To my dear Children, Maja, Harry, and Herbert,
The Tales that are printed in this little book were nearly all of them written many years ago. Your mamma and your grandmamma learned them when they were little children like yourselves, and I dare say they will be great favourites with boys and girls for many, many years to come. The "Wonderful Story of Henny-Penny," and "The Robin's Yule Song" are tales told by nurses in Scotland; and I have to thank Mr. Robert Chambers for his allowing me to reprint them for you in English. The "Story of the Three Bears" is a very old Nursery Tale, but it never was so well told as by the great poet Southey, whose version I have (with permission) given you, only I have made the intruder a little girl instead of an old woman. This I did because I found that the tale is better known with Silver-Hair, and because there are so many other stories of old women.
