Imperial Valley press., 1923-10-13
Bedtime Stories
Copyright, 1923, by Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate
BY HOWARD r. GARIS
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE
CLOTHES LINE

Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy to the
rabbit gentleman one morning.
''Whlt are You going 10 do
sing, dance or make queer faces7'
asked MI Longears.
Pooh! Nonsense! As if l ever
did any ot those things! - exclaim-
ed the muskra. lady houSekeeper.
- mean | am going to wash Sat
urday.
"Wash Saturday? Do YOU mean
it has dirty face, or something
like that?" chuckled the rabbit,
~ didn t know YOU could wash one
Of the days of the week.
"Oh, YOU are tease!' sighed
Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy. II mean
am going to vas" some clothes on
Saturday-that 5 today"
THAT 5 different" said Uncle
Wiggily. why didn t you say so
at first2 Well, do YOU want me to
go to the store for some soap
s0ds?''
II wish you d 60 off and look
for ais adventure and not tease
me- begged Nurse Jane. Il am
washing ON Saturday because / ex-
pect company Oil Monday. And all
] ask of YOU is to string up the
clothes line for me.
"IH do that'' promised Uncle
Wiggily.
So the rabbit gentleman went
in the laundry where the clothes
line was kept neatly eoiled up.
Taking the line over his paw, I'm
Gle Wiggily started out to the yard
with it. Near the laundry door
he saw bag of clothes pins.
- II take these out and leave
them on the grass for Nurse Jane,
he said. Il won tease her any
more about washing the face of the
clock or anything like that "
Now it was about this time that
the Skillerv Seallery Alligator with
humps on his tail set out from
his den in the swamp to go out
looking for ears to nibble. And the
Gator had not gone very far be-
fore he met the Bob Cat.
Where are YOU going?' asked
the Bob Cat of the Gator.
Il m looking for ears to nibble,
said the Gator.
Good. So am /, said the Bob
Cat. "And | know where Uncle
Wiggily is mt this moment. -
Where is he" asked the Gator
HE S out in the garden, hang
ing up the clothes, = said the Bob
Cat.
"Then III come along and nib
bic off his noset" sang the Gator.
"Nol Ne! Not his nosc-his
carsl" snarled the Bob Cat.
"Oh, ] only said that to make
4 rhyme like in Mother Goose" F"
laughed the Gator. You re right,
we II nibble his ears. But how do
you know he is in the garden hang
ing out the clothcs?"
u saw him with the clothes line
from the top of the hill as ] look
ed down a while ago." explained
theBob Cat. "Come on!'
So the Alligator and the Bob Cat
went along together. The Bob Cat
wasn't exactly right about Uncle
Wiggily hanging out the clothes,
He was just putting up the line,
but it was near enough.
Now Gator said the Bob Cat
to the hump-tailed chap as they
came near the hollow stump bunga-
low, 'you hide down in the far
end of Uncle Wiggilv S ward and
III stink around the other end.
Between US we shall catch him.
"'Very good. whispered the
Gator, though l call it very bad.
The Alligator hid himself in the
tail weeds near one clothes post.
The Bob Cat skunk around to get
in the front gate. But there was a
tangle in the clothes line and it
took Uncle Wiggily so long to take
the tangle out that the Gator got
tired of waiting and fell asleep in
the tall weeds. And the bunny
gentleman, coming up softly to tic
one end of the clothes line TO the
post, saw the bad chap.
"Ah ha!" thought Uncle Wig
gily, "thc Gator hid there to catch
me. But he's asleep. III wind
the clothes line around him and
bind him fast to the post. -
So very softly the bunny wound
the line loosely around the Gator,
intending to pull it tight in d
minute and have him fast. But as
Uncle Wiggily was getting ready to
pull on the loose end of the line
into the yard came the Bob Cat.
"Ah ha!" Now ! have you!"
howled the Bob Cat.
"Wait.' ,ried Uncle Wiggily.
" Before you nibble my ears pull
on this end of the clothes line.
"All right, agreed the Bob Cat.
"I'll help You string the liuo and
then IN nibblc your cars for
the Bob Cat knew nothing about the
line around the Gator. The Bob
Cat began TO pull very hard on
the line. And, of course, the hard
cd he pulled the more he checked
the Gator. And the Gator awaken
cd and howled:
"Wow! Vow! Gazoopic Zow."
con, my goodness. shriekcd the
Bob Cat when he heard this. "The
Gator S caught in a trap and I'd
better run before IN caught.
Then he ran away, and when the
Gator could founder out of the
tangle Of line lie also ran away,
and so they didn't nibble the bun.