And what of the first-fruits in the collection before us? Its importance consists not only in the fact that Lesbos is new ground to the folk-lore student; but also in the form of the variants of the traditions we already know elsewhere. Among many examples I have noted, let me mention the apologue of The Fox and the Crab, These animals agreed to race in order to decide the ownership of some corn they had gathered. In an instant the fox approached the stone they had fixed on for the winning-post, and turned round, as he reached it, to look for his friend. But the crab had been too cunning for him. As they started he had secretly caught the fox's tail; and when the fox turned round, his tail touched the goal, and he heard a voice behind him saying, "Here I am!" The crab had let go his hold, and, to the fox's astonishment, he was quietly sitting on the stone. This is the fable of the hare and the tortoise told with the incidents of that of the eagle and the wren. It is, in fact, an intermediate form.
Among curious customs mentioned is that of lighting fires by threes on Saint John's Eve, and then jumping thrice over them with a stone on one's head, saying, "I jump the hare's fire, my head a stone!" ((
Greek characters)). Can Mr. Paton, or anyone, explain this? Something appears to turn on the pun.
M. Pineau has added a kw notes of analogues throughout the volume. The whole collection is well worth studying; and we may hope that this happy collaboration may soon result in further volumes, for there must be stuff for many in Lesbos and other islands of the Archipelago.
Gracefully dedicated "To the many unknown little friends I have made by the former books of this series",
