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Show I I BEDTIME STORIES j BY HOWARD R. GARIS LNCLI-: K..I1, l THE PUDl Ml lILI.. ;Lv" Coprlght, 1920, by McClure News-i paper Syndicate -j H (By Itoward U f.a.i. -:'Zy Uncle Wlggllj Longeara tin bunn rabbit gentb man. v. :t reading j i; -4 his paper In the hollow stump bur.gu- '.S"5 low one morning when, all of a sud- j -tr j den, Sammle Llttletall thp rabbit bov 4 came hopping ut the front Si pi I ' ji ' Goodness gracious nie i 'i-'"- H 1 i tjm s"d some soap bubble popcorn balls cried Nurse Jane i ussy wuztj cue 5531 rnuskrat lady housekeeper W hat t I -i the matter. Sammle? Is the school I r,' "A house on fire and did the lady mouse! r'j teacher burn her whiskers'" 1 "Oh, no! Nothine Hke that." an- iAj2 swered the rabbit boy, as he tiled to 1KB twinkle ins pin): nose j- i nele WIr J glly did. "I'd look a good deal hap- r.Jis pier if the school house were on fire, I i i-J only, of course. I wouldn't want the lady mouse teacher's whiskers to oe ' J burned, or even scorched. Bill "ii ( ought to see what's down the path in. tijiS j the woods' There's a million mice I f&V running along, and may be they're , I B coming here1" erlrd Famnvle 'i:Sr . "What's that you say " asked Nurse T ' Jane. "A million mice" Oh, I hope jyij?. they aren't all mv relations coming HTCj " to dinner." and the rnuskrat lady EjH looked very much worried, few "What's all this going on?" asked I JpM Uncle Wigglly. coming out of his hol-J fcJW low Stump bungalow and looking ovrr , Ml the tops of his glasses at Sammle. awil "Somebody coming to dinner. Nurse i Kfl Jane?' "Oh. you ought to see, Uncle YVlg- & '3J Sfly!' cried Pamnile. There's .M... fc J two million mice running along Ihe M path In the woods. I saw' them as I BT-jT was going 1o school." A "Tut: Tut!" exclaimed Uncle Wig-, Wig-, X gllyi "Are you sure there were j actly two million mice. Sammle?" -S1 VTell, maybe there was one mlllafT I'l anyhow'," spoke the rabbit boy. VLet's go see." proposed the old hab- . -V"" bit gentleman. So he and Sammle went j 20 .Jl down the woodland path and there j :hey saw Mr. and Mrs Field Mouse and their five children walking along, each one carrying a dried leaf bar filled with grains of corn and wheat. 'Qood morning. Mr Field Mouse." f. politely said Uncle Wigglly to the gen- tloman moime. "Where are the vest f ; I- of you. anil where are you going?" r J "This is all there are of us," an- J swered Mr. Mouse. "My family and I J ? arc moving in from the field to our home In the hollow tree. It will soon wK0m' be winter, and it will we too cold foi us in the field. Why did you thin'.: i J there were more of us"" "Because Sammic said ," began Undo Wigglly. "Well, It seemed like a million mice." said the rabbit boy, sort of ashamed of himself "Anyhow there ar? seven," he wont on, as he looked at Mr. and Mrs Mouse and the five child ren. Em "Well, seven Is a good way from two million' remarked I nele Wigglly j with a smile. "You must not get so j excited, Sammic And now run along to school and say your lessons for tne lady mouse teacher I'M help Mr. and Mrs. Mouse move Into their winter home- And that reminds me, I must u;et in my supply of wood and somr thing lo eat this winter." So Sammle ran on to school, while Uncle wigglly helped the Field Mouse family to move. And In the afternoon, 1 I when the bunny rabbit gentleman was silting on his front pOich In the- i -i njrarmipg his pink nose to It would twinkle better, all of a .sudden alO) - I ' . ;, ( anio running Sammle, the rabbit boy, RSfl again. "Oh, Wunkle Ugglly!" stammered H Sammle. "Quick, come! Bonnie Juny- tall is In the pud muddle!" "What's that ," asked Uncle Wiggilv, j H Jumping OUt of his chair. "Urry hup! ' went on Sammle "Just ; as I was scbolling frcm come. Jushle i'.onnletail pipped ami slell Into the pud muddle ' What In the world art ou talking about ''' asked the bunny gentleman I Try and not be so excited. Sammle. Tell me what has happened and I'll do my best. What it is" Wushle Johnnletail Is in the pud mucldle!" was all the rabbit boy could say. "Oh, he must mean .lohhnle Bushy-tall, Bushy-tall, the squirrel, is in some sort of a I trap," spoke Nurse Jane, coming out of the hollow stump bungalow. "Hurry Uncle Wigglly! ' ' I 11 hurry." said Uncle Wigglly. looking around for bis red, while and blue striped rheumatism crutch "But I never heard of a pud muddle trap. It must be a new kind, and very bad. from the way Sammle Is acting " for the rabbit boy was dancing up and down and pointing his paw down the woodland path. Urry hup. Wunkle Ugglly.' cried Ba mmle. "I guess he's trying to say 'hurry up. Uncle Wigglly ' " said Nurse Jane. Very llkel," agreed Mr. Uongears. "Dear me. I never got any one out of a pud muddle trap, he went on 'I hardly know what to do." Uiicb- Wigglly followed Sammle down the path. Soon he heard joyous shouts and laughter and a moment later he taw Johnnie and Uillie Bushy-tail, Bushy-tail, ihe two squirrel boys, wading In 0 little pond near the aide of the woods. They were splashing muddy water all ovu . "There they are," said Sammle. ' Billies In. too. though he wasn't at first. Look. Uncle Wjggilj 'Why, they're only having fun In a mud puddle," said Mr. Longeara. "They're In no danger Sammle. 'h didn't you say. at first, that they were 01 In a mud puddll t" Well, I I tried to," sta-mmcred Sammle. "but I couldn't get the words light. All I could say, wan pud muddle." mud-dle." "Ho, ho!" laughed I'm ie Wigglly "I told you not to get excited. Sammle. However, no harm is done, but If you gp a Utile slowei you'll get along bet-i ter Now you'd better play in the pud muddle ourself: with the squlr- rel boys." So Sammle did taking off his shoes! and stockings as the squirrel boys had done. And they had lots of fun. Anu I If the match box doesn't gel lost In the dark, so It can't find the ga SlOVe to go to sleep In the oven. I'll tell you next about Uncle Wigglly andl his winter wood |