the stories in this collection have been chosen, first, because they are stories children have always loved, and second, because they are free from much of the grewsome or grotesque which figures in so many of the folk tales and fables of the past. although there are elements of surprise and danger in the adventures of the various characters, yet each story ends happily. the little book is intended as a supplementary reader for children in the third or fourth year of school and the vocabulary has been carefully graded to meet that need. some of the stories have dramatic qualities and will be found to lend themselves readily to dramatization.