Hi,
This is Stefania,
And we have made it to the end of the book,
Uncle Wiggly's Fortune.
This is the last part.
If you remember from the last story,
Uncle Wiggly and Kitty had run into a little old lady in a green dress who promised that if Uncle Wiggly helped her,
She would help him.
And now we begin our story.
Uncle Wiggly's Fortune The little old lady in the green dress,
Whose nose and chin nearly touched,
Was very glad to get the berries which Uncle Wiggly and Kitty Cat gathered.
She was very sorry that the wolf had frightened them,
But she thought it was just fine of the Red Monkey to come along when he did.
And I wish,
I just wish you could have seen him toss the wolf over the treetops by his tail,
Said the old gentleman rabbit.
It was as good as going to the circus.
Well,
For doing such a trick,
The Red Monkey can have two pieces of my berry pie.
Spoke the old woman in the green dress.
And that Red Monkey was very,
Very thankful,
And he ate the two pieces of pie,
Even down to the last drop of juice.
Of course,
The rabbit gentleman and Kitty Cat had some pie too,
And after they had eaten their share and had washed their faces and paws,
They stayed at the house of the little old woman all night.
For I want Uncle Wiggly to be nice and rested so he can start off after his fortune tomorrow,
She said.
Well,
The next morning the rabbit gentleman got ready to go.
The old lady with the green dress filled his case full of good things to eat,
Including some berry pie,
For there were no more cherries now,
You know.
Then with Kitty Cat on one side of him and the Red Monkey on the other,
Uncle Wiggly set off.
Remember,
Called the old lady as she said goodbye,
You must travel straight on for three days,
And you needn't stop on the way to look for your fortune,
For you won't find it.
Just keep on,
And at the end of the third day you will come to a hill.
Go up the hill and down the other side,
And you will then come into your fortune,
And I hope you will live for a good many years to enjoy it.
Woo,
Thank you so much,
Explained the rabbit.
It hardly seems possible that I am going to be rich after all my travels.
What kind of fortune will it be?
Oh,
You must wait and see,
Said the kind old lady.
Well,
The rabbit and the Kitty Cat girl and the Red Monkey traveled on and on.
The first day they came to a big mountain,
And the monkey wanted to climb up it to see if there were any coconut trees growing on the top.
No,
Uncle Wiggly told him,
We must keep straight on the lower road until we come to the hill.
And it is a good thing that they didn't climb that mountain,
For on top lived a big giant who had a big club,
And he might have hit the Red Monkey with it.
Mind,
I'm not saying for sure,
But it might have happened,
You know.
So the three friends traveled on and on.
They came to where there was a big ball of blue yarn beside a little lake.
It was a nice,
Soft ball of yarn,
Such as kittens play with when Grandma is knitting warm mittens for winter.
Oh,
I must stop and play with that ball of yarn,
Said Kitty Cat.
No,
Said the rabbit,
You must not do that,
For the old lady said we were to keep straight on for three days,
Not stopping.
And it is a good thing Kitty Cat didn't roll the bar,
For inside of it was a big rat,
And he might have bitten the little kitten girl.
Mind,
I'm not saying for sure,
But it happened.
Now,
This was the third day,
Spoke Uncle Wiggly when they got up one morning after having slept in a hollow stump.
By nightfall,
We ought to come to the hill,
And on the other side will be my fortune.
Oh,
How glad I am.
So they kept on and on,
Stopping for dinner in a nice shady place,
And toward evening,
They came to the hill.
There it is,
Cried the rabbit as he hurried up to it.
Oh,
I can hardly wait until I get to the other side.
Up he went,
And up went the red monkey,
And up went Kitty Cat.
And on the way,
The bad fuzzy fox sprang out from the bushes and tried to catch them,
But Uncle Wiggly tickled him with his crutch and made him sneeze and fall down the hill.
Then they came to the top of the hill.
The sun was just setting in the clouds,
And they were all colored golden and violet and purple,
And oh,
It was so beautiful.
Uncle Wiggly came to a stop,
And on one side was the red monkey,
And on the other was the kitten girl.
The rabbit rubbed his eyes,
Then he took off his glasses and polished them with his handkerchief.
Then he looked down the hill.
Why,
Why,
Exclaimed Uncle Wiggly,
There must be some mistake.
I don't see any gold or diamonds in this place.
Why,
It's the very place I started away from so many weeks ago.
There is where I live.
There is where Sammy and Susie Littletail live.
That's the treehouse where Johnny and Billy Bushytail live.
And there is the pond where Alice and Lulu and Jimmy Wibble Wobble the Ducks live.
This is home.
There can't be a fortune here.
Oh,
How disappointed he felt.
The sun sank lower behind the clouds and made them more golden and green and purple.
Then,
Out from their homes ran the rabbit children,
And the squirrel brothers,
And the duck children,
And Petey and Jackie Bow Wow,
And Bully the Frog and his brother,
And Dottie and Munchy Trot,
And Buddy and Bright Eyes Pig,
And all the others.
Oh,
Here is Uncle Wiggly.
Our Uncle Wiggly has come back,
They cried,
Leaping about in joy.
Oh,
How glad we are to see you.
Happy,
Happy welcome.
You are rich,
Uncle Wiggly.
Rich,
Very rich.
Rich?
Said the rabbit,
Rubbing his eyes and trying to stand up while all his friends gathered around him.
But I don't understand.
The little old lady in the green dress said I would find my fortune here,
But I don't see it.
Let me explain.
Said Sammy Littletail.
Do you see that field of cabbage,
Uncle Wiggly?
And the rabbit boy pointed to it.
Yes,
Said the rabbit.
I see the field.
There are seventeen million two hundred and fifty-six thousand nine hundred and three cabbages there,
Said Sammy,
And they are all yours.
And do you see that field of turnips?
Yes,
Said Uncle Wiggly as he looked down the hill.
I see them.
There are nineteen million four hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and sixty-six turnips,
Said Sammy,
And they are all yours.
And and do you see that field,
That field of carrots?
I do,
Said Uncle Wiggly.
But he couldn't see so very far as tears of joy were in his eyes.
There are one hundred million eight hundred and twenty-three thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine and a half carrots in that field,
Said Sammy.
Jilly Longtail the mouse had half the carrot because she was ill,
But all the rest are yours and you are the richest rabbit in the world,
The very richest.
There is your fortune.
You can sell the turnips and carrots and cabbages and have forty-eleven barrels of gold.
But I don't understand,
Said Uncle Wiggly as he tried to hug all his friends at once.
It was this way,
Said Sammy.
When you were gone,
We all planted things in your garden and fields for you,
And we took care of them,
Hoeing and watering them until they grew as never carrots or turnips or cabbages grew before.
So now you have come back to us.
And you are rich,
And it was true.
After traveling almost around the earth in search of his fortune,
Uncle Wiggly came back to find it right at home.
That's the way it often happens in this world.
Well,
You can imagine how surprised he was.
He hugged and kissed all his friends,
And then he went into his old house with Sammy and Susie Littletail.
And when he had sold the cabbages and carrots and turnips for many barrels of gold,
There he lived for many,
Many years,
As happy as an old gentleman rabbit as you could find in a day's journey.
And though his rheumatism bothered him,
At times it couldn't be helped.
And he gave all his friends as much money as they wanted,
And they all had good times together and lots of fun.
And every once in a while,
Uncle Wiggly would treat everybody to strawberry ice cream cones with cabbage or turnip sauce on.
So now I have come to the end of this book,
But I still have more stories about the old gentleman rabbit,
In case you would like to hear them.
But you'll have to wait.
It's coming,
But you'll have to wait.
In the meantime,
We'll have some other stories as well.
And that's it for now.
Take care.
Be good.
Bye for now.
