Rabbit Adventures With Uncle Wiggily - Pt 2 – Children's Story

Hi,

It's Stefania and here is part two of Uncle Wiggly in the Woods.

Uncle Wiggly's not feeling very well and there's one thing that might be able to help him.

It's a herb.

It's called Sassafras.

And now our story.

Uncle Wiggly and the Sassafras.

Uncle Wiggly,

Uncle Wiggly,

Get up!

Called Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy,

The muskrat lady housekeeper,

As she stood at the foot of the stairs of the hollow stump bungalow and called up to the rabbit gentleman one morning.

Hurry down,

Mr.

Long Ears,

She went on.

This is the last day I am going to bake buckwheat cakes.

And if you want some nice hot ones with maple sugar sauce on,

You'd better hurry.

No answer came from the bunny uncle.

Why,

This is strange,

Said Nurse Jane to herself.

I wonder if anything can have happened to him.

Did he have an adventure last night?

Did the bat,

Scillary,

Scillary alligator with humps on his tail carry him off?

Then she called again.

Uncle Wiggly,

Uncle Wiggly,

Aren't you going to get up?

Come down to breakfast.

Aren't you going to get up and come down?

No,

Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy,

Replied the bunny uncle.

But to give you a short answer,

I am not going to get up or come down or eat breakfast or do anything.

And Mr.

Long Ears spoke as though his head was hidden under the bedclothes,

Which it was.

Oh,

Uncle Wiggly,

Whatever is the matter?

Asked Nurse Jane,

Surprised,

Like and anxious.

I don't feel well at all,

Was the answer.

I think I have the epizootic and I don't want any breakfast.

Oh dear,

Cried Nurse Jane and all the nice cakes I baked.

I know what I'll do,

She said to herself.

I'll call in Dr.

Balsam.

Perhaps Uncle Wiggly needs some of the roots and herbs that grow in the woods.

Wintergreen,

Slippery elm or something like that.

I'll call Dr.

Balsam.

And when the animal doctor came,

He looked at the bunny uncle's tongue,

Felt his ears and said,

You have spring fever,

Uncle Wiggly.

What you need is Sassafras.

Nurse Jane has some in the bungalow,

Spoke Long Ears.

Tell her to make me some tea from that.

No,

What is needed is fresh Sassafras,

Said Dr.

Balsam.

And what is more,

You must go out in the woods and dig it yourself.

That will be almost as good for your spring fever as the Sassafras itself.

So hop out and dig some of the roots.

Oh dear,

Cried Uncle Wiggly,

Fussy like.

I don't want to.

I'd rather stay here in this bed.

But you can't,

Cried Dr.

Balsam in his jolly voice.

Out with you.

And he pulled the bedclothes off the bunny uncle so he had to get up to keep warm.

Well,

I'll just go out and dig a little Sassafras root to please him,

Thought Uncle Wiggly to himself.

And then I'll come back and stay in bed as long as I please.

It's all nonsense thinking I have to have fresh root.

Root is good enough.

I do feel quite tired and lazy like,

Said Uncle Wiggly to himself as he limped along on his red,

White and blue striped rheumatism crutch that Nurse Jane had gnawed for him out of a cornstalk.

As soon as I find some Sassafras,

I'll pull up a bit of the root and hurry back home and to bed.

Pretty soon the bunny uncle saw where some of the Sassafras' roots were growing with their queer three pointed leaves like a mitten with a place for your finger and your thumb.

Now to pull up the root,

Said the bunny uncle as he dug down into the ground a little way with his paws to get a better hold.

But pulling up Sassafras' roots is not as easy as it sounds.

The roots go way down into the earth and they are very strong.

Uncle Wiggly pulled and tugged and twisted and turned but he could break off only little bits of the underground stalk.

This won't do,

He said to himself.

If I don't get a big root,

Dr.

Possum will perhaps send me back for more.

I'll try again.

He got his paws under a nice big root and he was straining his back to pull it up when all of a sudden he heard a voice saying,

How do you do?

Oh,

Hello,

Exclaimed the bunny,

Looking up quickly and expecting to see some friend of his like Grandpa Goosygander or Sammy Littletail the Rabbit Boy.

But instead he saw the bad old fox who had so many times tried to catch the rabbit gentleman.

Oh,

Said Uncle Wiggly astonished like and then again he said,

Oh,

Surprised are you?

Asked the fox,

Sort of curling his whiskers around his tongue sarcastic fashion.

Oh,

A little,

Yes,

Answered Uncle Wiggly.

I didn't expect to see you.

But I've been expecting you a long time,

Said the fox,

Grinning most impolitely.

In fact,

I've been waiting for you.

Just as soon as you have pulled up that sassafras root,

You may come with me.

I'll take you off to my den to meet my dear little foxes,

Eight,

Nine and ten.

Those are their numbers.

It's easier to number them than to name them.

Oh,

Indeed,

Asked Uncle Wiggly as politely as he could considering everything.

And so you won't take me until I pull this sassafras root.

No,

I'll wait until you have finished,

Spoke the fox.

So pull away.

Uncle Wiggly tried to pull up the root,

But he did not pull very hard.

For he thought,

As soon as I pull it up,

Then the fox will take me.

But if I don't pull it up,

He may not.

What's the matter?

Can't you get that root up?

Asked the fox after a while.

I can't wait all day.

Then perhaps you will kindly pull it up for me,

Said the bunny uncle.

I can't seem to do it.

All right,

I will,

The fox said.

Uncle Wiggly hopped to one side.

The fox put his paws under the sassafras root and he pulled and he pulled and he pulled and finally with a double extra strong pull,

He pulled up the root.

But it came up so suddenly,

Just as when you break a point off your pencil that the fox keeled over backwards in a somersault.

Oh,

Wow,

Cried the fox as he bumped his nose.

What happened?

But Uncle Wiggly did not stay to tell.

Away ran the bunny through the woods as fast as he could go.

Forgetting all about his spring fever,

He was all over it.

Ah,

I thought the sassafras would cure you,

Said Dr.

Possum,

When Uncle Wiggly was safely home once more.

The fox helped some,

Said Uncle Wiggly with a laugh.

Uncle Wiggly and the Pulpit Jack Well,

How are you feeling today,

Uncle Wiggly?

Asked Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy,

The muskrat lady housekeeper,

As she saw the rabbit gentleman taking his tall silk hat down off the china closet,

Getting ready to go for a walk in the woods one morning.

Why,

I'm feeling pretty fine,

Nurse Jane,

Answered the bunny uncle,

Since I ran home to get away from the fox after he turned a somersault from pulling too strong to get up the sassafras root.

I feel much better,

Thank you.

Good,

Cried Nurse Jane.

Then perhaps you would not mind going to the store for me?

Certainly not,

Spoke Uncle Wiggly.

What do you wish?

A loaf of bread,

Replied Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy.

Also,

A box of matches and some sugar and crackers.

But don't forget the matches,

Whatever you do.

I won't,

Promised the bunny uncle,

And soon he was hopping along through the woods wondering what sort of an adventure he would have this day.

As he was going along,

Keeping a sharp lookout for the bad fox or the scillary,

Scillary alligator with a double-jointed tail,

Uncle Wiggly heard a voice saying,

Oh dear,

I'll never be able to get out from under the stone and grow tall as I ought.

I pushed and pushed on it,

But I can't raise it.

Oh dear,

What a heavy stone!

Huh,

Someone under a stone,

Said Dr.

Wiggly to himself.

That certainly is bad trouble.

I wonder if I cannot help.

The bunny uncle looked all around and down on the ground he saw a flat stone.

Underneath it,

Something green and brown was peeping out.

Was that you who called?

Asked Mr.

Long-Ears.

It was,

Came the answer.

I am a jack-in-the-puppet plant,

You see,

And I started to grow up as all plants and flowers do when the summer comes.

But when I raised my head out of the earth,

I found a big stone over me,

And now I can grow no more.

I pushed and pushed until my back aches,

And I can't lift the stone.

How do it for you?

Said Uncle Wiggly kindly,

And he did,

Taking it off the pulpit jack plant.

Then the jack began growing up,

And he had been held down so long that he grew quite quickly so that even while Uncle Wiggly was watching,

The jack and his pulpit were almost regular size.

A jack-in-the-puppet,

You know,

Is a flower that grows in our woods.

Sometimes it's called an Indian turnip,

But don't eat it,

For it is very bitter,

Very biting.

The jack is a tall green chap who stands in the middle of his pulpit,

Which is like a little pitcher with a curved top to it.

A pulpit,

You may know,

Is where someone preaches on a Sunday.

Thank you very much for lifting the stone off me so I could grow,

Said the jack to Uncle Wiggly.

If ever I can do you a favor,

I will.

Oh,

Pray don't mention it,

Replied the rabbit gentleman with a low bow.

It was a mere pleasure,

I assure you.

Then the rabbit gentleman hopped on to the store to get the matches,

The crackers,

The bread,

And other things for Nurse Jane.

And I must be sure not to forget the matches,

Uncle Wiggly said to himself.

If I did,

Nurse Jane could not make a fire to cook supper.

There was an April shower while Uncle Wiggly was in the store,

And he waited for the rain to stop falling before he started back to his hollow stump bungalow.

Then the sun came out very hot and strong and shone down on the wet leaves of the trees in the woods.

Along hopped the bunny uncle,

And he was wondering what he would have for supper that night.

I hope it's something good,

He said,

To make up for not having an adventure today.

Don't you call that an adventure?

Lifting the stone off the jack in the pulpit so he could grow?

Asked a bird sitting up in a tree.

Oh,

That was a little adventure,

Said Uncle Wiggly,

But I want one more exciting,

A big one.

And he's going to have it in about a minute.

Just you wait and you'll hear all about it.

The sun was shining hotter and hotter,

And Uncle Wiggly was thinking that it was about time to get out his extra thin fur coat when all of a sudden he felt something very hot behind him.

Why,

That sun is really burning,

Cried the bunny.

Then he heard a little ant boy who was crawling on the ground cry out,

Fire,

Fire,

Fire.

Oh,

Wiggly's bundle of groceries is on fire,

Fire,

Fire.

Oh,

Oh my,

Cried the bunny uncle as he felt hotter and hotter.

The sun must have set fire to the box of matches.

Oh,

What shall I do?

He dropped his bundle of groceries and looking around at them he saw,

Surely enough,

The matches were on fire.

They were all blazing.

Call the fire department,

Get out the water bugs,

Cried the little ant.

Fire,

Water,

Water,

Fire.

That's what I want,

Water,

Cried the bunny uncle.

Oh,

If I could find a spring of water I could put the blazing matches,

Save some of them perhaps,

And surely save the bread and crackers.

Oh,

For some water.

Uncle Wiggly and the ant boy ran here and there in the woods looking for a spring of water,

But they could find none.

And the bread and crackers were just beginning to burn.

When a voice cried out,

Here is water,

Uncle Wiggly.

Where,

Where?

Asked the rabbit gentleman all excited like,

Where?

Inside my pulpit,

Was the answer.

And Uncle Wiggly saw,

Not far away,

The jack plant that he had helped earlier from under the stone.

When it rained a while ago,

My pitcher-shaped pulpit became filled with water,

Went on the jack.

If you just tip me over sideways,

I'll splash the water on the blazing matches and put them out.

I'll do it,

Cried Uncle Wiggly and he quickly did.

The pulpit held water as good as a milk pitcher could,

And when the water splashed on the fire,

That fire gave one hiss,

Sssssss,

Like a goose,

And went out.

Oh,

You certainly did me a favor,

Mr.

Pulpit Jack Plant,

Said Uncle Wiggly.

Though the matches are burned,

The bread and crackers are saved,

And I can get more matches,

Which he did,

So Nurse Jane could make a fire in the stove.

So you see,

Uncle Wiggly had an adventure after all,

And quite an exciting one too.

I'll tell you next time about Uncle Wiggly and the violets.

And that's it for today.

Next time around,

We'll find out what happened with Uncle Wiggly and the violets.

Until then,

Bye for now.