"Now, Buddy, you bring a spoon," ordered Dr. Pigg, and when the little boy guinea pig brought one, his father poured into it some of the medicine.
"Brighteyes, you get a napkin so he won't spill any of it on his clothes," went on her papa, "and Mrs. Pigg you please be ready with a glass of water, for Uncle Wiggily will want a drink right after he takes this."
Well everything was all ready, and Buddy stood there to help, and so did Brighteyes.
"One, two, three! Take it!" suddenly cried Dr. Pigg, and he poured the teaspoonful of the many-colored mixture down Uncle Wiggily's throat. Brighteyes held the napkin so none of it would get on the rabbit's coat, and Mrs. Pigg was there with the glass of water, which Uncle Wiggily took very quickly.
Well, I wish you could have seen the face Uncle Wiggily made when he swallowed the rheumatism medicine! It was just like a clown in the circus, only funnier. But Brighteyes and Buddy didn't even giggle, which was very kind of them.
"Do you feel any better?" asked Dr. Pigg, after Uncle Wiggily had stopped making faces. "Is the pain gone?"
"No, I can't say that it is," answered the rabbit. "It seems to be worse than ever," and he rubbed his leg and tried to get up, but he couldn't leave the chair, even with his crutch, which Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed for him out of a cornstalk.
"Oh, that's too bad!" exclaimed Dr. Pigg. "I must try a new kind of medicine."
"No, don't!" cried the rabbit. "I had rather have the rheumatism."
"Suppose we try some horse radish leaves, like we did for my toothache?" proposed Buddy, and Mrs. Pigg said that would be good. So they got some leaves, and put them on Uncle Wiggily's leg, but they didn't do any good, neither did mustard, nor nettles, nor any of the other burning things that they tried.