SOURCE: An introduction to The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris, compiled by Richard Chase, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1955, pp. xxi-xxvii.

In the following essay, which was originally published as the introduction to Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, Harris expresses interest in the documentary and comparative anthropological significance of his stories.

I am advised by my publishers that this book is to be included in their catalogue of humorous publications, and this friendly warning gives me an opportunity to say that however humorous it may be in effect, its intention is perfectly serious; and, even if it were otherwise, it seems to me that a volume written wholly in dialect must have its solemn, not to say melancholy features. With respect to the Folk-Lore series, my purpose has been to preserve the legends in their original simplicity, and to wed them permanently to the...