“Oh, I’m caught fast!” cried the poor little creature, and she rolled around and around on the ground, thinking that would help some, but it didn’t.

Then she heard some one coming along through the woods, and she called out:  “Who’s there?  Please help me out of this can!”

“I’m Johnnie Bushytail,” answered a voice.  “Who are you?”

“I’m Brighteyes Pigg,” she said.  “Please help me.”

But her voice sounded so queer and hollow, shut up as it was in the can, and the nutmeg rattled around so, like thunder, that Johnnie Bushytail, the squirrel, was frightened, and ran away, without helping Brighteyes.  Then she felt like crying, but, in a little while she heard some one else coming along through the woods, and she called:  “Oh, please help me!  Who is there?”

“I’m Sammie Littletail,” was the answer.  “Who are you?”

“I’m Brighteyes Pigg,” she replied.  “Help me, please!”

But her voice sounded so strange and hollow in the can, and just then the yeast cake came bouncing out, where there was a little space near Brighteyes’ neck and the tinfoil was all shining so that Sammie thought some one was shooting square, silver bullets at him, and away he ran.

Then Brighteyes was going to give up in despair, and she thought she would never, never get out, and she wished she had never eaten the molasses, when, all of a sudden, she heard some one else coming along, and between her sobs she cried out: 

“Oh, please, whoever you are, don’t run away!  Help me out of this can!  Who are you?”

“I am Alice Wibblewobble, the duck,” was the answer.  “Who are you?”

“I am Brighteyes Pigg,” said the little creature in the molasses can, and just then the bottle of blueing broke inside and the blue stuff ran out, trickling to one side.

“Oh, you must be the blue fairy!” cried Alice, and she took her strong bill and bent back the edges of the tin can so that Brighteyes could get out, which she soon did, and was not hurt in the least.

Of course Alice was surprised to see a guinea pig instead of a blue fairy, but she was glad she had saved Brighteyes, who had to go back to the store for another bottle of blueing.  But the nutmeg and the yeast cake were all right.

Then Alice Wibblewobble poured the rest of the molasses out of the can into an empty acorn cup and Brighteyes took it home to Buddy, who liked it very much, and I almost wish I had some molasses candy; don’t you?

Now, in the next story I’m going to tell you about Dr. Pigg and the firecracker; that is if the mosquitoes don’t sing so loudly that they wake up the baby’s rattle box.

STORY XII

DR. PIGG AND THE FIRECRACKER

Once upon a time it happened that, as Buddy Pigg was coming home from having played baseball with Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, and all his friends, he saw, lying beside the road, something long and round and red, with a little string dangling from it.