Bully and Bawly No-Tail | Page 5

I wonder what that can be!" exclaimed Bawly, looking around for a good place to hide.
He was just going to crawl under a hollow stump, for he thought perhaps the noise might be made by a bad wolf, or a savage fox, sharpening his teeth on a hard log, when Bawly heard some one say:
"There, I've dropped my hammer! Oh, dear! Now I'll have to climb all the way down and get it, I s'pose."
"Well, that doesn't sound like a wolf or a fox," thought Bawly. "I guess it's safe to go on."
So he didn't hide under the stump, but hopped along, and in a little while he came to a place in the woods where there were no trees, and, bless you! if there wasn't the cutest little house you've ever seen! It wasn't quite finished, and, in fact, up on the roof was Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, putting on the shingles to keep out the rain if it came.
"Oh, hello, Uncle Wiggily!" called Bawly, joyfully.
"Hello," answered the rabbit carpenter. "You are just in time, Bawly. Would you mind handing me my hammer? It slipped and fell to the ground."
"Of course I'll throw it up to you," said Bawly, kindly. "But you had better get behind the chimney, Uncle Wiggily, for I might hit you with the hammer, though, of course, I wouldn't mean to. You see I am a very good thrower from having played ball so much."
"I see," answered Uncle Wiggily. "Well, I'll get behind the chimney."
So Bawly picked up the hammer and he threw it carefully toward the roof, but, would you believe me, he threw it so hard that it went right over the house, chimney and all, and fell down on the other side.
"My! You are too strong!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily laughing so that his fur shook. "Try again, Bully, if you please."
"Oh, I'm Bawly, not Bully," said the frog boy.
"Excuse me, that was my mistake," spoke the old gentleman rabbit. "I'll get it right next time, Peetie--I mean Bawly."
Well, Bawly threw the hammer again, and this time it landed right on the roof close to the chimney, and Uncle Wiggily picked it up and began nailing on more shingles.
"If you please," asked Bawly, when he had watched the rabbit carpenter put in about forty-'leven nails, "who is this house for?"
"It is for Sammie and Susie Littletail," answered Uncle Wiggily. "They are going to have rabbit play-parties in it, and I hope you and Bully will come sometimes."
"We'll be glad to," spoke Bawly. Then Uncle Wiggily drove in another nail, and the house was almost done.
"How do you get up and down off the roof?" asked Bawly, who didn't see any ladder.
"Oh, I slide up and down a rope," answered Uncle Wiggily. "I have a strong cord fastened to the chimney, and I crawl up it, just like a monkey-doodle, and when I want to come down, I slide down. It's better than a ladder, and I can climb a rope very well, for I used to be a sailor on a ship. See, here is the rope."
Well, he took hold of it, near where it was fastened to the chimney, to show the frog boy how it was done, but, alas, and also alack-a-day! All of a sudden that rope became untied, it slipped out of Uncle Wiggily's paw and fell to the ground! Now, what do you think about that?
"Oh, my! Now I have gone and done it!" exclaimed the elderly rabbit, as he leaned over the edge of the roof and looked down. "Now I am in a pickle!--if you will kindly excuse the expression. How am I ever going to get down? Oh, dear me, suz dud and a piece of sticking-plaster likewise. Oh, me! Oh, my!"
"Can't you jump, Uncle Wiggily?" asked Bawly.
"Oh, my, no! I might be killed. It's too far! I could never jump off the roof of a house."
"Perhaps you can climb down from one window shutter to the other, and so get to the ground," suggested Bawly.
"No," said Uncle Wiggily, looking over the edge of the house again. "There are no window shutters on as yet. So I can't climb on 'em."
Well, it did seem as if poor Uncle Wiggily would have to stay up there on the roof for a long, long time, for there was no way of getting down.
"If there was a load of hay here, you could jump on that, and you wouldn't be hurt," said Bawly, scratching his nose.
"But there is no hay here," said the rabbit carpenter, sadly.
"Well, if there was a fireman here with a long ladder, then you could get down," said Bawly, wiggling his toes.
"But there is no fireman here," objected Uncle Wiggily. "Ah, I have it, Bawly! You are a good jumper, perhaps