All of a sudden, just as the paper boat was melting all to pieces, and Uncle Wiggily was trying, as best he could, to swim to shore with his crutch and valise, and just as the alligator was going to grab him, along came the big, kind goldfish.

“Jump on my back, Uncle Wiggily!” cried the fish, and the rabbit did so, in the twinkling of an eye.  And before the alligator could grab Uncle Wiggily, the goldfish swam to shore with him, and he was safe.  And the alligator got some soap in his eye, from washing his face too hard, and went sloshing away as mad as could be, but it served him right.  And Uncle Wiggily slept safely in the wooden house all night, and dreamed about finding a gold dollar.

Now in case the banana man brings me some pink oranges for the elephant’s little boy, I’ll tell you in another story about Uncle Wiggily and the mud pie.[Transcriber’s Note:  in the above sentence, the word “tell” was omitted in the original text.]

STORY XXII

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE MUD PIE

Uncle Wiggily slept very soundly that night in the little wooden house, across on the other side of the brook, where the alligator tried to catch him, but didn’t.  And when he awakened in the morning the rabbit traveler wondered what he was going to have for breakfast.  But he didn’t wonder very long.

For, as soon as he had gotten up, and had washed his paws and face, and combed out his ears—­oh, dear me—­I mean his whiskers—­as soon as he had done that, he heard a knock on the door.

“Oh, my, suz dud and a bottle of milk!” exclaimed the old gentleman rabbit.  “I hope that isn’t the scary-flary alligator again.”

So he peeped out of the window, but to his surprise, he didn’t see any one.

“I’m sure I heard a knock,” he said, “but I guess I was mistaken.”

Well, he was going over to his valise to see if it had in it anything to eat, when the knock again sounded on the door.

“No, I wasn’t mistaken,” said Uncle Wiggily.  “I wonder who that can be?  I’ll peep, and find out.”

So he hid behind the window curtain, and kept a close watch, and the first things he saw were some little stones flying through the air.  And they hit against the front door with a rattlety-bang, and it was these stones that had made the sound that was like a knock.

“Oh! it must be some bad boys after me,” thought the poor old gentleman rabbit.  “My!  I do seem to be having a dreadful time seeking my fortune.  There is always some kind of trouble.”

And then more stones came through the air, and banged on the door and this time Uncle Wiggily saw that they came from the stream, and, what is more, he saw the goldfish throwing the stones and pebbles out of the brook with his tail.  Then the rabbit knew it was all right, for the goldfish was a friend of his, so he ran out.

“Were you throwing stones at the house?” asked Uncle Wiggily.