can help me get those rabbits. I've been over to that Uncle
Wiggily's hollow-stump bungalow, but he isn't around."

"No, he's visiting the Littletail rabbits," said Mr. Pop-Goes, the
weasel. "But we'll drive him out."

Then Uncle Wiggily felt very badly, indeed, for he knew that a
weasel is the worst animal a rabbit can have after him. Weasels are
very fond of rabbits. They love them so much they want to eat them,
and Uncle Wiggily did not want to be eaten, even by Mr. Pop-Goes.

"Oh, dear!" he thought. "What can I do to scare away the bad fox and
Mr. Pop-Goes, the weasel? Oh, dear!" Then he thought of the toy
balloons, that made a noise like a gun when they were blown up and
burst. "The very thing!" thought the rabbit gentleman.

Carefully, as he hid behind the stump, Uncle Wiggily took out one of
the toy balloons. Carefully he blew it up, bigger and bigger and
bigger, until, all at once:

"Bang!" exploded the toy balloon, even making Uncle Wiggily jump.
And as for the fox and Mr. Pop-Goes, the weasel, why they were so
kerslostrated (if you will kindly excuse me for using such a word)
that they turned a somersault, jumped up in the air, came down,
turned a peppersault, and started to run.

"Did you hear that noise?" asked the weasel. "That was a pop, and
whenever I hear a pop I have to go! And I'm going fast!"

"So am I!" barked the fox. "That was a hunter with a gun after us, I
guess. We'll get those rabbits some other time."

"Maybe you will, and maybe not!" laughed Uncle Wiggily, as he
hurried on to the burrow with the bread, sugar and the rest of the
toy balloons, with which Sammie and Susie had lots of fun.

So you see Mr. Pop-Goes, the weasel, didn't get Uncle Wiggily after
all, and if the pepper caster doesn't throw dust in the potato's
eyes, and make it sneeze at the rag doll, I'll tell you next about
Uncle Wiggily and Simple Simon.

CHAPTER XIII

UNCLE WIGGILY AND SIMPLE SIMON

"There!" exclaimed Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady
housekeeper, who, with Uncle Wiggily Longears, the rabbit gentleman,
was visiting at the Littletail rabbit burrow one day. "There they
are, Uncle Wiggily, all nicely wrapped up for you to carry."

"What's nicely wrapped up?" asked the bunny uncle. "And what do you
want me to carry?" And he looked over the tops of his spectacles at
the muskrat lady, sort of surprised and wondering.

"I want you to carry the jam tarts, and they are all nicely wrapped
up,