It was about a week after this, and Uncle Wiggily was once more in the woods, looking for an adventure, when, all at once a big bear jumped out from behind a tree and grabbed him.

“Oh, dear!” cried Uncle Wiggily.  “Why did you do that?  Why have you caught me, Mr. Bear?”

“Because I am going to carry you off to my den,” answered the bear.  “I am hungry, and I have been looking for something to eat.  You came along just in time.  Come on!”

The hear was leading Uncle Wiggily away when the bunny uncle happened to think of something, and it was this—­that bears are very fond of sweet things.

“Would you not rather eat some honey than me?” Uncle Wiggily asked of the bear.

“Much rather,” answered the shaggy creature, “but where is the honey?” he asked, cautious like and foxy.

“Come with me and I will show you where it is,” went on the bunny uncle, for he felt sure that his friends the bees, would give the bear honey so the bad animal would let the rabbit gentleman go.

Uncle Wiggily led the way through the wood to the bee tree, the bear keeping hold of him all the while.  Pretty soon a loud buzzing was heard, and when they came to where the honey was stored in the hollow tree, all of a sudden out flew hundreds of bees, and they stung the bear so hard all over, especially on his soft and tender nose, that the bear cried: 

“Wow!  Wouch!  Oh, dear!” and, letting go of the rabbit, ran away to jump in the ice water to cool off.

But the bees did not sting Uncle Wiggily, for they liked him, and he thanked them for driving away the bear.  So everything came out all right, you see, and if the foot-stool gets up to the head of the class and writes its name on the blackboard, with pink chalk, I’ll tell you next about Uncle Wiggily and the dogwood tree.

STORY XVII

UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE DOGWOOD

“Where are you going, Uncle Wiggily?” asked Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, as the nice old rabbit gentleman started out from his hollow stump bungalow one afternoon.

“Oh, just for a walk in the woods,” he answered.  “Neddie Stubtail, the little bear boy, told me last night that there were many adventures in the forest, and I want to see if I can find one.”

“My goodness!  You seem very fond of adventures!” said Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy.

“I am,” went on Uncle Wiggily, with a smile that made his pink nose twinkle and his whiskers sort of chase themselves around the back of his neck, as though they were playing tag with his collar button.  “I just love to have adventures.”

“Well, while you are out walking among the trees would you mind doing me a favor?” asked Nurse Jane.

“I wouldn’t mind in the least,” spoke the bunny uncle.  “What would you like me to do?”

“Just leave this thimble at Mrs. Bow Wow’s house.  I borrowed the dog lady’s thimble to use when I couldn’t find mine, but now that I have my own back again I’ll return hers.”