PREFACE xi 



The stories about ' Tom the Bear ' are taken 

 from the French works on natural history by 

 M. Alexandre Dumas. We cannot be sure that 

 every word of them is true, for M. Dumas wrote 

 novels chief!} 7 , which you must read when you are 

 older. One of these novels is about Charles L, and 

 it is certainly not all true, so we cannot believe every 

 word that M. Dumas tells us. He had a great deal 

 of imagination — enough for about thirteen thousand 

 living novelists. 



Most of the other tales are written by Mrs. 

 Lang, and are as true as possible ; while Miss Lang 

 took the adventures of a Lion Tamer, and ' A Boar 

 Hunt by Moonlight,' out of French and German 

 books. The story of greedy Squouncer, by Mrs. 

 Lang, is true, every word, and I wrote ' The Life 

 and Death of Pincher,' who belonged to a friend of 

 mine. 1 Squouncer's portrait is from a photograph, 

 and does justice to his noble expression. 



Miss Blackley also did some of the stories. Most 

 of the tales of ' Thieving Dogs and Horses ' were 

 published, about 1819, by Sir Walter Scott, in 

 ' Blackwood's Magazine,' from which they are taken 

 by Mrs. Lang. 



I have tried to make it clear that this is not 

 altogether a scientific book ; but a great deal of it is 

 more to be depended on than ' A Bad Boy's Book of 

 Beasts,' or Miss Sybil Corbet's books, 'Animal 

 Land,' and ' Sybil's Garden of Pleasant Beasts.' 



1 From Longman's Magazine. 



