The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-07-30
Bedtime Stories
py HOWARD n. eAHis

Chipmunk as the two of them frisked
around in the woods near Uncle Wig
gily's hollow stump bungalow one
morning.
Lets play house." said Jennie.
There's no school. for it's vacation
mo, let's play school" cried Susie,
clapping her paws together, and try
| ing to make her pink nose twinkle as
her bunny uncle did his.
"Oh, yes. let's play school" cried
Lulu Wibblewohble, one of the duck
girl sisters, coming along just then
Its fun to play school when you don't
have to so, and we can make oeneVe
we don't know our lessons, ana susie
will keep US in, and we'll bring corn
meal lollypops and eat them in school
and all like that!''
"Oh, yes. Lets!" cried Jiliie Long
tail. the meusie girl. 'Win you be
| teacher, Susie? ?"
/ But give us easy words to SPELL"
begged Alice wibblewo.,ble, the other
| duck girl. "'Cause 1 can't spell very
well in hot weather.
"All right. 1 will" promised Susie,
who was to be the teacher, just like
| the lady mouse in the hollow stump
where the animals girls and boys went
to real school when there was any:
Uncle Wiggiiy Longears, the rabbit
| gentleman, who was going to the store
for Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy. his
muskrat lady housekeeper, just about
this time, passed behind the bushes
under which the animal girls We're
playing school, and heard what they
were going to do.
81 guess I'll come and make believe
I'm the janitor, and IN ring the blue
bell flowers to call you all to school,"
said the bunny uncle, laughing.
"Oh, please dol" begged Susie, and
Uncle Wiggily said he would after he
came back from the three and four
cent store, where he was going to get
4 Nurse Jane diamond dishpan.
On his way thru the woods to go
to the store the bunny rabbit gentle
man heard a flittering f wings in
: the bushes, and thinking it was his
friends, the yellow birds, he called to
them. But, no sooner had he done so.
than he heard a voice saying:
"Oh. dearl This Is terrible! We
can't fly over that field at all, ard
what shall we do for something to
eat2"
like gun. and the birds voices cried
again:
"Oh, dear,"
''Ha! There is trouble here!" said
Uncle wisely II n ,nnss see ,n what tb it
bushes and he saw large flock of
biackbirds flutterins about on the
: ground
! What is the matter. and may
have the pleasure of helping your"
asked Uncle Wiggily, politely bowling,
|, with his tall silk ha! to the birds.
There is trouble said the head
7 blackbird. Our flock wants to fly
/, across the cornfieid of a farmer to the
to fly across to get tn the place where
: we can find what We want TO eat. But,
every time we fly over his field the
: farmer shoots his gun at US"
!, Bless my pink twinktng nose!"
) cried UNCLE Wiggily why does he
V do that
/ because he thinks we'rei crows at
ter his corn" answered the head bird
\ I'VE are black, like crows, but we are
: smaller, you see, and we never pull up
q corn. Still this farmer shoots at u.s.
: I'll tell him he's making mis-,
take" said Uncle Wiggily. Just you
+ wait here and don't fly until tell you
q to-
a Then the bunny uncle hoped over
r to where the farmer making believe
n he was scarecrow was hiding behind
!. | a tree, and the bunny gentleman, who
r could speak man-talk once in a while
= said:
g "Piease. Mr.. Farmer. don't shoot al
the blackbirds. They are not crows
| as you think. They will not hurt your
| corn. Instead they will bite the bad
bugs and worms that would eat your
garden to pieces"
: I made a mistake like that. I beg tbs
!: blackhiris' pardons. They may II,
! | over my field as much as they like"
So the blackbirds did, the farmer
7 not shooting at then at all, and the,
: | were very thankful to Uncle Wiggily
: Then the bunny rabbit gentleman
: | went on to the store for Nurse Jane
. Fuzzy Wuzzy, and when he hae
brought to her the dozen candy egg
: | she wanted to make some peanu
: pancakes with, Mr.. Longears wen
o back to play janitor at the Woodland
I y. he ,,s, fr1-
f "Ding-dong, Ding-dongl Ding
t dong." Uncle wisgily rang the blue
t bell flowers. and Susie, Jennie, Lulu
r Alice and all the others came running
It hopping. flying, waddling or running
r so they would not be late-
e Pretty soon Susie, making believ,
;. she was the teacher, called:
Jennie Chipmunk, go to the black
Z board and write ME the word boy
= If you please teacher, can't.
!. said Jennie.
Il why not?"
:. Because there isn't any black
i board"
e And, surely enough, there wasn't
q The little animal girls had forgotten
u that when they played school, ant
they didn't have even a slate. The,
!, had some white birch bark for paper
= but no blackboard
And then, all of a sudden, when tn,
= make-believe scholars were feelin,
= sad, thru the afr came flying a lot O
a blackbirds.
e .'we'll be blackbirds for youl" the,
N chirped, land yod can write on ou
q black wings ard tails with white dais.
q petals for chalk" So the animal girl
did this and the blacsbirds were a
fine biackboards as heart could wish
and Ii was a lovely play school
II And if the wash basin doesn't mis-
= take the fuzzy poodle dog for a spong
- and wash its face, I'll tell you next o
n Uncle Wiggily and the red bird
e (copyright, 1917. by Mcclure News
:. paper Syndicate)
ID ------
N zss-.,rs e,v~