warm bed
of earth. Then came the cold winter, and I went to sleep. When spring
came I awakened and began to grow, but in the meanwhile this stone was
put over me. I don't know by whom. But it held me down.

"But now I am free, and my pale green leaves will turn to dark green,
and soon I will blossom out into a flower."

"How will all that happen?" Uncle Wiggily asked.

"When the sunbeam shines on me," answered the blossom. "That is why I
wanted to get above the stone--so the sunbeam could shine on me and
warm me."

"And I will begin to do it right now!" exclaimed the sunbeam, who had
been playing about on the leaves of the trees, waiting for a chance to
shine on the green plant and turn it into a beautiful flower. "Thank
you, Uncle Wiggily, for taking the stone off the leaves so I could
shine on them," went on the sunbeam, who had known Uncle Wiggily for
some time. "Though I am strong I am not strong enough to lift stones,
nor was the flower. But now I can do my work. I thank you, and I hope
I may do you a favor some time."

"Thank you," Uncle Wiggily said, with a low bow, raising his tall silk
hat. "I suppose you sunbeams are kept very busy shining on, and
warming, all the plants and trees in the woods?"

"Yes, indeed!" answered the yellow sunbeam, who was a long, straight
chap. "We have lots of work to do, but we are never too busy to shine
for our friends."

Then the sunbeam played about the little green plant, turning the pale
leaves a darker color and swelling out the tiny buds. Uncle Wiggily
walked on through the woods, glad that he had had even this little
adventure.

It was a day or so after this that the bunny uncle went to the store
for Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady, who kept his hollow stump
bungalow so nice and tidy.

"I want a loaf of bread, a yeast cake and three pounds of sugar," said
Nurse Jane.

"It will give me great pleasure to get them for you," answered the
rabbit gentleman politely. On his way home from the store with the
sugar, bread and yeast cake, Uncle Wiggily thought he would hop past
the place where he had lifted the stone off the head of the plant, to
see how it was growing. And, as he stood there, looking at the flower,
which was much taller than when the bunny uncle had last seen it, all
of a sudden there was a rustling in the bushes, and out jumped a bad
old fox.

"Ah, ha!" barked the fox, like a dog. "You are just the one I want to
see!"

"You