nd deep forests instead of riding in street cars; and went to
bed when it grew dark and rose with the sun--which is vastly different
from the present custom. Having no books to read they told their
adventures to one another and to their little ones; and the stories
were handed down from generation to generation and reverently believed.

Those who peopled the world in the old days, having nothing but their
hands to depend on, were to a certain extent helpless, and so the
fairies were sorry for them and ministered to their wants patiently and
frankly, often showing themselves to those they befriended.

So people knew fairies in those days, my dear, and loved them, together
with all the ryls and knooks and pixies and nymphs and other beings
that belong to the hordes of immortals. And a fairy tale was a thing
to be wondered at and spoken of in awed whispers; for no one thought of
doubting its truth.

To-day the fairies are shy; for so many curious inventions of men have
come into use that the wonders of Fairyland are somewhat tame beside
them, and even the boys and girls can not be so easily interested or
surprised as in the old days. So the sweet and gentle little immortals
perform their tasks unseen and unknown, and live mostly in their own
beautiful realms, where they are almost unthought of by our busy,
bustling world.

Yet when we come to story-telling the marvels of our own age shrink
into insignificance beside the brave deeds and absorbing experiences of
the days when fairies were better known; and so we go back to "once on
a time" for the tales that we most love--and that children have ever
loved since mankind knew that fairies exist.

2. The Enchanted Isle

Once there was an enchanted island in the middle of the sea. It was
called the Isle of Yew. And in it were five important kingdoms ruled
by men, and many woodland dells and forest glades and pleasant meadows
and grim mountains inhabited by fairies.

From the fairies some of the men had learned wonderful secrets, and had
become magicians and sorcerers, with powers so great that the entire
island was reputed to be one of enchantments. Who these men were the
common people did not always know; for while some were kings and
rulers, others lived quietly hidden away in forests or mountains, and
seldom or never showed themselves. Indeed, there were not so many of
these magicians as people thought, only it was so hard to tell them
from common folk tha