the culture and values of the time. The opening of this collection consists of the preface, where Busk outlines his quest to uncover and document the oral traditions and folklore of modern Italy, countering the belief that contemporary Italian culture lacks its own mythology. Through a series of interviews and inquiries, he shares his experiences in gathering these stories, emphasizing the challenges of convincing narrators to share tales that they regarded as mere childish nonsense. He categorizes the collected stories into four main types: fables, ghost stories, fairy tales, and trivial anecdotes, hinting at the depth and variety of the material he presents in the full collection. This introduction sets the stage for the enchanting stories to come, inviting readers into a world where folklore and tradition intertwine. (This is an automatically generated summary.)