Excerpt from Uncle Charlie's Story Book: Fun, Fact, and Fancy, (Fiftieth Birthday Souvenir) Seven years have passed since Uncle Charlie's Poems was launched on the literary sea. Three years later Uncle Charlie's Song Book ventured forth to court public favor. Both books have gone into thousands of homes, and over two hundred enthusiastic newspaper notices and thousands of still more enthusiastic letters eloquently bear witness to the pleasure and satisfaction of those who possess these volumes of mirth and melody. The matter of arranging for a suitable souvenir to mark the occasion of the writer's fiftieth birthday has resulted in the publication of this little volume, into which have been collected some stories that in fugitive form have already appeared in various publications, and to these have been added, for the benefit of those thousands of dear, good friends who have honored the writer by taking an interest in his work, a few other stories of a more personal nature. Uncle Charlie's Songs and Poems have won themselves an enviable place in public favor. They have made, and are still making good. The writer, however, owing to physical conditions which make sustained effort necessary in story writing too great a tax on his waning strength, claims little for the sheaf of stories presented herewith, except that he believes they will help to pass a few spare moments acceptably. If Uncle Charlie's Story Book accomplishes this much, and if it should even in the smallest way aid in forging new links in the chain of affection and regard which for so many years has bound him to a host of friends, he will be more than repaid, more than happy. To those who have secured this book chiefly because it commemorates a momentous occasion in the author's life, he extends his gratitude and appreciation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.