Page:English Fairy Tales.djvu/295

  Stories, p. 30. Abroad it is Grimm's Hans im Glück (No, 83). The "cure by laughing" incident is "common form" in folk-tales (cf. Köhler on Gonzenbach, Sicil. Marchen, ii., 210, 224; Jones and Kropf, Magyar Tales, 312).

XXVIII. JOHNNY-CAKE

Source.—American Journal of Folk-Lore, ii., 60 (cf. No. for July, 1891).

Parallels.—Another variant is given in the same Journal, p. 277, where reference is also made to a version, "The Gingerbread Boy," in St. Nicholas, May, 1875. Chambers gives two versions of the same story, under the title "The Wee Bunnock," the first of which is one of the most dramatic and humorous of folk-tales. Unfortunately, the Scotticisms are so frequent as to render the Droll practically untranslatable. I have, however, made an attempt in More English Fairy Tales, Ivii. Also in Ireland as "The Wonderful Cake" (Kennedy, Fireside Stories, p. 19). "The Fate of Mr. Jack Sparrow" in Uncle Remus is similar to that of Johnny-Cake.

XXIX. EARL MAR'S DAUGHTER

Source.—From the ballad of the same name as given in Mr. Allingham's Ballad Book; it is clearly a fairy tale and not a ballad proper. The name Florentine is sufficient to prove that the tale does not belong to the Celtic area.

Parallels.—The lover visiting his spouse in guise of a bird is a frequent motif in folk-tales. The oldest known post-classic form occurs in Ireland in a prologue to the saga entitled "Togail Brudne da Derga," "The Destruction of da Derga's Fort," which must be as old as the early eleventh century, and is probably centuries older (cf. Mr. Nutt, Folklore, ii., 87).

XXX. MR. MIACCA

Source.—From memory of Mrs. B. Abrahams, who heard it from her mother some x years ago (x>40). I have transposed