PERSIAN FAIRY TALES

The Cat and the Mouse
A Book of Persian
Fairy Tales

EDITED with an INTRODUCTION
By HARTWELL JAMES
WITH FORTY ILLUSTRATIONS
By JOHN R. NEILL

PHILADELPHIA
HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY

Altemus' Illustrated Fairy Tales Series The Magic Bed
A Book of East Indian Tales The Cat and the Mouse
A Book of Persian Tales The Jeweled Sea
A Book of Chinese Tales The Magic Jaw Bone
A Book of South Sea Islands Tales The Man Elephant
A Book of African Tales The Enchanted Castle
A Book of Tales from Flower Land Fifty Cents Each Copyright, 1906
By Henry Altemus

Persia is rich in folk lore. For hundreds and hundreds of years the stories in this book, and many others as well, have been told to the wondering boys and girls of that country, who, as they hear them, picture their native land as one of roses and tulips, where beautiful fairies build their castles in the rosy morn, and black gnomes fly around in the darkness of midnight.

A land, too, where the sun gleams like a fire above the blue mountains, and the water lilies are mirrored in the deep lakes. A land where the eyes of the tigers gleam through the reeds by the riverside, and dark-eyed, sunburned people are quick to love and quick to hate.

The belief in the "Ghool," or "Old Man of the Desert," is still prevalent in Persia, which probably accounts for the popularity of the story of "The Son of the Soap Seller." The other stories selected for this volume are great favorites, but the story of "The Cat and the Mouse" is perhaps the most popular of all.

The frontispiece to this volume is a reduced facsimile of a whole page in a Persian book, showing both the pictures and the reading as they were published in Persia. The other illustrations for "The Cat and the Mouse" are copies of drawings by a Persian artist.

"


Two friends on one carpet may with contentment sleep;
Two monarchs in one kingdom the peace can never keep.
While earth revolves, and little children play,
Cats over mice will always hold the sway."

H. J.

[The Cat and The Mouse]
[The Son of the Soap Seller]
[The King's Treasure]
[The King and The Fisherman] 		13
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[Frontispiece]
["Nobody was happier than this cat"]
[" 'Now will you take off my head?' "]
["The cat had a rosary of beads"]
["The mice began to make merry"]
["Discreetly they bore their gifts"]
["And they went forward trembling"]
["Five mice he caught"]
["The King was sitting on his throne"]
["The armies fell upon each other"]
["So he mounted his elephant"]
["The lion sprang upon the Princess"]
[" 'O brothers, buy my pure soap' "]
["Things became blacker and blacker"]
["Leading a fine lion by a chain"]
["They set forth on their journey"]
["The rain fell in torrents"]
[" 'Give me a drink of water' "]
["They ran here and there"]
[" 'Sleep, my son, while I keep watch' "]
["A beautiful young woman appeared"]
["Every morning Ahmed looked in the cup"]
["Ahmed sprang upon the figure"]
[" 'Ask for anything in reason' "]
["A brass vessel full of round white stones"]
["Lived in a sheltered valley"]
["Abdul Karim was lost in wonder"]
["Priests were calling the people to prayer"]
["The noise and bustle of the crowded streets"]
[" 'Two hundred krans!' repeated Abdul Karim"]
[" 'Get out of my shop!' "]
[" 'Here are eight krans' "]
["Came in sight of his cottage"]
["He hid most of the treasure"]
[" 'Is this fish male or female?' "]
["Begged that he would accept the fish"]
[" 'The matter is closed' "]
[" 'Are you a human being or a beast?' "]
["The fisherman fell on his knees"]
["His bag laden with money"] 		Page
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THE CAT AND THE MOUSE