Imperial Valley press., 1923-09-18
Bedtime Stories
Copyright, 1923, by Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate
BY HOWARD r. -GARIS
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE
SOUR MILK

LlppIt! Alpplt. oh'lO NiSSiI
made funny noises like this at the
breakfast table in the hollow stump
bungalow one morning.
Whatever is the matter?'' ask
cd Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy in
surprise, and she set down her cup
of carrot coffee. "Oh, Wiggy!
What a face!' the muskrat lady
housekeeper went on. For the rab-
bit gentleman certainly made the
funniest face you can imagine.
"Why do you do it?' asked
Nurse Jane. "There are no animal
children here now to laugh at you
and be amused
81 m not trying to make anyone
laugh" said Uncle Wiggily. But
this time he screwll his pink,
twinkling nose around toward his
left ear, one eye WAS shut and the
other open, and his chin went
squibble squabble, making altogeth-
er such an old face that Nurse Jane
had to laugh and cough and sneeze
and have the hiccoughs all at once.
"Oh, Wiggy, Wiggy! What is it9"
gasped the muskat lady. ''Why did
you make such a queer facee''
Because the milk is sour!'' an
swered the rabbit gentleman. 81
guess you'd make a funny face,
too, if you had a mouthful of sour
milk. Burrr-r-rl Zippie zappieI
"Oh dear! Is the milk sour?'
Il l,,f IL
because I never take any in my
carrot coffee. Let me taste.
The muskrat lady housekeeper
put some milk in Il spoon and touch
ed the tip of her red tongue to it
most daintily.
"Oh, it is souri, exclaimed
Nurse Jane. This is yesterday s
milk, and Mrs. Moo Cow hasn t been
along yet with any fresh. What
are you going to do, Wiggy?" she
asked, as she saw the rabbit gen
tleman getting up from the break
fast table.
"I IN going to throw this sour
milk away, so | won't be fooled on
it again,N he answered. "Out you
go, sour milk!' he cried, as he took
the pitcher i'll his paws.
"No! Don't do that!' cried
Nurse Jane. "Don't throw away
the sour milk!'
"Why not?" asked Uncle Wig
gily. "What good is it?'
ats just wonderful for making
a Johnnie cake,' said the musk
rat lady housekeeper. "Of course
/ haven t time to make a Johnnie
cake today, but"
"Well Johnnie cake or Jimmie
cake said Uncle Wiggily, 81
want no sour milk in my hollow
stump bungalow. Out she goes9''
and he started fort door with
the pitcher.
"Wait! Waltz begged Miss
Fuzzy Wuzzy. off you don t want
to keep the sour milk until | have
time to make it into a Johnnie
cake, let give it to Mrs. Twisty-
tail
"What would the lady pig do
"zippie! zowie!' said Uncle
Wiggily to himself as he hoped
along, holding the pitcher as far
away from his pink nose as he
could. "Zippie! Zowie! When 1
think of that sour milk puckering
up my mOuth-oh, gasloshcs! /
can't bear to think of it," and he
hoped off faster than ever.
But he had not gone very far
before, all of sudden, out from
behind mulberry bush skipped
the Skillery Scallery Alligator with
humps On his tails.
"Good day to you, Uncle Wiggi-
ly,n gargled the Gator.
"Good day? Bad day for me,
| guess!' murmured the bunny, as
he put his paws up to his ears. And,
as he did so, Il little of the sour
milk spilled from the pitcher.
"Ah, you have some milk, | see, -
s;id the Alligator, trying his best
to be polite. "I'll drink the milk
first, as | am very fond of it, and
then III nibble your ears
cone moment!" said Uncle Wig
giy. 81 want to be fair and
honest with you. This milk ism 7
what you suppose. 1t is"
"Never mind supposing any
thing" growled the Gator. 81
guess | know milk when / see it,"
With that he most impolitely grab
bed the pitcher of sour milk from
Uncle Wiggily and poured it into
his big Alligator mouth at once.
And then-oh, | wish you could
have seen the funny face the Gator
made! 1t was worse than Punch
and Judy made into one.
"Oh, Zippie! Zappie. Zoopiel
Zoop!" howled the Gator. "My
mouth is all puckered up! Oh, !
with sour mike asked Uncle Wig
gily, twinkling his pink nose
thoughtful like.
"Why pigs-little and big--like
sour milk more than anything else, ,
said Nurse Jane. '"It makes them
stron gand fat. If you must gel
rid of the sour milk, please take
it over to Mrs. Twistytail. "
"All right said Uncle Wiggily
81 will. "
So, a little later, he hoped over
the fields and through the woods
carrying the sour milk.
must run and get drink of wa
teri" Then away he ran, nibbline
no ears, that day. OF course, there
was no sour milk for Mrs. Twis
tytail, but Nurse Jane gave hel
the next batch that curdled, so il