THE stories contained in this little book are only a small part of a
large collection of Indian folk-tales, made by Mr. Crooke in the course
of the Ethnological Survey of the North-West Provinces and Oudh. Some
were recorded by the collector from the lips of the jungle-folk of
Mirzápur; others by his native assistant, Pandit Rámgharíb Chaubé.
Besides these, a large number were received from all parts of the
Provinces in response to a circular issued by Mr. J. C. Nesfield, the
Director of Public Instruction, to all teachers of village schools.
The present selection is confined to the Beast Stories, which are
particularly interesting as being mostly indigenous and little affected
by so-called Aryan influence. Most of them are new, or have been
published only in the _North Indian Notes and Queries_ (referred to as
_N.I.N.Q._).
In the re-telling, for which Mr. Rouse is responsible, a number of
changes have been made. The text of the book is meant for children, and
consequently the first aim has been to make an interesting story. Those
who study folk-tales for any scientific purpose will find all such
changes marked in the Notes. If the change is considerable, the original
document is summarised. It should be added that these documents are
merely brief Notes in themselves, without literary interest. The Notes
also give the source of each tale, and a few obvious parallels, or
references to the literature of the subject.
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