"But how did you happen to get splashed with that lovely red color?" asked the grasshopper, "that is if you will excuse me asking you such a personal question."
"Pray do not mention it, I beg of you," said the red monkey as he tossed up a lump of coal and caught it on his nose. "I will gladly tell you how I became colored red. It was this way: I was writing a letter to a friend of mine and I had no more black ink left. I didn't know what to do until I happened to think that out in the yard back of my house on a bush were some red raspberries. I gathered some of them and put them in a teacup.
"Then, with the potato-masher, I crushed them all up until the red juice ran out. Then I had the loveliest red ink you ever saw. But just then a fly lit on the end of my nose. I went to brush him off with the potato-masher when I happened to hit the cup full of red juice by mistake.
"Well, you can imagine what happened. The raspberry juice splashed all over me until I looked like a strawberry ice-cream cone, and I've been red ever since."
"It's a very fine color," said Uncle Wiggily.
"Yes," agreed the monkey with a sigh "but sometimes it's quite a trouble. All the turkey gobblers and the bulls in the fields chase me whenever they see me, for they don't like red. I'm thinking of taking some dandelions and coloring myself yellow next year. But, now tell me of your travels, Uncle Wiggily."
So the old gentleman rabbit did so, mentioning how he was searching for his fortune, but couldn't find it. Then Percival told about when he used to be in a circus and do tricks, and the grasshopper told how he made his music by playing the fiddle with his left hind leg, and then the red monkey gave them all some chocolate-cocoanut pudding and it was time to go to bed.
Now, I have something sad to tell you, but please don't get alarmed, for I'll make it come out right at the end. In the middle of the night poor Uncle Wiggily was taken ill. He had a dreadful pain, and he was as hot with a fever as a stove with a fire in it.
"I am afraid you have been traveling about too much," said the red monkey, as he lighted a lamp and gave the rabbit a drink of cool water. "We must have Dr. Possum see you in the morning."
"Perhaps I ate too much chocolate-cocoanut pudding," said Uncle Wiggily. "Oh, how I suffer, and how hot I am."