“Hello, boys!” called Uncle Wiggily, as Billie, Jackie and Peetie came near. “Will one of you please hand me up another pot of red paint? My can is almost empty.” Billie the goat said he’d bring up some red paint, but, instead, just for a joke, he took up some green paint to Uncle Wiggily. “Won’t he be surprised when he starts daubing green paint over where he put the red,” said Jackie to Peetie. “It will be a good joke,” agreed Peetie. “But I hope he doesn’t get mad at us.”
Uncle Wiggily was so busy talking to Billie, Jackie and Peetie that the bunny rabbit never noticed the color of the paint the goat boy handed up to him. And, before he knew it, Mr. Longears had daubed some green color on where it ought to have been red. “Oh my! Nurse Jane will not like this a bit!” cried Uncle Wiggily. “I did it for a joke!” laughed Billie. “Wait a minute and I’ll hand you up the right color.” Nearer and nearer came the skillery-scallery alligator.
All of a sudden, as Billie was getting ready to take up the right pot of red paint, up rushed the funny old skillery scallery alligator, with the double jointed tail. “Ah ha, Mr. Longears! At last I have you!” cried the ’gator. “Come down off that ladder until I nibble a bit of your souse!” Uncle Wiggily was so surprised that he spilled some paint on Jackie, Peetie and Billie. But still the bunny rabbit gentleman would not come down to have his souse nibbled.
“Well, if you won’t come down nice and pretty when I tell you to, so I may have some of your souse, I’ll make you tumble!” said the bad ’gator to Uncle Wiggily. Then the unpleasant chap yanked the ladder out from the side of the hollow stump bungalow and the bunny rabbit gentleman began to fall. “Oh, I am almost sure I am going to have an adventure this time!” cried Uncle Wiggily. “Something is going to happen!” And Billie, Jackie and Peetie thought the same thing.
The skillery scallery alligator pulled the ladder so hard, hoping to make Uncle Wiggily fall, that the ladder toppled into a tree near by. Uncle Wiggily gave a jump and landed on one of the branches. “Are you coming down out of that and let me nibble your souse?” asked the snippy-snappy ’gator. Uncle Wiggily said he was not. “Then with my rough nutmeg grater tail I’ll saw down the tree and get you anyhow,” snarled the bad chap. “I’ll saw the tree down and get your souse!”