INTRODUCTION

Copyright, 1920, ByTHE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC.Copyright, 1912, 1915, ByTHE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC.Manufactured in the U. S. A.INTRODUCTIONThis volume is devoted to a choice collection of the standard and new fairy-tales, wonder stories, and fables. They speak so truly and convincingly for themselves that we wish to use this introductory page only to emphasize their value to young children. There are still those who find no room in their own reading, and would give none in the reading of the young, except for facts. They confuse facts and truth, and forget that there is a world of truth that is larger than the mere facts of life, being compact of imagination and vision and ideals. Dr. Hamilton Wright Mabie convinced us of this in his cogent words.“America,” he said, “has at present greater facility in producing ‘smart’ men than in producing able men; the alert, quick-witted money-maker abounds, but the men who live with ideas, who care for the principles of things, and who make life rich in resource and interest, are comparatively few. America needs poetry more than it needs industrial training, though the two ought never to be separated. The time to awaken the imagination, which is the creative faculty, is early childhood, and the most accessible material for this education is the literature which the race created in its childhood.”The value of the fairy-tale and the wonder-tale is that they tell about the magic of living. Like the old woman in Mother Goose, they “brush the cobwebs out of the sky.” They enrich, not cheapen, life. Plenty of things do cheapen life for children. Most movies do. Sunday comic supplements do. Ragtime songs do. Mere gossip does. But fairy stories enhance life.They are called “folk-tales,” that is, tales of the common folk. They were largely the dreams of the poor. They consist of fancies that have illumined the hard facts of life. They find animals, trees, flowers, and the stars friendly. They speak of victory. In them the child is master even of dragons. He can live like a prince, in disguise, or, if he be uncomely, he may hope to win Beauty after he is free of his masquerade.Wonder-stories help make good children as well as happy children. In these stories witches, wolves, and evil persons are defeated or exposed. Fairy godmothers are ministers of justice. The side that the child wishes to triumph always does triumph, and so goodness always is made to seem worth-while.Almost every fairy-tale contains a test of character or shrewdness or courage. Sharp distinctions are made, that require a child of parts to discern.And the heroes of these nursery tales are much more convincing than precepts or golden texts, for they impress upon the child not merely what he ought to do, but what nobly has been done. And the small hero-worshiper will follow where his admirations lead.Fables do much the same, and by imagining that the animals have arrived at human speech and wisdom, they help the child to think shrewdly and in a friendly way, as if in comradeship with his pets and with our brothers and sisters, the beasts of the field and forest.CONTENTSpageINTRODUCTIONiiiTHE OLD FAIRY TALESThe Road to Fairy Land2By Cecil CavendishThe Beautiful Princess Goldenlocks3Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess7By Madame Leprince De BeaumontCinderella10By Charles PerraultThe Sleeping Beauty13Adapted from the Brothers GrimmBeauty and the Beast15Prince Darling20Rumpelstiltskin26Adapted from the Grimm BrothersRapunzell, or the Fair Maid with Golden Hair28By the Brothers GrimmSnow-White and Rose-Red30By the Brothers GrimmHansel and Grethel34By the Brothers GrimmSTORIES BY FAVORITE AMERICAN WRITERSThe Flag-Bearer39By Carolyn Sherwin BaileyJohnny Chuck Finds the Best Thing in the World40By Thornton W. BurgessLittle Wee Pumpkin’s Thanksgiving41By Madge A. BinghamThe Coming of the King42By Laura E. RichardsThe Little Pig44By Maud LindsayThe Travels of the Little Toy Soldier44By Carolyn Sherwin BaileyWhat Happened to Dumps45By Carolyn Sherwin BaileyThe Wreck of the Hesperus47By Henry Wadsworth LongfellowBallad of the Little Page48By Abbie Farwell BrownThe Snow-Image51By Nathaniel HawthorneThe Castle of Gems55By Sophie MayThe Hen that Hatched Ducks58By Harriet Beecher StoweThe Ballad of Piping Will63By Anna Hempstead BranchLittle Annie’s Dream, or the Fairy Flower68By Louisa M. AlcottCompanions71By Helen Hunt JacksonPrince Little Boy73By S. Weir Mitchell, M.D.The Bee-Man of Orn77By Frank R. StocktonThe Pot of Gold82By Mary E. Wilkins FreemanVERSES ABOUT FAIRIESThe Fairy Thorn87By Samuel FergusonFairy Days88By William Makepeace ThackerayThe Fairy Queen89The Sea Princess89Long Ago89Thistle-Tassel90By Florence HarrisonSong of the Fairy90By William ShakespeareThe Fairies92By William AllinghamOh, Where Do Fairies Hide Their Heads?92By Thomas Haynes BaylyMODERN FAIRY TALESThe Elf of the Woodlands93Retold from Richard Hengist Horne byWilliam Byron ForbushPrincess Finola and the Dwarf95By Edmund LeamyThe Straw Ox100The Little Princess of the Fearless Heart103By B. J. DaskamMopsa the Fairy110Retold from Jean IngelowThe Line of Golden Light, or the Little Blind Sister114By Elizabeth HarrisonA Fairy Story About a Philosopher’s Stone Which Was Lost118By M. BowleyThe Bad Temper of the Princess124By Marian BurtonThe Flying Ship130Robin of the Loving Heart133By Emma Endicott MareanIn Spring137A Famous Case138By Theodore C. WilliamsOLD-FASHIONED STORIESThe Twelve Huntsmen139The Twelve Dancing Princesses140Edwy and the Echo143The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar-Bottle146The Snow Queen148The Master-Maid158Cap o’ Rushes163Fulfilled165King Grisly-Beard166Retold from the Brothers GrimmFABLESThe Fox and the Goat172The Two Frogs172The Dog in the Manger172The Stag at the Pool172The War-Horse and the Ass172The Frogs Who Wanted a King172The Ox and the Frog173The Heron Who Was Hard to Please174The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf175The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion175The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox175The Horse and the Stag175The Lion and the Boar175The Huntsman and the Fisherman175The Ass in the Lion’s Skin176The Hare and the Tortoise177The Fox and the Wood-cutter178The Lion and Other Beasts on a Hunt178The Eagle and the Arrow178The Mouse and the Frog178The Wolf and the Goat178The Bad Dog178The Kid and the Wolf178The Fox and the Grapes179The Fox and the Raven180The Bull and the Goat181The Raven and the Swan181The Thief and the Dog181The Horse and the Loaded Ass181The Ass With the Salt181The Cock and the Jewel181The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail181The Eagle and the Jackdaw182The Hen and the Golden Eggs183The Dog and the Ass184The North Wind and the Sun184The Fox and the Lion184The Crow and the Pitcher184The Ass and His Shadow184The Wolf and the Crane184The Fox and the Crane185The Cat and the Monkey186The Dancing Monkeys187The Hares and the Frogs187The Lion and the Gnat187The Frogs and the Bulls187The Lark and Her Young Ones187Belling the Cat187A Miller, His Son, and Their Ass188The Tortoise and the Eagle190The Peacock and Juno190The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass190The Father and His Sons190The Dove and the Ant191The Fox and the Cat192The Ants and the Grasshopper193FABLES FROM INDIAAdapted by Ramaswami RajuThe Glow-worm and the Daw194The Fox and the Villagers194The Frog and the Snake194The Assembly of Animals194The Cock and His Three Hens194The Black Dog and the White Dog195The Elephant and the Ape195The Crow and the Dawn195The Lion and the Goat195The Sunling196The Mushroom and the Goose196The Fables of Pilpay the Hindu196The Fox and the Hen196The Three Fishes196The Falcon and the Hen197The King Who Grew Kind197MODERN FABLESThe Horses’ Council197Adapted from John GayThe Oak and the Reed198Adapted from the French of La FontaineThe Advantage of Knowledge198Adapted from the French of La FontaineThe Torrent and the River198Adapted from the French of La FontaineThe Tomtit and the Bear199By the Brothers GrimmWhy Jimmy Skunk Wears Stripes200By Thornton W. BurgessHow Cats Came to Purr202By John BennettSTORIES FROM SCANDINAVIAThe Greedy Cat207Gudbrand on the Hillside210Pork and Honey212How Reynard Outwitted Bruin212The Cock and the Crested Hen213The Old Woman and the Tramp213The Old Woman and the Fish216The Lad and the Fox217Adventures of Ashpot217Norwegian Bird-Legends219The Ugly Duckling222By Hans Christian AndersenThe Wild Swans227By Hans Christian AndersenTaper Tom235The Boy Who Went to the North Wind236The Wonderful Iron Pot238The Sheep and Pig Who Set Up Housekeeping239Doll-in-the-Grass241Boots and His Brothers242Viggo and Beate244Translated by Mrs. Gudrun Thorne-ThompsonSTORIES FROM IRELANDThe Four White Swans251The Mishaps of Handy Andy258The Greedy Shepherd263The Cobblers and the Cuckoo264The Merry Cobbler and His Coat268The Story of Child Charity270By Frances BrowneThe Selfish Giant272By Oscar WildeSTORIES FROM GREAT BRITAINThe Battle of the Birds,or the Grateful Raven and the Prince275Jack and the Beanstalk277Retold by Mary Lena WilsonTom Thumb280Retold by Laura ClarkeWhittington and His Cat283Wild Robin287Retold by Sophie MayThe Story of Merlin291JAPANESE AND OTHER ORIENTAL TALESThe Cub’s Triumph293Chin-Chin Kobakama294The Wonderful Mallet296The Selfish Sparrow and the Houseless Crows298The Story of Zirac298My Lord Bag of Rice302The Little Hare of Oki305Retold by B. M. BurrellThe Little Brother of Loo-lee Loo309By Margaret JohnsonThe Curious Case of Ah-Top314The Jackal and the Camel316Hashnu the Stonecutter316The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal318The Story of the Willow Pattern Plate319Retold by M. Alston BuckleyBR’ER RABBIT AND HIS NEIGHBORSBrother Fox’s Tar Baby321Translated by Joel Chandler HarrisThe Rabbit and the Peas322By Mrs. M. R. AllenBr'er Rabbit's Fishing325Br’er Possum Loves Peace326Br’er Fox Tackles Old Br'er Tarrypin327How Cousin Wildcat Served Br’er Fox329Plantation Stories332By Grace MacGowan CookeAMERICAN INDIAN STORIESRobin Redbreast337The Three Wishes338The Joker340Little Moccasin’s Ride on the Thunder-Horse342By Colonel Guido IlgesWaukewa’s Eagle348By James BuckhamA Huron Cinderella352By Howard Angus KennedyThe Fire Bringer356By Mary AustinScar Face358Why the Baby Says “Goo”359Retold by Ehrma G. Filer

Manufactured in the U. S. A.

This volume is devoted to a choice collection of the standard and new fairy-tales, wonder stories, and fables. They speak so truly and convincingly for themselves that we wish to use this introductory page only to emphasize their value to young children. There are still those who find no room in their own reading, and would give none in the reading of the young, except for facts. They confuse facts and truth, and forget that there is a world of truth that is larger than the mere facts of life, being compact of imagination and vision and ideals. Dr. Hamilton Wright Mabie convinced us of this in his cogent words.

“America,” he said, “has at present greater facility in producing ‘smart’ men than in producing able men; the alert, quick-witted money-maker abounds, but the men who live with ideas, who care for the principles of things, and who make life rich in resource and interest, are comparatively few. America needs poetry more than it needs industrial training, though the two ought never to be separated. The time to awaken the imagination, which is the creative faculty, is early childhood, and the most accessible material for this education is the literature which the race created in its childhood.”

The value of the fairy-tale and the wonder-tale is that they tell about the magic of living. Like the old woman in Mother Goose, they “brush the cobwebs out of the sky.” They enrich, not cheapen, life. Plenty of things do cheapen life for children. Most movies do. Sunday comic supplements do. Ragtime songs do. Mere gossip does. But fairy stories enhance life.

They are called “folk-tales,” that is, tales of the common folk. They were largely the dreams of the poor. They consist of fancies that have illumined the hard facts of life. They find animals, trees, flowers, and the stars friendly. They speak of victory. In them the child is master even of dragons. He can live like a prince, in disguise, or, if he be uncomely, he may hope to win Beauty after he is free of his masquerade.

Wonder-stories help make good children as well as happy children. In these stories witches, wolves, and evil persons are defeated or exposed. Fairy godmothers are ministers of justice. The side that the child wishes to triumph always does triumph, and so goodness always is made to seem worth-while.

Almost every fairy-tale contains a test of character or shrewdness or courage. Sharp distinctions are made, that require a child of parts to discern.

And the heroes of these nursery tales are much more convincing than precepts or golden texts, for they impress upon the child not merely what he ought to do, but what nobly has been done. And the small hero-worshiper will follow where his admirations lead.

Fables do much the same, and by imagining that the animals have arrived at human speech and wisdom, they help the child to think shrewdly and in a friendly way, as if in comradeship with his pets and with our brothers and sisters, the beasts of the field and forest.

pageINTRODUCTIONiiiTHE OLD FAIRY TALESThe Road to Fairy Land2By Cecil CavendishThe Beautiful Princess Goldenlocks3Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess7By Madame Leprince De BeaumontCinderella10By Charles PerraultThe Sleeping Beauty13Adapted from the Brothers GrimmBeauty and the Beast15Prince Darling20Rumpelstiltskin26Adapted from the Grimm BrothersRapunzell, or the Fair Maid with Golden Hair28By the Brothers GrimmSnow-White and Rose-Red30By the Brothers GrimmHansel and Grethel34By the Brothers GrimmSTORIES BY FAVORITE AMERICAN WRITERSThe Flag-Bearer39By Carolyn Sherwin BaileyJohnny Chuck Finds the Best Thing in the World40By Thornton W. BurgessLittle Wee Pumpkin’s Thanksgiving41By Madge A. BinghamThe Coming of the King42By Laura E. RichardsThe Little Pig44By Maud LindsayThe Travels of the Little Toy Soldier44By Carolyn Sherwin BaileyWhat Happened to Dumps45By Carolyn Sherwin BaileyThe Wreck of the Hesperus47By Henry Wadsworth LongfellowBallad of the Little Page48By Abbie Farwell BrownThe Snow-Image51By Nathaniel HawthorneThe Castle of Gems55By Sophie MayThe Hen that Hatched Ducks58By Harriet Beecher StoweThe Ballad of Piping Will63By Anna Hempstead BranchLittle Annie’s Dream, or the Fairy Flower68By Louisa M. AlcottCompanions71By Helen Hunt JacksonPrince Little Boy73By S. Weir Mitchell, M.D.The Bee-Man of Orn77By Frank R. StocktonThe Pot of Gold82By Mary E. Wilkins FreemanVERSES ABOUT FAIRIESThe Fairy Thorn87By Samuel FergusonFairy Days88By William Makepeace ThackerayThe Fairy Queen89The Sea Princess89Long Ago89Thistle-Tassel90By Florence HarrisonSong of the Fairy90By William ShakespeareThe Fairies92By William AllinghamOh, Where Do Fairies Hide Their Heads?92By Thomas Haynes BaylyMODERN FAIRY TALESThe Elf of the Woodlands93Retold from Richard Hengist Horne byWilliam Byron ForbushPrincess Finola and the Dwarf95By Edmund LeamyThe Straw Ox100The Little Princess of the Fearless Heart103By B. J. DaskamMopsa the Fairy110Retold from Jean IngelowThe Line of Golden Light, or the Little Blind Sister114By Elizabeth HarrisonA Fairy Story About a Philosopher’s Stone Which Was Lost118By M. BowleyThe Bad Temper of the Princess124By Marian BurtonThe Flying Ship130Robin of the Loving Heart133By Emma Endicott MareanIn Spring137A Famous Case138By Theodore C. WilliamsOLD-FASHIONED STORIESThe Twelve Huntsmen139The Twelve Dancing Princesses140Edwy and the Echo143The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar-Bottle146The Snow Queen148The Master-Maid158Cap o’ Rushes163Fulfilled165King Grisly-Beard166Retold from the Brothers GrimmFABLESThe Fox and the Goat172The Two Frogs172The Dog in the Manger172The Stag at the Pool172The War-Horse and the Ass172The Frogs Who Wanted a King172The Ox and the Frog173The Heron Who Was Hard to Please174The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf175The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion175The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox175The Horse and the Stag175The Lion and the Boar175The Huntsman and the Fisherman175The Ass in the Lion’s Skin176The Hare and the Tortoise177The Fox and the Wood-cutter178The Lion and Other Beasts on a Hunt178The Eagle and the Arrow178The Mouse and the Frog178The Wolf and the Goat178The Bad Dog178The Kid and the Wolf178The Fox and the Grapes179The Fox and the Raven180The Bull and the Goat181The Raven and the Swan181The Thief and the Dog181The Horse and the Loaded Ass181The Ass With the Salt181The Cock and the Jewel181The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail181The Eagle and the Jackdaw182The Hen and the Golden Eggs183The Dog and the Ass184The North Wind and the Sun184The Fox and the Lion184The Crow and the Pitcher184The Ass and His Shadow184The Wolf and the Crane184The Fox and the Crane185The Cat and the Monkey186The Dancing Monkeys187The Hares and the Frogs187The Lion and the Gnat187The Frogs and the Bulls187The Lark and Her Young Ones187Belling the Cat187A Miller, His Son, and Their Ass188The Tortoise and the Eagle190The Peacock and Juno190The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass190The Father and His Sons190The Dove and the Ant191The Fox and the Cat192The Ants and the Grasshopper193FABLES FROM INDIAAdapted by Ramaswami RajuThe Glow-worm and the Daw194The Fox and the Villagers194The Frog and the Snake194The Assembly of Animals194The Cock and His Three Hens194The Black Dog and the White Dog195The Elephant and the Ape195The Crow and the Dawn195The Lion and the Goat195The Sunling196The Mushroom and the Goose196The Fables of Pilpay the Hindu196The Fox and the Hen196The Three Fishes196The Falcon and the Hen197The King Who Grew Kind197MODERN FABLESThe Horses’ Council197Adapted from John GayThe Oak and the Reed198Adapted from the French of La FontaineThe Advantage of Knowledge198Adapted from the French of La FontaineThe Torrent and the River198Adapted from the French of La FontaineThe Tomtit and the Bear199By the Brothers GrimmWhy Jimmy Skunk Wears Stripes200By Thornton W. BurgessHow Cats Came to Purr202By John BennettSTORIES FROM SCANDINAVIAThe Greedy Cat207Gudbrand on the Hillside210Pork and Honey212How Reynard Outwitted Bruin212The Cock and the Crested Hen213The Old Woman and the Tramp213The Old Woman and the Fish216The Lad and the Fox217Adventures of Ashpot217Norwegian Bird-Legends219The Ugly Duckling222By Hans Christian AndersenThe Wild Swans227By Hans Christian AndersenTaper Tom235The Boy Who Went to the North Wind236The Wonderful Iron Pot238The Sheep and Pig Who Set Up Housekeeping239Doll-in-the-Grass241Boots and His Brothers242Viggo and Beate244Translated by Mrs. Gudrun Thorne-ThompsonSTORIES FROM IRELANDThe Four White Swans251The Mishaps of Handy Andy258The Greedy Shepherd263The Cobblers and the Cuckoo264The Merry Cobbler and His Coat268The Story of Child Charity270By Frances BrowneThe Selfish Giant272By Oscar WildeSTORIES FROM GREAT BRITAINThe Battle of the Birds,or the Grateful Raven and the Prince275Jack and the Beanstalk277Retold by Mary Lena WilsonTom Thumb280Retold by Laura ClarkeWhittington and His Cat283Wild Robin287Retold by Sophie MayThe Story of Merlin291JAPANESE AND OTHER ORIENTAL TALESThe Cub’s Triumph293Chin-Chin Kobakama294The Wonderful Mallet296The Selfish Sparrow and the Houseless Crows298The Story of Zirac298My Lord Bag of Rice302The Little Hare of Oki305Retold by B. M. BurrellThe Little Brother of Loo-lee Loo309By Margaret JohnsonThe Curious Case of Ah-Top314The Jackal and the Camel316Hashnu the Stonecutter316The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal318The Story of the Willow Pattern Plate319Retold by M. Alston BuckleyBR’ER RABBIT AND HIS NEIGHBORSBrother Fox’s Tar Baby321Translated by Joel Chandler HarrisThe Rabbit and the Peas322By Mrs. M. R. AllenBr'er Rabbit's Fishing325Br’er Possum Loves Peace326Br’er Fox Tackles Old Br'er Tarrypin327How Cousin Wildcat Served Br’er Fox329Plantation Stories332By Grace MacGowan CookeAMERICAN INDIAN STORIESRobin Redbreast337The Three Wishes338The Joker340Little Moccasin’s Ride on the Thunder-Horse342By Colonel Guido IlgesWaukewa’s Eagle348By James BuckhamA Huron Cinderella352By Howard Angus KennedyThe Fire Bringer356By Mary AustinScar Face358Why the Baby Says “Goo”359Retold by Ehrma G. Filer

Back to Index Next