LITTLE BLACK SAMBO

 BY HELEN BANNERMAN

 ILLUSTRATED BY FLORENCE WHITE WILLIAMS

 THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO . AKRON, OHIO . NEW YORK PRINTED IN U. S. A. 

[Illustration:]

LITTLE BLACKSAMBO

[Illustration:]

Once upon a time there was a little black boy, and his name was LittleBlack Sambo. 

[Illustration:]

And his mother was called Black Mumbo. 

[Illustration:]

And his father was called Black Jumbo. 

[Illustration:]

And Black Mumbo made him a beautiful little Red Coat, and a pair ofbeautiful little Blue Trousers. 

[Illustration:]

And Black Jumbo went to the Bazaar and bought him a beautiful GreenUmbrella and a lovely little Pair of Purple Shoes with Crimson Solesand Crimson Linings. 

And then wasn't Little Black Sambo grand?

[Illustration:]

So he put on all his Fine Clothes and went out for a walk in theJungle. 

[Illustration:]

And by and by he met a Tiger. And the Tiger said to him, "LittleBlack Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!"

[Illustration:]

And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please, Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little Red Coat. "

[Illustration:]

So the Tiger said, "Very well, I won't eat you this time, but you mustgive me your beautiful little Red Coat. " So the Tiger got poor LittleBlack Sambo's beautiful little Red Coat, and went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle. "

[Illustration:]

And Little Black Sambo went on, and by and by he met another Tiger, and it said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!"

[Illustration:]

And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please, Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little Blue Trousers. "

[Illustration:]

So the Tiger said, "Very well, I won't eat you this time, but you mustgive me your beautiful little Blue Trousers. " So the Tiger got poorLittle Black Sambo's beautiful little Blue Trousers, and went awaysaying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle. "

[Illustration:]

And Little Black Sambo went on and by and by he met another Tiger, andit said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!" AndLittle Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please, Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, andI'll give you my beautiful little Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles andCrimson Linings. "

[Illustration:]

[Illustration:]

But the Tiger said, "What use would your shoes be to me? I've got fourfeet and you've got only two. "

[Illustration:]

"You haven't got enough shoes for me. " But Little Black Sambo said, "You could wear them on your ears. "

"So I could, " said the Tiger, "that's a very good idea. Give them tome, and I won't eat you this time. "

So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little PurpleShoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings, and went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle. "

[Illustration:]

And by and by Little Black Sambo met another Tiger, and it said tohim, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!"

[Illustration:]

And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please, Mr. Tiger, don't eat me upand I'll give you my beautiful Green Umbrella. " But the Tiger said, "How can I carry an umbrella when I need all my paws for walkingwith?"

[Illustration:]

"You could tie a knot on your tail, and carry it that way, " saidLittle Black Sambo. 

[Illustration:]

"So I could, " said the Tiger. "Give it to me and I won't eat you thistime. "

[Illustration:]

So he got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful Green Umbrella, and wentaway saying, "Now _I_'m the grandest Tiger in the Jungle. "

And poor Little Black Sambo went away crying, because the cruel Tigershad taken all his fine clothes. 

[Illustration:]

Presently he heard a horrible noise that sounded like"Gr-r-r-r-rrrrrrr, " and it got louder and louder. 

"Oh dear!" said Little Black Sambo, "There are all the Tigers comingback to eat me up! What shall I do?"

So he ran quickly to a palm-tree, [Illustration:]

And peeped round it to see what the matter was. 

And there he saw all the Tigers fighting and disputing which of themwas the grandest. 

And at last they all got so angry that they jumped up and took off allthe fine clothes and began to tear each other with their claws andbite each other with their great big white teeth. 

[Illustration:]

And they came, rolling and tumbling, right to the foot of the verytree where Little Black Sambo was hiding, but he jumped quickly inbehind the umbrella. And the Tigers all caught hold of each others'tails. 

[Illustration:]

As they wrangled and scrambled, and so they found themselves in a ringaround the tree. 

Then, when the Tigers were very wee and very far away, Little BlackSambo jumped up and called out, "Oh! Tigers! why have you taken off all your nice clothes? Don't youwant them any more?"

[Illustration:]

But the Tigers only answered "Gr-r-r-rrrrr!"

[Illustration:]

Then Little Black Sambo said, "If you want them, say so, or I'll takethem away. " But the Tigers would not let go of each others' tails, andso they could only say "Gr-r-r-rrrrrr!"

[Illustration:]

And the Tigers were very, very angry, but still they would not let goof each others' tails. And they were so angry that they ran round thetree, trying to eat each other up, and they ran faster and faster tillthey were whirling round so fast that you couldn't see their legs atall. 

[Illustration:]

And they still ran faster and faster and faster, till they all justmelted away, and then there was nothing left but a great big pool ofmelted butter (or "ghi" as it is called in India) round the foot ofthe tree. 

Now Black Jumbo was just coming home from his work, with a great bigbrass pot in his arms, and when he saw what was left of all theTigers, he said, "Oh! what lovely melted butter! I'll take that home to Black Mumbo forher to cook with. "

So he put it all into the great big brass pot, and took it home toBlack Mumbo to cook with. 

When Black Mumbo saw the melted butter, wasn't she pleased!

"Now, " said she, "we'll all have pancakes for supper!"

[Illustration:]

So she got flour and eggs and milk and sugar and butter, and she madea huge big plate of most lovely pancakes. And she fried them in themelted butter which the Tigers had made, and they were just as yellowand brown as little Tigers. 

And then they all sat down to supper. And Black Mumbo ate Twenty-sevenpancakes, and Black Jumbo ate Fifty-five, but Little Black Sambo ate aHundred and Sixty-nine, because he was so hungry. 

[Illustration:]

Uniform With ThisVolume:

The Little Red HenWillie MouseWee Peter Pug

The SaalfieldPublishing CompanyChicagoAKRON, OHIONew York