Danish fairy tales

PREFACE

The tales and popular stories collected in this volume are "Danish" only to the extent that they were collected from the people of Denmark, and colored by the thinking and actions of the people of that country. Indeed, it would be difficult to apply the name of any nationality to any of the many popular stories collected by the bosses: ardent and diligent collectors from various European countries. It can be truthfully said that very few of all these tales originated in the homeland of those into whose spiritual life they entered. The basis of all truly European fairy tales and folk tales is of Indo-European origin. The stories spread from one country to another and from one person to another, without losing their original typical character; they spread among the population through living words - words that sound and hear - that breathe into the listening ear the joy and sorrow of the hero; the sadness of believers against whom a foul play has begun; and the multitude of minor but collectively important details and incidents that inevitably elicit tears or smiles. Whether they are told in the broken Jutland dialect, the Edinburgh singing tone, or the Zeelander's rampant provincialism, these tales are built on the same foundation and adapt through evoked empathy or resentment to the receptive abilities of the person that the narrator is always familiar with. ... Thus, the form in which we receive a story from some old woman or a wet-nurse depends to a certain extent on the methods and habits of the population who preserved this story. At the same time, the storyteller's ingenuity and memory are important factors in creating a dramatic or morale that is appreciated by the listener. Hence, the same story can be found in Denmark, Germany, Serbia, or England, consisting of the same facts and based on one general "conspiracy", except for some details; but the way in which the story is told, the nuance of nationality or individuality are all as different as the greatest charm the story creates...

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