6 TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE 



established for Dr. Pitre a Folklore Chair in the 

 University of Palermo, his native city. 



These tales, many of which tell of the love of 

 the children of strange lands for the swallow, I 

 have rendered into English and arranged for the 

 children of America, with the hope that the knowl- 

 edge of them may serve to create in our growing 

 generation a tender and cherishing interest, not 

 only in this friendly little bird, but also in every 

 other creature of our feathered kingdom. 



With the exception of the Folk Songs, I have 

 translated this work from the Italian. The songs 

 I have taken from the different languages in which 

 they had their origin, and in the rhyming of them 

 I have endeavored to preserve, so far as possible, 

 the form as well as the meaning of the original 

 verse. For two of the songs, from the Greek, 

 I have used the English version of the charming 

 writer upon Folklore, the Countess Evelyn Mar- 

 tinengo-Cesaresco. For the Roumanian song I 

 have taken the translation by Henry Phillips, Jr. 



For assistance in arranging the material of this 

 book I am deeply indebted to my sister. Miss Flor- 

 ence Mercy Walker, and to Mr. Brayton L. Nichols. 



ADA WALKER CAMEHL. 



