The Fabulae Faciles, or 'Easy Stories.' are four Greek myths retold in Latin, not by a Roman writer, however, but by an Englishman, who believed that they would afford interesting and pleasant reading for young folks who were just beginning the study of the Latin language. By myth is meant an imaginative tale that has been handed down by tradition from remote antiquity concerning supernatural beings and events. Such tales are common among all primitive peoples, and are by them accepted as true. They owe their origin to no single author, but grow up as the untutored imagination strives to explain to itself the operations of nature and the mysteries of life, or amuses itself with stories of the brave exploits of heroic ancestors.

The most beautiful and delightful of all myths are those that have come down to us in the remains of the literature and the art of ancient Greece and Rome; they are also the most important to us, for many of the great masterpieces of English literature and of modern art have been inspired by them and cannot be understood and appreciated by one ignorant of classical mythology.

Of this mythology the Fabulae Faciles give but a small part. If you wish to know more of the subject, you should read Gayley's The Classic Myths in English Literature, Guerber's Myths of Greece and Rome, or the books by Kingsiey, Cox, Church, and Francillon mentioned earlier.