STORY XVIII
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE WHITE BIRCH
“Where is Baby Bunty this morning?” asked Uncle Wiggily Longears, the bunny rabbit gentleman, as he came downstairs to a rather late breakfast in his hollow stump bungalow.
“Do you want her to make you chase her, and play tag, or gather more yellow flowers to give the Pipsisewah a sneeze?” asked Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, as she poured some carrot gravy over Uncle Wiggily’s lettuce pancakes.
“Oh, indeed, I don’t want Baby Bunty for anything like that,” spoke Mr. Longears. “I was just thinking, if she were off playing somewhere, I could rest and not have to hop about like a jumping Jack walking a tight rope.”
“Oh, Baby Bunty is good for you!” laughed Nurse Jane. “Still, you needn’t worry now. She is out of the way. She has gone over to play with Beckie Stubtail, the little girl bear, and she is going to stay to supper. Baby Bunty doesn’t want to come home until after dark, and she told me to ask you to go after her.”
“I will,” said Uncle Wiggily. “Hurray! Much as I love Baby Bunty, I like to be quiet, sometimes. Now I can eat my breakfast and have a little sleep.”
So Uncle Wiggily did. In the afternoon he took a hop through the woods and had a little adventure with a frog lady. She was Mrs. No-Tail, the mother of Bully and Bawly, and Mrs. No-Tail fell into a pile of dry dust. Being fond of water, she didn’t like being dry, but she might never have gotten out of the dust if Uncle Wiggily had not helped her.
Then, after supper, Mr. Longears said to Nurse Jane:
“Now I will go over to Beckie Stubtail’s house and get Baby Bunty. She won’t be afraid to come home through the dark woods if I am with her.”
“No,” spoke Nurse Jane, “I hardly believe she will. But be very careful coming through the dark woods, Uncle Wiggily. The Pipsisewah may be hiding there waiting for you.”