The Marriage of Robin Redbreast and The Wren

Saltire Chapbook No. 4

Burns, Robert, 1759-1796

Edinburgh: Saltire Society

1951

8 pages

13 cm

Price 1/- printed on title-page.

"The text is set in 12 pt. Scotch Roman" printed on last page.

Quoted from page 8: "The above little story is taken down from the recitation of Mrs. Begg, the sister of Robert Burns. The poet was in the habit of telling it to the younger members of his father's household, and Mrs. Begg's impression is, that he made it for their amusement. — From Robert Chambers's POPULAR RHYMES of SCOTLAND."

A short folktale taken from Robert Chambers’s Popular Rhymes of Scotland, purportedly based on a recitation of Mrs. Begg, Robert Burns’ sister, and attributed to Burns himself (8). The story tells the tale of a robin who cheerfully bypasses several characters who would have enjoyed him for supper on his way to sing the king a Yule-tide morning song. The king and queen are so pleased with the robin’s song that they decide to reward him with the wren for his bride, and the entire court dances and sings at their wedding celebration.

Courtship and Marriage

Chapbooks - Scotland - Edinburgh

Fairy Tales & Folklore

Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario

JPEGs and PDF derived from master file, which was scanned from the original book in 24-bit color at 600 dpi in TIFF format using an Epson Expression 10000XL scanner.

In the public domain; For higher quality reproductions, contact Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph. libaspc@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120, Ext. 53413

Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario, Canada