A bold bad butterfly : & other fables and verses by Oliver Herford
QR code
A bold bad butterfly by Oliver Herford is a collection of whimsical fables and light verse written in the early 20th century. Playfully illustrated, it uses talking animals, flowers, and mythical figures to satirize vanity, gossip, pretension, and fashion, offering gentle morals in bright, comic vignettes. The poems follow a parade of charming misadventures: a “bold bad” butterfly’s pose leads to a collector’s pin; a crafty lion turns politics to his advantage;
a poet’s song finally makes a princess sleep; a financial “corner in curls” unravels; and a hypnotic serpent fatally mistakes a hat ornament for prey. Elsewhere flowers bicker, stage circuses, and spread scandal; scarecrows pine for crows; mermaids debate umbrellas; rabbits compete by fleeing; dragons invent princesses to lure knights; and foxes outwit a touring lion. Throughout, the book delights in wordplay, reversals, and light morals that gently mock human follies while celebrating imagination. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Upload it on the Amazon site your Kindle is registered with: amazon.com/sendtokindle for the US, amazon.co.uk/sendtokindle for the UK etc.
- It appears on your Kindle and in the Kindle app
Kobo, Nook etc. → Transfer via USB
- Download the EPUB3 file on your computer
- Connect your e-reader by USB and tap "Connect" on its screen
- Drag the file onto the e-reader drive
Phone, Tablet or Computer → Online or Reading App
Easiest: read online in your browser. Nothing to install.
Or use a reading app:
- Find and install one you like, for example Apple Books, ReadEra or Thorium Reader
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Open it in the app
More help: iPhone / iPad · Android · Computer
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Herford, Oliver, 1863-1935 |
|---|---|
| Title | A bold bad butterfly : & other fables and verses |
| Alternate Title | A bold bad butterfly : and other fables and verses |
| Original Publication | London: Gay and Bird, 1906. |
| Note | Illustrated by the author. |
| Credits | David Edwards, Tom Trussel, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Humorous poetry |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77690 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-77690-3 |
| Release Date | Jan 13, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 366 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!