Part 19 (1/2)

On the morning of the day when it was to be Hallowe'en, Curly Tail, and Flop Ear, the two piggie boys, awakened in Uncle Wiggily's bungalow, on Racc.o.o.n Island in Lake Hopatcong, and Curly Tail whispered:

”What are you going to dress up like, Flop Ear?”

”Oh, I guess I'll make believe I'm a loaf of bread. What are you going to be?”

”An apple pie,” said the other little piggie boy, ”I'll stick apples all over myself, and some bits of pie crust, and when we get through playing Hallowe'en we can eat them.”

”Fine!” cried Curly Tail. ”I wish I was going dressed up like an ice cream cone, but then I'd melt so fast I wouldn't have any fun. So I guess I'll be a loaf of bread.”

”And we'll fool Uncle Wiggily, won't we?” said Flop Ear.

”We surely will,” declared his brother. But if they could have looked into the next room, and have seen Uncle Wiggily laughing to himself, and winking his eyes, and rubbing his leg that had rheumatism in it--well, maybe those piggie boys wouldn't have felt so funny.

”Fool me, eh? Will they?” whispered Uncle Wiggily. ”We'll see about it,” and then he hopped about on his crutch to help the boys get breakfast.

”We must have all the good times we can,” said the old gentleman rabbit, ”for soon the new roof will be on your school and you will have to begin studying your lessons again. Be happy while you're here, for soon the snow will fly and the ice will come, and we will have to go away from the lake.”

”Oh, we're going to have a good time, Uncle Wiggily,” said Curly Tail, or Curly, as I often call him for short, and then he looked at his brother, and they both laughed and pretended it wasn't anything at all. But Uncle Wiggily knew better.

”Well,” said the old gentleman rabbit, after breakfast, ”I guess I'll go down and play Scotch checkers with Pop Goes the Weasel. You boys can stay here, but if the bad alligator or the fuzzy fox tries to get you, just call for me.”

”All right,” said Curly Tail, and when his uncle was out of sight he and his brother began to dress up for Hollowe'en, which is the night everyone puts on false faces you know.

One of the piggie boys made a lot of flour paste, colored with brown sugar, and that was to fix him so he would look like a loaf of bread. And Flop Ear made himself look like an apple pie.

”Now, we'll just practice, ready for tonight, when we're going to fool Uncle Wiggily,” said Curly Tail, and they did, having lots of fun.

Just before supper Uncle Wiggily came home from having played Scotch checkers with Pop Goes the Weasel. The old gentleman had something under his coat, but when Curly Tail and Flop Ear asked him what it was he only laughed and said:

”Oh, you'll soon see!”

Well, it got pretty dark, and Curly Tail and his brother thought it was time for them to dress up and play a trick on their uncle. So they took their false faces, one like a lump of b.u.t.tered bread and the other like a piece of cheese, and went out in the woods to dress. They intended to come and knock on the bungalow door and see what Uncle Wiggily would do and say when he saw them.

Pretty soon they were both ready, and, really, if I do say it myself, Curly Tail looked just like a ten-cent loaf, with flour in his b.u.t.tonhole and all that, only he didn't have any real b.u.t.ter on, as that was so greasy. And Flop Ear, or Flop, or Floppy, for short, looked too cute for anything--just exactly like an apple pie, and he even carried a bit of cheese to go with it, and a toasting fork.

”Now, we'll fool Uncle Wiggily,” they said, as they started for the bungalow. But they didn't know what had happened to the rabbit gentleman. They hadn't gone very far before, out in a boat on the lake, not far from sh.o.r.e, they heard a voice calling:

”Oh, help! Help! He's such a big one that I can't get him in, and Percival has fallen overboard! Help! Help!”

”My goodness! What's that?” asked Curly Tail, in surprise.

”Some one must be in trouble,” said Flop Ear. ”Let's see who it is.”

”But it might be the bad skillery-scalery alligator, with the lumps on his tail,” said the other piggie boy. Then Flop Ear looked out on the lake, where it was all lighted by the moon and he said:

”I see a lady in a boat. Surely she would not harm us. And she spoke of Percival--she must mean the old circus dog! I am going to see what is the matter!”