ack."

"Yes, I stayed longer with the park squirrels than I meant to," said
Uncle Wiggily. "But now I am back I will start off and try to find
Wuzzo. It's too bad your three little kittens ran away."

They had, you know, as I told you in the two stories before this
one. The three little kittens ate cherry pie with their new mittens
on. And they soiled their mittens. Then they were so afraid their
mother, Mrs. Purr, would scold them that they all ran away.

But Mrs. Purr was a kind cat, and would not have scolded at all. And
when she found her little kittens were gone she asked Uncle Wiggily
to find them.

"And you did find the first two, Fuzzo and Muzzo," said the cat
lady. "So I am sure you can find the third one, Wuzzo."

"I hope I can," Uncle Wiggily said. "I remember now I started off to
find her, but my rheumatism hurt me so I had to come back to my
bungalow. Then I forgot all about Wuzzo. But I'm all right now, and
I'll start off."

So away over the fields and through the woods went Uncle Wiggily,
looking for the third little lost kitten. When he had found the two
others he had helped them wash the pie-juice off their mittens, so
they were nice and clean. And then the kittens were not afraid to go
home.

Uncle Wiggily looked all over for the third little kitten, under
bushes, up in trees (for cats climb trees, you know), and even
behind big rocks Uncle Wiggily looked. But no Wuzzo could he find.

At last, when the rabbit gentleman came to a big hollow log that was
lying on the ground, he sat down on it to rest, and, all of a
sudden, he heard a voice inside the log speaking. And the voice
asked:

"Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?"

"I've been to London to see the Queen," answered another voice.

"Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you do there?"

"I frightened a little mouse, under her chair," came the answer, and
this time it was a little pussy cat kitten speaking, Uncle Wiggily
was certain.

The old rabbit gentleman looked in one end of the hollow log, and
there surely enough, he saw Wuzzo, the third lost kitten.

And besides Wuzzo, Uncle Wiggily saw Neddie Stubtail, the little
bear boy, who always slept in a hollow log all Winter. But this time
Neddie was awake, for it was near Spring.

"Wuzzo, Wuzzo! Is that you? What are you doing there?" asked Uncle
Wiggily. "Don't you know your poor mother is looking all over for
you, and that she has sent me to find you? Why don't you come home?"