s
twinkling nose for you, and then you must give me a popcorn ball," for you
know wasps like sweet things.

So the wasp got ready to sting poor Uncle Wiggily, and all this while the
rabbit and the porcupine were peacefully sleeping there under the ferns,
and they didn't know what was going to happen.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" went the wasp, as he flew closer to Uncle Wiggily. He
was all ready to sting him, when a piece of bark happened to fall off a
tree and hit the porcupine on his left ear, waking him up. He opened his
eyes very quickly, thinking that a fairy was throwing snowballs at him,
and then the porcupine heard the wasp buzzing, and he saw the wasp flying
straight toward Uncle Wiggily to sting him, and next the porcupine saw
the bad fox.

"Ha! So that is how things are, eh?" cried the porcupine, as he jumped up.
"Well, I'll soon put a stop to that!"

So, before you could fan yourself with a feather, the porcupine took out
one of his stickers, and he stuck the wasp with it so hard that the bad
wasp was glad enough to fly away, taking his stinger with him.

"Now, it's your turn!" cried the porcupine to the fox, and with that he
threw a whole lot of his sharp quills at the fox, and that bad creature
ran away howling. And then Uncle Wiggily woke up and wanted to know what
it was all about, and what made the buzzing and howling noises.

"You had a narrow escape," said the porcupine as he told the rabbit about
the wasp and the fox.

"I guess I did," admitted Uncle Wiggily. "I'm much obliged to you. Now
let's have supper."

So they ate their supper, and that's all I can tell you for the present,
if you please. But, in case I see a little pig with a pink ribbon tied in
his curly tail, I'll make the next bedtime story, about Uncle Wiggily and
the bluebell.

STORY XXVI

UNCLE WIGGLY AND THE BLUEBELL

Well, I didn't see any little pig with a pink ribbon tied in his kinky,
curly tail, but I'll tell you a story just the same if you'd like to hear
it.

Once upon a time, a good many years ago, when--Oh, there I go again! I'm
always making mistakes like that, of late. That's a story about a giant
that I was thinking of, whereas I meant to tell you one about Uncle
Wiggily, and what happened to him.

It was the day after the wasp had nearly stung him, and the old gentleman
rabbit was traveling on alone, for the second cousin to Grandfather
Prickly Porcupine had to go home, and so he couldn't help Uncle Wiggil