by Catherine Turner Bryce
2 editions published in 1910
Most of the fables in this little book are very old--older
than the well-known Aesop's fables
Most of these stories are taken from fable sources outside
the normal Western tradition, though perhaps a quarter are traditional Aesopic
material. The fifty-eight fables are divided into four sections ("Tales
from the East," "Tales from the West," and so on), The source of
these fables is unknown. On iii, it states, "It is in the hope that you
will enjoy them as much as the children of long ago in India, China, Japan, and
the Isles of the Sea that this little collection of the old, old stories has been
made." "Tales from the West" include a number of La Fontaine
fables. Among them are "A Dumb Witness" (9), "The Fox and the
Goose" (113), and "The Ant and the Glowworm" (115). Here a gnat
stings a lion, and the lion never even notices it (79)! See "Perseverance"
(162) for one of those stories that "proves" that "He who
earnestly wills can do anything." Here the poor man finally marries the
princess. Each illustration includes one color.
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