Edith Brown Kirkwood

“ And now he sits dressed up this way.
Here is the only baby who never makes a noise
(Which must be very puzzling to little girls and boys) .
Yet the Giraffe is happy 'though he cannot shout or sing,
For with that great long neck of his he can reach anything.
The tapir feeds on leaves and fruit
He's very, very hard to suit,
For boys who don't like bread and meat
Have to find other things to eat.
He has climbed to the top of a rocky throne
To look down on a land once so proudly his own,
His people are scattered, he has no place to go,
He is weary and sad, poor King Buffalo. ”

“ Why, isn't the dog the best playmate that a boy can have? Did any one ever hear of Towser or Gyp being false friends? And the soft, dainty, cunning bit of a fluffy ball of a kitten who comes rubbing its downy sides against the tiny girl's skirts begging for a return caress, is there a play-fellow more lovable? ”

“ I've only carried off one shoe and torn the baby's hat
And chased the ducks and spilled the milk—there's nothing bad in that!
The mandrill looks so very queer
I'm glad he lives way off from here;
He's purple, blue, red, black and brown,
I'm sure he is the jungle clown.
The baby gorilla, of the family called Ape,
Is very like you in size and in shape,
But he lives in the jungle with black hair for clothes
And he gets very naughty the older he grows. ”

“ He swung the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky to make things bright; He put the birds in the trees to fill the air with music, and when He made the animals we believe that he intended them to be the friends of man. ”

“ When young Mrs. Kangaroo goes for a hop,
To call or to market or, perhaps, out to shop,
She has no nice carriage where baby can ride,
So he creeps in a pocket that hangs at her side.
He does not care when the sleet comes down, or the chilly wind blows strong,
For he wears a hat that is made of horn and a fur coat, warm and long.
He never gets frostbitten toes 'though in snow and ice he plays;
Now being a Muskox can't be bad in the long, cold winter days!
"The very best I have, sir, fine and a whole yard wide,
It wears, and has no bother of a right and wrong side ”

“ Girls for boys to tease were meant."—
But girls with pins are different.
Sir Knight Armadillo, from tail tip to nose
In armor that's sure to bring terror to foes,
Goes forth with his weapons to his battle ground,
And looks like a pineapple walking around.
Away in Australia the Echidna stays.
He is noted because of his strange little ways;
His claws are so sharp that in manner quite tragic,
When frightened he sinks in the ground as by magic. ”

“ To care for one baby. Why, here she has four,
And there's plenty of room on her tail for some more!
Mr. and Mrs. Mongoose are popular as can be,
The reason being very plain, as you will all agree,
They are cunning and affectionate and clean and very nice,
They kill all snakes and insects and naughty rats and mice. ”

“ But one thing Peccaries have learned—in numbers there is strength.
Now, if you do not bother me I will not bother you,
But all my friends and family will help me if you do."
who is this boy in clothes so neat?
Young Spring-bok, Africa's athlete.
He lives up in the mountains tall,
And as a jumper beats them all. ”

“ We feel that you are going to be just as happy to know the "Animal Children." Therefore we add to "The Little Cousins of the Field and Garden" and "The Little Playmates of the Flower Children," this volume—"The Friends of the Forest and the Plain."
EDITH BROWN KIRKWOOD M.T. Ross
ANIMAL CHILDREN
Sometimes I am so sorry that my papa is a king,
It's really most annoying and hurts like everything
To have the little girls and boys all want to run away,
For if I am a Lion prince, I'm a baby, anyway! ”