The Yellow Fairy Book | Page 4

The Rev. Mr.
Baring-Gould saw several fairies when he was a boy, and was
travelling in the land of the Troubadours. For these reasons, the Editor
thinks that there are certainly fairies, but they never do anyone any
harm; and, in England, they have been frightened away by smoke and
schoolmasters. As to Giants, they have died out, but real Dwarfs are
common in the forests of Africa. Probably a good many stories not
perfectly true have been told about fairies, but such stories have also
been told about Napoleon, Claverhouse, Julius Caesar, and Joan of Arc,
all of whom certainly existed. A wise child will, therefore, remember
that, if he grows up and becomes a member of the Folk Lore Society,
ALL the tales in this book were not offered to him as absolutely
truthful, but were printed merely for his entertainment. The exact facts
he can learn later, or he can leave them alone.
There are Russian, German, French, Icelandic, Red Indian, and other
stories here. They were translated by Miss Cheape, Miss Alma, and
Miss Thyra Alleyne, Miss Sellar, Mr. Craigie (he did the Icelandic
tales), Miss Blackley, Mrs. Dent, and Mrs. Lang, but the Red Indian
stories are copied from English versions published by the Smithsonian

Bureau of Ethnology, in America. Mr. Ford did the pictures, and it is
hoped that children will find the book not less pleasing than those
which have already been submitted to their consideration. The Editor
cannot say 'good-bye' without advising them, as they pursue their
studies, to read The Rose and the Ring, by the late Mr. Thackeray, with
pictures by the author. This book he thinks quite indispensable in every
child's library, and parents should be urged to purchase it at the first
opportunity, as without it no education is complete.
A. LANG.
CONTENTS
The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership The Six Swans The Dragon of
the North Story of the Emperor's New Clothes The Golden Crab The
Iron Stove The Dragon and his Grandmother The Donkey Cabbage The
Little Green Frog The Seven-headed Serpent The Grateful Beasts The
Giants and the Herd-boy The Invisible Prince The Crow How Six Men
travelled through the Wide World The Wizard King The Nixy The
Glass Mountain Alphege, or the Green Monkey Fairer-than-a-Fairy The
Three Brothers The Boy and the Wolves, or the Broken Promise The
Glass Axe The Dead Wife In the Land of Souls The White Duck The
Witch and her Servants The Magic Ring The Flower Queen's Daughter
The Flying Ship The Snow-daughter and the Fire-son The Story of
King Frost The Death of the Sun-hero The Witch The Hazel-nut Child
The Story of Big Klaus and Little Klaus Prince Ring The Swineherd
How to tell a True Princess The Blue Mountains The Tinder-box The
Witch in the Stone Boat Thumbelina The Nightingale Hermod and
Hadvor The Steadfast Tin-soldier Blockhead Hans A Story about a
Darning-needle

THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK
THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP
A cat had made acquaintance with a mouse, and had spoken so much of

the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at last the Mouse
consented to live in the same house with her, and to go shares in the
housekeeping. 'But we must provide for the winter or else we shall
suffer hunger,' said the Cat. 'You, little Mouse, cannot venture
everywhere in case you run at last into a trap.' This good counsel was
followed, and a little pot of fat was bought. But they did not know
where to put it. At length, after long consultation, the Cat said, 'I know
of no place where it could be better put than in the church. No one will
trouble to take it away from there. We will hide it in a corner, and we
won't touch it till we are in want.' So the little pot was placed in safety;
but it was not long before the Cat had a great longing for it, and said to
the Mouse, 'I wanted to tell you, little Mouse, that my cousin has a little
son, white with brown spots, and she wants me to be godmother to it.
Let me go out to-day, and do you take care of the house alone.'
'Yes, go certainly,' replied the Mouse, 'and when you eat anything good,
think of me; I should very much like a drop of the red christening
wine.'
But it was all untrue. The Cat had no cousin, and had not been asked to
be godmother. She went straight to the church, slunk to the little pot of
fat, began to lick it, and licked the top off. Then she took a walk on the
roofs of the town, looked at the view, stretched herself out in the