SECTION XIII PLAGUE-LEGENDS 271 SECTION XIV BEAST-STORIES WOLF-STORIES 274 THE MAN WITH THE BAST SHOES 278 WHY THE DOG AND CAT AND THE CAT AND MOUSE ARE ENEMIES 282 THE ORIGIN OF THE SWALLOW 283 THE SPIDER AND THE HORNET 284 THE OFFICIOUS FLIES 285 _PART III_ ESTHONIAN BALLADS, &c. THE HERALD OF WAR 285 THE BLUE BIRD (I.) 292 THE BLUE BIRD (II.) 296 CHARM AGAINST SNAKE-BITE 298 BIBLIOGRAPHY 299 INDEX AND GLOSSARY 305 [Illustration] (Click image to enlarge) [Pg ix] PREFACE When I took up the study of the _Kalevala_ and Finnish literature, with the intention of publishing a critical English edition of the poem, on which I am still engaged, the accumulation of the necessary materials led me to examine the literature of the neighbouring countries likewise. I had expected to find the _Kalevipoeg_ an Esthonian variant of the _Kalevala_ ; but I found it so dissimilar, and at the same time so interesting, when divested of the tedious and irrelevant matter that has been added to the main story, that I finally decided to publish a full account of it in prose, especially as nothing of the kind has yet been attempted in English, beyond a few casual magazine articles. The Esthonian folk-tales are likewise of much interest, and in many cases of an extremely original character; and these also have never appeared in an English dress. I have, therefore, selected a [Pg x] sufficiently representative series, and have added a few ballads and short poems. This last section of the work, however, amounts to little more than an appendix to the _Kalevipoeg_, though it is placed at the end of the book. Esthonian ballad literature is of enormous extent, and only partially investigated and published at present, even in the original; and it would therefore be premature to try to treat of it in detail here, nor had I time or space to attempt it. I had, however, intended to have included a number of poems from Neus' _Ehstnische Volkslieder_ in the present volumes, but found that it was unnecessary, as Latham has already given an English version of most of the best in his "Nationalities of Europe."