These Folk-Tales from the Laos country, a part of the kingdom of Siam,
in addition to their intrinsic merit have the charm of complete novelty.
Until the translator of this volume collected these stories, they were
even unwritten, with a single exception which was found in a Laos
manuscript. They are orally preserved in the provinces which constitute
the Laos country, just as they have been handed down from generations of
ancestors, with slight variations in words or incidents. The elders
among the people tell the stories at their merrymakings around the
camp-fires and within their primitive houses, to amuse and instruct the
youth and children.
Living among the Laos in the friendly and intimate relation of a
missionary, the translator has had the advantage of long residence and
unrivalled opportunity for understanding the history, customs, religious
ideas and aspirations of this interesting people. Aptness in use of
their colloquial speech gave her special facility for gathering the
stories with exactness, as they fell from the lips of the narrators in
her hearing; and for the delicate additional task of translating them
into English. The scholar, who is a student of the world's Folk-Lore,
may be assured that he has here, the Laos tales unobscured, just as they
are told to-day.
Reflecting, as they do, thoughts, desires and hopes common to our
humanity, these stories at the same time exhibit, in a pathetic way, the
need in Laos of the uplifting and transforming power of the Christian
religion.
Willis G. Craig.
McCormick Theological Seminary,
Chicago.