The First Little Pet Book with Ten Short Stories in Words of Three and Four Letters Read online

  Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. Harrison and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)

  THE FIRST LITTLE PET BOOK, WITH TEN SHORT TALES, IN WORDS OF THREE AND FOUR LETTERS.

  BY AUNT FANNY, Author of "Night Caps," "Mittens," "Wife's Stratagem," etc., etc.

  "I LOVE GOD AND LITTLE CHILDREN."--RICHTER.

  NEW YORK: JAMES O'KANE, PUBLISHER. 1867.

  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by W. H. KELLEY AND BROTHER, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York.

  THIS LITTLE PET BOOK IS DEDICATED TO Charlotte, Mary, and Willie, THREE DEAR LITTLE CHILDREN, ABOUT WHOM I TOLD FUNNY STORIES IN TWO OF THE "MITTEN" BOOKS.

  "Why, Hal, did you get my pie?"--P. 14.]

  PREFACE TO MOTHERS.

  Many and many a time mothers have come to the author with the piteousplaint: "O Aunt Fanny! we are perfectly worn out with your'Nightcaps,' 'Mittens,' and 'Socks;' we have read them to our littlechildren, who have not yet conquered the compound mysteries of thealphabet, until we know them by heart; do, _do_ write some books inwords of one syllable, which they can read for themselves."

  Now, I wonder if these good mothers can conceive what it is to writea story in words of one syllable, and make it interesting, sensible,and grammatical? If they can not, I entreat them to try a page or twoof this utterly distracting style of composition; they will very soonhave a realizing sense of the pleasing emotions of a lunatic confinedin a strait-jacket. Above all, let them try a tale of joy or woe, allin words of three letters and less. Mother Goose could never have madeher precious "high-diddle-diddle" nonsense in this way. I have triedfrantically to spell "jolly" in three letters and "darling" in onesyllable. How I have succeeded the books are submitted to show.

  The mothers have wanted them, and I have written them--begging pardonof Mother Goose and Mr. Murray--and entreating that all short-comings,which in this case will mean all words too long, will be set down towant of power, not want of will, to delight and amuse the dear littledarlings, the writing for whom is so rare a comfort to their loving

  AUNT FANNY.

  CONTENTS.

  PREFACE, 4

  THE BAD OLD APE, 11

  MOP, THE PET CAT. A POEM, 19

  SAM, THE BAD BOY, 28

  BEN AND SUE, AND THE SEE-SAW, 35

  THE HEN AND FOX. A POEM, 43

  BEN AND BOB, 50

  THE OLD GRAY RAT, 64

  POOR WILL, WHO WAS SHOT IN THE WAR, 96

  ANN, THE GOOD GIRL, 130

  JOE, WHO DID NOT MIND, 157

  THE

  BAD OLD APE.

  One day Ned got a pie to eat. It was too hot, so he put it out in theair, on the lid of a big tin pot.

  And now he ran off to see his dog who had a pup, and his cat who had akit.

  The pup lay in a box. Ned had got hay to put in the box for a bed; thepup lay on the hay, and the kit lay on a bit of rug.

  Ned did pat the pup on his ear, and say: "O you pet! let me hug you."By and by, he did pat the kit too, and say: "Kit, kit, kit, can youeat pie--can you? Let me go and get you a bit." So he ran to hispie--but, O my! it was not on the lid of the big tin pot.

  "Why, who _can_ it be who has got my pie?" Ned did say. "Did it fly upin the air?"

  "Why, Hal! did _you_ get my pie?"

  "No, not I. It is a tom-tit you see--not a pie."

  "O yes! so it is, a wee tom-tit. If I can get my pie, the tom-tit, andyou and I can eat it."

  He got up on top of the tin pot to see far off, and he did cry out: "Omy! I see it now! I see my pie! The sly old ape has got it, and hehas eat a big bit out of it, too! Oh! oh! he will eat it all up! Howcan I get at him?"

  And now the sly old ape, who had the pie in his paw, saw Ned, and Neddid say: "Now for a run!" So he did run, and the sly old ape did run,and the dog did run, and the cat did run, and the pup did run, and thekit did run, and all did run, and it was fun.

  The ape did say, "Che! che!" and ate the pie as he ran. Ned did say:"O you bad old ape! O you bad old ape!" The dog did say: "Bow wow! Bowwow!" The cat did say: "Mew, mew!" The pup did say: "Yap! yap!" andthe kit did cry: "Eee, eee!" Was it not a big run?

  And now, was it not too bad in the sly old ape? for you see he ate thepie all up. Ned did not get one bit, and the kit did not get one bit.O my!

  Let me say to you, if you get a pie, and it is too hot to eat, do notput it on the top of a big tin pot, in the air, and go off to see acat or a dog, for if you do, may be a sly old ape may get at the pie,and eat it all up.

  MOP, THE PET CAT.

  I.

  O Ned! the sun Is in the sky, And you in bed-- O fie! O fie!

  II.

  Get up, get up, And go and run Out in the air, For it is fun.

  III.

  Sit in my lap, As you may do, So I can tie The bow for you.

  IV.

  Now get the cap, The new red top, And let us go To see old Mop,

  V.

  My old pet cat, Who has one eye-- For one is out, Let me say why.

  VI.

  One day a dog, A bad old cur, Did fly at Mop, He bit her fur.

  VII.

  He bit her ear; How she did mew! And all her leg, He bit it too.

  VIII.

  He dug his paw Way in her eye, And put it out, And she did cry.

  IX.

  "Oh! mew, mew, mew! Fit! fit! ee! eeeee! My eye is out! I can not see!

  X.

  "And I may die; Say, can it be?" And up she got To mew to me.

  XI.

  Oh! I was mad, And I was sad, For my pet cat Was bit so bad.

  XII.

  But off I ran, And in a bag, Of old and new, I got a rag:

  XIII.

  And I did say: "Let me, I beg, Tie the old rag On the bad leg."

  XIV.

  My old pet cat So sad did lie, And I did say: "Oh! she may die!"

  XV.

  Her eye was out, And all the day Up in my lap My cat did lay.

  XVI.

  She had a nap, She had a sup, And, by and by, She did get up.

  XVII.

  And now her leg And fur are new, And she can run To me and you.

  XVIII.

  The bad old dog Did go a-way, And in a pit He hid all day.

  XIX.

  As out he ran, A man sat by-- He had a gun-- The dog did _die_!

  XX.

  For the big man Was sad for Mop, And so his gun Did go off--pop!

  XXI.

  And now my Mop All day can run, And get her nap Out in the sun;

  XXII.

  Or eat all day; And now you see She is as fat As fat can be.

  XXIII.

  We can let Mop Go to and fro, For the bad dog, Who bit her so,

&
nbsp; "Her eye is out, But you can see She is as fat As fat can be."--P. 26.]

  XXIV.

  Did get a pop; It was not fun, For he did die, By the pop gun.

  XXV.

  Now Mop and you And I can go To spy a rat, All in a row.

  XXVI.

  But by one eye Old Mop can spy A rat as far As you or I.

  SAM, THE BAD BOY.

  A boy was out one day. It was Sam. He had his new hum top. He did sayto his mam-ma: "Oh! see my top! Can I go out and try my new hum top?"

  "Sam let the big boy try his top."--P. 29.]

  "Yes, my son, but do not go into the old hut."

  "Oh! no, mam-ma," Sam did say; and out he ran in the air.

  By and by, a big boy did run up to him and say: "Sam, let me try thetop? oh! do."

  Sam let the big boy try, and, O my! how the top did go! and did hum,hum, hum so, Sam did say it was a big bee.

  But, oh! sad to say, the big boy did let the top fly off in-to thehut; and Sam did not do as he was bid, for he ran in to get it.

  He saw an ax in the hut.

  "Oh! see the ax," Sam did say, "I can try it on the old log, out inthe lot; yes, I can see if it can cut."

  Was he not a bad boy to say so? for his mam-ma did say to him one day:"You are but a bit of a boy; so you can not do as a big man can do. Donot get the ax; if you do, you may cut off a leg or an arm, and youmay die; so do not go to the hut at all, and to-day, too, she didsay: "Do not go to the hut."

  But the bad boy got the ax, and ran out to the old log.

  And now, oh! oh! I am sad to say the ax did not cut the log. No! itcut off Sam's big toe!

  How he did cry and hop! His mam-ma ran out, and saw her boy out by thelog; the ax was by him, and his big toe was off.

  It is no fun at all to get a big toe cut off, for Sam had to lie inbed, and cry all day; and the pig ate up his big toe.

  He can not buy a new toe. He has but one big toe now. So you see howbad it is not to do as you are bid.

  "Can you go out to the see-saw to-day?"--P. 35.]

  BEN AND SUE,

  AND THE SEE-SAW.

  "Can you go out to the see-saw to-day?" Sue did say to Ben.

  "O yes, yes! Let me see if mam-ma will let us. Yes, we can go: so youput on a hat, and let me get my cap, and we can run all the way."

  Ben got his cap off of the peg, and Sue got her hat out of a box; andthe two ran off. Tip, the big dog, ran too.

  On the top of the see-saw sat an old cat; she sat on it, to try to spyout a rat, who had hid. The cat did not see Tip; and, I am sad tosay, he was now a bad dog; for he ran at her, and bit her in the leg.

  The cat put up her paw to hit Tip, and Tip bit her in her ear; and thecat had to run off with a m-e-w! O my! was not Tip a bad dog?

  And now Sue and Ben got on the see-saw. Sue did go up, up, up, andBen did go up, up, up. And it was fun! Was it not?

  Tip had his fun too, for he saw the rat. It had hid in a box by thesee-saw, and the cat did not see it; but Tip did; and oh! how he didfly at it! He got it in his paw and bit it, so it did die. The rat didnot say it was fun to be out at the see-saw, as Ben and Sue did. Ono! It was no fun at all to be bit, and to die. Was it?

  And now the sun was hot, and Ben and Sue got off the see-saw and ranup to the old red cow, to see her eat hay, and out to the pig sty tosee the old fat pig, who ate all day.

  "O my!" Sue did say, "see how fat the pig is! All she can do is to eatall day. I can not eat all day; can you Ben?"

  "Why, no," Ben did say, "but I can eat one big pie in a day."

  "Oh! so can I! Let us go in and ask mam-ma for a pie to eat now."

  So the two ran, and Tip ran. And mam-ma _had_ a pie; she cut it up forSue and Ben to eat, and they did hop for joy and eat it all up.

  "Did they? No! I can not say so, for Ben gave Tip, the dog, a big bit;and Sue did too. Ben was not a pig, and Sue was not a pig. So, yousee, the two did not eat as the pig did; no! for Tip had his bit too.

  Out on the log The sly old cat Did sit all day, To get a rat.

  But Tip, the dog, Did run at her, And in his paw He got her fur.

  She had to fly, The sly old cat; And now the dog Has got the rat.

  THE HEN AND FOX.

  My own fat hen Did go one day Out in the lot, An egg to lay.

  The day was hot; A cow sat by, And in her ear Was a big fly.

  "Buz, buz, buz, buz," The fly did go, In the cow's ear, And bit it so.

  The cow did say, "O moo! O moo! Do go a-way, O do! O do!

  "Go to the pig, You bad old fly, Get out! get out! O moo! O my!"

  It did not go, The bad old fly; And now it lit In the cow's eye.

  Up she did hop! And ran a-way; And now my hen Her egg did lay.

  But oh! oh! oh! A sly red fox, Who was all hid In an old box,

  Did get my hen And get her egg, Tho' she did cry, And she did beg.

  But the red fox, O me! O my! He bit and bit, So she did die.

  He ate her up In his old den: He ate her up, My own fat hen.

  And I so sad All day, did spy To see the bad Red fox go by.

  I set a net, And oh! I saw The bad red fox Put in his paw.

  Now _he_ did cry, And _he_ did beg, But no! I had Him by the leg.

  To let him go Was not to be, And our old Dan Did say to me:

  "O the bad fox! As I say 'one,' I'll hit him--pop! Out of my gun."

  The fox did die, And my new hen Can lay an egg, Or two, or ten.

  For now no fox Can eat my hen, Or get her egg, Or two, or ten.

  BEN AND BOB.

  One day Ben did go up to his pa-pa, and say: "O pa-pa! my cap is soold, it is not fit to be put on; do buy me a new one!"

  His pa-pa did say: "If you are not bad all day, I can say 'yes' toyou, but if you are bad, the old cap will do for a bad boy."

  But Ben was not bad; so his pa-pa got him the cap. It had fur on it.Ben put it on; and as it fit him, he ran out in the air, and did cryas he ran: "See my new cap! see my new cap!"

  Far off, by an old log, he saw a fat hen. She was by her nest. In itwas an egg. Ben ran up to her, and he did cry, "Sho! sho! sho!" tillshe did fly off. So he got the old hen's egg, and put it in the top ofhis cap. As he did so a boy ran up to him. It was Bob. "Hal-lo," Bobdid say. "How do you do, Ben?" and he hit him a tap on the top of hiscap. He did not see Ben put the egg in his cap; and, O my! the egg didgo pop!! and it ran in his ear and his eye, and all on him from top totoe. His new cap was all egg too.

  So you see how bad it was in him not to let the old fat hen and heregg be.

  But he did not care a bit; for he and Bob ran off to see the men mowthe hay. It lay in the hot sun to dry.

  Bob lay on the hay, and the sun was so hot, that the end of his nosegot red, and a big dog who was by the men saw the end of his nose, andran and made a snap at it to eat it. But Ben did hop up, and he andBob ran off.

  "Ben and Bob ran off to see the men mow thehay."--P. 54.]

  Ben did go in to his mam-ma and say: "O mam-ma! we are so hot and sodry! do let us get a pie to eat and a big tin mug of wa-ter; and oh!may we put a big bit of ice in the tin mug?"

  His mam-ma did say, Yes; and so Ben and Bob did eat the pie and had alot of fun; for Ben bit his pie to look like a cat who had one leg,and Bob bit his pie in-to a dog who had one ear. He ate it all up; andBob did say he had a dog-pie, and Ben had a cat-pie. Was it not fun?

  But his pa-pa did say to him: "Why, Ben, how did you get all the eggon you?"

&nbs
p; O how red Ben was! But he did not say a lie. O no! He did say: "Pa-pa,I got an egg and put it in the top of my new cap, but Bob did not seeit, and he did tap the top of my cap, and the egg did go pop! all onme, and the top of my new cap is all egg. How can I get it off?"

  His pa-pa was full of joy, as his son did not say a lie, and he didtry to get all the egg off of the new cap. And now Ben and Bob ranoff, and Ben had a lot of fun, for he was not bad; O no! he was a boywho did not say a lie, and so he had joy and fun all day. If you arenot bad, you can have joy and fun too. You are my pet, so I get allthe wee wee w-o-r-d-s I can, to put in-to this book for you; and if Ican see you one day and kiss you, _I_ can have joy

  Too, too, too; If I can see you, you, you: [A]Will you come? Oh! do, do, do!

  I will let you hop, hop, hop, Run or spin your top, top, top, Get a gun and pop, pop, pop.

  Go out in the sun, sun, sun, With my kit to run, run, run: Will we not have fun, fun, fun?

  You can see my cat, cat, cat, And her soft fur pat, pat, pat-- She is on the mat, mat, mat.

  Out on the old rug, rug, rug, Is my pet dog Pug, Pug, Pug-- Give him a good hug, hug, hug.

  If you stub your toe, toe, toe, When to him you go, go, go, You will come to woe, woe, woe.