# Impossible ID?  This 50s/60s kids' story collection

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 23, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471 "2011-04-23T17:32:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/1 "2011-04-23T17:32:01Z")

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The sheer implausibility of success has kept me from posting this for a while, but what the heck…I’ve seen some amazing things on SDMB.

In the late 60s/early 70s I had some books that were sort of Time Life-style: hard bindings, fairly thin content (\<100 pages), maybe in the 8.5 x 11 range or slightly larger. One of them was a collection of stories. One of those stories was pretty bizarre, but it did stick in my head, and it went something like this, perhaps only _vaguely_ like this:

A guy is on a horse in maybe pioneer days, in the woods, and somehow he’s being stalked by a cougar, mountain lion, something like that. He gets injured and separated from his gun and perhaps horse, and he crosses a stream that is populated - and here it gets surreal - by stingrays. Stingrays? Really? Maybe it’s piranhas, but in my memory it’s stingrays. Maybe the woods are near a beach? Anyway, somehow the stingrays are on his side and they keep the mountain lion from crossing long enough that he gets his gun back in the nick of time and kills the mountain lion. Yay stingrays!

Crazy, right? Maybe I dreamed it. Good luck with this one.

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**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/2 "2011-04-23T17:57:59Z")

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Any chance it was a story in a [Childcraft set](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childcraft)?

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**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/3 "2011-04-23T21:45:59Z")

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Childcraft was my first guess, too, although I thought the volumes were longer than 100 pages. I could be wrong, though.

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**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/4 "2020-02-28T00:53:31Z")

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Followed a link from a current thread. FWIW, there are both Pumas (S American mountain lions) and stingrays in the Amazon.

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**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/5 "2020-02-28T16:07:00Z")

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There was a series in the 80’s called the Enchanted World. It was somewhat misnamed as it dealt with tales and legends from many cultures. Is it possible it was in one of those. There is a list of the volumes  
on Wikipedia [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enchanted_World)

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**Author:** ![Spiriting\_Lightly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Spiriting\_Lightly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiriting_Lightly)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/6 "2020-02-29T04:37:33Z")

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Hi, **Maserschmidt** :

The story you describe sounds like “The Rays Defend the Ford,” by Horacio Quiroga, a tale alternatively titled “How the Rays Defended the Ford.” It’s available in Sr. Quiroga’s _Jungle Tales_, also known as _South American Jungle Tales_, and in some anthologies; among other sites, Project Gutenberg makes the text available. I hope this is the story you remember.

Following **bordelond** ’s fine suggestion, I looked for the story in the _Childcraft_ series but didn’t find it; then again, I didn’t search through every edition. The _Reading for Interest series_, published by D.C. Heath and Company in 1942, includes the tale, as “The Rays Defend the Ford,” in Volume VI, titled _The Brave and Free_. Both series had the longfall mentioned by **needscoffee** : the books contain more than 300 pages; additionally, these volumes are about nine inches by seven inches, smaller than what you remember.

If this information pans out for you in some useful way, maybe it can help you find an answer. Should you remember any other details, such as descriptions of other stories or whether the books were illustrated, maybe there’ll be some more help forthcoming. At the very least, I hope you have some fun combing through the web, **Maserschmidt**. Thank you for presenting such an interesting set of questions.

Peace.

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**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/7 "2020-02-29T05:10:44Z")

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> [@Spiriting\_Lightly](#):
>
> Hi, **Maserschmidt** :
> 
> The story you describe sounds like “The Rays Defend the Ford,” by Horacio Quiroga, a tale alternatively titled “How the Rays Defended the Ford.” It’s available in Sr. Quiroga’s _Jungle Tales_, also known as _South American Jungle Tales_, and in some anthologies; among other sites, Project Gutenberg makes the text available. I hope this is the story you remember.
> 
> […]
> 
> Peace.

Nice work.

I’m looking forward to your next post in ten months or so.

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**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/8 "2020-02-29T07:05:59Z")

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Seriously nice work there, **Spiriting Lightly**!

Let me help out by providing some links: [The Project Gutenberg eBook of South American Jungle Tales, by Horacio Quiroga](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46051/46051-h/46051-h.htm) - that’s the story.

And [here are images of various editions’ covers](https://www.google.com/search?q=South+American+Jungle+Tales%2C+by+Horacio+Quiroga&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjxnonAmfbnAhWXgp4KHRS4A1cQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=South+American+Jungle+Tales%2C+by+Horacio+Quiroga&gs_l=img.3...0.0..36015...0.0..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz-img.m8KFJ3ZkwBA&ei=dw1aXrGHNZeF-gSU8I64BQ&bih=943&biw=1272&client=safari), in case **Maserschmidt** might recognize one of them.

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**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/9 "2020-02-29T07:28:19Z")

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Maybe in this [set?](https://www.ebay.com/itm/1946-BOOK-TRAILS-FOR-BABY-FEET-VOLUMES-1-TO-8-COMPLETE-SET-EMBOSSED-COVERS/124090219579?hash=item1ce45a7c3b:g:9vwAAOSw0j5eTZu2)

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**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/10 "2020-02-29T12:37:19Z")

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> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#):
>
> Seriously nice work there, **Spiriting Lightly**!
> 
> Let me help out by providing some links: [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46051/46051-h/46051-h.htm](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46051/46051-h/46051-h.htm) - that’s the story.
> 
> And [here are images of various editions’ covers](https://www.google.com/search?q=South+American+Jungle+Tales%2C+by+Horacio+Quiroga&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjxnonAmfbnAhWXgp4KHRS4A1cQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=South+American+Jungle+Tales%2C+by+Horacio+Quiroga&gs_l=img.3...0.0..36015...0.0..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz-img.m8KFJ3ZkwBA&ei=dw1aXrGHNZeF-gSU8I64BQ&bih=943&biw=1272&client=safari), in case **Maserschmidt** might recognize one of them.

I was unfamiliar with the writer, but after seeing those covers — edition after edition — I read the Wikipedia entry: [Horacio Quiroga - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacio_Quiroga) .

A very interesting life. An obsession with jungle life, a fascination with Edgar A. Poe, obsessives courtships and a succession of very young wives, attempts to domesticate wild animals and other semi-scientific projects, many tragedies involving guns.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-id-this-50s-60s-kids-story-collection/579471/11 "2020-03-01T05:42:28Z")

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A story written in the 1920s about deadly rays, huh? What style is it?