you know what happened.

"Oh, wow! Oh, me! Oh, my! Wow! Ouch! Ouchie! Itchie!" roared the
bear. "My throat is on fire! I must have some water!" And, dropping
the bottle, away he ran to the spring, leaving Uncle Wiggily safe, and
not hurt a bit.

Then the rabbit gentleman hurried back and squeezed out more peppermint
juice for Nurse Jane, whose indigestion was soon cured. And as for the
bear, he had a sore throat for a week and a day.

So this teaches us that peppermint is good for scaring bears, as well
as for putting in candy. And if the snow man doesn't come in our house
and sit by the gas stove until he melts into a puddle of molasses, I'll
tell you next about Uncle Wiggily and the birch tree.

STORY IX

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE BIRCH TREE

Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice old rabbit gentleman, was walking
along through the woods one afternoon, when he came to the hollow stump
school, where the lady mouse teacher taught the animal boys and girls
how to jump, crack nuts, dig homes under ground, and do all manner of
things that animal folk have to do.

And just as the rabbit gentleman was wondering whether or not school
was out, he heard a voice inside the hollow stump, saying:

"Oh, dear! I wish I had some one to help me. I'll never get them
clean all by myself. Oh, dear!"

"Ha! That sounds like trouble!" thought Mr. Longears to himself. "I
wonder who it is, and if I can help? I guess I'd better see."

He looked in through a window, and there he saw the lady mouse teacher
cleaning off the school black-boards. The boards were all covered with
white chalk marks, you see.

"What's the matter, lady mouse teacher?" asked Uncle Wiggily, making a
polite, low bow.

"Oh, I told Johnnie and Billy Bushytail, the two squirrel boys, to stay
in and clean off the black-boards, so they would be all ready for
tomorrow's lesson," said the lady mouse. "But they forgot, and ran off
to play ball with Jackie and Peetie Bow Wow, the puppy dog boys. So I
have to clean the boards myself. And I really ought to be home now,
for I am very tired."

"Then you trot right along," said Uncle Wiggily, kindly. "Tie a knot
in your tail, so you won't step on it, and hurry along."

"But what about the black-boards?" asked the lady mouse. "They must be
cleaned off."

"I'll attend to that," promised the bunny uncle. "I will clean them
myself. Run along, Miss Mouse."

So Miss Mouse thanked the bunny uncle, a