The Washington herald., 1920-11-09


20 bed, Uncle wiggiiy. the bun.y
rabbit heard Nurse Jane Fuay
wuzzy call from the kitchen:
-oh. Uncle wiegtlyi Some onets
in our bungalow" "a
well. should hope there is
said Mr.. Longears. with q ,oly
twinkle Of his pink nose. YouiS
here and I'm here and"
-oh, but ! mean some one extrl-
went on Miss Fuzzy wuzzy. -whae
was putting the dishes away i
heard a funny noise in the closet
Maybe the Fuzzy Fox has slipped
in and Is hiding"
well, IL he is Ill drive him OUTS
said Mr.. Dongears. catching M his
red, white and blue striped rheu-
matism crutch. that was like q 5ar.
Der pole turned upside down. -Don't
be afraid Nurse Jane,"
Brayely Uncle wiggIly went out
into the kitchen and opened the
closet door. Out ran a little reddish
brown creature. not much larger
than a plum
''oh. hot" laughed Uncle wIEEiiy.
This doesn't look much like Fuzzy
Fox, Nurse Jane. though he is some
what the same color"
NO, 1 am not the fox. am glad
TO say" spoke the tiny. brown
creature. u am a Pine Mouse, and
1 live in the woods not far from
here. I am a sort OF cousin TO the
Field Mouse and the Jumping Mouse.
| / came in this afternoon. when
Nurse Jane was down 20 the three
and four cent store. ] wanted To-
| get a few crumbs, which I knew she
wouldn't mind me taking. and
went in the closet and feIl ASLEEP,
guess"
well. you must have just awak-
ened. and IL was you that heard
rattling away among the pots and
pans" laughed Nurse Jane. How
silly ] was TO be frightened~
Uncle Wiggily looked at the
small creature.
Your tail is much shorter and
your fur is finer and more glossy
than any mouse ever saw" said
the bunny rabbit.
Yes" said the little visitor. we
pine mice haye shorter tails. and
we live differently than do the field
mice. We build little tunnels un-
der the earth. almost like the moles.
wish you would come and see Us
some day. Uncle wiggily-
Perhaps i may" said the bunny
gentleman. AT any rate. am glad
that you called. Nurse Jane. give
this pine mouse all the crumbs he
wants"
"oh. thank you" squeaked the
little chap. I hope ! may some
day do you a favor, Uncle wiggtly.
and you, too. Nurse Jane"
Pray do not mention it." spoke
the bunny uncle. Il suppose" he
went on. that you are named pine
mouse because you eat pine tree
cones"
Not exactly" answered the tiny
creature, looking at his short tail
to make sure no crumbs were stick
ing on it. I'VE are named pine
mice because we like 10 eat the
bark OF pine trees. have some
pine tree bark stored away In my
burrow. or underground tunnel. for
winter. But / thought my family
would like a few extra crumbs, 50
1 came to get a few"
Have all you want" invited Tn
Gle Wiggily. SO Nurse Jane filled q
little basket. about the size OF a
thimble, with crumbs for the pine
mouse, and away he scampered out
Of the hollow stump bungalow
Wasn't he a cute little chap
spoke Nurse Jane. when Uncle
wiggily went TO bed that night.
Very" agreed the bunny gentle
man. Il hope I may meet him again
And Mr.. Longears did II was the
next afternoon that Uncle Wiggily
was hopping through the forest He
had been to the thirteen and four
teen cent store for Nurse Jane. 20
get her a cake OF maple sugar with
which 60 make some popcorn tudge.
and. when the bunny rabbit was al
most back at his hollow stump
bungalow, 10 heard a harsh noise
In the bushes behind him.
There he goes" ErOwled the
voice There's that Uncle WigCilv
rabbit: Now I'll set him"
Uncle wiggily gave one look back
over his shoulder and saw the Bushy
Black bear running along the wood
land path.
We'll. he shsn't get me IL can
keep ahead OF him." said the bunny,
beginning TO run.
But. though Uncle wiggily ran as
fast as he could, the Bushy Black
/ Bear ran faster. and he was quickly
coming nearer and nearer. How
ever. Uncle wiggily turned a corner
! Of the path. where a sasssfrss bush
/ hid him for a moment from the
sight Of the bear.
: "oh. IL I only had some good place
to hide!" sighed Uncle wiggily
looking about. But there aren't any
hollow stumps or holes that can
3 see! Oh. for a good place TO hide"
And then, while the Black Bushy
Bear was still out OF sight down the
: path, a little brown creature popped
out on the path in front of Uncle
Wiggily.
You may hide in my tunnel. ana
get away from the bad bear" said
the little chap.
who are you. and where is your
tunnel?" asked Mr.. Longears.
Il am the Pine Mouse. to whom
I YOU and Nurse Jane were so kind
I last night" was the answer And
here is one door TO my tunel or un-
derground burrow house" With
his short tail the Pine Mouse point
ed to a small hole in the ground.
''oh, thank you, but that is too
little for me to squeeze into," said
Uncle wiggily. And the bear Is
coming nearer and nearerr"
Hal Wen make the tunnel larger
for you" squeaked the Pine Mouse.
8 Quick, my friendsw he cried; help
save Uncle wiggily. with your
paws and your claws dig a big hole
and make our tunnel larger so
Uncle wiggily can slip in and hide
Out OF nearby tunnels came seven
million nine hundred and fwenfy-