“Oh, that’s fine, if Uncle Wiggily is coming!” said Buddy.  “He’ll take us all over the mountains, into caves and out rowing on the lake, and show us how to have lots of fun.”

Well, the Pigg family began to pack up, and, in a few hours they were ready to go.  Uncle Wiggily came to help them, as he had all his things packed.  He brought along his crutch, in case he might happen to need it, but he hoped he would not.

“Couldn’t Sammie and Susie Littletail come, too?” asked Buddy.

“No, they have gone to Belmar, at the seashore, for the summer,” answered Uncle Wiggily.  “But now we must hurry off to the mountains.”

So they hurried off, and in a little while, oh, not so very long, Dr. Pigg and his family, and Uncle Wiggily arrived at a nice pen, right on the side of a mountain, at the foot of which was a large lake.

There were so many things to see that Buddy and Brighteyes did not know at which to look first, and they ran all about, now to one place, and now to another.  Then, when they had had their supper, Uncle Wiggily said: 

“Come now, we will take a walk.  I think I know where there is a cave, and we will see if a giant lives in it.”

“A real giant?” asked Buddy.

[Illustration]

“No, only a make-believe one,” answered Uncle Wiggily, with a laugh.  So he and the two guinea pig children started off up the side of the mountain toward the cave.  All around them were other mountains, and it was a lovely place, with the red sun sinking down behind the hills, just like it does in poetry.

“Ha, here we are at the cave!” exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, at length, as they came to a big hole in the side of the mountain.  “Now, Buddy and Brighteyes, be very careful.  Keep close to me, and don’t go in very far, or you may get lost.”

Then they started to go in, but just at that moment Uncle Wiggily stepped on a stone and twisted his ankle, the one that had some rheumatism still left in it, and he had to sit down and rub his foot with a bottle of liniment which he carried in his pocket.

While he was doing this Buddy and Brighteyes wandered a little way into the cave.  It looked perfectly safe, and it was so pretty, with the sun shining in, and reflecting back from the crystals that hung down from the roof, and those that stuck up from the floor, that, almost before they knew what they were doing, the two children had gone some distance inside.

And, once they were in, it was so pretty that they kept on going farther and farther, until, land sakes, if, in about ten minutes they weren’t away inside that cave, and they had forgotten all about what Uncle Wiggily Longears had told them about keeping close to him.

“Oh, we mustn’t go any further!” cried Brighteyes at length.  “It’s getting quite dark, Buddy.  We’ll have to go back.”

“All right,” agreed her brother.  “Uncle Wiggily will take us farther in I guess.  We’ll go and get him.”