nd the rest, which are often not so interesting or so well told as the
less familiar ones buried in periodicals or folk-lore collections. But
since the publication of _English Fairy Tales_, I have been specially
fortunate in obtaining access to tales entirely new and exceptionally
well told, which have been either published during the past three years
or have been kindly placed at my disposal by folk-lore friends. Among
these, the tales reported by Mrs. Balfour, with a thorough knowledge of
the peasants' mind and mode of speech, are a veritable acquisition. I
only regret that I have had to tone down so much of dialect in her
versions. She has added to my indebtedness to her by sending me several
tales which are entirely new and inedited. Mrs. Gomme comes only second
in rank among my creditors for thanks which I can scarcely pay without
becoming bankrupt in gratitude. Other friends have been equally kind,
especially Mr. Alfred Nutt, who has helped by adapting some of the book
versions, and by reading the proofs, while to the Councils of the
American and English Folk-Lore Societies I have again to repeat my
thanks for permission to use materials which first appeared in their
publications. Finally, I have had Mr. Batten with me once again--what
should I or other English children do without him?

JOSEPH JACOBS.

[Footnote 1: See "The Science of Folk Tales and the Problem of
Diffusion" in _Transactions of the International Folk-Lore Congress_,
1891. Mr. Lang has honoured me with a rejoinder, which I regard as a
palinode, in his Preface to Miss Roalfe Cox's volume of variants of
_Cinderella_ (Folk-Lore Society, 1892).]

Contents

THE PIED PIPER OF FRANCHVILLE

HEREAFTERTHIS

THE GOLDEN BALL

MY OWN SELF

THE BLACK BULL OF NORROWAY

YALLERY BROWN

THREE FEATHERS

SIR GAMMER VANS

TOM HICKATHRIFT

THE HEDLEY KOW

GOBBORN SEER

LAWKAMERCYME

TATTERCOATS

THE WEE BANNOCK

JOHNNY GLOKE

COAT O' CLAY

THE THREE COWS

THE BLINDED GIANT

SCRAPEFOOT

THE PEDLAR OF SWAFFHAM

THE OLD WITCH

THE THREE WISHES

THE BURIED MOON

A SON OF ADAM

THE CHILDREN IN THE WOOD

THE HOBYAHS

A POTTLE O' BRAINS

THE KING OF ENGLAND AND HIS THREE SONS

KING JOHN AND THE ABBOT OF CANTERBURY

RUSHEN COATIE

THE KING 'O THE CATS

TAMLANE

THE STARS IN THE SKY

NEWS!

PUDDOCK, MOUSIE AND RATTON

THE LITTLE BULL-CALF

THE WEE, WEE MANNIE

HABETROT AND SCANTLIE MAB

OLD MOTHER WIG