sitting on a stump. And the pussy cat was washing his face with his paws,
taking care not to let the claws stick out for fear of scratching his
eyes.

"Why can't I go down this hole, Pussy?" asked the rabbit. "Do you have
charge of it?"

"No, indeed," was the answer, "but there is a bad snake who lives down
there, and he puts up that sign so the animals will come down, and then he
eats them. That's the reason he says they are welcome. No, indeed, I
wouldn't want to see you go down there!"

"Ha! Hum! I wouldn't like to see myself!" spoke Uncle Wiggily, and he
crawled away from the hole just in time, for the snake stuck out his ugly
head and was about to bite the rabbit. It was the same snake that had
nearly caught the bumble bee.

"Say!" cried the snake, quite angry like, to the pussy cat, "I wish you
would get away from here! You are always spoiling my plans. I thought I
was going to have a nice rabbit dinner, and now look at what you have
done," and that snake was so angry that he hissed like a boiling
teakettle.

"I will never let you eat up Uncle Wiggily!" cried the pussy. "Now look
out for yourself, Mr. Snake!" and with that the pussy made his back round
like a hoop, and he swelled up his tail like a bologna sausage, and he
showed his teeth and claws to the snake, and that snake popped down the
hole again very quickly, I can tell you, taking his tail with him. Oh, my,
yes, and a bucket of sawdust soup besides.