Palmer Cox's Funny Animals
Abstract
I am glad to have an excuse for including among our fable editions a second Palmer Cox book. It is in poor condition, and the printing is particularly poor in places. Within its board covers are twelve verse stories for children of extremely varied subject matter. Three might well be considered fables. "The Elephant and Donkey" has the two on a narrow bridge. The elephant expresses his presumed right to go first, and the donkey disagrees – and then finds himself thrown up into a tree, where one can still see his bones hanging! "The Turkey in Danger" is a replay of the Chanticleer story. An older fox with a trapped turkey in a basket is schooling a younger fox along the way. As she goes over a fence, the basket is upset, and a wild chase ensues. That Turkey will never let itself be surprised again! "The Ostrich and the Man" has the ostrich finding a creative way of overcoming the man: plopping down on him in the desert! As in his other book in our collection, Cox excels in lively grotesqueries. The cheap paper and time have worked together to make the impressions of many of the engravings blotted. Unpaginated.