The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brown Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang

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Title: The Brown Fairy Book

Author: Andrew Lang

Illustrator: H. J. Ford

Release Date: February 6, 2010 [EBook #31201]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROWN FAIRY BOOK ***

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THE
BROWN FAIRY BOOK

[Illustration]

Edited by Andrew Lang

_With Numerous Illustrations by H. J. Ford_

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1904

[Illustration: 'YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE ME YOUR WIFE,' SAID THE
ELF-MAIDEN]

DEDICATED
TO
DIANA SCOTT LANG

_PREFACE_

The stories in this Fairy Book come from all quarters of the world.
For example, the adventures of 'Ball-Carrier and the Bad One' are told
by Red Indian grandmothers to Red Indian children who never go to
school, nor see pen and ink. 'The Bunyip' is known to even more
uneducated little ones, running about with no clothes at all in the
bush, in Australia. You may see photographs of these merry little
black fellows before their troubles begin, in 'Northern Races of
Central Australia,' by Messrs. Spencer and Gillen. They have no
lessons except in tracking and catching birds, beasts, fishes,
lizards, and snakes, all of which they eat. But when they grow up to
be big boys and girls, they are cruelly cut about with stone knives
and frightened with sham bogies--'all for their good' their parents
say--and I think they would rather go to school, if they had their
choice, and take their chance of being birched and bullied. However,
many boys might think it better fun to begin to learn hunting as soon
as they can walk. Other stories, like 'The Sacred Milk of Koumongoe,'
come from the Kaffirs in Africa, whose dear papas are not so poor as
those in Australia, but have plenty of cattle and milk, and good
mealies to eat, and live in houses like very big be