Page:A Study of Fairy Tales.djvu/194

170 is the Straparola Peter the Fool, the Russian Emelyan the Fool, the Esthonian tale by Laboulaye, The Fairy Craw-Fish, and the Grimm The Fisherman and his Wife. The theme of a peasant being rewarded by the fish he had thrown back into the water takes on a delightful varied form in the tale of different countries. The magic words of Emelyan, "Up and away! At the pike's command, and at my request, go home, sledge!" in each variant take an interesting new form.

Literary transmission. The travels of a tale through oral tradition are to be attempted with great difficulty and by only the most careful scholarship. One may follow the transmission of tales through literary collections with somewhat greater ease and exactness. Popular tales have a literature of their own. The following list seeks to mention the most noteworthy collections:—

No date. Vedas. Sanskrit.

No date. Zend Avesta. Persian.

Fifth century, B.C. Jatakas. Probably the oldest literature. It was written at Ceylon and has been translated into 38 languages, in 112 editions. Recently the Cambridge edition has been translated from the Pali, edited by E. B. Cowell, published by Putnam, New York, 1895–1907.

4000 B.C. Tales of Ancient Egypt. These were the tales of magicians, recorded on papyrus.

600 B.C. (about). Homeric Legends.

200 B.C. (about). Book of Esther.