TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE 



Because of her sociable habits and her friendly 

 disposition, the swallow from earliest times has 

 been observed and beloved by all the peoples of 

 the world. Her springtime comings and her au- 

 tumn goings, they have celebrated in proverb and 

 in song; her physical features, they have made 

 the subject of legend and of fable ; and for each 

 of her peculiar habits, they have found an expla- 

 nation in their own lively fancies and imaginations. 



The Folk Literature of nearly every country in 

 the world — from • icy Lapland in the north to 

 torrid Africa in the south, from eastern Siberia 

 to the prairie lands of our own West — contributes 

 a share, sometimes large, sometimes small, to these 

 swallow traditions. They are replete with the art- 

 lessness, with the spiritual faith of the various peo- 

 ples — and at times they are fraught with wisdom. 



This swallow literature has been gathered by 

 the eminent Folklore scholar. Dr. Giuseppe Pitre. 

 As reward of his many years of painstaking and 

 loving research in this field (resulting in twenty- 

 five published volumes), the Italian Government 



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