59. The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum

 59. The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum. Thornton W. Burgess. 1914. 139 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, classic, children's classic, animal fantasy]

First sentence:  THE Green Meadows were thrown into great excitement late one afternoon, just as the black shadows came creeping down from the Purple Hills. Reddy Fox brought the news, and when he told it he grinned as if he enjoyed it and was glad of it. "Old Billy Possum is dead. I know it because I saw Farmer Brown's boy carrying him home by the tail," said Reddy. "So you see he wasn't so smart as you thought he was," he added maliciously. No one really believed Reddy Fox, for every one knows that he seldom tells the truth, but when Jimmy Skunk came mournfully down the Crooked Little Path and said that it was true, they had to believe it. Then everybody began to talk about Unc' Billy and say nice things about him and tell how much they had enjoyed having him live in the Green Forest since he came up from "Ol' Virginny." That is, everybody but Reddy Fox said so. Reddy said that it served Unc' Billy right, because he was of no account, anyway. Then everybody began to hoot and hiss at Reddy until he was glad enough to slink away.

Premise/plot: What you see is what you get: the ADVENTURES of Uncle Billy Possum. Thornton W. Burgess published a series of children's books--fantasy books, animal fantasy books--in the early twentieth century. Unc' Billy Possum LOVES to steal eggs from Farmer Brown. Jimmy Skunk is a friend and cohort. They both love to steal eggs from Farmer Brown. Usually, Unc' Billy is clever enough NOT to get caught directly by Farmer Brown or his son(s). But not always--so this one has some adventures AND misadventures. 

The simple plot could be condensed to Uncle Billy Possums' family comes to live with him in the Green Meadows and his friends throw a surprise party to celebrate. Not all the animals are invited, pranks are planned, and plots are foiled. Uncle Billy finds himself in a series of scrapes when his wits become 'sleepy' and he doesn't think through his 'criminal' activities (egg stealing). While his family worries, Unc' Billy feels stressed. Will he ever find his way back to his family?! Will lessons be learned?!

My thoughts: This is the first Thornton Burgess that I remember reading--at least reading on my own! Mom assures me that she read aloud some of his animal stories when we were young. I definitely LOVED this one. I thought the characters were fun. The stories were charming; perhaps a few instances where people might feel them to be NOT politically correct--a few 'dated' terms that are not perfectly ideal. However, especially adult readers could still find these stories delightful, charming, and perhaps nostalgic.
I would always prefer to read classics in their original form--rooted in the time and place in which they were written--than to have 'edited' versions that are seeking to appease. 

Favorite quote:

Now it never does to let one's wits go to sleep. Some folks call it forgetting, but forgetting is nothing but sleepy wits. And sleepy wits get more people into trouble than anything else in the world. Unc' Billy Possum's wits were asleep when he left Farmer Brown's hen-house. If they hadn't been, he would have remembered this little saying:

The wits that live within my head
Must never, never go to sleep,
For if they should I might forget
And Trouble on me swiftly leap.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews