on your travels, this will stop it."

"Ha! That is very kind of Susie, I'm sure," said the rabbit, "but I don't
see how that is going to make the alligator go away. And, even if he does
go, I wonder how I'm to get down out of this tall tree, with my crutch, my
valise and my rheumatism?"

Well, just then the alligator got tired of standing on the end of his
tail, with his mouth open, and he began crawling around. Then he thought
of what a good supper he was going to have of Uncle Wiggily, and that
alligator said:

"I guess I'll sharpen my teeth so I can eat him better," and with that the
savage and unpleasant creature began to gnaw on a stone, to sharpen his
teeth. Then he stood up on the end of his tail once more, under the tree,
and opened his mouth as wide as he could.

"Come on now!" he called to Uncle Wiggily. "Jump down and have it over
with."

"Oh, but I don't want to," objected the rabbit.

"You'll have to, whether you want to or not," went on the alligator. "If
you don't come down, I'll take my scaly, naily tail, and I'll saw down the
tree, and then you'll fall."

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "What shall I do?"

Then he happened to think of the bottle of toothache medicine that he held
in his hand, and, taking out the cork, he dropped the bottle, medicine and
all, right into the open mouth of the alligator, who was again up on his
tail.

And the alligator thought it was Uncle Wiggily falling into his jaws, and
he shut them quickly like a steel trap and chewed on that bottle of hot
toothache drops before he knew what it was.

Well, you can just imagine what happened. The medicine was as hot as
pepper and mustard and vinegar and cloves and horse radish all made into
one! My! how it did burn that alligator's mouth.

"Oh my! I'm shot! I'm poisoned! I'm bitten by a mosquito! I'm stabbed! I'm
all scrambled up" cried the alligator. "Water, water, quick! I must have
water!"

Then he gave a big jump, and, with his kinkery-scalery tail, he leaped
into a big puddle of water, and went away down in under, out of sight, to
cool off his mouth.

"Oh, now is my chance! If I could only get down out of the tree!"
exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. "But with my rheumatism I'm afraid I'll fall. Oh
dear! What shall I do?"

"Don't be afraid, I'll help you!" exclaimed a kind voice, and then the
voice went on: "Caw! Caw! Caw!" and Uncle Wiggily, looking up, saw a big
black crow perched on a limb over his head.

"Oh, h