The king of a great land died, and left his queen to take care of their only child. This child was a daughter, who was very beautiful; and her mother loved her dearly, and was very...
"Well, little one," said a Tree to a Reed that was growing at its foot, "why do you not plant your feet deeply in the ground, and raise your head boldly in the air as I do?" "I am...
Pump, pump, pump, Water, water, come; Here a rush, there a gush, Done, done, done.
Once upon a time, a long, long while ago, when all the world was young and all sorts of strange things happened, there lived a very rich gentleman whose wife had died leaving him t...
BY EMMA ENDICOTT MAREAN "Please, Mother, tell us a story. Have him a wood-chopper boy this time. Please, Mother, quick, for Elizabeth is sleepy already. Oh, Mother, hurry!" So here...
The Silver Bells of the False Solomon Seal Over a month later, the King suddenly remembered that he had not been out to see the plant whose root he had sealed. He was very busy at...
Once upon a time all the streams and rivers ran so dry that the animals did not know how to get water. After a very long search, which had been quite in vain, they found a tiny spr...
Far way, in a very hot country, there once lived a man and woman who had two children, a son named Koane and a daughter called Thakane. Early in the morning and late in the evening...
Is Master Smith within? Yes, that he is. Can he set a shoe? Ay, marry, two. Here a nail, and there a nail, Tick--tack--too. LITTLE ROBIN REDBREAST Little Robin Redbreast Sat upon a...
"Lithe and listen, gentlemen, To sing a song I will beginne; It is of a lord of faire Scotland, Which was the unthrifty heire of Linne." There was trouble in the ancient Castle of...
I was hatched one sunny day in May in the nicest, warmest, dirtiest spot you ever saw. It was in a barnyard heap, just outside a city, that I first saw the light. I was not very ol...
Three wise men of Gotham Went to sea in a bowl, And if the bowl had been stronger My song had been longer.
One day the Countrymen noticed that the Mountains were in labour; smoke came out of their summits, the earth was quaking at their feet, trees were crashing, and huge rocks were tum...
Said this little fairy, "I'm as thirsty as can be." Said this little fairy, "I'm hungry, too, dear me!" Said this little fairy, "Who'll tell us where to go?" Said this little fairy...
A FOX was mounting a hedge when he lost his footing and caught hold of a Bramble to save himself. Having pricked and grievously tom the soles of his feet, he accused the Bramble be...
BY LUCY FITCH PERKINS The king and queen went out to-day, A-riding on a load of hay. The king fell off and lost his crown, The queen fell, too, and tore her gown.
It has long been the custom of the Brownies to have a great feast on the first of the merry month of May, to celebrate the return of the spring. The Crinkleroot; or Who Hid the Sal...
Many ages ago when the world was still young, Raven and White Sea-gull lived near together in Canada, far in the north country on the shores of the Great Water in the west. They we...
[This tale has been traced back fifty years, but it is probably considerably older.] The cat and the mouse Play'd in the malt-house: The cat bit the mouse's tail off. Pray, puss, g...
There was once upon a time a little lad, who was on his way to church, and when he came to a clearing in the forest he caught sight of a fox that was lying on the top of a big ston...
THE STORY OF A MAGIC HORSE While the king of a distant country was off at the wars, his wife, the queen, gave birth to twin sons. There was great rejoicing throughout the court and...
Agnella, Violette and Passerose walked slowly towards the burned walls of the farmhouse. With the courage of despair they removed the smoking ruins. They worked diligently two days...
In the western counties, the children, decked with the wreaths and true-lover's knots presented to them, gaily adorn one of their number as their chief, and march from house to hou...
See the little mousie, creeping up the stair, Looking for a warm nest--there, oh, there! (Mother's fingers creep up the body, and finally fumble in baby's neck.)
Once upon a time there was a King who had twelve sons. These sons did not like to do useful things--they only liked to ride and to hunt in the woods, and to do what pleased them. O...
The queen now requested her guests to recline upon couches that they might rest themselves from their long swim and talk more at their ease. So the girl and the sailor allowed them...
In the eastern counties of England, and perhaps in other parts of the country, children chant the following lines when they are pursuing this insect: Gnat, gnat, fly into my hat, A...
A VERY LARGE OAK was uprooted by the wind and thrown across a stream. It fell among some Reeds, which it thus addressed: "I wonder how you, who are so light and weak, are not entir...
A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw. "Ho! ho!" quoth he, "that's for me," and soon rooted it...
These ten little live playthings can be held in every baby's hand, five in one and five in the other and be the baby ever so poor yet he always has these ten playthings because, yo...