invented the stories, or some ladies from being of the same opinion. But who really invented the stories nobody knows; it is all so long ago, long before reading and writing were invented. The first of the stories actually written down, were written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, or on Babylonian cakes of clay, three or four thousand years before our time. Of the stories in this book, Miss Blackley translated ‘Dwarf Long Nose,’ ‘The Wonderful Beggars,’ ‘The Lute Player,’ ‘Two in a Sack,’ and ‘The Fish that swam in the Air.’ Mr. W. A. Craigie translated from the Scandinavian, ‘Jasper who herded the Hares.’ Mrs. Lang did the rest. Some of the most interesting are from the Roumanion, and three were previously published in the late Dr. Steere’s ‘Swahili Tales.’ By the permission of his representatives these three African stories have here been abridged and simplified for children. CONTENTS A Tale of the Tontlawald The finest Liar in the World The Story of three Wonderful Beggars Schippeitaro The Three Princes and their Beasts The Goat’s Ears of the Emperor Trojan The Nine Pea-hens and the Golden Apples The Lute Player The Grateful Prince The Child who came from an Egg Stan Bolovan The Two Frogs The Story of a Gazelle How a Fish swam in the Air and a Hare in the Water Two in a Sack The Envious Neighbour The Fairy of the Dawn The Enchanted Knife Jesper who herded the Hares The Underground Workers The History of Dwarf Long Nose The Nunda, Eater of People The Story of Hassebu The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet The Monkey and the Jelly-fish The Headless Dwarfs The young Man who would have his Eyes opened The Boys with the Golden Stars The Frog The Princess who was hidden Underground The Girl who pretended to be a Boy The Story of Halfman The Prince who wanted to see the World Virgililus the Sorcerer Mogarzea and his Son A TALE OF THE TONTLAWALD Long, long ago there stood in the midst of a country covered with lakes a vast stretch of moorland called the Tontlawald, on which no man ever dared set foot. From time to time a few bold spirits had been drawn by curiosity to its borders, and on their return had reported that they had caught a glimpse of a ruined house in a grove of thick trees, and round about it were a crowd of beings resembling men, swarming over the grass like bees. The men were as dirty and ragged as gipsies, and there were besides a quantity of old women and half-naked children. One night a peasant who was returning home from a feast wandered a little farther into the Tontlawald, and came back with the same story. A countless number of women and children were gathered round a huge fire, and some were seated on the ground, while others danced strange dances on the smooth grass. One old crone had a broad iron ladle in her hand, with which every now and then she stirred the fire, but the moment she touched the glowing ashes the children rushed away, shrieking like night owls, and it was a long while before they ventured to steal back. And besides all this there had once or twice been seen a little old man with a long beard creeping out of the forest, carrying a sack bigger than himself. The women and children ran by his side, weeping and trying to drag the sack from off his back, but he shook them off, and went on his way. There was also...