A book of Fairy Tales for children. In her preface, the author explains how these stories are her own adaptations of fairy tales that originated long ago in India, then travelled to the east, Mongolia, Tibet and Russia. Their endurance as stories helped her to decide that (with some modifications) they would appeal also to western children.

It is found among the old, old histories of the Tibetans that a female demon living among the mountains in Northern India mated with a monkey from the forests of Tibet, and from this union sprang the Tibetan race of people. The greater part of their literature is of a sacred nature, telling of their creation, of the formation of the world, of Buddha and his miraculous birth and death, of his reincarnations and the revisions of his teachings. A kind of almanac, a little astronomy, plans for casting a horoscope, and many books filled with religious teachings and superstitions, including the worship of devils and demons, are about all that can be found. The 49 little stories in this book are told as the people sit around their boiling tea made over a three stone camp-fire. They are handed down from father to son, from mother to daughter, and though often filled with their superstitious beliefs, through them all run a vein of humor and the teachings of a moral truth which is quite unexpected. These tales were gathered by Dr. A. L. Shelton on his trips among the Tibetans, around their camp-fires at night, and in their black tents high up in the mountains. Every country has its folk-lore tales that have always been a joy and pleasure to the children, not only of their own land, but of other lands as well. May these stories add a little to this pleasure and enjoyment everywhere, in whatsoever tongue they may be translated or in whatever land they may be read. Flora Beal Shelton 1925

"[Dunsany's] rich language, his cosmic point of view, his remote dream-worlds, and his exquisite sense of the fantastic, all appeal to me more than anything else in modern literature."--American author H. P. Lovecraft One of English literature's most original talents, Irish writer Edward J. M. D. Plunkett, the eighteenth Baron of Dunsany, created many of the best fantastic tales in the language. This collection of 33 stories includes all of the tales from two of his finest collections, including "The Three Sailors' Gambit," "The House of the Sphinx," "The Wonderful Window," "The Bad Old Woman in Black," "The Watch-Tower," "The Three Infernal Jokes," "The Secret of the Sea," and 26 other literary gems.

The 1st ed. includes an index to v. 28-36 of St. Nicholas.

For contents, see Author Catalog.