Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, D Alexander, Juliet Sutherland, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE CHILDREN'S LONGFELLOW TOLD IN PROSE BY DORIS HAYMAN _ILLUSTRATED_ GRAHAM & MATLACK NEW YORK. * * * * * CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP 3 HIAWATHA 12 KING ROBERT OF SICILY 26 THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH 37 THE GOLDEN LEGEND 42 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 56 LADY WENTWORTH 67 ELIZABETH 73 THE MONK AND THE ASS 82 EVANGELINE 93 THE FALCON OF SER FEDERIGO 111 * * * * * LONGFELLOW'S POEMS IN PROSE The home of the American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, during the greater part of his life was in the picturesque town of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and there many of his best known poems were written. The forge of the Village Blacksmith really stood there beneath the shelter of a "spreading chestnut tree," in Cambridge, and when, as the town grew larger, the smithy was removed and the tree cut down, all the school children in Cambridge subscribed together to buy the wood of the famous tree and had a chair made from it which they gave to the poet. Longfellow was deeply interested in all Indian lore, and in the poem of Hiawatha he has embodied many of the old legends of the North American Indians. Hiawatha, who was known among the different tribes under various names, was supposed to be a person of miraculous birth, sent among them by the Great Spirit to clear their rivers and forests and to teach them the arts of peace. In the Golden Legend we find quite a different form of story. This is a legend written down by one of the old German Minnesinger and called, "Der arme Heinrich" (Unhappy Henry). The American poet has faithfully followed the outlines of the story, but has added a good deal to it, including the appearance of Lucifer with his train of evil spirits, and his attempts to lead Prince Henry astray. Five of the remaining stories are taken from the "Tales of a Wayside Inn"--a series of poems whose plan was evidently suggested by the Canterbury Tales. DORIS HAYMAN. * * * * * _The Building Of the Ship_