Book excerpt: This volume contains 24 tales collected in and around Wales by P. H. Emerson whilst living in Anglesea during the winter 1891-2. With the exception of the French story, they were written as they were told to the collector. In most cases he amended them as little as possible, preferring to record the stories as told, staying true to the original, so that the written story would enchant readers as though it were being presented by the storyteller. Herein you will find stories like the Legend Of Gelert, The Fairies Of Caragonan, The Craig-Y-Don Blacksmith, Old Gwilym, The Baby-Farmer, The Old Man And The Fairies and many more. Like most pre-1900 societies, storytelling, mythology and history was an oral tradition and passed on in the same way by specialists such as storytellers or druids. Why do we call such a collection Fairy Tales? Well, when last did you hear a child say ‘One more folk tale please’ or 'Another nursery tale, please, grandma'? Fairy tales are stories in which occurs something 'fairy', something extraordinary--fairies, giants, dwarfs, speaking animals, or the remarkable stupidity of some of the characters. Stories of fairy interaction with humans – where the kind and thoughtful are blessed and the thoughtless and spiteful are punished. So take some time out and travel back to a period before television and radio, a time when families would gather around a crackling and spitting hearth and granddad or grandma or uncle or auntie would delight and captivate the gathering with stories passed on to them from their parents and grandparents from time immemorial. YESTERDAY'S BOOKS FOR TODAY'S CHARITIES 10% of the publisher’s profit from the sale of this book will be donated to the Princes Trust. ================== KEYWORDS/TAGS: Welsh, Folklore, fairy tales, fairytales, myths, legends, fairies, caragonan, craig-y-don, blacksmith,old gwilym, baby farmer, old man, tommy pritchard, kaddy's luck, story, gelert, origin of the welsh, crows, Roberts, dell, ellen, mint, pellings, long-lived, giantess, apron, full, fable, pig-trough, irish, billy, duffy, devil, john o' groats, scotch, eva, jersey, fishermen, shetland, pastor, nurse, charity, princess, princes trust, other stories,