Uncle Wiggily, a rabbit gentleman with a rheumatism crutch, lives in a hollow stump bungalow. One morning, his young ward Baby Bunty pretends she is leaving for good, carrying a small bundle. Uncle Wiggily begs her to stay, and she reveals she was only joking — she is heading off to take a painting lesson from Mother Nature, learning how to color flowers and skies. She promises to meet him on his walk through the woods when her lesson is done. After visiting with Grandfather Goosey Gander, Uncle Wiggily sets off through the woodland path to meet Bunty. He finds her returning from her lesson, cheerfully spattered with red, blue, and yellow paint. As the two hop homeward together toward Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy's supper, they are suddenly ambushed by the Magoosielum, a creature described as worse than either the Pipsisewah or the Skuddlemagoon. The Magoosielum intends to eat Uncle Wiggily's ears as souse — pickled rabbit ears being a delicacy to such creatures — and holds them both captive, knowing Baby Bunty will not flee without her guardian. While the Magoosielum examines Uncle Wiggily's ears to decide where to begin, Baby Bunty quietly opens her paint box. Uncle Wiggily cannot see what she is doing, as the creature blocks his view, though he notices she is standing near a gnarled, fire-blackened old stump. He despairs, knowing that only pineapple cheese can drive away a Magoosielum, and paint would seem to be of no use. Suddenly Bunty calls out a warning to the Magoosielum, threatening that her friend the Snippy-Snappy will get him. The Magoosielum turns to behold what appears to be a strange, squat animal painted directly onto the surface of the old stump — a grotesque creature with a gaping red mouth, a green nose, mismatched eyes of yellow and pink, cheeks of brown and purple, and teeth painted in every wild and peculiar color imaginable, including the outlandish shade known as Skilligimink. Terrified by this apparition, the Magoosielum howls in fright, releases both captives without harming them, and flees. Uncle Wiggily, shaken, worries that the Snippy-Snappy itself might now threaten them, but Bunty laughingly reassures him: the Snippy-Snappy is nothing more than a painting she quickly made on the surface of the funny old stump, invented on the spot to frighten the enemy away. Uncle Wiggily marvels at her quick thinking and creativity, and the two continue safely home, with Uncle Wiggily declaring that Bunty has clearly learned her painting lessons well.
By Howard R. Garis · First published 1916 · Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy, Adventure