MORE than a hundred years ago, behind the wood and by a deep lake, stood an old baronial mansion. Round it lay a deep moat, in which grew reeds and rushes, and close by the bridge,...
Hitty-titty in-doors, Hitty-titty out; You touch Hitty-titty, And Hitty-titty will bite you. These lines are said by children when one of them has hid herself. They then run away,...
Cap'n Bill stood up in the boat as if undecided what to do. Never a sailor man was more bewildered than this old fellow by the strangeness of the adventure he had encountered. At f...
Nettles grow in an angry bush, An angry bush, an angry bush; Nettles grow in an angry bush, With my High, Ho, Ham! This is the way the lady goes, The lady goes, the lady goes; This...
There lived in Boston a wise and ancient chemist by the name of Dr. Daws, who dabbled somewhat in magic. There also lived in Boston a young lady by the name of Claribel Sudds, who...
One child stands in the middle of a ring formed by the other children joining hands round her. They sing-- Here comes a poor woman from Babylon, With three small children all alone...
[This story was obtained from oral tradition in the West of England. It is undoubtedly a variation of the "Hans im Glueck" of Grimm, which is current in Germany.] Mr. and Mrs. Vine...
If you'll believe me there was a time when the fairies were none so shy as they are now. That was the time when beasts talked to men, when there were spells and enchantments and ma...
There were formerly a man and a woman living in the parish of Llanlavan, in the place which is called Hwrdh. And work became scarce, so the man said to his wife, "I will go search...
I am going to tell you of a wonderful stream that flows through our bodies. We may call it the stream of life. It is made of tiny rills, and of great branches, all of which join to...
I had inherited considerable wealth from my parents, and being young and foolish I at first squandered it recklessly upon every kind of pleasure, but presently, finding that riches...
Of all the young gallants in Scotland in the thirteenth century, there was none more gracious and debonair than Thomas Learmont, Laird of the Castle of Ercildoune, in Berwickshire....
IN A POET'S room, where his inkstand stood on the table, the remark was once made: "It is wonderful what can be brought out of an inkstand. What will come next? It is indeed wonder...
BY WILLIAM CARLETON In the north of Ireland there are spinning meetings of unmarried females frequently held at the houses of farmers, called kemps. Every young woman who has got t...
There was once a man whose name was Dschemil, and he had a cousin who was called Dschemila. They had been betrothed by their parents when they were children, and now Dschemil thoug...
"'Oh, it's Hynde Horn fair, and it's Hynde Horn free; Oh, where were you born, and in what countrie?' 'In a far distant countrie I was born; But of home and friends I am quite forl...
All the dolls were tucked snugly in their little doll-beds for the night and the large house was very still. Every once in a while Fido would raise one ear and partly open one eye,...
Stanton Drew, A mile from Pensford, Another from Chue. A Somersetshire proverb, mentioned by Stukeley, in the work above quoted, ii. 169.
A Girl once went to the fair to hire herself for servant. At last a funny-looking old gentleman engaged her and took her home to his house. When she got there, he told her that he...
The Lord Dacre Was slain in North Acre. North Acre is or was the name of the spot where Lord Dacre perished at the battle of Towton in 1461. He is said to have been shot by a boy o...
Ourson walked more than three hours before he arrived at a large and beautiful farm where he hoped to obtain employment. He saw from a distance the farmer and his family seated bef...
Once I went with Milton to the chase. Near the forest he began to search. He straightened out his tail, pricked his ears, and began to sniff. I fixed the gun and followed him. I th...
I. Why does a spider sometimes make a close cobweb, and sit in the very middle of its nest, and at other times leave its nest and start a new spider-web? The spider makes its cobwe...
Belus, King of Babylon, thought himself the greatest man in all the earth, for his subjects were continually telling him so and he had no difficulty in believing them. It was very...
BY DR. P. W. JOYCE Of all the different kinds of goblins that haunted the lonely places of Ireland in days of old, air-demons were most dreaded by the people. They lived among clou...
Long ago, when Glooskap was the ruler of the Indians in Eastern Canada, and when the animals all worked for him and talked like men, Wolf was one of Rabbit's enemies. On the surfac...
"Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, Where hae ye been?" "I've been at London, Seeing the Queen!" "Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, What got ye there?" "I got a guid fat mousikie, Rinning up a st...
For every person in the world whose rule of civil conduct is based upon the English system of jurisprudence there are two others to whom Hindu law is both binding by political auth...
Buckland and Laverton, Stanway and Staunton, Childswickham, Wickamford, Badsey and Aston. These are places in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Somersetshire. Staunton is pronou...
A sportsman went out once into a wood to shoot, and he met a Snipe. "Dear friend," said the Snipe, "don't shoot my children!" "How shall I know your children?" asked the Sportsman....