distinction was Hilaire Belloc, who, in his
Introduction, records the impact made upon him
when he first made the acquaintance of these
masterpieces of narrative.  Kai Lung is an
itinerant story-teller in ancient China.  "I
spread my mat," he says, "wherever my uplifted
voice can entice together a company to listen,"
and his powers of enchantment are abundantly
revealed in this volume.  He incurs the enmity of
a sinister figure called Ming-shu, who is the
confidential agent of the Mandarin, Shan Tien,
and has to defend himself in the Mandarin's
court against a series of treasonable charges.
Kai Lung's defence takes the original form of
inducing the Mandarin to listen to a recital of
the traditional tales of China, and so well does
he beguile the capricious tyrant that he secures
one adjournment after the other and, finally,
his freedom--as well as the love of the maiden
Hwa-Mei.