The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-05-21
Bedtime Stories
Uncle WiggiIy Is Caught.
BY HOWARD r. GARIs

! Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat
| lady houSekeeper, as, one evening at
| ter supper in the hollow stump bung-
allow, she saw the bunny rabbit gentle
| man marching up and down the front
path with a broomstick gun over his
| shoulder.
w by, L am keeping guard" an
swerCd Uncle Wiggily, the same as 1
did the other night when L was out
with Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, the
squirrels, and the other animal boys,
where they were playing soldier in a
tent.
| But over what are you keeping
| guard % Nurse Jane wanted to know
You, and the hollow stump bunga-
low" somewhat proudly answered Mr..
Longears. There is no telling what
may happen since the mosquitoes have
| begun their summer war on US. 1t is
true that the pennyroyal weed per-
| fume made them go away for time,
but they may come back
And what will you do?" asked
Nurse Jane, IF they do Gomez"
''Oh, IN be here on guard like
sentinel soldier" answered the bunny
rabbit. IF any of them come during
the night I'll fire at them with my
bean shooter. They shant hurt you,
| Nurse Jane
Nor you. either. I hope said the
muskrat lady. for she liked Uncle Wig
gily very much.
| On, I'm not AFRAID! ne SAID.
| Then as the dark night came Uncle
Wiggily began pacing up and down in
front of the hollow stump bungalow
and the white tent he had set up, with
a flag in front of it to make it look
like real camp of soldiers.
Tramp, Tramp. Tramp" marched
the bunny gentleman rabbit up and
down on guard duty. Tramp Tramp!
Tramp
The long hours passed. The moon
came up. hid behind some clouds and
then peeped out at Uncle Wiggily, who
was still on guard. And then the wind
blew.
And when the wind blew it blew up
from the salt marshes a big army of
mosquitoes who were just waiting for
it.
''Ah, hal" cried the mosquito cap
tain, as he spread out his wings like
an airship and let his legs dangling
down behind him like the tails of 30
Peeps sheep. "Ah, hal" Now we shall
go to war again, and we shall try to
capture that old rabbit gentleman
Uncle Wiggily Longears.''
''Ah, hal" said all the other mos
quitoes as they, too spread out their
wings like airships and let the wind
blow them toward the, hollow stump
| bungalow. ''Ah, hal" and the sound
of their buzzing was like the humming
of the wind.
| All TINS Wn1Io uncle W1gR1ly was
| pacing up and down in front of his
tent and bungalow, carrying his
| broomstick gun like soldier and
having his bean shooter all ready by
his side. He looked up at the moon,
and all of a sudden it seemed to go
behind a cloud.
1T is going to be dark" thought
the bunny. II will just sit down and
rest while. No mosquitoes will come
when it is dark
But that is just when they did come,
and what the bunny rabbit gentleman
thought was a cloud was a bunch of
mosquitoes flying over the moon to
hide it from sight.
Uncle Wiggily sat down in front of
his tent. 1t was very still and quiet,
for the mosquitoes were so high up
that tteir buzzing was not heard
Uncle Wiggily was warm in his fur
coat. His nose twinkled slower and
more slowly. His whiskers did not
jiggle any more, his ears folded them
! selves down inside the brim of his tall
silk hat.
Soon-Uncle- Wiggily-was
-fast-fast-f ast-a-sleepi
''Ah, hal said the captain mosquito,
lowering in the air above the rabbit
gentleman. "Ah, ha! Now is our
chance,'
What are we going to do?' asked
the captains wife, for mosquito ladies
go to war just as some women vote,
and the mosquito ladies are better
biters than the men-or worse, which
ever way you look at it.
I'VE are going to catch Uncle Wig
gily and take him away with u.s. said
the captain mosquito. He shall be
our war prisoner.
But can We do it?" asked a lieu
tenant mosquito.
of course answered the captain.
Now all of US must swoop down very
softly, tanning our wings gently so
as to make very little noise. Then
each one will take hold of that rabbit
some way or other, and when we all
have good holds. by our strong bills.
we'll lift him with Yo-heave-ho,
and carry him off to our den-o!"
Good" buzzed all the other mos
quitoes. Come on,''
So they all settled down on Uncle
Wiggily, and before that brave soldier
sentinel rabbit gentleman could awak-
en- the mosquitoes grabbed him by his
: nose, ears, legs paws, whiskers. fur
overcoat and tall silk hat, and up into
the air they lifted him. For there
billion, sixteen trillion, five million
and thirteen thousand mosquitoes and
you know, without me telling you,
that so many could easily lift a rab-
Bit.
Here. What's the matter? What
! are you doing2 Where are you taking
me?" cried Uncle Wiggily waking up
and trying to get loose. Let me go,
: Let me goi''
mol Noi'' cried the mosquitoes, and
they would not.
Uncle Wiggily tried to fire at the
mosquitoes with his bean shooter
loaded with talcum and tooth powder,
, but the bad biting bugs stuffed their
legs and wings and bills down in the
hole of the shooter so it would not
5 work.
81 Then an extra big mosquito. the