The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of Noodles, by W. A. Clouston

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Title: The Book of Noodles
Stories Of Simpletons; Or, Fools And Their Follies

Author: W. A. Clouston

Release Date: July 26, 2004 [EBook #13032]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE

BOOK OF NOODLES:

_STORIES OF SIMPLETONS; OR,
FOOLS AND THEIR FOLLIES_.

BY
W.A. CLOUSTON,

_Author of "Popular Tales and Fictions; their Migrations and
Transformations_"

"Excellent! Why, this is the best fooling when all
is done."--_Twelfth Night_.

LONDON:

ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW.

1888.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 67-24351

TO MY DEAR FRIEND

DAVID ROSS, LL.D., M.A., B.Sc.,

PRINCIPAL OF THE
CHURCH OF SCOTLAND TRAINING COLLEGE,
GLASGOW,

THIS COLLECTION OF FACETIAE

IS DEDICATED.

_PREFACE_.

_Like popular tales in general, the original sources of stories of
simpletons are for the most part not traceable. The old Greek jests of
this class had doubtless been floating about among different peoples
long before they were reduced to writing. The only tales and apologues
of noodles or stupid folk to which an approximate date can be assigned
are those found in the early Buddhist books, especially in the
"Jatakas," or Birth-stories, which are said to have been related to his
disciples by Gautama, the illustrious founder of Buddhism, as incidents
which occurred to himself and others in former births, and were
afterwards put into a literary form by his followers. Many of the
"Jatakas" relate to silly men and women, and also to stupid animals, the
latter being, of course, men re-born as beasts, birds, or reptiles. But
it is not to be supposed that all are of Buddhist invention; some had
doubtless been current for ages among the Hindus before Gautama
promulgated his mild doctrines. Scholars are, however, agreed that these
fictions date at latest from a century prior to the Christian era._

_Of European noodle-stories, as of other folk-tales, it ma