Miniature books

I found the books scattered on book shelf last night, though I only found 9 out of the 10. Surprisingly I still have the little box that they came in, but the lid is long gone.

After several Google searches I did find a similar set of books for sale on eBay, selling for $125!

(Note to self: go through the closets and book cases more closely to see if I have any other hidden cash treasures.)

There is no author listed for the books, mostly because they are classics. They all have “as retold by Uncle Paudie” on the inside cover and a copyright stamp from Mt. Hawley Publishing Co. Peoria, Ill., 1966

The set includes:

1 Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
2 Peter Rabbit
3 The 3 Bears
4 Red Riding Hood (This is the one I can’t find)
5 The Three Pigs
6 The Gingerbread Man
7 3 Billy Goats Gruff
8 Hansel and Gretel
9 The Elves and the Shoemaker
10 Nitty Ditties By Uncle Paudie

The Nitty Ditties was always my favorite and as such has lost its cover. It includes not only “Today’s the day they give babies away” but these other fabulous (and slightly frightening!) ditties:

‘Twasn’t the cough
That carried him off
But the coffin
They carried him of in.

Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick,
Jack fell and
Swallowed the
Candlestick.

‘Tis a sin to steal a pin,
Much as a bigger thing.
For when you die
God will say,
“Where is that pin
You stole away?”
If you say, “I do not know,”
Then He will say,
“Go down below.”

A little man direct from Mars
Sat under a tree munching stars.
But when he tried some earthly cake
He got an awful tummy ache.
Then he left without a trace,
Gone back home to outer space.