“What does she want?” asked her brother.

“She wants you to come for a walk in the woods with us.  Papa is going along.  Come right away.”

“Aw, I’d rather play with Bully,” answered Jimmie, but just then his mamma called him, and he had to go.  Bully hopped off, and Jimmie and Alice walked home together.

“Come, Lulu, are you all ready?” asked Mrs. Wibblewobble, as she saw her other daughter throwing stones in the pond, and making a great splash.

“Yes,” was the reply, and then Jimmie said:  “Oh, mamma, I don’t want to go walking.”

“I think you will want to when you know where we are going,” said his papa.

“Where are we going?”

“To Grandpa Wibblewobble’s.”

“Oh, goody!” cried Lulu and Jimmie at once, for they always had a nice time at their grandfather’s.  So the ducks set off through the woods and over the fields, and every time they came to a bit of water they swam over it as fast as a cat can wash her face.

Pretty soon, after awhile, not very long, they came to the pen where Grandpa Wibblewobble lived with his daughter, Miss Weezy Wibblewobble, who kept house for him.

“Ha, I think grandpa has company,” said Papa Wibblewobble, as they came close to the pen and heard talking.  “Yes, he certainly has.”  And, sure enough, the old gentleman duck had.  And whom do you suppose it was?  My Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit!

“How is your rheumatism?” asked Mrs. Wibblewobble of Uncle Wiggily Longears, after they had sat down.

“Oh, it doesn’t seem to get any better,” he answered.  “I have carried a piece of horse chestnut in one ear, and a bit of dried potato in the other for ever so long, but nothing seems to do me any good.  I am going to have a new doctor soon if I don’t get well.  Oh my, yes, and some pepper hash on bread and butter also!  Ha!  Hum!  Oh my!  Ouch! and Jack and the Bean Stalk!” Uncle Wiggily called out that last because his rheumatism hurt so.

Well, Grandpa Wibblewobble gave each of the Wibblewobble children some nice sugared corn meal, flavored with sweet flag, peppermint and watercress, and a few snails to eat, and maybe they didn’t like them!

“Now,” said grandpa, “you children go out to play, while we old folks talk about the weather and rheumatism,” for you see rheumatism was about all Uncle Wiggily cared to talk about.

Well, the little duck children had a fine time playing around grandpa’s house, and now, in about a minute something is going to happen.  They had wandered off a little way, and, just as they were resting under some burdock leaves, in the shade, they heard voices talking.  And one voice said: 

“Now I’ll go up to the front door of Grandpa Wibblewobble’s house and you go up to the back door.  We’ll both knock at the same time, and the ducks won’t know which door to go to first.  Then we’ll jump in the windows and eat them all up—­all up—­up!  There are some extra fine ducks there to-day.”