lated by_ M. Alfred Bauer _with that of the first
edition (Paris, 1697), a book which probably cannot be found in England.
I have to thank_ M. Bauer _for the kind and minute care he has bestowed
on his task. We have tried to restore the original text of 1697, with
its spelling, punctuation, use of capital letters, and so forth. One
might have compared the text of_ Perrault's _prose tales, as published
in a book in 1697, with their original form in_ Moetjens's _Recueil or
Magazine. Unluckily the British Museum only possesses the earlier
volumes of the Recueil, in which the less important stories, those in
verse, were first published. The Text of the tales in Verse has been
collated, by myself and_ Mrs. Ogilby, _with that of the Recueil. The
Paris editions of 1694 and 1695 I have never seen. In his 'Contes en
Prose de Charles Perrault'_ (Jouaust, _Paris_, 1876), M. Paul Lacroix
_published the more important readings in which the Recueil differed
from the ultimate text. The changes shew good taste on the part of_
Perrault: _one or two tedious gallantries, out of keeping with the
stories, were removed by him._

_Two of the most useful books that have been read by me in preparing
this edition are_ M. Andre Lefevre's _edition of the Contes, with his
bibliographical and other notes, and the 'Contes de Ma Mere L'Oye avant
Charles Perrault,' by the late_ M. Charles Deulin. _I have also read, I
think, most of the modern editions of the Contes which offer any fresh
criticism or information, and acknowledgments will be found in the
proper place._

_The Introduction contains a brief sketch of_ Perrault, _and of the
circumstances in which his tales were composed and published. Each prose
story has also been made the subject of a special comparative research;
its wanderings and changes of form have been observed, and it is hoped
that this part of the work may be serviceable to students of Folklore
and Mythology._

_In this little book, as in all researches into tradition, I have
received much aid from the writings and from the kind suggestions of_ M.
Henri Gaidoz, _and from the knowledge and experience of_ Mr. Alfred
Nutt. _It is almost superfluous to add that without the industry of such
students as_ Herr Reinhold Koehler, M. Paul Sebillot, Mr. Ralston, M.
Cosquin, _and very many others, these studies of story could never have
been produced_.

A. L.

_INTRODUCTION._

CHARLES PERRAULT.

In Eisen's portr