Selected Cautionary Verses

by Hilaire Belloc

Librarian note: An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here.

Genres: Poetry, Humor, Childrens, Fiction, Comedy, Short Stories

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc, French-born British writer, is considered a master of light English prose and also widely known for his droll verse, especially The Bad Child's Book of Beasts in 1896.

The sharp wit of Belloc, an historian, poet, and orator, extended across a large literary output and strong political and religious convictions. Throughout his career, he prolifically wrote across a range of genres and produced histories, essays, travelogues, poetry, and satirical works.

Cautionary Tales for Children collects humorous yet dark morals, and the historical works of Hilaire Belloc often reflected his staunch Catholicism and critique of Protestant interpretations. He led advocates of an economic theory that promoted and championed distribution of small-scale property ownership as a middle ground between capitalism and socialism, alongside Gilbert Keith Chesterton, his close friend.

In politics, Hilaire Belloc served as a member of Parliament for the Liberal party, but the establishment disillusioned him. His polemical style and strong opinions made him a controversial figure, who particularly viewed modernism, secularism, and financial capitalism as threats to traditional Christian society in his critiques.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very pleased to find this old penguin paperback in a free library. Matilda (who told such dreadful lies, it made one gasp and stretch ones eyes) was a favourite poem of my children when they were small. I was really pleased this one was in here, it is amusing and great fun to read aloud. Some others were good, some so-so, and some hadn’t aged so well. There are some enjoyable line drawings included.

[John Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to read some of the old chestnuts again and those I was less familiar with. Enjoyed the drawings. Not quite sure what kids of today would make of them!

[Dhanaraj Rajan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of selected verses from some six similar works of Hilaire Belloc. These are all cautionary verses specially meant for children. Moral teachings and simple practical exhortations for the children are presented in a lively rhyme form with enhancing additions in the form of some lovely illustrations.

Here is a sample:

HENRY KING WHO CHEWED BITS OF STRING, AND WAS EARLY CUT OFF IN DREADFUL AGONIES

The Chief Defect of Henry King
was chewing little bits of String.
At last he swallowed some which tied
Itself in ugly Knots inside.
Physicians of the Utmost Fame
Were called at once; but when they came
They answered,
as they took their Fees,
'There is no Cure for this Disease.
Henry will very soon be dead.'
His Parents stood about his Bed
Lamenting his Untimely Death,
When Henry, with his Latest Breath,
Cried -
'Oh, my Friends, be warned by me,
That Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch and Tea
Are all the Human Frame requires ...'
With that the Wretched Child expires.

The selections are taken from Belloc's Cautionary Tales for Children, New Cautionary Tales, The Bad Child's Book of Beasts, More Beasts for Worse Children, More Peers and Ladies and Gentlemen: For Adults Only and Mature at That.

The selections from the last two books deal with poems/rhymes that are meant for adults. The themes are political and social satire, I guess. The problem is that they deal with the political and social situation of England of Belloc's times. As I am not that aware of such events, some of them flew above my head as I read them, I enjoyed the collections from the first two books. The collections from the next two were Okay. That may be the reason why I limited my rating to three stars.

[Griselda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more amusing for adults than for children; I think this was wasted on me the first time I read it in August 1973. Best bit? '...little Bill who came between/ Was quite unnaturally keen/ On 'Athalie', by Jean Racine...'

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, though not hilarious, moral tales. I feel some may have influenced Roald Dahl’s stories.

[Melissa Perret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious- I will be reading several of these to Noah to discourage certain bad behaviours!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

But not so Sarah! Not so Sal!
She was a most uncultured girl
Who didn’t care a pinch of snuff
For any literary stuff
And gave the classics all a miss.
Observe the consequence of this!
— ‘Sarah Byng.’

Though nothing irks more than a fib will,
Strike me down were I to quibble
Or seek to start a heated quarrel
Through damning stories with a Moral.
And yet here’s Belloc (first name Hilaire)
Belching Morals into still air;
I, whose instinct’s first to curse,
Am charmed by each improving verse.

His tales for children urge due caution
Lest hard lessons should be learnt:
You might prove the lion’s portion;
Telling lies might get you burnt.
Just in case you thought it funny,
Slamming doors could be your death;
Throwing stones could lose you money;
Eating string can stop your breath.

Cease to be like Tom or Peter,
Even Jim or wild Rebecca,
Or Matilda (little cheater!
Lying only served to wreck her).
Unlike proud Godolphin Horne
(Who lost his wealth, though manor-born)
Charles Augustus Fortescue
Got richer just by acting true.

Yet —

Blithe illiterate, Sarah Byng,
Refusing to read anything,
Believed in her “instinctive guess
That liter-a-ture breeds distress”.
Who knows that she may yet prove right,
That printed matter just brings woes?
Best avoid distress and fright:
Heed not Mr Belloc’s prose!

I jest!

For you may sadly lose
Menageries of funny creatures:
Animals you may find in zoos
Equipped with strangely silly features.
Here are also Lords and Ladies,
Each one equally a beast;
Some are only fit for Hades;
Many, thankfully, deceased.

Mr Belloc's wise, all-seeing:
Couplets, quatrains are his gift.
Animal or Human Being?
He will give them all short shrift.
You may think his rhyming verse
Somewhat prejudiced … or worse,
But, when all is said and done,
One can’t deny it’s – mostly! – fun.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilaire Belloc’s cautionary verses probably seemed even funnier in his days since they offered a parody of 19th century cautionary tales that offered solemn moral advice. We miss this dimension, but can still enjoy Belloc’s work as a set of nonsense verses, albeit with a cruel streak.

Did Belloc like children? He certainly enjoyed assigning terrible fates to children who behaved with even mild disobedience. In exchange for running away from his nurse, Jim is eaten by a lion. Belloc is sure to tell us that the lion starts with his feet and works its way up.

Henry King suffers the effect of chewing string. Matilda offers a variant of the cry wolf story. Her prank calls to the fire service end badly when nobody comes to her house during a real fire.

The original tales sought to reinforce narrow societal values designed to make children obedient and conformist, but Belloc takes these inane banalities to such a level of extremity that we see how foolish such homilies are.

Belloc also throws in some nonsense verse about animals, reminding us of a time when people really did not know much about animals, leading to some of those awful artist renderings of creatures that almost but not quite bore no resemblance whatsoever to the beast portrayed.

People knew better in Belloc’s day of course. This still allows for the presentation of absurd ‘facts’ about animals, and even a description of the teeth of a microbe.

Belloc’s darkly ironic humour is entertaining, but his verses are not as entertaining as the best works by Edward Lear or Lewis Carroll. They work well on their own level, but they are short, and the book is soon over. The subject is also limited, with the stories playing on one note.

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

These short verse tales probably seem better to a child of the right age and place then they do to me, but because they are short these stories never become tedious and I am greatly impressed by Belloc's playful tone and facility to rhyme, which is extraordinary.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Verse from a number of books. I really enjoyed Cautionary Tales for Children, five stars. Down hill from there. Ladies and Gentlemen was downright weird and only two stars. Four stars overall.

[Festina Lente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, absurd and by todays standards joyfully offensive poems (and illustrations) Mostly meant for kids, but “the Garden Party” holds much social wisdom.

[Kitty .ᐟ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t bad by any means, i just don’t have any particular feelings about it.

[Igenlode Wordsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some clever rhymes in this (and it remains my sole source of knowledge about that illustrious production, "The Second Mrs Tanqueray"), but unsurprisingly I enjoyed it more when I was at the target age. The first few tales - Jim, who was eaten by a lion ('always keep a-hold of Nurse, for fear of finding something worse'), Henry King, who went in for chewing little bits of string, and Matilda, who told such dreadful lies - are the ones I remember; I have very little recollection of most of the others, although I do remember some of the pictures. The unnamed Doctor in the otherwise unmemorable "Lord Roehampton" appears to be the proud owner of an electric brougham, and indeed most of the illustrations appear to my adult eye to depict a world much earlier than the 1930s copyright cited.

[^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though now somewhat dated, this remains a lovely collection to dip in and out of because Belloc’s verse is simply so fascinating.

Take “The microbe” for example. Firstly, how many poets write about microbial life? Not many that I’m aware of. And yet even just four lines rolling off the tongue:

“…His jointed tongue that lies beneath
A hundred curious rows of teeth;
His sevn tufted tails with lots
Of lovely pink and purple spots, …”

is more than enough to set the imagination reeling. Not just a hundred rows of teeth (visions of MRSA, anyone?) but CURIOUS rows of teeth (like a deep sea angler fish?)

Period detail may date; but Belloc’s theatrical vision lives on. This is verse to act to; but probably better to avoid at bedtime story time.

[Peter Jones]

Such fun to read. Good old Hillaiure Belloc!