The Lad with the Goat-skin

Joseph Jacobs was a scholar and historian, mostly known as a collector and publisher of English Folklore. 
 “The Lad with the Goat-skin” is a tale about a boy, named Tom, who was the son of one poor widow. The woman was so poor that she had no clothes to put on her son; so she used to fix him in the ash-hole, near the fire, and pile the warm ashes about him. When he grew up the mother got a goat-skin, and fastened it around his waist. The tale depicts the adventures of the lad with the goat-skin.
Folklorist Joseph Jacobs is credited with helping many folktales be saved from extinction, and he helped popularize many of the tales we still read today. Enjoy the reading!