NOTE TO THE READER 



Since the publication of my larger book, " The Horse 

 Fair," many letters have been received from teachers 

 and their scholars telling of the pleasure derived from 

 the reading of it, and incidentally suggesting that much 

 of its contents is directly in line with the courses of 

 literary instruction pursued in our elementary schools. 

 This suggestion has led me to collect certain of the 

 stories into a smaller volume especially adapted for use 

 as a school reading-book. 



The eighteen stories in this volume have been chosen 

 with a thought to their educative value as well as for 

 the intrinsic charm of the original narratives, which 

 in various forms have delighted many generations of 

 readers. All have a literary interest connecting them 

 with subjects with which every educated person is sup- 

 posed to be familiar. In the first four, you will be in- 

 troduced to the sun myths and season myths of the 

 Greeks and of our Norse ancestors. Following these, 

 the tale of song-inspiring Pegasus is presented in con- 

 trast with that of Griflfen, the base imitation invented 



