The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mythological Zoo, by Oliver Herford

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Title: The Mythological Zoo

Author: Oliver Herford

Release Date: December 6, 2007 [EBook #23749]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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The Mythological Zoo

By

Oliver Herford

[Illustration]

New York - Charles Scribner's Sons
1912

Copyright, 1912, by Oliver Herford

Published September, 1912

To

Elwyn Barron

With Affectionate Regard

Contents

Page

Medusa 2
The Siren 4
The Dolphin 6
The Cockatrice 8
Cerberus 10
The Sphinx 12
The Sea Serpent 14
The Salamander 16
The Jinn 18
The Mermaid 20
The Unicorn 22
The Satyr 24
The Gargoyle 26
The Chimera 28
The Ph[oe]nix 30
The Gryphon 32
The Harpy 34
The Centaur 36
Pegasus 38
The Hydra 40
The Hyppogriff 42
The Minotaur 44

The Mythological Zoo

Medusa

How did Medusa do her hair?
The question fills me with despair.
It must have caused her sore distress
That head of curling snakes to dress.
Whenever after endless toil
She coaxed it finally to coil,
The music of a Passing Band
Would cause each separate hair to stand
On end and sway and writhe and spit,--
She couldn't "do a thing with it."
And, being woman and aware
Of such disaster to her hair,
What _could_ she do but petrify
All whom she met, with freezing eye?

[Illustration]

The Siren

The Siren may be said to be
The Chorus-Lady of the Sea;
Tho' Mermaids claim her as their kin,
Instead of fishy tail and fin
Two shapely feet rejoice the view
(With all that appertains thereto).
When to these other charms we add
A voice that drives the hearer mad,
Who will dispute her claim to be
Th