I am looking for a book which could be a stand alone story or an anthology involving a skunk and a seagull. I found a card that had been made out of a page of this story or poem.
Following, are quotes from the portion of the text I have in my possession:
“They lived inside the hull of a steamboat upon a beach. Their life was far from dull.”
“3. At 8 o’clock they ate breakfast with healthy appetite, and all day long they dug for clams to have a snack at night. Then went on deck with a guitar, and danced in the moonlight”
“5. All was serene, free and easy until a fateful day when the gull wasn’t home for tea. The skunk had set the tray and waited with jam and muffins in front of the gangway.”
These portions appear on page 65 of the book.
Thanks again.
It is one of my favorite stories. It is part of a number of stories in “A Giant Golden Book”. I read it until it was in shreds in the 1940’s. I have just been looking for a good copy of this book online and came across your request. Wish I could find a copy but haven’t so far. Another favorite story is a one page story about “The Bulldog and the Friendly Puppy”. Brings back so many memories.
I found the book. It is A Giant Golden Book called “Animal Stories” . 46 stories by Georges Duplaix. 200 color pictures by Rojankovsky. Published in 1944 by Simon and Shuster. So happy to find the wonderful book.
I remember the story of the Seagull and the Skunk in a Golden Book I read as a child in the ‘forties. It touched me deeply for reasons I’m not sure I understand even now, eight decades later. I suppose part of it’s charm was that the couple was living on a steamboat stranded on a beach. A good story: the marauding foxes capturing the seagull, the skunk having to rescue his partner. I’ve thought of that story and others in that book many times over the years…
The story is so attractive and charming because it’s a classic example of sharing, caring, self-sacrifice, cooperation,
and many other good features, all of which have been deleted from today’s throw-away society