Joseph Jacobs 
Folk and Fairy Tales From Many Lands 

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The first adjective of our title also needs a similar exten sion of its meaning. I have acted on Moliere’s principle, and have taken what was good wherever I could find it. Thus, a couple of these stories have been found among descendants of English immigrants in America; a couple of others I tell as I heard them myself in my youth in Australia. One of the best was taken down from the mouth of an English Gipsy. I have also included some stories that have only been found in Lowland Scotch. I have felt justified in doing this, as of the twenty-one folk tales contained in Chambers’ Popular Rhymes of Scot land, no less than sixteen are also to be found in an English form. With the Folk-tale as with the Ballad.