STORY XV

PLAYING A BALL GAME

One day Jimmie Wibblewobble was going over to where Bully, the frog, lived.

“Come on!” cried the little boy duck, to the frog.  “Let’s get up a ball game.  We’ll find Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, and Sammie Littletail, and have some fun.  Have you seen Uncle Wiggily Longears?  He will umpire for us, I know, and tell who’s out, and when the balls go straight, and all that.  Have you seen him?”

“I saw him limping along a while ago,” answered Bully.  “He can’t have gone very far, for his rheumatism is bad again.”

“Let’s hurry up and catch him,” suggested Jimmie.  So they ran on through the woods as fast as they could and, sure enough, they soon saw the old gentleman rabbit.

“Will you come to our ball game?” asked Jimmie.

“Why, of course, to be sure,” answered Uncle Wiggily.  “But I can’t play very well, you know, on account of—­Oh my!  Ouch!  Oh dear!  Um Um!  Present arms!  Ready!  Aim!  Fire!  Oh!  Oh!  Oh!” That’s the way he cried all of a sudden.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jimmie.

“Matter?  Why my rheumatism; that’s what’s the matter!  It does seem to catch me at the wrong time.  I’m afraid I won’t be able to play ball to-day after all, boys.  I’m sorry, but—­Oh dear!  There it goes again!” and that poor, old gentleman rabbit had to lean on his crutch, because his legs hurt him so.

“Oh, we only want you to look on, and tell us when the game is going all right,” said Jimmie very kindly.  “You can have a seat in the shade, and you will decide who’s out, and who makes a run, and which side wins.”

“Well, I might manage that,” replied Uncle Wiggily.  “Come on, but please walk very slowly.”

So they walked on very slowly, and pretty soon they met Johnnie and Billie Bushytail with Sister Sallie.  And the little girl squirrel was singing: 

    “Hippity-hop to the barber shop
      To buy a lolly-pop-lally. 
     One for me and one for thee
      And one for Sister Sallie.”

“Come on, let’s play ball,” called Jimmie to Johnnie and Billie.  The Bushytail brothers said they would, and on they all went, through the woods and over the fields, and pretty soon, oh, maybe in about two quacks and a half, whom should they meet but Sammie and Susie Littletail.  Sammie said he would play ball, and Susie said she would look on.  Then along came Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble, and Lulu had her white kittie with her.

“My kittie ought to play, as long as I can’t play, especially as she knew how to roll a ball,” spoke Lulu.  So Jimmie said the kittie could very nicely with her paws.

“But that’s all the girls who are going to be on the team,” said Jimmie very decidedly.

Well, they started to play, and they had an old wooden door knob for a ball.  I just wish you could have seen them, honestly I do.  It was as good as going to a show, where they charge five pins to get in.  Bully, the frog, was the catcher, for all he had to do was to open his large mouth, and the ball would go right in.  Uncle Wiggily was a sort of judge, or umpire.  That is, he sat in the shade, on a pile of soft leaves, and told when it was right for one of the players to give up the bat, and let some one else have a chance.