The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-01
Bedtime Stories
BY>HowARD r. GaRIs


Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady
gentleman your soldier tent, in
which you stay on guard since this
mosquito war started, looks very un-
artistic like"
"Unartistic? What do you mean?"
the bunny soldier wanted to know.
Does it leak?"
NO, 1 don't mean the rain comes
in said Nurse Jane, but it looks
bare and undecorated. You should
have a picture or two on the walls,
a bit of color here and there, flow
-or-or-something.
I'll tell you what I'll do" went
on Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy. I'm going
down to d-eleven-cent store,
and I'll send you up something with
which to decorate your tent"
What will it be-" asked Uncle
Wiggily, cautious like and crafty.
II don't yet know" answered Nurse
Jane. Til have to look about and see
what they have
"Anyth1ng'n suit me-" said Uncle
Wiggily unaSSumingly, Indifferent and
| careless like, but at the same time ap-
preciative. "A tiger skin rug or a cut
glass bowl full of artificial roses will
ornament my tent all right. We SOL
dierS are not fussy."
'I know that, said the muskrat
lady, and away she hoped down to
the acknowledgements store to get
something with which to ornament
Uncle Wiggily's tent, just as your
teacher puts some pretty pictures on
the blackboard so the room will look
more like home.
Uncle Wiggily stayed on guard,
marching up and down in front of his
tent. now and then hopping down in
the trench. or ditch. he had dug so the
mosquito enemy could not throw
stones at him. Uncle Wiggily's rhen-
matism hurt him hardly at all now.
so he did not very often have to use
his red, white and blue striped crutch
that Nurse Jane had gnawed for him
out of a bean pole-I mean cornstalk
All of sudden, as the bunny rab-
! bit gentleman soldier was putting
some talcum powder in his gun, so
he could shoot any mosquitoes in case
they flew up to bite him, he heard
some one call, in a loud voice:
''Whoa!"
"Ha! I wonder if the mosquitoes are
riding up on horseback to get mel"
thought Mr.. Longears, but when he
looked he only saw an automobile
from the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES cent store.
1t stopped in front of his tent and the
coachman from the twelve-and-thir-
teen-cent shop got down and asked:
Does Uncle Wiggily Longears live
here?"
He does. I am he" spoke the bun
ny, saluting with his sword
''Then this is for YOU said the
coachman from the thirteen-and-four-
teen-cent store, and Nurse Jane said
be careful of it, and put in fresh
water"
She must have sent me some flow
ers," thought Mr.. Longears as the
coachman from the fourteen-and-fi
teen-cent store drove away in his air
ship, after handing the rabbit gentle
man soldier a package.
Uncle WiP2ilV Onened h11t in.
stead of being flowers there was a
beautiful square glass tank of gold
fish, swimming about amid waving
green plants, while white sand gleam-
ed on the bottom, just like on the floor
of the ocean, where Father Neptune
has his wonderfully sand rugs.
And the tails of the fish were like
waving palms, as they moved about
like a fairy princess at a waltz dance.
''Ha! They are very beautiful" said
the bunny uncle rabbit. But I didn't
think Nurse Jane would send me such
a thing to ornament my tent. How
ever, I shall keep it"
Then the bunny put a little more
water in the tank to take the place
of some that had been spilled out by
the stage coach driver from the fiji
teen-and- sixteen cent store, and after
that Uncle Wiggily kept on marching
up and down in front of his tent to be
on guard against the mosquito enemy.
beautiful goldfish, and they swan
about talking in whispers to them
selves, for fish never talk out loud, or
at least very seldom.
And then, the day being warm, IN
Gle Wiggily sat down in the shade of
his tent to rest, thinking no mosquitoes
would come to bother him. But all
of a sudden he fell fast, fast asleep.
And while he slept some mosqui-
toes, flying high in the air above the
| mn " in
log fort, saw the bunny rabbit gentle
man.
-tHa, This is the time we catch
him!' they said Wen fly down,
hide in his tent and as soon as he
gets to sleep a little more soundly
we'll grab him and fly away with
him. All, ha!' and they played soft,
shivery music on their bills.
Softly the mosquitoes flew down
I and into the tent of the brave, but
sleeping soldier rabbit gentleman
they went to hide. But the first mos
quito, going in, stumbled over the
| tank of ornamental goldfish and fell
down.
"ouchr" cried the mosquito, for he
bumped his nose. Then the second
mosquito bumped into the first, and
the third mosquito bumped into the
second and the fourth mosquito bump
ed into the third, and the fifth mos
quito
| Well, you know how it was-just
like the seventeen-and-eigH teen-cent-
store business-more all the while,
until every mosquito that came to
steal Uncle Wiggily fell down one over
the other and the whole pile of them
stumbled and toppled ovei into the
| goldfish tank.
And the goldfish, being very hun
cry, and especially fond of mosquitoes,
ate up every one of the bad, biting
bugs, until there wasn't one left of
that particular army to bother the
rabbit gentleman.
My! It certainly is a good thing
Nurse Jane sent me that tank of gold
fish, sai1 the bunny when he awak-
ened and saw what had happened So
everybody was satisfied except the
mosquitoes, And if the pussy cat