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Show : BEDTIME STORIES ' BY HOW ARD R. GARIS I l NCI. I'. U.(.n vp THE EEL I Oopyrlght, 192&, by McCItin Kcwspa-pcr Kcwspa-pcr Syndicate Bj Howard R. .;.r.- i Once upon a time as Uncle Wfgglly I was walking along through the woods., (not far from the duck pond ocean, he: j heard, down in among the leaves of the. forest, a sad olcc saying: "Oh. I shall never get back Oh, I dear' How foolish I was to go sj far away from the water. This Is the end of me 1 f a i f!" "Hum: 1 wonder who thai can be"", thought the bunny rabbit gentleman. twinkling his pink nose on only one' I side so he could heat all the belter. "It cannot be the Pipsisewah or the1 I skeezlcks," he went on, "for they , would not be anxious to get to the I watei They are so afraid of water that they never wash their faces. 1 . wonder who th's is" Guess I'll ask." So Uncle YVlgglly leaned on his red.. ! w hite and blue striped rheumatism ' crutch and called 'Who is It that's in trouble, and why 'are you so anxious to get hack to the water?" I "Oh. Uncle Wfggllyl Is that y6u?" camo a voice in answer. ' I am Mrs. Eel, and I very foolishly left the du k pond ocean to visit my friend Mrs. I-and Turtle Now I am so dry 1 think 1 I shall die." "Oh. don l say that' " exclaimed hind Uncle Wlgglly. "Cant 1 help you to, save your life"" "All I need Is to get back to t he j water," went on Mrs Eel. "I haei I been out too long now. but 1 cannot' crawl ns fast as a snake, and co Ii j fear I shall never reach tpe duck pond ocean alive. It was very foolish f me to start on a land Journo I tool: some I water in a bottle, to wet myself with every now and then, but the sun was so hot that It soon dried the water. Now, alas, I know not what to do'" ' I can save you!" cried brave Uncle Wigglly ' i ll pick you up, let you sit on top of my tall silk hat and I'll hP so fa.n as never was to the duck pond ocean and pop you in where ou be- long." "Oh. that will be lovely!" gurgled the cH. . So Uncl9 Wigglly let her twine her-isclf her-isclf In knots around his tall sMk hat. I Then he hopped very fast, like a fire engine, through the woods and overj I the fields, and soon he was at the- duck I pond oeeu n. "Oh, now I am saxed'" cried the eel J as she slipped Into the water for she could no more live out of It for anyi length ef time than can u fish. " Thank 'you so much Uncle Wlgglly," Wlg-glly," cackled the eH. ns soon as she had taken a bath. "Would you not like to stay and see mo teach my little , eels? ' "What do you teach them"" asked the bunny gentleman. "Oh. I teach them to swim, to tie themselves in knots and untie themselves, them-selves, and all things like that."' snlckere-d th lady cel. 'Thank vou! I would like to see that! " said the bunny uncle, So the eel lady whistled on ih- end o! hi r tall, ami around her In the water close up to shore swam a lot of little eels. 'Now show Uncle Wlggily how you, swim." paid Mother Bel And the little eels did. "And show him how you tie yourself your-self In knots." went on Mrs. Eel. So the little eels did this also, and most interesting it was to the bunn gentleman to watch. The little eels did as their mother had taught them, ty-inK ty-inK themselves Into hard knots and soft knots and sailor knots and 1 rem h knots nnd what knots and double knots and shoo lace knots and all like that. "Fine' fine'" cried Uncle Wlgffil) clapping his paws. "I never knew be-, .fore thai there were so many knots," "I never would have been able to tiei myself In ito-m anj more, nor teach ms little ones if you had not -it me by bringing mc to the water," said tho lady eel Uncle Wiggily was telling her not toj mention such a i.ule f.i'oi us that1 I when all of a sudden, he felt hlm-clf' grabbed from In back and a voice cried: Nnu- I shall ha'.e your souse' Unci- Wiggily could Just turn around far enough to see that he had . been Caught b the bad old SkuJdle-inagoon SkuJdle-inagoon The unpleasant creature had sneaked up while ibe bunny was watching tne eels tic themselves In "Oh. pleas don't take my souse!" begged the bunny rabbit gentleman Ws 1 shall'" snickered the skud-dle skud-dle magoon "No. you shall not!" bravely sa'd the eel lady "Run, Uncle Wlggily! Run?" she called. If I run he'll run after me and take ul! the more souse," said tho bunny gentleman, sadly , 'No, he shall not run nfter you' "declared "de-clared the lady ell. I'll stop him! 1 and my little eel children will tie our- Ives in hard knots around his legs and feet, so he ran t run a step!" And then the lady eel and the eel children twisted up out of the water and tied themselves In knots around the Skud-dlemagoon's Skud-dlemagoon's leg. And they tied themselves them-selves in such hard twisted knots that the h.-'.d chap could not lossen them and Uncle Wigglly had time tr. get away. Thus the eel saved the bunny for being kind to her. And if the dlnnerhorn doesn't gle a loud toot when it sees the goldfish Jumping over the fence to play with the aijple pie. I'll tell . uu next about Uncle Witrerlly and little Hoppie. |