Preface
All people in the world tell nursery tales to their children. The
Japanese tell them, the Chinese, the Red Indians by their camp
fires, the Eskimo in their dark dirty winter huts. The Kaffirs of
South Africa tell them, and the modern Greeks, just as the old
Egyptians did, when Moses had not been many years rescued out of
the bulrushes. The Germans, French, Spanish, Italians, Danes,
Highlanders tell them also, and the stories are apt to be like
each other everywhere. A child who has read the Blue and Red and
Yellow Fairy Books will find some old friends with new faces in
the Pink Fairy Book, if he examines and compares. But the
Japanese tales will probably be new to the young student; the
Tanuki is a creature whose acquaintance he may not have made
before. He may remark that Andersen wants to 'point a moral,' as
well as to 'adorn a tale; ' that he is trying to make fun of the
follies of mankind, as they exist in civilised countries. The
Danish story of 'The Princess in the Chest' need not be read to a
very nervous child, as it rather borders on a ghost story. It has
been altered, and is really much more horrid in the language of
the Danes, who, as history tells us, were not a nervous or timid
people. I am quite sure that this story is not true. The other
Danish and Swedish stories are not alarming. They are translated
by Mr. W. A. Craigie. Those from the Sicilian (through the
German) are translated, like the African tales (through the
French) and the Catalan tales, and the Japanese stories (the
latter through the German), and an old French story, by Mrs.
Lang. Miss Alma Alleyne did the stories from Andersen, out of the
German. Mr. Ford, as usual, has drawn the monsters and mermaids,
the princes and giants, and the beautiful princesses, who, the
Editor thinks, are, if possible, prettier than ever. Here, then,
are fancies brought from all quarters: we see that black, white,
and yellow peoples are fond of just the same kinds of adventures.
Courage, youth, beauty, kindness, have many trials, but they
always win the battle; while witches, giants, unfriendly cruel
people, are on the losing hand. So it ought to be, and so, on the
whole, it is and will be; and that is all the moral of fairy
tales. We cannot all be young, alas ! and pretty, and strong; but
nothing prevents us from being kind, and no kind man, woman, or
beast or bird, ever comes to anything but good in these oldest
fables of the world. So far all the tales are true, and no
further.
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