Imperial Valley press., 1929-11-15
Bedtime Stories
By HOWARD E. 0AHIS
Newspaper Syndicate
ConvriRht. 1928, by Mcclure
UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE
SILENT BROOK

When Uncle Wiggily was in trou-
bic he liked to go off by himself
and sit in the woods where it was
peaceful and quiet. except for the
songs OF the birds. the rustic of the
leaves or the clatter of the brook.
To those sounds the rabbit gentle
man loved to listen.
Now perhaps you might think
that Uncle Wiggily, being such d
jolly rabbit gentleman, with pink
nose that always seemed to be
twinkling, perhaps YOU might think
he never had any troubles.
But lie had.
Somehow or other the Fox, Wolf
Bob Cat or other Bad Chaps were
always trying to catch the rabbit
to make potpie. Or maybe in
the night, Buster, Custer. Jingle or
Jangle-one of his forty sixteen lit
tie rabbit childrcn-would be taken
i'll and Uncle W:ggily would have
to hop as fast as he could to get
DR.. Possum. And you know, with.
cut any need of me telling it, that
when you have forty sixteen rab
bit children, some one or two OIL
| three is always getting i'll, more or
less.
But still, and with all that
Uncle Wiggily didn't have such a
bad time Of it. Only, as | said
now and again he liked to 90 off
in the woods ami Listen to the birds,
the leaves and the babbling brook.
SO one day, aft(r he had been UP
l'alf the night telling sleepy story
TO Jingle, who Lad the car-ache
End singing a sleepy song to Jangle
who had a thorn stuck in her paw
when morning came Uncle Wiggil.,
who hadn't resteG much, said:
81 am going to hop to the woods
and listen to TIC singing of the
birds, the -ustling Of the leaves and
the babb!'' of the running brook.
That will be rca"cful and quiet"
| But when tL- rabbit gentleman
reached the forest, 10 and behold,
There were m leaves left ON the
trees, for Jack Frost had blown
| them all off with his cold breath.
IT wis the coming Of winter Truc,
! there were dricl leaves on the
ground, but they made "a rasping
sound, not like The gentle swish Of
| green leaves on The trees when the
wnd blew them to and fro.
And there were not many birds
toF in la =
had flown down TO the warm South
land. And those birds who were 10
stay around Uncle Wiggily's bunga-
loW all winter were not the kind
that sing very swcotly, being crows
owls and sparrows or starlings.
"Well," said the rabbit gentle
man to himself, "if ] can't listen
/ to the birds or the leaves | can
hear the babblihC brook. That
makes a pretty sound as it flows
| gurgling over The messy stones
IN hop to the brook and sit down
beside it,"
/ But alas! Whom Uncle Wiggily
reached the brook, it was silent.
Its murmuring was no longer heard
merrily chatterin., away.
81 wonder what has happened to
the brooke" thought Uncle Wig
| gily, as he noticed how still and
\ quiet it was in the woods. "Surely
that cannot have gone away"
But when he bppped closer to the
place where the brook used to run
along among the trees he saw that
il was covered with something white
and shining.
"Why," cried the rabbit, ait must
laye been very co!d out here in the
woods last ni2ht The brook is
frozen over with ice."
So that is why the brook was
silent. 1t no longer rang and
seemed tc tall = uuclo Wiggily t.