First published in 1868, this is a collection of Indian fairy stories as told to Mary Frere by Anna de Souza, Frere's nursemaid. In mid-19th century India, government officials, their family members and missionaries often recorded and published native folklore. The author's father, Sir Bartle Frere, then Governor of Bombay, wrote an introduction in the original publication, based on his personal interest in Indian fairy tales and culture. This edition contains an introduction by Kirin Narayan, with discussion of oral transmission of folktales, the British Colonial period in England and the Frere-Souza relationship. It also contains original translations of 24 tales as told to Mary Frere, and "a narrator's narrative", Frere's biographical notes on Souza, giving a rare insight into the life and perspective of the storyteller.