Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper for Uncle Wiggily Longears, the bunny rabbit gentleman, once baked a cherry pie, of which Mr. Longears was very fond. In fact, Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy baked two pies. One she put upon the shelf for Uncle Wiggily's supper. The other pie Nurse Jane wrapped in a clean napkin, put it in a basket, and then she said:
"Come on, Uncle Wiggily. We will take this pie to Grandfather Goosey Gander."
"That will be fine!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. So he set off with Nurse Jane, over the fields and through the woods. "And perhaps we may have an adventure," said the bunny gentleman, hopeful-like.
"Well, if we do," spoke Nurse Jane, "I hope nothing happens to this cherry pie. I baked one for you, and the other especially for Grandpa Goosey. I shouldn't like the Fuzzy Fox, nor yet the Woozie Wolf, to get this pie."
"Nor I," said Uncle Wiggily. "And I don't believe Grandpa Goosey would, either."
The rabbit gentleman and Nurse Jane hopped along together, until, after a while, Uncle Wiggily saw a horse in a >field.
[Pg 156] "Look at that poor horse!" said the bunny gentleman, coming to a stop, and peeping over the top of his pink, twinkling nose. "There he stands, all day long, with nothing to eat but grass."
"What else would he eat?" asked Nurse Jane, suspiciously.
"I don't s'pose he ever had a cherry pie," went on Uncle Wiggily reflective-like. "Poor horse! Never had any cherry pie!"
"Wiggy!" exclaimed Nurse Jane, as she took a firmer hold of the basket handle. "If you are thinking of giving Grandpa Goosey's pie to that horse——"
"Well, that's just what I'm thinking of," answered Mr. Longears. "Here, Nurse Jane, please give me that pie. You may run back home and get the one you were saving for me to give to Grandpa Goosey. I'll call this pie mine, and I'm going to give it to the horse."
"Well, I never in all my born days," exclaimed Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy, "heard the like of that!"
Still she knew Uncle Wiggily meant to be kind, so she gave the bunny rabbit gentleman the basket with the pie inside, and started back for the hollow stump bungalow to get the other.
The bunny rabbit certainly was not selfish, whatever else he was.
"Hello, Horsie!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, as he hopped through the field where the big animal was eating.
"Hello," answered the horse. "Oh, it's Uncle Wiggily!" he went on, as he stopped cropping the grass and looked up.
[Pg 157] "Did you ever eat a cherry pie?" asked the bunny rabbit, beginning to take the cloth off the one in the basket.
"Cherry pie? I don't believe I ever did," slowly answered the horse. "Cherry pie! Hum! No, I never tasted any."
"Wouldn't you like to?" asked the bunny. "I should think you would get tired of eating grass all day long."
"Well, grass is my food, and I like it," neighed the horse. "But I like some oats once in a while, and some bran. Yes, and I think I'd like some cherry pie, also."
"Here! Take this one! Nurse Jane can bake more!" said generous Uncle Wiggily, and he held out the pie.
"Oh, my! That's a fine one!" whinnied the horse. "That looks most delicious."
"And it tastes as delicious as it looks," went on the bunny. "I know Nurse Jane's pies. Take a bite!"
The horse did. One bit was all that was needed to enable him to eat the whole pie, for it was only rabbit size, of course, not as large as the pies your mother bakes.
"Um!" said the horse, as the red cherry juice ran down his lips. "That was a good pie! I could eat more!"
"I'm sorry, but that's the only one I have," spoke Uncle Wiggily. &quo............