Uncle Wiggily twinkled his pink nose. Then he put his tall, silk hat firmly on his head and, tucking under his paw his red, white and blue striped rheumatism crutch, off through the woods hopped the bunny uncle.
"I'm going to get some Fourth of July for that boy," said Mr. Longears. "He simply must have some."
Uncle Wiggily spent some time hopping here and there through the woods, and early the next morning, when the real boys and girls were shooting off real fire-crackers and torpedoes, and when the animal lads and lassies were cracking sticks and making torpedoes from broad, green leaves, Mr. Longears hopped to where the boy was, once more, swinging in his hammock.
The boy's head was turned to one side, and he was looking at some of his friends, over in the vacant lots, setting off fire-crackers. Uncle Wiggily, when the nurse wasn't looking, tossed into the hammock, from the bush behind which the bunny was hidden, a bundle of green things. They fell near the boy's hands.
Hardly knowing what he was doing the sick lad pinched one of the green things between his fingers.
"Pop!" it went.
"What's that?" cried the nurse. "It sounded like a fire-cracker."
The boy pinched another green leaf-like ball between his fingers.
"Pop!" sounded again, as the ball burst.
"Why," cried the nurse. "That's like a torpedo! What have you there, Buddie?"