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.
| page |
| [INTRODUCTION] | iii |
| | |
| [THE OLD FAIRY TALES] | |
| [The Road to Fairy Land] | 2 |
| By Cecil Cavendish | |
| [The Beautiful Princess Goldenlocks] | 3 |
| [Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess] | 7 |
| By Madame Leprince De Beaumont | |
| [Cinderella] | 10 |
| By Charles Perrault | |
| [The Sleeping Beauty] | 13 |
| Adapted from the Brothers Grimm | |
| [Beauty and the Beast] | 15 |
| [Prince Darling] | 20 |
| [Rumpelstiltskin] | 26 |
| Adapted from the Grimm Brothers | |
| [Rapunzell, or the Fair Maid with Golden Hair] | 28 |
| By the Brothers Grimm | |
| [Snow-White and Rose-Red] | 30 |
| By the Brothers Grimm | |
| [Hansel and Grethel] | 34 |
| By the Brothers Grimm | |
| | |
| [STORIES BY FAVORITE AMERICAN WRITERS] | |
| [The Flag-Bearer] | 39 |
| By Carolyn Sherwin Bailey | |
| [Johnny Chuck Finds the Best Thing in the World] | 40 |
| By Thornton W. Burgess | |
| [Little Wee Pumpkin’s Thanksgiving] | 41 |
| By Madge A. Bingham | |
| [The Coming of the King] | 42 |
| By Laura E. Richards | |
| [The Little Pig] | 44 |
| By Maud Lindsay | |
| [The Travels of the Little Toy Soldier] | 44 |
| By Carolyn Sherwin Bailey | |
| [What Happened to Dumps] | 45 |
| By Carolyn Sherwin Bailey | |
| [The Wreck of the Hesperus] | 47 |
| By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow | |
| [Ballad of the Little Page] | 48 |
| By Abbie Farwell Brown | |
| [The Snow-Image] | 51 |
| By Nathaniel Hawthorne | |
| [The Castle of Gems] | 55 |
| By Sophie May | |
| [The Hen that Hatched Ducks] | 58 |
| By Harriet Beecher Stowe | |
| [The Ballad of Piping Will] | 63 |
| By Anna Hempstead Branch | |
| [Little Annie’s Dream, or the Fairy Flower] | 68 |
| By Louisa M. Alcott | |
| [Companions] | 71 |
| By Helen Hunt Jackson | |
| [Prince Little Boy] | 73 |
| By S. Weir Mitchell, M.D. | |
| [The Bee-Man of Orn] | 77 |
| By Frank R. Stockton | |
| [The Pot of Gold] | 82 |
| By Mary E. Wilkins Freeman | |
| | |
| [VERSES ABOUT FAIRIES] | |
| [The Fairy Thorn] | 87 |
| By Samuel Ferguson | |
| [Fairy Days] | 88 |
| By William Makepeace Thackeray | |
| [The Fairy Queen] | 89 |
| [The Sea Princess] | 89 |
| [Long Ago] | 89 |
| [Thistle-Tassel] | 90 |
| By Florence Harrison | |
| [Song of the Fairy] | 90 |
| By William Shakespeare | |
| [The Fairies] | 92 |
| By William Allingham | |
| [Oh, Where Do Fairies Hide Their Heads?] | 92 |
| By Thomas Haynes Bayly | |
| | |
| [MODERN FAIRY TALES] | |
| [The Elf of the Woodlands] | 93 |
| Retold from Richard Hengist Horne by | |
| William Byron Forbush | |
| [Princess Finola and the Dwarf] | 95 |
| By Edmund Leamy | |
| [The Straw Ox] | 100 |
| [The Little Princess of the Fearless Heart] | 103 |
| By B. J. Daskam | |
| [Mopsa the Fairy] | 110 |
| Retold from Jean Ingelow | |
| [The Line of Golden Light, or the Little Blind Sister] | 114 |
| By Elizabeth Harrison | |
| [A Fairy Story About a Philosopher’s Stone Which Was Lost] | 118 |
| By M. Bowley | |
| [The Bad Temper of the Princess] | 124 |
| By Marian Burton | |
| [The Flying Ship] | 130 |
| [Robin of the Loving Heart] | 133 |
| By Emma Endicott Marean | |
| [In Spring] | 137 |
| [A Famous Case] | 138 |
| By Theodore C. Williams | |
| | |
| [OLD-FASHIONED STORIES] | |
| [The Twelve Huntsmen] | 139 |
| [The Twelve Dancing Princesses] | 140 |
| [Edwy and the Echo] | 143 |
| [The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar-Bottle] | 146 |
| [The Snow Queen] | 148 |
| [The Master-Maid] | 158 |
| [Cap o’ Rushes] | 163 |
| [Fulfilled] | 165 |
| [King Grisly-Beard] | 166 |
| Retold from the Brothers Grimm | |
| | |
| [FABLES] | |
| [The Fox and the Goat] | 172 |
| [The Two Frogs] | 172 |
| [The Dog in the Manger] | 172 |
| [The Stag at the Pool] | 172 |
| [The War-Horse and the Ass] | 172 |
| [The Frogs Who Wanted a King] | 172 |
| [The Ox and the Frog] | 173 |
| [The Heron Who Was Hard to Please] | 174 |
| [The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf] | 175 |
| [The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion] | 175 |
| [The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox] | 175 |
| [The Horse and the Stag] | 175 |
| [The Lion and the Boar] | 175 |
| [The Huntsman and the Fisherman] | 175 |
| [The Ass in the Lion’s Skin] | 176 |
| [The Hare and the Tortoise] | 177 |
| [The Fox and the Wood-cutter] | 178 |
| [The Lion and Other Beasts on a Hunt] | 178 |
| [The Eagle and the Arrow] | 178 |
| [The Mouse and the Frog] | 178 |
| [The Wolf and the Goat] | 178 |
| [The Bad Dog] | 178 |
| [The Kid and the Wolf] | 178 |
| [The Fox and the Grapes] | 179 |
| [The Fox and the Raven] | 180 |
| [The Bull and the Goat] | 181 |
| [The Raven and the Swan] | 181 |
| [The Thief and the Dog] | 181 |
| [The Horse and the Loaded Ass] | 181 |
| [The Ass With the Salt] | 181 |
| [The Cock and the Jewel] | 181 |
| [The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail] | 181 |
| [The Eagle and the Jackdaw] | 182 |
| [The Hen and the Golden Eggs] | 183 |
| [The Dog and the Ass] | 184 |
| [The North Wind and the Sun] | 184 |
| [The Fox and the Lion] | 184 |
| [The Crow and the Pitcher] | 184 |
| [The Ass and His Shadow] | 184 |
| [The Wolf and the Crane] | 184 |
| [The Fox and the Crane] | 185 |
| [The Cat and the Monkey] | 186 |
| [The Dancing Monkeys] | 187 |
| [The Hares and the Frogs] | 187 |
| [The Lion and the Gnat] | 187 |
| [The Frogs and the Bulls] | 187 |
| [The Lark and Her Young Ones] | 187 |
| [Belling the Cat] | 187 |
| [A Miller, His Son, and Their Ass] | 188 |
| [The Tortoise and the Eagle] | 190 |
| [The Peacock and Juno] | 190 |
| [The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass] | 190 |
| [The Father and His Sons] | 190 |
| [The Dove and the Ant] | 191 |
| [The Fox and the Cat] | 192 |
| [The Ants and the Grasshopper] | 193 |
| | |
| [FABLES FROM INDIA] | |
| Adapted by Ramaswami Raju | |
| [The Glow-worm and the Daw] | 194 |
| [The Fox and the Villagers] | 194 |
| [The Frog and the Snake] | 194 |
| [The Assembly of Animals] | 194 |
| [The Cock and His Three Hens] | 194 |
| [The Black Dog and the White Dog] | 195 |
| [The Elephant and the Ape] | 195 |
| [The Crow and the Dawn] | 195 |
| [The Lion and the Goat] | 195 |
| [The Sunling] | 196 |
| [The Mushroom and the Goose] | 196 |
| [The Fables of Pilpay the Hindu] | 196 |
| [The Fox and the Hen] | 196 |
| [The Three Fishes] | 196 |
| [The Falcon and the Hen] | 197 |
| [The King Who Grew Kind] | 197 |
| | |
| [MODERN FABLES] | |
| [The Horses’ Council] | 197 |
| Adapted from John Gay | |
| [The Oak and the Reed] | 198 |
| Adapted from the French of La Fontaine | |
| [The Advantage of Knowledge] | 198 |
| Adapted from the French of La Fontaine | |
| [The Torrent and the River] | 198 |
| Adapted from the French of La Fontaine | |
| [The Tomtit and the Bear] | 199 |
| By the Brothers Grimm | |
| [Why Jimmy Skunk Wears Stripes] | 200 |
| By Thornton W. Burgess | |
| [How Cats Came to Purr] | 202 |
| By John Bennett | |
| | |
| [STORIES FROM SCANDINAVIA] | |
| [The Greedy Cat] | 207 |
| [Gudbrand on the Hillside] | 210 |
| [Pork and Honey] | 212 |
| [How Reynard Outwitted Bruin] | 212 |
| [The Cock and the Crested Hen] | 213 |
| [The Old Woman and the Tramp] | 213 |
| [The Old Woman and the Fish] | 216 |
| [The Lad and the Fox] | 217 |
| [Adventures of Ashpot] | 217 |
| [Norwegian Bird-Legends] | 219 |
| [The Ugly Duckling] | 222 |
| By Hans Christian Andersen | |
| [The Wild Swans] | 227 |
| By Hans Christian Andersen | |
| [Taper Tom] | 235 |
| [The Boy Who Went to the North Wind] | 236 |
| [The Wonderful Iron Pot] | 238 |
| [The Sheep and Pig Who Set Up Housekeeping] | 239 |
| [Doll-in-the-Grass] | 241 |
| [Boots and His Brothers] | 242 |
| [Viggo and Beate] | 244 |
| Translated by Mrs. Gudrun Thorne-Thompson | |
| | |
| [STORIES FROM IRELAND] | |
| [The Four White Swans] | 251 |
| [The Mishaps of Handy Andy] | 258 |
| [The Greedy Shepherd] | 263 |
| [The Cobblers and the Cuckoo] | 264 |
| [The Merry Cobbler and His Coat] | 268 |
| [The Story of Child Charity] | 270 |
| By Frances Browne | |
| [The Selfish Giant] | 272 |
| By Oscar Wilde | |
| | |
| [STORIES FROM GREAT BRITAIN] | |
[The Battle of the Birds,
or the Grateful Raven and the Prince] | 275 |
| [Jack and the Beanstalk] | 277 |
| Retold by Mary Lena Wilson | |
| [Tom Thumb] | 280 |
| Retold by Laura Clarke | |
| [Whittington and His Cat] | 283 |
| [Wild Robin] | 287 |
| Retold by Sophie May | |
| [The Story of Merlin] | 291 |
| | |
| [JAPANESE AND OTHER ORIENTAL TALES] | |
| [The Cub’s Triumph] | 293 |
| [Chin-Chin Kobakama] | 294 |
| [The Wonderful Mallet] | 296 |
| [The Selfish Sparrow and the Houseless Crows] | 298 |
| [The Story of Zirac] | 298 |
| [My Lord Bag of Rice] | 302 |
| [The Little Hare of Oki] | 305 |
| Retold by B. M. Burrell | |
| [The Little Brother of Loo-lee Loo] | 309 |
| By Margaret Johnson | |
| [The Curious Case of Ah-Top] | 314 |
| [The Jackal and the Camel] | 316 |
| [Hashnu the Stonecutter] | 316 |
| [The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal] | 318 |
| [The Story of the Willow Pattern Plate] | 319 |
| Retold by M. Alston Buckley | |
| | |
| [BR’ER RABBIT AND HIS NEIGHBORS] | |
| [Brother Fox’s Tar Baby] | 321 |
| Translated by Joel Chandler Harris | |
| [The Rabbit and the Peas] | 322 |
| By Mrs. M. R. Allen | |
| [Br'er Rabbit's Fishing] | 325 |
| [Br’er Possum Loves Peace] | 326 |
| [Br’er Fox Tackles Old Br'er Tarrypin] | 327 |
| [How Cousin Wildcat Served Br’er Fox] | 329 |
| [Plantation Stories] | 332 |
| By Grace MacGowan Cooke | |
| | |
| [AMERICAN INDIAN STORIES] | |
| [Robin Redbreast] | 337 |
| [The Three Wishes] | 338 |
| [The Joker] | 340 |
| [Little Moccasin’s Ride on the Thunder-Horse] | 342 |
| By Colonel Guido Ilges | |
| [Waukewa’s Eagle] | 348 |
| By James Buckham | |
| [A Huron Cinderella] | 352 |
| By Howard Angus Kennedy | |
| [The Fire Bringer] | 356 |
| By Mary Austin | |
| [Scar Face] | 358 |
| [Why the Baby Says “Goo”] | 359 |
| Retold by Ehrma G. Filer | |
