Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old rabbit gentleman, was out in his yard one day, whistling away, hammering and sawing and making his funny nose twinkle like a star on a frosty night in June. He could not twinkle his nose so very well because it had on it a piece of red, white and blue court plaster. And the reason he had the plaster there was because the last time he was out in his airship, he had had an accident, and a hailstone had struck him on the nose, as I have told you.

 

You just try to make your nose twinkle with a piece of court plaster on it, and see how hard it is. It’s almost as hard as it is to stand on your head and peel a basket of soap bubbles.

 

But still Uncle Wiggily was doing the best he could, and, as I have said, he was whistling and hammering and sawing.

 

“What in the world are you doing?” asked[Pg 24] Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat¹ lady, who kept house for Uncle Wiggily.

 

“I am fixing my airship,” he said. You know he had one, made of a clothes basket, with an electric fan to send it along through the air whizzy-izzie-like, and to lift the airship Uncle Wiggily used a lot of toy circus balloons, tied together.

 

“Going up in your airship!” cried Nurse Jane. “Why, you were out in it the other day, and look what a terrible fall you had. The hailstones burst your balloons and down you came in a tree. And Johnnie Bushytail, the squirrel, had to get you a wild grape vine rope so you could climb down.”

 

“I know he did,” said Uncle Wiggily, cheerful-like. “And I am very thankful to him.”

 

“And still, and with all that happened to you, getting your nose scratched and all that, are you again going up in your airship?” Nurse Jane wanted to know.

 

“I am going up,” said Uncle Wiggily bravely. “I want to learn how to sail all over the world in my airship.”

 

“But suppose another hailstorm comes and smashes your balloons?” asked Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy. “You will fall again, and you may be hurt worse next time.”

 

[Pg 25]

 

“No more hailstones can bother me!” cried the rabbit gentleman. “See, I am going to fasten an umbrella over my toy balloons, and then no hailstones can hit them.” And he whistled more cheerfully than before.

 

“Well, I do declare!” exclaimed Nurse Jane. “You are surely odd!”

 

Uncle Wiggily really was fastening a Japanese umbrella over his funny clothes basket airship.

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