Imperial Valley Press

UNCLE WIGGILY AND EFFIE'S EARS

Effie was one of Uncle Wiggily's little rabbit girls and Effie was very proud. Now it is all right to be proud of some things, even for a little rabbit girl. It is all right to be proud, but not too proud, of what you do in school and how you help at home.

"But when it comes to being proud about your clothes or how your nose twinkles or how your ears look, that is different," squeaked the Lady Mouse Teacher in the Hollow Tree School one day. And as she said this Miss Mouse looked straight at Effie. "Don't be too proud of just your looks."

Now Effie wasn't proud of her ears. Far from it. In fact Effie didn't like her ears. She wanted them to stand up straight all the time and not, as she called it "flop" back on her head when she wasn't listening to anything. Rabbits can move their ears, which is more than you boys and girls can do. Many animals move their ears frontward or backward in order to listen better to noise of danger.

See How the Horse Does It

Walk toward the horse of the milkman or baker some day and see how he moves his ears to listen to your footsteps. This was what Effie could do, but when she wasn't listening her ears would fold back out of the way. And foolish little Effie thought it would be more stylish if her ears always stood up straight.

"How can I make my ears always stand up straight?" the little rabbit girl used to ask of her mother or Nurse Jane. And they told her not to be silly and not to want her ears always standing.

"You would soon get tired of them if they were that way," her mother said. "Keep your ears up when you are listening for danger. When you aren't listening, fold your ears back on your head."

But Effie wasn't satisfied with this. Still foolish and proud, she began to think of ways to make her ears always stick up straight.

"Then I would always look tall and big," said Effie to herself. One day when she saw Nurse Jane starching some of Uncle Wiggily's collars.

"Why do you put starch in daddy's collars?" asked Effie.

"To make them stiff so they will stand up straight," said Nurse Jane.

"Oh, goodie!" thought Effie to herself. "Now I know how to make my ears stand up. I'll stiffen them with starch."

So this silly little rabbit watched her chance and, when Nurse Jane wasn't looking, Effie leaned her head over the basin of starch and dipped in her ears. Then she hopped out in the sun so they would dry stiff, for she didn't want Nurse Jane to iron her ears. Soon Effie's ears were so stiffly starched that they wouldn't flop back on her head and she was very proud of herself.

She Gets a Lesson

A little while after that Uncle Wiggily called his rabbit children to him and said "Come with me to the fields and woods. I shall teach you how to listen for danger."

Effie went with the others. In the woods, all of a sudden, Uncle Wiggily called out: "Ears up, everybody! Listen for danger!" Effie didn't need to stick up her ears. They were already straight and stiff from the starch, though she was the only one who knew this.

Then, all of a sudden, again Uncle Wiggily called:

"Danger is coming! The Fox! Quick! Drop your ears and follow me into this hollow log where we can hide." All the little rabbits dropped their ears back on their heads so they wouldn't stick up and make them too tall for getting into the hollow log.

But Effie couldn't bend her ears down. They were starched too stiff and when she ran into the log she hit her upstanding ears on the edge and of course this bent them back. And it hurt very much. But the Fox didn't get any of the little rabbits, and after that Effie never starched her ears and she wasn't so proud. And if the potato salad will stop laughing at the dill pickle, I'll tell you next about Uncle Wiggily and the funny tail.