English Fairy Tales

English Fairy Tales

NOTES AND REFERENCES

In the following notes I give first the source whence I ob-
tained the various tales. Then come parallels in some fulness
for the United Kingdom, but only a single example for for-
eign countries, with a bibliographical reference where fur-
ther variants can be found. Finally, a few remarks are some-
times added where the tale seems to need it. In two cases
(Nos. xvi. and xxi.) I have been more full.

I. TOM TIT TOT.

Source.—Unearthed by Mr. E. Clodd from the “Suffolk Notes
and Queries” of the Ipswich Journal, and reprinted by him
in a paper on “The Philosophy of Rumpelstiltskin” in Folk-
Lore Journal, vii. 138-43. I have reduced the Suffolk dialect.

Parallels.—In Yorkshire this occurs as “Habetrot and Scantlie
Mab,” in Henderson’s Folk-Lore of Northern Counties, 221-

6; in Devonshire as “Duffy and the Devil” in Hunt’s Ro-

mances and Drolls of the West of England, 239-47; in Scotland

two variants are given by Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scot-

land, under the title “Whuppity Stourie.” The “name-guess-

ing wager” is also found in “Peerifool”, printed by Mr. An-

drew Lang in Longman’s Magazine, July 1889, also Folk-Lore,

September, 1890. It is clearly the same as Grimm’s

“Rumpelstiltskin” (No. 14); for other Continental parallels

see Mr. Clodd’s article, and Cosquin, Contes pop. de Lorraine,

i. 269 seq.

Remarks.—One of the best folk-tales that have ever been

collected, far superior to any of the continental variants of

this tale with which I am acquainted. Mr. Clodd sees in the

class of name-guessing stories, a “survival” of the supersti-

tion that to know a man’s name gives you power over him,

for which reason savages object to tell their names. It may be

necessary, I find, to explain to the little ones that Tom Tit

can only be referred to as “that,” because his name is not

known till the end.