Mary Hayes Davis
Chinese fables and folk stories
"Chinese Fables and Folk Stories" by Mary Hayes Davis and Chow-Leung is a collection of 37 tales published in 1908. Billed as the first book of Chinese fables printed in English, this compilation emerged from an unexpected collaboration between a Chicago journalist and a Chinese reverend. The work captures ancient stories scattered across classical texts, bringing them to Western readers for the first time. Folklore scholars later recognized it as one of the most reliable collections of Chinese folktales published before 1937.