English Fairy Tales

NOTES AND REFERENCES
In the following notes I give first the source whence I ob-
tained the various tales. Then come parallels in some fulness
for the United Kingdom, but only a single example for for-
eign countries, with a bibliographical reference where fur-
ther variants can be found. Finally, a few remarks are some-
times added where the tale seems to need it. In two cases
(Nos. xvi. and xxi.) I have been more full.
I. TOM TIT TOT.
Source.—Unearthed by Mr. E. Clodd from the “Suffolk Notes
and Queries” of the Ipswich Journal, and reprinted by him
in a paper on “The Philosophy of Rumpelstiltskin” in Folk-
Lore Journal, vii. 138-43. I have reduced the Suffolk dialect.
Parallels.—In Yorkshire this occurs as “Habetrot and Scantlie
Mab,” in Henderson’s Folk-Lore of Northern Counties, 221-
6; in Devonshire as “Duffy and the Devil” in Hunt’s Ro-
mances and Drolls of the West of England, 239-47; in Scotland
two variants are given by Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scot-
land, under the title “Whuppity Stourie.” The “name-guess-
ing wager” is also found in “Peerifool”, printed by Mr. An-
drew Lang in Longman’s Magazine, July 1889, also Folk-Lore,
September, 1890. It is clearly the same as Grimm’s
“Rumpelstiltskin” (No. 14); for other Continental parallels
see Mr. Clodd’s article, and Cosquin, Contes pop. de Lorraine,
i. 269 seq.
Remarks.—One of the best folk-tales that have ever been
collected, far superior to any of the continental variants of
this tale with which I am acquainted. Mr. Clodd sees in the
class of name-guessing stories, a “survival” of the supersti-
tion that to know a man’s name gives you power over him,
for which reason savages object to tell their names. It may be
necessary, I find, to explain to the little ones that Tom Tit
can only be referred to as “that,” because his name is not
known till the end.

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Joseph Jacobs