Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-21
Children's Evening Story

| And now listen, as the telephone girl
says, those birds are going to do
Uncle Wfggily favor In a short time
"a very short time indeed.
! Well, after the birds had eaten all
the peanuts they flew away, and Uncle
Wiggily started off once more. He
hadn't gone very far before he came
to fountain. You know what that is.
It's thing in park that squirts up
: water, just when you fill rubber
ball with milk or lemonade and
squeeze It, Only fountain is bigger,
Of course.
This fountain that Uncle Wiggily
came to had no water in it, for it was
being cleaned. There was big basin,
with pipe up through the middle and
this was where the water spouted up
when 1t was running.
This Is very strange" said Uncle
Wiggily, for he had never seen foun-
tain before, perhaps I can find my
fortune in here. I'll go look" So
down he jumped into the big empty
fountain basin, which was as large as
seven wash tubs made into one. And
it was 50 nice and comfortable there,
and 80 shady, for there were trees near
it, that, before he knew it, Uncle Wig
gily fell fast asleep, with his head on
his satchel for a pillow.
And then he had a funny dream
He dreamed that it was raining and
that his umbrella turned inside out,
and got full of holes and that he was
gettin gall wet.
MY" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, as
he gave big sneeze. "This is a very
real dream. actually believe I am
wet!"
Then he got real wide awake all Of
a sudden, and he found that he was
right in the middle of lot of wetness
for the man had turned the water on
in the fountain unexpectedly, not
knowing that the old gentleman rab-
bit was asleep there.
II must get out of here!" cried
Uncle Wiggily, as he grabbed up his
valise and crutch. Then the water
came up to his little short, stumpy
tail. Next it rose higher, up to his
knees. Then it rose still faster up to
his front feet and then almost up to
his chin.
"Oh, I'm afraid I'm going to drown!"
he cried. II must get Quit" So he tried
W oWlAu W IAc cuSc VI Iuc AOuALdAA,
but you can't swim very well with
crutch and valise, you know, and
Uncle Wiggfly didn't want to lose
either one. Then the water from tho
top of the fountain splashed In bis eyes
and he couldn't see which way to
swim.
"Oh, help! Help" he cried. will
no one help me?"
Yes, we will help you!" answered
a voice, and up flew the cat bird, and
her little kitten birds. Quick, chill
dren!" she cried. I'VE must save
Uncle Wiggily, who was so kind to us!
Every one Of you get stick, and we'll
make little boat. or raft, for him.
Well, I wish you could have seen
how quickly the mamma cat bird and
her little kittie birds gathered lot Of
sticks, and twigs, and laid them to-
gether crossways on the water in that
fountain basin, until they had a regu-
lar little boat. Upon this Uncle Wig.
gily climbed, with his crutch and val
Use, and then the mamma cat bird flew
on ahead and pulled the boat by a
string to the edge of the fountain,
where the rabbit could safely get out.
| So that's how the bunny was saved
from drowning in the water, and in the
next story, II big, red ant doesn't
crawl upon our porch and carry away
the hammock. I'll tell you another ad-
venture Uncle Wiggily had. 1t will
be story of the old gentleman rabbit
and the bad dog.