Green Fairy Book

Description

The Fairy Books, or "Coloured" Fairy Books is a collection of fairy tales divided into twelve books, each associated with a different colour. Collected together by Andrew Land they are sourced from a number of different countries and were translated by Lang's wife and other translators who also retold many of the tales. The collection has been incalculably important and, although he did not source the stories himself direct from the oral tradition he can make claim to the first English translation of many. First published in 1892, The Green Fairy Bookis the 3rd volume in this series.

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781775410072
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK
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Edited by
ANDREW LANG
 
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The Green Fairy Book First published in 1892.
ISBN 978-1-775410-07-2
© 2009 THE FLOATING PRESS.
While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike.
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Contents
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To the Friendly Reader The Blue Bird The Half-Chick The Story of Caliph Stork The Enchanted Watch Rosanella Sylvain and Jocosa Fairy Gifts Prince Narcissus and the Princess Potentilla Prince Featherhead and the Princess Celandine The Three Little Pigs Heart of Ice The Enchanted Ring The Snuff-Box The Golden Blackbird The Little Soldier The Magic Swan The Dirty Shepherdess The Enchanted Snake The Biter Bit King Kojata (from the Russian) Prince Fickle and Fair Helena (from the German) Puddocky (from the German) The Story of Hok Lee and the Dwarfs The Story of the Three Bears Prince Vivien and the Princess Placida Little One-Eye, Little Two-Eyes, and Little Three-Eyes Jorinde and Joringel Allerleirauh; Or, the Many-Furred Creature The Twelve Huntsmen Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle The Crystal Coffin The Three Snake-Leaves The Riddle Jack My Hedgehog The Golden Lads The White Snake The Story of a Clever Tailor The Golden Mermaid The War of the Wolf and the Fox The Story of the Fisherman and His Wife The Three Musicians The Three Dogs
 
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To Stella Margaret Alleyne the Green Fairy Book is dedicated
To the Friendly Reader
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This is the third, and probably the last, of the Fairy Books ofmany colours. First there was the Blue Fairy Book; then,children, you asked for more, and we made up the Red Fairy Book;and, when you wanted more still, the Green Fairy Book was puttogether. The stories in all the books are borrowed from manycountries; some are French, some German, some Russian, someItalian, some Scottish, some English, one Chinese. However muchthese nations differ about trifles, they all agree in likingfairy tales. The reason, no doubt, is that men were much likechildren in their minds long ago, long, long ago, and so beforethey took to writing newspapers, and sermons, and novels, andlong poems, they told each other stories, such as you read in thefairy books. They believed that witches could turn people intobeasts, that beasts could speak, that magic rings could maketheir owners invisible, and all the other wonders in the stories.Then, as the world became grown-up, the fairy tales which werenot written down would have been quite forgotten but that the oldgrannies remembered them, and told them to the littlegrandchildren: and when they, in their turn, became grannies,they remembered them, and told them also. In this way these talesare older than reading and writing, far older than printing. Theoldest fairy tales ever written down were written down in Egypt,about Joseph's time, nearly three thousand five hundred yearsago. Other fairy stories Homer knew, in Greece, nearly threethousand years ago, and he made them all up into a poem, theOdyssey, which I hope you will read some day. Here you will findthe witch who turns men into swine, and the man who bores out thebig foolish giant's eye, and the cap of darkness, and the shoesof swiftness, that were worn later by Jack the Giant-Killer.These fairy tales are the oldest stories in the world, and asthey were first made by men who were childlike for their ownamusement, so they amuse children still, and also grown-up peoplewho have not forgotten how they once were children.
Some of the stories were made, no doubt, not only to amuse, butto teach goodness. You see, in the tales, how the boy who is kindto beasts, and polite, and generous, and brave, always comes bestthrough his trials, and no doubt these tales were meant to maketheir hearers kind, unselfish, courteous, and courageous. This isthe moral of them. But, after all, we think more as we read themof the diversion than of the lesson. There are grown-up peoplenow who say that the stories are not good for children, becausethey are not true, because there are no witches, nor talkingbeasts, and because people are killed in them, especially wickedgiants. But probably you who read the tales know very well howmuch is true and how much is only make-believe, and I never yetheard of a child who killed a very tall man merely because Jackkilled the giants, or who was unkind to his stepmother, if he hadone, because, in fairy tales, the stepmother is oftendisagreeable. If there are frightful monsters in fairy tales,they do not frighten you now, because that kind of monster is nolonger going about the world, whatever he may have done long,long ago. He has been turned into stone, and you may see hisremains in museums. Therefore, I am not afraid that you will beafraid of the magicians and dragons; besides, you see that areally brave boy or girl was always their master, even in theheight of their power.
Some of the tales here, like The Half-Chick, are for very littlechildren; others for older ones. The longest tales, like Heart ofIce, were not invented when the others were, but were written inFrench, by clever men and women, such as Madame d'Aulnoy, and theCount de Caylus, about two hundred years ago. There are not manypeople now, perhaps there are none, who can write really goodfairy tales, because they do not believe enough in their ownstories, and because they want to be wittier than it has pleasedHeaven to make them.
So here we give you the last of the old stories, for the present,and hope you will like them, and feel grateful to the BrothersGrimm, who took them down from the telling of old women, and toM. Sebillot and M. Charles Marelles, who have lent us some talesfrom their own French people, and to Mr. Ford, who drew thepictures, and to the ladies, Miss Blackley, Miss Alma Alleyne,Miss Eleanor Sellar, Miss May Sellar, Miss Wright, and Mrs. Lang,who translated many of the tales out of French, German, and otherlanguages.
If we have a book for you next year, it shall not be a fairybook. What it is to be is a secret, but we hope that it will notbe dull. So good-bye, and when you have read a fairy book, lendit to other children who have none, or tell them the stories inyour own way, which is a very pleasant mode of passing the time.
The Blue Bird
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Once upon a time there lived a King who was immensely rich. Hehad broad lands, and sacks overflowing with gold and silver; buthe did not care a bit for all his riches, because the Queen, hiswife, was dead. He shut himself up in a little room and knockedhis head against the walls for grief, until his courtiers werereally afraid that he would hurt himself. So they hungfeather-beds between the tapestry and the walls, and then hecould go on knocking his head as long as it was any consolationto him without coming to much harm. All his subjects came to seehim, and said whatever they thought would comfort him: some weregrave, even gloomy with him; and some agreeable, even gay; butnot one could make the least impression upon him. Indeed, hehardly seemed to hear what they said. At last came a lady who waswrapped in a black mantle, and seemed to be in the deepest grief.She wept and sobbed until even the King's attention wasattracted; and when she said that, far from coming to try anddiminish his grief, she, who had just lost a good husband, wascome to add her tears to his, since she knew what he must befeeling, the King redoubled his lamentations. Then he told thesorrowful lady long stories about the good qualities of hisdeparted Queen, and she in her turn recounted all the virtues ofher departed husband; and this passed the time so agreeably thatthe King quite forgot to thump his head against the feather-beds,and the lady did not need to wipe the tears from her great blueeyes as often as before. By degrees they came to talking aboutother things in which the King took an interest, and in awonderfully short time the whole kingdom was astonished by thenews that the King was married again to the sorrowful lady.
Now the King had one daughter, who was just fifteen years old.Her name was Fiordelisa, and she was the prettiest and mostcharming Princess imaginable, always gay and merry. The newQueen, who also had a daughter, very soon sent for her to come tothe Palace. Turritella, for that was her name, had been broughtup by her godmother, the Fairy Mazilla, but in spite of all thecare bestowed upon her, she was neither beautiful nor gracious.Indeed, when the Queen saw how ill-tempered and ugly she appearedbeside Fiordelisa she was in despair, and did everything in herpower to turn the King against his own daughter, in the hope thathe might take a fancy to Turritella. One day the King said thatit was time Fiordelisa and Turritella were married, so he wouldgive one of them to the first suitable Prince who visited hisCourt. The Queen answered:
'My daughter certainly ought to be the first to be married; sheis older than yours, and a thousand times more charming!'
The King, who hated disputes, said, 'Very well, it's no affair ofmine, settle it your own way.'
Very soon after came the news that King Charming, who was themost handsome and magnificent Prince in all the country round,was on his way to visit the King. As soon as the Queen heardthis, she set all her jewellers, tailors, weavers, andembroiderers to work upon splendid dresses and ornaments forTurritella, but she told the King that Fiordelisa had no need ofanything new, and the night before the King was to arrive, shebribed her waiting woman to steal away all the Princess's owndresses and jewels, so that when the day came, and Fiordelisawished to adorn