did, leaving his valise in charge of Grandfather Goosey, who sat
down with it, under a shady tree. Pretty soon the old gentleman rabbit
came to a little ice cream store, that stood beside the road, right near a
little pond of water, where the ice-cream-man could wash his dishes when
he had to make them clean.

"I'll have two, nice, big, cold strawberry ice cream cones, and please put
plenty of ice cream in them," said Uncle Wiggily to the man.

"Right you are!" cried the ice-cream-man in a jolly voice, and, say, I
just wish you could have seen those cones! They were piled up heaping full
of ice cream. Oh, my! It just makes me hungry to write about them.

Well, Uncle Wiggily, carefully carrying the cones, started to hop back to
where he had left Grandfather Goosey. He hadn't gone far before he heard a
growling voice cry out:

"Hold on there a moment, Uncle Wiggily!"

"Why?" asked the rabbit.

"Because I want to see what you've got," was the answer. "Ah, I see ice
cream cones!" and with that a great, big, black bear jumped out of the
bushes, and stood right in front of Uncle Wiggily.

"Let me pass!" cried the rabbit, holding the ice cream cones so that the
bear couldn't get them.

"Indeed I will not!" cried the furry creature. "Ice cream cones, indeed!
If there is one thing that I'm fonder of than another, ice cream cones is
it! Let me taste one!"

Then before the rabbit could do anything, that bad bear took one ice cream
cone right away from him. And that bear did more than that, so he did. He
stuck his long, red tongue down inside the cone, and he licked out every
bit of cream, with one, long lick.

"My but that's good!" he cried, smacking his lips. "I guess I'll try the
second one," he said, and he dropped the empty cone, not eating it, mind
you, and he took the other full cone away from poor Uncle Wiggily before
the rabbit gentleman could stand on his head, or even wave his short tail.

"Oh, don't eat that cone. It belongs to Grandfather Goosey," cried the
rabbit, sadly-like.

"Too late!" cried the bear, in a growlery voice. "Here it goes!" and with
that he stuck his long, red tongue down inside the second cone, and with
one lick he licked all the ice cream out and threw the empty cone on the
ground.

"Now I feel good and hungry, and I guess I'll eat you," cried the bear. He
made a grab for the poor gentleman rabbit, and folded him tight in his
paws. But before that Uncle Wiggily had reached down and h