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                   The Peter
                      Pan
                    ALPHABET

                       By
                     Oliver
                    Herford.




                  THE PETER PAN
                    ALPHABET




             BOOKS BY OLIVER HERFORD
           WITH PICTURES BY THE AUTHOR
       PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
       ====================================

THE BASHFUL EARTHQUAKE                       $1.25
A CHILD'S PRIMER OF NATURAL HISTORY           1.25
OVERHEARD IN A GARDEN                         1.25
MORE ANIMALS                          _net,_  1.00
THE RUBAIYAT OF A PERSIAN KITTEN      _net,_  1.00
THE FAIRY GODMOTHER-IN-LAW            _net,_  1.00
A LITTLE BOOK OF BORES                _net,_  1.00
THE PETER PAN ALPHABET                _net,_  1.00




                  THE PETER PAN
                    ALPHABET

                      _By_
                 OLIVER HERFORD

                 [Illustration]

                   _New York_
             CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
                      1907




                COPYRIGHT 1907
               BY OLIVER HERFORD
             PUBLISHED JANUARY 1907




[Illustration: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z]

            A ROUND ROBIN
                 TO
            J. M. BARRIE

From His Humble and Devoted Servants
            THE ALPHABET


The Lord forgive if we transgress
Thus to familiarly address
  One of our betters.
But Jamie, do you no recall
The slate whereon you learned to scrawl
  Your Humble Letters?

Well we remember how you drew
Our shapely features all askew,
  Unflattering really.
You made A lame and B too fat
And C too curly--what of that!
  We loved you dearly.

From that first day we owned your spell,
And just because you used us well
  We served you blindly.
Why, even when you put us through
A fearsome Scottish Reel, we knew
  You meant it kindly.

Jamie, 'tis said Grand Tales there be
Still biding in the A B C--
  If this be true,
Quick Jamie! Cast your golden net.
Maybe we have the grandest yet
  In store for you.




[Illustration: A]

_A is for Adams_


So A is for Adams, Oh! fortunate A
Luck certainly seems to be coming your way.
In the Days of my Infancy, A I recall
Stood for Ant or for Apple or anything small.
Now A stands for Adams, Maude Adams, Hurray!
I always _said_ A would be Famous some day.




[Illustration: B]

_B stands for the Boys_


B's for the Boys, all as Busy as Bees
They are building a Little House under the Trees
With funny red walls and mossy green roof
Where Wendy may live from danger aloof.




[Illustration: C]

_C is the Crocodile_


C is the Crocodile Creepy who ate
The right hand of Hook and covets its mate
He makes a loud ticking wherever he goes
For he swallowed a Clock (To kill time I suppose).




[Illustration: D]

_D is for DoodleDoo_


D is the Dire and Dread DoodleDoo
With which Peter Daunted the Pirate crew,
And demolished a foolish old Proverb for good
By crowing before he was out of the wood.




[Illustration: E]

_E is the Exit_


E is the Exit the three children made
With Peter and Tinker for guides, Who's afraid?
They sailed through the window as calm as could be
Like three little Cherubim out for a Spree.




[Illustration: F]

_F is the Fight_


F is the Fight, Peter Fought unafraid
And F is his Falchion (Poetic for Blade)
And F's the Fine Feeling all Fearless Boys Feel
When they give a Fierce Pirate a taste of Cold Steel.




[Illustration: G]

_G is Old Glory_


G is Old Glory--that Peter upreared,
When Hook in the Crocodile's smile disappeared,
And the Decks were still wet with the terrible stains
Of _Invisible Gore_ from the Pirate's veins.




[Illustration: H]

_H stands for Hook_


I'm sorry for H, tho' I don't call Hook mean
For wanting to Blow Up his own Magazine.
I've known a Good Author blow up, in a Huff,
A Magazine just for not printing his Stuff.




[Illustration: I]

_I's for the Indian Girl_


Peter Pan was too coy for the Indian Miss;
She sighed for his scalp--all she got was a kiss.




[Illustration: J]

_J is for John_


J is for John (No, he hasn't a Pain;
He is Red-Handed Jack of the Pirate Main).




[Illustration: K]

_K stands for a Kiss_


K stands for a Kiss? Oh, stern featured K!
Who would have suspected--_You'd_ leanings that way!
Peter called _his_ a Thimble--(_I_ think it sounds tame
To call Kisses Thimbles--but what's in a Name!)




[Illustration: L]

_L is the Lion_


L is the Lion who lashed his Fierce Tail,
And did Peter Tremble? did Peter turn Pale?
Not Much! 'Twas the Lion who moved to adjourn,
He couldn't turn Tail, Peter left none to Turn.




[Illustration: M]

_M is for Michael_


M is for Michael--ssssh!--whisper it low!
In Pirate Circles he's called Blackbeard Joe!




[Illustration: N]

_N is for Napoleon and Nana_


N is Napoleon--Mystic--Profound
And N is for Nana the Noble Nurse Hound--
Two wonderful natures--each great in his way,
One's dead and the other is "Having his Day."




[Illustration: O]

_O's for Odds-fish!!_


O's for Odds-fish--the Pirate's Oath.
To print such a word, Gentle Reader, I'm loth.
And should _You_ be guilty of language so low,
I should have to stop calling you "Gentle," you know.




[Illustration: P]

_P is for Peter_


P is for Peter, and so are we all,
May he ever keep young and his Shadow stay Small.
Yet I think 'tis a pity the White House is Bann'd.
As President, Peter would simply be Grand!




[Illustration: Q]

_Q is the Quiver_


Q is the Quiver from which Tootles drew
The Arrow that nearly pierced poor Wendy through.
'Twas Peter's _Kiss Button_ that stopped it--Ah me!
If Kisses _were_ Buttons--how _safe_ they would be!




[Illustration: R]

_R's for the Redskins_


R's for the Redskins, who Guarded the Cave.
What a Treat to see "Injuns" sit up and Behave!




[Illustration: S]

_S is the Shadow_


S is the Shadow--tho' not of much use,
You'd surely be Sorry if _Yours_ Should get loose.
So See to your Shadow--be sure it's on tight,
When Peter lost _his_ he was in a sad plight.




[Illustration: T]

_T is for Tinker Bell_


Poor Tinker Bell's dying, Quick! say you Believe
In Fairies, that Tinker New Life may receive.




[Illustration: U]

_U is the Underground Home_


U's the underground home mid the roots of the trees,
Where when not slaying Pirates, the boys take their ease.
While Wendy sits mending their shirtwaists and hose,
And the Redskins above Keep watch against foes.




[Illustration: V]

_V is the Verse_


V's the Vile Verse that the Pirate Bawled--
It was not his language so much that appalled,
Nor the Tune--nor his Voice which was Raucus and Deep
'Twas _the way that he sang it_ That made your flesh creep.




[Illustration: W]

_W's Wolves_


W's wolves--'Tis said they will fly
If you look through your legs at them straight in the eye.
That's how the Boys did it, but if I were you,
I'd experiment first on a wolf in the Zoo.




[Illustration: X]

_X is the X Ray_


X is the X Ray by whose light alone,
This last fleeting picture of Hook may be shown.




[Illustration: Y]

_Y is for Youth_


Y is for _Youth_ to which Peter clung,
But where is the land where he learned to Stay Young?
Ask Peter, he'll tell you, Geography scorning,
"Second Turn to the Right and keep straight on till Morning."




[Illustration: Z]

_Z is the Zebra_


Z is the Zebra the Boys _didn't_ meet,
But without which no Alphabet's really complete.


[Illustration]





End of Project Gutenberg's The Peter Pan Alphabet, by Oliver Herford