley said to himself for he had heard and seen it all I must get baby Bunty to teach this little chap how to walk more carefully it was not far to the home of baby Bunty that little rabbit girl was out skipping her rope in front of her house tag uncle Wigley you're it she cried as soon as she saw the bunny gentleman tut tut we have no time for a game now said mr long years I want you to come with me baby Bunty and teach stubby toes a lesson and he told about the little boy oh I see what you mean said baby Bunty you want me to hop in front of him and show him how not to stub his toe that's it said uncle Wigley stubby toes and sister are kind to animals and will not harm us so a little later uncle Wigley and baby Bunty were walking along the woodland path just ahead of the little boy and his sister now baby Bunty said mr long years show this little boy how nicely you can hop along even if there are sticks and stones on the path away skipped the little rabbit girl she came to a stone but over it she stepped as nicely as you please she reached a stick but she gave a hop and there she was on the other side and she never stopped her toe once because she was careful by the time the little boy and his sister had seen uncle Wigley and baby Bunty oh look at the funny rabbits cried stubby toes I want to catch him no no you mustn't touch said sister and she reached out to catch hold of stubby toes but it was too late he tripped his foot on a dandelion blossom in the grass and down he went boo hoo he cried oh fie said sister singing the little verse again look at the baby rabbit she doesn't stop her toes and surely enough the baby Bunty skipping along on the path in front of stubby toes never fell once she skipped over pebbles and stones, sticks and clumps of grass and never once stepped on a flower see if you can't do that stubby toes begs sister and of course that boy didn't want a little baby rabbit girl better than he did so he'd ride his tears stood up straight and began to walk more firmly watching where he set down his feet he came to a big stone and over it he stepped without stumbling he reached a stick and over that he put both feet without falling he passed a lump of dirt and right over it and he didn't stub his toe once what do you think of that oh I'm not going to call you stubby toes any more left sister now you have learned to walk as well as that baby rabbit Uncle Wiggly laughed so hard that his tall silk hat almost slipped down over his pink twinkling nose I think we have done enough baby bunty he said come on now and I'll buy you a carrot lollipop away hopped the bunnies and back home went sister and brother who was stubby toes no longer baby bunty had taught him a good lesson and if the jump in jack doesn't fall off his stick when he is trying to play hopscotch with the bean bag you shall next hear about Uncle Wiggly's Christmas end of chapter 10