Transcriber's Note
The story 'What the Rose did to the Cypress' has a number of names whichinclude a macron (straight line) above one or more of the letters (ā,ī, ō, ū, etc.). If they do not display correctly you may needto adjust your browser settings.
The
BROWN FAIRY BOOK
Edited by Andrew Lang
With Numerous Illustrations by H. J. Ford
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1904
DEDICATED
TO
DIANA SCOTT LANG
PREFACE
The stories in this Fairy Book come from all quarters ofthe world. For example, the adventures of ‘Ball-Carrierand the Bad One’ are told by Red Indian grandmothersto Red Indian children who never go to school, nor seepen and ink. ‘The Bunyip’ is known to even moreuneducated little ones, running about with no clothes atall in the bush, in Australia. You may see photographsof these merry little black fellows before their troublesbegin, in ‘Northern Races of Central Australia,’ by Messrs.Spencer and Gillen. They have no lessons except intracking and catching birds, beasts, fishes, lizards, andsnakes, all of which they eat. But when they grow upto be big boys and girls, they are cruelly cut about withstone knives and frightened with sham bogies—‘all fortheir good’ their parents say—and I think they wouldrather go to school, if they had their choice, and taketheir chance of being birched and bullied. However,many boys might think it better fun to begin to learnhunting as soon as they can walk. Other stories, like‘The Sacred Milk of Koumongoé,’ come from the Kaffirsin Africa, whose dear papas are not so poor as those inAustralia, but have plenty of cattle and milk, and goodmealies to eat, and live in houses like very big bee-hives,and wear clothes of a sort, though not very like our own.‘Pivi and Kabo’ is a tale from the brown people in theisland of New Caledonia, where a boy is never allowedto speak to or even look at his own sisters; nobody[Pg viii]knows why, so curious are the manners of this remoteisland. The story shows the advantages of good mannersand pleasant behaviour; and the natives do not now cookand eat each other, but live on fish, vegetables, pork, andchickens, and dwell in houses. ‘What the Rose did tothe Cypress’ is a story from Persia, where the people, ofcourse, are civilised, and much like those of whom you readin ‘The Arabian Nights.’ Then there are tales like ‘TheFox and the Lapp’ from the very north of Europe, whereit is dark for half the year and daylight for the other half.The Lapps are a people not fond of soap and water, andvery much given to art magic. Then there are tales fromIndia, told to Major Campbell, who wrote them out, byHindoos; these stories are ‘Wali Dâd the Simple-hearted,’and ‘The King who would be Stronger than Fate,’ butwas not so clever as his daughter. From Brazil, in Sout