TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
The Contents are placed after the Introduction, as in the original.
Footnotes have been moved to the end of each story. The illustrations(photographs) appeared in unnumbered pages in the printed book, in this versionthey have been placed between stories too; the List ofIllustrations contains the original placement of the plates. Theillustrations in this document are linked to larger versions, which can beobtained by clicking on the images or otherwise following the link.
Changes to the original publication (possible typographic errors orinconsistencies) have been marked with a dottedunderline, and the printed text may appear in a “pop-up box” when hoveringthe cursor on it. There is also a list of changes at the endof the book.
frontispiece
A Group of Laos Girls.
of
Farther India
W. A. Briggs, M. D.
Fleming H. Revell Company
Publishers of Evangelical Literature
by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
Introduction
These Folk-Tales from the Laos country, apart of the kingdom of Siam, in addition totheir intrinsic merit have the charm of completenovelty. Until the translator of this volume collectedthese stories, they were even unwritten,with a single exception which was found in aLaos manuscript. They are orally preserved inthe provinces which constitute the Laos country,just as they have been handed down from generationsof ancestors, with slight variations in wordsor incidents. The elders among the people tellthe stories at their merrymakings around thecamp-fires and within their primitive houses, toamuse and instruct the youth and children.
Living among the Laos in the friendly andintimate relation of a missionary, the translatorhas had the advantage of long residence andunrivalled opportunity for understanding thehistory, customs, religious ideas and aspirationsof this interesting people. Aptness in use oftheir colloquial speech gave her special facilityfor gathering the stories with exactness, as they6 fell from the lips of