October 28, 2025 • 26 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
A foreword. This book is no arithmetic to vex the
mind of youth. Its pages may perhaps appear to be
devoid of truth, But by these tales, the young who
learn to recognize a lie to that extent, will know
the truth and profit much thereby. The Pirate Frog, some
(00:23):
boys whose names I do not know, went out to
sail their boat one day, fast to the stern. They
tied a line so she could not sail far away.
But little did those boys suspect that just beyond a
floating log, with all his trusty followers there lay in
wait the Pirate Frog. On came the ship. Out sprang
(00:45):
the frogs, a desperate, determined crew. They climbed aboard with
reckless speed, and each one found his work to do.
One cut the line, one raised the flag, the captain
seized the helm to steer, And thus on peaceful Plunkets
Pond began the Pirate Frog's career. Upon the shore of
(01:06):
Plunkets Pond, three turtles basked beneath the sun twas afternoon.
The spot was warm, and they were dozing every one.
Their eyes were closed. They did not see around the
point a sail appear, nor did they know until too late,
the dreaded pirate frog was near. The pirate crew made
(01:27):
haste to land. They ran to where the turtles lay,
turned all three quickly on their backs, then, hoisting sail,
sped fast away. For hours. The turtles strained and scratched
to turn themselves, but all in vain till missus Muskrat
came that way and set them right side up again.
(01:47):
As out of Turtle Bay, he sailed the pirate frog.
The waters scanned, and soon he steered his stolen ship
to catch some ducklings far from land. Around the downy
neck of one. A lasso made of cord he cast,
and though the victims struggled hard, the cord was strong,
the nott held fast. The other ducklings hurried home when
(02:11):
this unequal fight began, all breathlessly. They told the news
to Uncle Peter Pelikan. He hurried out across the pond,
and first he cut the duckling's cord, which gave the
frightened pirate's time to dive to safety overboard. Far up
the shores of Plunket's Pond, within a deep and marshy bay,
(02:32):
amid the rustling rushes green the muskrat's cozy village lay
now when the older rats were gone. The little rattlings
had no fear. Twould have been different had they known
the dreaded pirate frog was near. But soon the pirate's
flag was seen, the town was taken by surprise. One
baby rat was caught and bound and dragged on ship
(02:55):
despite his cries, But soon his bonds were gnawed apart,
and he forsakety scaled the mast his weight aloft o'er
set the ship, and he laughed best, for he laughed
last twas in July. The sun was hot, the pond
was smooth, the air was still. The pirate's vessel lay
(03:15):
becalmed without a breeze the sail to fill, But soon
a plan had been devised to move the ship without
a sail. A diving frog took down a line and
tied it round a bull head's tail. The big fish
felt a gentle tug, then saw the line and jumped
with fright. He tried in vain to shake it off
(03:35):
and swam away with all his might. This way and that,
at race horse speed, he crossed the pond from side
to side. But where he went the ship went to
and all the frogs enjoyed the ride. For weeks. The
wicked pirate frog had filled the water folk with fright.
They hid themselves throughout the day, while few dared venture
(03:57):
out at night. Had he not grown too rash and bold,
they might be living that way still. But his career
closed when he tried to stop the busy water mill.
He planned to drive his stolen ship against the wheel
and tie it fast. Nor did he think on starting
out that this exploit would be his last. Too late
(04:19):
he saw his grave mistake. He tried in vain to
reach the shore. The pirate's ship was ground to bits
and plunk its pond knew them no more. Old Daddy
long Legs sat him down and wept in deepest woe.
Alas he cried, the summer's gone, and soon will come
the snow. My children beg for warmer clothes, But yet
(04:42):
I must refuse, for each one has so many feet
I can't buy overshoes. The hungry pupil to the jungle kindergarten,
Missus Tiger brought her child. He was small and roly poly.
He was also meek and mild, telling him to mind
the teacher not to pull his playmate's hair and learn
(05:06):
his lessons quickly. Then his mother left him there. When
she called for him at noontime, he was sitting all alone,
with a smile of satisfaction, gnawing at an ostrich bone.
All the ground was strewn with feathers, well picked bones,
and bits of fur. But the pupils all were missing.
Don't you wonder where they were? Her little son came
(05:30):
wriggling up to grave, old mother. Eel, oh, mother, dear,
he said, with tears, such awful pains I feel. The
doctor says, he greatly fears for smallpox. I am slated,
But yet I have no arms or legs and can't
be vaccinated. The snapping turtle's daughter in dress displayed good taste,
(05:52):
but when she tried a belt on, she found she
had no waist. The jolly rough riders of washed sat
jauntily out on the line. Not a man was afraid
for twas but dress parade and their showing was certainly fine.
But when from their homes in the tree tops the
enemy sailed through the air, and with coarse, muddy feet
(06:15):
soiled each garment and sheet, the riders could do not
but stare. A crocodile made up his mind that he'd
be clean and neat on land. He walked upon his
toes so as not to soil his feet, But when
he came to brush his teeth, he found, to his dismay,
they were so numerous that he was busy all the day.
(06:38):
Jane Jenkins liked to look her best, though not too
proud a girl. She did her hair with strips of
tin to make it kink and curl. She twisted it
too tight by far, and found to her surprise that
though she tried her very best, she couldn't close her eyes.
A Fire and frog Town. One sultry night in Frogtown,
(07:03):
the muskrat's house caught fire. The muskrats, with their babies,
rushed out in scant attire. Then all the frog Town
firemen in startled haste, arose, and ran to put the
fire out with dandelion hose. The porcupine's dilemma. A porcupine
once played at golf and wore a sweater red. I
(07:26):
notice all the swells dressed so, and so will I,
he said, But when he found his stylish clothes were
far too warm for golf, his sharp quills held that
sweater fast. He couldn't get it off. A monkey sitting
on a tree above a shady pool, looked down and
saw a crocodile within the water. Cool The crocodile looked
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up and said, come down, my friend, and swim, intending
when the monkey came to make a meal of him.
The monkey knew this was his plan, but leaped as
if to die. The crocodile spread wide his jaws to
catch his meal alive, but he was disappointed much to
see his sharp game fail, for as he leaped, the
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monkey caught and hung there by his tail. One beast
there is which should be shunned by little girls and boys.
That is the cross whinosceros, which makes an awful noise.
For if they see this animal and do not run away,
they imitate its shrill, harsh voice and whine the livelong day.
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See in large. A frog, who wore new spectacles observed
a common fly. What monster can this be? He said,
that comes before my eye. But when the fly was
quickly caught and on the frog's inside, he felt so
empty that he knew his glasses magnified. A turtle has
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a big bass drum on which he used to play.
His comrades didn't like the noise and so they ran away.
He played till he was all tired out. Then all
his friends returned and smashed that drum to kindling wood,
which they piled up and burned. When Robert Pip put
out to sea, his ship was strong and new. He
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was the captain, proud and bold. He also was the crew,
and he could reef and splice, and clew and yaw
and luff and steer. For food, he carried chocolate drops.
His drink was ginger beer. The course, as steered by
Captain Pip, was south southwest by east, and he had
sailed upon his way for forty days at least, when
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up there came a tidal wave, and with a rush
and roar picked up his ship and landed it fast
on a foreign shore. When Robert Pip's ill fated ship
was landed high and dry upon a flat and unknown shore,
the shades of night were nigh, so down he lay
to take his rest upon the vessel's deck, observing that
(10:03):
his food and drink were safe despite the wreck. The
sun was up when he awoke, and on a hillock
near he saw a group of monkey folk, who showed
no signs of fear. They seemed polite, well bred and kind.
He wished to make them friends, and by the means
of chocolate drops, he soon had gained his ends. The
(10:25):
monkeys met by Captain Pip were all one family who
near the place where he was wrecked dwelt by a
banyan tree. They took him to their lofty home and
urged that he should stay, and he consented, for he
knew he could not sail away. Within a week, he
learned their ways and spoke their language too. He climbed
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with these the tallest trees, where dates and cocoas grew.
The father monkey and his wife rejoiced in children, three strong,
Reginald and Rufus, sons, a daughter named Marie. With Rufus
and with Reginald Bob, Pip went out one day to
find a place for golfing grounds and teach his friends
(11:07):
to play. For clubs, they used the bamboo sprouts in
nearby jungles found for balls. They plucked young cocoa nuts, green,
hard and small and round. The monkey boys soon learned
the game, and with the greatest ease, could drive the
ball from hole to hole, or brooks and rocks and trees.
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They swung their clubs with hand or foot or tail,
twas all the same, and soon they beat the captain
at this ancient royal game. Within the chest of Captain
Pip a bag of marbles lay. He fished them out
one afternoon and taught his friends to play. They played
the game of Little Ring upon the hard beach near
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until there came a sad mishap, as you shall straightway here,
For as Marie was standing by, there rolled close to
her feet a china shooter that indeed looked good enough
to eat. She snatched it up to swallow it. It caught,
She choked, turned pale. To save her life, they hunger
up by her prehensile tail upon a sunny stretch of sand.
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They lay beside the sea. The father monkey went to stroll,
and with him went Marie. She, running on ahead of him,
cried out, for goodness sake, oh father dear, come quickly
here and kill this hard snake. He quickly grasped a
driftwood club and reached his daughter's side. But when he
saw that serpent strange, he too was terrified. He shook
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with fright. But soon he found that what had made
him quail was rufous buried in the sand all hid
except his tail. Now Captain Pip so longed for home.
He sought his stranded boat new rigging here, some patches
there he thought would make her float his His mind
was speedily made up. His new idea was tried, and
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soon his ship, all staunch again, rode proudly on the tide.
His monkey friends wept bitterly at losing Captain Pip, till
finally Marie ran home to pack her little grip, And
when she said I'm going too, they all made haste
to pack, then boarded ship and sailed away nor to
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that isle came back. There was an old school teacher bear,
whom a fever had robbed of his hair, and the
thought of his loss made him peevish and cross to
the cubs who were under his care. So they bought
him a bottle or two of a medicine famous and new.
Then his hair grew so fast that the old bear
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at last had to braid it all up in a
que small we whip. Was an Indian who, in a
wigwam warm dwelt snugly all the winter through, quite safe
from frost and storm. But he had learned of Santa Claus,
and so when Christmas came, he hung his deerskin moccasins
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upon the wigwam frame, and sure enough, the good old
Saint that night came jingling by, and as he passed,
the moccasins caught his observing eye. But wigwams have no
chimneys tall through which old Chris can drop, so we
whip's Christmas gifts were left upon the wigwam top. Young
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Billy Hedgehog wished a nap. He found an easy chair,
and snugly, curling up in it, he soon forgot all care.
Grave old Judge Brewin wished to read, for books were
to his taste. In that same chair, he sat him down,
but rose again in haste. A little girl mermaid sat
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down by the sea, and mournful, dejected and tearful was she.
She wanted a shirt waist, iron, stiff and nice, but
the ocean would take out the start in a true ice.
And she wanted blue shoes, for she thought them so sweet.
So she sobbed out afresh, for she saw she'd no feet,
And she wept, and she wailed, and she sobbed, and
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she sighed till her tears added salt to the salty
sea's tide, the little girl Mermaid dove down in the sea.
The crabs and the lobster folk hailed her with glee.
The squibs, shrimps, and starfish stood up in a row
to welcome her back to her home down below. Behind
her sea horses, she went for a ride, where brilliant
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hued ocean plants swayed in the tide. Twas pleasant, indeed,
and she thought with regret that once she had wished
to live out of the wet. The little girl Mermaid
once bade her friends all to come to a beautiful,
fancy dress ball. The fiddler crabs fiddled for waltzes and reels,
which were gracefully danced by squids, lobsters, and eels. The
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flounders were awkward. They floundered about till sofish policemen escorted
them out. But with this exception, the ball had no flaw,
and the sawfish declared twas the best he ever saw.
The proud wishbone. The wishbone was a haughty thing, and
high he held his head. The wing twins were but
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common trash, and drumsticks too. He said, it's just as
plain as anything that this is so quoth he for
there are two of each of them, but only one
of me. And when two children at the feast each four,
the wishbone cried, the wishbone said, I told you so,
And oh he swelled with pride. They took him, each
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one by a foot, as children often do. Then each
one gave a sudden tug and broke him right in two.
There was a dancing camel with a desert caravan. His
driver was a busy and an unesthetic man, who made
the camel work all day and gave him ne'er a
chance to lay his heavy load aside and do a
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fancy dance. But when they reached a city and heard
street musicians play, the camel danced a step or two
while jogging on his way, and quickly people thronged about
to wonder and to stare, while the driver passed the
hat and made his fortune. Then and there, young George
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Augustus William bubb was far too dignified to play at
games like other boys. They grated on his pride. He
did not know how kites are made, nor how to
play at ball, nor how to skate, nor how to swim,
nor anything at all, said missus Robin breathlessly. The frosts
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are nearly due. This moving south is troublesome. The baggage
heavy too, said mister rob. Oh, that's all right. We'll
build the baggage through the haughty cow. He said an
acrobatic monkey to the staid and stately cow. Come, let
us turn some handsprings. I will quickly show you how.
(18:08):
But old BOSSI shook her head. No, indeed, she sharply said,
I have passed the age of nonsense, and I'll not
begin it now. The peanut bird, deep in the forest,
dark and still there, lives the peanut bird. It rarely walks,
it seldom flies. Its song is never heard. No fear
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of hunters armed with salt will make this bird turn pale.
It can't be caught with salt, you see, because it
has no tail. The disappointed bat a bat played a
hand organ out in the street and carried a sign
I am blind. But though all his music was joyous
and sweet, his hearers, he thought, were unkind, for no
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one who passed dropped a coin in his hat, but
each said, why, of course, he's blind as a bat.
When Billy Wilson, swimming went it took him half a
day to reach the lake, because you see, it was
so far away. And so to stop this loss of time,
when next he went to swim, he tied a string
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around the lake and pulled it home with him. Dicky
peg leg, a sparrow with a wooden leg, hopped o'er
a roof of tin, And as he hopped, a girl
below was overcome with sudden woe to hear that noise begin.
Oh dear, she cried, here comes the rain, and this
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is picnic day. Nor did she know what she had
heard was just a wooden legged bird until he flew away.
Young Johnny Bingle long had wished to own a truly gun,
and so when Christmas came again, his father gave him one.
It had a barrel, straight and true, a fancy walnut stock,
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And for his first game, Johnny shot the cuckoo in
the clock the Shanghai twins. As mother Bantam roamed the
field of worms and bugs in quest, she found two
large and lonesome eggs in a deserted nest. This makes
my duty clear, said she. I'll stay and hatch them out.
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And for three weeks that little hen was no more
seen about at length from out those two large eggs,
the young chicks broke their way, and thus the famous
Shanghai twins first saw the light of day, and Mother
Bantam stood aghast that new born pair to see, for
standing in his stocking feet, each was as tall as she.
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When Mother Bantam came to feed the hungry Shanghai twins,
she found she had an awful task to fill them
to their chins. And if they were not filled that full,
they clamored to be fed, until in running down their food,
she worked till nearly dead. With hoppers and with lady bugs,
with moths and worms and flies, with grains of corn
(21:09):
and crumbs of bread, she stopped their hungry cries till
finally she ran so much to get them food to
eat that she herself worn out and starved, was overcome
by heat. Said Mother Bantam to her twins. Since you
two have been hatched, you have not found a single meal.
You have not run nor scratched. I've fed you as
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a mother should. But you are stronger now, and henceforth
you must scratch for worms. Cried they please show us how.
She led them to the garden plot. Dig in your claws,
said she. Just catch the dirt and push it back.
It's easy, don't you see. Ah? Yes, they cried and
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went to work with all their mane and might, and
ere they knew what they had done, they buried her
from sight. The Shanghai Twins came on apace so rapidly
they grew that larger, stronger fowls than they became extremely few,
and mother Bantam gazed with pride her foster sons upon
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the One of them was christened James, the other one
was John. Beneath the battered hen house door, a hungry
fox one night poked in his nose, and all the
fowls were paralyzed with fright. But James and John knew
what to do. They fought with might and main, until
the fox took to his heels with yelps of fear
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and pain. Now, when the valiant Shanghai Twins had put
a fox to flight, they stood on guard to watch
the house the balance of the night. And while they watched,
the other fowls reposed in perfect peace. So after that
the twins were named as poultry yard police. Each wore
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to show his lofty rank, a helmet, club and star,
and soon, as faithful guardians, their fame spread near and far.
The very mention of their names made thieving fowls turn pale,
for well they knew that John and James could march
them off to jail. Three young and interesting pigs once
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lived within a stye, and one was greedy, one was strong,
and one was scarce, a half yard long and scant
ten inches high. The greedy one, when large and fat,
was led away one day. The strong one rooted at
his pen until he made a hole, and then crept
out and ran away. The smallest pig, with careful thought,
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made up his mind to stay. He did not eat
enough to grow, he did not run away, and so
he lives in peace to day. Once on a time,
if you had lived once on a time, just as
the story books all say, oh, wouldn't it have been
a sight to see the knights with dragons fight and
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bear their heads away? And it was once upon a
time that little boys came to be kings, that fairies
flitted here and there to little girls with presents, rare
rich gowns and diamond rings. But now, dear me, how
things are changed. And yet perhaps tis just as well,
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for if twere not so long ago that all these
wondrous things were, so there'd be no tales to tell
to mister Fox's barber shop. The large important mister Bear
once took his chubby little son to have the barber
trim his hair. The cloth was tucked about his neck
when in the mirror, large and tall, he chanced to
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see another bear, and cuffed the glass to pieces small.
Perhaps there is a funny land where rabbits dress in
long tailed coats, and kittens all were wooden shoes, and
schools are taught by learned goats, where crocodiles play violins,
and owls are decked in gowns and caps. But if
(25:08):
there is a land like this, you cannot find it
on the maps. A very foolish little clam at night
sat up till very late. His parents said repeatedly that
he should not thus dissipate, but he would never heed
their words. He was too headstrong to obey, and thus
he had so little sleep that he was sleepy all
(25:30):
the day. One summer morning on the beach, he opened
wide his shell to yawn. The big red bird came walking.
By a snap a gulp, the clam was gone. So, children,
though you are too large for any hungry bird to hold,
you see, tis much the wiser plan to go to
(25:50):
bed when you are told the airships. The airship fleet
of Meadowville floats gaily, or the town for older people
fully grown. The craft is thistledown. The smaller of the
meadow folk on fluffy silkweed ride, and there's a ship
for everyone, with ships to spare beside. And of the
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Pirate Frog and other tails by W. A. Frisbee
A foreword. This book is no arithmetic to vex the
mind of youth. Its pages may perhaps appear to be
devoid of truth, But by these tales, the young who
learn to recognize a lie to that extent, will know
the truth and profit much thereby. The Pirate Frog, some
(00:23):
boys whose names I do not know, went out to
sail their boat one day, fast to the stern. They
tied a line so she could not sail far away.
But little did those boys suspect that just beyond a
floating log, with all his trusty followers there lay in
wait the Pirate Frog. On came the ship. Out sprang
(00:45):
the frogs, a desperate, determined crew. They climbed aboard with
reckless speed, and each one found his work to do.
One cut the line, one raised the flag, the captain
seized the helm to steer, And thus on peaceful Plunkets
Pond began the Pirate Frog's career. Upon the shore of
(01:06):
Plunkets Pond, three turtles basked beneath the sun twas afternoon.
The spot was warm, and they were dozing every one.
Their eyes were closed. They did not see around the
point a sail appear, nor did they know until too late,
the dreaded pirate frog was near. The pirate crew made
(01:27):
haste to land. They ran to where the turtles lay,
turned all three quickly on their backs, then, hoisting sail,
sped fast away. For hours. The turtles strained and scratched
to turn themselves, but all in vain till missus Muskrat
came that way and set them right side up again.
(01:47):
As out of Turtle Bay, he sailed the pirate frog.
The waters scanned, and soon he steered his stolen ship
to catch some ducklings far from land. Around the downy
neck of one. A lasso made of cord he cast,
and though the victims struggled hard, the cord was strong,
the nott held fast. The other ducklings hurried home when
(02:11):
this unequal fight began, all breathlessly. They told the news
to Uncle Peter Pelikan. He hurried out across the pond,
and first he cut the duckling's cord, which gave the
frightened pirate's time to dive to safety overboard. Far up
the shores of Plunket's Pond, within a deep and marshy bay,
(02:32):
amid the rustling rushes green the muskrat's cozy village lay
now when the older rats were gone. The little rattlings
had no fear. Twould have been different had they known
the dreaded pirate frog was near. But soon the pirate's
flag was seen, the town was taken by surprise. One
baby rat was caught and bound and dragged on ship
(02:55):
despite his cries, But soon his bonds were gnawed apart,
and he forsakety scaled the mast his weight aloft o'er
set the ship, and he laughed best, for he laughed
last twas in July. The sun was hot, the pond
was smooth, the air was still. The pirate's vessel lay
(03:15):
becalmed without a breeze the sail to fill, But soon
a plan had been devised to move the ship without
a sail. A diving frog took down a line and
tied it round a bull head's tail. The big fish
felt a gentle tug, then saw the line and jumped
with fright. He tried in vain to shake it off
(03:35):
and swam away with all his might. This way and that,
at race horse speed, he crossed the pond from side
to side. But where he went the ship went to
and all the frogs enjoyed the ride. For weeks. The
wicked pirate frog had filled the water folk with fright.
They hid themselves throughout the day, while few dared venture
(03:57):
out at night. Had he not grown too rash and bold,
they might be living that way still. But his career
closed when he tried to stop the busy water mill.
He planned to drive his stolen ship against the wheel
and tie it fast. Nor did he think on starting
out that this exploit would be his last. Too late
(04:19):
he saw his grave mistake. He tried in vain to
reach the shore. The pirate's ship was ground to bits
and plunk its pond knew them no more. Old Daddy
long Legs sat him down and wept in deepest woe.
Alas he cried, the summer's gone, and soon will come
the snow. My children beg for warmer clothes, But yet
(04:42):
I must refuse, for each one has so many feet
I can't buy overshoes. The hungry pupil to the jungle kindergarten,
Missus Tiger brought her child. He was small and roly poly.
He was also meek and mild, telling him to mind
the teacher not to pull his playmate's hair and learn
(05:06):
his lessons quickly. Then his mother left him there. When
she called for him at noontime, he was sitting all alone,
with a smile of satisfaction, gnawing at an ostrich bone.
All the ground was strewn with feathers, well picked bones,
and bits of fur. But the pupils all were missing.
Don't you wonder where they were? Her little son came
(05:30):
wriggling up to grave, old mother. Eel, oh, mother, dear,
he said, with tears, such awful pains I feel. The
doctor says, he greatly fears for smallpox. I am slated,
But yet I have no arms or legs and can't
be vaccinated. The snapping turtle's daughter in dress displayed good taste,
(05:52):
but when she tried a belt on, she found she
had no waist. The jolly rough riders of washed sat
jauntily out on the line. Not a man was afraid
for twas but dress parade and their showing was certainly fine.
But when from their homes in the tree tops the
enemy sailed through the air, and with coarse, muddy feet
(06:15):
soiled each garment and sheet, the riders could do not
but stare. A crocodile made up his mind that he'd
be clean and neat on land. He walked upon his
toes so as not to soil his feet, But when
he came to brush his teeth, he found, to his dismay,
they were so numerous that he was busy all the day.
(06:38):
Jane Jenkins liked to look her best, though not too
proud a girl. She did her hair with strips of
tin to make it kink and curl. She twisted it
too tight by far, and found to her surprise that
though she tried her very best, she couldn't close her eyes.
A Fire and frog Town. One sultry night in Frogtown,
(07:03):
the muskrat's house caught fire. The muskrats, with their babies,
rushed out in scant attire. Then all the frog Town
firemen in startled haste, arose, and ran to put the
fire out with dandelion hose. The porcupine's dilemma. A porcupine
once played at golf and wore a sweater red. I
(07:26):
notice all the swells dressed so, and so will I,
he said, But when he found his stylish clothes were
far too warm for golf, his sharp quills held that
sweater fast. He couldn't get it off. A monkey sitting
on a tree above a shady pool, looked down and
saw a crocodile within the water. Cool The crocodile looked
(07:48):
up and said, come down, my friend, and swim, intending
when the monkey came to make a meal of him.
The monkey knew this was his plan, but leaped as
if to die. The crocodile spread wide his jaws to
catch his meal alive, but he was disappointed much to
see his sharp game fail, for as he leaped, the
(08:10):
monkey caught and hung there by his tail. One beast
there is which should be shunned by little girls and boys.
That is the cross whinosceros, which makes an awful noise.
For if they see this animal and do not run away,
they imitate its shrill, harsh voice and whine the livelong day.
(08:33):
See in large. A frog, who wore new spectacles observed
a common fly. What monster can this be? He said,
that comes before my eye. But when the fly was
quickly caught and on the frog's inside, he felt so
empty that he knew his glasses magnified. A turtle has
(08:54):
a big bass drum on which he used to play.
His comrades didn't like the noise and so they ran away.
He played till he was all tired out. Then all
his friends returned and smashed that drum to kindling wood,
which they piled up and burned. When Robert Pip put
out to sea, his ship was strong and new. He
(09:17):
was the captain, proud and bold. He also was the crew,
and he could reef and splice, and clew and yaw
and luff and steer. For food, he carried chocolate drops.
His drink was ginger beer. The course, as steered by
Captain Pip, was south southwest by east, and he had
sailed upon his way for forty days at least, when
(09:41):
up there came a tidal wave, and with a rush
and roar picked up his ship and landed it fast
on a foreign shore. When Robert Pip's ill fated ship
was landed high and dry upon a flat and unknown shore,
the shades of night were nigh, so down he lay
to take his rest upon the vessel's deck, observing that
(10:03):
his food and drink were safe despite the wreck. The
sun was up when he awoke, and on a hillock
near he saw a group of monkey folk, who showed
no signs of fear. They seemed polite, well bred and kind.
He wished to make them friends, and by the means
of chocolate drops, he soon had gained his ends. The
(10:25):
monkeys met by Captain Pip were all one family who
near the place where he was wrecked dwelt by a
banyan tree. They took him to their lofty home and
urged that he should stay, and he consented, for he
knew he could not sail away. Within a week, he
learned their ways and spoke their language too. He climbed
(10:46):
with these the tallest trees, where dates and cocoas grew.
The father monkey and his wife rejoiced in children, three strong,
Reginald and Rufus, sons, a daughter named Marie. With Rufus
and with Reginald Bob, Pip went out one day to
find a place for golfing grounds and teach his friends
(11:07):
to play. For clubs, they used the bamboo sprouts in
nearby jungles found for balls. They plucked young cocoa nuts, green,
hard and small and round. The monkey boys soon learned
the game, and with the greatest ease, could drive the
ball from hole to hole, or brooks and rocks and trees.
(11:29):
They swung their clubs with hand or foot or tail,
twas all the same, and soon they beat the captain
at this ancient royal game. Within the chest of Captain
Pip a bag of marbles lay. He fished them out
one afternoon and taught his friends to play. They played
the game of Little Ring upon the hard beach near
(11:51):
until there came a sad mishap, as you shall straightway here,
For as Marie was standing by, there rolled close to
her feet a china shooter that indeed looked good enough
to eat. She snatched it up to swallow it. It caught,
She choked, turned pale. To save her life, they hunger
up by her prehensile tail upon a sunny stretch of sand.
(12:16):
They lay beside the sea. The father monkey went to stroll,
and with him went Marie. She, running on ahead of him,
cried out, for goodness sake, oh father dear, come quickly
here and kill this hard snake. He quickly grasped a
driftwood club and reached his daughter's side. But when he
saw that serpent strange, he too was terrified. He shook
(12:40):
with fright. But soon he found that what had made
him quail was rufous buried in the sand all hid
except his tail. Now Captain Pip so longed for home.
He sought his stranded boat new rigging here, some patches
there he thought would make her float his His mind
was speedily made up. His new idea was tried, and
(13:04):
soon his ship, all staunch again, rode proudly on the tide.
His monkey friends wept bitterly at losing Captain Pip, till
finally Marie ran home to pack her little grip, And
when she said I'm going too, they all made haste
to pack, then boarded ship and sailed away nor to
(13:24):
that isle came back. There was an old school teacher bear,
whom a fever had robbed of his hair, and the
thought of his loss made him peevish and cross to
the cubs who were under his care. So they bought
him a bottle or two of a medicine famous and new.
Then his hair grew so fast that the old bear
(13:46):
at last had to braid it all up in a
que small we whip. Was an Indian who, in a
wigwam warm dwelt snugly all the winter through, quite safe
from frost and storm. But he had learned of Santa Claus,
and so when Christmas came, he hung his deerskin moccasins
(14:06):
upon the wigwam frame, and sure enough, the good old
Saint that night came jingling by, and as he passed,
the moccasins caught his observing eye. But wigwams have no
chimneys tall through which old Chris can drop, so we
whip's Christmas gifts were left upon the wigwam top. Young
(14:28):
Billy Hedgehog wished a nap. He found an easy chair,
and snugly, curling up in it, he soon forgot all care.
Grave old Judge Brewin wished to read, for books were
to his taste. In that same chair, he sat him down,
but rose again in haste. A little girl mermaid sat
(14:49):
down by the sea, and mournful, dejected and tearful was she.
She wanted a shirt waist, iron, stiff and nice, but
the ocean would take out the start in a true ice.
And she wanted blue shoes, for she thought them so sweet.
So she sobbed out afresh, for she saw she'd no feet,
And she wept, and she wailed, and she sobbed, and
(15:11):
she sighed till her tears added salt to the salty
sea's tide, the little girl Mermaid dove down in the sea.
The crabs and the lobster folk hailed her with glee.
The squibs, shrimps, and starfish stood up in a row
to welcome her back to her home down below. Behind
her sea horses, she went for a ride, where brilliant
(15:33):
hued ocean plants swayed in the tide. Twas pleasant, indeed,
and she thought with regret that once she had wished
to live out of the wet. The little girl Mermaid
once bade her friends all to come to a beautiful,
fancy dress ball. The fiddler crabs fiddled for waltzes and reels,
which were gracefully danced by squids, lobsters, and eels. The
(15:56):
flounders were awkward. They floundered about till sofish policemen escorted
them out. But with this exception, the ball had no flaw,
and the sawfish declared twas the best he ever saw.
The proud wishbone. The wishbone was a haughty thing, and
high he held his head. The wing twins were but
(16:19):
common trash, and drumsticks too. He said, it's just as
plain as anything that this is so quoth he for
there are two of each of them, but only one
of me. And when two children at the feast each four,
the wishbone cried, the wishbone said, I told you so,
And oh he swelled with pride. They took him, each
(16:42):
one by a foot, as children often do. Then each
one gave a sudden tug and broke him right in two.
There was a dancing camel with a desert caravan. His
driver was a busy and an unesthetic man, who made
the camel work all day and gave him ne'er a
chance to lay his heavy load aside and do a
(17:04):
fancy dance. But when they reached a city and heard
street musicians play, the camel danced a step or two
while jogging on his way, and quickly people thronged about
to wonder and to stare, while the driver passed the
hat and made his fortune. Then and there, young George
(17:25):
Augustus William bubb was far too dignified to play at
games like other boys. They grated on his pride. He
did not know how kites are made, nor how to
play at ball, nor how to skate, nor how to swim,
nor anything at all, said missus Robin breathlessly. The frosts
(17:46):
are nearly due. This moving south is troublesome. The baggage
heavy too, said mister rob. Oh, that's all right. We'll
build the baggage through the haughty cow. He said an
acrobatic monkey to the staid and stately cow. Come, let
us turn some handsprings. I will quickly show you how.
(18:08):
But old BOSSI shook her head. No, indeed, she sharply said,
I have passed the age of nonsense, and I'll not
begin it now. The peanut bird, deep in the forest,
dark and still there, lives the peanut bird. It rarely walks,
it seldom flies. Its song is never heard. No fear
(18:31):
of hunters armed with salt will make this bird turn pale.
It can't be caught with salt, you see, because it
has no tail. The disappointed bat a bat played a
hand organ out in the street and carried a sign
I am blind. But though all his music was joyous
and sweet, his hearers, he thought, were unkind, for no
(18:55):
one who passed dropped a coin in his hat, but
each said, why, of course, he's blind as a bat.
When Billy Wilson, swimming went it took him half a
day to reach the lake, because you see, it was
so far away. And so to stop this loss of time,
when next he went to swim, he tied a string
(19:16):
around the lake and pulled it home with him. Dicky
peg leg, a sparrow with a wooden leg, hopped o'er
a roof of tin, And as he hopped, a girl
below was overcome with sudden woe to hear that noise begin.
Oh dear, she cried, here comes the rain, and this
(19:37):
is picnic day. Nor did she know what she had
heard was just a wooden legged bird until he flew away.
Young Johnny Bingle long had wished to own a truly gun,
and so when Christmas came again, his father gave him one.
It had a barrel, straight and true, a fancy walnut stock,
(20:00):
And for his first game, Johnny shot the cuckoo in
the clock the Shanghai twins. As mother Bantam roamed the
field of worms and bugs in quest, she found two
large and lonesome eggs in a deserted nest. This makes
my duty clear, said she. I'll stay and hatch them out.
(20:23):
And for three weeks that little hen was no more
seen about at length from out those two large eggs,
the young chicks broke their way, and thus the famous
Shanghai twins first saw the light of day, and Mother
Bantam stood aghast that new born pair to see, for
standing in his stocking feet, each was as tall as she.
(20:46):
When Mother Bantam came to feed the hungry Shanghai twins,
she found she had an awful task to fill them
to their chins. And if they were not filled that full,
they clamored to be fed, until in running down their food,
she worked till nearly dead. With hoppers and with lady bugs,
with moths and worms and flies, with grains of corn
(21:09):
and crumbs of bread, she stopped their hungry cries till
finally she ran so much to get them food to
eat that she herself worn out and starved, was overcome
by heat. Said Mother Bantam to her twins. Since you
two have been hatched, you have not found a single meal.
You have not run nor scratched. I've fed you as
(21:31):
a mother should. But you are stronger now, and henceforth
you must scratch for worms. Cried they please show us how.
She led them to the garden plot. Dig in your claws,
said she. Just catch the dirt and push it back.
It's easy, don't you see. Ah? Yes, they cried and
(21:52):
went to work with all their mane and might, and
ere they knew what they had done, they buried her
from sight. The Shanghai Twins came on apace so rapidly
they grew that larger, stronger fowls than they became extremely few,
and mother Bantam gazed with pride her foster sons upon
(22:14):
the One of them was christened James, the other one
was John. Beneath the battered hen house door, a hungry
fox one night poked in his nose, and all the
fowls were paralyzed with fright. But James and John knew
what to do. They fought with might and main, until
the fox took to his heels with yelps of fear
(22:35):
and pain. Now, when the valiant Shanghai Twins had put
a fox to flight, they stood on guard to watch
the house the balance of the night. And while they watched,
the other fowls reposed in perfect peace. So after that
the twins were named as poultry yard police. Each wore
(22:56):
to show his lofty rank, a helmet, club and star,
and soon, as faithful guardians, their fame spread near and far.
The very mention of their names made thieving fowls turn pale,
for well they knew that John and James could march
them off to jail. Three young and interesting pigs once
(23:17):
lived within a stye, and one was greedy, one was strong,
and one was scarce, a half yard long and scant
ten inches high. The greedy one, when large and fat,
was led away one day. The strong one rooted at
his pen until he made a hole, and then crept
out and ran away. The smallest pig, with careful thought,
(23:41):
made up his mind to stay. He did not eat
enough to grow, he did not run away, and so
he lives in peace to day. Once on a time,
if you had lived once on a time, just as
the story books all say, oh, wouldn't it have been
a sight to see the knights with dragons fight and
(24:03):
bear their heads away? And it was once upon a
time that little boys came to be kings, that fairies
flitted here and there to little girls with presents, rare
rich gowns and diamond rings. But now, dear me, how
things are changed. And yet perhaps tis just as well,
(24:24):
for if twere not so long ago that all these
wondrous things were, so there'd be no tales to tell
to mister Fox's barber shop. The large important mister Bear
once took his chubby little son to have the barber
trim his hair. The cloth was tucked about his neck
when in the mirror, large and tall, he chanced to
(24:47):
see another bear, and cuffed the glass to pieces small.
Perhaps there is a funny land where rabbits dress in
long tailed coats, and kittens all were wooden shoes, and
schools are taught by learned goats, where crocodiles play violins,
and owls are decked in gowns and caps. But if
(25:08):
there is a land like this, you cannot find it
on the maps. A very foolish little clam at night
sat up till very late. His parents said repeatedly that
he should not thus dissipate, but he would never heed
their words. He was too headstrong to obey, and thus
he had so little sleep that he was sleepy all
(25:30):
the day. One summer morning on the beach, he opened
wide his shell to yawn. The big red bird came walking.
By a snap a gulp, the clam was gone. So, children,
though you are too large for any hungry bird to hold,
you see, tis much the wiser plan to go to
(25:50):
bed when you are told the airships. The airship fleet
of Meadowville floats gaily, or the town for older people
fully grown. The craft is thistledown. The smaller of the
meadow folk on fluffy silkweed ride, and there's a ship
for everyone, with ships to spare beside. And of the
(26:15):
Pirate Frog and other tails by W. A. Frisbee
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