Imperial Valley Press

Uncle Wiggily

Baby Bunty crept close to Uncle Wiggily while the Skillery Seal-lery Alligator was sitting on his double jointed tail, looking at the puzzle marks which the rabbit gentleman had drawn in the mud with a pointed stick.

"You want me to tell you what animals made those marks; is that it?", bellowed the 'Gator who had a voice like a bull,

"Well, they weren't all made by animals,'' said Uncle Wiggily, who always told the truth, even in puzzles. "I didn't say animals.''

"But I say these marks were made by animals!" roared the chap with the double jointed tail.

"Those three dot marks were made by the Bob Cat, standing on his hind legs and sticking his silly little tail in the mud, and the four dot marks were made by the Fox—"

"Wrong! Wrong!" shouted Uncle Wiggily. "You guessed two marks wrong and, even if you guessed the other two right, I wouldn't let you nibble my ears now Bunty's, either! Quick! Run home to your den if you would be in time for lunch!"

As Uncle Wiggily shouted this he pretended to tell time by the dumb watch. And he fooled the 'Gator into thinking he would be late for lunch, so that the Bad chap waddled away and Bunty and Uncle Wiggily were safe. Then the little rabbit girl looked at the puzzle marks and said:

"Tell me the answers, Uncle Wig."

"I will, but no baby talk!" said Mr. Longears.

"The three dot marks are those of a three-legged stool, the four dot marks are the four legs of a chair. A man pushing a wheelbarrow made some of the tracks and a boy learning to ride on a bicycle the marks that looked like a snake."

"Oh, how cute!" said Bunty.

Then she and Uncle Wiggily hopped on some more and Bunty then looked up at the sun, for she knew that when it was straight overhead it would be noon and time to eat. Mr. Longears seeing how anxious the little rabbit girl was, asked her.

"Are you hungry?"

"I don't know if I am or not," she answered. "If only your dumb watch would go we might know when it is lunch time. Listen to it again, Uncle Wiggily, and see if it isn't ticking."

The rabbit took the dumb watch out of his pocket and held it to his ear. Then he let Bunty listen. But there was no ticking sound.

"I think it's silly to have a watch that doesn't even tick," said Bunty. "Suppose you met some friend of yours, Uncle Wiggily, and he asked you the time, you couldn't even pretend to tell him; could you?"

"Not with a dumb watch that doesn't tick," said Mr. Longears.

But just then, all of a sudden, down in the grass both rabbits heard a ticking tocking sound.

"Oh," cried Bunty, "maybe that's your real watch!"

"Maybe," agreed Uncle Wiggily. But when he looked down in the grass he saw only a little bug crawling along. "Who are you?" asked the rabbit.

"I am the bug called Tick," was the answer, and away he ticked and tocked like a little clock, clicking his legs and wings.

"Why, you're just what we need!" cried Bunty. "You can be a tick for Uncle Wiggily's watch! Put this tick bug inside the dumb watch and everybody will think it's going," said Bunty.

"A good idea if the tick will get in my dumb watch," agreed Mr. Longears. And when the tick bug said he didn't mind, inside the dumb watch he was put and then it sounded just as if it kept time.

"Tick tock!"

"Now we'll hop along and get something to eat," said Bunty.

Pretty soon she and Uncle Wiggily came to a rail fence to which were fastened letters making queer words.

"Oh!" cried Bunty. "I can't read that. Can you?"

"It must be a puzzle," said Mr. Longears. "Let's try to do it."

So he and Bunty and the tick bug in the dumb watch sat down near the fence. And if the jelly bean doesn't try to spread itself all over the slice of bread like molasses, I'll tell you next about Uncle Wiggily and the prickle flower. And if you can't do the puzzle I'll tell you the answer.

Can you read this?