The Cheerful Smugglers

Ellis Parker Butler

Ellis Parker Butler was an American author in the first half of the 20th century. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays, and is most famous for his short story Pigs is Pigs. His writing spanned more than forty years and his stories, poems and articles were published in more than 225 magazines. More of this popular authors fun, a bundle of absurd complications and ridiculous situations arising from a young married couples scheme to provide funds for their year-old sons education. They decide to finance their babys college education by collecting a toll on any goods brought into their home by friends or family members. The Cheerful Smugglers is a veritable Stocktonian story, as delightfully absurd in theme as it is realistic in characterization.

The Jack-knife Man

Ellis Parker Butler

Another lighthearted tale from American author Ellis Parker Butler (December 5, 1869 September 13, 1937) which revolves around old Peter Lane, who lives on a decrepit houseboat on the Mississippi River and mostly whiles away his time whittling with his jack-knife and not really doing much else. That is, until one night, a sickly woman knocks at his boat door holding her son in her arms. This encounter would change Peters life, as the old man befriends little Buddy and is determined to keep him and raise him as his own, provided he is able to keep a host of others from laying claim to the orphan. The two outcasts share many adventures over the storybook, enjoying a happy ending despite several difficulties.