“I’ll just sit here quietly,” thought Uncle Wiggily to himself. “Pretty soon they’ll all be so busy eating that they won’t notice me. Then I can go to sleep and forget about my rheumatism.”
The animal children were laughing and talking, and also eating the good things. Uncle Wiggily’s eyes were closed. He was dreaming he and Grandpa Goosey Gander were playing Scotch checkers, when, all of a sudden, Baby Bunty said:
“Uncle Wiggily, please pass Nannie Wagtail some paste pudding!”
“Eh! What’s that? Oh, I guess I had my eyes shut!” said the bunny gentleman. But he passed the paste pudding to the little goat girl, and he was just going to sleep again, when Bunty said:
“Oh, Uncle Wiggily! Do try some of these turnip jam tarts! They’re wonderful!”
“Oh, yes. Jam tarts!” stammered the rabbit gentleman, awakening suddenly. However, he managed to eat a tart, and he was almost asleep again when Bunty suddenly said:
“Oh, Uncle Wiggily, will you please pass the rose leaf ice cream to Arabella Chick!”
“Why, certainly,” said Uncle Wiggily, and he wondered if he would ever get a nice, quiet nap, such as he had counted on. After he had passed Lulu Wibblewobble some corn meal puddin’, the rabbit gentleman dozed off again, but he was suddenly awakened when Baby Bunty cried:
“Oh, here they are! Here they come! Oh, look, everybody!”
“My goodness me, sakes alive and some fire engines!” cried Mr. Longears, waking up so suddenly that he spilled some carrot marmalade on his red vest. “What’s the matter, Baby Bunty? Is it the Pipsisewah and the Skuddlemagoon come to spoil your party?”