t story. For where do you imagine he landed? Where,
indeed, but right in the middle of a big mud pie that two little hedgehog
boys were making there. Yes, sir, right into the middle of that
squasher-squawshery mud pie fell Uncle Wiggily.

Oh! How the mud splashed up! It went all over the rabbit, and some got on
the two little hedgehog boys.

Well, they were as surprised as anything when they saw a nice old
gentleman rabbit come down in the middle of their pie, and at first they
thought he had done it on purpose.

"Let's stick him full of our stickery-stockery quills," said one hedgehog
boy.

"Yes, and then let's pull his ears," said the other hedgehog boy. But,
mind you, they didn't really mean anything bad, only, perhaps, they
thought Uncle Wiggily was a savage fox, or a little white bear.

"Oh, boys, I'm sorry!" said the old gentleman rabbit as soon as he could
dig the mud out of his mouth.

"What made you do it?" asked the biggest hedgehog boy, wiping some mud out
of his eye.

"Yes, our pie is all spoiled," said his brother, "and we were just going
to bake it."

"Oh, it is too bad!" said Uncle Wiggily, sorrowfully, "but you see I had
to get away from that snake, and I didn't have time to look where I was
jumping. I'm glad, though, that I left the snake on the other side of the
bushes."

"So are we," said the two hedgehog boys.

"But you didn't leave me there. I'm here!" suddenly cried a voice, and out
wiggled the snake again. He started to catch the rabbit, but those two
brave hedgehog boys grabbed up a lot of mud, and plastered it in that
snake's eyes so that he couldn't see, and he had to wiggle down to the
pond to wash it out.

Then Uncle Wiggily and the boys were safe, and he helped them to make
another mud pie, with stones in for raisins, and he gave them some of his
real cherry pie, and oh! how they liked it! Then they were all happy, and
Uncle Wiggily stayed at the hedgehog's house until the next morning.

Now, in case the little girl in the next house brings me a watermelon ice
cream cone with a rose on top, I'll tell you on the next page about Uncle
Wiggily and the elephant.

STORY XXIII

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE ELEPHANT

Uncle Wiggily didn't sleep very well at the hedgehog's house that night,
and the reason for it was this: You see they didn't have many beds there,
and first the rabbit gentleman lay down with the smallest little porcupine
boy, in his bed.

But pretty soon, along