The Old Fairy Tales — James Mason

From the Preface.
THE times of fairies and such like people now are over. Fairies, and giants, and dwarfs have fled to the stars -- at least so they say -- and have carried with them all the invisible coats, and magic swords, and flying ships that were upon earth,' for these things belonged to them alone. They have left us only the remembrance of their being here, and many surprising stories about the things they did whilst living among men.
In this book you will find the best of these fairy tales. They are very old, as you may suppose, and have amused boys and girls, and grown-up people too, for a longer time than you can imagine. Your father and mother read them; your grandfathers and grandmothers did the same, and most of your ancestors probably knew them. by heart. Though they have often been published before, I hope you will think this the best collection that ever was brought out. The artist has drawn pictures for it with the greatest care; and as for me, I have prepared it with as much pains as if it were a history of England or a Chinese dictionary.
You will read all the stories through; I am sure you will. In them you will find a great deal to wonder at. And you are also certain to observe that much that happened in fairy-land is very like what happens every day in the real world. You will see that appearances often were deceitful, that strength and cleverness did not always go together, that perseverance overcame difficulties, and that the true way to get on was to do right. Thus you may learn many useful lessons from these fairy stories, if you only choose to look for them. Look, then, my dear Tom, or Lucy, or whoever you are; for what is the use of reading if we are not to profit by it?