ldren," answered the bunny uncle. "I have not seen them in a long
while."

"But they'll be at school," said Nurse Jane.

"I'll wait until they come home, then," said Uncle Wiggily. "And
while I'm waiting I'll talk to Uncle Butter, the nice old gentleman
goat."

So off started Uncle Wiggily over the fields and through the woods.

Pretty soon he came to the house where the family of Wagtail goats
lived. They were given that name because they wagged their little
short tails so very fast, sometimes up and down, and again sideways.

"Why, how do you do, Uncle Wiggily?" asked Mrs. Wagtail, as she
opened the door for the rabbit gentleman. "Come and sit down."

"Thank you," he answered. "I called to see Nannie and Billie. But I
suppose they are at school."

"Yes, they are studying their lessons."

"Well, I'll come in then, and talk to Uncle Butter, for I suppose
you are busy."

"Yes, I am, but not too busy to talk to you, Mr. Longears," said the
goat lady. "Uncle Butter is away, pasting up some circus posters on
the billboard, and I wish he'd come back, for I want him to go to
the store for me."

"Couldn't I go?" asked Uncle Wiggily, politely. "I have nothing
special to do, and I often go to the store for Nurse Jane. I'd like
to go for you."

"Very well, you may," said Mrs. Wagtail. "I want for supper some
papers off a tomato can, and a few more off a can of corn, and here
is a basket to put them in. And you might bring a bit of brown
paper, so I can make soup of it."

"I will," said Uncle Wiggily, starting off with the basket on his
paw. Goats, you know, like the papers that come off cans, as the
papers have sweet paste on them. And they also like brown grocery
paper itself, for it has straw in it, and goats like straw. Of
course, goats eat other things besides paper, though.

Uncle Wiggily was going carefully along, for there was ice and snow
on the ground, and it was slippery, and he did not want to fall.
Soon he was at the paper store, where he bought what Mrs. Wagtail
wanted.

And on the way back to the goat lady's house something happened to
the old rabbit gentleman. As he stepped over a big icicle he put his
foot down on a slippery snowball some little animal chap had left on
the path, and, all of a sudden, bango! down went Uncle Wiggily,
basket of paper, rheumatism crutch and all.

"Ouch!" cried the rabbit gentleman, "I fear something is broken,"
for he heard a cracking sound as he fell.

He looke