Cautionary Tales for Children

By Hilaire Belloc

For readers of any age, a witty and strikingly irreverent collection of moral guidance Most notable among prolific English satirist Hilaire Belloc's writings are the sharp and clever admonishments he composed for children. Collected here and illustrated to wonderful haunting effect by Edward Gorey, these short, funny pieces offer moral instruction for all types of mischief makers—from a certain young Jim, "who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion," to the tale of Matilda, "who told lies and was burned to death”—and add up to a delightful read for any fan of Roald Dahl or Shel Silverstein. (Goodreads)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Otbebookpublishing
• Release date: May 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9783965371439

Hilaire Belloc

Hilaire Belloc was born in France in 1870. As a child, he moved with his mother and siblings to England. As a French citizen, he did his military service in France before going to Oxford University, where he was president of the Union debating society. He took British citizenship in 1902 and was a member of parliament for several years. A prolific and versatile writer of over 150 books, he is best remembered for his comic and light verse. But he also wrote extensively about politics, history, nature and contemporary society. Famously adversarial, he is remembered for his long-running feud with H. G. Wells. He died in in Surrey, England, in 1953.

Book preview

CAUTIONARY TALES FOR

CHILDREN

Designed for the Admonition of Children between the ages

of eight and fourteen years

Verses by H. BELLOC

———

DEDICATED

TO

BOBBY, JOHNNY, AND EDDIE

SOMERSET

INTRODUCTION

Upon being asked by a Reader whether the verses contained in this book were true.

And is it True? It is not True.

And if it were it wouldn’t do,

For people such as me and you

Who pretty nearly all day long

Are doing something rather wrong.

Because if things were really so,

You would have perished long ago,

And I would not have lived to write

The noble lines that meet your sight,

Nor B. T. B. survived to draw

The nicest things you ever saw.

H. B.

Jim,

Who ran away from his Nurse, and was eaten by a Lion.