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Ferrar, William J.

"More English Fairy Tales"

Vinegar." An ascending scale of changes has been studied
by Prof. Crane, _Italian Popular Tales_, p. 373.

LIV. GOBBORN SEER
_Source._--Collected by Mrs. Gomme from an old woman at Deptford. It is
to be remarked that "Gobborn Seer" is Irish (Goban Saor = free
carpenter), and is the Irish equivalent of Wayland Smith, and occurs in
several place names in Ireland.
_Parallels._--The essence of the tale occurs in Kennedy, _l.c._, p. 67,
_seq._ Gobborn Seer's daughter was clearly the clever lass who is found
in all parts of the Indo-European world. An instance in my _Indian Fairy
Tales_, "Why the Fish Laughed" (No. xxiv.). She has been made a special
study by Prof. Child, _English and Scotch Ballads_, i., 485, while an
elaborate monograph by Prof. Benfey under the title "Die Kluge Dirne"
(reprinted in his _Kleine Schriften_, ii., 156, _seq._), formed the
occasion for his first presentation of his now well-known hypothesis of
the derivation of all folk-tales from India.
_Remarks.


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