They think that
a tale probably originated where it was found. They therefore attribute
more importance than I to the exact form in which it is found and
restrict it to the locality of birth. I consider the probability to lie
in an origin elsewhere: I think it more likely than not that any tale
found in a place was rather brought there than born there. I have
discussed this matter elsewhere[1] with all the solemnity its
importance deserves, and cannot attempt further to defend my position
here. But even the reader innocent of folk-lore can see that, holding
these views, I do not attribute much anthropological value to tales
whose origin is probably foreign, and am certainly not likely to make a
hard-and-fast division between tales of the North Countrie and those
told across the Border.
As to how English folk-tales should be told authorities also differ. I
am inclined to follow the tradition of my old nurse, who was not bred at
Girton and who scorned at times the rules of Lindley Murray and the
diction of smart society.
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