Cops andRobbers

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Cops and Robbers

by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Grabber Dan, Snatcher Jack,

Billy-the-Bag, Peg-leg Horace,
Fingers Maurice, Grandma
—
Swagg the most exuberant
gang of thieves to grace a ballad
in a long time. And despite the
fact that on Christmas Eve they
make haul "of all the toys that
a
they can thieve," young readers
will have a hard time deciding
whether to root for their escape
or capture when Officer Pugh
(who "can run like a hare/ and
fight like a bear") goes after
them.

Wonderfully silly, full-color

cartoons carry the tale, merrily,
merrily along to its appropriately
merry end.

GREEXWILLOW BOOKS
A Division of William Morrow & Co., Inc.

105 Madison Avenue

New York, X.Y. 10016

ISBN 0-688-80178-1
ISBN' 0-688-84178-3 (lib. bdg.
BOSTON
PUBLIC |

UBRKRY

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 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012

http://archive.org/details/copsrobbersOOahlb
 Ho Ho for the robbers
The cops and the robbers Ho Ho

*•*
Cops andRobbers

Janet &AllanAhlberg

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CO GREENWILLOW BOOKS
A Division of William Morrow & Company, Inc., New York
irright < 1978 b\ Allan Ahlberg and [and Ahlberg
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OCT 1979

SOUTH BOSTON BRANCH

Here are the cops of London town.
Hardworking, brave and true.
They drink their tea,
Stay up till three
And take good care of you.
Here are the robbers of London town
With crowbars and skeleton keys.
They prowl and creep
When you're asleep
And take . . . whatever they please.

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho!
The worst of the robbers,
most of us know,
as
Is dreadful Grabber Dan.
His voice is gruff
And he's pinched enough stuff
To fill a furniture van.

His mates in the gang are Snatcher Jack

And baby-faced Billy-the-Bag;
Peg-leg Horace,
Fingers Maurice
And villainous Grandma Swagg.

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho!
ingers Maurice Grandma Swagg
 This dreadful, snatching, pilfering bunch
Would rob a baby of his lunch.

This sneaking, creeping, fingering lot

Would burgle a burglar, like as not.

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This peg-legged, baby-faced, villainous crew

Would pick the pocket of a kangaroo.
Now, we hear, there's worse to come,
For the robbers are planning
scum
the scalliwag
To make a haul on Christmas Eve
Of all the toys that they can thieve.
Like crooked santas they'll creep about,
—
Pinching presents not giving them out.

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho!
- * ? tit'
The best of the cops, by common consent,
Isupstanding Officer Pugh.
He can run like a hare
And fight like a bear;
And he's good at crosswords too.
 !

So on Christmas Eve when the trouble began

The station sergeant said,
"The thing to do
Is to send for Pugh,
He'll get 'em —
alive or dead!"

"Listen Pugh," said the sergeant,

"the problem is this,
There are toys going missing galore.
From the size of the job,
We suspect it's a mob.
What they need's the strong arm of the Law!"

(MjA V^^w

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho
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Meanwhile outside in the gloomy street
The strong arm of the robbers was working a treat,
And the strong leg too and the beady eye
Keeping watch for passers-by.
In windows, in at the doors,
at the
Down the chimneys, under the floors,
Through silent rooms the robbers crept
While in their beds the children slept,
Dreaming of Santa Claus and snow
And what they'd get from Uncle Joe.
They never knew that "Uncle" Maurice
Was robbing them — and "Uncle" Horace.

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho!

I
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 1

The look-out man was Snatcher Jack;

He stood in a doorway yawning.
But when Officer Pugh
Came into view,
Jack saw him and whistled a warning.
Grandma Swagg, when the warning came,
Was pushing a pram up the road.
It was piled high with loot
And stolen to boot,
A thoroughly villainous load.

"Hallo, hallo," said Officer Pugh,

"Now then, what's going on here?"
"Not much, young man,"
Said the criminal gran,
"We're just having a robbery, dear."

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho!
 !

Before Officer Pugh could unravel this clue

The robbers were on him like beasts from a zoo.

''*// \\V»

They knocked off his helmet and rumpled his tie,

Trod on his truncheon, kicked mud in his eye,

Pulled his ears and tickled his feet,

Threw half of his clothes all over the street.

Punched and pummelled him—Wham — Bam — SLAM

Even ran over him with the pram.
"Give up, give up!" the robbers cried
As they sat on the officer side by side.
"We've got you out-numbered five to one."
(For in the confusion, Grandma had gone.)
But Officer Pugh just shook his head.
"We've hardly started, boys," he said,
And he laughed a laugh and grinned a grin.
"Sitting comfortably are you? Then I'll begin!"
With a sudden leap he bounded free
And handcuffed Horace to a nearby tree;

Tied Maurice up in an empty sack

And beat the daylights out of Jack.

A
"Help!" shouted Billy. "This can't be fair;
—
That Pugh's not human he fights like a bear.
—
My mother was right crime doesn't pay!"
And with these words he fainted away.
Grabber Dan was the last to cop it
(Grandma, of course, having chosen to hop it).

Dan tried to hide — the officer sought him.

Dan tried to run — the officer caught him.
Dan went to lift Pugh over his head.
The officer lifted Dan instead,
And whirled him round and swung him — WHOOSH!
Across the road and into a bush.

41311

%
Down he tumbled, skidded, rolled;
Hit a concretegnome and was knocked out cold.
Pugh dusted his hands and sat on the wall.
A little snow had begun to fall.

He looked at the gnome and patted its head.

"You could get a medal for this," he said.

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho!

fcfef

Je
 ! !

Here are the cops of London town

In the station at half-past two.
They drink their beer
And raise a cheer
For upstanding Officer Pugh.

Here are the robbers of London town

In cells all gloomy and grim.
"Let us out, let us out
Not guilty!" they shout,
And, "It wasn't me — it was him!"

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho
And the toys? Oh, they were taken back
By a Santa Claus copper with a Santa Claus sack.
While the rest of the force searched day and night
For an elderly lady of medium height
With a fondness for earrings and red fox furs
And a habit of taking what wasn't hers.
She usually carried a sizeable bag;
Her name, of course, was Grandma Swagg.

Ho Ho for the robbers

The cops and the robbers Ho Ho!
Copyright 1978 by Allan Ahlberg and Janet
Ahlberg. All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including pho-
tocopying, recording or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writ-
ing from the Publisher. Inquiries should be ad-
dressed to Greenwillow Books, 105 Madison Ave.,
New York, X. V. 10016. Printed in Great Britain.
First published in Great Britain by William
Heinemann Ltd. First American Edition
123456789 10

Library of Congress Cataloging

in Publication Data
Ahlberg, Janet. Cops and robbers.
Summary: A band of thieves plot to steal the
children's toys before they are received on
Christmas. [1. Stories in rhyme. 2. Robbers
—
and outlaws Fiction. 3. Christmas stories]
I. Ahlberg, Allan, joint author. II. Title.

PZ8.3.A278Co [E] 78-5354

ISBX 0-688-80178-1
ISBN 0-688-84178-3 lib. bdg.

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Also by Janet and

Allan Ahlberg
BURGLAR BILL
"The unexpected discovery of a
baby converts not-very-
hardened criminal/ bachelor
Bill into a happily married
baker. The present-tense
picture book thrives on word
repetition patterns for a nicely
silly effect. The illustrations
are in full-color slapstick."
— ALA Booklist
"Burglar Bill is a cheery, cozy
thief who has a house filled
with stolen goods.... When he
sees a large box, he takes it,
then is surprised to find it
contains a baby. Bill's efforts to
amuse the baby are diverting,
and the colorful illustrations
add to the humor of the story.
When the burglar is burgled,
the culprit proves to be the
mother of the baby; she had left
him outside a house while
robbing it. Penitent, Betty and
Bill decide to marry and go
straight.... A breezy tale."
— The New York Times

Printed in Greai Britain