The Lilac Fairy Book

Fairy tales are the oldest stories in the world. They were first made by adults who were childlike for their own amusement, and so they amuse children still, and also grown-up people who have not forgotten how they once were children. The stories in these books are borrowed from many countries; some are French, some German, some Russian, some Italian, some Scottish, some English, one Chinese. However much these nations differ about trifles, they all agree in liking fairy tales. The reason, no doubt, is that men were much like children in their minds long ago, long, long ago, and so before they took to writing newspapers, and sermons, and novels, and long poems, they told each other stories, such as you read in the fairy books. They believed that witches could turn people into beasts, that beasts could speak, that magic rings could make their owners invisible, and all the other wonders in the stories. Then, as the world became grown-up, the fairy tales which were not written down would have been quite forgotten but that the old grannies remembered them, and told them to the little grandchildren: and when they, in their turn, became grannies, they remembered them, nd told them also. In this way these tales are older than reading and writing, far older than printing. (Unexpurgated edition of Andrew Lang's Complete "Fairy Book" Series, including The Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Pink, Grey, Violet, Crimson, Brown, Orange, Olive, and Lilac Fairy Books. "The Rose Fairy Book" is not included in this anthology, because the stories it contains can be found in the Grey, Brown, Pink, Lilac and Orange Fairy Books.).