is an Italian translation, _I tre Orsi_, Turin, 1868, and it
would be curious to see if the tale ever acclimatises itself in Italy.

_Remarks_.--"The Three Bears" is the only example I know of where
a tale that can be definitely traced to a specific author has become a
folk-tale. Not alone is this so, but the folk has developed the tale
in a curious and instructive way, by substituting a pretty little girl
with golden locks for the naughty old woman. In Southey's version
there is nothing of Little Silverhair as the heroine: she seems to
have been introduced in a metrical version by G. N., much be-praised
by Southey. Silverhair seems to have become a favourite, and in Mrs.
Valentine's version of "The Three Bears," in "The Old, Old Fairy
Tales," the visit to the bear-house is only the preliminary to a long
succession of adventures of the pretty little girl, of which there is
no trace in the original (and this in "The Old, Old Fairy Tales." Oh!
Mrs. Valentine!). I have, though somewhat reluctantly, cast back to
the original form. After all, as Prof. Dowden remarks, Southey's
memory is kept alive more by "The Three Bears" than anything else, and
the text of such a nursery classic should be retained in all its
purity.



XIX. JACK THE GIANT-KILLER.

_Source_.--From two chap-books at the British Museum (London,
1805, Paisley, 1814). I have taken some hints from "Felix Summerly's"
(Sir Henry Cole's) version, 1845. From the latter part, I have removed
the incident of the Giant dragging the lady along by her hair.