So the rabbit gentleman peeked over the top of the stump, and there he saw a queer-looking boy, with a funny smile on his face, which was as round and shiny as the bottom of a new dish pan. And the boy looked so kind that Uncle Wiggily knew he would not hurt even a lollypop, much less a rabbit gentleman.
“Oh, hello!” cried the boy, as soon as he saw Uncle Wiggily. “Who are you?”
“I am Mr. Longears,” replied the bunny uncle. “And who are you?”
“Why, I’m Simple Simon,” was the answer. “I’m in the Mother Goose book, you know.”
“Oh, yes, I remember,” said Uncle Wiggily. “But you seem to be out of the book, just now.”
“I am,” said Simple Simon. “The page with my picture on it fell out of the book, and so I ran away. But I can’t find him anywhere and I don’t know what to do.”
“Who is it you can’t find?” asked the rabbit.
“The pie-man,” answered the funny, round-faced boy. “Don’t you remember, it says in the book, ‘Simple Simon met a pie-man going to the fair?’”
“Oh, yes, I remember,” Uncle Wiggily answered. “What’s next?”
“Well, I can’t find him anywhere,” said Simple Simon. “I guess the pie-man didn’t fall out of the book when I did.”