So Uncle Wiggily was saved by the ants, and in case the trolley car doesn’t run over my stick of peppermint candy, and make it look like a lolly-pop, I’ll tell you soon about Uncle Wiggily and the good giant.

STORY XXIX

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE GOOD GIANT

Now what do you s’pose that bad giant had for supper the night after the ants helped Uncle Wiggily get away?  You’d never guess, so I’ll tell you.  It was beans—­just baked beans, and that giant was so disappointed, and altogether so cut-up about not having rabbit stew, that he ate so many beans, that I’m almost afraid to tell you just how many.

But if all the boys in your school were to take their bean shooters, and shoot beans out of a bag for a million years, and Fourth of July also, that giant could eat all of them, and more too—­that is, if he could get the beans after the boys shot them away.

“Well, I certainly must be more careful after this,” said Uncle Wiggily to the ants, as they crawled along down the hill with him, when he hopped away from the bad giant’s house.

“Oh, it wasn’t your fault,” said the second size big red ant, with black and yellow stripes on his stockings.  “That bad giant changed the flags, and that’s what fooled you.  But I guess the good giant will have his flag back by to-morrow, and then you can go to the right house.  We’ll go along and show you, and you may get your fortune from him.”

So, surely enough, the next day, the good giant went over and took his flag away from the bad giant, and put it upon his own house.

“Now you’ll be all right,” said the pink ant, with purple spots on his necktie.  “You won’t make any mistake now, Uncle Wiggily.  I’m sure the good giant will give you a good fortune.”

“Yes, and he’ll give you lots to eat,” said the black ant with white rings around his nose.

Well, Uncle Wiggily took his valise and his crutch and up toward the good giant’s house he went, with the ants crawling along in the sand to show him the way.

Pretty soon they came to a big bridge, over a stream of water, and this was the beginning of the place where the good giant lived.

“We’ll all have to go back now,” said the purple ant, with the green patchwork squares on his checks.  “If we crossed over the bridge we might fall off and be drowned.  We’ll go back, but you go ahead, and we wish you good luck, Uncle Wiggily.”

“Indeed we do,” said a white ant with gold buckles on her shoes.

Well, after a little while Uncle Wiggily found himself right inside the good giant’s house.  And oh! what a big place it was.  Why, even the door mat was so big that it took the rabbit three hops to get to the top of it.  And that front door!  I wish you could have seen it!  It was as large as one of your whole houses, and it was only a door, mind you.

“Hello! hello!” cried Uncle Wiggily, as he pounded with his crutch on the floor.  “Is any one at home?”