The First Little Pet Book with Ten Short Stories in Words of Three and Four Letters   By: Aunt Fanny (1822-1894)

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.

[Illustration: "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 piteous plaint: "O Aunt Fanny! we are perfectly worn out with your 'Nightcaps,' 'Mittens,' and 'Socks;' we have read them to our little children, who have not yet conquered the compound mysteries of the alphabet, until we know them by heart; do, do write some books in words of one syllable, which they can read for themselves."

Now, I wonder if these good mothers can conceive what it is to write a 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 two of this utterly distracting style of composition; they will very soon have a realizing sense of the pleasing emotions of a lunatic confined in a strait jacket. Above all, let them try a tale of joy or woe, all in words of three letters and less. Mother Goose could never have made her precious "high diddle diddle" nonsense in this way. I have tried frantically to spell "jolly" in three letters and "darling" in one syllable. How I have succeeded the books are submitted to show.

The mothers have wanted them, and I have written them begging pardon of 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 to want of power, not want of will, to delight and amuse the dear little darlings, 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 the air, 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 a kit.

The pup lay in a box. Ned had got hay to put in the box for a bed; the pup 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 you eat pie can you? Let me go and get you a bit." So he ran to his pie 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 up in 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, and you and I can eat it."

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