The Fox and the Geese; and The Wonderful History of Henny-Penny

The Fox and the Geese; and The
Wonderful
by Anonymous,
Illustrated by Harrison Weir

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Wonderful
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Title: The Fox and the Geese; and The Wonderful History of
Henny-Penny
Author: Anonymous

Release Date: September 15, 2007 [eBook #22611]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
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THE FOX AND THE GEESE; AND THE WONDERFUL HISTORY
OF HENNY-PENNY.
[Illustration]
With Illustrations by Harrison Weir.

Portland: Published by Francis Blake, No. 58 Exchange Street.

THE FOX AND THE GEESE.
There was once a Goose at the point of death, So she called her three
daughters near, And desired them all, with her latest breath, Her last
dying words to hear.
"There's a Mr. Fox," said she, "that I know, Who lives in a covert hard

by; To our race he has proved a deadly foe, So beware of his treachery.
"Build houses, ere long, of stone or of bricks, And get tiles for your
roofs, I pray; For I know, of old, Mr. Reynard's tricks, And I fear he
may come any day."
Thus saying, she died, and her daughters fair,-- Gobble, Goosey, and
Ganderee,-- Agreed together, that they would beware Of Mr. Fox, their
enemy.
But Gobble, the youngest, I grieve to say, Soon came to a very bad end,
Because she preferred her own silly way, And would not to her mother
attend.
For she made, with some boards, an open nest, For a roof took the lid
of a box; Then quietly laid herself down to rest, And thought she was
safe from the Fox.
But Reynard, in taking an evening run, Soon scented the goose near the
pond; Thought he, "Now I'll have some supper and fun, For of both I
am really fond."
[Illustration]
Then on to the box he sprang in a trice, And roused Mrs. Gobble from
bed; She only had time to hiss once or twice, Ere he snapped off her
lily-white head.
Her sisters at home felt anxious and low When poor Gobble did not
appear, And Goosey, determined her fate to know, Went and sought all
the field far and near.
At last she descried poor Gobble's head, And some feathers, not far
apart; So she told Ganderee she had found her dead, And they both felt
quite sad at heart.
Now Goosey was pretty, but liked her own way, Like Gobble, and
some other birds. "'Tis no matter," said she, "if I only obey A part of

my mother's last words."
[Illustration]
So her house she soon built of nice red brick, But she only thatched it
with straw; And she thought that, however the Fox might kick, He
could not get in e'en a paw.
So she went to sleep, and at dead of night She heard at the door a low
scratch; And presently Reynard, with all his might, Attempted to jump
on the thatch.
But he tumbled back, and against the wall Grazed his nose in a fearful
way; Then, almost mad with the pain of his fall, He barked, and ran
slowly away.
So Goosey laughed, and felt quite o'erjoyed To have thus escaped from
all harm; But had she known how the Fox was employed, She would
have felt dreadful alarm;
For Gobble had been his last dainty meat,-- So hungry he really did
feel,-- And resolved in his mind to accomplish this feat, And have the
young goose for a meal.
So he slyly lighted a bundle of straws, And made no more noise than a
mouse, Then lifted himself up on his hind paws, And quickly set fire to
the house.
'T was soon in a blaze, and Goosey awoke, With fright almost ready to
die, And, nearly smothered with heat and with smoke, Up the chimney
was forced to fly.
The Fox was rejoiced to witness her flight, And, heedless of all her sad
groans, He chased her until he saw her alight, Then eat her up