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196 pages

English

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The Fairy Books, or "Coloured" Fairy Books is a collection of fairy tales divided into twelve books, each associated with a different colour. Collected together by Andrew Land they are sourced from a number of different countries and were translated by Lang's wife and other translators who also retold many of the tales. The collection has been incalculably important and, although he did not source the stories himself direct from the oral tradition he can make claim to the first English translation of many. First published in 1900, The Grey Fairy Bookis the 6th volume in this series.

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 mai 2009
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781775410102
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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THE GREY FAIRY BOOK
* * *
Edited by
ANDREW LANG

*

The Grey Fairy Book First published in 1900.
ISBN 978-1-775410-10-2
© 2009 THE FLOATING PRESS.
While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike.
Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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Preface Donkey Skin The Goblin Pony An Impossible Enchantment The Story Of Dschemil and Dschemila Janni and the Draken The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar. Fortunatus and His Purse The Goat-faced Girl What Came of Picking Flowers The Story of Bensurdatu The Magician's Horse The Little Gray Man Herr Lazarus and the Draken The Story of the Queen of the Flowery Isles Udea and Her Seven Brothers The White Wolf Mohammed with the Magic Finger Bobino The Dog and the Sparrow The Story of the Three Sons of Hali The Story of the Fair Circassians The Jackal and the Spring The Bear The Sunchild The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch Laughing Eye and Weeping Eye, or the Limping Fox The Unlooked-for Prince The Simpleton The Street Musicians The Twin Brothers Cannetella The Ogre A Fairy's Blunder Long, Broad, and Quickeye Prunella Endnotes
Preface
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The tales in the Grey Fairy Book are derived from many countries--Lithuania, various parts of Africa, Germany, France, Greece, andother regions of the world. They have been translated and adaptedby Mrs. Dent, Mrs. Lang, Miss Eleanor Sellar, Miss Blackley, andMiss hang. 'The Three Sons of Hali' is from the last century'Cabinet des Fees,' a very large collection. The French authormay have had some Oriental original before him in parts; at allevents he copied the Eastern method of putting tale within tale,like the Eastern balls of carved ivory. The stories, as usual,illustrate the method of popular fiction. A certain number ofincidents are shaken into many varying combinations, like thefragments of coloured glass in the kaleidoscope. Probably thepossible combinations, like possible musical combinations, arenot unlimited in number, but children may be less sensitive inthe matter of fairies than Mr. John Stuart Mill was as regardsmusic.
Donkey Skin
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There was once upon a time a king who was so much beloved by hissubjects that he thought himself the happiest monarch in thewhole world, and he had everything his heart could desire. Hispalace was filled with the rarest of curiosities, and his gardenswith the sweetest flowers, while in the marble stalls of hisstables stood a row of milk-white Arabs, with big brown eyes.
Strangers who had heard of the marvels which the king hadcollected, and made long journeys to see them, were, however,surprised to find the most splendid stall of all occupied by adonkey, with particularly large and drooping ears. It was a veryfine donkey; but still, as far as they could tell, nothing sovery remarkable as to account for the care with which it waslodged; and they went away wondering, for they could not knowthat every night, when it was asleep, bushels of gold piecestumbled out of its ears, which were picked up each morning by theattendants.
After many years of prosperity a sudden blow fell upon the kingin the death of his wife, whom he loved dearly. But before shedied, the queen, who had always thought first of his happiness,gathered all her strength, and said to him:
'Promise me one thing: you must marry again, I know, for the goodof your people, as well as of yourself. But do not set about itin a hurry. Wait until you have found a woman more beautiful andbetter formed than myself.'
'Oh, do not speak to me of marrying,' sobbed the king; 'ratherlet me die with you!' But the queen only smiled faintly, andturned over on her pillow and died.
For some months the king's grief was great; then gradually hebegan to forget a little, and, besides, his counsellors werealways urging him to seek another wife. At first he refused tolisten to them, but by-and-by he allowed himself to be persuadedto think of it, only stipulating that the bride should be morebeautiful and attractive than the late queen, according to thepromise he had made her.
Overjoyed at having obtained what they wanted, the counsellorssent envoys far and wide to get portraits of all the most famousbeauties of every country. The artists were very busy and didtheir best, but, alas! nobody could even pretend that any of theladies could compare for a moment with the late queen.
At length, one day, when he had turned away discouraged from afresh collection of pictures, the king's eyes fell on his adopteddaughter, who had lived in the palace since she was a baby, andhe saw that, if a woman existed on the whole earth more lovelythan the queen, this was she! He at once made known what hiswishes were, but the young girl, who was not at all ambitious,and had not the faintest desire to marry him, was filled withdismay, and begged for time to think about it. That night, wheneveryone was asleep, she started in a little car drawn by a bigsheep, and went to consult her fairy godmother.
'I know what you have come to tell me,' said the fairy, when themaiden stepped out of the car; 'and if you don't wish to marryhim, I will show you how to avoid it. Ask him to give you a dressthat exactly matches the sky. It will be impossible for him toget one, so you will be quite safe.' The girl thanked the fairyand returned home again.
The next morning, when her father (as she had always called him)came to see her, she told him that she could give him no answeruntil he had presented her with a dress the colour of the sky.The king, overjoyed at this answer, sent for all the choicestweavers and dressmakers in the kingdom, and commanded them tomake a robe the colour of the sky without an instant's delay, orhe would cut off their heads at once. Dreadfully frightened atthis threat, they all began to dye and cut and sew, and in twodays they brought back the dress, which looked as if it had beencut straight out of the heavens! The poor girl was thunderstruck,and did not know what to do; so in the night she harnessed hersheep again, and went in search of her godmother.
'The king is cleverer than I thought,' said the fairy; 'but tellhim you must have a dress of moonbeams.'
And the next day, when the king summoned her into his presence,the girl told him what she wanted.
'Madam, I can refuse you nothing,' said he; and he ordered thedress to be ready in twenty-four hours, or every man should behanged.
They set to work with all their might, and by dawn next day, thedress of moonbeams was laid across her bed. The girl, though shecould not help admiring its beauty, began to cry, till the fairy,who heard her, came to her help.
'Well, I could not have believed it of him!' said she; 'but askfor a dress of sunshine, and I shall be surprised indeed if hemanages that! '
The goddaughter did not feel much faith in the fairy after hertwo previous failures; but not knowing what else to do, she toldher father what she was bid.
The king made no difficulties about it, and even gave his finestrubies and diamonds to ornament the dress, which was so dazzling,when finished, that it could not be looked at save through smokedglasses!
When the princess saw it, she pretended that the sight hurt hereyes, and retired to her room, where she found the fairy awaitingher, very much ashamed of herself.
'There is only one thing to be done now,' cried she; 'you mustdemand the skin of the ass he sets such store by. It is from thatdonkey he obtains all his vast riches, and I am sure he willnever give it to you.'
The princess was not so certain; however, she went to the king,and told him she could never marry him till he had given her theass's skin.
The king was both astonished and grieved at this new request, butdid not hesitate an instant. The ass was sacrificed, and the skinlaid at the feet of the princess.
The poor girl, seeing no escape from the fate she dreaded, weptafresh, and tore her hair; when, suddenly, the fairy stood beforeher.
'Take heart,' she said, ' all will now go well! Wrap yourself inthis skin, and leave the palace and go as far as you can. I willlook after you. Your dresses and your jewels shall follow youunderground, and if you strike the earth whenever you needanything, you will have it at once. But go quickly: you have notime to lose.'
So the princess clothed herself in the ass's skin, and slippedfrom the palace without being seen by anyone.
Directly she was missed there was a great hue and cry, and everycorner, possible and impossible, was searched. Then the king sentout parties along all the roads, but the fairy threw herinvisible mantle over the girl when they approached, and none ofthem could see her.
The princess walked on a long, long way, trying to find some onewho would take her in, and let her work for them; but though thecottagers, whose houses she passed, gave her food from charity,the ass's skin was so dirty they would not allow her to entertheir houses. For her flight had been so hurried she had had notime to clean it.
Tired and disheartened at her ill-fortune, she was wandering, oneday, past the gate of a farmyard, situated just outside the wallsof a large town, when she heard a voice calling to her. Sheturned and saw the farmer's wife standing among her turkeys, andmaking signs to her to come in.
'I want a girl to wash the dishes and feed the turkeys, and cleanout the pig-sty,' said the w omen, 'and, to judge by your dirtyclothes, you would not be too fine for the work.'
The girl accepted her offer with joy, and she was at once set towork in a corner of the kitchen, where all the farm servants cameand made fun of her, and