Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon

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Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon (1927)
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji, illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff

Part I, Chapter 1

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Winner of the 1928 Newbery Medal.

Dhan Gopal MukerjiBoris Artzybasheff4771735Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon1927

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GAY-NECK

BY

DHAN GPOPAL MUKERJI

Gay-Neck

The Story of a Pigeon

This book was awarded the John Newbery Medal by the Children’s Librarians’ Section of the American Library Association, for the most distinguished contribution to American Children’s literature during the year 1927.

By the same author

CASTE AND OUTCAST
MY BROTHER’S FACE
THE SECRET LISTENERS OF THE EAST
THE FACE OF SILENCE

Stories for Children

KARI THE ELEPHANT
JUNGLE BEASTS AND MEN
HARI THE JUNGLE LAD
GAY-NECK (The Story of a Pigeon)

Published by

E. P. DUTTON & CO., INC.

Gay-Neck

The Story of A Pigeon

by

Dhan Gopal Mukerji

Illustrated by
Boris Artzybasheff

New York
E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc.

Copyright, 1927

By E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY

All rights reserned

First Printing		July, 1927
Fifth Printing		Dec., 1927
Tenth Printing		May, 1928
Fifteenth Printing		Oct., 1928
Seventeenth Printing		Jan., 1929
Eighteenth Printing		June, 1929
Nineteenth Printing		Nov., 1929
Twentieth Printing		Nov., 1929

Printed in the United States of America

TO

Suresh Chandra Banerji, Esq.

Dear Suresh:

Since Gay-Neck needs a protector I thought of you for several reasons. First of all being a poet, an observer of nature, and a traveller, you would be able to protect the book from being condemned. In fact, there is no one who can do it as well as yourself.

You know the country where Gay-Neck grew. You are versed in the lore of birds. For a pigeon, life is a repetition of two incidents: namely, quest of food and avoidance of attacks by its enemies. If the hero of the present book repeats his escapes from attacks by hawks, it is because that is the sort of mishap that becomes chronic in the case of pigeons.

Now as to my sources, you well know that they are too numerous to be mentioned here. Many hunters, poets like yourself, and books in many languages have helped me to write Gay-Neck. And if you will permit it, I hope to discharge at least a part of my debt by dedicating this book to one of my sources—yourself.

I remain most faithfully yours,

Dhan Gopal.

CONTENTS

	PART I
CHAPTER		PAGE
I.	Birth of Gay-Neck	1
II.	Education of Gay-Neck	8
III.	Training in Direction	17
IV.	Gay-Neck in the Himalayas	24
V.	On Gay-Neck’s Track	46
VI.	Gay-Neck’s Truancy	63
VII.	Gay-Neck’s Story	68
VIII.	Gay-Neck’s Odyssey (Continued)	78
	PART II
I.	Gay-Neck’s Training for War	95
II.	War Training (Continued)	105
III.	Mating of Gay-Neck	120
IV.	War Calls Gay-Neck	129
V.	Second Adventure	139
VI.	Ghond Goes Reconnoitring	146
VII.	Gay-Neck Tells How He Carried the Message	156
VIII.	Healing of Hate and Fear	164
IX.	The Wisdom of the Lama	177

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Gay-Neck	Frontispiece
	FACING PAGE
With Enormously Long Reach He almost Touched the Top of the Tree	56
No Beast of Prey Can Kill His Victim without Frightening Him First	132
That Sound was Drowned in the Cry of the Eagles above Who Screeched Like Mad, Slaying Each Other	160

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1965, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 59 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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