d grow,"
said the Jack to Uncle Wiggily. "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 Wiggily said to
himself. "If I did Nurse Jane could not make a fire to cook supper."

There was an April shower while Uncle Wiggily 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 through 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."

"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.

"Well, that was a little adventure." said Uncle Wiggily. "But I want
one more exciting; a big one."

And he is going to have one in about a minute. Just you wait and
you'll hear all about it.

The sun was shining hotter and hotter, and Uncle Wiggily 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! Uncle Wiggily's bundle of groceries is on fire!
Fire! Fire!"

"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 boy. "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 Wiggily 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 cr