English Fairy Tales — Createspace

English Fairy Tales A superb collection of over 40 classic and uniquely English fairy tales. English Fairy Tales. Collected by Joseph Jacobs HOW TO GET INTO THIS BOOK. 'Knock at the Knocker on the Door, Pull the Bell at the side', Then, if you are very quiet, you will hear a teeny tiny voice say through the grating "Take down the Key." This you will find at the back: you cannot mistake it, for it has J. J. in the wards. Put the Key in the Keyhole, which it fits exactly, unlock the door and WALK IN..... Who says that English folk have no fairy-tales of their own? The present volume contains only a selection out of some 140, of which I have found traces in this country. It is probable that many more exist. A quarter of the tales in this volume, have been collected during the last ten years or so, and some of them have not been hitherto published. Up to 1870 it was equally said of France and of Italy, that they possessed no folk-tales. A word or two as to our title seems necessary. We have called our stories Fairy Tales though few of them speak of fairies. Yet our stories are what the little ones mean when they clamour for "Fairy Tales," and this is the only name which they give to them. One cannot imagine a child saying, "Tell us a folk-tale, nurse," or "Another nursery tale, please, grandma." As our book is intended for the little ones, we have indicated its contents by the name they use. The words "Fairy Tales" must accordingly be taken to include tales in which occurs something "fairy," something extraordinary-fairies, giants, dwarfs, speaking animals. Children appreciate the dramatic propriety of this as much as their elders. Generally speaking, it has been my ambition to write as a good old nurse will speak when she tells Fairy Tales. This book is meant to be read aloud, and not merely taken in by the eye.