"In the high and far-off times..."

With these words Rudyard Kipling begins his well-loved story of how the elephant got its trunk. The enchantment is immediate. The magic carpet waits to bear the reader to the high and far-off mountains of wonder, where animals reveal themselves for what most children know they are - human beings in disguise.

The animals in these stories talk a human language. They are wise and kindly, cruel and foolish, just as we are ourselves. They are easy to know and believe in.

In this collection of animal stories, the compiler has ranged far and well. There are stories from India, from Africa, from Europe and North America. There are modern and ancient myths and legends. The young reader will find old friends here, and some he may never have met before. He will find too the work of such distinguished writers as Joseph Jacobs, Lewis Carroll, Hans Christian Andersen, Selma Lagerlöf, Waldemar Bonsels, and the Brothers Grimm.

But most important of all, he will find delight.