As usual in the matter of legendary literature various countries contend for the honor of producing the first fables. The bestowal of the palm rests between the Hindus and the Hebrews, but the decision may never be made. A plausible assumption for the necessity of fables lies in the fact that it was not the part of wisdom openly to administer reproof or advice to the Asiatic potentates, wherefore it was done by the device of speaking through the mouths of the fictitious characters. And, through the ages, this plan has been found to work with intractables of less celebrity. But the question of the origin of these stories is outside our Outline,--we may merely state that before, during and after the Crusades, the flood of stories and tales from the Orient into Europe was continuous. Which accounts for the fact that among the oldest stories of the various countries, duplicates are always found, and the ancient jests of the Far East have raised and will raise appreciative laughter as they are translated into all European tongues, including the Scandinavian. As religion gave rise to laughter, so religion was the medium for disseminating mirth. The preachers of the mediæval ages used many amusing stories in their sermons and the monks often preserved these, with additions of their own, in enduring literature. But literature then was not in the form of circulating libraries, so the tales traveled from mouth to mouth, gaining sometimes in interest and sometimes losing charm or worth. Perhaps about the tenth century translations began to be grouped into collections, in Europe, and among the first was the Greek version of the Fables of Pilpay. Soon after came the _Book of Sindibad_, which would seem to be the original form of the story of Scheherazade. But in most cases the monks were the go-between. Their zeal and indefatigability produced masses of material, primarily designed for the use of preachers, but easily adopted by the laymen. The _Sermones_ of Jacques de Vitry, Crusader and prelate, and the _Liber de Donis_ of Etienne de Bourbon are both remarkable collections that predated and later gave material to the Gesta Romanorum. As an instance of the ubiquity of stories, it may be mentioned here that in both the books above noticed, occurs the old tale of the husband who had two wives, the younger one of whom plucked out all his gray-white hairs, the older one plucked out all his black hairs, leaving the poor chap entirely bald. This story is also in the Talmud, in Chinese Jestbooks and in innumerable others. So with many of the ancient tales. They come down through the Fabliaux, Gesta Romanorum, the Heptameron, the Decameron and on to our own dinner tables, where many of the “latest” are merely rehashed witticisms of the ancient monks and priests. Nor are the stories fastened on to celebrities often authentic. Many of Sydney Smith’s witticisms hark back to the Eastern Tales, most of Joe Miller’s jests have similar paternity.