ong the ancient fancies of this volume, just
as bookworms will crawl into the nicest books; but they do not belong
there, and it is for these that the Book apologizes to the children. It
has no apology to offer those grown folks who insist that facts, never
fancies, are what children need._

CONTENTS

PAGE

THE DISOBEDIENT WOODPECKER 1
(_French_)

MOTHER MAGPIE'S KINDERGARTEN 6
(_Isle of Wight_)

THE GORGEOUS GOLDFINCH 14
(_Roumanian_)

KING OF THE BIRDS 18
(_Gascon_)

HALCYONE 27
(_Greek_)

THE FORGETFUL KINGFISHER 33
(_German_)

THE WREN WHO BROUGHT FIRE 39
(_French_)

HOW THE BLUEBIRD CROSSED 45
(_Samoan_)

THE PEACOCK'S COUSIN 49
(_Arabic, Malay_)

THE MASQUERADING CROW 59
(_Russian_)

KING SOLOMON AND THE BIRDS 69
(_Arabic_)

THE PIOUS ROBIN 81
(_Breton, Basque, Greek_)

THE ROBIN WHO WAS AN INDIAN 87
(_Ojibway_)

THE INQUISITIVE WOMAN 94
(_Roumanian_)

WHY THE NIGHTINGALE WAKES 98
(_French_)

MRS. PARTRIDGE'S BABIES 105
(_Greek_)

THE EARLY GIRL 109
(_Roumanian_)

HOW THE BLACKBIRD SPOILED HIS COAT 114
(_French_)

THE BLACKBIRD AND THE FOX 124
(_French_)

THE DOVE WHO SPOKE TRUTH 127
(_Welsh_)

THE FOWLS ON PILGRIMAGE 132
(_Greek_)

THE GROUND-PIGEON 138
(_Malay_)

SISTER HEN AND THE CROCODILE 145
(_Congo Negro_)

THE THRUSH AND THE CUCKOO 153
(_Roumanian, German_)

THE OWL AND THE MOON 157
(_Malay_)

THE TUFTED CAP 164
(_Ainu, Japanese Islands_)

THE GOOD HUNTER 168
(_Iroquois_)

THE COURTSHIP OF MR. STORK AND MISS
HERON 176
(_Russian_)

THE PHOENIX 184
(_Egyptian_)

Seven of these tales appeared originally in _The Churchman_ and two in
_The Congregationalist_. They are reprinted by the courteous permission
of the publishers of those magazines.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
MR. STORK AND MISS HERON