Now, if the elephant doesn’t get a sliver in his foot so he can’t dance at the hoptoads’ picnic, I’ll tell you in the next story about Uncle Wiggily and the peanut man.

STORY XIV

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE PEANUT MAN

After Uncle Wiggily and the elephant and the big dog had eaten up the ice cream cones, they sat in the woods a while and looked at the place where the watery lake had been before the elephant drank it up to save the rabbit from drowning.

“My, but you must be strong to take up all that water,” said the dog.

“Yes, I guess I am pretty strong,” said the elephant, though he was not at all proud-like.  “I will show you how I can pull up a tree,” he said.  So he wound his trunk around a big tree and he gave one great, heaving pull and up that tree came by the roots.  Then, all of a sudden a voice cried: 

“Oh, you’re upsetting all my eggs!” and a robin, who had her nest in the tree, fluttered around feeling very sad.

“Oh, excuse me, Mrs. Robin,” said the elephant.  “I would not have disturbed you for the world had I known that your nest was in that tree.  I’ll plant it right back again in the same place I pulled it up.  Anyhow, I intended to do it, as it is not a good thing to kill a tree.  I’ll plant it again.”

So he put the tree back in the hole, and with his big feet he stamped down the earth around it.  Then the robin’s nest and eggs were safe, and she sang a pretty song because she was thankful to the elephant.

Well, the elephant had to sleep out-of-doors again that night, because he couldn’t find a house large enough for him, but Uncle Wiggily slept in the big dog’s kennel.  In the morning the rabbit said: 

“It is very nice here, and I like it very much, but I must travel along, I s’pose, and see if I can’t find my fortune.  Are you coming, Mr. Elephant?”

“Why, certainly.  I will go along with you,” said the big chap.  “Perhaps the dog will come also.”

“No, thank you,” said the dog.  “I am going to meet a friend of mine, named Percival, and we are going to call on Lulu and Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble, the duck children.”

“Is that so?” exclaimed Uncle Wiggily.  “Why, Percival and the Wibblewobbles are friends of mine.  Kindly give them my love and say that I hope soon to get back home with my fortune.”

So the dog said he would, and he started off to meet Percival, who used to work in the same circus where the elephant came from.  And the rabbit and the elephant hurried off together down the road.

“Are you ever going back to the circus?” asked Uncle Wiggily of the elephant as they went along.

“Not unless they catch me and make me go,” he answered.  “I like this sort of life much better, and besides, no one gave me ice cream cones in the circus.”

Well, pretty soon the rabbit and the elephant came to a place where there was a high mountain.