Then Uncle Wiggily asked him who he was, and the little boy said: 

“I am the fairy prince!  I used to be a mud turtle, and live in the pond where Lulu and Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble swim.  But I got tired of being a mud turtle, though I was a fairy prince, so I changed myself into a little boy.”

But, do you know, Uncle Wiggily didn’t believe him, and, what’s more, he said so.  Oh, yes, indeed he did!  Then what did that little boy-fairy-prince do, but up and say: 

“Well, you soon will believe me, Uncle Wiggily.  You come back to the woods a little later, and something wonderful will happen.  I’ll make you believe in fairies; that’s what I will, for you will see a red fairy very shortly.”

But still Uncle Wiggily didn’t believe, and he went home, moving his nose and ears at the same time.  But you just wait, for if I should happen to find a penny rolling up hill, I will tell you, to-morrow night, about Uncle Wiggily and the red fairy.

XXV

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE RED FAIRY

Well, I didn’t find that penny rolling up hill, after all, but never mind, I’ll tell you a story just the same.  Let’s see, we left off about Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and what was going to happen to him when he should meet the red fairy, didn’t we?

Uncle Wiggily walked along very slowly, going home from the party Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble had.  Sammie Littletail saw how slowly his uncle walked, and asked: 

“What is the matter, Uncle Wiggily?  Does your rheumatism hurt you very much?”

“No, it isn’t that,” replied the old gentleman rabbit, “though it does pain me some.  I was just wondering about that red fairy.”

“Oh, do you really suppose one will appear, as the fairy prince said?” asked Susie, making her nose twinkle like two stars and a comet on a frosty night.

“No,” spoke Uncle Wiggily very decidedly, “I don’t really believe one will.  Still, there may.  You never can tell in this world what is going to happen,” and I think Uncle Wiggily was right about it.

“Oh!” cried Susie, “I wish I could come with you, Uncle Wiggily.  I never saw a real fairy in all my life.  Couldn’t I come with you?” and the little rabbit girl went close to her uncle, and took hold of his crutch, gnawed by the muskrat, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, out of a cornstalk.

“Yes, I suppose you could,” answered Susie’s Uncle, who was very kind to her.

“Oh, no!” exclaimed Sammie.  “It might spoil the magic spell, if more than one went, Uncle Wiggily.  Maybe the fairy would not like it.  You had better go alone.”

“All right,” answered the old gentleman rabbit, “anything to please you.  I’ll go alone.”

Well, when the rabbit family got back to their burrow, after the party, they could talk of nothing else but what was going to happen when Uncle Wiggily should meet the red fairy.  Sammie and Susie didn’t want to go to bed, they were so excited, but their mamma sent them up with Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy.