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FABLES FOR OURTIMEDEDICATED TO CONVENTIONAL SINNERS

Fables for Our Timeand

Famous Poems Illustrated

by

JAMES THURBER

B L U E R I B B O N B O O K S G A R D E N C I T Y , N E W Y O R K

1943B L U E R IB B O N B O O K S

FABLES FOR O UR T I M E

COPYRIGHT, 1939 , 1940, BY JAMES THURBER

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ALL RIGHTS IN THIS BOOK ARE RESERVED.

NO PART OF THE BOOK M AY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY

MANNER WHATSOEVER WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION

EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF BRIEF QUOTATIONS EMBODIED

IN CRITICAL ARTICLES AND REVIEWS. FOR INFORMATION

ADDRESS HARPER & BROTHERS

CL

.FOR

HERMAN and DOROTHY

“The material in this book originally appeared in The New Yorker, with the exception of the drawings illustrating Fables for Our Time, which are new.”

T A B L E OF C O N T E N T SF A B L E S

The Mouse Who Went to the Country 3The Little Girl and the Wolf 5The Two Turkeys 7The Tiger Who Understood People 9The Fairly Intelligent Fly 13The Lion Who Wanted to Zoom 15The Very Proper Gander 17The Moth and the Star 19The Shrike and the Chipmunks 21The Seal Who Became Famous 25The Hunter and the Elephant 27The Scotty Who Knew Too Much 29The Bear Who Let It Alone 33The Owl Who Was God 35The Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing 39The Stork Who Married a Dumb Wife 41The Green Isle in the Sea 43The Crow and the Oriole 45The Elephant Who Challenged the World 49The Birds and the Foxes 53The Courtship of Arthur and A1 55The Hen Who Wouldn’t Fly 57The Glass in the Field 59The Tortoise and the Hare 61The Patient Bloodhound 63The Unicorn in the Garden 65The Rabbits Who Caused All the Trouble 69The Hen and the Heavens 71

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Excelsior 73The Sands o’ Dee 79Lochinvar 83Locksley Hall 89“ Oh When I Was . . 96Curfew Must Not Ring To-Night 98Barbara Frietchie 105The Glove and the Lions 113Ben Bolt 119

[ viii ]