Book excerpt: 1885. Pyle is best known for the children's books, which he wrote and illustrated. It is from his famous Book of Pirates that our present-day concept of pirates has come. School children still read his Men of Iron, The Story of King Arthur and his Knights, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, and many other tales. Pyle writes in preface to these delightful tales: One must have a little pinch of seasoning in this dull, heavy life of ours; one should never look to have all the troubles, the labors, and the cares, with never a whit of innocent jollity and mirth. Yes; one must smile now and then, if for nothing else than to lift the corners of the lips in laughter that are only too often dragged down in sorrow. Contents: The Skillful Huntsman; Claus and His Wonderful Staff; How Dame Margery Twist Saw More than Was Good for Her; Clever Peter and the Two Bottles; Hans Hecklemann's Luck; Farmer Griggs's Boggart; The Bird in the Linden Tree; and The Apple of Contentment. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.