It chanced, long years ago, that a certain horse-dealer lived in the South of Scotland, near the Border, not very far from Longtown. He was known as Canonbie Dick; and as he went u...
Be it good or bad, This little lay To me occurred to-day, By chance. Through a field in our village A wandering ass One day did pass, By chance. Left by a careless swain, Forgotten...
The Woodpecker family were around on various trees drumming, drumming on the bark. Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, Mr. Downy Woodpecker, and Mr. Red-Headed Woodpecker were hard at work. "Let...
Once there lived two brothers who were princes in the land. The elder brother was a hunter. He loved the deep woods and the chase. He went from dawn to dark with his bow and his ar...
Why, CELIA, is your spreading waist So loose, so negligently lac'd? Why must the wrapping bed-gown hide Your snowy bosom's swelling pride? How ill that dress adorns your head, Disd...
Once upon a time there was a goose girl who tended her flock in a green meadow. The meadow was dotted with forget-me-nots and yellow buttercups, and the sun shone down on it; her g...
Once on a time, an Ass,-- An Oilman's hack,-- Bearing upon his back A huge skin filled with oil, With foot o'er-worn by toil, Into his stable sought to pass; But, stumbling, struck...
"It was such a hot day yesterday," said daddy, "that Mr. Plain Sparrow simply could not get cool. You see he never goes away in the winter and so he gets used to really cold weathe...
Why knits my dear her angry brow? What rude offence alarms you now? I said, that DELIA'S fair; 'tis true, But did I say she equall'd you? Can't I another's face commend, Or to her...
From the Japanische Marchen und Sagen, von David Brauns (Leipzig: Wilhelm Friedrich). There was once a worthy old couple who lived on the coast, and supported themselves by fishing...
He was a king, a seer and a poet. He was a lord with a manifold and great train. He was our magician, our knowledgable one, our soothsayer. All that he did was sweet with him. And,...
Once upon a time there lived in Alaska a chief of the Tlingit tribe who had one son. When the boy grew to be a man, he saw a girl who seemed to him prettier and cleverer than any o...
A certain king had a beautiful golden-haired daughter named Sybilla, whose suitors came from every country, though with small success, since the princess had vowed to remain single...
When housecleaning time came around, Mistress' mamma decided that she would have the nursery repainted and new paper put upon the walls. That was why all the dolls happened to be l...
Near a large town in England there lived in the last century a gentleman with his son and daughter. His wife died when her children were quite young, leaving a large fortune behind...
"The robins, having left their warm winter home, had settled near a great, big, lovely park," said daddy. "Now, one of the robins happened to be a very practical old bird. He sugge...
[Illustration: A man and two elves watching clouds pour through a large gate.] Once upon a time a young husband and wife named Giles and Phyllida lived in a cottage in the heart of...
Long, long ago, in the very far north, there lived a mammoth Brown Bear. Never in all the world was seen such a gigantic creature. Brown Bear was so tall his eyes looked over tops...
"Little Miss Robin was preening her feathers and smoothing them down, for it was the 14th of February and she had received a valentine. Naturally she was very much excited, and she...
In a tiny cottage near the king's palace there once lived an old man, his wife, and his son, a very lazy fellow, who would never do a stroke of work. He could not be got even to lo...
From Sicilianische Mahrchen. Once upon a time there lived a man who had three sons. The eldest was called Peppe, the second Alfin, and the youngest Ciccu. They were all very poor,...
The man who seeks to win the fair, (So custom says) must truth forbear; Must fawn and flatter, cringe and lie, And raise the goddess to the sky; For truth is hateful to her ear, A...
Once there lived a peasant whose only daughter, Martha, had eyes as blue as corn-flowers and long hair like the silk around an ear of corn. All the lads of the village were after h...
Translated from the Danish. In a village there once lived a smith called Basmus, who was in a very poor way. He was still a young man, and a strong handsome fellow to boot, but he...
Once upon a time there lived a Baron who was a great magician, and could tell by his arts and charms everything that was going to happen at any time. Now this great lord had a litt...
That authentic author, Father Valdecebro,-- In his veracious Natural History, Who exercised his warm imagination, By spots and marks, each beast minutely painting, And told, in sty...
That was the name of a little Indian boy living on the North-West coast of America, and a very odd name it is, as well as a very long one. To be sure, in his own language it could...
"I am going to tell you a really true story," said daddy, "something which happened to-day. I was walking along a rather poor part of the city when I saw a number of children gathe...
A man who, from his birth, was dumb And deafer than a mole, Some trifle to arrange was set With a blind man, cheek by jowl. The blind man spoke by signs Which the mute did plainly...
Once upon a time there lived two peasants on a homestead called Vaderas, just as there are two peasants living on it now. In those days the roads were good, and the women were in t...