The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-05-23
Bedtime Stories
Uncle wiggily and Buddy,s Wagon.
BY HOWARD 4. GARIs

Uncle Wiggily Longears. the nice
rabbit gentleman, was about to hop
away from his hollow stump bunga-
low one morning, to go look for an ad-
venture, when Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuz-
zy, his muskrat lady housekeeper, call
ed to him:
.'Oh, Mr.. Longears. would you mind
doing me a favor?"
I'll do it with pleasure" answered
Uncle Wiggily. DO you want me to
! bring from the store loaf of sugar
or a pound of milk %
Neither one" answered Nurse Jane
with a laugh. But / wish you would
stop at the shoemaker's and bring me
four shoes that L left to be mended."
AN right. I'll be glad to do it,
said the bunny. Are they black or
brown or white?"
BLACK" said Nurse Jane You
see it is a little too early to put on
white shoes. They'll be stylish in an
other month or so. Just bring my black
shoes. 1 had to have the soIes and
heels mended"
I'll bring them,' said Uncle Wig
gliy, twinkling his pink nose so he
would not forget. -Four black shoes
one for each paw. I'll bring them"
for Nurse Jane sometimes walked uD-
right on her two hind feet, as Uncle
Wlsglly did, and again, when she was
IN hurry, she'd walk on her four
legs, every time she went out. and
with the price of shoes going IN as
| they are I'm glad 1 don't have to wear
! four.
wen, Uncle Wiggily hoped on thru
the woods and over the fields as he
always old when he was looking for
an adventure. and, pretty soon, COM
ing to place where four trees grew
! together, making sort of shady tent
he sat down to rest This time no
mosquito ladies came to sting his
wooden cornstalk rheumatism crutch,
/ a hor
bunny uncle heard a sort of breaking
cracking noise in the bushes. and q
sad voice said: =
An, there goes one WHEEL"
MY! ! hope that is no one having
trouble with their automobile wheels. -
thought Uncle Wiggily. Then he heard
the cracking sound again, and the
voice went on:
! There goes another wheelr'
! Ha. 1 wonder if they can be pin
wheels, and if this is the Fourth of
July by mistake" thought Mr.. Long
ears.
Then, as he sat up to look around
ne Nheard another cracking noise, and
the voice said for the third time:
Alas, Sadness and woe, There on
the two hind wheels. Now ali four
are busted and how I'm ever going to
get home with this load 1 don't
KNOW
My, My! This is trouble.' thought
Uncle WlgGily. Il must help whoever
!, it is"
Up he jumped and there, behind a
mulberry bush, the bunny rabbit saw
Buddy, the guinea pig boy, and in
front OF Buddy was an express wagon
filled with groceries-there was a sack
lard, crackers, bread and 1 cont know
what else. But, worst of all, was the
four broken wheels of the wagon.
How did it happen" asked Uncle
Wiggily.
! II guess the grocery man put too
much on my wagon" answered Buddy.
Il go to the store for my mother every
week, like this, and bring home the
things she wants But my wagon
must be getting old, for, just now,
first one wheel busted, then another
and then the two hind ones both to-
gether."
Yes" said Uncle Wiggily. "I heard
them. I'm sorry for you, Buddy. I'll
help you. Let's see if we can't mend
the wagon wheels"
! So the rabbit gentleman and the
guinea pig boy tried to mend the
broken express wagon wheels. They
tried tying them together with bits Of
grass and wild grapevine, and even
strips of bark from the birch tree.
But tho the wheels would hold to-
gether little while, as soon as Buddy
tried to pull the wagonful of groceries
I--"crack' would go the mended
wheels and down everything would fall
again.
Uncle Wiggily. 81 guess we'll have to
carry the bundles, Buddy, and have
the blacksmith make new Wheels
later
| But there were so many groceries
| that Uncle Wiggily and Buddy would
have had to come back and forth to
the woods many times with them, I'M
| til the rabbit gentleman thought of
something.
Wait here until come back, Bud
dy,' said Uncle Wiggily, and off he
ran to the cobbler's shop. He got
| Nurse James four mended shoes, and
then with ribbon grass he tied one on
to each of the four corners of Buddy's
| express wagon
IF your wagon won't roll along on
wheels, Buddy" said Uncle Wiggily
with a laugh, well see what it will do
when we want it to walk or run.
think legs or feet on wagon would
be good change from wheels"
But will they go?" asked the guinea
pig boy.
'Wel see," said Uncle Wiggily
Nurse James shoes ought to be glad
to trot themselves home to her and
your house is near my bungalow, so
they won't go far out of their way"
| And, surely enough, no sooner were
the four shoes fastened on Buddy's
! wagon-one on each corner-than
they began to trot along by themselves
as nicely as you please
And as they trotted along they car
ried the wagon and all the groceries
with them, SO that Buddy got safely
home with the things his mother want
! ed from the store, no matter if the
wheels were broken
Then Uncle Wiggily took Nurse
/ James shoes to her, and she was glad
they had helped Buddy, and the next
day Buddy's father bought him a new
express wagon. So if the Red Cross
nurse will only be nice and let the
scissors dance with the needle and
thread, I'll tell you next about Uncle
] Wiggily and Needless BOUQUET
| Copyright, 1917, by Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate)