Prologue A very famous pirate of his day was Capt. Robertson Keitt. Before embarking upon his later career of infamy, he was, in the beginning, very well known as a reputable merchant in the island of Jamaica. Thence entering, first of all, upon the business of the African trade, he presently, by regular degrees, became […]

Once upon a time there came a soldier marching along the road, kicking up a little cloud of dust at each step–as strapping and merry and bright-eyed a fellow as you would wish to see in a summer day. Tramp! tramp! tramp! he marched, whistling as he jogged along, though he carried a heavy musket […]

There was once upon a time a man whom other men called Aben Hassen the Wise. He had read a thousand books of magic, and knew all that the ancients or moderns had to tell of the hidden arts. The King of the Demons of the Earth, a great and hideous monster, named Zadok, was […]

Once upon a time St. Nicholas came down into the world to take a peep at the old place and see how things looked in the spring-time. On he stepped along the road to the town where he used to live, for he had a notion to find out whether things were going on nowadays […]

In the old, old days when men were wiser than they are in these times, there lived a great philosopher and magician, by name Nicholas Flamel. Not only did he know all the actual sciences, but the black arts as well, and magic, and what not. He conjured demons so that when a body passed […]

There was one Beppo the Wise and another Beppo the Foolish The wise one was the father of the foolish one. Beppo the Wise was called Beppo the Wise because he had laid up a great treasure after a long life of hard work. Beppo the Foolish was called Beppo the Foolish because he spent […]

Give a fool heaven and earth, and all the stars, and he will make ducks and drakes of them. Once upon a time there was an old man, who, by thrifty living and long saving, had laid by a fortune great enough to buy ease and comfort and pleasure for a lifetime. By-and-by he died, […]

There were three students who were learning all that they could. The first was named Joseph, the second was named John, and the third was named Jacob Stuck. They studied seven long years under a wise master, and in that time they learned all that their master had to teach them of the wonderful things […]

When man’s strength fails, woman’s wit prevails In the days when the great and wise King Solomon lived and ruled, evil spirits and demons were as plentiful in the world as wasps in summer. So King Solomon, who was so wise and knew so many potent spells that he had power over evil such as […]

Once upon a time there was a servant who served a wise man, and cooked for him his cabbage and his onions and his pot-herbs and his broth, day after day, time in and time out, for seven years. In those years the servant was well enough contented, but no one likes to abide in […]

Once upon a time, in a country in the far East, a merchant was travelling towards the city with three horses loaded with rich goods, and a purse containing a hundred pieces of gold money. The day was very hot, and the road dusty and dry, so that, by-and-by, when he reached a spot where […]

Once upon a time there was a wise man of wise men, and a great magician to boot, and his name was Doctor Simon Agricola. Once upon a time there was a simpleton of simpletons, and a great booby to boot, and his name was Babo. Simon Agricola had read all the books written by […]

Once upon a time there was a king who did the best he could to rule wisely and well, and to deal justly by those under him whom he had to take care of; and as he could not trust hearsay, he used every now and then to slip away out of his palace and […]

Many and many a man has come to trouble–so he will say–by following his wife’s advice. This is how it was with a man of whom I shall tell you. There was once upon a time a fisherman who had fished all day long and had caught not so much as a sprat. So at […]

Once upon a time, in the old, old days, there lived a king who had a head upon his shoulders wiser than other folk, and this was why: though he was richer and wiser and greater than most kings, and had all that he wanted and more into the bargain, he was so afraid of […]

Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons, and by the time that the youngest prince had down upon his chin the king had grown so old that the cares of the kingdom began to rest over-heavily upon his shoulders. So he called his chief councillor and told him that he […]

p>But it is not always the lucky one that carries away the plums; sometimes he only shakes the tree, and the wise man pockets the fruit. Once upon a long, long time ago, and in a country far, far away, there lived two men in the same town and both were named Selim; one was […]