e on after
him, and the savage beast was almost up to Uncle Wiggily.

"Oh, if I only had some place to hide!" panted the poor rabbit. "Then
maybe the alligator would pass me by."

So he looked around for a place in which to hide, but just then he found
himself in a field, and all that he could see were a whole lot of
sunflowers growing near a fence.

"Oh, I can't hide behind those flowers because the stems are so small
around," thought Uncle Wiggily. "And I can't climb up them, and sit on the
big flower, because I can't climb, and besides the stems are too slender
to hold me up. Oh, what shall I do?"

Well, the alligator was coming nearer and nearer, and the rabbit could
hear the gnashing of his teeth, when, all at once one of the sunflowers
called out.

"Gnaw through my stem, and cut me down, Uncle Wiggily. Then you can hold
my big blossom up in front of you and the alligator can't see you."

"But won't it hurt you to cut you down?" asked the rabbit.

"No, for I will grow up again next year," said the big sunflower. "Hurry
and cut me down, and hide behind me, and I'll shine in the eyes of the
alligator and blind him."

So Uncle Wiggily quickly gnawed through the sunflower stalk with his sharp
teeth, and down the flower came. Then the rabbit held the blossom up in
front of himself, and hid behind it, and the yellow flower, which is
round, just like the sun, shone so brightly into the alligator's face
that he couldn't look out of his eyes, and so he was partly blinded, and
he couldn't see to catch Uncle Wiggily, and he had to crawl away without
eating the rabbit.

Then Uncle Wiggily thanked the sunflower, and laid it gently down, and
hopped on his way again to seek his fortune.

And the story after this, in case the washbowl and pitcher don't do a
funny dance in the middle of the night and wake up my puppy dog, I'll tell
you about Uncle Wiggily and the lightning bugs.

STORY XVIII

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE LIGHTNING BUG

It was a very warm day, and as Uncle Wiggily walked along, carrying his
satchel, and sort of leaning on his crutch, for his rheumatism hurt him a
bit, he said:

"It is very hard to have to look for your fortune on a hot day, I wish it
was nice and cool, and then I would feel better."

"I can tell you where there is a cool place," said a little yellow bird,
as she flew along in the air over the head of the old gentleman rabbit.

"Do you mean in an icehouse?" asked the traveling ra