FREDDY
Goes to Florida


Knopf edition printed 1960

Overlook reprint 1997 Overlook reprint 1997


Said Charles the rooster: "Doesn't matter how cold and rainy it is, it has to be done." He was referring to his job of rising early and crowing to wake up the farm. "And if I miss a morning, what do I get? I get fricasseed, that's what."

So he chucked the job and followed the animals to Florida for the "cold months", stopping en route at such places as the White House.

And Freddy made up a song:

The weather grew torrider
and torrider,
And the orange-blossoms smelt
horrider and horrider,
As we marched down into Florida.

Between soaking up the sun and annoying the alligators, the party stirred up adventure all along the line and emerged with a bag of gold for Mr. Bean.

To quote everyone who reads it: "This is a very funny book." Kurt Weise's drawings are not based on the snapshots taken by Freddy in Florida, but they are extremely suitable to the story, to say the least.

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