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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13666-0.txt b/13666-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..81ad487 --- /dev/null +++ b/13666-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11718 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13666 *** + +A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES + +by + +LAURA F. KREADY, B.S. + +With an Introduction by Henry Suzzallo, Ph.D. +President of the University of Washington, Seattle + + + + + + + +TO THE CHILDREN WHO, BECAUSE OF IT, MAY RECEIVE ANY GOOD. + + + + +PREFACE + + +One of the problems of present-day education is to secure for the +entire school system, from the kindergarten to the university, a +curriculum which shall have a proved and permanent value. In this +curriculum literature has established itself as a subject of +unquestioned worth. But children's literature, as that distinct +portion of the subject literature written especially for children or +especially suited to them, is only beginning to take shape and form. +It seems necessary at this time to work upon the content of children's +literature to see what is worthy of a permanent place in the child's +English, and to dwell upon its possibilities. A consideration of this +subject has convinced me of three points: + + (1) that literature in the kindergarten and elementary + school should be taught as a distinct subject, accessory + neither to reading nor to any other subject of the + curriculum, though intimately related to them; + + (2) that it takes training in the subject to teach + literature to little children; + + (3) that the field of children's literature is largely + untilled, inviting laborers, embracing literature which + should be selected from past ages down to the present. + +A single _motif_ of this children's literature, _Fairy Tales_, is here +presented, with the aim of organizing this small portion of the +curriculum for the child of five, six, or seven years, in the +kindergarten and the first grade. The purpose has been to show this +unit of literature in its varied connection with those subjects which +bear an essential relation to it. This presentation incidentally may +serve as an example of one method of giving to teachers a course in +literature by showing what training may be given in a single _motif, +Fairy Tales_. Incidentally also it may set forth a few theories of +education, not isolated from practice, but united to the everyday +problems where the teacher will recognize them with greatest +impression. In the selection of the subject no undue prominence is +hereby advocated for fairy tales. We know fairy tales about which we +could agree with Maria Edgeworth when she said: "Even if children do +prefer fairy tales, is this a reason why their minds should be filled +with fantastic visions instead of useful knowledge?" However, there is +no danger that fairy tales will occupy more than a fair share of the +child's interest, much as he enjoys a tale; for the little child's +main interest is centered in the actual things of everyday life and +his direct contact with them. Yet there is a part of him untouched by +these practical activities of his real and immediate life; and it is +this which gives to literature its unique function, to minister to the +spirit. Fairy tales, in contributing in their small way to this high +service, while they occupy a position of no undue prominence, +nevertheless hold a place of no mean value in education. + +In the study of fairy tales, as of any portion of the curriculum or as +in any presentation of subject-matter, three main elements must unite +to form one combined whole: the child, the subject, and the teaching +of the subject. In behalf of the child I want to show how fairy tales +contain his interests and how they are means for the expression of his +instincts and for his development in purpose, in initiative, in +judgment, in organization of ideas, and in the creative return +possible to him. In behalf of the subject I want to show what fairy +tales must possess as classics, as literature and composition, and as +short-stories; to trace their history, to classify the types, and to +supply the sources of material. In behalf of the teaching of fairy +tales I want to describe the telling of the tale: the preparation it +involves, the art required in its presentation, and the creative +return to be expected from the child. + +In the consideration of the subject the main purpose has been to +relate fairy tales to the large subjects, literature and composition. +From the past those tales have come down to us which inherently +possessed the qualities of true classics. In modern times so few +children's tales have survived because they have been written mainly +from the point of view of the subject and of the child without regard +to the standards of literary criticism. In the school the teaching of +literature in the kindergarten and elementary grades has been +conducted largely also from the point of view of the child and of the +subject without regard to the arts of literature and composition. In +bookshops counters are filled with many books that lack literary value +or artistic merit. The object in this book has been to preserve the +point of view of the child and of the subject and yet at the same time +relate the tale to the standards of literature and of composition. The +object has been to get the teacher, every time she selects or tells a +tale, to apply practically the great underlying principles of +literature, of composition, and of the short-story, as well as those +of child-psychology and of pedagogy. + +This relating of the tale to literary standards will give to the +teacher a greater respect for the material she is handling and a +consequent further understanding of its possibilities. It will reveal +what there is in the tale to teach and also how to teach it. In +teaching literature as also other art subject-matter in the +kindergarten and first grade, the problem is to hold fast to the +principles of the art and yet select, or let the child choose, +material adapted to his simplicity. As the little child uses analysis +but slightly, his best method of possessing a piece of literature is +to do something with it. + +The fairy tale is also related to life standards, for it presents to +the child a criticism of life. By bringing forward in high light the +character of the fairy, the fairy tale furnishes a unique contribution +to life. Through its repeated impression of the idea of fairyhood it +may implant in the child a desire which may fructify into that pure, +generous, disinterested kindness and love of the grown-up, which aims +to play fairy to another, with sincere altruism to make appear before +his eyes his heart's desire, or in a twinkling to cause what hitherto +seemed impossible. Fairy tales thus are harbingers of that helpfulness +which would make a new earth, and as such afford a contribution to the +religion of life. + +In stressing the history of fairy tales the purpose has been to +present fairy tales as an evolution. The kindergarten and first-grade +teacher must therefore look to find her material anywhere in the whole +field and intimately related with the whole. Special attention has +been placed upon the English fairy tale as the tale of our language. +As we claim an American literature since the days of Washington +Irving, the gradual growth of the American fairy tale has been +included, for which we gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of the +Librarian of the United States Bureau of Education and the +Bibliographer of the Library of Congress. A particular treatment of +some North American Indian folk-tales would also be desirable. But a +study of these tales reveals but one unimportant _pourquois_ tale, of +sufficient simplicity. This study of the natural history of the fairy +tale as an art form is not necessary for the child. But for the +teacher it reveals the nature of fairy tales and their meaning. It is +an aid to that scholarly command of subject-matter which is the first +essential for expertness in teaching. Only when we view the American +fairy tale of to-day in the light of its past history can we obtain a +correct standard by which to judge of its excellence or of its worth. + +In the classification of fairy tales the purpose has been to organize +the entire field so that any tale may be studied through the type +which emphasizes its distinguishing features. The source material +endeavors to furnish a comprehensive treatment of fairy tales for the +kindergarten and elementary school. + +In the preparation of this book the author takes pleasure in +expressing an appreciation of the criticism and helpful suggestions +given by the Editor, Dr. Henry Suzzallo, under whose counsel, +cooperation, and incentive the work grew. The author wishes also to +make a general acknowledgment for the use of many books which of +necessity would be consulted in organizing and standardizing any unit +of literature. Special acknowledgment should be made for the use of +_Grimm's Household Tales_, edited by Margaret Hunt, containing +valuable notes and an introduction by Andrew Lang of _English Fairy +Tales_, _More English Fairy Tales_, _Indian Fairy Tales_, and _Reynard +the Fox_, and their scholarly introductions and notes, by Joseph +Jacobs; of _Norse Tales_ and its full introduction, by Sir George W. +Dasent; of _Tales of the Punjab_ and its Appendix, by Mrs. F.A. Steel; +of the _Uncle Remus Books_, by J.C. Harris; of _Fairy Tales_, by Hans +C. Andersen; of _Fairy Mythology_ and _Tales and Popular Fictions_, by +Thomas Keightley; of _Principles of Literary Criticism_, by Professor +C.T. Winchester, for its standards of literature; of _English +Composition_, by Professor Barrett Wendell, for its standards of +composition; of Professor John Dewey's classification of the child's +instincts; and of the _Kindergarten Review_, containing many articles +of current practice illustrating standards emphasized here. + +Recognition is gratefully given for the use of various collections of +fairy tales and for the use of any particular fairy tale that has been +presented in outline, descriptive narrative, criticism, or +dramatization. Among collections special mention should be made of +_The Fairy Library_, by Kate D. Wiggin and Nora A. Smith; the _Fairy +Books_, by Clifton Johnson; and the _Fairy Books_, by Andrew Lang. +Among tales, particular mention should be made for the use, in +adaptation, made of _Oeyvind and Marit_, given in Whittier's _Child +Life in Prose_; of _The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, given in _The Jataka +Tales_, by Ellen C. Babbit; of _The Sheep and the Pig_, in Miss +Bailey's _For the Children's Hour_; of _Drakesbill_, in _The Fairy +Ring_, by Wiggin and Smith; of _The Magpie's Nest_, in _English Fairy +Tales_, by Joseph Jacobs; of _How the Evergreen Trees Lose their +Leaves_, in _The Book of Nature Myths_, by Miss Holbrook; of _The +Good-Natured Bear_, described by Thackeray in "On Some Illustrated +Christmas Books"; and of _The Hop-About-Man_, by Agnes Herbertson, +given in _The Story-Teller's Book_, by Alice O'Grady (Moulton) and +Frances Throop. + +The author wishes also to express thanks to the many teachers and +children whose work has in any way contributed to _A Study of Fairy +Tales_. + +LAURA F. KREADY +LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA +August, 1916 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + INTRODUCTION BY HENRY SUZZALLO xv + + I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 1 + + II. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES 13 + +III. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 90 + + IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 158 + + V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 204 + + VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES 245 + + APPENDIX 265 + + OUTLINE 291 + + INDEX 305 + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The fairy tale has a place in the training of children which common +sense and a sympathetic attitude toward childhood will not deny. Some +rigid philosophers, who see no more of life than is to be found in +logical science, condemn the imaginative tale. They regard the +teaching of myths and stories as the telling of pleasant lies, which, +if harmless, are wasteful. What the child acquires through them, he +must sooner or later forget or unlearn. + +Such arguments carry conviction until one perceives that their authors +are measuring the worth of all teaching in terms of strictly +intellectual products. Life is more than precise information; it is +impulse and action. The fairy tale is a literary rather than a +scientific achievement. Its realities are matters of feeling, in which +thought is a mere skeleton to support the adventure. It matters little +that the facts alleged in the story never were and never can be. The +values and ideals which enlist the child's sympathy are morally +worthy, affording a practice to those fundamental prejudices toward +right and wrong which are the earliest acquisitions of a young soul. +The other characteristics of the tale--the rhythmic, the grotesque, +the weird, and the droll--are mere recreation, the abundant +playfulness which children require to rest them from the dangers and +terrors which fascinate them. + +The fairy tale, like every other literary production, must be judged +by the fitness of its emotional effects. Fairyland is the stage-world +of childhood, a realm of vicarious living, more elemental and more +fancy-free than the perfected dramas of sophisticated adults whose +ingrained acceptance of binding realities demands sterner stuff. The +tales are classics of a particular kind; they are children's classics, +artful adaptations of life and form which grip the imaginations of +little folks. + +The diet of babes cannot be determined by the needs of grown-ups. A +spiritual malnutrition which starves would soon set in if adult wisdom +were imposed on children for their sustenance. The truth is amply +illustrated by those pathetic objects of our acquaintance, the men and +women who have never been boys and girls. + +To cast out the fairy tale is to rob human beings of their childhood, +that transition period in which breadth and richness are given to +human life so that it may be full and plastic enough to permit the +creation of those exacting efficiencies which increasing knowledge and +responsibility compel. We cannot omit the adventures of fairyland from +our educational program. They are too well adapted to the restless, +active, and unrestrained life of childhood. They take the objects +which little boys and girls know vividly and personify them so that +instinctive hopes and fears may play and be disciplined. + +While the fairy tales have no immediate purpose other than to amuse, +they leave a substantial by-product which has a moral significance. In +every reaction which the child has for distress or humor in the tale, +he deposits another layer of vicarious experience which sets his +character more firmly in the mould of right or wrong attitude. Every +sympathy, every aversion helps to set the impulsive currents of his +life, and to give direction to his personality. + +Because of the important aesthetic and ethical bearings of this form +of literary experience, the fairy stories must be rightly chosen and +artfully told. In no other way can their full worth in education be +realized. They are tools which require discrimination and skill. Out +of the wisdom of one who knows both tales and children, and who holds +a thoughtful grasp on educational purpose, we offer this volume of +unusually helpful counsel.--HENRY SUZZALLO. + + + + + +CHAPTER I + + + + +THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES + + In olde dayes of the kyng Arthour, + Of which that Britouns speken gret honour, + Al was this lond fulfilled of fayrie; + The elf-queen, with hir joly compaignye, + Daunced ful oft in many a grene mede.--CHAUCER. + + +I. TWO PUBLIC TRIBUTES + + +Only a few years ago, in the gardens of the Tuileries, in Paris, a +statue was erected in memory of Charles Perrault, to be placed there +among the sculptures of the never-to-be-forgotten fairy tales he had +created,--_Red Riding Hood_, _Sleeping Beauty_, _Puss-in-Boots_, +_Hop-o'-my-Thumb_, _Bluebeard_, and the rest,--so that the children +who roamed the gardens, and in their play gathered about the statues +of their beloved fairy friends, might have with them also a reminder +of the giver of all this joy, their friend Perrault. Two hundred years +before, Perrault truly had been their friend, not only in making for +them fairy tales, but in successfully pleading in their behalf when he +said, "I am persuaded that the gardens of the King were made so great +and spacious that all the children may walk in them." + +Only in December, 1913, in Berlin, was completed the _Märchen +Brunnen_, or "Fairy-Tale Fountain," at the entrance to Friedrichshain +Park, in which the idea of the architect, Stadt-Baurat Ludwig +Hoffmann, wholly in harmony with the social spirit of the times, was +to erect an artistic monument to give joy to multitudes of children. +This fairy entrance to the park is a decorative lay-out, a central +ground surrounded by a high, thick lodge of beeches. Toward this +central ground--which has been transformed into a joyous fairy +world--many hedge walks lead; while in the sidewalks, to warn naughty +children, are concealed fantastic figures. There is the huge +_Menschen-fresser_, who grasps a tender infant in each Titan hand and +bears on his head a huge basket of children too young to have known +much wrong. A humorous touch, giving distinct charm to the whole +creation, pervades all. From lions' heads and vases, distributed at +regular intervals in the semicircular arcade in the background, water +gushes forth; while in the central basin, nine small water +animals--seven frogs and two larger animals--appear spouting great +jets of water. Clustered about the central fountain are the nine fairy +characters of Professor Ignatius Taschner, among whom are Red Riding +Hood, Hansel and Grethel each riding a duck, Puss-in-Boots, +Cinderella, and Lucky Hans; and looking down upon them from the +surrounding balustrade are the animal figures by Joseph Rauch. In +these simple natural classic groups, fancy with what pleasure the +children may look to find the friendly beasts and the favorite tales +they love! + +Such is the tribute to fairy tales rendered by two great nations who +have recognized fairy tales as the joyous right of children. Any +education which claims to relate itself to present child life can +hardly afford to omit what is acknowledged as part of the child's +everyday life; nor can it afford to omit to hand on to the child those +fairy tales which are a portion of his literary heritage. + + + +II. THE VALUE OF FAIRY TALES IN EDUCATION + + +In considering fairy tales for the little child, the first question +which presents itself is, "Why are fairy stories suited to the little +child, and what is their value for him?" + +Fairy tales bring joy into child life. The mission of joy has not been +fully preached, but we know that joy works toward physical health, +mental brightness, and moral virtue. In the education of the future, +happiness together with freedom will be recognized as the largest +beneficent powers that will permit the individual of four, from his +pristine, inexperienced self-activity, to become that final, matured, +self-expressed, self-sufficient, social development--the educated man. +Joy is the mission of art and fairy tales are art products. As such +Pater would say, "For Art comes to you, proposing to give nothing but +the highest quality to your moments as they pass, and simply for those +moments' sake. Not the fruit of experience, but experience, is the +end." Such quality came from the art of the fairy tale into the walk +of a little girl, for whom even the much-tabooed topic of the weather +took on a new, fresh charm. In answer to a remark concerning the day +she replied, "Yes, it's not too hot, and not too cold, but just +right." All art, being a product of the creative imagination, has the +power to stimulate the creative faculties. "For Art, like Genius," +says Professor Woodberry, "is common to all men, it is the stamp of +the soul in them." All are creatures of imitation and combination; and +the little child, in handling an art product, puts his thought through +the artist's mould and gains a touch of the artist's joy. + +Fairy tales satisfy the play spirit of childhood. Folk-tales are the +product of a people in a primitive stage when all the world is a +wonder-sphere. Most of our popular tales date from days when the +primitive Aryan took his evening meal of yava and fermented mead, and +the dusky Sudra roamed the Punjab. "All these fancies are pervaded +with that purity by which children seem to us so wonderful," said +William Grimm. "They have the same blue-white, immaculate bright +eyes." Little children are in this same wonder-stage. They believe +that the world about throbs with life and is peopled with all manner +of beautiful, powerful folk. All children are poets, and fairy tales +are the poetic recording of the facts of life. In this day of +commercial enterprise, if we would fit children for life we must see +to it that we do not blight the poets in them. In this day of emphasis +on vocational training we must remember there is a part of life unfed, +unnurtured, and unexercised by industrial education. Moreover, +whatever will be accomplished in life will be the achievement of a +free and vigorous life of the imagination. Before it was realized, +everything new had existed in some trained imagination, fertile with +ideas. The tale feeds the imagination, for the soul of it is a bit of +play. It suits the child because in it he is not bound by the law of +cause and effect, nor by the necessary relations of actual life. He is +entirely in sympathy with a world where events follow as one may +choose. He likes the mastership of the universe. And fairyland--where +there is no time; where troubles fade; where youth abides; where +things come out all right--is a pleasant place. + +Furthermore, fairy tales are play forms. "Play," Bichter says, "is the +first creative utterance of man." "It is the highest form in which the +native activity of childhood expresses itself," says Miss Blow. Fairy +tales offer to the little child an opportunity for the exercise of +that self-active inner impulse which seeks expression in two kinds of +play, the symbolic activity of free play and the concrete presentation +of types. The play, _The Light Bird_, and the tale, _The Bremen_ _Town +Musicians_, both offer an opportunity for the child to express that +pursuit of a light afar off, a theme which appeals to childhood. The +fairy tale, because it presents an organized form of human experience, +helps to organize the mind and gives to play the values of human life. +By contributing so largely to the play spirit, fairy tales contribute +to that joy of activity, of achievement, of coöperation, and of +judgment, which is the joy of all work. This habit of kindergarten +play, with its joy and freedom and initiative, is the highest goal to +be attained in the method of university work. + +Fairy tales give the child a power of accurate observation. The habit +of re-experiencing, of visualization, which they exercise, increases +the ability to see, and is the contribution literature offers to +nature study. In childhood acquaintance with the natural objects of +everyday life is the central interest; and in its turn it furnishes +those elements of experience upon which imagination builds. For this +reason it is rather remarkable that the story, which is omitted from +the Montessori system of education, is perhaps the most valuable means +of effecting that sense-training, freedom, self-initiated play, +repose, poise, and power of reflection, which are foundation stones of +its structure. + +Fairy tales strengthen the power of emotion, develop the power of +imagination, train the memory, and exercise the reason. As emotion and +imagination are considered in Chapter 11, in the section, "The Fairy +Tale as Literature," and the training of the memory and the exercise +of the reason in connection with the treatment of various other topics +later on, these subjects will be passed by for the present. Every day +the formation of habits of mind during the process of education is +being looked upon with a higher estimate. The formation of habits of +mind through the use of fairy tales will become evident during +following chapters. + +Fairy tales extend and intensify the child's social relations. They +appeal to the child by presenting aspects of family life. Through them +he realizes his relations to his own parents: their care, their +guardianship, and their love. Through this he realizes different +situations and social relations, and gains clear, simple notions of +right and wrong. His sympathies are active for kindness and fairness, +especially for the defenseless, and he feels deeply the calamity of +the poor or the suffering and hardship of the ill-treated. He is in +sympathy with that poetic justice which desires immediate punishment +of wrong, unfairness, injustice, cruelty, or deceit. Through fairy +tales he gains a many-sided view of life. Through his dramas, with a +power of sympathy which has seemed universal, Shakespeare has given +the adult world many types of character and conduct that are noble. +But fairy tales place in the hands of childhood all that the thousands +and thousands of the universe for ages have found excellent in +character and conduct. They hold up for imitation all those cardinal +virtues of love and self-sacrifice,--which is the ultimate criterion +of character,--of courage, loyalty, kindness, gentleness, fairness, +pity, endurance, bravery, industry, perseverance, and thrift. Thus +fairy tales build up concepts of family life and of ethical standards, +broaden a child's social sense of duty, and teach him to reflect. +Besides developing his feelings and judgments, they also enlarge his +world of experience. + +In the school, the fairy tale as one form of the story is one part of +the largest means to unify the entire work or play of the child. In +proportion as the work of art, nature-study, game, occupation, etc., +is fine, it will deal with some part of the child's everyday life. The +good tale parallels life. It is a record of a portion of the race +reaction to its environment; and being a permanent record of +literature, it records experience which is universal and presents +situations most human. It is therefore material best suited to furnish +the child with real problems. As little children have their thoughts +and observations directed mainly toward people and centered about the +home, the fairy tale rests secure as the intellectual counterpart to +those thoughts. As self-expression and self-activity are the great +natural instincts of the child, in giving opportunity to make a crown +for a princess, mould a clay bowl, decorate a tree, play a game, paint +the wood, cut paper animals, sing a lullaby, or trip a dance, the tale +affords many problems exercising all the child's accomplishments in +the variety of his work. This does not make the story the central +interest, for actual contact with nature is the child's chief +interest. But it makes the story, because it is an organized +experience marked by the values of human life, the unity of the +child's return or reaction to his environment. The tale thus may bring +about that "living union of thought and expression which dispels the +isolation of studies and makes the child live in varied, concrete, +active relation to a common world." + +In the home fairy tales employ leisure hours in a way that builds +character. Critical moments of decision will come into the lives of +all when no amount of reason will be a sufficient guide. Mothers who +cannot follow their sons to college, and fathers who cannot choose for +their daughters, can help their children best to fortify their spirits +for such crises by feeding them with good literature. This, when they +are yet little, will begin the rearing of a fortress of ideals which +will support true feeling and lead constantly to noble action. Then, +too, in the home, the illustration of his tale may give the child much +pleasure. For this is the day of fairy-tale art; and the child's +satisfaction in the illustration of the well-known tale is limitless. +It will increase as he grows older, as he understands art better, and +as he becomes familiar with the wealth of beautiful editions which are +at his command. + +And finally, though not of least moment, fairy tales afford a vital +basis for language training and thereby take on a new importance in +the child's English. Through the fairy tale he learns the names of +things and the meanings of words. One English fairy tale, _The Master +of all Masters_, is a ludicrous example of the tale built on this very +theme of names and meanings. Especially in the case of foreign +children, in a tale of repetition, such as _The Cat and the Mouse_, +_Teeny Tiny_, or _The Old Woman and Her Pig_, will the repetitive +passages be an aid to verbal expression. The child learns to follow +the sequence of a story and gains a sense of order. He catches the +note of definiteness from the tale, which thereby clarifies his +thinking. He gains the habit of reasoning to consequences, which is +one form of a perception of that universal law which rules the world, +and which is one of the biggest things he will ever come upon in life. +Never can he meet any critical situation where this habit of reasoning +to consequences will not be his surest guide in a decision. Thus fairy +tales, by their direct influence upon habits of thinking, effect +language training. + +Fairy tales contribute to language training also by providing another +form of that basic content which is furnished for reading. In the +future the child will spend more time in the kindergarten and early +first grade in acquiring this content, so that having enjoyed the real +literature, when he reads later on he will be eager to satisfy his own +desires. Then reading will take purpose for him and be accomplished +almost without drill and practically with no effort. The reading book +will gradually disappear as a portion of his literary heritage. In the +kindergarten the child will learn the play forms, and in the first +grade the real beginnings, of phonics and of the form of words in the +applied science of spelling. In music he will learn the beginnings of +the use of the voice. This will leave him free, when he begins reading +later, to give attention to the thought reality back of the symbols. +When the elements combining to produce good oral reading are cared for +in the kindergarten and in the first grade, in the subjects of which +they properly form a part, the child, when beginning to read, no +longer will be needlessly diverted, his literature will contribute to +his reading without interference, and his growth in language will +become an improved, steady accomplishment. + + + +REFERENCES + + + Allison, Samuel; and Perdue, Avis: _The Story in Primary + Instruction_. Flanagan. + + Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: _The + Kindergarten_. Houghton. + + Blow, Susan: _Symbolic Education_. Appleton. + + Chamberlain, Alexander: "Folk-Lore in the Schools," _Pedagogical + Seminary_, vol. vii, pp. 347-56. + + Chubb, Percival: "Value and Place of Fairy Stories," _National + Education Association Report_, 1905. + + Dewey, John: _The School and the Child_. Blackie & Sons. + + _Ibid.: The School and Society_. University of Chicago Press. + + "Fairy Tales," _Public Libraries_, 1906, vol. 11, pp. 175-78. + + Palmer, Luella: "Standard for Kindergarten Training," + _Kindergarten Review_, June, 1914. + + Welsh, Charles: _Right Reading for Children_. Heath. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES + + All our troubles come from doing that in which we have no + interest.--EPICTETUS. + + That is useful for every man which is conformable to his own + constitution and nature.--MARCUS AURELIUS. + + Genuine interest means that a person has identified himself + with, or found himself in, a certain course of activity. It + is obtained not by thinking about it and consciously aiming + at it, but by considering and aiming at the conditions that + lie back of it, and compel it.--JOHN DEWEY. + + + +I. THE INTERESTS OF CHILDREN + + +Now that the value of fairy tales in education has been made clear, +let us consider some of those principles of selection which should +guide the teacher, the mother, the father, and the librarian, in +choosing the tale for the little child. + +Fairy tales must contain what interests children. It is a well-known +principle that selective interest precedes voluntary attention; +therefore interest is fundamental. All that is accomplished of +permanent good is a by-product of the enjoyment of the tale. The tale +will go home only as it brings joy, and it will bring joy when it +secures the child's interest. Now interest is the condition which +requires least mental effort. And fairy tales for little children must +follow that great law of composition pointed out by Herbert Spencer, +which makes all language consider the audience and the economy of the +hearer's attention. The first step, then, is to study the interests of +the child. We do not wish to give him just what he likes, but we want +to give him a chance to choose from among those things which he ought +to have and, as good and wise guardians, see that we offer what is in +harmony with his interests. Any observation of the child's interest +will show that he loves the things he finds in his fairy tales. He +enjoys-- + + _A sense of life_. This is the biggest thing in the fairy + tales, and the basis for their universal appeal. The little + child who is just entering life can no more escape its + attraction than can the aged veteran about to leave the + pathway. The little pig, Whitie, who with his briskly + curling tail goes eagerly down the road to secure, from the + man who carried a load of straw, a bit with which to build + his easily destructible house; Red Riding Hood taking a pot + of jam to her sick grandmother; Henny Penny starting out on + a walk, to meet with the surprise of a nut falling on her + head--the biggest charm of all this is that it is life. + + _The familiar_. The child, limited in experience, loves to + come in touch with the things he knows about. It soothes his + tenderness, allays his fears, makes him feel at home in the + world,--and he hates to feel strange,--it calms his + timidity, and satisfies his heart. The home and the people + who live in it; the food, the clothing, and shelter of + everyday life; the garden, the plant in it, or the live ant + or toad; the friendly dog and cat, the road or street near + by, the brook, the hill, the sky--these are a part of his + world, and he feels them his own even in a story. The + presents which the Rabbit went to town to buy for the little + Rabbits, in _How Brother Rabbit Frightens his Neighbors_; + the distinct names, Miss Janey and Billy Malone, given to + the animals of _In Some Lady's Garden_, just as a child + would name her dolls; and the new shoes of the Dog which the + Rabbit managed to get in _Why Mr. Dog Runs after Brother + Rabbit_--these all bring up in the child's experience + delightful familiar associations. The tale which takes a + familiar experience, gives it more meaning, and organizes + it, such as _The Little Red Hen_, broadens, deepens, and + enriches the child's present life. + + _The surprise_. While he loves the familiar, nothing more + quickly brings a smile than the surprise. Perhaps the most + essential of the fairy traits is the combination of the + familiar and the unfamiliar. The desire for the unknown, + that curiosity which brings upon itself surprise, is the + charm of childhood as well as the divine fire of the + scientist. The naughty little Elephant who asked "a new, + fine question he had never asked before," and who went to + answer his own question of "what the crocodile has for + dinner," met with many surprises which were spankings; and + as a result, he returned home with a trunk and experience. + He is a very good example of how delightful to the child + this surprise can be. The essence of the fairy tale is + natural life in a spiritual world, the usual child in the + unusual environment, or the unusual child in the natural + environment. This combination of the usual and unusual is + the chief charm of _Alice in Wonderland_, where a natural + child wanders through a changing environment that is + unusual. For an idle moment enjoy the task of seeing how + many ideas it contains which are the familiar ideas of + children, and how they all have been "made different." All + children love a tea-party, but what child would not be + caught by having a tea-party with a Mad Hatter, a March + Hare, and a sleepy Dormouse, with nothing to eat and no tea! + Red Riding Hood was a dear little girl who set out to take a + basket to her grandmother. But in the wood, after she had + been gathering a nosegay and chasing butterflies, "just as I + might do," any child might say, she met a wolf! And what + child's ears would not rise with curiosity? "Now something's + going to happen!" The Three Bears kept house. That was usual + enough; but everything was different, and the charm is in + giving the child a real surprise at every step. The house + was not like an ordinary house; it was in the wood, and more + like a play-house than a real one. There was a room, but not + much in it; a table, but there was not on it what is on your + table--only three bowls. What they contained was usual, but + unusually one bowl of porridge was big and hot, one was less + big and cold, and one was little and just right. There were + usual chairs, unusual in size and very unusual when + Goldilocks sat in them. Upstairs the bedroom was usual, but + the beds were unusual when Goldilocks lay upon them. The + Bears themselves were usual, but their talk and action was a + delightful mixture of the surprising and the comical. + Perhaps this love of surprise accounts for the perfect leap + of interest with which a child will follow the Cock in _The + Bremen Town Musicians_, as he saw from the top of the tree + on which he perched, a light, afar off through the wood. + Certainly the theme of a light in the distance has a charm + for children as it must have had for man long ago. + + _Sense impression_. Good things to eat, beautiful flowers, + jewels, the beauties of sight, color, and sound, of odor and + of taste, all gratify a child's craving for sense + impression. This, in its height, is the charm of the + _Arabian Nights_. But in a lesser degree it appears in all + fairy tales. Cinderella's beautiful gowns at the ball and + the fine supper stimulate the sense of color, beauty, and + taste. The sugar-panes and gingerbread roof of the Witch's + House, in _Hansel and Grethel_, stir the child's kindred + taste for sweets and cookies. The Gingerbread Boy, with his + chocolate jacket, his cinnamon buttons, currant eyes, + rose-sugar mouth, orange-candy cap, and gingerbread shoes, + makes the same strong sense appeal. There is a natural + attraction for the child in the beautiful interior of + Sleeping Beauty's Castle, in the lovely perfume of roses in + the Beast's Rose-Garden, in the dance and song of the Elves, + and in the dance of the Goat and her seven Kids about the + well. + + _The beautiful_. Closely related to this love of the + material is the sense of the beautiful. "Beauty is pleasure + regarded as the quality of a thing," says Santayana. + Pleasures of the eye and ear, of the imagination and memory, + are those most easily objectified, and form the groundwork + on which all higher beauty rests. The green of the spring, + the odor of Red Riding Hood's flowers, the splendor of the + Prince's ball in _Cinderella_--these when perceived + distinctly are intelligible, and when perceived delightfully + are beautiful. Language is a kind of music, too; the mode of + speaking, the sound of letters, the inflection of the + voice--all are elements of beauty. But this material beauty + is tied up in close association with things "eye hath not + seen nor ear heard," the moral beauty of the good and the + message of the true. The industry of the little Elves + reflects the worth of honest effort of the two aged + peasants, and the dance of the Goat and seven Kids reflects + the triumph of mother wit and the sharpness of love. The + good, the true, and the beautiful are inseparably linked in + the tale, just as they forever grow together in the life of + the child. The tales differ largely in the element of beauty + they present. Among those conspicuous for beauty may be + mentioned Andersen's _Thumbelina_; the Indian _How the Sun, + the Moon, and West Wind Went Out to Dinner_; the Japanese + _Mezumi, the Beautiful_; and the English _Robin's Christmas + Song. Little Two-Eyes_ stands out as one containing a large + element of beauty, and _Oeyvind and Marit_ represents in an + ideal way the possible union of the good, the true, and the + beautiful. This union of the good, the true, and the + beautiful has been expressed by an old Persian legend: "In + the midst of the light is the beautiful, in the midst of the + beautiful is the good, in the midst of the good is God, the + Eternal One." + + _Wonder, mystery, magic_. The spirit of wonder, like a + will-o'-the-wisp, leads on through a fairy tale, enticing + the child who follows, knowing that something will happen, + and wondering what. When magic comes in he is gratified + because some one becomes master of the universe--Cinderella, + when she plants the hazel bough, and later goes to the + wishing-tree; the fairy godmother, when with her wand she + transforms a pumpkin to a gilded coach and six mice to + beautiful gray horses; Little Two-Eyes, when she says,-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + + and immediately her little table set with food so + marvelously appears; or Hop-o'-my-Thumb when he steps into + his Seven-League Boots and goes like the wind. + + _Adventure_. This is a form of curiosity. In the old tale, + as the wood was the place outside the usual habitation, + naturally it was the place where things happened. Often + there was a house in the wood, like the one "amidst the + forest darkly green," where Snow White lived with the + Dwarfs. This adventure the little child loves for its own + sake. Later, when he is about eleven or twelve, he loves it + for its motive. This love of adventure is part of the charm + of _Red Riding Hood_, of the _Three Bears_, of the _Three + Pigs_, or of any good tale you might mention. + + _Success_. The child likes the fairy tale to tell him of + some one who succeeds. He admires the little pig Speckle who + outwitted the Wolf in getting to the field of turnips first, + or in going to the apple tree at Merry-Garden, or to the + fair at Shanklin; who built his house of brick which would + defy assault; and whose cleverness ended the Wolf's life. + This observation of success teaches the child to admire + masterliness, to get the motto, _Age quod agis_, stamped + into his child life from the beginning. It influences + character to follow such conduct as that of the Little Red + Hen, who took a grain of wheat,--her little mite,--who + planted it, reaped it, made it into bread, and then ate it; + who, in spite of the Goose and the Duck, secured to herself + the reward of her labors. + + _Action_. Akin to his love of running, skipping, and + jumping, to his enjoyment in making things go and in seeing + others make things go, is the child's desire for action in + his fairy tales; and this is just another way of saying he + wants his fairy tales to parallel life. Action is the + special charm of the Gingerbread Boy, who opened the oven + door and so marvelously ran along, outrunning an old Man, an + old Woman, a little Boy, two Well-Diggers, two + Ditch-Diggers, a Bear, and a Wolf, until he met the Fox + waiting by the corner of the fence. _Dame Wiggins of Lee and + Her Seven Wonderful Cats_--a humorous tale written by Mrs. + Sharp, a lady of ninety, edited by John Ruskin, who added + the third, fourth, eighth, and ninth stanzas, and + illustrated by Kate Greenaway--has this pleasing trait of + action to a unique degree. So also has _The Cock, the Mouse, + and the Little Red Hen_, a modern tale by Félicité Lefèvre. + This very popular tale among children is a retelling of two + old tales combined, _The Little Red Hen_ and the Irish + _Little Rid Hin_. + + _Humor_. The child loves a joke, and the tale that is + humorous is his special delight. Humor is the source of + pleasure in _Billy Bobtail_, where the number of animals and + the noises they make fill the tale with hilarious fun. There + is most pleasing humor in _Lambikin_. Here the reckless hero + frolicked about on his little tottery legs. On his way to + Granny's house, as he met the Jackal, the Vulture, the + Tiger, and the Wolf, giving a little frisk, he said,-- + + To Granny's house I go, + Where I shall fatter grow, + Then you can eat me so! + + Later, on returning, when the animals asked, "Have you seen + Lambikin?" cozily settled within his Drumikin, laughing and + singing to himself, he called out slyly-- + + Lost in the forest, and so are you, + On, little Drumikin! Tum-pa, turn-too! + + Humor is the charm, too, of Andersen's _Snow Man_. Here the + child can identify himself with the Dog and thereby join in + the sport which the Dog makes at the Snow Man's expense, + just as if he himself were enlightening the Snow Man about + the Sun, the Moon, and the Stove. There is most delightful + humor in _The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_, where the + Cat has the face to play upon the credulity of the poor + housekeeper Mouse, who always "stayed at home and did not go + out into the daytime." Returning home from his ventures + abroad he named the first kitten Top-Off, the second one + Half-Out, and the third one All-Out; while instead of having + attended the christening of each, as he pretended, he + secretly had been visiting the jar of fat he had placed for + safe-keeping in the church. + + _Poetic justice_. Emotional satisfaction and moral + satisfaction based on emotional instinct appeal to the + child. He pities the plight of the animals in the _Bremen + Town Musicians_, and he wants them to find a refuge, a safe + home. He is glad that the robbers are chased out, his sense + of right and wrong is satisfied. Poetic justice suits him. + This is one reason why fairy tales make a more definite + impression often than life--because in the tale the + retribution follows the act so swiftly that the child may + see it, while in life "the mills of the gods grind slowly," + and even the adult who looks cannot see them grind. The + child wants Cinderella to gain the reward for her goodness; + and he wishes the worthy Shoemaker and his Wife, in the + _Elves and the Shoemaker_, to get the riches their industry + deserves. + + _The imaginative_. Fairy tales satisfy the activity of the + child's imagination and stimulate his fancy. Some beautiful + spring day, perhaps, after he has enjoyed an excursion to a + field or meadow or wood, he will want to follow Andersen's + Thumbelina in her travels. He will follow her as she floats + on a lily pad, escapes a frog of a husband, rides on a + butterfly, lives in the house of a field-mouse, escapes a + mole of a husband, and then rides on the back of a friendly + swallow to reach the south land and to become queen of the + flowers. Here there is much play of fancy. But even when the + episodes are homely and the situations familiar, as in + _Little Red Hen_, the act of seeing them as distinct images + and of following them with interest feeds the imagination. + For while the elements are familiar, the combination is + unusual; and this nourishes the child's ability to remove + from the usual situation, which is the essential element in + all originality. By entering into the life of the characters + and identifying himself with them, he develops a large + sympathy and a sense of power, he gains insight into life, + and a care for the interests of the world. Thus imagination + grows "in flexibility, in scope, and in sympathy, till the + life which the individual lives is informed with the life of + nature and of society," and acquires what Professor John + Dewey calls Culture. + + _Animals_. Very few of the child's fairy tales contain no + animals. Southey said of a home: "A house is never perfectly + furnished for enjoyment unless there is in it a child rising + three years old and a kitten rising six weeks; kitten is in + the animal world what a rose-bud is in a garden." In the + same way it might be said of fairy tales: No tale is quite + suited to the little child unless in it there is at least + one animal. Such animal tales are _The Bremen Town + Musicians, Henny Penny, Ludwig and Marleen_ and _The + Elephant's Child_. The episode of the hero or heroine and + the friendly animal, as we find it retained in Two-Eyes and + her little Goat, was probably a folk-lore convention--since + dropped--common to the beginning of many of the old tales. + It indicates how largely the friendly animal entered into + the old stories. + + _A portrayal of human relations, especially with children_. + In _Cinderella_ the child is held by the unkind treatment + inflicted upon Cinderella by her Stepmother and the two + haughty Sisters. He notes the solicitude of the Mother of + the Seven Kids in guarding them from the Wolf. In the _Three + Bears_ he observes a picture of family life. A little child, + on listening to _The Three Pigs_ for the first time, was + overwhelmed by one thought and cried out, "And didn't the + Mother come home any more?" Naturally the child would be + interested especially in children, for he is like the older + boy, who, when looking at a picture-book, gleefully + exclaimed, "That's me!" He likes to put himself in the place + of others. He can do it most readily if the character is a + small individual like Red Riding Hood who should obey her + mother; or like Goldilocks who must not wander in the wood; + or like Henny Penny who went to take a walk and was accosted + by, "Where are you going?" In _Brother Rabbit and the Little + Girl_ the Little Girl takes the keenest enjoyment in putting + herself in the customary grown-up's place of granting + permission, while the Rabbit takes the usual child's place + of mentioning a request with much persuasion. The child is + interested, too, in the strange people he meets in the fairy + tales: the clever little elves who lived in the groves and + danced on the grass; the dwarfs who inhabited the + earth-rocks and the hills; the trolls who dwelt in the wild + pine forest or the rocky spurs, who ate men or porridge, and + who fled at the noise of bells; the fairies who pleased with + their red caps, green jackets, and sprightly ways; the + beautiful fairy godmother who waved her wonderful wand; or + those lovely fairy spirits who appeared at the moment when + most needed--just as all best friends do--and who could + grant, in a twinkling, the wish that was most desired. + + _The diminutive_. This pleasure in the diminutive is found + in the interest in the fairy characters, Baby Bear, Little + Billy-Goat, Little Pig, the Little Elves, Teeny Tiny, + Thumbelina, and Tom Thumb, as well as in tiny objects. In + the _Tale of Tom Thumb_ the child is captivated by the + miniature chariot drawn by six small mice, the tiny + butterfly-wing shirt and chicken-skin boots worn by Tom, and + the small speech produced by him at court, when asked his + name:-- + + My name is Tom Thumb, + From the Fairies I come; + When King Arthur shone, + This court was my home. + In me he delighted, + By him I was knighted. + Did you never hear of + Sir Thomas Thumb? + + _Doll i' the Grass_ contains a tiny chariot made from a + silver spoon and drawn by two white mice, and _Little + Two-Eyes_ gives a magic table. The child takes keen delight + in the fairy ship which could be folded up and put into a + pocket, and in the wonderful nut-shell that could bring + forth beautiful silver and gold dresses. The little wagon of + Chanticleer and Partlet that took them a trip up to the + hill, and the tiny mugs and beds, table and plates, of Snow + White's cottage in the wood--such as these all meet the + approval of child-nature. + + _Rhythm and repetition_. The child at first loves sound; + later he loves sound and sense, or meaning. Repetition + pleases him because he has limited experience and is glad to + come upon something he has known before. He observes and he + wants to compare, but it is a job. Repetition saves him a + task and boldly proclaims, "We are the same." Such is the + effect of the repetitive expressions which we find in _Teeny + Tiny_: as, "Now when the teeny-tiny woman got home to her + teeny-tiny house, she was a teeny-tiny bit tired"; or, in + _Little Jack Rollaround_, who cried out with such vigorous + persistence, "Roll me around!" and called to the moon, "I + want the people to see me!" In _The Little Rabbit Who Wanted + Red Wings_, one of the pleasantest tales for little + children, the White Rabbit said to his Mammy, "Oh, Mammy, I + wish I had a long gray tail like Bushy Tail's; I wish I had + a back full of bristles like Mr. Porcupine's; I wish I had a + pair of red rubbers like Miss Puddleduck's." At last, when + he beheld the tiny red-bird at the Wishing-Pond, he said, + "Oh, I wish I had a pair of little red wings!" Then, after + getting his wings, when he came home at night and his Mammy + no longer knew him, he repeated to Mr. Bushy Tail, Miss + Puddleduck, and old Mr. Ground Hog, the same petition to + sleep all night, "Please, kind Mr. Bushy Tail, may I sleep + in your house all night?" etc. Repetition here aids the + child in following the characters, the story, and its + meaning. It is a distinct help to unity and to clearness. + + _The Elephant's Child_ is an example of how the literary + artist has used this element of repetition, and used it so + wonderfully that the form is the matter and the tale cannot + be told without the artist's words. "'Satiable curtiosity," + "the banks of the great, grey-green, greasy, Limpopo River, + all set about with fever-trees," and "'Scuse me," are but a + few of those expressions for which the child will watch as + eagerly as one does for a signal light known to be due. The + repetition of the one word, "curtiosity," throughout the + tale, simply makes the point of the whole story and makes + that point delightfully impressive. + + Rhythm and repetition also make a bodily appeal, they appeal + to the child's motor sense and instinctively get into his + muscles. This is very evident in _Brother Rabbit's + Riddle_:-- + + De big bird bob en little bird sing; + De big bee zoon en little bee sting, + De little man lead en big hoss foller-- + Kin you tell wat 's good fer a head in a holler? + + The song in _Brother Rabbit and the Little Girl_ appeals + also to the child's sense of sound:-- + + De jay-bird hunt de sparrer-nes; + De bee-martin sail all 'roun'; + De squer'l, he holler from de top er de tree, + Mr. Mole, he stay in de ground; + He hide en he stay twel de dark drap down-- + Mr. Mole, he hide in de groun'. + + _The simple and the sincere_. The child's taste for the + simple and the sincere is one reason for the appeal which + Andersen's tales make. In using his stories it is to be + remembered that, although Andersen lacked manliness in being + sentimental, he preserved the child's point of view and gave + his thought in the true nursery story's mode of expression. + Since real sentiment places the emphasis on the object which + arouses feeling and the sentimental places the emphasis on + the feeling, sincerity demands that in using Andersen's + tales, one lessen the sentimental when it occurs by omitting + to give prominence to the feeling. Andersen's tales reflect + what is elementary in human nature, childlike fancy, and + emotion. His speech is characterized by the simplest words + and conceptions, an avoidance of the abstract, the use of + direct language, and a naïve poetic expression adapted to + general comprehension. He is not to be equaled in child + conversations. The world of the fairy tale must be simple + like the world Andersen has given us. It must be a world of + genuine people and honest occupations in order to form a + suitable background for the supernatural. Only fairy tales + possessing simplicity are suited to the oldest kindergarten + child of five or six years. To the degree that the child is + younger than five years, he should be given fewer and fewer + fairy tales. Those given should be largely realistic stories + of extreme simplicity. + + _Unity of effect_. The little child likes the short tale, + for it is a unity he can grasp. If you have ever listened to + a child of five spontaneously attempting to tell you a long + tale he has not grasped, and have observed how the units of + the tale have become confused in the mind that has not held + the central theme, you then realize how harmful it is to + give a child too long a story. Unity demands that there be + no heaping up of sensations, but neat, orderly, essential + incidents, held together by one central idea. The tale must + go to the climax directly. It must close according to Uncle + Remus's idea when he says, "De tale ain't persoon atter em + no furder don de place whar dey [the characters] make der + disappear'nce." It will say what it has to say and lose no + time in saying it; and often it will attempt to say only one + thing. It will be remarkable as well for what it omits as + for what it tells. The Norse _Doll i' the Grass_ well + illustrates this unity. Boots set out to find a wife and + found a charming little lassie who could spin and weave a + shirt in one day, though of course the shirt was tiny. He + took her home and then celebrated his wedding with the + pleasure of the king. This unity, which is violated in + Grimm's complicated _Golden Bird_, appears pleasantly in + _The Little Pine Tree that Wished for New Leaves_. Here one + feeling dominates the tale, the Pine Tree was no longer + contented. So she wished, first for gold leaves, next for + glass leaves, and then for leaves like those of the oaks and + maples. But the robber who stole her gold leaves, the storm + that shattered her glass leaves, and the goat that ate her + broad green leaves, changed her feeling of discontent, until + she wished at last to have back her slender needles, green + and fair, and awoke next morning, happy and contented. + +Fairy tales for little children must avoid certain elements opposed to +the interests of the very young child. Temperaments vary and one must +be guided by the characteristics of the individual child. But while +the little girl with unusual power of visualization, who weeps on +hearing of Thumbling's travels down the cow's mouth in company with +the hay, may be the exception, she proves the rule: the little child +generally should not have the tale that creates an emotion of horror +or deep feeling of pain. This standard would determine what tales +should not be given to the child of kindergarten age:-- + + _The tale of the witch_. The witch is too strange and too + fearful for the child who has not learned to distinguish the + true from the imaginative. This would move _Hansel and + Grethel_ into the second-grade work and _Sleeping Beauty_ + preferably into the work of the first grade. The child soon + gains sufficient experience so that later the story + impresses, not the strangeness. + + _The tale of the dragon_. This would eliminate _Siegfried + and the Dragon_. A dragon is too fearful a beast and + produces terror in the heart of the child. Tales of heroic + adventure with the sword are not suited to his strength. He + has not yet entered the realm of bold adventure where + Perseus and Theseus and Hercules display their powers. The + fact that hero-tales abound in delightful literature is not + adequate reason for crowding the _Rhinegold Legends, Wagner + Stories_, and _Tales of King Arthur_, into the kindergarten. + Their beauty and charm do not make it less criminal to + present to little children such a variety of images as + knighthood carries with it. These tales are not sufficiently + simple for the little child, and must produce a mental + confusion and the crudest of returns. + + _Giant tales_. This would omit _Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack + the Giant-Killer_, and _Tom Hickathrift_, moving them up + into the primary field. A little girl, when eating tongue, + confidingly asked, "Whose tongue?" and when told, "A cow's," + immediately questioned with tenderness, "Don't he feel it?" + Thereafter she insisted that she didn't like tongue. To a + child of such sensibilities the cutting off of heads is + savage and gruesome and should not be given a chance to + impress so prominently. Life cannot be without its strife + and struggle, but the little child need not meet everything + in life at once. This does not mean that absolutely no giant + tale would be used at this time. The tale of _Mr. Miacca_, + in which "little Tommy couldn't always be good and one day + went round the corner," is a giant tale which could be used + with young children because it is full of delightful humor. + Because of the simplicity of Tommy's language and his sweet + childishness it appeals to the child's desire to identify + himself with the character. Tommy is so clever and inventive + and his lively surprises so brimful of fun that the final + effect is entirely pleasing. + + _Some tales of transformation_. The little child is not + pleased but shocked by the transformation of men into + animals. A little girl, on looking at an illustration of + _Little Brother and Sister_, remarked, "If my Sister would + turn into a fawn I would cry." When the animals are + terrifying, the transformation contains horror for the + child. This, together with the length and complexity of the + story, would move _Beauty and the Beast_ up into the second + grade where the same transformation becomes an element of + pleasure. A simple tale of transformation, such as _The + Little Lamb and the Little Fish_, in which Gretchen becomes + a lamb and Peterkin a little fish, is interesting but not + horrible, and could be used. So also could a tale such as + Grimm's _Fundevogel_, in which the brother and sister escape + the pursuit of the witch by becoming, one a rosebush and the + other a rose; later, one a church and the other a steeple; + and a third time, one a pond and the other a duck. In both + these tales we have the witch and transformation, but the + effect contains no horror. + + _The tale of strange animal relations and strange creatures. + Tom Tit Tot_, which Jacobs considers the most delightful of + all fairy tales, is brimful of humor for the older child, + but here the tailed man is not suited to the faith and + understanding of six years. _Rumpelstiltskin_, its parallel, + must also be excluded. _The House in the Wood_, and its + Norse parallel, _The Two Step-Sisters_, are both very + beautiful, but are more suited to the second grade. In the + kindergarten it is much better to present the tale which + emphasizes goodness, rather than the two just mentioned, + which present the good and the bad and show what happens to + both. Besides there is a certain elation resulting from the + superior reward won by the good child which crowds out any + pity for the erring child. Such elation is a form of + selfishness and ought not to be emphasized. _Snow White and + Rose Red_ contains the strange dwarf, but it is a tale so + full of love and goodness and home life that in spite of its + length it could be used in the first grade. + + _Unhappy tales_. The very little child pities, and its + tender heart must be protected from depressing sadness as + unrelieved as we find it in _The Little Match Girl_. The + image of suffering impressed on a child, who cannot forget + the sight of a cripple for days, is too intense to be + healthful. The sorrow of the poor is one of the elements of + life that even the very little child meets, and it is + legitimate that his literature should include tales that + call for compassion. But in a year or two, when he develops + less impressionability and more poise, he is better prepared + to meet such situations, as he must meet them in life. + + _The tale of capture_. This would eliminate _Proserpine_. No + more beautiful myth exists than this one of the springtime, + but its beauty and its symbolism do not make it suitable for + the kindergarten. It is more suited to the elementary child + of the fourth grade. In fact, very few myths of any sort + find a legitimate place in the kindergarten, perhaps only a + few of the simpler _pourquois_ tales. _The Legend of the + Pied Piper of Hamelin_, which is very beautiful, and appeals + to little children because of the piping and of the children + following after, should be omitted from the kindergarten + because the capture at the close--the disappearance of the + children in the hill--is tragic in pathos. It is better to + leave the literature as it is and offer it later when the + child reaches the second grade. The effect of this tragic + end has been realized by Josephine Scribner Gates, who (_St. + Nicholas_, November, 1914) has given to the children, "And + Piped Those Children Back Again." This is a modern + completion of _The Pied Piper_. It most happily makes the + little lame boy who was left in Hamelin when the Piper + closed the door of the mountain, the means of the + restoration of the other children to their parents. + + _The very long tale_. This would omit _The Ugly Duckling. + The Ugly Duckling_ is a most artistic tale and one that is + very true to life. Its characters are the animals of the + barn-yard, the hens and ducks familiar to the little child's + experience. But the theme and emotional interest working out + at length through varied scenes, make it much better adapted + to the capacities of a third-grade child. _The White Cat_, a + feminine counterpart of _Puss-in-Boots_--which gives a most + charming picture of how a White Cat, a transformed princess, + helped a youth, and re-transformed became his bride--because + of its length, is better used in the first grade at the same + time with _Puss-in-Boots_. The same holds true of _Peter, + Paul, and Espen_, or its parallel, Laboulaye's _Poucinet_. + This is a fine tale telling how the youngest of three sons + succeeded in winning the king's favor and finally the + princess and half the kingdom. First, Espen had to cut down + the giant oak that shadowed the palace and dig a well in the + courtyard of the castle deep enough to furnish water the + entire year. But after winning in these tests, he is + required to conquer a great Ogre who dwells in the forest, + and later to prove himself cleverer in intellect than the + princess by telling the greater falsehood. It is evident + that not only the subject-matter but the working out of the + long plot are much beyond kindergarten children. + + _The complicated or the insincere tale_. This would + eliminate a tale of complicated structure, such as Grimm's + _Golden Bird_; and many of the modern fairy tales, which + will be dealt with later on. + +The fairy tales mentioned above are all important tales which the +child should receive at a later time when he is ready for them. They +are mentioned because they all have been suggested for kindergarten +use. The whole field of children's literature is largely unclassified +and ungraded as yet, and such arrangements as we possess show slight +respect for standards. There is abundant material for the youngest, +and much will be gained by omitting to give the very young what they +will enjoy a little later, much better and with freshness. It is true +that a few classics are well-suited to the child at any age, such as +_Alice in Wonderland_, _The Jungle Books_, and _Uncle Remus Tales_. In +regard to this grading of the classics, Lamb in _Mackery End_, +speaking of his sister's education, said, "She was tumbled early, by +accident or design, into a spacious closet of good old English +reading, without much selection or prohibition, and browsed at will +upon that fair and wholesome pasturage. Had I twenty girls they should +be brought up exactly in this fashion." Lamb would have argued: Set +the child free in the library and let him choose for himself, and feed +on great literature, those stories which give general types of +situation and character, which give the simplest pictures of a people +at different epochs. But with all due respect to Lamb it must be said +that Lamb is not living in this scientific day of discovery of the +child's personality and of accurate attention to the child's needs. +Because the _Odyssey_ is a great book and will give much to any child +does not prove at all that the same child would not be better off by +reading it when his interests reach its life. This outlook on the +problem would eliminate the necessity of having the classics rewritten +from a new moral viewpoint, which is becoming a custom now-a-days, and +which is to be frowned upon, for it deprives the literature of much of +its vigor and force. + + + +II. THE FAIRY TALE AS LITERATURE + + +From the point of view of the child, we have seen that in a subjective +sense, fairy tales must contain the interests of children. In an +objective sense, rather from the point of view of literature, let us +now consider what fairy tales must contain, what are the main +standards which determine the value of fairy tales as literature, and +as such, subject-matter of real worth to the child. + +The old tale will not always be perfect literature; often it will be +imperfect, especially in form. Yet the tale should be selected with +the standards of literature guiding in the estimate of its worth and +in the emphasis to be placed upon its content. Such relating of the +tale to literary standards would make it quite impossible later in the +primary grades when teaching the reading of _Three Pigs_, to put the +main stress on a mere external like the expression of the voice. A +study of the story as literature would have centered the attention on +the situation, the characters, and the plot. If the voice is receiving +training in music and in the phonics of spelling, then when the +reading of the tale is undertaken it will be a willing servant to the +mind which is concentrating on the reality, and will express what the +thought compels. + +The fairy tale first must be a classic in reality even if it lacks the +crowning touch of perfect form given through the re-treatment of a +literary artist. In _Reynard the Fox_ we have an exact example of the +folk-tale that has been elevated into literature. But this was +possible only because the tales originally possessed the qualities of +a true classic. "A true classic," Sainte-Beuve has said, "is one which +enriches the human mind, has increased its treasure and caused it to +advance a step, which has discovered some moral and unequivocal truth +or revealed some eternal passion in that heart where all seemed known +and discovered; which is an expression of thought, observation, or +invention, in no matter what form, only provided it be broad and +great, refined and sensible, sane and beautiful in itself; which +speaks in its own peculiar style which is found to be also that of the +whole world, a style new and old, easily contemporary with all time." +Immediately some of the great fairy tales stand out as answering to +this test--_Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, +Cinderella, Jack the Giant-Killer_,--which has been said to be the +epitome of the whole life of man--_Beauty and the Beast_, and a crowd +of others. Any fairy tale which answers to the test of a real classic +must, like these, show itself to contain for the child a permanent +enrichment of the mind. + +Fairy tales must have certain qualities which belong to all literature +as a fine art, whether it is the literature of knowledge or the +literature of power. Literature is not the book nor is it life; but +literature is the sense of life, whose artist is the author, and the +medium he uses is words, language. It is good art when his sense of +life is truth, and fine art when there is beauty in that truth. The +one essential beauty of literature is in its essence and does not +depend upon any decoration. As words are the medium, literature will +distinguish carefully among them and use them as the painter, for +particular lights and shades. According to Pater literature must have +two qualities, mind and soul. Literature will have mind when it has +that architectural sense of structure which foresees the end in the +beginning and keeps all the parts related in a harmonious unity. It +will have soul when it has that "vagrant sympathy" which makes it come +home to us and which makes it suggest what it does not say. Test the +_Tale of Cinderella_ by this standard. As to mind, it makes one think +of a bridge in which the very keystone of the structure is the +condition that Cinderella return from the ball by the stroke of +twelve. And its "vagrant sympathy" is quite definite enough to reach a +maid of five, who remarked: "If I'd have been Cinderella, I wouldn't +have helped those ugly sisters, would you?" + +If the fairy tale stands the test of literature it must have proved +itself, not only a genuine classic according to Sainte-Beuve's +standard, and a tale possessing qualities of mind and soul according +to Pater's _Style_, but it must have shown itself also a work owning +certain features distinguishing it as literature. These particular +literary marks which differentiate the literary tale from the ordinary +prose tale have been pointed out by Professor Winchester in his +_Principles of Literary Criticism_. They apply to the old tale of +primitive peoples just as well as to the modern tale of to-day. As +literature the tale must have: + + (1) a power to appeal to the emotions; + + (2) a power to appeal to the imagination; + + (3) a basis of truth; and + + (4) a form more or less perfect. + +(1) A power to appeal to the emotions. This appeal to the emotions is +its unique distinguishing literary trait. Literature appeals, not to +the personal emotions but to the universal ones. For this reason, +through literature the child may come in time to develop a power of +universal sympathy, which is not the least value literature has to +bestow upon him, for this sympathy will become a benediction to all +those with whom he may have to deal. In order that emotion in the +tales may be literary--make a permanent appeal--according to Professor +Winchester's standards, it must have justness given by a deep and +worthy cause; vividness so that it may enlarge and thrill; a certain +steadiness produced by everything in the tale contributing to the main +emotion; a variety resulting from contrasts of character; and a high +quality obtained through its sympathy with life and its relation to +the conduct of life, so that the feeling for the material beauty of +mere sights and sounds is closely related to the deepest suggestions +of moral beauty. The best literary tales will possess emotion having +all five characteristics. Many tales will exhibit one or more of these +traits conspicuously. No tale that is literature will be found which +does not lay claim to some one of these qualities which appeal to the +broadly human emotions. + +Applying the test of emotion to fairy tales, _Cinderella_ possesses a +just emotion, Cinderella's cause is the cause of goodness and kindness +and love, and deserves a just reward. _The Town Musicians of Bremen_ +exhibits vivid emotion, for all four characters are in the same +desperate danger of losing life, all four unite to save it, and to +find a home. Andersen's _Steadfast Tin Soldier_ is a good example of +steadiness of emotion, as it maintains throughout its message of +courage. The Tin Soldier remained steadfast, whether on the table just +escaped from the toy-box, or in the street after a frightful fall from +the window, or spinning in a paper boat that bobbed, or sailing under +the crossing, or lying at full length within the fish that swallowed +him, or at last melting in the full glare of the hearth fire. It is a +very good example, too, of vividness of emotion. _The Little Elves_ +illustrates steadiness of emotion, it is pervaded by the one feeling, +that industry deserves reward. The French tale, _Drakesbill_, is +especially delightful and humorous because "Bill Drake" perseveres in +his happy, fresh vivacity, at the end of every rebuff of fortune, and +triumphantly continues his one cry of, "Quack, quack, quack! When +shall I get my money back?" _Lambikin_ leaves the one distinct +impression of light gaiety and happy-heartedness; and _The Foolish, +Timid Rabbit_ preserves steadily the one effect of the credulity of +the animals, made all the more prominent by contrast to the wisdom of +the Lion. Variety of emotion appears in tales such as _Cinderella, +Little Two-Eyes, Sleeping Beauty_, and _Three Pigs_, where the various +characters are drawn distinctly and their contrasting traits produce +varied emotional effects. All the great fairy tales appeal to emotion +of a high moral quality and it is this which is the source of their +universal appeal. It is this high moral quality of the spiritual +truth, which is the center of the tale's unity, holding together all +the parts under one emotional theme. This is the source of the +perennial freshness of the old tale; for while the immortal truth it +presents is old, the personality of the child that meets it is new. +For the child, the tale is new because he discovers in it a bit of +himself he had not known before, and it retains for him a lasting +charm so that he longs to hear it again and again. The beauty of +truth, the reward of goodness, and the duty of fairness, give a high +emotional quality to _Little Two-Eyes_; and _Sleeping Beauty_ +illustrates the blighting power of hatred to impose a curse and the +saving power of love to overcome the works of hatred. + +Considering folk-tales from the standpoint of emotion, if asked to +suggest what author's work would rank in the same class, one is rather +surprised to find, that for high moral quality, variety, and worthy +cause, the author who comes to mind is none other than Shakespeare. +Perhaps, with all due respect to literature's idol, one might even +venture to question which receives honor by the comparison, +Shakespeare or the folk-tales? It might be rather a pleasant task to +discover who is the Cordelia, the Othello, the Rosalind, and the +Portia of the folk-tales; or who the Beauty, the Bluebeard, the +Cinderella, the Puss-in-Boots, and the Hop-o'-my-Thumb, of +Shakespeare. + +The little child is open to emotional appeal, his heart is tender and +he is impressionable. If he feels with the characters in his tales he +develops a power of emotion. In Andersen's _Snow Man_ it is hard to +say which seems more human to him or which makes more of an emotional +appeal, the Snow Man or the Dog. He is sorry for the poor Shoemaker in +_The Little Elves_, glad when he grows rich, delighted for the Elves +when they receive their presents, and satisfied at the happy end. +Since literature depicts life and character in order to awaken noble +emotions, it follows that one must omit to present what awakens +repulsive or degrading emotions. And it is for this reason, as has +been mentioned under the heading "Elements to be avoided," that the +tales of the witch and the dragon must be excluded, not for all time, +but for the earliest years, when they awaken horror. + +Through fairy tales we have seen that the emotional power of the child +is strengthened. This has been effected because, in the tale just as +truly as in life, action is presented in real situations; and back of +every action is the motive force of emotion. This cumulative power of +emotion, secured by the child through the handling of tales, will +serve daily a present need. It will be the dynamic force which he will +require for anything he wishes to accomplish in life. It will give the +child the ability to use it in any situation similar to that in which +it was acquired. It will make a difference in his speech; he will not +have to say so much, for what he does say will produce results. This +growing power of emotion will carry over into feelings of relation and +thus lead to judgment of values. This evaluation is the basis of +reasoning and answers to the child's daily call to think from causes +to consequences. This increasing power of emotion develops into the +æsthetic sensibilities and so results in a cultivation of taste and an +understanding of life. Emotion therefore leads to appreciation, which, +when logically developed, becomes expression. Fairy tales, thus, in +conducting emotional capacity through this varied growth and toward +this high development, hold an educational value of no mean order. + +(2) The power to appeal to the imagination. Emotion can be aroused by +showing the objects which excite emotion. Imagination is this power to +see and show things in the concrete. Curry says, "Whenever the soul +comes vividly in contact with any fact, truth, etc., whenever it takes +them home to itself with more than common intensity, out of that +meeting of the soul and its object there arises a thrill of joy, a +glow of feeling. It is the faculty that can create ideal presence." +When through imagination we select spontaneously from the elements of +experience and combine into new wholes, we call it creative +imagination.--The creative imagination will be viewed here as it +appears in action in the creative return given by the child to his +fairy tales.--When we emphasize a similarity seen in mere external or +accidental relations or follow suggestions not of an essential nature +in the object, we call it fancy. Ruskin, in his _Modern Painters_, +vol. I, part III, _Of the Imaginative Faculty_, would distinguish +three classes of the imagination:-- + +(a) _The associative imagination_. This is the power of imagination by +which we call into association other images that tend to produce the +same or allied emotion. When this association has no common ground of +emotion it is fancy. The test for the associative imagination, which +has the power to combine ideas to form a conception, is that if one +part is taken away the rest of the combination goes to pieces. It +requires intense simplicity, harmony, and absolute truth. Andersen's +_Fairy Tales_ are a perfect drill for the associative imagination. +Literature parallels life and what is presented calls up individual +experience. Any child will feel a thrill of kinship with the +experiences given in _The Tin Soldier_--a little boy's birthday, the +opening of the box, the counting of the soldiers, and the setting of +them upon the table. And because here Andersen has transformed this +usual experience with a vivacity and charm, the tale ranks high as a +tale of imagination. _Little Ida's Flowers_ and _Thumbelina_ are tales +of pure fancy. Grimm's _The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean_ and _The +Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle_ rank in the same class, as also +do the Norse _The Doll i' the Grass_ and the English _Tom Thumb_. + +(b) _The penetrative imagination_. This power of imagination shows the +real character of a thing and describes it by its spiritual effects. +It sees the heart and inner nature of things. Through fancy the child +cannot reach this central viewpoint since fancy deals only with +externals. Through the exercise of this power the child develops +insight, intuition, and a perception of spiritual values, and gains a +love of the ideal truth and a perpetual thirst for it. He develops +genuineness, one of the chief virtues of originality. He will tend not +to have respect for sayings or opinions but will seek the truth, be +governed by its laws, and hold a passion for perfection. This power of +imagination makes of him a continual seeker, "a pilgrim upon earth." +Through the penetrative imagination the child forgets himself and +enters into the things about him, into the doings of Three Pigs or the +adventures of Henny Penny. + +(c) _The contemplative imagination_. This is that special phase of the +imagination that gives to abstract being consistency and reality. +Through the contemplative imagination the child gains the significance +of meaning and discerns the true message of the tale. When merely +external resemblance is caught, when the likeness is forced, and the +image created believed in, we have fancy. The contemplative +imagination interprets the past in the tale and relates it to the +future. It shows what is felt by indicating some aspect of what is +seen. Through the exercise of this power the child develops the +capacity to see. This capacity has received a high estimate from +Ruskin, who said, "Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, +thousands can think for one who can see." For language-training the +capacity to see gives that ability to image words which results in +mental growth. + +The labor of the spirit seeking the full message of the fairy tale, +often is rewarded with bits of philosophy which are the essence of its +personal wisdom. Even the Woman Suffragists of our day might be amused +to find, in _The Cat and Mouse in Partnership_, this side-light on one +of their claims. The Mouse said she did not know what to think of the +curious names, Top-off, Half-Out, and All-Out, which the Cat had +chosen. To which the Cat replied, "That is because you always stay at +home. You sit here in your soft gray coat and long tail, and these +foolish whims get into your head. It is always the way when one does +not go out in the daytime." Sometimes the philosophy of the tale is +expressed not at all directly. This is the case in Andersen's _The +Emperor's New Suit_, a gem in story-telling art--more suited to the +second grade--where the purpose of the story is veiled, and the satire +or humor is conveyed through a very telling word or two.--"'I will +send my _old, honest_ minister to the weavers,' thought the Emperor. +And the old, honest minister went to the room where the two swindlers +sat working at empty looms. 'Heaven preserve me!' thought the old +minister, opening his eyes wide. 'Why, I cannot see anything!'--But he +did not say so." The entire tale is a concrete representation of one +point; and the concreteness is so explicit that at the close of the +story its philosophy easily forms itself into the implied message of +worldly wisdom: People are afraid to speak truth concerning much +through cowardice or through fear of acting otherwise than all the +world. The philosophy underlying _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ is even +finer as a bit of truth than the perfect art of the literary story: +That what happens in life does not matter so much as the way you take +it. The Tin Soldier always remained steadfast, no matter what +happened. Kipling's _Elephant's Child_ is more charming than ever when +looked at from the standpoint of its philosophy. It might be +interpreted as an allegory answering the question, "How should one get +experience?" a theme which cannot be said to lack universal appeal. +_The Ugly Duckling_ is full of sayings of philosophy that contribute +to its complete message. The Cat and the Hen to whom the duckling +crept for refuge said, "We and the world," and could not bear a +difference of opinion. "You may believe me," said the Hen, "because I +tell you the truth. That is the way to tell your friends." Their +treatment of the Duckling expressed the philosophy: "If you can't do +what I can you're no good." The Hen said to him, "You have nothing to +do, that's why you have such strange ideas." The Duckling expressed +his philosophy by saying quietly, "You don't understand me." + +These bits of philosophy often become compressed into expressions +which to-day we recognize as proverbs. The words of the Mother Duck, +"Into the water he goes if I have to kick him in," became a +Scandinavian proverb. "A little bird told it," a common saying of +to-day, appears in Andersen's _Nightingale_ and in _Thumbelina_. But +this saying is traceable at least to the third story of the fourth +night in Straparola, translated by Keightley, _The Dancing Water, the +Singing Apple, and the Beautiful Green Bird_, in which the bird tells +the King that his three guests are his own children. "Even a cat may +look at a king," is probably traceable to some fairy tale if not to +_Puss-in-Boots_. The philosophy in the fairy tales and the proverbs +that have arisen in them, are subjects which offer to the adult much +pleasure and fruitfulness. + +But one must ask, "Does this philosophy appeal to the child? Is it not +adult wisdom foreign to his immaturity?" The old folk-tales are the +products of adult minds; but the adults were grown-ups that looked +upon the world with the eyes of children, and their philosophy often +was the philosophy of childhood. For childhood has its philosophy; but +because it meets with repression on so many sides it usually keeps it +to itself. When given freedom and self-activity and self-expression, +the child's philosophy appears also. And it is the inner truth of the +tale rather than the outer forms of sense and shapes of beauty which, +when suited to the little child, appeals to this child-philosophy and +makes the deepest impression upon him. + +In the literary fairy tale there often appears a philosophy which is +didactic and above and beyond the child's knowledge of the world. It +remains a question how much this adult philosophy appeals to him. +Although his tales were written for his grandchildren, so finished a +telling of the tale as we find in Laboulaye, with its delightful hits +of satire, appeals more to the grown-up versed in the ways of the +world. But the sage remarks of worldly wisdom of Uncle Remus could not +fail to impress a little boy: "Go where you will and when you may, and +stay long ez you choosen ter stay, en right dar en den you'll sholy +fin' dat folks what git full er consate en proudness is gwine ter git +it tuck out 'm um."--Uncle Remus treated the little boy as if he was +"pestered with sense, like grown-ups," and surely the little boy +gained much amusement from sayings such as these: "If you know the man +thab would refuse to take care of himself, I'd like mighty well if +you'd point him out."--"Well, well," said Uncle Remus soothingly, "in +deze low groun's er sorrer, you des got to lean back en make +allowances fer all sorts er folks. You got ter low fer dem dat knows +too much same ez dem what knows too little. A heap er sayin's en a +heap er doin's in dis roun' worl' got ter be tuck on trus'."--The +child does not get the full force of the philosophy but he gets what +he can and that much sinks in. + +It is through the contemplative imagination that the child realizes +the meaning of particular tales. He learns: that _Cinderella_ means +that goodness brings its own reward; that _Three Pigs_ means that the +wise build with care and caution, with foresight; that _Star Dollars_ +means compassion for others and kindness to them; and that _Red Riding +Hood_ means obedience. + +The power of the contemplative imagination is based on the +indistinctness of the image. It suggests, too, the relation between +cause and effect, which reason afterwards proves; and therefore it is +a direct aid to science. In the tales there are expressed facts of +truth symbolically clothed which science since then has discovered. +And now that folk-lore is being studied seriously to unfold all it +gives of an earlier life, perhaps this new study may reveal some new +truths of science hidden in its depths. The marvels of modern shoe +manufacture were prophesied in _The Little Elves_, and the power of +electricity to hold fast was foretold in _Dummling and his Golden +Goose_. The wonders of modern machinery appeared in the magic axe of +Espen that hit at every stroke; and the miracle of modern canals sees +a counterpart in the spring which Espen brought to the giant's +boiling-pot in the wood. The magic sleep from which there was an +awakening, even after a hundred years, may have typified hypnotism and +its strange power upon man. These are realizations of some of the +wonders of fairyland. But there may be found lurking in its depths +many truths as yet undiscovered by science. Perhaps the dreams of +primitive man may suggest to the present-day scientist new +possibilities.--What primitive man has done in fancy present-day man +can do in reality. + +(3) A basis of truth. All fine emotional effects arise from truth. The +tale must hold the mirror and show an image of life. It must select +and combine facts which will suggest emotion but the facts must be a +true expression of human nature. The tale, whether it is realistic in +emphasizing the familiar, the commonplace, and the present, or +romantic in emphasizing the strange, the heroic, and the remote, must +be idealistic to interpret truly the facts of life by high ideals. If +the tale has this basis of truth the child will gain, through his +handling of it, a body of facts. This increases his knowledge and +strengthens his intellect. And it is to be remembered that, for the +child's all-round development, the appeal of literature to the +intellect is a value to be emphasized equally with the appeal to the +emotions and to the imagination. Speaking of the nature of the +intellect in his essay on _Intellect_, Emerson has said: "We do not +determine what we will think. We only open our senses, clear away as +we can all obstruction from the fact, and suffer the intellect to +see." Attention to the intellectual element in literature gives a +power of thought. The consideration of the truth of the fairy tale +aids the child to clear, definite thinking because the experience of +the tale is ordered from a beginning, through a development, to a +climax, and to a conclusion. It assists him to form conclusions +because it presents results of circumstances and consequences of +conduct. Continued attention to the facts, knowledge, and truth +presented in the tales, helps the child to grow a sincerity of spirit. +This leads to that love of actual truth, which is one of the armors of +middle life, against which false opinion falls harmless. + +(4) A form, more or less perfect. Form is the union of all the means +which the writer employs to convey his thought and emotion to the +reader. Flaubert has said, "Among all the expressions of the world +there is but _one_, one form, one mode, to express what I want to +say."--"Say what you have to say, what you have a will to say, in the +simplest, the most direct and exact manner possible, with no +surplusage," Walter Pater has spoken. Then the form and the matter +will fit each other so perfectly there will be no unnecessary +adornment. + +In regard to form it is to be remembered that feeling is best awakened +incidentally by suggestion. Words are the instruments, the medium of +the writer. Words have two powers: the power to name what they mean, +or denotation; and the power to suggest what they imply, or +connotation. Words have the power of connotation in two ways: They may +mean more than they say or they may produce emotional effect not only +from meaning but also from sound. To make these two suggestive powers +of words work together is the perfect art of Milton. Pope describes +for us the relation of sound to sense in a few lines which themselves +illustrate the point:-- + + Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows, + And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows. + But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, + The hoarse, rough verse, should like the torrent roar. + When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw. + The line too labors, and the words move slow: + Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, + Flies o'er the unbending corn and skims along the main. + +When a kindergarten child, the most timid one of a group, on listening +to the telling of _The Bremen Town Musicians_, at the description of +the Donkey and the Dog coming to the Cat, sitting in the road with a +face "dismal as three rainy Sundays," chuckled with humor at the word +"dismal," it was not because she knew the meaning of the word or the +significance of "three rainy Sundays," but because the sounds of the +words and the facial expression of the story-teller conveyed the +emotional effect, which she sensed. + +The connection between sound and action appears in _Little Spider's +First Web_: The Fly said, "Then I will _buzz_"; the Bee said, "Then I +will _hum_"; the Cricket said, "Then I will _chirp_"; the Ant said, +"Then I will _run_ to and fro"; the Butterfly said, "Then I will +_fly_"; and the Bird said, "Then I will _sing_." The effect is +produced here because the words selected are concrete ones which +visualize. Repetitive passages in the tales often contribute this +effect of sound upon meaning, as we find in _The Three Billy-Goats +Gruff_: "Trip, trap; trip, trap! went the bridge as the youngest +Billy-Goat Gruff came to cross the bridge." The sound of the words in +this entire tale contributes largely to the meaning. The Troll roared +and said, "Now I'm coming to gobble you up!" Usually the bits of rhyme +interspersed throughout the tales, illustrate this contribution of +sound to meaning; as in the _Three Pigs_:-- + + Then I'll huff, + And I'll puff, + And I'll blow your house in! + +Especially is this the case in tales dignified by the cante-fable +form; such as Grimm's _Cinderella_:-- + + Rustle and shake yourself, dear tree, + And silver and gold throw down to me! + +Or in _Little Two-Eyes_:-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + +Or in _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_:-- + + Ah, my brother, in the wood + A Iamb, now I must search for food! + +The suggestive power of words to convey more than they mean, is +produced, not only by the sounds contained in the words themselves, +but also largely by the arrangement of the words and by the +speech-tunes of the voice in speaking them. Kipling's _Elephant's +Child_ is a living example of the suggestive power of words. The "new, +fine question" suggests that the Elephant's Child had a habit of +asking questions which had not been received as if they were fine. +"Wait-a-bit thorn-bush," suggests the Kolokolo Bird sitting alone on +the bush in placid quiet. "And _still_ I want to know what the +crocodile has for dinner" implies that there had been enough spankings +to have killed the curiosity, but contrary to what one would expect, +it was living and active. When Kolokolo Bird said with a _mournful_ +cry, "Go to the banks of the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo River," +etc., the implication of _mournful_ is, that there the Elephant's +Child would have a sorry time of it. The expression, "dear families," +which occurs so often, is full of delightful irony and suggests the +vigorous treatment, anything but dear, which had come to the +Elephant's Child from them. + +Perfect form consists in the "ability to convey thought and emotion +with perfect fidelity." The general qualities characteristic of +perfect form, which have been outlined by Professor Winchester, in his +_Principles of Literary Criticism_, are: (1) precision or clearness; +(2) energy or force; (3) delicacy or emotional harmony; and (4) +personality. Precision or clearness demands the precise value and +meaning of words. It requires that words have the power of denotation. +It appeals to the intellect of the reader or listener and demands that +language be neither vague nor ambiguous nor obscure. Energy or force +demands that perfect form have the quality of emotion. It requires +that words have especially the power of connotation. It appeals to the +emotions of the reader or listener and has the power to hold the +attention. It demands of language that sympathy which will imply what +it would suggest. Delicacy or emotional harmony demands that perfect +form please the taste. It requires that an emotional harmony be +secured by a selection and arrangement of the melody of words and of +the emotional associations which, together with the meanings, are tied +up in words. It demands that words have the power of perfect +adaptation to the thought and feeling they express, that words have +both the power of denotation and of connotation. It appeals to the +æsthetic sense of the reader or listener, it gives to form beauty and +charm. Personality is the influence of the author, the charm of +individuality, and suggests the character of the writer. + +At the same time that perfect form is characterized by the general +qualities of precision, energy, delicacy, and personality, as +composition consisting of words, sentences, paragraphs, or large +wholes, its elements must be controlled by certain main principles, +which have been presented by Professor Barrett Wendell in _English +Composition_. Perfect form cannot possess the four general qualities +above mentioned unless its elements are controlled by these main +principles. These are: (1) the principle of sincerity; (2) the +principle of unity; (3) the principle of mass; and (4) the principle +of coherence. Sincerity demands of perfect form that it be a just +expression. Unity demands that every composition should group itself +about a central idea. There must be one story, all incidents +subordinated, one main course of action, one main group of characters, +and one tone of feeling to produce an emotional effect. Variety of +action must lead to one definite result and variety of feeling to one +total impression. Unity demands that the tale must have a plan that is +complete, with no irrelevant material, and that there must be a +logical order and a climax. Mass demands that the chief parts of every +composition should readily catch the eye. It maintains a harmonious +proportion of all the parts. Coherence demands of any composition that +the relation of each part to its neighbors should be unmistakable, and +that the order, forms, and connections of the parts preserve this +relation. + +When form secures a perfect adaptation of the language to the thought +and feeling expressed, it may be said to possess style, in a broad +sense of the word. In a more detailed sense, when form is +characterized by precision, energy, delicacy, and personality, and at +the same time has the elements of its composition controlled by the +principles of sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence, it is said to +possess style. The fairy tale which is a classic characterized by that +perfect form called style, will possess the general qualities of +precision, energy, delicacy, and personality; and the elements of its +structure, its words, its sentences, its paragraphs, will display a +control of the principles of sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence. + +A tale which well illustrates the literary form possible to the +child's tale, which may be said to possess that perfection of form we +call style, and which may be used with the distinct aim to improve the +child's English and perfect his language expression, is the modern +realistic fairy tale, _Oeyvind and Marit_. + +_Oeyvind and Marit_ is so entirely realistic as to be excluded here, +but the talking rhymes which the Mother sings to Oeyvind bring in the +fairy element of the talking animals. In the form of this tale, the +perfect fidelity with which the words fit the meaning is +apparent--nothing seems superfluous. When Oeyvind asked Marit who she +was, she replied:-- + +"I am Marit, mother's little one, father's fiddle, the elf in the +house, granddaughter of Ole Nordistuen of the Heidi farms, four years +old in the autumn, two days after the frost nights, I!" + +And Oeyvind replied:-- + + "Are you really?"--and drew a long breath which he had not + dared to do so long as she was speaking. + +The story is full of instances illustrating precision, energy, and +delicacy. In fact, almost any passage exemplifies the general +qualities of form and the qualities of composition. The personality of +the writer has given to the tale a poetic and dramatic charm of +simplicity. Note the precision and delicacy displayed in the opening +paragraph:-- + + Oeyvind was his name. A low barren cliff overhung the house + in which he was born; fir and birch looked down on the roof, + and wild cherry strewed flowers over it. Upon this roof + there walked about a little goat, which belonged to Oeyvind. + He was kept there that he might not go astray; and Oeyvind + carried leaves and grass up to him. One fine day the goat + leaped down, and away to the cliff; he went straight up and + came where he never had been before. + +Energy is apparent in the following passage:-- + + "Is it yours, this goat?" asked the girl again. + + "Yes," he said, and looked up. + + "I have taken such a fancy to the goat. You will not give it + to me?" + + "No, that I won't." + + She lay kicking her legs and looking down at him, and then + she said, "But if I give you a butter-cake for the goat, can + I have him then?" + +The justness of expression, the sincerity, is especially impressive +when Oeyvind's Mother came out and sat down by his side when the goat +no longer satisfied him and he wanted to hear stories of what was far +away. There is emotional harmony too, because the words suggest the +free freshness of the mountain air and the landscape which rose round +about the Boy and his Mother. + + So she told him how once everything could talk: "The + mountain talked to the stream, and the stream to the river, + the river to the sea, and the sea to the sky."--But then he + asked if the sky did not talk to any one: "And the sky + talked to the clouds, the clouds to the trees, the trees to + the grass, the grass to the flies, the flies to the animals, + the animals to the children, the children to the grown-up + people...." Oeyvind looked at the mountain, the trees, and + the sky and had never seen them before. + +There is delicacy or emotional harmony also in the Mother's song. When +Oeyvind asked, "What does the Cat say?" his Mother sang:-- + + At evening softly shines the sun. + The cat lies lazy on the stone. + Two small mice, + Cream, thick and nice, + Four bits of fish, + 1 stole behind a dish, + And am so lazy and tired, + Because so well I have fared. + +The unity is maintained through the central interest of the two +Children and the goat. + +The tale is characterized by fairly good mass. As the story aims to +portray a natural picture of child life, obviously it could not +maintain a style of too great solidity and force, but rather would +seek one of ease and naturalness. Mass, as shown in _Oeyvind and +Marit_, appears in the following description of Oeyvind's play with +the goat, after he first realized its return:-- + + He jumped up, took it by the two fore-legs, and danced with + it as if it were a brother; he pulled its beard, and he was + just going in to his mother with it, when he heard someone + behind him; and looking, saw the girl sitting on the + greensward by his side. Now he understood it all, and let go + the goat. + +The story of child-friendship is told in distinct little episodes +which naturally connect. That unmistakable relation of the parts which +is essential to coherence, appears in the following outline of the +story:-- + + 1. A new acquaintance; Oeyvind and Marit meet. The exchange of a + goat for a cake. The departure of the goat. Marit sings to the + goat. The return of the goat. Marit accompanies the goat. + + 2. New interests. The stories of what the animals say, told to + Oeyvind by his Mother. The first day of school. + + 3. An old acquaintance renewed: Oeyvind again meets Marit at + School. + +The Children's love of the goat, the comradeship of Oeyvind and Marit, +of Oeyvind and his Mother, and of Marit and her Grandfather, are +elements which assist in producing coherence. The songs of Marit, and +the songs and stories of Oeyvind's Mother, especially preserve the +relation of parts. In the following paragraphs, which give distinct +pictures, note the coherence secured internally largely by the +succession of verbs denoting action and also by the denotation of the +words. + + When he came in, there sat as many children round a table as + he had ever seen at church; others were sitting on their + luncheon-boxes, which were ranged round the walls; some + stood in small groups round a large printed card; the + school-master, an old gray-haired man, was sitting on a + stool by the chimney-corner, filling his pipe. They all + looked up as Oeyvind and his mother entered, and the + mill-hum ceased as if the water had suddenly been turned + off.... + + As he was going to find his seat, they all wanted to make + room for him. He looked round a long time, while they + whispered and pointed; he turned round on all sides, with + his cap in his hand and his book under his arm.... + + Just as the boy is going to turn round to the school-master, + he sees close beside him, sitting down by the hearthstone on + a little red painted tub, Marit, of the many names; she had + covered her face with both hands, and sat peeping at him + through her fingers. + +The imagination is appealed to continually through the simple concrete +expressions which present an image; as, "He grew hot all over, looked +around about, and called, 'Killy-killy-killy-goat!'" + +The emotional element is distinct and pleasing and contributes to the +total impression of admiration for the characters. We admire Oeyvind +for his fondness for the goat and for his pain at losing it; for his +dissatisfaction in keeping it after Marit returned it, though she +wanted it; for his delight in his Mother's stories; and for his +pleasure in Marit's friendship at school. We admire Marit for her +appreciation of the beautiful goat; for her obedience to her +Grandfather; for her sorrow at giving up the goat; for her generosity +in giving the neck-chain with it; and for the childish comradeship she +gave to Oeyvind. We admire the goat for his loyalty to his little +master. We trust the Grandfather who trained Marit to be fair and +courteous; who guarded her from the cliff; and who bought for her +another goat. We have faith in the Mother who had feeling for the +little goat her son bartered for a cake; and who had the wisdom to +sing for her little boy and tell him stories when he was sorrowful and +needed new interests. + +Undoubtedly _Oeyvind and Marit_ is a tale which conveys its thought +clearly and makes you feel its feeling, and therefore may be said to +possess style in a broad sense. In a particular sense, because its +form is marked by the four general qualities: precision, energy, +delicacy, and personality; and its elements are controlled by the +principles of composition: sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence, it +therefore may be said to possess style. + +An old tale which has a literary form unusual in its approach to the +perfect literary form, is the Norse, _The Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, +told by Dasent in _Tales from the Norse_. Indeed after looking +carefully at this tale one is tempted to say that, for perfection of +style, some of the old folk-tales are not to be equaled. Note the +simple precision shown in the very first paragraph:-- + + Once on a time there were three Billy-Goats, who were to go + up to the hill-side to make themselves fat, and the name of + all three was "Gruff." + +Energy or force appeals to the emotions in the words of the tiny +Billy-Goat Gruff to the Troll:-- + + "Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," + said the Billy-Goat; "wait a bit till the second Billy-Goat + Gruff comes, he's much bigger." + +There is emotional harmony displayed in the second paragraph; the +words used fit the ideas:-- + + On the way up was a bridge over a burn they had to cross; + and under the bridge lived a great ugly Troll, with eyes as + big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker. + +The quality of personality is best described, perhaps, by saying that +the tale seems to have impersonality. Any charm of the story-tellers +of the ages has entered into the body of the tale, which has become an +objective presentment of a reality that concentrates on itself and +keeps personality out of sight. The character of the tellers is shown +however in the qualities of the tale. The charm of the primitive +story-tellers has given the tale inimitable morning-dew freshness. +This seems to result from a fine simplicity, a sprightly +visualization, a quaint picturesqueness, a pleasing terseness, and an +Anglo-Saxon vigor. + +Sincerity is displayed in the words of the Troll and of the three +Billy-Goats. Note the sincerity of little Billy-Goat Gruff:-- + + "Oh! it is only I, the tiniest Billy-Goat Gruff; and I'm + going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the + Billy-Goat, with such a small voice. + +The unity in this tale is unusually good. The central idea which +groups all the happenings in the tale is: Three Billy-Goats are +crossing a bridge to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat. +There are four characters, three Goats and the Troll. All that happens +in the tale contributes to the one effect of a bridge going trip, +trap! as a Goat crossed it on his way up the hillside; of a Troll +roaring: "Who's that tripping over my bridge?" of the explanation of +the Billy-Goat; of the answer of the Troll, "Now I'm coming to gobble +you up"; and of the Billy-Goat's final petition. Unity is emphasized +by the repetition in the tale, as the three Billy-Goats successively +cross the bridge and reply to the Troll. The climax is the big +Billy-Goat Gruff's tramp across the bridge. + +This tale is characterized by perfect mass, the paragraphs always end +with words that deserve distinction, and the sentences have their +strongest words at the points where the eye would most readily see +them; as, "But just then up came the big Billy-Goat Gruff." The +coherence is fine, and is secured largely by the cumulative plan in a +threefold sense. The relation of the parts is unmistakable. The +similarity and contrast evident in the episodes of the three +Billy-Goats makes this relation very clearly defined. To make doubly +sure the end has been reached the tale concludes:-- + + Snip, snap, snout, + This tale's told out. + +Let us examine the folk-tale generally as to its literary form. The +folk-tale originally did not come from the people in literary form. +The tale was first told by some nameless primitive man, who, returning +from some adventure of everyday life, would narrate it to a group of +his comrades. First told to astonish and interest, or to give a +warning of the penalty of breaking Nature's laws, or to teach a moral +lesson, or to raise a laugh, later it became worked up into the +fabulous stories of gods and heroes. These fabulous stories developed +into myth-systems, and these again into household tales. By constant +repetition from one generation to another, incidents likely to happen +in everyday life, which represented universal experiences and +satisfied common needs of childhood, were selected and combined. These +gradually assumed a form of simplicity and literary charm, partly +because, just as a child insists on accuracy, savage people adhered +strictly to form in repeating the tale, and because it is a law of +permanence that what meets the universal need will survive. The great +old folk-tales have acquired in their form a clearness and precision; +for in the process of telling and re-telling through the ages all the +episodes became clearly defined. And as irrelevant details dropped +out, there developed that unity produced by one dominant theme and one +dominant mood. The great old folk-tales, then, naturally acquired a +good classic literary form through social selection and survival. But +many of the tales as we know them have suffered either through +translation or through careless modern retelling. Many of the +folk-tales take on real literary form only through the re-treatment of +a literary artist. Mrs. Steel, who has collected the _Tales of the +Punjab_, tells how the little boys of India who seek to hold their +listening groups will vary the incidents in a tale in different +tellings, proving that the complete tale was not the original unit, +but that single incidents are much more apt to retain their stock +forms than plots. The combination we now have in a given tale was +probably a good form once hit upon and thereafter transmitted. + +Jacob (1785-1863) and William (1786-1859) Grimm, both fine scholars, +incapable of any but good work, did not undertake to put the tale into +literary form suited to children. They were interested in preserving +folk-lore records for scientific purposes. And we must distinguish +between the tale as a means of reflecting the ideals of social and +religious life, of displaying all the genius of primitive man for +science to interpret, and the tale as a means of pleasing and +educating the child. The Grimms obtained most of their tales from the +lips of people in Hesse and Hanau, Germany. They were very fortunate +in securing many of the tales they were thirteen years in collecting, +from an old nurse, Frau Vichmannin, the wife of a cowherd, who lived +at Niederzwehrn, near Cassel, who told her story with exactness and +never changed anything in repeating. Grimm himself said, "Our first +care was faithfulness to the truth. We strove to penetrate into the +wild forests of our ancestors, listening to their noble language, +watching their pure customs, recognizing their ancient freedom and +hearty faith." The Grimms sought the purity of a straightforward +narration. They were against reconstruction to beautify and poetize +the legends. They were not opposed to a free appropriation for modern +and individual purposes. They kept close to the original, adding +nothing of circumstance or trait, but rendering the stories in a style +and language and development of detail which was their own literary +German. + +Perrault (1628-1703) had taken the old tales as his son, Charles, a +lad of ten or twelve, told them. The father had told them to the son +as he had gathered them up, intending to put them into verse after the +manner of La Fontaine. The lad loved the stories and re-wrote them +from memory for his father with such charming naïveté that the father +chose the son's version in preference to his own, and published it. +But the tales of Perrault, nevertheless, show the embellishment of the +mature master-Academician's touch in subduing the too marvelous tone, +or adding a bit of court manners, or a satirical hit at the vanity and +failings of man. + +Dasent (1820-96) has translated the Norse tales from the original +collection of Asbjörnsen and Moe. Comrades from boyhood to manhood, +scholar and naturalist, these two together had taken long walks into +the secluded peasant districts and had secured the tales from the +people of the dales and fells, careful to retain the folk-expressions. +Dasent, with the instinct, taste, and skill of a true scholar, has +preserved these tales of an honest manly race, a race of simple men +and women, free and unsubdued. He has preserved them in their +folk-language and in their true Norse setting. Harris (1848-1908) has +given his tales in the dialect of Uncle Remus. Jacobs (1854-) has +aimed to give the folk-tales in the language of the folk, retaining +nurses' expressions, giving a colloquial and romantic tone which often +contains what is archaic and crude. He has displayed freedom with the +text, invented whole incidents, or completed incidents, or changed +them. His object has been to fill children's imaginations with bright +images. Andrew Lang (1844-1912) has given the tale mainly to entertain +children. He has accepted translations from many sources and has given +a straightforward narration. He has collected fairy tales +indefatigably in his rainbow _Fairy Books_, but they are not always to +be recommended for children. + +Andersen (1805-75), like Perrault, made his tale for the child as an +audience, and he too has put the tale into literary form. Andersen's +tale is not the old tale, but an original creation, a number of which +are based on old folk-material. Preserving the child's point of view, +Andersen has enriched his language with a mastery of perfection and +literary style. And the "mantle of Andersen" has, so far, fallen on no +one. + +To-day it is to be questioned if the child should be given the tale in +nurses' talk. To-day children are best cared for by mothers who feel +ignorant if they cannot tell their children stories, and who, having +an appreciation of their mother English, want their children to hear +stories, not only told by themselves rather than by their servants, +but also told in the best literary form possible. They recognize that +these earliest years, when the child is first learning his language, +are the years for a perfection of form to become indelibly impressed. +The fairy tale, like every piece of literature, is an organism and +"should be put before the youngest child with its head on, and +standing on both feet." The wholesale re-telling of every tale is to +be deplored. And stories which have proved themselves genuine +classics, which have a right to live, which have been handed down by +tradition, which have been preserved by folk-lore records, and which +have been rescued from oblivion,--in this age of books should have a +literary form, which is part of their message, settled upon them. The +Grimm tales await their literary master. + + + +III. THE FAIRY TALE AS A SHORT-STORY + + +The fairy tale, then, which in an objective sense, from the standpoint +of literature, has proved itself subject-matter of real worth, must be +a classic, must have the qualities of mind and soul, must possess the +power to appeal to the emotions, a power to appeal to the imagination, +and it must have a basis of truth and a perfection of form. But in +addition to possessing these characteristics, because the fairy tale +is a special literary form,--the short-story,--as literature it must +stand the test of the short-story. + +The three main characteristics of the short-story, as given by +Professor Brander Matthews in his _Philosophy of the Short-Story_, are +originality of theme, ingenuity of invention, and brevity, or +compression. A single effect must be conceived, and no more written +than contributes to that effect. The story depends for its power and +charm on (1) characters; (2) plot; and (3) setting. In _The Life and +Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson_, by Graham Balfour, Stevenson has +said, concerning the short-story:-- + + "There are, so far as I know, three ways, and three ways + only, of writing a story. You may take a plot and fit + characters to it, or you may take a character and choose + incidents and situations to develop it, or lastly--you must + bear with me while I try to make this clear.... You may take + a certain atmosphere and get action and persons to express + and realize it. I'll give you an example--_The Merry Men_. + There I began with the feeling of one of those islands on + the west coast of Scotland, and I gradually developed the + story to express the sentiment with which the coast affected + me." + +According to the method by which the story was made, the emphasis will +be on character, plot, or setting. Sometimes you may have a perfect +blending of all three. + +(1) Characters. The characters must be unique and original, so that +they catch the eye at once. They dare not be colorless, they must have +striking experiences. The Elephant's Child, Henny Penny, Medio +Pollito, Jack of the Beanstalk, the Three Pigs, the Three Bears, and +Drakesbill--the characters of the fairy tales have no equal in +literature for freshness and vivacity. The very mention of the thought +brings a smile of recognition; and it is for this reason, no doubt, +that leading men in large universities turn aside from their high +scholarly labors, to work or play with fairy tales. Besides the +interesting chief characters, moreover, there are many more +subordinate characters that are especially unique: the fairies, the +fairy godmothers and wise women, the elves of the trees, the dwarfs of +the ground, the trolls of the rocks and hills, and the giants and +witches. Then that great company of toilers in every occupation of +life bring the child in touch with many novel phases of life. At best +we are all limited by circumstances to a somewhat narrow sphere and +like to enter into all that we are not. The child, meeting in his tale +the shoemaker, the woodcutter, the soldier, the fisherman, the hunter, +the poor traveler, the carpenter, the prince, the princess, and a host +of others, gets a view of the industrial and social conditions that +man in simple life had to face. This could not fail to interest; and +it not only broadens his experience and deepens his sympathy, but is +the best means for acquiring a foundation upon which to build his own +vocational training. This acquisition is one contribution of +literature to industrial work. Those characters will appeal to the +child which present what the child has noticed or can notice. They +should appear as they do in life, by what they say and by what they +do. This, in harmony with the needs of the young child, makes the +tales which answer to the test of suitability, largely dramatic. + +(2) Plot. The characters of the tales can be observed only in action. +Plot is the synthesis of the actions, all the incidents which happen +to the characters. The plot gives the picture of experience and allows +us to see others through the events which come to them. According to +Professor Bliss Perry, the plot should be entertaining, comical, +novel, or thrilling. It should present images that are clear-cut and +not of too great variety. It should easily separate itself into large, +leading episodes that stand out distinctly. The sequence of events +should be orderly and proceed without interruption. The general +structure should easily be discerned into the beginning, the middle, +and the end. Various writers of tales have their particular ways of +beginning. Andersen loses no time in getting started, while Kipling +begins by stating his theme. The old tales frequently began with the +words, "Once upon a time," which Kipling modified to "In the High and +Far-Off times, O Best Beloved," etc. Hawthorne begins variously with +"Once upon a time", or, "Long, long ago"; or, "Did you ever hear of +the golden apples?" etc.--Hawthorne has been omitted in this book +because, so far as I can discover, he furnishes no tale for the +kindergarten or first grade. His simplest tale, _Midas and the Golden_ +_Touch_, properly belongs in the second grade when told; when read, in +the fourth grade.--The introduction, in whatever form, should be +simple and to the point. It should give the time and place and present +the characters; and if good art it will be impatient of much +preliminary delay. The great stories all show a rise of interest +culminating in one central climax; and after that, sometimes following +on its very heels, the conclusion where poetic justice is meted out. +This climax is a very important feature in the tale, so important that +it has been said, "The climax is the tale." It is the point where +interest focuses. It makes the story because it is where the point of +the story is made. In a good story this point always is made +impressive and often is made so by means of surprise. The conclusion +must show that the tale has arrived at a stopping place and in a moral +tale it must leave one satisfied, at rest. + +If the folk-tale is good narration, in answer to the question, "What?" +it will tell what happened; in answer to the question, "Who?" it will +tell to whom it happened; in answer to the question, "Where?" it will +tell the place where, and the time when, it happened; and in answer to +the question, "Why?" it will give the reason for telling the story, it +will give the message, and the truth embodied in its form. As +narration the tale must have truth, interest, and consistency. Its +typical mood must be action and its language the language of +suggestion. This language of suggestion appears when it shows an +object by indicating how it is like something else; by telling what we +feel when we see the object; and by telling what actions of the person +or object make it hateful or charming. We learn to know Andersen's +Snow Man through what the Dog says of him. + +Description, in the sense of a static, detailed delineation of various +qualities of objects, has no place in the child's story, for it bores +the child, who is very persistent in wanting the main theme +uninterrupted. But description that has touches of movement and action +or that lays emphasis on a single effect and has point, distinctly +aids visualization, and produces a pleasing result, as we have seen in +Kipling's _Elephant's Child_. The young child of to-day, trained in +nature study to look upon bird, tree, and flower with vital interest, +to observe the color and the form of these, gains a love of the +beautiful that makes him exclaim over the plumage of a bird or tint of +a flower. To him beauty in the tale must make a direct appeal which +the child unfamiliar with these things might not feel. _The Wonderful +Adventures of Nils_ makes an appeal to the modern child which could +not possibly have been felt by the child living before 1850. The +modern child brought up on phonics is sensitive to sound also, and +open to an appreciation of the beauty of the individual word used in +description. This description, when it occurs, should be characterized +mainly by aptness and concreteness. + +Having observed the general characteristics of the narrative contained +in the plot, let us examine the structure of a few tales to see: What +is the main theme of the plot and how it works itself out; what are +the large, leading episodes, and how they culminate in the climax; and +what is the conclusion, and how closely it follows the climax. + +_The Story of Three Pigs_ + + I. _Introduction_. Time. Place. Characters: Mother and + Three Pigs. Mother gone. + + II. _Rise_. + + 1. First Pig's venture with a man with a load of straw. + Builds a straw house. (Wolf enters.) + Wolf comes and destroys him. + + 2. Second Pig's venture with a man with a load of furze. + Builds a furze house. + Wolf comes and destroys him. + + 3. Third Pig's venture with a man with a load of bricks. + Builds a brick house. + Wolf comes. (Climax.) + + III. _Conclusion_. Third Pig outwits the Wolf. + At the turnip-field in Mr. Smith's home-field. + At the apple tree in Merry-Garden. + At the fair at Shanklin. + At his own brick house. + +Evidently the climax here is when the Wolf comes to the third Pig's +brick house. After that things take a turn; and the final test of +strength and cleverness comes at the very end of the tale, at Little +Pig's brick house. + +Grimm's _Briar Rose_ is a model of structure and easily separates +itself into ten large episodes. + +_Briar Rose_ + + 1. _The Introduction_. + + 2. The Christening Feast. + (a) The Fairies and their gifts. + (b) The wicked Fairy and her curse. + + 3. The King's decree. + + 4. Princess Rose's birthday. + (a) Princess Rose's visit to the old tower. + (b) Princess Rose and the wicked Fairy spinning. + (c) The magic sleep. + + 5. The hedge of briars. + + 6. The Prince and the old Man. + + 7. The Prince and the opening hedge. + + 8. The Prince in the castle. (Climax.) + + 9. The awakening. + + 10. The wedding. (Conclusion.) + +The climax here is the Prince's awakening kiss. The blossoming of the +hedge into roses prepares for the climax; and the conclusion--the +awakening of all the life of the castle and the wedding--follow +immediately after. + +(3) Setting. The third element of the short-story that is essential to +its power and charm is setting. The setting is the circumstances or +events which surround the characters and action. The setting occupies +a much more important place in the tale than we realize, for it is the +source of a variety of sensations and feelings which it may arouse. It +gives the poetic or artistic touch to a tale. In the old tale the +setting is given often in a word or two which act like magic, to open +to our eyes a whole vision of associations. The road in the _Three +Pigs_, the wood in _Red Riding Hood_, the castle in the _Sleeping +Beauty_--these add charm. Often the transformation in setting aids +greatly in producing effect. In _Cinderella_ the scene shifts from the +hearth to the palace ballroom; in the _Princess and the Pea_, from the +comfortable castle of the Queen to the raging storm, and then back +again to the castle, to the breakfast-room on the following morning. +In _Snow White and Rose Red_ the scene changes from the cheery, +beautiful interior of the cottage, to the snowstorm from which the +Bear emerged. In accumulative tales, such as _The Old Woman and her +Pig_, _Medio Pollito_, and _The Robin's Christmas Song_, the sequence +of the story itself is preserved mainly by the change of setting. This +appears in the following outline of _The Robin's Christmas Song_, an +English tale which is the same as the Scotch _Robin's Yule-Song_, +which has been attributed to Robert Burns. This tale illustrates one +main line of sequence:-- + +_The Robin's Christmas Song_ + + 1. _Introduction_. A sunny morning. Waterside. A Gray Pussy. + A Robin came along. + + 2. _Rise_. + + Pussy said, ... "See my white fur." + + Robin replied, ... "You ate the wee mousie." + + _Change in setting_. Stone wall on border of the wood. A + greedy Hawk, sitting. + + Hawk said, ... "See the speckled feather in my wing." + + Robin replied, ... "You pecked the sparrow," etc. + + _Change in setting_. Great rock. A sly Fox. + + Fox said, "See the spot on my tail." + + Robin replied, "You bit the wee lambie." + + _Change in setting_. Banks of a rivulet. A small Boy. + + Boy said, "See the crumbs in my pocket." + + Robin replied, "You caught the goldfinch." + + _Change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill. The + King at the window. + + Robin sang, "A song for the King." + + King replied, "What shall we give Robin?" + + 3. _Conclusion_. + + _No change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill. + The King at the window. + + King Filled a plate and set it on the window sill. + + Robin Ate, sang a song again, and flew away. + +Here, not only the sequence of the tale is held largely by the change +in setting, but also the pleasure in the tale is due largely to the +setting, the pictures of landscape beauty it presents, and the +feelings arising from these images. + +A Japanese tale, in which the setting is a large part of the tale, and +a large element of beauty, is _Mezumi, the Beautiful_, or _The Rat +Princess_. + +A Grimm tale in which the setting is a very large element of pleasure +and in which it preserves the sequence of the tale, is _The Spider and +the Flea_, a lively accumulative tale that deserves attention for +several reasons.--A Spider and a Flea dwelt together. One day a number +of unusual occurrences happened, so that finally a little Girl with a +water-pitcher broke it, and then the Streamlet from which she drew the +water asked, "Why do you break your pitcher, little Girl?" And she +replied:-- + + The little Spider's burned herself. + And the Flea weeps; + The little Door creaks with the pain, + And the Broom sweeps; + The little Cart runs on so fast, + And the Ashes burn; + The little Tree shakes down its leaves. + Now it is my turn! + +And then the Streamlet said, "Now I must flow." + +And it flowed on and on, getting bigger and bigger, until it swallowed +up the little Girl, the little Tree, the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom, +the Door, the Flea, and at last, the Spider--all together. + +Here we have a tale, which, in its language, well illustrates +Stevenson's "pattern of style," especially as regards the harmony +produced by the arrangement of letters. From the standpoint of style, +this tale might be named, _The Adventure of the Letter E_; it +illustrates the part the phonics of the tale may contribute to the +effect of the setting. Follow the letter _e_ in the opening of the +tale, both as to the eye and the ear:-- + + A Spid_e_r and a Fl_e_a dw_e_lt tog_e_th_e_r in on_e_ + hous_e_ and br_e_w_e_d th_e_ir b_ee_r in an _e_gg-shell. + On_e_ day wh_e_n th_e_ Spid_e_r was stirring it up sh_e_ + f_e_ll in and burn_e_d h_e_rs_e_lf. Th_e_r_e_upon th_e_ + Fl_e_a b_e_gan to scr_e_am. And th_e_n th_e_ Door ask_e_d, + "Why ar_e_ you scr_e_aming, littl_e_ Fl_e_a?" + +If we follow the _e_ sound through the tale, we find it in _Flea, +beer, scream, creak, weeps, sweep, reason, heap_, _Tree, leaves_, and +_Streamlet_. This repetition of the one sound puts music into the tale +and creates a center of the harmony of sound. But if we examine the +next part of the tale we find a variety of sounds of _o_ in +_thereupon, Door, Broom, stood_, and _corner_. Later, in connection +with _Cart_, we have _began, fast, past_, and _Ashes_. Other phonic +effects are crowded into the tale; such as the sound of _l_ in +_violently, till, all, leaves_, and _fell_; the sound of _i_ in +_little_ and _Girl_; of _p_ in _pitcher_ and _passing_; of _t_ in +_little_ and _pitcher_; and of _ew_ in _threw_ and _drew_. Altogether +this very effective use of sound is a fine employment of concrete +language, words which present images that are clear-cut as a cameo. It +also gives to the tale a poetical touch. + +_Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_, an English tale, and a parallel of _The +Spider and the Flea_, preserves the same beauty and sequence by means +of its setting and illustrates the same very unusual contribution of +the sounds of particular letters combined in the harmony of the whole. +_The Phonics of the Fairy Tales_ is a subject which yields much +interest and, as yet, has been almost untouched. + +In _The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet_, in part I, _The Trip +to the Nut-Hill_, taken from Arthur Rackham's _Grimm Tales_, the +setting contributes largely to the attractiveness of the tale, as is +shown in Rackham's beautiful illustration. The setting is given +throughout the tale often in a telling word or two. Chanticleer and +Partlet went up the _nut-hill_ to gather nuts before the _squirrel_ +carried them all away. The _day_ was _bright_ and they stayed till +_evening_. The _carriage_ of _nut-shells_; the _Duck_ they met; the +_dirty road_ they traveled in the _pitch dark_; the _Inn_ they arrived +at; the _night_ at the Inn; the early _dawn_; the _hearth_ where they +threw the egg-shells; the Landlord's _chair_ whose _cushion_ received +the Needle; the _towel_ which received the Pin; the _heath_ over which +they hurried away; the _yard_ of the Inn where the Duck slept and the +_stream_ he escaped by; the Landlord's _room_ where he gained +experience with his towel; the _kitchen_ where the egg-shells from the +_hearth_ flew into his face; and the _arm-chair_ which received him +with a Needle--these are all elements of setting which contribute +largely to the humor and the beauty of the tale. + +A blending of the three elements, characters, plot, and setting, +appears in the following outline of _The Elves and the Shoemaker_:-- + +_The Elves and the Shoemaker_ + + 1. _Introduction_. A poor Shoemaker. A poor room containing + a bed and a shoemaker's board. Leather for one pair of + shoes. + + 2. _Development_. + + First night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes ready + next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for two pairs. + + Second night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes + ready next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for four + pairs. + + One night ... Conversation of Shoemaker and his wife: + "I should like to sit up to-night to see who it is that + makes the shoes." They sat up. Two Elves ran in, sewed, + rapped, and tapped, and ran away when the shoes were + made. + + Day after ... Conversation. "These Elves made us rich. + I should like to do something for them. You make each + of them a little pair of shoes, and I will make them + each a little shirt, a coat, a waistcoat, trousers, and + a pair of stockings." + + Christmas Eve ... Finished shoes and clothes put on the + table. Shoemaker and Wife hid in the corner of the room + behind clothes, and watched. (Climax.) + + Elves came in and put on clothes. + + 3. _Conclusion_. + + Happy end. Elves danced and sang,-- + + "Smart and natty boys are we, + Cobblers we'll no longer be." + + Shoemaker and Wife became happy and prosperous. + +The characters of this tale are usual, a poor Shoemaker and his Wife; +and unusual, the dainty Elves who made shoes in a twinkling. But the +commonplace peasants become interesting through their generosity, +kindness, and service to the Elves; and the Elves become human in +their joy at receiving gifts. The structure of the tale is so distinct +as to be seen a thing itself, apart from the story. The framework is +built on what happens on two nights and following nights, the +conversation of the next day, and what happens on Christmas Eve. The +climax evidently is what the Shoemaker and his Wife hid in the corner +to see--the entrance of the Elves on Christmas Eve--which episode has +been interpreted charmingly by the English illustrator, Cruikshank. +The joy of the Elves and of the two aged people, the gifts received by +the one and the riches won by the other, form the conclusion, which +follows very closely upon the climax. The commonplace setting, the +poor room with its simple bed and table, becomes transformed by the +unusual happenings in the place. If we should take away this setting, +we see how much the tale would suffer. Also without the characters the +tale would be empty. And without the interesting, human, humorous, and +pleasing plot, characters and setting would be insufficient. Each +element of the short-story contributes its fair share to the tale, and +blends harmoniously in the whole. + +Various standards for testing the folk-tale have been given by +writers. One might refer to the standards given by Wilman in his +_Pedagogische Vorträge_ and those mentioned by William Rein in _Das +Erste Schuljahr_. We have seen here that the fairy tale must contain +the child's interests and it must be able to stand the test of a true +classic. It must stand the test of literature in its appeal to emotion +and to imagination, in its appeal to the intellect through its basis +of truth, and to the language-sense through its perfection of form; it +must stand the test of the short-story and of good narration and of +description. Let us now examine a few of the old tales to see how they +stand the complete test:-- + +_How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner_ + + _This story of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went out to + Dinner_ appeals to the children's interest in a family + dinner--they went to dine with their Uncle and Aunt, Thunder + and Lightning. The characters are interesting to the child, + for they are the inhabitants of his sky that cause him much + wonder: the star, the sun, the moon, the thunder, and the + lightning. To the little child, who as she watched a + grown-up drying her hands, remarked, "I wouldn't like to be + a towel, would you?" the idea of the moon, sun, and wind + possessing personality and going to a dinner-party will + amuse and please. The theme of the story finds a place in + the experience of children who go to a party; and secretly + they will enjoy making comparisons. When they go to a party + they too like to bring something home; but they wouldn't + think of hiding goodies in their hands. They are fortunate + enough to have their hostess give them a toy animal or a box + of sweetmeats, a tiny dolly or a gay balloon, as a souvenir. + The greediness and selfishness of the Sun and Wind impress + little children, for these are perhaps the two sins possible + to childhood; and all children will fully appreciate why the + Sun and the Wind received so swiftly the punishment they + deserved. The thoughtfulness of the loving gentle Moon to + remember her Mother the Star, appeals to them. The rapid + punishment, well-deserved, and the simplicity of the story + with its one point, make it a very good tale for little + children. The whole effect is pleasing. What children recall + is the motherly Star; and the beautiful Moon, who was cool + and calm and bright as a reward for being good. + + The structure of the tale is neat and orderly, dominated by + a single theme. The form of the tale, as given in Jacobs's + _Indian Tales_, shows a good use of telling expressions; + such as, "the Mother waited _alone_ for her children's + return," "Kept watch with her _little bright eye_," "the + Moon, _shaking_ her hands _showered_ down such a _choice_ + dinner," etc. Here we have too, the use of concrete, + visualized expressions and direct language. There is also a + good use of repetition, which aids the child in following + the plot and which clarifies the meaning. The Mother Star, + when pronouncing a punishment upon Sun, repeated his own + words as he had spoken when returning from the dinner: "I + went out to enjoy myself with my friends." In her speech to + Wind she included his own remark: "I merely went for my own + pleasure."--The examination of this tale shows that it + stands well the complete test applied here to the fairy + tale. + +_The Straw Ox_ + + _The Straw Ox_ is an accumulative tale which has sufficient + plot to illustrate the fine points of the old tale + completely. A poor woman who could barely earn a living had + an idea and carried it out successfully.--Her need + immediately wins sympathy in her behalf.--She asked her + husband to make her a straw ox and smear it with tar. Then + placing it in the field where she spun, she called out, + "Graze away, little Ox, graze away, while I spin my flax!" + First a Bear came out of the Wood and got caught by the tar + so that the Straw Ox dragged him home. The old Man then put + the Bear in the cellar. Then a Wolf, a Fox, and a Hare got + caught in the same way and also were consigned to the + cellar.--The plot has so far built itself up by an orderly + succession of incidents.--But just when the Man is preparing + to kill the animals, they save their lives by promising + vicarious offerings: The Bear promises honey; the Wolf a + flock of sheep; the Fox a flock of geese; and the Hare kale + and cauliflower.--Then the plot, having tied itself into a + knot, unties itself as the animals return, each with the + gift he promised. + + The setting is the field where the old Woman placed the Ox + and where she spun, the wood from which the animals came, + and the peasant home. The characters are two poor people who + need food and clothing and seek to secure both; and the + animals of the forest. The peasants need the Bear for a + coat, the Wolf for a fur cap, the Fox for a fur collar, and + the Hare for mittens. This human need produces an emotional + appeal so that we wish to see the animals caught. But when + the plot unties itself, the plight of the animals appeals to + us equally and we want just as much to see them win their + freedom. Each animal works out his own salvation by offering + the old people a worthy substitute. Each animal is true to + his nature in the substitute he offers, he promises what is + only natural for him to procure, and what he himself likes + best. The conclusion is satisfying because in the end + everybody is happy: the old people who have all they need; + and the animals who have life and freedom. The distinct + pictures offered to the imagination are the capture of the + four animals and their return with their life-substitutes. + The form of the tale is a good example of folk-story style, + with its vivid words, direct language, and repetition. This + is one of the tales which is finer than at first appears + because it has a strong sense of life. It touches the + present-day problem: "How can the inhuman slaughter of + animals for man's use be avoided?" Its underlying message + is: Self-help is a good way out of a difficulty.--_The Straw + Ox_ also answers the complete test of the tale with much + satisfaction. + + + +REFERENCES: + + +The Child: + + Barnes, Earl: _Study of Children's Stories_. ("Children's + Interests.") + + Dewey, John: _Interest and Effort in Education_. Houghton. + + King, Irving: _Psychology of Child Development_. University of + Chicago Press. + + Lawrence, Isabel: "Children's Interests in Literature." _N.E.A. + Report_, 1899, p. 1044. + + McCracken, Elizabeth: "What Children Like to Read." _Outlook_, + Dec, 1904, vol. 78. + + Tyler, John M.: _Growth in Education_. Houghton. + + Vostrovsky, Clara: "A Study of Children's Own Stories." _Studies + in Education_, vol. i, pp. 15-17. + + +Literature: + + Baldwin, Charles S.: _Specimens of Prose Description_. Holt. + + Brewster, William T.: _English Composition and Style_. Century. + + _Ibid.: Specimens of Prose Narration_. Holt. + + Gardiner, John H.: _Forms of Prose Literature_. Scribner. + + Matthews, Brander: _The Philosophy of the Short-Story_. Longmans. + Pater, Walter: _Appreciations. (Essay on Style_). Macmillan. + + Perry, Bliss: _A Study of Prose Fiction_. ("The Short Story.") + Houghton. + + Sainte-Beuve, Charles A.: _Essays_. ("What is a Classic?") + Dutton. + + Santayana, George: _The Sense of Beauty_. Scribner. + + Wendell, Barrett: _English Composition_. Scribner. + + Winchester, Caleb T.: _Principles of Literary Criticism_. + Macmillan. + + +Emotion: + + Bain, Alexander: _The Emotions and the Will_. Appleton. + + Darwin, Charles: _Expression of the Emotions in Man and + Animals_. Appleton. + + +Imagination: + + Colvin, Stephen: _The Learning Process_. Macmillan. + + Curry, S.S.: _Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct_. Expression + Co. + + Ruskin, John: _Modern Painters_, vol. r. ("Of the Imagination.") + + + +Children's Literature: + + Baker, Franklin T.: _Bibliography of Children's Reading. + (Introduction.)_ Teachers College, Columbia University. + + Day, Mary B., and Wilson, Elisabeth: _Suggestive Outlines on + Children's Literature_. S. Illinois Normal, Carbondale. + + Dodd, C.F.: "Fairy Tales in the Schoolroom." _Living Age_, Nov. + 8, 1902, vol. 235, pp. 369-75. + + Fay, Lucy, and Eaton, Anne: _Instruction in the Use of Books and + Libraries_. (Chap, xv, "Fairy Tales.") Boston Book Co. + + Field, Mrs. E.M.: _The Child and His Book_. Wells Gardner, Darton + & Co. + + Field, Walter T.: _Finger-Posts to Children's Reading_. A.C. + McClurg. + + Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, J.C.: _A Course of Study + on Literature for Children_. Newark Public Library. + + Hosic, James F.: "The Conduct of a Course in Literature for + Children." _N.E.A. Report_, 1913. + + _Ibid.: The Elementary Course in English_. University of + Chicago. + + Hunt, Clara: _What shall we Read to the Children?_ Houghton. + + Kready, Laura F.: "Picture-Books for Little Children." + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914. + + Lowe, Orton: _Literature for Children_. Macmillan. + + MacClintock, Porter L.: _Literature in the Elementary School_. + University of Chicago. + + Moore, Annie E.: "Principles in the Selection of Stories for the + Kindergarten." _I.K.U. Report_, 1913. + Moses, Montrose: _Children's Books and Reading_. M. Kennerley. + + Olcott, Frances J.: _The Children's Reading_. Houghton. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + + +THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES + + + The telling of stories refreshes the mind as a bath + refreshes the body. It gives exercise to the intellect and + its powers. It tests the judgments and feelings. The + story-teller must wholly take into himself the life of which + he speaks, must let it live and operate in himself freely. + He must reproduce it whole and undiminished, yet stand + superior to life as it actually is.--FROEBEL. + + The purpose of the story.--To look out with new eyes upon + the many-featured, habitable world; to be thrilled by the + pity and the beauty of this life of ours, itself brief as a + tale that is told; to learn to know men and women better, + and to love them more.--BLISS PERRY. + + Expertness in teaching consists in a scholarly command of + subject-matter, in a better organization of character, in a + larger and more versatile command of conscious modes of + transmitting facts and ideals, and in a more potent and + winsome, forceful and sympathetic manner of personal contact + with other human beings.--HENRY SUZZALLO. + +Story-telling as an art. No matter how perfectly the tale, in a +subjective sense, may contain the interests of the child, or how +carefully it may avoid what repels him; though in an objective sense +it may stand the test of a true classic in offering a permanent +enrichment of the mind and the test of literature in appealing to the +emotions and the imagination, in giving a contribution of truth and an +embodiment of good form; though it may stand the test of the +short-story--furnishing interesting characters, definite plot, and +effective setting; though its sequence be orderly and its climax +pointed, its narration consistent and its description apt--the tale +yet remains to be told. The telling of the tale is a distinct art +governed by distinct principles because the life of the story must be +transmitted and rendered into voice. + +Story-telling is one of the most ancient and universal of arts. +Concerning this art Thackeray has said:-- + + Stories exist everywhere: there is no calculating the + distance through which stories have come to us, the number + of languages through which they have been filtered, or the + centuries during which they have been told. Many of them + have been narrated almost in their present shape for + thousands of years to the little copper-colored Sanskrit + children, listening to their mothers under the palm-trees by + the banks of the yellow Jumna--their Brahmin mother, who + softly narrated them through the ring in her nose. The very + same tale has been heard by the northern Vikings as they lay + on their shields on deck; and the Arabs couched under the + stars on the Syrian plains when their flocks were gathered + in, and their mares were picketed by the tents. + +In his _Roundabout Papers_, Thackeray gives a picture of a score of +white-bearded, white-robed warriors or grave seniors of the city, +seated at the gate of Jaffa or Beyrout, listening to the story-teller +reciting his marvels out of _Arabian Nights_. "A Reading from Homer," +by Alma Tadema, is a well-known picture which portrays the Greeks +listening to the _Tales of Homer_. In the _Lysistrata_ of +Aristophanes, the chorus of old men begins with, "I will tell ye a +story!" Plutarch, in his _Theseus_ says, "All kinds of stories were +told at the festival Oschophoria, as the mothers related such things +to their children before their departure, to give them courage." In +his _Symposium_ he mentions a child's story containing the proverb, +"No man can make a gown for the moon."-- + + The Moon begged her Mother to weave her a little frock which + would fit her. + + The Mother said, "How can I make it fit thee, when thou art + sometimes a Full Moon, and then a Half Moon, and then a New + Moon?"-- + +In the works of the German, Schuppius (1677), appeared this:-- + + Your old folks can remember how, in the olden times, it was + customary at vespers on Easter day, to tell some Easter + tidings from the pulpit. These were foolish fables and + stories such as are told to children in the spinning-room. + They were intended to make people merry. + +In England, _Chaucer's Tales_ reflect the common custom of the times +for the pilgrim, the traveler, the lawyer, the doctor, the monk, and +the nun, to relate a tale. _The Wife of Bathes Tale_ is evidently a +fairy tale. In Peele's _Old Wives' Tale_ we learn how the smith's +goodwife related some nursery tales of Old England to the two +travelers her husband brought to the cottage for the night. In +Akenside's _Pleasures of Imagination_ we find:-- + + Hence, finally by night, + The village matres, round the blazing hearth + Suspend the infant audience with their tales, + Breathing astonishment. + +The custom of Florentine mothers has been described by the poet, +Dante, when he says:-- + + Another, drawing tresses from her distaff. + Told o'er among her family the tales + Of Trojans, and of Fesole and Rome. + +The French troubadours and the Italian counts of Boccaccio's time told +tales. It is recorded of the French Galland, the first translator of +_The Arabian Nights_, how the young men of his day would gather under +his windows at night and shout for him until he showed himself and +told them stories. The German Luther paid a high tribute to stories; +and Goethe's mother, in giving her experience in telling stories to +her children, has shown how the German mother valued the story in the +home. To-day, savage children, when the day of toil is ended with the +setting sun, gather in groups to listen to the never-dying charm of +the tale; and the most learned of men, meeting in the great centers of +civilization to work out weighty problems, find relief and pleasure +when wit and culture tell the tale. + +In the home the tale is the mother's power to build in her little +children ideals of life which will tower as a fortress when there come +critical moments of decision for which no amount of reasoning will be +a sufficient guide, but for which true feeling, a kind of unconscious +higher reasoning, will be the safest guide. In the library the story +is the greatest social asset of the librarian, it is her best means of +reaching the obscure child who seeks there some food for his spirit, +it is her best opportunity to lead and direct his tastes. In the +school it is the teacher's strongest personal ally. It is her +wishing-ring, with which she may play fairy to herself in +accomplishing a great variety of aims, and incidentally be a fairy +godmother to the child. + +Story-telling is an art handling an art and therefore must be pursued +in accordance with certain principles. These principles govern: (1) +the teacher's preparation; (2) the presentation of the tale; and (3) +the return from the child. + + + +I. THE TEACHER'S PREPARATION + + +1. The teacher's preparation must be concerned with a variety of +subjects. The first rule to be observed is: _Select the tale for some +purpose, to meet a situation_. This purpose may be any one of the +elements of value which have been presented here under "The Worth of +Fairy Tales." The teacher must consider, not only the possibilities of +her subject-matter and what she wishes to accomplish through the +telling of the tale, but also what the child's purpose will be in +listening. She may select her tale specifically, not just because it +contains certain interests, but because through those interests she +can direct the child's activity toward higher interests. She must +consider what problems the tale can suggest to the child. She may +select her tale to develop habits in the child, to clarify his +thinking, to give a habit of memory or to develop emotion or +imagination. She may select her tale "just for fun," to give pure joy, +or to teach a definite moral lesson, to make a selfish child see the +beauty of unselfishness or to impress an idea. The _Story of Lazy +Jack_, like the realistic _Epaminondas_, will impress more deeply than +any word of exhortation, the necessity for a little child to use "the +sense he was born with." + +In the selection of the tale the teacher is up against the problem of +whether she shall choose her tale psychologically or logically. As +this is the day of the psychologic point of view in education, the +teacher realizing this feels that she must select a tale for a +particular purpose, according to the child's interests, his needs, and +the possibilities it offers for his self-activity and self-expression. +Looking freely over the field she may choose any tale which satisfies +her purposes. This is psychologic. But in a year's work this choice of +a tale for a particular purpose is followed by successive choices +until she has selected a wide variety of tales giving exercise to many +forms of activity, establishing various habits of growth. This method +of choice is the psychologic built up until, in the hands of the +teacher who knows the subject, it becomes somewhat logical. It is the +method which uses the ability of the individual teacher, alone and +unaided. There is another method. The teacher may be furnished with a +course of tales arranged by expert study of the full subject outlined +in large units of a year's work, offering the literary heritage +possible to the child of a given age. This is logical. From this +logical course of tales she may select one which answers to the +momentary need, she may use it according to its nature, to develop +habits, to give opportunity for self-activity and self-expression, and +to enter into the child's daily life. This method of choice is the +logical, which through use and adaptation has become psychologized. It +uses the ability of the individual teacher in adaptation, not unaided +and alone, but assisted by the concentrated knowledge and practice of +the expert. Such a logical course, seeking uniformity only by what it +requires at the close of a year's work, would give to the individual +teacher a large freedom of choice and would bring into kindergarten +and elementary literature a basis of content demanding as much respect +as high school or college literature. It is in no way opposed to +maintaining the child as the center of interest. The teacher's problem +is to see that she uses the logical course psychologically. + +2. Having selected the tale then, from a logical course, and +psychologically for a present particular purpose, the next step is: +_Know the tale_. Know the tale historically, if possible. Know it +first as folk-lore and then as literature. Read several versions of +the tale, the original if possible, selecting that version which seems +most perfectly fitted to express what there is in the tale. As +folk-lore, study its variants and note its individual motifs. Note +what glimpses it gives of the social life and customs of a primitive +people. The best way to dwell on the life of the story, to realize it, +is to compare these motifs with similar motifs in other tales. It has +been said that we do not see anything clearly until we compare it with +another; and associating individual motifs of the tales makes the +incidents stand out most clearly. Henny Penny's walk appears more +distinctly in association with that of Medio Pollito or that of +Drakesbill or of the Foolish Timid Rabbit; the fairy words in +_Sleeping Beauty_ and the good things they bestowed upon Briar Rose in +association with the fairy wand in _Cinderella_ and the good things it +brought her; the visit of the Wolf in _The Wolf and Seven Kids_ with +the visit of the Wolf in _Three Pigs_ and of the Fox in _The Little +Rid Hin_. It is interesting to note that a clog motif, similar to the +motif of shoes in _The Elves and the Shoemaker_, occurs in the Hindu +_Panch-Rhul Ranee_, told in _Old Deccan Days_. + +All the common motifs which occur in the fairy tales have been +classified by Andrew Lang under these heads:-- + + (1) Bride or bridegroom who transgresses a mystic command. + + (2) Penelope formula; one leaves the other and returns later. + + (3) Attempt to avoid Fate. + + (4) Slaughter of monster. + + (5) Flight, by aid of animal. + + (6) Flight from giant or wizard. + + (7) Success of youngest. + + (8) Marriage test, to perform tasks. + + (9) Grateful beasts. + + (10) Strong man and his comrades. + + (11) Adventure with Ogre, and trick. + + (12) Descent to Hades. + + (13) False bride. + + (14) Bride with animal children. + +From a less scientific view some of the common motifs noticeable in +the fairy tales, which however would generally fall under one of the +heads given by Lang, might be listed:-- + + (1) Child wandering into a home; as in _Three Bears_ and + _Snow White_. + + (2) Transformation; simple, as in _Puss-in-Boots_; by + love, as in _Beauty and the Beast_, by sprinkling with + water, as in _Beauty and the Beast_ or by bathing, as in + _Catskin_; by violence, as in _Frog Prince_ and _White + Cat_. + + (3) Tasks as marriage tests; as in _Cinderella_. + + (4) Riddle test; as in _Peter, Paul, and Espen_; questions + asked, as in _Red Riding Hood_. + + (5) Magic sleep; as in _Sleeping Beauty_. + + (6) Magic touch; as in _Golden Goose_. + + (7) Stupid person causing royalty to laugh; as in _Lazy Jack_. + + (8) Exchange; as in _Jack and the Beanstalk_. + + (9) Curiosity punished; as in _Bluebeard_ and _Three Bears_. + + (10) Kindness to persons rewarded; as in _Cinderella, Little + Two-Eyes_, and _The House in the Wood_. + + (11) Kindness to animals repaid; as in _Thumbelina, Cinderella_, + and _White Cat_. + + (12) Industry rewarded; as in _Elves and the Shoemaker_. + + (13) Hospitality rewarded; as in _Tom Thumb_. + + (14) Success of a venture; as in _Dick Whittington_. + +After studying the tale as folk-lore, know it as literature. Master it +as a classic, test it as literature, to see wherein lies its appeal to +the emotions, its power of imagination, its basis of truth, and its +quality of form; study it as a short-story and view it as a piece of +narration. It is rather interesting to note that you can get all there +is in a tale from any one point of view. If you follow the sequence as +setting, through association you get the whole, as may be seen by +referring to _Chanticleer and Partlet_ under the heading, "Setting," +in the chapter on the "Short-Story." Or, if you follow the successive +doings of the characters you get the whole, as may be observed in the +story of _Medio Pollito_, described later in the "Animal Tale" in the +chapter, "Classes of Tales." Or if you follow the successive +happenings to the characters, the plot, you get the whole, as may +appear in the outline of _Three Pigs_ given in the chapter which +handles "Plot." Note the beauty of detail and the quality of +atmosphere with which the setting surrounds the tale; note the +individual traits of the characters and their contrasts; observe how +what each one does causes what happens to him. Realize your story from +the three points of view to enter into the author's fullness. Get a +good general notion of the story first. + +3. The next step is: _Master the complete structure of the tale_. This +is the most important step in the particular study of the tale, for it +is the unity about which any perfection in the art of telling must +center. To discern that repose of centrality which the main theme of +the tale gives, to follow it to its climax and to its conclusion, +where poetic justice leaves the listener satisfied--this is the most +fundamental work of the story-teller. The teacher must analyze the +structure of her tale into its leading episodes, as has been +illustrated in the handling of structure, under the subject, "Plot," +in the chapter on the "Short-Story." + +4. The next step is: _Secure the message of the tale_. The message is +what we wish to transmit, it is the explicit reason for telling the +tale. And one evidently must possess a message before one can give it. +As the message is the chief worth of the tale, the message should +dominate the telling and pervade its life. A complete realization of +the message of the tale will affect the minutest details giving color +and tone to the telling, and resulting so that what the child does +with the story will deepen the impression of the message he receives. + +5. The next step is: _Master the tale as form_. This means that if the +tale is in classic form, not only the message and the structure must +be transmitted, but the actual words. Words are the artist's medium, +Stevenson includes them in his pattern of style, and how can we +exclude them if we wish to express what they have expressed? A tale +like Kipling's _The Elephant's Child_ would be ruined without those +clinging epithets, such as "the wait-a-bit thorn-bush," "mere-smear +nose," "slushy squshy mud-cap," "Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake," and +"satiable curtiosity." No one could substitute other words in this +tale; for contrasts of feeling and humor are so tied up with the words +that other words would fail to tell the real story. If an interjection +has seemed an insignificant part of speech, note the vision of +tropical setting opened up by the exclamation, "O Bananas! Where did +you learn that trick?" This is indeed a tale where the form is the +matter, the form and the message are one complete whole that cannot be +separated. But it is a proof that where any form is of sufficient +perfection to be a classic form, you may give a modified tale by +changing it, but you do not give the real complete tale. You cannot +tell Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ in your own words; for its sentences, +its phrases, its sounds, its suggestive language, its humor, its +imagination, its emotion, and its message, are so intricately woven +together that you could not duplicate them. + +When the fairy tale does not possess a settled classic form, select, +as was mentioned, that version in which the language best conveys the +life of the story, improving it yourself, if you can, in harmony with +the standards of literature, until the day in the future when the tale +may be fortunate enough to receive a settled form at the hands of a +literary artist. Sometimes a slight change may improve greatly an old +tale. In Grimm's _Briar Rose_[1] the episode of the Prince and the old +Man contains irrelevant material. The two paragraphs following, "after +the lapse of many years there came a king's son into the country," +easily may be re-written to preserve the same unity and simplicity +which mark the rest of the tale. This individual retelling of an old +tale demands a careful distinction between what is essential and +internal and what may have been added, what is accidental and +external. The clock-case in _The Wolf and Seven Kids_ evidently is not +a part of the original story, which arose before clocks were in use, +and is a feature added in some German telling of the tale. It may be +retained but it is not essential to the tale that it should be. Exact +conversations and bits of dialogue, repetitive phrases, rhymes, +concrete words which visualize, brief expressions, and Anglo-Saxon +words--these are all bits of detail which need to be mastered in a +complete acquirement of the story's form, because these are +characteristics of the form which time has settled upon the old tales. +Any literary form bestowed upon the tales worthy of the name +literature, will have to preserve these essentials. + + + +II. THE PRESENTATION OF THE TALE + + +In the oral presentation of the tale new elements of the teacher's +preparation enter, for here the voice is the medium and the teacher +must use the voice as the organist his keys. The aim of the oral +presentation is to give the spiritual effect. This requires certain +conditions of effectiveness--to speak with distinctness, to give the +sense, and to cause to understand; and certain intellectual +requirements--to articulate with perfection, to present successive +thoughts in clear outline, and to preserve relative values of +importance. + +The production of the proper effect necessitates placing in the +foreground, with full expression, what needs emphasis, and throwing +back with monotony or acceleration parts that do not need emphasis. It +requires slighting subordinate, unimportant parts, so that one point +is made and one total impression given. This results in that +flexibility and lightsomeness of the voice, which is one of the most +important features in the telling of the tale. The study of technique, +when controlled by these principles of vocal expression, is not +opposed to the art of story-telling any more than the painter's +knowledge of color is opposed to his art of painting. To obtain +complete control of the voice as an instrument of the mind, there is +necessary: (1) training of the voice; (2) exercises in breathing; (3) +a knowledge of gesture; and (4) a power of personality. + +(1) Training of the voice. This training aims to secure freedom of +tone, purity of tone, fullness of tone, variety of volume, and +tone-color. It will include a study of phonetics to give correct +pronunciation of sounds and a knowledge of their formation; freeing +exercises to produce a jaw which is not set, an open throat, a mobile +lip, and nimble tongue; and exercises to get rid of nasality or +throatiness. The art of articulation adds to the richness of meaning, +it is the connection between sound and sense. Open sounds are in +harmony with joy, and very distinct emotional effects are produced by +arrangements of consonants. The effect created by the use of the +vowels and consonants in _The Spider and the Flea_ has already been +referred to under "Setting." The open vowels of "Ón, little Drumikin! +Tum-pä, tum-t[=oo]!" help to convey the impression of lightsome gaiety +in _Lambikin_. The effect of power displayed by "Then I'll huff and +I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in," is made largely by the sound +of the consonants _ff_ and the _n_ in the concluding _in_, the force +of the rough _u_ of _huff_ and _puff_, and the prolonged _o_ in +_blow_. The effect of walking is produced by the _p_ of "_Trip, +trap_," and of varied walking by the change of vowel from _[ui]_ to +_[ua]_. The action of "I have come to gobble you up," is emphasized +and made realistic by the _bb_ of _gobble_ and the _p_ of _up_. +Attention to the power of phonics to contribute to the emotional force +and to the strength of meaning in the tale, will reveal to the +story-teller many new beauties. + +(2) Exercises in breathing. Training in breathing includes exercises +to secure the regulation of proper breathing during speech and to +point out the relation between breathing and voice expression. The +correct use of the voice includes also ability to place tone.--Find out +your natural tone and tell the story in that tone.--Many of the +effects of the voice need to be dealt with from the inside, not +externally. The use of the pause in story-telling is one of the +subtlest and most important elements that contribute to the final +effect. The proper placing of the pause will follow unconsciously as a +consequence when the structure of the story is realized in distinct +episodes and the proper emphasis given mentally to the most important +details of action, while less emphasis in thought is given to +subordinate parts. Therefore, the study of the pause must be made, not +artificially and externally, but internally through the elements of +the story which produce the pause. Tone-color, which is to ordinary +speech what melody is to music--those varied effects of intonation, +inflection, and modulation--is to be sought, not as a result from an +isolated study of technique, but from attention to those elements in +association with the complete realization of the life of the story. +Genuine feeling is worth more than mere isolated exercises to secure +modulation, and complete realization eliminates the necessity of +"pretending to be." The study of the fairy tale as literature, as has +been indicated in the chapter on "Principles of Selection," will +therefore be fundamental to the presentation of the tale. Entering +into the motives of the story gives action, entering into the thought +gives form, and entering into the feeling gives tone-color to the +voice. The sincere desire to share the thought will be the best aid to +bring expression. + +(3) A knowledge of gesture. The teacher must understand the laws of +gesture. The body is one means of the mind's expression. There is the +eloquence of gesture and of pose. The simplest laws of gesture may be +stated:-- + + (a) All gesture precedes speech in proportion to the + intense realization of emotion. + + (b) All expression begins in the face and passes to some + other agent of the body in proportion to the quality + Of the emotion. The eye leads in pointing. + + (c) Hands and arms remain close to the body in gesture + when intensity of emotion is controlled. + +In regard to gesture, a Children's Library pamphlet, dealing with the +purpose of story-telling, has said, "The object of the story-teller is +to present the story, not in the way advocated usually in the schools, +but to present it with as little dramatic excitement and foreign +gesture as possible, keeping one's personality in the background and +giving all prominence to the story itself, relying for interest in the +story alone." The schools have perhaps been misinterpreted. It is +clear that only that personality is allowable which interprets truly +the story's life. The listening child must be interested in the life +of the story, not in the story-teller; and therefore gesture, tone, or +sentiment that is individual variation and addition to the story +itself, detracts from the story, is foreign to its thought, and +occupies a wrong place of prominence. It is possible to tell a story, +however, just as the author tells it, and yet give it naturally by +realizing it imaginatively and by using the voice and the body +artistically, as means of expression. + +(4) A power of personality. What rules shall be given for the making +of that personality which is to bring with it force in the telling of +the tale and which must override phonetics, inflection, and gesture? + +The very best help towards acquiring that personality which is the +power of story-telling, is to have a power of life gained through the +experience of having lived; to have a power of emotion acquired +through the exercise of daily affairs; a power of imagination won from +having dwelt upon the things of life with intentness, a power of +sympathy obtained from seeing the things of others as you meet them +day by day; and a first-hand knowledge of the sights and sounds and +beauties of Nature, a knowledge of bird and flower, tree and rock, +their names and some of their secrets--knowledge accumulated from +actual contact with the real physical world. This power of life will +enable the story-teller to enter, at the same time, into the life of +the story she tells, and the life of those listening, to see the gift +of the one and the need of the other. + +The ideal position for the story-teller is to be seated opposite the +center of the semicircle of listeners, facing them. The extreme +nearness of the group, when the teller seeks the fingers of the +listeners to add force to the telling, seems an infringement upon the +child's personal rights. A strong personality will make the story go +home without too great nearness and will want to give the children a +little room so that their thoughts may meet hers out in the story. + +Suggestions for telling. Now that the teacher is ready to speak, her +first step in the art of story-telling, which is the first step in the +art of any teaching, which lies at the very foundation of teaching, +which is the most important step, and which is the step that often is +neglected, is the _establishing of the personal relation between +herself and the listener_. This is one of those subtleties which +evades measuring, but its influence is most lasting. It is the setting +to the whole story of teaching. It must play so important a part +because, as teacher and listener are both human beings, there must be +between them a common bond of humanity. How do you wish to appear to +this group of listeners? As a friend to be trusted, a brother or +sister to give help, or as a good comrade to be played with; as +"master, expert, leader, or servant"? If you wish to be as real and +forceful as the characters in your story, you must do something which +will cause the personal relation you desire, to be established; and +moreover, having established it, you must live up to it, and prove no +friend without faith. You must do this before you presume to teach or +to tell a story. You need not do it before each individual story you +present to a group you meet often; you may do it so effectively, with +a master-stroke, at the beginning when you first meet your class, that +all you need do at successive meetings will be but to add point to +your first establishment. + +A student-teacher, in telling a story to a group of kindergarten +children who were complete strangers, and telling it to them as they +sat in a semicircle in front of her comrades, adult students, +established this personal relation by beginning to tell the little +children her experience with the first telling of _Three Bears_ to a +little girl of four:--Seated before a sand-box in the yard, after +hearing the story of _Three Bears_, M---- had been asked, "Wouldn't +this be a good time for you to tell me the story?" In reply, she +paused, and while the story-teller was expecting her to begin, +suddenly said, "Do you think M----'s big enough for all that?" and +refused to tell a word. Then turning to the group before her, the +student-teacher made the direct appeal. "But you are the biggest +little people in the kindergarten, and you wouldn't treat a story like +that, would you?" The children, through the personal picture of +friendly story-telling with a little child, that paralleled their own +situation somewhat, immediately felt at home with the teller; it was +just as if they were the same intimate friends with her that the +little girl portrayed to them was. The human bond of good comradeship +and intimacy was established. In the direct appeal at the end, the +children were held up to an ideal they dare not disappoint, they must +live up to their size, be able to get the story, and be the biggest +little people in the kindergarten by showing what they could do with +it. Again there was an undefined problem thrown at them, as it +were--an element of wonder. They did not know just what was coming and +they were mentally alert, waiting, on the lookout. The way for the +story was open.--This is what you want, for no matter how perfect a +gem of folk-lore you tell, it will fall heedless if the children do +not listen to it. + +The second step in the art of story-telling is one which grows +naturally out of this first step. This second step, _to put the story +in a concrete situation for the child_, to make the connection between +the child and the literature you present, is the one which displays +your unique power as an artist. It is the step which often is omitted +and is the one which exercises all your individual ability and +cleverness. It is the step which should speak comfort to the eager +teacher of to-day, who is compelled to stand by, Montessori fashion, +while many changing conceptions say to her: "Hands off! It is not what +you do that helps the child develop; it is what he himself does!" Here +at least is one of the teacher's chances to act. This step is the +opening of the gateway so that the story you are about to tell may +enter into the thoughts of your listeners. It is your means to +organize the tale in the child's life. If in the school program you +permit nature study, representing the central interest, to occupy the +place of main emphasis, and if the game, occupation, and song work is +related to the child's life, this organization of the child's tale in +his life will be accomplished naturally. + +In the example cited above, both the establishment of the personal +relation and the placing of the story in a concrete situation, were +managed partly at the one stroke. Your best help to furnish a concrete +situation will be to preserve at the one end a sympathy for the life +of your story and at the other to perceive the experience of the +children in the listening group. Seeing both at once will result in a +knowledge of what the children need most to make the story go home. If +your children are good enough, and you and they sufficiently good +friends to bear the fun of pantomime and the gaiety of hilarity, +asking several boys, as they walk across the room before the children, +to imitate some animals they had seen at a circus, and getting the +children to guess the animal represented until they hit upon the +elephant, would put certain children in a spirit of fun that would be +exactly the wide-awake brightness and good humor needed to receive the +story of _The Elephant's Child_. You can get children best into the +story-telling mood by calling up ideas in line with the story. In the +case of the story cited above, under the establishment of the personal +relation, the story, _The Bremen Town Musicians_, was related to the +child's experience by a few questions concerning kinds of music he +knew, and what musician and kind of music the kindergarten had. In +telling Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ you must call up experience +concerning a soldier, not only because of the relation of the toy to +the real soldier, but because the underlying meaning of the tale is +courage, and the emotional theme is steadfastness. And to preserve the +proper unity between the tale and the telling of it, the telling must +center itself in harmony with the message of the tale, its one +dominant impression and its one dominant mood. + +Every story told results in some return from the child. The teacher, +in her presentation, must _conceive the child's aim in listening_. +This does not mean that she forces her aim upon him. But it does mean +that she makes a mental list of the child's own possible problems that +the tale is best suited to originate, one of which the child himself +will suggest. For the return should originate, not in imitation of +what the teller plans, but spontaneously, as the child's own plan, +answering to some felt need of his. But that does not prevent the +story-teller from using her own imagination, and through it, from +realizing what opportunities for growth the story presents, and what +possible activities ought to be stimulated. A good guide will keep +ahead of the children, know the possibilities of the material, and by +knowledge and suggestion lead them to realize and accomplish the plans +they crudely conceive. A consideration of these plans will modify the +telling of the tale, and should be definitely thought about before the +telling of the tale. A story told definitely to stimulate in the +children dramatization, will emphasize action and dialogue; while one +told to stimulate the painting of a water-color sketch, will emphasize +the setting of the tale. + +The telling of the tale. With this preparation, directions seem +futile. The tale should tell itself naturally. You must begin at the +beginning, as your tale will if you have selected a good one. You must +tell it simply, as your tale will have simplicity if it is a good one, +and your telling must be in harmony with the tale you tell. You will +tell it with joy; of course, if there is joy in it, or beauty, which +is a "joy forever," or if you are giving joy to your listeners. Tell +it, if possible, with a sense of bestowing a blessing, and a delicate +perception of the reception it meets in the group before you, and the +pleasure and interest it arouses in them, so that in the telling there +is that human setting which is a quickening of the spirit and a union +of ideas, which is something quite new and different from the story, +yet born of the story. + +The re-creative method of story-telling. This preparation for telling +here described will result in a fundamental imitation of the author of +the story. By participating in the life of the story; by realizing it +as folklore; by realizing it as literature--its emotion, its +imagination, its basis of truth, its message, its form; by paying +conscious attention to the large units of the structure, the exact +sequence of the plot, the characters, and the setting, the particular +details of description, and the unique word--the story-teller +reproduces the author's mode of thinking. She does with her mind what +she wishes the child to do with his. With the very little child in the +kindergarten and early first grade, who analyzes but slightly, this +results consciously in a clear notion of the story, which shows itself +in the child's free re-telling of the story as a whole. He may want to +tell the story or he may not. Usually he enjoys re-telling it after +some lapse of time; perhaps he tells it to himself, meanwhile. With +the older child, who analyzes more definitely, this results in a +retelling which actually reproduces the teller's mode of thinking. If +persisted in, it gives to one's mode of thinking, the _story-mode_, +just as nature study gives to life the nature point of view. This mode +of thinking is the _mode of re-creation_, of realization. It +re-experiences the life, it reaches the processes of the mind, and +develops free mind movement. It is a habit of thinking, and is at the +basis of reading, which is thinking through symbols; at the basis of +the memorization of poetry, which must first see the pictures the poet +has portrayed; it is the best help toward the adult study of +literature, and the narration of history and geography. It is the +power to conceive a situation, which is most useful in science, +mathematics, and the reasoning of logic. "For," says Professor John +Dewey, "the mind which can make independent judgments, look at facts +with fresh vision, and reach conclusions with simplicity, is the +perennial power in the world." + +This re-creative method of fundamental imitation was illustrated in the +telling of Andersen's _Princess and the Pea_, in a student-teacher's +class: + + The story was told by the Professor. After the telling of + the story it was decided to have the story told again, but + this time in parts and by those who had listened, in such a + way that it would seem as if one person were telling the + whole story. + + The Professor named the first part of the story. A student + was asked to tell the story from _the beginning_ to the end + of _the Prince's coming home again, sad at heart_. Another + student told the second part, beginning with _the storm_ and + ending with _what the old Queen thought_. A third student + told the third part, beginning with _the next morning_ and + ending with the close of the story, _Now this is a true + story_. + + The Professor next asked students to think over the entire + story, to see if each student could find any weak places in + the remembering of the story. Several students reported + difficulty--one failed to remember the exact description of + the storm. A number of details were thus filled in, in the + exact words of the author. After this intimate handling of + the separate parts of the story, a final re-telling by one + student--omitted in this case because of lack of time--would + bring together what had been contributed by individual + students, and would represent the final re-creation of the + entire story. + +The simplicity of this selection, the simplicity of the plot, the few +characters, the literary art of the story, the skillful use of the +unique word, the art of presenting distinct pictures by means of vivid +words, through suggestion rather than through illustration, together +with the delicate humor that hovered about the tale, and the art of +the Professor's telling--all combined in the final effect. The +re-telling of the story in parts accomplished the analysis of the +story into three big heads: + + (1) From _The Prince who wanted a real Princess_ ... to _his + return home_. + + (2) From _The storm, one dark evening_ ... to _what the old Queen + thought_. + + (3) From _What the Queen did next morning_ ... to _the end of the + story_. + +In the analysis of the story into parts, telling exactly what happened +gave the framework of the story, gave its basis of meaning. Telling it +in three steps gave a strong sense of sequence and a vivid conception +of climax.--If the division into parts for re-telling corresponds with +the natural divisions of the plot into its main episodes, this telling +in steps impresses the structure of the tale and is in harmony with +the real literary mastery of the story.--The re-telling of each part +drew attention to the visualization of that part. Each hesitation on +behalf of a student telling a part, led the class to fill in the +details for themselves, and impressed the remembrance of the exact +words of the author. This resulted in the mastery of each part through +a visualization of it. Hand in hand with the visualization came the +feeling aroused by the realization. This was more easily mastered +because changes of feeling were noticeable in passing from one part of +the story to another. + +After a mastery of the structure of the story through analysis, after +a mastery of the thought, imagination, and feeling of the story, after +a mastery of the form, and the exact words of the author in the +description of details embodied in that form, the story is possessed +as the teller's own, ready to be given, not only to bestow pleasure, +as in this case, but often to transmit a message of worth and to +preserve a classic form. + +_The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, a Jataka tale, might be prepared for +telling by this same re-creative method of story-telling. It +must be remembered--and because of its importance it will bear +repetition,--that the separation of the story-structure into parts for +separate telling should always be in harmony with the divisions of the +plot so that there may be no departure from the author's original mode +of thinking, and no break in the natural movement of sequence. A +separation of the tale into parts for re-telling would result in the +following analysis:-- + + (1) _Rabbit asleep under a palm tree_ ... to _his meeting + hundreds of Rabbits_. + + (2) _Rabbits met a Deer_ ... to _when the Elephant joined them_. + + (3) _Lion saw the animals running_ ... to _when he came to + the Rabbit who first had said the earth was all breaking up_. + + (4) _Lion asked the Foolish Rabbit, 'Is it true the earth is + all breaking up_,' ... to _end of the story, 'And they all + stopped running_.' + +After the re-telling of these parts, each part should be filled in +with the exact details so that in the final re-telling practically the +whole tale is reproduced. This is a very good tale to tell by this +method because the theme is attractive, the plot is simple, the +sequence a very evident movement, the characters distinctive, the +setting pleasing and rather prominent, and the details sufficiently +few and separate to be grasped completely. The final re-telling +therefore may be accomplished readily as a perfected result of this +method of telling a tale. + +During the telling, the charm here is in preserving the typical bits +of dialogue, giving to the Lion's words that force and strength and +sagacity which rank him the King of the Beasts. One must feel clearly +the message and make this message enter into every part of the +telling: That the Lion showed his superior wisdom by making a stand +and asking for facts, by accepting only what he tested; while the +Rabbit showed his credulity by foolishly accepting what he heard +without testing it. + +Adaptation of the fairy tale. Sometimes, in telling a story one cannot +tell it exactly as it is. This may be the case when the story is too +long for a purpose, or if it contains matter which had better be +omitted, or if it needs to be amplified. In any case one must follow +these general rules:-- + + (1) Preserve the essential story from a single point of view. + + (2) Preserve a clear sequence with a distinct climax. + + (3) Preserve a simplicity of plot and simple language. + +In shortening a long story one may: + + (1) Eliminate secondary themes. + + (2) Eliminate extra personages. + + (3) Eliminate passages of description. + + (4) Eliminate irrelevant events. + +It has been the practice to adapt such stories as Andersen's _Ugly +Duckling_ and Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_. In the _King of the +Golden River_ the description of Treasure Valley could be condensed +into a few sentences and the character of South West Wind omitted; and +in _The Ugly Duckling_, passages of description and bits of philosophy +might be left out. But there is no reason why literature in the +elementary school should be treated with mutilation. These stories are +not suited to the kindergarten or first grade and may be reserved for +the third and fourth grades where they may be used and enjoyed by the +children as they are. Andersen's _Thumbelina_ might be adapted for +kindergarten children because it is suitable for them yet it is very +long. It could easily be analyzed into its leading episodes, each +episode making a complete tale, and one or more episodes be told at +one time. This would have the added attraction for the child of having +one day's story follow naturally the preceding story. Adapted thus, +the episodes would be:-- + + (1) Thumbelina in her Cradle. + + (2) Thumbelina and the Toad. + + (3) Thumbelina and the Fishes. + + (4) Thumbelina and the Cockchafer in the tree. + + (5) Thumbelina and the Field-Mouse. + + (6) Thumbelina and the Mole. + + (7) Thumbelina and the Swallow. + + (8) Thumbelina as Queen of the Flowers. + +Andersen's _Snow Man_ as adapted for the kindergarten would require +the episode of the lover omitted. It is irrelevant, not essential to +the story, and is an illustration of the sentimental, which must be +omitted when we use Andersen. To omit this episode one would cut out +from "'That is wonderfully beautiful,' said a young girl," to the end +of "'Why, they belong to the Master,' retorted the Yard Dog." + + + + +III. THE RETURN FROM THE CHILD[2] + + +The telling of the fairy tale is one phase of the teacher's art. And +it is maintained that fairy tales are one portion of subject-matter +suited to accomplish the highest greatness of the teaching art. For +teaching is an art, an art of giving suggestions, of bearing +influences, of securing adjustments, an art of knowing the best and of +making it known. The material the artist works upon is the living +child. The medium the artist uses is subject-matter. In the process +the artist must ask, "What new connections or associations am I +establishing in the child?" "To what power of curiosity and of +problem-solving do these connections and associations lead?" The ideal +which guides the teacher is the child's best self as she can interpret +him. This ideal will be higher and larger than the child himself can +know. In the manipulation of subject-matter, through the practical +application of principles, the artist aims to have the child awake, +inquire, plan, and act, so that under her influences he grows by what +he thinks, by what he feels, by what he chooses, and by what he +achieves. + +Teaching will be good art when the child's growth is a perfect fit to +the uses of his life, when subject-matter brings to him influences he +needs and can use. Teaching will be good art when it breaks up old +habits, starts new ones, strengthens good traits, and weakens bad +ones; when it gives a new attitude of cheerfulness in life or of +thoughtfulness for others or of reason in all things. It will be good +art when under it the child wants to do something and learns _how_ to +do it. Teaching will be great art when under it the child continually +attains self-activity, self-development, and self-consciousness, when +he continually grows so that he may finally contribute his utmost +portion to the highest evolution of the race. Teaching will be great +art when it touches the emotions of the child,--when history calls +forth a warm indignation against wrong, when mathematics strengthens a +noble love of truth or literature creates a strong satisfaction in +justice. This is the poetry of teaching, because mere subject-matter +becomes a criticism of life. Teaching will be great art when you, the +teacher, through the humble means of your presentation of +subject-matter, furnish the child at the same time with ideas, +perceptions, and opinions which are your personal criticism of life. +Teaching will be great art when you, the teacher, have worked up into +your own character a portion of life which is of value, so that the +child coming in touch with you knows an influence more powerful than +anything you can do or say. Teaching will then awaken in the child a +social relation of abiding confidence, of secure trust, of faith +unshakable. And this relation will then create for the teacher the +obligation to keep this trust inviolable, to practice daily, _noblesse +oblige_. Teaching will be great art when with the subject-matter the +artist gives love, a great universal kindness that thinks not of +itself but, being no respecter of persons, looks upon each child in +the light of that child's own best realization. This penetrating +sympathy, this great understanding, will call forth from the child an +answering love, which grows daily into a larger humanity of soul until +the child, in time too, comes to have a universal sympathy. This is +the true greatness of teaching. This it is which brings the child into +harmony with the Divine love which speaks in all God's handiwork and +brings him into that unity with God which is the mystery of Froebel's +teaching. + +During the story-telling one must ask, "In all this what is the part +the child has to play?" In the telling the teacher has aimed to give +what there is in the tale. The child's part is to receive what there +is in the tale, the emotion, the imagination, the truth, and the form +embodied in the tale. The content of feeling, of portrayal, of truth, +and of language he receives, he will in some way transmit before the +school day is ended, even if in forms obscure and hidden. Long years +afterwards, he may exhibit this same emotion, imagination, truth and +form, in deeds that proclaim loudly the return from his fairy tales. +However, if the child is being surrounded by pragmatic influences +through his teachers he will soon become aware that his feelings are +useless unless he does something because of them; that what he sees is +worthless unless he sees to some purpose; that it is somewhat +fruitless to know the truth and not use it; and if words have in their +form expressed the life of the tale, he is more dead than words not to +express the life that teems within his own soul. The little child +grows gradually into the responsibility for action, for expression, +into a consciousness of purpose and a knowledge of his own problems. +But each opportunity he is given to announce his own initiative breaks +down the inhibition of inaction and aids him to become a free +achieving spirit. As the child listens to the tale he is a thinking +human creature; but in the return which he makes to his tale he +becomes a quickened creator. The use which he makes of the ideas he +has gained through his fairy tales, will be the work of his creative +imagination. + +Fairy tales, though perfectly ordinary subject-matter, may become the +means of the greatest end in education, the development in the child +of the power of consciousness. The special appeal to the various +powers and capacities of the child mind, such as emotion, imagination, +memory, and reason, here have been viewed separately. But in life +action the mind is a unit. Thinking is therefore best developed +through subject-matter which focuses the various powers of the child. +The one element which makes the child manipulate his emotion, +imagination, memory, and reason, is the presence of a problem. The +problem is the best chance for the child to secure the adjustment of +means to ends. This adjustment of means to ends in a problem +situation, is real thinking and is the use of the highest power of +which man is capable, that of functional consciousness. The real need +of doing things is the best element essential to the problem. Through +a problem which expresses such a genuine need, to learn to know +himself, to realize his capacities and his limitations, and to secure +for himself the evolution of his own character until it adapts, not +itself to its environment, but its environment to its own uses and +masters circumstances for its own purposes--this is the high hill to +which education must look, "from which cometh its strength." The +little child, in listening to a fairy tale, in seeing in it a problem +of real need, and in working it out, may win some of this strength. We +have previously seen that fairy tales, because of their universal +elements, are subject-matter rich in possible problems. + +During the story-telling what is the part the child has to play? The +part of the child in all this may be to listen to the story because he +has some problem of his own to work out through the literature, +because he has some purpose of his own in listening, because he enjoys +the story and wishes to find out what there is in it, or because he +expects it to show him what he may afterwards wish to do with it. In +any case the child's part is to see the characters and what they do, +to follow the sequence of the tale, and to realize the life of the +story through the telling. He may have something to say about the +story at the close of the telling, he may wish to compare its motifs +with similar motifs in other tales, or he may wish to talk about the +life exhibited by the story. The various studies of the curriculum +every day are following more closely the Greek ideal and giving the +child daily exercise to keep the channels of expression free and open. +And when the well-selected fairy tale which is art is told, through +imitation and invention it awakens in the child the art-impulse and +tends to carry him from appreciation to expression. If before the +telling the story-teller has asked herself, "What variety of creative +reaction will this tale arouse in the child?" and if she has told the +story in the way to bring forward the best possibility for creative +reaction the nature of the tale affords, she will help to make clear +to the child what he himself will want to do with the story. She will +help him to see a way to use the story to enter into his everyday +life. The return of creative reaction possible to the child will be +that in harmony with his natural instincts or large general interests. +These instincts, as indicated by Professor John Dewey, in _The School +and Society_, are:-- + + (1) the instinct of conversation or communication; + + (2) the instinct of inquiry or finding out things; + + (3) the instinct of construction or making things; and + + (4) the instinct of artistic expression or [of imitating and + combining things]. + +(1) The instinct of conversation. The little child likes to talk. If +you have ever listened to a little girl of five artlessly proceeding +to tell a story, such as _Little Black Sambo_, which she had gathered +from looking at a neighbor's book, but which she had not yet mastered +sufficiently to grasp its central theme, reiterating the particular +incidents with the enthusiasm and joy and narrative tone of the +story-teller, you realized how the child likes to talk. For there +appeared the charm of the story-telling mode distinct from the story +it told. + +Because of this instinct of conversation one form of creative reaction +may be _language expression_. The oral reproduction of the story +re-experiences the story anew. The teacher may help here by creating a +situation for the re-telling. A teacher might put a little foreign boy +through rapid paces in learning English by selecting a story like _The +Sparrow and the Crow_ and by managing that in the re-telling the +little foreigner would be the Crow who makes the repetitive speeches, +who must go to the Pond and say:-- + + Your name, sir, is Pond + And my name is Crow, + Please give me some water, + For if you do so + I can wash and be neat, + And the nice soup can eat, + Though I really don't know + What the sparrow can mean, + I'm quite sure, as crows go, + I'm remarkably clean. + +As the Crow must go to the Deer, the Cow, the Grass, and the +Blacksmith, and each time varies the beginning of his speech, four +other children could represent the Crow successively, thus bringing in +a social element which would relieve any one child's timidity. By that +time any group of children would realize the fun they could get by +playing out the simple tale; and there would be petitions to be the +Deer, the Cow, etc. If the teacher sees that the characters place +themselves as they should, carry out the parts naturally, and that the +Crow begs with the correct rhyme, she is performing her legitimate +task of suggestion and criticism that works toward developing from the +first attempts of children, a good form in harmony with the story. +Here, while there is free play, the emphasis is on the speeches of +rhyme, so that the reaction is largely a language expression. The +language expression is intimately related to all varieties of +expression of which the child is capable, and may be made to dominate +and use any of them, or be subordinated to them. + +A most delightful form of creative reaction possible to the child in +language expression, is the _formation of original little stories_ +similar to the "Toy Stories" written by Carolyn Bailey for the +_Kindergarten Review_ during 1915. A story similar to "The Little +Woolly Dog" might be originated by the little child about any one of +his toys. This would be related to his work with fairy tales because +in such a story the child would be imitating his accumulative tales; +and the adventures given the toy would be patterned after the familiar +adventures of his tales. + +A form of creative reaction, which will be a part of the language +return given by the first-grade child from the telling of the tale, +will be his _reading of the tale_. When the child re-experiences the +life of the story as has been described, his mental realization of it +will be re-creative, and his reading the tale aloud afterwards will be +just as much a form of re-creative activity as his re-telling of the +tale. The only difference is, that in one case the re-creative +activity is exercised by thinking through symbols, while in the other +case it is employed without the use of a book. This concentration on +the reality brings about the proper relation of reading to literature. +It frees literature from the slavery to reading which it has been made +to serve, yet it makes literature contribute more effectively toward +good reading than it has done in the past. + +(2) The instinct of inquiry. No more predominating trait proclaims +itself in the child than the instinct of inquiry. Every grown-up +realizes his habit of asking questions, which trait Kipling has +idealized delightfully in _The Elephant's Child_. We know also that +the folk-tale in its earliest beginnings was the result of primitive +man's curiosity toward the actual physical world about him, its sun +and sky, its mountain and its sea. The folk-tale therefore is the +living embodiment of the child's instinct of inquiry permanently +recorded in the adventures and surprises of the folk-tale characters. +And because the folk-tale is so pervaded with this quest of the ages +in search of truth, and because the child by nature is so deeply +imitative, the folk-tale inherently possesses an educational value to +stir and feed original impulses of investigation and experiment. This +is a value which is above and beyond its more apparent uses. + +In the creative reaction to be expected from the child's use of fairy +tales the expression of this instinct of investigation unites with the +instinct of conversation, the instinct of construction, and the +instinct of artistic expression. In fact, it is the essence of +creative reaction in any form, whether in the domain of the Industrial +Shop, the Domestic Science Kitchen, the Household Arts' Sewing-Room, +or the Fine Arts' Studio. To do things and then see what happens, is +both the expression of this instinct and the basis of any creative +return the child makes through his handling of the fairy tale. In the +formation of a little play such as is given on page 149, the instinct +of conversation is expressed in the talk of the Trees to the little +Bird. But this talk of the Trees also expresses _doing things to see +what happens_; each happening to the Bird, each reply of a Tree to the +Bird, influences each successive doing of the Bird. After the Story of +_Medio Pollito_ all the child's efforts of making Little Half-Chick +into a weathervane and of fixing the directions to his upright shaft, +will be expressions of the search for the unknown, of the instinct of +experiment. After the story of _The Little Elves_, the dance of the +Elves to the accompaniment of music will represent an expression of +the artistic instinct; but it also represents expression of the +instinct for the new and the untried. After the dance is finished the +child has seen himself do something he had not done before. This union +of the instinct of inquiry with that of artistic expression shows +itself most completely in the entire dramatization of a fairy tale. + +(3) The instinct of construction. In his industrial work the very +youngest child is daily exercising his active tendency to make +things. In the kindergarten he may make the toy with which he plays, +the doll-house and its furnishings, small clay dishes, etc. In +the first grade he may make small toy animals, baskets, paper hats, +card-board doll-furniture, little houses, book-covers, toys, etc. +Self-expression, self-activity, and constructive activity would all +be utilized, and the work would have more meaning to the child, if it +_expressed some idea_, if after the story of _Three Bears_ the child +would make the Bears' kitchen, the table of wood, and the three +porridge bowls of clay, or the Bears' hall with the three chairs. In +the Grimm tale, _Sweet Rice Porridge_, after the story has been told +and before the re-telling, children would like to make a clay +porridge-pot, which could be there before them in the re-telling. +Perhaps they would make the rice porridge also, and put some in the +pot, for little children are very fond of making things to eat, and +domestic science has descended even into the kindergarten. After the +story of _Chanticleer and Partlet_, children would enjoy making a +little wagon and harnessing to it a Duck, and putting in it the Cock +and the Hen, little animals they have made. In the first grade, after +the story of _Sleeping Beauty_, children would naturally take great +pleasure in making things needed to play the story: the paper silver +and gold crowns of the maids and Princess and the Prince's sword. +After the story of _Medio Pollito_, we have noted with what special +interest children might make a weathervane, with Little Half-Chick +upon it! + +(4) The instinct of artistic expression. This is the instinct of +drawing, painting, paper-cutting, and crayon-sketching, the instinct +of song, rhythm, dance, and game, of free play and dramatization. + +(a) One form of artistic creative reaction will be _the cutting of +free silhouette pictures_. The child should attempt this with the +simplest of the stories which are suited for drawing, painting, or +crayon-sketching. He loves to represent the animals he sees every day; +and the art work should direct this impulse and show him how to do it +so that he may draw or cut out a dog, a cat, a sheep, or a goat; or +simple objects, as a broom, a barrel, a box, a table, and a chair. +_The Bremen Town_ _Musicians_, while offering a fine opportunity for +dramatization, also might stimulate the child to cut out the +silhouettes of the Donkey, the Dog, the Cat, and the Cock, to draw the +window of the cottage and to place the animals one on top of another, +looking in the window. The beautiful picture-books illustrating his +fairy tales, which the child may see, will give him many ideas of +drawing and sketching, and help him to arrange his silhouettes. A +recent primer, _The Pantomime Primer_, will give the child new ideas +in silhouettes. Recent articles in the _Kindergarten Review_ will give +the teacher many helpful suggestions along the line of expression. In +the May number, 1915, in _Illustrated Stories_, the story of "Ludwig +and Marleen," by Jane Hoxie, is shown as a child might illustrate it +with paper-cutting.--A class of children were seen very pleasantly +intent on cutting out of paper a basket filled with lovely tinted +flowers. But how attractive that same work would have become if the +basket had been Red Riding Hood's basket and they were being helped by +an art-teacher to show peeping out of her basket the cake and pot of +butter, with the nosegay tucked in one end. A very practical problem +in paper-cutting would arise in any room when children desire to make +a frieze to decorate the front wall. _The Old Woman and her Pig, The +Country Mouse and the City Mouse, The Little Red Hen, The Story of +Three Pigs, The Story of Three Bears_, and _Little Top-Knot_, would be +admirably adapted for simple work. + +(b) _The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean_ is most likely to stir the +child's impulse to _draw_. Leslie Brooke's illustration in _The House +in the Wood_ might aid a child who wanted to put some fun into his +representation. _Birdie and Lena_ or _Fundevogel_, is a story that +naturally would seek illustration. Three _crayon-sketches_, one of a +rosebush and a rose, a second of a church and a steeple, and a third +of a pond and a duck, would be enough to suggest the tale. + +(c) The Story of _The Wolf and Seven Kids_, if told with the proper +emphasis on the climax of triumph and conclusion of joy, would lead +the child to react with a _water-color sketch_ of the dance of the +Goat and her Kids about the well. For here you have all the elements +needed for a simple picture--the sky, the full moon, the hill-top, the +well, and the animals dancing in a ring. After finishing their +sketches the children would enjoy comparing them with the illustration +of _Der Wolf und die Sieben Geislein_ in _Das Deutsche Bilderbüch_, +and perhaps they might try making a second sketch. This same tale +would afford the children a chance to compose a simple tune and a +simple song, such as the well-taught kindergarten child to-day knows. +Such are songs which express a single theme and a single mood; as, +_The Muffin Man_ and _To the Great Brown House_; or _There was a Small +Boy with a Toot_ and _Dapple Gray_ in _St. Nicholas Songs_. In this +tale of _The Wolf and Seven Kids_, the conclusion impresses a single +mood of joy and the single theme of freedom because the Wolf is dead. +The child could produce a very simple song of perhaps two lines, such +as,-- + + Let's sing and dance! Hurrah, hurrah! + The Wolf is dead! Hurrah! + +(d) It is a little difficult to get down to the simplicity of the +little girl who will play her own tune upon the piano and sing to it +just the number of the house in which she lives, repeating it again +and again. But the child can _compose little songs_ that will please +him, and he can use, too, in connection with the tales, some of the +songs that he knows. The first-grade child could work into _Snow White +and Rose Red_, "Good morrow, little rosebush," and into _Little +Two-Eyes_ a lullaby such as "Sleep, baby, sleep." Later in _Hansel and +Grethel_ he may learn some of the simple songs that have been written +for Hansel and Grethel to sing to the birds when they spend the night +in the wood. In _Snow White_ he may learn some of the songs written +for the children's play, _Snow White_. In connection with music, the +kindergarten child learns to imitate the sounds of animals, the sound +of bells, whistles, the wind, etc. All this will cause him to react, +so that when these occur in his stories he will want to make them. + +(e) One of the forms of creative reaction possible to the child as a +variety of expression, which has received attention most recently, has +been handled by Miss Caroline Crawford in _Rhythm Plays of Childhood_; +and by Miss Carol Oppenheimer in "Suggestions Concerning Rhythm +Plays," in the _Kindergarten Review_, April and May, 1915. Here again +the fairy tales cannot be excelled in abundant situations for rhythm +plays. The sea, the wind, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the +stars--all nature is rich in suggestion of rhythms. The social +situations furnish the rhythm of simple housekeeping tasks. In _Snow +White and Rose Red_ there are the rhythms of fishing and of chasing +animals. In _The Elves_ we have the rhythm of shoe-making and in _The +Straw Ox_, the rhythm of spinning. The story of _Thumbelina_, after +its eight episodes have been re-told by the children, might very +attractively be re-told in eight rhythms, each rhythm expressing a +single episode. And for the oldest children, a union of the oral +re-telling by individual children with the retelling in rhythms by all +the children, would give much pleasure and social exhilaration. +Thumbelina in her Cradle, Thumbelina and the Toad, Thumbelina and the +Swallow and Thumbelina as Queen of the Flowers--these at once suggest +a cradle rhythm, a toad rhythm, the flight of birds, and a butterfly +dance. Because the rhythm is a lyric form it must be remembered that +the part of a story suited to a rhythm play is always a part +characterized by a distinct emotional element. In the performance of +rhythm plays the point is to secure the adjustment of music, motion, +and idea. + +(f) Many of the fairy tales might arouse in the child a desire _to +originate a game_, especially if he were accustomed to originate games +in the regular game work. A modification of the game of tag might grow +from _Red Riding Hood_ and a pleasant ring game easily might develop +from _Sleeping Beauty_. In fact there is a traditional English game +called "Sleeping Beauty." An informal ring game which would be +somewhat of a joke, and would have the virtue of developing attention, +might grow from _The Tin Soldier_. The Tin Soldier stands in the +center while the circle is formed of Jack-in-the-boxes, with lids +closed. The Tin Soldier turns round and round slowly, and when he +stops looks steadily at a certain Jack-in-the-box, whereupon the Jack +must bob up and retort, "Keep your eyes to yourself, Tin Soldier!" The +Jack and Soldier then change places. Any Jack failing to open when +looked at forfeits his place in the ring. Some games derived from +folk-tales were given in the _Delineator_, November, 1914. These could +not be used by the youngest without adaptation; they suggest a form of +fun that so far as I know has been undeveloped. + +(g) The artistic creative return of the child may sometimes take the +form of _objectification or representation_. _The Steadfast Tin +Soldier_ is a model of the literary fairy tale which gives a stimulus +to the child to represent his fairy tale objectively. As +straightforward narrative it ranks high. Its very first clause is the +child's point of view: "There were five and twenty tin soldiers"; for +the child counts his soldiers. Certainly the theme is unique and the +images clear-cut. + +It makes one total impression and it has one emotional tone to which +everything is made to contribute. Its message of courage and its +philosophy of life, which have been mentioned previously, are not so +insignificant even if the story does savor of the sentimental. Its +structure is one single line of sequence, from the time this marvelous +soldier was stood up on the table, until he, like many another toy, +was thrown into the fire. The vivid language used gives vitality to +the story, the words suit the ideas, and often the words recall a +picture or suggestion; as, "The Soldier _fell headlong,"_ "_trod_," +"came down in _torrents_," "boat _bobbed_," "_spun_ round," "_clasped_ +his gun," "boat _shot_ along," "_blinked_ his eyes," etc. The method +of suggestion by which an object is described through its effect on +some one else, produces a very pleasing result here. You see the +steadfast look of the Tin Soldier's eyes when the Jack-in-the-box +says, "Keep your eyes to yourself, Tin Soldier!" The position of the +Soldier in the street is given through the exclamation of the little +boys who see him--"Look! there lies a Tin Soldier, let us give him a +sail in the gutter!" + +The setting in this story is a table in a sitting-room and the +playthings on the table. The characters are two playthings. After the +first telling of this story the child naturally would like to +represent it. The story has made his playthings come alive and so he +would like to make them appear also. This is a tale in which +representation, after the first telling, will give to the child much +pleasure and will give him a chance to do something with it +cooperatively. He can reproduce the setting of this tale upon a table +in a schoolroom. Each child could decide what is needed to represent +the story and offer what he can. One child could make the yard outside +the castle of green blotting-paper. Another child could furnish a +mirror for the lake, another two toy green trees, one two wax swans, +one a box of tin soldiers, another a jack-in-the-box, while the girls +might dress a paper doll for a tinsel maid. The teacher, instructed by +the class, might make a castle of heavy gray cardboard, fastening it +together with heavy brass paper-fasteners and cutting out the door, +windows, and tower. It is natural for children to handle playthings; +and when a story like this is furnished the teacher should not be too +work-a-day to enter into its play-spirit. After the representation +objectively, the re-telling of the tale might be enjoyed. The child +who likes to draw might tell this story also in a number of little +sketches: _The Jack-in-the-box, The Window, The Boat, The Rat, The +Fish_, and _The Fire_. Or a very simple little dramatic dance and song +might be invented, characterized by a single mood and a single form of +motion, something like this, sung to the tune of "Here we go round the +mulberry bush, etc":-- + + Here we come marching, soldiers tin, soldiers tin, soldiers tin, + Here we come marching, soldiers tin, + On one leg steady we stand. + (Circle march on one leg). + +This could easily be concluded with a game if the child who first was +compelled to march on two legs had to pay some penalty, stand in the +center of the ring, or march at the end of the line. + +(h) Creative reaction as a result of listening to the telling of fairy +tales, appears in its most varied form of artistic expression in _free +play and dramatization_. It is here that the child finds a need for +the expression of all his skill in song and dance, construction, +language, and art, for here he finds a use for these things. + +In free play the child represents the characters and acts out the +story. His desire to play will lead to a keenness of attention to the +story-telling, which is the best aid to re-experiencing, and the play +will react upon his mind and give greater power to visualize. Nothing +is better for the child than the freedom and initiative used in +dramatization, and nothing gives more self-reliance and poise than to +act, to do something.--We must remember that in the history of the +child's literature it was education that freed his spirit from the +deadening weight of didacticism in the days of the _New England +Primer_. And we must now have a care that education never may become +guilty of crushing the spirit of his freedom, spontaneity, and +imagination, by a dead formalism in its teaching method.--The play +develops the voice, and it gives freedom and grace to bodily +movements. It fixes in the child mind the details of the story and +impresses effectively many a good piece of literature; it combines +intellectual, emotional, artistic, and physical action. The simplest +kindergarten plays, such as _The Farmer, The Blacksmith_, and _Little +Travelers_, naturally lead into playing a story such as _The Sheep and +the Pig_ or _The Gingerbread Man_. _The Mouse that Lost Her Tail_ and +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_ are delightful simple plays given in +_Chain Stories and Playlets_ by Mara Chadwick and E. Gray Freeman, +suited to the kindergarten to play or the first grade to read and +play. Working out a complete dramatization of a folk-tale such as +_Sleeping Beauty_, in the first grade, and having the children come +into the kindergarten and there play it for them, will be a great +incentive toward catching the spirit of imaginatively entering into a +situation which you are not. This is the essential for dramatization. +_Johnny Cake_ is a good tale to be played in the kindergarten because +it uses a great number of children. As the kindergarten room generally +is large, it enables the children who represent the man, the woman, +the little boy, etc., to station themselves at some distance. + +There are some dangers in dramatization which are to be avoided:-- + +(1) _Dramatization often is in very poor form_. The result is not the +important thing, but the process. And sometimes teachers have +understood this to mean, "Hands off!" and left the children to their +crude impulses, unaided and unimproved. When the child shows _what_ he +is trying to do the teacher may show him _how_ he can do what he wants +to do. By suggestion and criticism she may get him to improve his +first effort, provided she permits him to be absolutely free when he +acts.--The place of this absolute freedom in the child's growth has +been emblazoned to the kindergarten by the Montessori System.--Also by +participating in the play as one of the characters, the teacher may +help to a better form. Literature will be less distorted by +dramatization when teachers are better trained to see the +possibilities of the material, when through training they appreciate +the tale as one of the higher forms of literature, and respect it +accordingly. Also it will be less distorted by dramatization when the +tales selected for use are those containing the little child's +interests, when he will have something to express which he really +knows about. Moreover, as children gain greater skill in expression in +construction, in the game, in song, in dance, and in speech, the parts +these contribute to the play will show a more perfected form. Each +expression by the child grows new impressions, gives him new sensory +experiences. Perhaps if the high school would realize the +possibilities in a fairy tale such as _Beauty and the Beast_, work it +up into really good artistic form, and play it for the little +children, much would be gained not only towards good form in +dramatics, in both the elementary school and the high school, but +towards unifying the entire course of literature from the kindergarten +to the university. Using Crane's picture-book as a help, they might +bring into the play the beauty of costume and scenery, the +court-jester, and Beauty's pages. Into the Rose-Garden they might +bring a dance of Moon Fairies, Dawn Fairies, Noon, and Night who, in +their symbolic gauzy attire, dance to persuade Beauty to remain in the +Beast's castle. There might be singing fairies who decorate the bushes +with fairy roses, and others who set the table with fairy dishes, +singing as they work:-- + + See the trees with roses gay. + Fairy roses, fairy roses, etc. + +Elves and Goblins might surround the Beast when dying. The change of +scene from the simple home of Beauty to the rich castle of the Beast, +and the change of costume, would furnish ample opportunity for +original artistic work from older students. For the little child it is +good to see the familiar dignified with art and beauty; and for the +older student the imagination works more freely when dealing with +rather simple and familiar elements such as the folk-tale offers. +_Cinderella_, like _Beauty and the Beast_, offers abundant opportunity +to the high school student for a play or pantomime which it would be +good for the little people to see. The stately minuet and folk-dances +of different peoples may be worked into the ball-scene. And here, too, +the beautiful picture-books will suggest features of costume and +scenery. + +(2) _Dramatization may develop boldness in a child_. The tendency is to +use children with good dramatic ability continually for leading parts, +even when the children choose the parts. This fault may be +counteracted by distinguishing between work for growth and one or two +rather carefully prepared plays to be given on special occasions. It +is also counteracted by looking well to the social aspect of the play, +by introducing features such as the song, dance, or game, where all +have a part, or by adding attractive touches to less important parts, +so that while a character may still be leading it will have no reason +to feel over-important. This danger is not prominent until after the +first grade. + +(3) _Dramatization may spoil some selections_. Beautiful descriptions +which make a tale poetic are not to be represented, and without them a +tale is cheapened. Such is the case with _The King of the Golden +River_ and _The Ugly Duckling_. Care should be exercised to choose for +dramatization only what is essentially dramatic and what is of a grade +suited to the child. Tales suited to the little child are largely +suited for dramatization. + +(4) _Dramatization has omitted to preserve a sequence in the +selections used from year to year_. A sequence in dramatization will +follow naturally as the tales offered from year to year show a +sequence in the variety of interests they present and the +opportunities for growth and activity they offer. Plays most suited to +the kindergarten are those which do not require a complete re-telling +of the story in the acting, so that the child need not say so much. +Such are stories like _The Old Woman and Her Pig, Henny Penny, The +Foolish Timid Rabbit, Little Tuppen, Three Billy-Goats_, _Johnny +Cake_, and _Billy Bobtail_. When the course of literature in the +elementary school gets its content organized, the sequence of +dramatization will take care of itself. + +Dramatization has one rather unusual virtue:-- + +(1) _Dramatization may be used to establish a good habit_. An indolent +child may be given the part of the industrious child in the play. At +first the incongruity will amuse him, then it will support his +self-respect or please his vanity, then it will prove to him the +pleasure of being industrious, and finally stimulate the desire to be +that which before he was not. It may build a habit and, if repeated, +fortify one. This is the true "Direct Moral Method." The so-called +"Direct Moral Method," advocated by Dr. Gould, an English educator, +which in telling a story separates the moral from the tale to +emphasize it and talk about it, leaves the child a passive listener +with only a chance to say "Yes" or "No" or a single word in answer to +the moral questions. It is unnatural because it directs the child's +attention away from the situation, action, and people which interest +him. It does not parallel life in which morals are tied up with +conduct. One must ask, "According to this method what will the child +recall if his mind reverts to the story--courage, or the variety of +images from the number of short-stories told to impress the abstract +moral idea of courage?" Dramatization like life represents character +in the making and therefore helps to make character. + +Illustrations of creative return. Let us look now at a few tales +illustrating the creative return possible to the child. _The Country +Mouse and the City Mouse_ is an animal tale that offers to the +kindergarten child a chance to prove how intensely he enters into the +situation by the number of details he will improvise and put into his +dramatization in representing life in the country and life in the +city. The good feast atmosphere in this tale pleases little children +and suits it to their powers. It is a fine tale to _unite the language +expression and dramatization_. It is especially suited to call forth +reaction from the child also in the form of _drawing or crayon +sketching_. Here it is best for the child to attempt typical bits. +Complete representation tires him and it is not the method of art, +which is selective. The field of corn and two mice may be shown in the +country scene; and a table with cheese, some plates filled with +dainties, and two mice in the city scene. Here again this return +relates itself to the presentation of the tale as literature. For if +the story has been presented so as to make the characters, the plot, +and the setting stand out, the child naturally will select these to +portray in a sketch. In his expression the child will represent what +he chooses, but the teacher by selecting from among the results the +one which is of most value, leads him to a better result in a +following attempt. It is the _teacher's selection among the results of +activity_ that brings about development. Freedom with guidance is no +less free, but it is freedom under that stimulation which helps the +child to make more of himself than he knew was possible.--The +kindergarten would proclaim to the Montessori System the place of +_guidance of freedom_ in the child's growth. + +_The Elves and the Shoemaker_ offers to a first grade a pleasing +opportunity for the _fairy tale to unite with the dramatic game_. One +child may act as narrator, standing to tell the story from the +beginning to the end of the evening's conversation, "I should like to +sit up tonight and see who it is that makes the shoes." At this point, +noiselessly a dozen or more Elves may troop in, and seating themselves +sing and act the first part of the _Dramatic Game of Little Elves_, +one form of which is given by Miss Crawford. After they have stitched, +rapped, and tapped quickly, and the shoes are made, they depart +hurriedly. The narrator now continues the story, telling how the +Shoemaker and his wife made little clothes for the Elves, ending with +what happened on Christmas Eve, when they put the gay jackets and caps +on the table and hid in the corner to watch. At this point the Elves +come in a second time, donning their new clothes; and sing and dance +the second part of the dramatic game. As they dance out of sight the +narrator concludes the story. If the primary children made these +clothes or if the kindergarten children bought them at Christmas time +to give to the poor, the play[3] would take on a real human value. + +_Sleeping Beauty_, another tale suited to the first grade, is +admirably adapted for dramatization.--In all this work the children do +the planning but the teacher directs their impulses, criticizes their +plans, and shows them what they have done. She leads them to see the +tale in the correct acts and scenes, to put together what belongs +together. _Sleeping Beauty_ naturally outlines itself into the ten +main incidents we have noted before. If the story has been presented +according to the standards given here, the children will see the story +in those main incidents. In the dramatization they might work together +narration of the story and the dramatic game, _Dornröschen_. A wide +circle of children might be the chorus while the players take their +places in the center of the circle. The narrator, one of the circle, +stands apart from it as he narrates. The version here used is the +McLoughlin one, illustrated by Johann and Leinweber. + +_Sleeping Beauty_ + + _Place: Castle_. King, Queen, and courtiers take their places + within the circle. The circle moves to waltz step, singing + stanza I, of the dramatic game:-- + + The Princess was so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, etc. + + At the conclusion of stanza I, the circle stops, the + narrator steps forth and tells the story to the end of the + words, "one had to stay at home." + + _Scene i. The Feast_. Twelve fairies enter, each presenting + her gift and making a speech. The wicked thirteenth comes in + and pronounces her curse, and the twelfth fairy softens it + to sleep. The King proclaims his decree, that all spindles + in the land be destroyed. + + _Scene ii. The Attic_. Princess goes to the attic. Old lady + sits spinning. Princess pricks herself and falls asleep. + Narration begins with "The King and Queen who had just come + in fell asleep," and ends with "not a leaf rustled on the + trees around the castle." At the close of the narration, the + circle moves, singing stanza _5_ of the dramatic game:-- + + A great hedge grew up giant high, giant high, giant high, + etc. + + _Scene ii. The Castle Grounds_. The Prince talks to an old + Man outside the castle. The Prince comes to the hedge, which + parts, and he enters. The Prince wakens the Princess and the + rest of the castle. The narrator then closes with "By and by + the wedding of the Prince ... to the end of their lives they + lived happy and contented." The courtiers then form into + couples, and the circle, in couples, follow the courtiers. + The Prince and Princess lead in a slow waltz while all sing + stanza 10 of the dramatic game: + + And all the people made merry then, merry then, merry then, + etc. + +Here we do not have complete dramatization, narration, or dramatic +game. Only three short parts are narrated, only three leading scenes +are represented, and only three high points of narrative are depicted +in the dramatic game. The music, which the specialist in physical +education can furnish, might be:-- + + Galloping...................... Wild Horseman. + Fairy Run...................... Chalef Book, p. 18. + Climbing to Tower.............. Chaly, p. 10. + Guy Walk Music. + Phyllis........................ Seymour Smith. + Bleking........................ Folk-Dance Book. + + +In connection with the _dramatic game_, there is only one tale in +Grimm which contains a folk-game. This tale is somewhat incomplete as +it stands in Grimm. It could become a tale suited for dramatization in +the first grade, beginning the play with the folk-game. An original, +amplified version of this tale, _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_ +is given in the _Appendix_. + +An original little play similar to one which the kindergarten children +could work out is given below. This play is based on the _pourquois_ +tale, _Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves_.[4] It affords +much play of originality because familiar trees may be used; and the +talk of the Trees to the Bird may have some relation to the +characteristics of the Trees. It could be used by children of six, +seven, or eight years of age. It could serve as a Christmas play +because of its spirit of kindness. North Wind might wear a wig and the +Frost King wear a crown and carry a wand. Little Bird could have +wings, one of which is broken, or simply carry one arm sleeveless. + +The play might open with a rhythmic flight of the birds to the music +of "The Swallow's Plight," in _Kindergarten Review_, May, 1915. The +rhythm play of the birds would be especially pleasing because +different birds would be represented by different children. The play +would furnish a fine opportunity also for a rhythmic dance of the +wind, which could form a distinct interlude later on in the play. In +connection with the wind the beautiful picture-book, _Windschen_, by +Elsa Beskow, might be referred to. Here the wind is personified as the +playmate of Hans Georg. Its refined art, lovely color, and imaginative +illustration, would stimulate the child's artistic representation of +the wind. + +_The Bird and the Trees: A Play_ + + _Time_ . . . . Daytime, in late autumn. + _Place_ . . . The Forest. + _Characters_: Poplar, Oak, Maple, Willow, Spruce, Pine, + Juniper, the Bird, North Wind, and the Frost King. + + _Trees of the forest_. "See that great crowd of birds flying + away! They must be going South where the air is warm, and + where they can find berries to eat. There is one left + behind. Why, he is coming this way. What can he want?" + + _The Bird_. "Oh, I can fly no farther! My wing hurts and I + cannot hold it up. I am tired and cold and hungry. I must + rest in this forest. Maybe some good kind tree will help me. + Dear friend Poplar, my wing is broken and my friends have + all gone South. Will you let me live in your branches until + they come back again?" + + _Poplar_. "I am sorry but do you not see how my leaves are + all a-tremble at the thought of taking in a strange bird? + Ask some other tree!" + + _The Bird_. "It might not be very warm there at any rate. + And the wind might blow me off the branches. I will try the + Oak, he is so big and mighty. Dear old Oak-tree, you are so + big and strong, will you let me rest in your branches + to-night among your thick warm leaves? I am a poor little + Bird with a broken wing and I cannot fly!" + + _Oak_. "Oh, you must not ask me, little Bird, for all day + long my little friends, the squirrels, have been jumping + across my branches, gathering nuts and seeking holes to + store their acorns in. I have no room for a stranger." + + _The Bird_. "Ah! I did not think the Oak could be so cruel. + Perhaps Maple will help me, she always seemed kind like a + Mother. Dear, beautiful Maple, I am tired. May I rest among + your lovely red leaves until my broken wing is mended and my + friends come back to me?" + + _Maple_. "Oh, no, I could not think of it! I have just + dressed my leaves all in red and you might spoil their + lovely clothes. Do go away. There are other trees in the + forest not so gay as I." + + _The Bird_. "What should I do? No one wants to help me. Can + I not find one kind tree? Dear kind Willow, your branches + bend almost to the ground. Could I live in them until the + spring-time?" + + _Willow_. "Really, little Bird with the broken wing, you are + a stranger. You should have gone with the other birds. Maybe + some other tree can help you but we willows are particular." + + _The Bird_. "I do not know where to go and I'm so cold! I + wonder if the other birds have reached the beautiful warm + South." + + _Spruce_. "Little Bird, little Bird, where are you going?" + + _The Bird_. "I do not know. I am very cold." + + _Spruce_. "Come, make a big hop and rest in this snug corner + of my branches. You can stay with me all winter if you + like." + + _The Bird_. "You are so good, dear Spruce-tree. Will you + really let me?" + + _Spruce_. "If your friends the birds have left you, your + other friends, the trees, will surely help you. Ho, + Pine-tree, you would help a little Bird with a broken wing, + wouldn't you?" + + _Pine_. "Oh, yes, dear Bird! My branches are not wide but I + am tall and thick, and I will keep the cold North Wind from + you." + + _Juniper_. "And maybe I can help. Are you hungry, little + Bird? You can eat my nice little berries whenever you like." + + _The Bird_. "Thank you, kind friends! I will go to sleep now + on this nice branch of the Spruce-tree, Good-night, dear + Trees." + + _Spruce, Pine, and Juniper_. "Good-night, little Bird." + + _North Wind. "Oo_,--_Oo_!--Now I must run in and out among + all the trees of the forest.--But who comes here?" + + _Frost King_. "Stop, North Wind! I have just gone before + you, as King Winter said, and touched the trees of the + forest. But the trees that have been kind to the Bird with + the broken wing, those I did not touch. They shall keep + their leaves. Do not you harm them!" + + _North Wind_. "Very well, King Frost. Good-bye! + _Oo_!--Oo!--" (The Wind frolics among the Trees, bending + branches, careering wildly, shaking leaves.) "Little + Spruce-tree, you have been kind to the Bird, I will not blow + on you! Dear Pine-tree, you are tall and keep the Bird warm, + I will not blow on you! Little Juniper, you gave the Bird + your berries, I will not blow on you!" + + _(The following morning_.) + + _The Bird_. "Good-morning, dear Spruce-tree, your branch was + warm and safe.--Why, what has happened to the other Trees? + Look at the big Oak and the lovely Maple and all the rest! + See how bare their branches are; and on the ground their + shining leaves lie in red and yellow and brown heaps! O, how + glad I am that your leaves have not fallen; they are bright + and green! And so are Pine-tree's and Juniper's. I will call + you my Evergreen Trees, and I will stay with you until the + Spring!" + +The English fairy tale, _The Magpie's Nest_, told by Joseph Jacobs, +might be dramatized by first-grade children. This tale might offer the +problem of observing how different birds make their nests and how they +vary their calls. It also might offer the language problem of making +suitable rhymes. An original dramatization of the _pourquois_ tale is +given in the _Appendix_. + +Andersen's _Fir Tree_ would offer a fine opportunity for a first grade +at Christmas time. The fir tree has become vitally interesting through +nature study at this time of the year. The children love to make +things to decorate a tree. They have a short list of stories they can +tell by this time. All this can be utilized in a Christmas tree +play.--For the play use the original story, not a weakened version.--A +pleasant Christmas play could end most happily with the story-telling +under the tree. For the play an actual small fir tree may be in the +room placed so that it may be moved easily. A child standing closely +behind it may represent it and speak for it through its branches. The +air and the sun, ordinarily not to be represented, in this case may +be, as they come up to the Tree and talk to it. Much freedom of +originality may be displayed through the children's entering into the +character of the Fir Tree and improvising speeches. + +_The Fir Tree_ + + _Time_.......Spring. + _Place_.......Forest. + _Characters_: Sun, Air, Hare, Woodmen, Swallow, Stork, Sparrows, + Children, Servants, and Fir Tree. + + _Act I, Scene i_. + A Fir Tree in the forest. + Sun and Air talk to it. + Children sit under its branches. + A Hare comes and jumps over it. + Woodcutters come. + A Swallow comes and talks to it. + A Stork comes and talks to it. + Sparrows talk to it. + + (Have the Tree removed. Apparently from a cart + outside the door, a larger Christmas Tree may be + brought in and planted in a sand-box by two + servants, students from grammar grades. The same + child now grown older, represents the Tree.) + + + _Act II, Scene i_. The Fir Tree brought into the room. + The decorating of the Tree by the Children and Teacher. + Talk of the Children about the Tree when decorating it. + Singing of Christmas carols; dancing of + folk-dances; or recitation of Christmas + poems, after the decoration of the Tree. + + The distribution of gifts by the Children. An + audience to whom the Children wanted to give + presents, could be invited. + + The Story-telling under the Tree. + +The presence of visiting children would create an audience for the +story-telling. The selection of the story-teller and the story or +stories might be the result of a previous story contest. The contest +and the story-telling under the Tree would be ideal drill situations. +The entire play would serve as a fine unification of the child's work +in nature, in construction, in physical education, in music, in +composition, and in literature. Everything he does in the play will be +full of vital interest to him; and his daily tasks will seem of more +worth to him when he sees how he can use them with so much pleasure to +himself and to others. This play is an example of the organizing of +ideas which a good tale may exercise in the mind of the child and the +part the tale as an organized experience may play in his development. + +The creative return desired by the teacher, as well as the choice of +tales for particular purposes, will depend largely on the controlling +ideas in the program. It must be remembered that the child of to-day +is not bookish nor especially literary; and he has increasing life +interests. In the ordinary school year, work naturally divides itself +into the main season festivals. While story work is here presented in +its separate elements, any teacher realizes the possibility of making +the story work lead up to and culminate in the Thanksgiving, +Christmas, Easter, or May Festival. Because the good story bears a +close relation to nature and to human life, any good course of stories +will offer to the teacher ample freedom of choice for any natural +school purpose. The good tale always gains by being placed in a +situation where it assists in carrying out a larger idea. When the +tale is one unit of a festival program it appeals to the child as a +unit in his everyday life, it becomes socially organized for him. + + + +REFERENCES: + + +English: + + Baker, F.T.; Carpenter, G.; and Scott, F.N.: _The Teaching of + English_. Longmans. + + Chubb, Percival: _The Teaching of English_. Macmillan. + +Story-Telling: + + Bailey, Carolyn: _For the Story Teller_. Bradley. + + Bryant, Sara C.: _How to Tell Stories to Children_. Houghton. + + _Ibid.: Stories to Tell_. Houghton. + + Buckland, Anna: _Use of Stories in the Kindergarten_. Steiger. + + Coe, F.E.: _First Book of Stories for the Story-teller_. + Houghton. + + Hotchkiss, Mary T.: "Story-telling in the Kindergarten." _N.E.A. + Report_, 1893. + + Keyes, Angela: _Stories and Story-Telling_. Appleton. + + Lyman, Edna: _Story-Telling_. McClurg. + + McMurry, Charles: _Special Method in Primary Reading_. Macmillan. + + O'Grady, Alice (Moulton), and Throop, Frances: _The + Story-Teller's Book_. Rand. + + Olcott, F.J.: "Story-Telling as a Means of Teaching Literature." + _N.Y. Libraries_; vol. 4, pp. 38-43. Feb., 1914. + + Olcott, Frances, and Pendleton, Amena: _The Jolly Book for Boys + and Girls_. Houghton. + + Partridge, E.N., and Partridge, G.E.: _Story-Telling in School + and Home_. Sturgis. + + St. John, Edward: _Stories and Story-Telling_. Westminster Press, + Phila. + + Shedlock, Marie: _Art of the Story Teller_. Appleton. + + Speare, Georgina: "Story-Telling as an Art." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1913, to May, 1914. + + The Storyteller's Company: _The Storyteller's Magazine_. New + York. + + +The Voice: + + Corson, Hiram: _Voice and Spiritual Education_. Macmillan. + + Curry, Samuel S.: _Foundations of Expression_. Expression Co. + + _Ibid._: _Province of Expression_: Expression Co. + + Rush, James: _The Philosophy of the Human Voice_. Lippincott. + + Quintilian, Marcus F.: _Institutes of Oratory_. Macmillan. + + +Gesture and Phonetics: + + Chamberlain, W.B., and Clark, S.H.: _Principles of Vocal + Expression_. Scott. + + Jespersen, Otto: _Growth and Structure of the English Language_. + Stechert. + + Jones, Daniel: _Pronunciation of English; Phonetics and Phonetic + Transcriptions_. Putnam. + + _Ibid._: _Chart of English Speech Sounds_. Oxford. + + Rippman, Walter: _Elements of Phonetics, English, French, and + German_. Dent. + + _Ibid._: _The Sounds of Spoken English_. Dent. + + Sweet, Henry: _Primer of Phonetics_. Oxford. + + +The Kindergarten: + + Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: _The + Kindergarten_. Houghton. + + Blow, Susan: "The Kindergarten and the Primary Grade." + _Kindergarten Review_, June, 1915. + + Crawford, Caroline: "The Teaching of Dramatic Arts in the + Kindergarten and the Elementary School." _Teachers College + Record_, Sept., 1915. + + McMurry, Frank M.: "Principles Underlying the Making of School + Curricula." _Teachers College Record_, Sept., 1915. + + Palmer, Luella: "Montessori Suggestions for Kindergartners." + _Kindergarten Review_, Feb. 1915. + + _Ibid_.: "Problems vs. Subject Matter as a Basis for + Kindergarten Curriculum." _Kindergarten Review_, Nov., 1914. + + Teachers College Record: "Experimental Studies in Kindergarten + Education." _Teachers College Record_, Jan., 1914. + + Thorndike, Edward L.: "Foundations of Educational Achievement." + _N.E.A. Report_, 1914. + + +The Return: + + Archer, William: _Play-Making_. Small. + + Bailey, Carolyn: "Toy Stories." "The Story of the Woolly Dog." + _Kindergarten Review_, Feb., 1915. + + Baker, Franklin T., and Thorndike, Ashley H.: _Everyday English. + Book One_. Macmillan. + + Barnes, Earl: _Studies in Education_. Drawing. Barnes. + + Buffum, Katherine: _Silhouettes to Cut in School_. Bradley. + + Crawford, Caroline: _Dramatic Games and Dances_. Barnes. + _Folk Dances and Games_. Barnes. + _The Rhythms of Childhood_. Barnes. + + Curry, S.S.: _Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct_. Expression + Co. + + Dewey, John: _The Child and the Curriculum_. University of + Chicago. + + _Ibid_.: "Imagination and Expression." _Kindergarten + Magazine_, Sept., 1896. + + Dow, Arthur: "Color in the Kindergarten." _Kindergarten Review_, + June, 1914. + + _Ibid.: Composition_. Doubleday. + + Harvey, Nellie: "Japanese Art in the Kindergarten." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1914. + + Hervey, Walter: _Picture Work_. Revell. + + Laurie, S.S.: _Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method in the + School_. Macmillan. + + Macintosh, C.: "Toys Made by Little Children." _Kindergarten + Review_, Jan., and Feb., 1914. + + Maxwell, W.H.; Johnston, E.L.; and Barnum, M.: _Speaking and + Writing_. American Book Co. + + Oppenheimer, Carol: Drawing. _Kindergarten Review_, March, 1914. + + _Ibid_.: "Scissors and Paper." _Kindergarten Review_, Jan., + 1914. + + _Ibid_.: "Suggestions Concerning Rhythm Plays." _Kindergarten + Review_, April and May, 1915. + + _Ibid_.: "The Use of the Song Exercise." _Kindergarten Review_, + May, 1914. + + Parker School: _Francis W. Parker Year-Book_, vol. III, June, + 1914. ("Expression as a Means of Developing Motives.") Francis + Parker School, Chicago. + + Psychological Review: Monograph--"Development of Imagination in + School Children." _Suppl. Psych. Review_, vol. XI, no. 1, 1909. + + Wagner, Carrie: "Furniture for the Doll House." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1914. + + Worst, E.F.; Barber, H.; and Seymour, M.: _Constructive Work_. + Mumford. + + Zook, Mabel; and Maloy, Regina: "Illustrated Stories." + _Kindergarten Review_, May, 1915. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + + +THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES + + The gods of ancient mythology were changed into the + demi-gods and heroes of ancient poetry, and these demi-gods + again became, at a later age, the principal characters of + our nursery tales.--MAX MÃœLLER + + Stories originally told about the characters of savage + tales, were finally attracted into the legends of the gods + of ancient mythology, or were attributed to demi-gods and + heroes.--ANDREW LANG. + + +I. THE ORIGIN OF FAIRY TALES + +Now that we have indicated the worth of fairy tales, have observed +those principles which should guide the teacher in choosing and in +interpreting a tale, and have stated those rules which should govern +the story-teller in the telling of the tale, we may well ask a few +further questions concerning the nature of these fairy tales. What is +a fairy tale and whence did it come, and how are we to find its +beginning? Having found it, how are we to follow it down through the +ages? How shall it be classed, what are the available types which seek +to include it and show its nature? And lastly, what are the books +which are to be the main practical sources of fairy tales for the +teacher of little children? The remaining pages attempt to give some +help to the teacher who wishes to increase her resources with an +intelligent knowledge of the material she is handling. + +Many times the question, "What is a fairy tale?" has been asked. One +has said: "The fairy tale is a poetic presentation of a spiritual +truth." George MacDonald has answered: "_Undine_ is a fairy tale." Mr. +G.K. Chesterton has said: "A fairy tale is a tale told in a morbid age +to the only remaining sane person, a child. A legend is a fairy tale +told to men when men were sane." Some, scorning to reply, have treated +the question as one similar to, "What poem do you consider best in the +English language?" As there are many tales included here which do not +contain a fairy, fairy tales here are taken to include tales which +contain something fairy or extraordinary, the magic or the +marvelous--fairies, elves, or trolls, speaking animals, trees, or a +talkative Tin Soldier. The Myth proper and the Fable are both excluded +here, while the _pourquois_ tale, a myth development, and the Beast +tale, a short-story fable development, are both included. + +The origin of the word "fairy," as given by Thomas Keightley in his +_Fairy Mythology_, and later in the Appendix of his _Tales and Popular +Fictions_, is the Latin _fatum_, "to enchant." The word was derived +directly from the French form of the root. The various forms of the +root were:-- + + Latin _fatum_, "to enchant." + French _fee, feerie_, "illusion." + Italian _fata_. + Provençal _fada_. + +In old French romance, _fee_ was a "woman skilled in magic." "All +those women were called Fays who had to do with enchantment and charms +and knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs, by +which they were kept in youth and in great beauty and in great +riches." This was true also of the Italian _fata_. + +The word "fairy" was used in four senses. _Fairy_ represented:-- + + (1) Illusion, or enchantment. + + (2) Abode of the Faes, the country of the Fays. + + (3) Inhabitants collectively, the people of Fairyland. + + (4) The individual in Fairyland, the fairy Knight, or Elf. + +The word was used in the fourth sense before the time of Chaucer. +After the appearance of Spenser's _Faerie Queene_ distinctions became +confused, and the name of the real fairies was transferred to "the +little beings who made the green, sour ringlets whereof the ewe not +bites." The change adopted by the poets gained currency among the +people. Fairies were identified with nymphs and elves. Shakespeare was +the principal means of effecting this revolution, and in his +_Midsummer Night's Dream_ he has incorporated most of the fairy lore +known in England at his time. But the tales are older than their name. + +The origin of fairy tales is a question which has kept many very able +scholars busy and which has not yet been settled to the satisfaction +of many. What has been discovered resolves itself mainly into four +different origins of fairy tales:-- + +I. Fairy tales are detritus of myth, surviving echoes of gods and +heroes. Against this theory it may be said that, when popular tales +have incidents similar to Greek heroic myths, the tales are not +detritus of myth, but both have a more ancient tale as their original +source. There was:-- + + (1) A popular tale which reflected the condition of a rude + people, a tale full of the monstrous and the miraculous. + + (2) The same tale, a series of incidents and plot, with the + monstrous element modified, which survived in the oral + traditions of illiterate peasantry. + + (3) The same plot and incidents, as they existed in heroic + epics of cultivated people. A local and historical character + was given by the introduction of known places and native + heroes. Tone and manners were refined by literary + workmanship, in the _Rig Veda_, the Persian _King-book_, the + _Homeric Epics_, etc. + +The Grimms noted that the evolution of the tale was from a strongly +marked, even ugly, but highly expressive form of its earlier stages, +to that which possessed external beauty of mold. The origin is in the +fancy of a primitive people, the survival is through _Märchen_ of +peasantry, and the transfiguration into epics is by literary artists. +Therefore, one and the same tale may be the source of Perrault's +_Sleeping Beauty_, also of a _Greek myth_, and also of an _old tale of +illiterate peasantry_. This was the opinion held by Lang, who said, +"For the roots of stories, we must look, not in the clouds but upon +the earth, not in the various aspects of nature but in the daily +occurrences and surroundings, in the current opinions and ideas of +savage life." + +In the savage _Märchen_ of to-day, the ideas and incidents are the +inevitable result of the mental habits and beliefs of savages. We gain +an idea of the savage mind through Leviticus, in the Bible, through +Herodotus, Greek and Roman geographers, Aristotle, Plutarch, Pliny, +etc., through voyagers, missionaries, and travelers, and through +present savage peoples. Savage existence is based on two great +institutions:-- + +(a) The division of society into clans.--Marriage laws depend on the +conception that these clans descend from certain plants, animals, or +inorganic objects. There was the belief in human descent from animals +and kinship and personal intercourse with them. + +(b) Belief in magic and medicine-men, which resulted in powers of +metamorphosis, the effect of incantation, and communion with the +dead.--To the savage all nature was animated, all things were persons. +The leading ideas of savage peoples have already been referred to in +the list of motifs which appear in the different fairy tales, as given +by Lang, mentioned under the "Preparation of the Teacher," in _The +Telling of the Tale_. + + + +II. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Dawn, Thunder, Rain, etc. + + +This is sometimes called the Sun-Myth Theory or the Aryan Theory, and +it is the one advocated by Max Müller and by Grimm. + +The fairy tales were primitive man's experience with nature in days +when he could not distinguish between nature and his own personality, +when there was no supernatural because everything was endowed with a +personal life. They were the poetic fancies of light and dark, cloud +and rain, day and night; and underneath them were the same fanciful +meanings. These became changed by time, circumstances in different +countries, and the fancy of the tellers, so that they became sunny and +many-colored in the South, sterner and wilder in the North, and more +home-like in the Middle and West. To the Bushmen the wind was a bird, +and to the Egyptian fire was a living beast. Even _The Song of +Six-Pence_ has been explained as a nature-myth, the pie being the +earth and sky, the birds the twenty-four hours, the king the sun, the +queen the moon, and the opening of the pie, day-break. + +Every word or phrase became a new story as soon as the first meaning +of the original name was lost. Andrew Lang tells how Kephalos the sun +loved Prokris the dew, and slew her by his arrows. Then when the first +meaning of the names for sun, dew, and rays was lost, Kephalos, a +shepherd, loved Prokris, a nymph, and we have a second tale which, by +a folk-etymology, became the _Story of Apollo, the Wolf_. Tales were +told of the sun under his frog name; later people forgot that _frog_ +meant "sun," and the result was the popular tale, _A Frog, He Would +A-Wooing Go_. + +In regard to this theory, "It is well to remember," says Tylor in his +_Primitive Culture_, "that rash inferences which, on the strength of +mere resemblances, derive episodes of myth from episodes of nature, +must be regarded with utter distrust; for the student who has no more +stringent criterion than this for his myths of sun and sky and dawn +will find them wherever it pleases him to seek them." There is a +danger of being carried away by false analogies. But all scholars +agree that some tales are evidently myths of sun and dawn. If we +examine the natural history of savages, we do find summer feasts, +winter feasts, rituals of sorrow for the going of summer and of +rejoicing for its return, anxious interest in the sun, interest in the +motion of the heavenly bodies, the custom of naming men and women from +the phenomena of nature, and interest in making love, making war, +making fun, and making dinner. + + + +III. Fairy tales all arose in India, they are part of the common Aryan +heritage and are to be traced by the remains of their language. + + +They were first written in the _Vedas_, the sacred Sanskrit books of +Buddhism. This theory is somewhat allied to the Sun-Myth Theory. This +theory was followed by Max Müller and by Sir George Cox. + +The theory of a common source in India will not answer entirely for +the origin of tales because many similar tales have existed in +non-Aryan countries. Old tales were current in Egypt, 2000 B.C., and +were brought from there by Crusaders, Mongol missionaries, the +Hebrews, and Gypsies. + +The idea of connecting a number of disconnected stories, as we find in +_Arabian Nights_, _The Canterbury Tales_, and the _Decameron_, is +traced to the idea of making Buddha the central figure in the +folk-literature of India. And Jacobs says that at least one-third of +all the stories common to the children of Europe are derived from +India, and by far the majority of the drolls. He also says that +generally, so far as incidents are marvelous and of true fairy-like +character, India is the probable source, because of the vitality of +animism and transformation in India in all time. Moreover, as a +people, the Hindus had spread among their numbers enough literary +training and mental grip to invent plots. + +And again, there is an accepted connection in myth and language +between all Aryan languages and Sanskrit. According to Sir George +Dasent, "The whole human race has sprung from one stock planted in the +East, which has stretched its boughs and branches laden with the fruit +of language and bright with the bloom of song and story, by successive +offshoots to the utmost parts of the earth." Dasent tells how the +Aryans who went west, who went out to _do_, were distinguished from +the nations of the world by their common sense, by their power of +adapting themselves to circumstances, by making the best of their +position, by being ready to receive impressions, and by being able to +develop impressions. They became the Greeks, the Latins, the Teutons, +the Celts, and the Slavonians. The Aryans who stayed at home, remained +to _reflect_, and were distinguished by their power of thought. They +became a nation of philosophers and gave to the world the Sanskrit +language as the basis of comparative philology. Dasent shows how +legends, such as the _Story of William Tell_ and _Dog Gellert_, which +have appeared in many Aryan peoples were common in germ to the Aryan +tribes before migration. Joseph Jacobs has more recently settled the +travels of _Gellert_, tracing its literary route from the Indian +_Vinaya Pitaka_, through the _Fables of Bidpai, Sindibad, Seven Sages +of Rome, Gesta Romanorum_, and the Welsh _Fables of Cottwg_, until the +legend became localized in Wales. + + + +IV. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity of early fancy. + + +Just as an individual, after thinking along certain lines, is +surprised to come upon the exact sequence of his thought in a book he +had never seen, so primitive peoples in remote parts of the world, up +against similar situations, would express experience in tales +containing similar motifs. A limited set of experiences was presented +to the inventive faculty, and the limited combinations possible would +result in similar combinations. The Aryan Jackal, the Mediaeval +Reynard, the Southern Brer Rabbit, and the Weasel of Africa, are near +relations. Dasent said, "In all mythology and tradition there are +natural resemblances, parallelisms, suggested to the senses of each +race by natural objects and everyday events; and these might spring up +spontaneously all over the earth as home-growths, neither derived by +imitation from other tribes, nor from the tradition of a common +stock." + +It is probable that all four theories of the origin of fairy tales are +correct and that fairy tales owe their origin not to any one cause but +to all four. + + + +II. THE TRANSMISSION OF FAIRY TALES + + +Oral transmission. The tale, having originated, may have been +transmitted in many ways: by women compelled to marry into alien +tribes; by slaves from Africa to America; by soldiers returning from +the Crusades; by pilgrims returning from the Holy Land or from Mecca; +by knights gathering at tournaments; by sailors and travelers; and by +commercial exchange between southern Europe and the East--Venice +trading with Egypt and Spain with Syria. Ancient tales of Persia +spread along the Mediterranean shores. In this way the Moors of Spain +learned many a tale which they transmitted to the French. _Jack the +Giant-Killer_ and _Thomas Thumb_, according to Sir Walter Scott, +landed in England from the very same keels and warships which conveyed +Hengist and Horsa and Ebba the Saxon. A recent report of the Bureau of +Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution of the United States +expressed the opinion that the _Uncle Remus Tales_ have an Indian +origin. Slaves had associated with Indian tribes such as the +Cherokees, and had heard the story of the Rabbit who was so clever +that no one could fool him. Gradually the Southern negroes had adopted +the Indian tales and changed them. Joseph Jacobs claims to have found +the original of the "Tar Baby" in the _Jataka Tales_. A tale, once +having originated, could travel as easily as the wind. Certainly a +good type when once hit upon was diffused widely. Sir Walter Scott has +said: "A work of great interest might be compiled from the origin of +popular fiction and the transmission of similar tales from age to age +and from country to country. The mythology of one period would then +appear to pass into the romance of the next century, and that into the +nursery tales of subsequent ages. Such an investigation would show +that these fictions, however wild and childish, possess such charms +for the populace as to enable them to penetrate into countries +unconnected by manners and language, and having no apparent +intercourse to afford the means of transmission." + +Thomas Keightley, in _Tales and Popular Fictions_, has given +interesting examples of the transmission of tales. Selecting _Jack the +Giant-Killer_, he has shown that it is the same tale as Grimm's _The +Brave Tailor_, and _Thor's Journey to Utgard_ in the Scandinavian +_Edda_. Similar motifs occur also in a Persian tale, _Ameen of Isfahan +and the Ghool_, and in the _Goat and the Lion_, a tale from the +_Panchatantra_. Selecting the _Story of Dick Whittington_ he has shown +that in England it was current in the reign of Elizabeth; that two +similar tales, Danish legends, were told by Thiele; that a similar +Italian tale existed at the time of Amerigo Vespucci, which was a +legend told by Arlotto in 1396-1483; that another similar Italian tale +was connected with the origin of Venice, in 1175; and that a similar +tale existed in Persia in 1300, before 1360, when Whittington of +England was born. He also pointed out that the _Odyssey_ must have +traveled east as well as west, from Greece, for Sindbad's adventure +with the Black Giant is similar to that of Ulysses with the Cyclops. + +Another interesting set of parallels shown by him is connected with +the _Pentamerone_ tale, _Peruonto_. This is the Straparola _Peter the +Fool_, the Russian _Emelyan the Fool_, the Esthonian tale by +Laboulaye, _The Fairy Craw-Fish_, and the Grimm _The Fisherman and his +Wife_. The theme of a peasant being rewarded by the fish he had thrown +back into the water takes on a delightful varied form in the tale of +different countries. The magic words of Emelyan, "Up and away! At the +pike's command, and at my request, go home, sledge!" in each variant +take an interesting new form. + +Literary transmission. The travels of a tale through oral tradition +are to be attempted with great difficulty and by only the most careful +scholarship. One may follow the transmission of tales through literary +collections with somewhat greater ease and exactness. Popular tales +have a literature of their own. The following list seeks to mention +the most noteworthy collections:-- + + No date. _Vedas_. Sanskrit. + + No date. _Zend Avesta_. Persian. + + Fifth century, B.C. _Jatakas_. Probably the oldest + literature. It was written at Ceylon and has been translated + into 38 languages, in 112 editions. Recently the Cambridge + edition has been translated from the Pali, edited by E.B. + Cowell, published by Putnam, New York, 1895-1907. + + 4000 B.C. _Tales of Ancient Egypt_. These were the tales of + magicians, recorded on papyrus. + + 600 B.C. (about). _Homeric Legends_. + + 200 B.C. (about). _Book of Esther_. + + Second century, A.D. _The Golden Ass, Metamorphoses of Apuleius_. + + 550 A.D. _Panchatantra_, the _Five Books_. This was a + Sanskrit collection of fables, the probable source of the + _Fables of Bidpai_. + + Second century, A.D. _The Hitopadesa_, or _Wholesome + Instruction_. A selection from the _Panchatantra_, first + edited by Carey, in 1804; by Max Müller, in 1844. + + 550 A.D. _Panchatantra_. Pehlevi version. + + Tenth century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Arabic version. + + Eleventh century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Greek version. + + Twelfth century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Persian version. + + 1200 A.D. _Sanskrit Tales_. These tales were collected by + Somadeva Bhatta, of Cashmere, and were published to amuse + the Queen of Cashmere. They have been translated by + Brockhaus, 1844. Somadeva's _Ocean of the Streams of Story_ + has been translated by Mr. Tawney, of Calcutta, 1880. + +Tales of the West came from the East in two sources:-- + + 1262-78. (1) _Directorium Humanæ Vitæ_, of John of Capua. + This was translated from the _Hebrew_, from the _Arabic_ of + the eighth century, from the _Pehlevi_ of Persia of the + sixth century, from the _Panchatantra_, from the _Sanskrit + original_. This is the same as the famous Persian version, + _The Book of Calila and Dimna_, attributed to Bidpai, of + India. There was a late Persian version, in 1494, and one in + Paris in 1644, which was the source of La Fontaine. + + Thirteenth century. (2) _The Story of the Seven Sages of + Rome_, or _The Book of Sindibad_. This appeared in Europe as + the Latin _History of the Seven Sages of Rome_, by Dame + Jehans, a monk in the Abbey of Haute Selve. There is a + Hebrew, an Arabic, and a Persian version. It is believed the + Persian version came from Sanskrit but the Sanskrit original + has not yet been found. + + Tenth century. _Reynard the Fox_. This was first found as a + Latin product of the monks, in a cloister by the banks of + the Mosel and Mass. _Reynard the Fox_ shares with _Æsop's + Fables_ the distinction of being folk-lore raised into + literature. It is a series of short stories of adventure + forming a romance. These versions are known:-- + + 1180. German-_Reinhart_, an epic of twelve + adventures by Heinrich Glichesäre. + + 1230. French-_Roman de Renard_, with its + twenty-seven branches. + + 1250. Flemish-_Reinaert_, part of which was + composed by Willem, near Ghent. + + 1148. _Ysengrimus_, a Latin poem written at Ghent. + + Thirteenth century. _Of the Vox and of the Wolf_, + an English poem. + + Later date. _Rainardo_, Italian. + + Later date. Greek _mediaeval version_. + + _Reynard the Fox_[5] was first printed in England + by Caxton in 1481, translated from a Dutch copy. A + copy of Caxton's book is in the British Museum. + Caxton's edition was adapted by "Felix Summerley"; + and Felix Summerley's edition, with slight + changes, was used by Joseph Jacobs in his Cranford + edition. + + A Dutch prose romance, _Historie von Reynaert de + Vos_ was published in 1485. A German copy, written + in Lower Saxony was published in 1498. A + chap-book, somewhat condensed, but giving a very + good account of the romance, was published in + London in 1780, printed and sold in Aldermary + Churchyard, Bow Lane. This chap-book is very much + finer in language than many of the others in + Ashton's collection. Its structure is good, + arranged in nine chapters. It shows itself a real + classic and would be read with pleasure to-day. + Goethe's poem, _Reineke Fuchs_, was published in + 1794. This version was more refined than previous + ones but it lost in simplicity. Monographs have + been written on _Reynard_ by Grimm, Voigt, Martin, + and Sudre. + + Raginhard was a man's name, meaning "strong in + counsel," and was common in Germany which bordered + on France. This name naturally was given to the + beast who lived by his wits. Grimm considered + _Reynard_ the result of a Teutonic Beast Epic of + primitive origin. Later research has exploded this + theory and has decided that all versions are + descended from an original French one existing + between 1150 and 1170. Modern editions have come + from the Flemish version. The literary artist who + compiled _Reynard_ took a nucleus of fables and + added to it folk-tales which are known to have + existed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and + which exist to-day as tradition among some folk. + The folk-tales included in _Reynard_ are: _Reynard + and Dame Wolf_; _The Iced Wolf's Tail_; _The + Fishes in the Car_; _The Bear in the Cleft_; _The + Wolf as Bell-Ringer_; and _The Dyed Fox_. The + method of giving individual names to the animals + such as Reynard, Bruin, and Tibert, was current + among the Folk before a literary form was given to + _Reynard_. As this was the custom in the province + of Lorraine it is supposed that the origin of + these names was in Lorraine. Other names, such as + Chanticleer, the Cock, and Noble, the Lion, were + given because of a quality, and indicate a + tendency to allegory. These names increase in the + later development of the romance. In the beginning + when the beasts had only personal adventures, + these were told by the Folk to raise a laugh. + Later there was a meaning underneath the laugh and + the Beast Epic Comedy of the Folk grew into the + world Beast Satire of the literary artist. + + _Reynard_ exhibits the bare struggle for existence + which was generally characteristic of Feudal life. + Cunning opposes force and triumphs over it. The + adventurous hero appeals because of his faculty of + _adjustment_, his power to adapt himself to + circumstances and to master them. He also appeals + because of his small size when compared with the + other animals. In the Middle Ages _Reynard_ + appealed because it was a satire upon the monks. + Of _Reynard_ Carlyle has said, "It comes before us + with a character such as can belong only to very + few; that of being a true World's Book which + through centuries was everywhere at home, the + spirit of which diffused itself into all languages + and all minds." + + * * * * * + + About one tenth of European folk-lore is traced to + collections used in the Middle Ages: _Fables of Bidpai_, + _Seven Wise Masters_, _Gesta Romanorum_, and _Barlaam and + Josophat_. These tales became diffused through the _Exempla_ + of the monks, used in their sermons, through the _Novelle_ + of Italy, the _Decameron_ of Boccaccio, the _Tales of + Chaucer_, Painter's _Palace of Pleasure_, and the + _Elizabethan Drama_ of England. One half of La Fontaine's + _Fables_ are of Indian sources. + + 1326. The _Gesta Romanorum_, written in Latin. This was a + compilation, by the monks, of stories with a moral appended + to each. It was the most popular story-book before the + invention of printing. In England it was printed by Wynkyn + de Worde, of which edition the only known copy is at St. + John's College, Cambridge. The earliest manuscript of the + collection is dated 1326. Between 1600 and 1703 fifteen + editions of the book prove its popularity. One English + version is by Sir Frederick Madden, who lived 1801-73. The + author of the _Gesta Romanorum_ is unknown, but was likely a + German. The stories included are miscellaneous and vary in + different editions. Among its stories are Oriental tales, + tales of the deeds of Roman Emperors, an early form of _Guy + of Warwick_, the casket episode of _The Merchant of Venice_, + a story of the Jew's bond, a tale of the Emperor Theodosius, + being a version of _King Lear_, the story of the Hermit, and + a tale of Aglas, the daughter of the Roman Emperor Pompey, + being a version of _Atalanta and her Race_. + + 1000 A.D. (about). _Shah-Nameh_, or _King-book of Persia_, + by Ferdousee, born about 940 A.D. This book is the pride and + glory of Persian literature. It was written by the Persian + poet at the command of the king, who wished to have + preserved the old traditions and heroic glories of Persians + before the Arabian conquest. Ferdousee declared that he + invented none of his material, but took it from the + _Bostan-Nameh_ or _Old-Book_. + + The _King-Book_ is very ancient, it is the Persian Homer. It + was the labor of thirty years. It consisted of 56,000 + distichs or couplets, for every thousand of which the Sultan + had promised the poet one thousand pieces of gold. Instead + of the elephant-load of gold promised, the Sultan sent in + payment 60,000 small silver coins. This so enraged the poet + that he gave away one third to the man who brought them, one + third to a seller of refreshments, and one third to the + keeper of the bath where the messenger found him. After the + poet's death the insult was retrieved by proper payment. + This was refused by his one daughter, but accepted by the + other and used to erect a public dike the poet had always + desired to build to protect his native town from the river. + The fine character of the tales of the _King-Book_ is shown + in the tale of _Roostem and Soohrab_, taken from this book, + which Keightley has translated in _Tales and Popular + Fictions_. Keightley considered it superior to any Greek or + Latin tale. Modern literature knows this tale through + Matthew Arnold's poem. + + 1548 (not later than). _The Thousand and One Nights_, + Arabian. 12 volumes. Galland's French translation appeared + in 1704. This was supplemented by Chavis and Cazotte, and by + Caussin de Percival. Monsieur Galland was Professor of + Arabic in the Royal College of Paris. He was a master of + French and a fairly good scholar of Arabic. He brought his + manuscript, dated 1548, to Paris from Constantinople. He + severely abbreviated the original, cutting out poetical + extracts and improving the somewhat slovenly style. In his + translation he gave to English the new words, _genie, ogre_, + and _vizier_. His work was very popular. + + Boulak and Calcutta texts are better than the Galland. They + contain about two hundred and fifty stories. The Cairo + edition has been admirably translated by Edward W. Lane, in + 3 volumes (1839-41) published in London. This is probably + the best edition. It also omits many poetical quotations. A + recent edition using Lane's translation is by Frances + Olcott, published by Holt in 1913. Editions which attempt to + be complete versions are by John Payne (13 volumes, + 1882-84), and by Sir Richard Burton (16 volumes, 1885-88). + Lane and Burton give copious notes of value. The recent + edition by Wiggin and Smith used the editions of Scott and + Lane. + + The stories in _Arabian Nights_ are Indian, Egyptian, + Arabian, and Persian. Scenes are laid principally in Bagdad + and Cairo. Lane considered that the one hundred and fifteen + stories, which are common to all manuscripts, are based on + the Pehlevi original. The idea of the frame of the story + came from India. This was the birth of the serial story. + There is authority for considering the final collection to + have been made in Egypt. Cairo is described most minutely + and the customs are of Egypt of the thirteenth century and + later. The stories must have been popular in Egypt as they + were mentioned by an historian, 1400-70. Lane considered + that the final Arabic collection bears to Persian tales the + same relation that the _Æneid_ does to the _Odyssey_. Life + depicted is Arabic, and there is an absence of the great + Persian heroes. Internal evidence assists in dating the + work. Coffee is mentioned only three times. As its use + became popular in the East in the fourteenth century this + indicates the date of the work to be earlier than the very + common use of coffee. Cannon, which are mentioned, were + known in Egypt in 1383. Additions to the original were + probably made as late as the sixteenth century. _The Arabian + Nights_ has been the model for many literary attempts to + produce the Oriental tale, of which the tales of George + Meredith are notable examples. + + Thomas Keightley, in _Tales and Popular Fictions_, + considered Persia the original country of _The Thousand and + One Nights_, and _The Voyages of Sinbad_, originally a + separate work. He showed how some of these tales bear marks + of Persian extraction and how some had made their way to + Europe through oral transmission before the time of + Galland's translation. He selected the tale, "Cleomedes and + Claremond," and proved that it must have been learned by a + certain Princess Blanche, of Castile, and transmitted by her + to France about 1275. This romance must have traveled to + Spain from the East. It is the same as "The Enchanted Horse" + in _The Thousand and One Nights_, and through Keightley's + proof, is originally Persian. Keightley also selected the + Straparola tale, _The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and + the Beautiful Green Bird_, and proved it to be the same as + Grimm's _Three Little Birds_, as a Persian _Arabian Night's_ + tale, and also as _La Princesse Belle Etoile_, of D'Aulnoy. + But as Galland's translation appeared only the year after + Madame D'Aulnoy's death, Madame D'Aulnoy must have obtained + the tale elsewhere than from the first printed version of + _Arabian Nights_. + + No date. _The Thousand and One Days_. This is a Persian + collection containing the "History of Calaf." + + 1550. _Straparola's Nights_, by Straparola. This collection + of jests, riddles, and twenty-one stories was published in + Venice. The stories were taken from oral tradition, from the + lips of ten young women. Some were agreeable, some unfit, so + that the book was forbidden in Rome, in 1605, and an + abridged edition prepared. There was a complete Venetian + edition in 1573, a German translation in 1679, a French one + in 1611, and a good German one with valuable notes, by + Schmidt, in 1817. Straparola's _Nights_ contained stories + similar to the German _The Master Thief, The Little Peasant, + Hans and the Hedge-Hog, Iron Hans, The Four Brothers, The + Two Brothers_, and _Dr. Know-all_. + + 1637. _The Pentamerone_, by Basile. Basile spent his early + youth in Candia or Crete, which was owned by Venice. He + traveled much in Italy, following his sister, who was a + noted singer, to Mantua. He probably died in 1637. There may + have been an earlier edition of _The Pentamerone_, which + sold out. It was republished in Naples in 1645, 1674, 1714, + 1722, 1728, 1749, 1788, and in Rome in 1679. This was the + best collection of tales formed by a nation for a long time. + The traditions were complete, and the author had a special + talent for collecting them, and an intimate knowledge of + dialect. This collection of fifty stories may be looked upon + as the basis of many others. Basile wrote independently of + Straparola, though a few tales are common to both. He was + very careful not to alter the tale as he took it down from + the people. He told his stories with allusions to manners + and customs, to old stories and mythology. He abounds in + picturesque, proverbial expressions, with turns and many + similes, and displays a delightful exuberance of fancy. A + valuable translation, with notes, was written by Felix + Liebrecht, in 1842, and an English one by John Edward + Taylor, in 1848. Keightley, in _Fairy Mythology_, has + translated three of these tales and in _Tales and Popular + Fictions_, two tales. Keightley's were the first + translations of these tales into any language other than + Italian. Among the stories of Basile are the German + _Cinderella, How Six got on in the World, Rapunzel, Snow + White, Dame Holle, Briar Rose_, and _Hansel and Grethel_. + + 1697. _The Tales of Mother Goose_, by Charles Perrault. In + France the collecting of fairy tales began in the + seventeenth century. French, German, and Italian tales were + all derived independently by oral tradition. In 1696, in + _Recueil_, a magazine published by Moetjens, at The Hague, + appeared _The Story of Sleeping Beauty_, by Perrault. In + 1697 appeared seven other tales by Perrault. Eight stories + were published in 12mo, under a title borrowed from a + _fabliau_, _Contes de ma Mere l'Oye_. In a later edition + three stories were added, _The Ass's Skin_, _The Clever + Princess_, and _The Foolish Wishes_. The tales of Perrault + were:-- + + 1. The Fairies. + 2. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. + 3. Bluebeard. + 4. Little Red Riding Hood. + 5. Puss-in-Boots. + 6. Cinderella. + 7. Rique with the Tuft. + 8. Little Thumb. + 9. The Ass's Skin. + 10. The Clever Princess. + 11. The Foolish Wishes. + + Immediately afterwards the tales appeared published at Paris + in a volume entitled, _Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passe, + avec des Moralites--Contes de ma Mère l'Oye_. The earliest + translation into English was in a book containing French and + English, _Tales of Passed Times, by Mother Goose, with + Morals. Written in French by M. Charles Perrault and + Englished by R.S., Gent_. An English translation by Mr. + Samber was advertised in the English _Monthly Chronicle_, + March, 1729. Andrew Lang, with an introduction, has edited + these tales from the original edition, published by the + Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1888. These tales made their way + slowly in England, but gradually eclipsed the native English + tales and legends which had been discouraged by Puritan + influence. In Perrault's time, when this influence was + beginning to decline, they superseded the English tales, + crowding out all but _Jack the Giant-Killer, Tom + Hickathrift, Jack and the Beanstalk, Tom Thumb_, and _Childe + Rowland_. + + 1650-1705. _Fairy Tales_, by Madame D'Aulnoy. In France + there were many followers of Perrault. The most important of + these was Madame D'Aulnoy. She did not copy Perrault. She + was a brilliant, witty countess, and brought into her tales, + entitled _Contes de Fées_, the graces of the court. She + adhered less strictly to tradition than Perrault, and + handled her material freely, making additions, + amplifications, and moral reflections, to the original tale. + Her weaving together of incidents is artistic and her style + graceful and not unpleasing. It is marked by ornamentation, + sumptuousness, and French sentimentality. It shows a lack of + naïveté resulting from the palace setting given to her + tales, making them adapted only to children of high rank. + Often her tale is founded on a beautiful tradition. _The + Blue-Bird_, one of the finest of her tales, was found in the + poems of Marie de France, in the thirteenth century. Three + of her tales were borrowed from Straparola. Among her tales + the most important are:-- + + _Graciosa and Percinet_. (Basile.) + + _The Blue-Bird_. (Contains a motif similar to one + in _The Singing, Soaring Lark_.) + + _The White Cat_. (Similar to _Three Feathers_ and + _The Miller's Boy and the Cat_.) + + _The Hind in the Wood_. (Similar to _Rumpelstiltskin_.) + + _The Good Little Mouse_. (Basile.) + + _The Fair One with the Golden Locks. (Ferdinand + the Faithful.)_ + + _The Yellow Dwarf_. + + _Princess Belle Etoile_. (Straparola.) + + The careful translation of Madame D'Aulnoy's tales by Mr. + Planché faithfully preserves the spirit of the original. + + There were many imitators of Countess D'Aulnoy, in France, + in the eighteenth century. Their work was on a much lower + level and became published in the _Cabinet des Fées_, a + collection of stories including in its forty volumes the + work of many authors, of which the greater part is of little + value. Of those following D'Aulnoy three deserve mention:-- + + 1711-1780. _Moral Tales_, by Madame de Beaumont. + These were collected while the author was in + England. Of these we use _Prince Cherry_. Madame + de Beaumont wrote a children's book in which is + found a tale similar to _The Singing, Soaring + Lark_, entitled _The Maiden and the Beast_. She + also wrote 69 volumes of romance. + + 1765. _Tales_, by Madame Villeneuve. Of these we + use _Beauty and the Beast_. + + 1692-1765. _Tales_, by Comte de Caylus. The author + was an antiquarian and scholar. Of his tales we + use _Sylvain and Yocosa_. + + Very little attempt has been made in modern times to include + in our children's literature the best of foreign literature + for children, for there has been very little study of + foreign books for children. Certainly the field of + children's literature would be enriched to receive + translations of any books worthy of the name classic. A + partial list of French fairy tales is here given, indicating + to children's librarians how little has been done to open up + this field, and inviting their labor:-- + + _Bibliothèque Rose_, a collection. (What should be + included?) + + _Bibliothèque des Petits Enfants_, a collection. + (What should be included?) + + 1799-1874. _Fairy Tales from the French_, by + Madame de Ségur. These tales are published by + Winston. We also use her _Story of a Donkey_, + written in 1860 and published by Heath in 1901. + + 1866. _Fairy Tales of all Nations_, by Edouard + Laboulaye. + + 1902. _Last Fairy Tales_, also by Laboulaye. + + _Tales_, by Zenaide Fleuriot. (What should be + included?) + + 1910. _Chantecler_, by Edmund Rostand. Translated + by Gertrude Hall, published by Duffield. + + 1911. _The Honey Bee_, by Anatole France; + translated by Mrs. Lane; published by Lane. + + 1911. _The Blue-Bird_, by Maurice Maeterlinck; + published by Dodd. + +In Great Britain many old tales taken from tradition were included in +the Welsh Mabinogion, Irish sagas, and Cornish Mabinogion. Legends of +Brittany were made known by the poems of Marie de France, who lived in +the thirteenth century. These were published in Paris, in 1820. In +fact, most of the early publications of fairy tales were taken from +the French. + +Celtic tales have been collected in modern times in a greater number +than those of any nation. This has been due largely to the work of +J.F. Campbell. Celtic tales are unusual in that they have been +collected while the custom of story-telling is yet flourishing among +the Folk. They are therefore of great literary and imaginative +interest. They are especially valuable as the oldest of the European +tales. The Irish tale of _Connla and the Fairy Maiden_ has been traced +to a date earlier than the fifth century and therefore ranks as the +oldest tale of modern Europe. The principal Celtic collections are:-- + + _Iolo M. S_., published by the Welsh M. S. Society. + + _Mabinogion_, translated by Lady Guest. (Contains tales + that trace back to the twelfth century.) + + _Y Cymrodor_, by Professor Rhys. + + 1825. _Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of + Ireland_, by T. Crofton Croker. + + 1842. _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_. Chambers. + + 1860-62. _Popular Tales of the West Highlands_, by J.F. + Campbell. + + _Tales_, collected and published with notes, by Mr. Alfred + Nutt. + + 1866. By Patrick Kennedy, the Irish Grimm. _Legendary + Fictions of the Irish Celts; Fireside Stories of Ireland_ + (1870); and _Bardic Stories of Ireland_ (1871). + +In England the publication of fairy tales may be followed more readily +because the language proves no hindrance and the literature gives +assistance. In England the principal publications of fairy tales +were:-- + + 1604. _Pasquil's Jests_. Contained a tale similar to one of + Grimm's. + + 1635. _A Tract, A Descryption of the Kynge and Quene of + Fairies, their habit, fare, abode, pomp, and state_. + + Eighteenth century (early). _Madame D'Aulnoy's Tales_, a + translation. + + 1667-1745. _Gulliver's Travels_, by Dean Swift. (One modern + edition, with introduction by W.D. Howells, and more than + one hundred illustrations by Louis Rhead, is published by + Harpers. Another edition, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, is + published by Dutton.) + + 1700-1800. _Chap-Books_. Very many of these books, + especially the best ones, were published by William and + Cluer Dicey, in Aldermary Church Yard, Bow Lane, London. + Rival publishers, whose editions were rougher in engraving, + type, and paper, labored in Newcastle. + + The chap-books were little paper books hawked by chap-men, + or traveling peddlers, who went from village to village with + "Almanacks, Bookes of Newes, or other trifling wares." These + little books were usually from sixteen to twenty-four pages + in bulk and in size from two and one half inches by three + and one half inches to five and one half inches by four and + one quarter inches. They sold for a penny or six-pence and + became the very popular literature of the middle and lower + classes of their time. After the nineteenth century they + became widely published, deteriorated, and gradually were + crowded out by the _Penny Magazine_ and _Chambers's Penny + Tracts and Miscellanies_. For many years before the + Victorian period, folk-lore was left to the peasants and + kept out of reach of the children of the higher classes. + This was the reign of the moral tale, of Thomas Bewick's + _Looking Glass of the Mind_ and Mrs. Sherwood's _Henry and + His Bearer_. Among the chap-books published by William and + Cluer Dicey, may be mentioned: _The Pleasant and Delightful + History of Jack and the Giants_ (part second was printed and + sold by J. White); _Guy, Earl of Warwick; Bevis of Hampton; + The History of Reynard the Fox_, dated 1780; _The History of + Fortunatus_, condensed from an edition of 1682; _The Fryer + and the Boy; A True Tale of Robin Hood_ (Robin Hood Garland + Blocks, from 1680, were used in the London Bridge Chap-Book + edition); _The Famous History of Thomas Thumb; The History + of Sir Richard Whittington_; and _The Life and Death of St. + George. Tom Hickathrift_ was printed by and for M. Angus and + Son, at Newcastle-in-the-Side: _Valentine and Orson_ was + printed at Lyons, France, in 1489; and in England by Wynkyn + de Worde. Among the chap-books many tales not fairy tales + were included. With the popularity of _Goody Two Shoes_ and + the fifty little books issued by Newbery, the realistic tale + of modern times made a sturdy beginning. Of these realistic + chap-books one of the most popular was _The History of + Little Tom Trip_, probably by Goldsmith, engraved by the + famous Thomas Bewick, published by T. Saint, of Newcastle. + This was reprinted by Ed. Pearson in 1867. + + Of _Jack the Giant-Killer_, in Skinner's _Folk-Lore_, David + Masson has said: "Our _Jack the Giant-Killer_ is clearly the + last modern transmutation of the old British legend, told in + Geoffrey of Monmouth, of Corineüs the Trojan, the companion + of the Trojan Brutus when he first settled in Britain; which + Corineüs, being a very strong man, and particularly + good-humored, is satisfied with being King of Cornwall, and + killing out all the aboriginal giants there, leaving to + Brutus all the rest of the island, and only stipulating + that, whenever there is a peculiarly difficult giant in any + part of Brutus' dominions, he shall be sent for to finish + the fellow." + + _Tom Hickathrift_, whose history is given in an old number + of _Fraser's Magazine_, is described by Thackeray as one of + the publisher Cundall's books, bound in blue and gold, + illustrated by Frederick Taylor in 1847. According to + Thackeray this chap-book tale was written by Fielding. + Speaking of the passage, "The giant roared hideously but Tom + had no more mercy on him than a bear upon a dog," he said: + "No one but Fielding could have described battle so." Of the + passage, "Having increased his strength by good living and + improved his courage by drinking strong ale," he remarked: + "No one but Fielding could have given such an expression." + The quality of the English of this chap-book is apparent in + the following sentence, taken from Ashton's version: "So Tom + stepped to a gate and took a rail for a staff." + + In regard to their literary merit the chap-books vary + greatly. Some evidently are works of scholars who omitted to + sign their names. In the collection by Ashton those + deserving mention for their literary merit are: _Patient + Grissel_, by Boccaccio; _Fortunatus_; _Valentine and Orson_; + _Joseph and His Brethren_; _The Friar and the Boy_; _Reynard + the Fox_, from Caxton's translation; _Tom Hickathrift_, + probably by Fielding; and _The Foreign Travels of Sir John + Mandeville_. + + 1708-90. Chap-Books. Printed by J. White, of York, + established at Newcastle, 1708. These included: _Tom + Hickathrift; Jack the Giant-Killer_; and _Cock Robin_. + + 1750. _A New Collection of Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. + + 1760. _Mother Goose's Melodies_. A collection of many + nursery rhymes, songs, and a few old ballads and tales, + published by John Newbery. The editor is unknown, but most + likely was Oliver Goldsmith. The title of the collection may + have been borrowed from Perrault's _Contes de ma Mère + l'Oye_, of which an English version appeared in 1729. The + title itself has an interesting history dating hundreds of + years before Perrault's time. By 1777 _Mother Goose's + Melodies_ had passed the seventh edition. In 1780 they were + published by Carnan, Newbery's stepson, under the title + _Sonnets for the Cradle_. In 1810 _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, + a collection, was edited by Joseph Ritson, an English + scholar. In 1842 J.O. Halliwell issued, for the Percy + Society, _The Nursery Rhymes of England_. The standard + modern text should consist of Newbery's book with such + additions from Ritson and Halliwell as bear internal + evidence of antiquity and are true nursery rhymes. + + 1770. _Queen Mab, A Collection of Entertaining Tales of + Fairies_. + + 1783. _The Lilliputian Magazine_. Illustrated by Thomas + Bewick, published by Carnan. + + 1788. _The Pleasing Companion, A Collection of Fairy Tales_. + + 1788. _Fairy Tales Selected from the Best Authors_, 2 vols. + + 1770-91. Books published by John Evans, of Long Lane. + Printed on coarse sugar paper. They included: _Cock Robin_, + 1791; _Mother Hubbard; Cinderella_; and _The Tragical Death + of an Apple Pye_. + + 1809. _A Collection of Popular Stories for the Nursery_, + translated from French, Italian, and Old English, by + Benjamin Tabart, in 4 volumes. + + 1810 (about). _Lilliputian Library_, by J.G. Rusher, of + Bridge St., Banbury. The Halfpenny Series included: + + _Mother Hubbard and Her Dog; Jack The + Giant-Killer; Dick Whittington and His Cat; The + History of Tom Thumb_ (Middlesex); _Death and + Burial of Cock Robin; and Cinderella and Her Glass + Slipper_. + + The Penny Series included:-- + + _History of a Banbury Cake, and Jack the + Giant-Killer_, designed by Craig, engraved by Lee. + + Of Rusher's books those engraved by the Bewick School were: + + _Cock Robin; The History of Tom Thumb_; and + _Children in the Wood_. + + Rusher's books also included: + + _Mother Hubbard and Her Dog, Cinderella and Her + Glass Slipper_, and _Dick Whittington and His + Cat_, all designed by Cruikshank, engraved by + Branstone. + + 1818. _Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet_, collected + by Benj. Tabart, London. This was a new edition of the + collection of 1809, and contained twenty-four stories. A + full review of it may be seen in the _Quarterly Review_, + 1819, No. 41, pp. 91-112. The tales included translations + from Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, Madame de Beaumont, tales + from _The Thousand and One Nights_, and from _Robin Hood_; + and the single tales of _Jack the Giant-Killer, Tom Thumb_, + and _Jack and the Bean-Stalk_. + + 1824, 1826. _German Popular Stories_, translated by Edgar + Taylor, with illustrations by Cruikshank, published by + Charles Tilt, London. A new edition, introduction by Ruskin, + was published by Chatto & Windus, 1880. + +The above are the main collections of fairy tales in England. Many +individual publications show the gradual development of fairy tale +illustration in England:[6]-- + + 1713-1767. John Newbery's _Books for Children_. Among these + were _Beauty and the Beast_, by Charles Lamb, 1765, and + _Sinbad the Sailor_, 1798. + + 1778. _Fabulous Histories of the Robins_. Mrs. Sarah + Trimmer. Cuts designed by Thomas Bewick, engraved by John + Thompson, Whittingham's Chiswick Press. + + 1755-1886. _Life and Perambulations of a Mouse_; and + _Adventures of a Pin-Cushion_. Dorothy Kilner. + + 1785. Baron Munchausen's _Narratives of His Famous Travels + and Campaigns in Russia_. Rudolf Raspe. + + 1788. _Little Thumb and the Ogre_. Illustrated by William + Blake; published by Dutton. + + 1790. _The Death and Burial of Cock Robin_. Illustrated by Thomas + Bewick. Catnach. + + 1807. _Tales from Shakespeare_. Charles and Mary Lamb. W.J. + Godwin and Co. William Blake illustrated an edition of these + tales, probably the original edition. + + 1813. Reprints of forgotten books, by Andrew Tuer: _Dame + Wiggins of Lee; The Gaping Wide-Mouthed Waddling Frog: The + House that Jack Built. Dame Wiggins of Lee_ was first + printed by A.K. Newman and Co., Minerva Press. Original cuts + by Stennet or Sinnet. Reprinted by Allen, 1885, with + illustrations added by Kate Greenaway. + + 1841. _King of the Golden River_. John Ruskin. Illustrated + by Richard Doyle, 1884. + + 1844. _Home Treasury_, by "Felix Summerley" (Sir Henry + Cole). "Felix Summerley" was a reformer in children's books. + He secured the assistance of many of the first artists of + his time: Mulready, Cope, Horsley, Redgrave, Webster, all of + the Royal Academy, Linnell and his three sons, Townsend, and + others. These little books were published by Joseph Cundall + and have become celebrated through Thackeray's mention of + them. They aimed to cultivate the affections, fancy, + imagination, and taste of children, they were a distinct + contrast to the Peter Parley books. + They were new books, new combinations of old materials, and + reprints, purified but not weakened. Their literature + possessed brightness. The books were printed in the best + style of the Chiswick Press, with bindings and end papers + especially designed. They included these tales: _Puck's + Reports to Oberon; Four New Fairy Tales; The Sisters; Golden + Locks; Grumble and Cherry; Little Red Riding Hood_, with + four colored illustrations by Webster; _Beauty and the + Beast_, with four colored illustrations by Horsley; _Jack + and the Bean-Stalk_, with four colored illustrations by + Cope; _Jack the Giant-Killer_, also illustrated by Cope; and + _The Pleasant History of Reynard, the Fox_, with forty of + the fifty-seven etchings made by Everdingen, in 1752. + + 1824-1883. Publications by Richard Doyle. These included + _The Fairy Ring_, 1845; _Snow White and Rosy Red_, 1871; + _Jack the Giant-Killer_, 1888, etc. + + 1846. _Undine_, by De La Motté Fouque, illustrated by John + Tenniel, published by James Burns. + + 1846. _The Good-Natured Bear_, by Richard Hengist Home, the + English critic. This was illustrated by Frederick Taylor, + published probably by Cundall. The book is now out of print, + but deserves to be reprinted. + + 1847-1864. _Cruikshank Fairy Library_. A series of small + books in paper wrappers. Not equal to the German popular + stories in illustration. It included _Tom Thumb_, 1830; + _John Gilpin_, 1828 (realistic); and _The Brownies_, 1870. + + 1847. _Bob and Dog Quiz_. Author unknown. Revived by E.V. + Lucas in _Old-fashioned Tales_. Illustrated by F.D. Bedford; + published by Stokes, 1905. + + 1850. _The Child's Own Book_. Published in London. There was + an earlier edition, not before 1830. The introduction, which + in the 1850 edition was copied from the original, indicates + by its style that the book was written early in the + nineteenth century. The book was the delight of generations + of children. It was a collection containing tales from + _Arabian Nights_, Perrault's tales of _Cinderella, + Puss-in-Boots, Hop-o'-my-Thumb, Bluebeard_, etc., D'Aulnoy's + _Valentine and Orson_, chap-book stories of _Dick + Whittinqton, Fortunatus, Griselda, Robinson Crusoe, The + Children in the Wood, Little Jack_, and others. A recent + edition of this book is in the _Young Folks' library_, vol. + 1, published by Hall & Locke, Boston, 1901. + + 1850 (about). _The Three Bears_. Illustrated by Absalon and + Harrison Weir. Addy and Co. + + 1824-1889. Work by Mrs. Mary Whateley. She had a Moslem + school in Cairo and exerted a fairy tale influence. + + 1826-1887. _The Little Lame Prince; Adventures of a_ + _Brownie_; and _The Fairy Book_. Produced by Mrs. Dinah + Muloch Craik. + + 1854. _The Rose and the Ring_, by William M. Thackeray. A + modern edition contains the original illustrations with + additions by Monsell. Crowell. + + 1855. _Granny's Story Box_. A collection. Illustrated by J. + Knight; published by Piper, Stephenson, and Spence. + + 1856. _Granny's Wonderful Chair_, containing _Prince + Fairy-foot_. Written by Frances Browne, a blind Irish + poetess. + + 1863. _Water Babies_. Charles Kingsley. Sir Noel Patton. The + Macmillan Company. + + 1865. _Stories Told to a Child, including Fairy Tales; Mopsa + the Fairy_, 1869. By Jean Ingelow. + + 1865. _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, by Lewis Carroll + (Charles Dodgson), with 42 illustrations by John Tenniel, + published by Macmillan Company, Oxford. First edition + recalled. Later editions were published by Richard Clay, + London. + + 1869. _At the Back of the North Wind_; _The Princess and the + Goblin_, 1871. By George MacDonald. Arthur Hughes. Strahan. + Reprinted by Blackie. + + 1870. _The Brownies_; 1882, _Old-fashioned Fairy Tales_. By + Juliana Ewing. + + 1873. _A Series of Toy-Books for Children_, by Walter Crane + (1845-1914). Published by Routledge and printed in colors by + Edmund Evans. Twenty-seven of these stories in nine volumes + are published by John Lane, Bodley Head. _Princess + Fioromonde_, 1880, _Grimm's Household Stories_, 1882, and + _The Cuckoo Clock_, 1887, all by Mrs. Molesworth, were also + illustrated by Crane. + + 1878-. _Picture-Books_, by Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886). + These were sixteen in number. They are published by F. + Warne. + + 1875-. _Stories from the Eddas; Dame Wiggins of Lee + (Allen)_; and _The Pied Piper of Hamelin_. These delightful + books by Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) were published by + Routledge and engraved by Edmund Evans. They are now + published by F. Warne. + +This brings the English side of the subject down to +the present time. Present editions of fairy tales are +given in Chapter VI. + +In Germany there were also many translations from the French of +Perrault and D'Aulnoy. There were editions in 1764, 1770, etc. Most of +those before the _Grimms' Tales_ were not important. One might +mention:-- + + 1782. _Popular German Stories_, by Musäus. + + 1818. _Fables, Stories, and Tales for Children_, by Caroline + Stahl. + + 1819. _Bohemian Folk-Tales_, by Wolfgang Gerle. + + 1812-1814. _Kinder und Haus-Märchen_, by Jacob and William + Grimm. The second edition was published in 3 volumes in + Berlin, by Reiner, in 1822. This latter work formed an era + in popular literature and has been adopted as a model by all + true collectors since. + +Concerning the modern German fairy tale, the Germans have paid such +special attention to the selection and grading of children's +literature that their library lists are to be recommended. Wolgast, +the author of _Vom Kinderbuch_, is an authority on the child's book. +The fairy tale received a high estimate in Germany and no nation has +attained a higher achievement in the art of the fairy tale book. The +partial list simply indicates the slight knowledge of available +material and would suggest an inviting field to librarians. A great +stimulus to children's literature would be given by a knowledge of +what the Germans have already accomplished in this particular. In +Germany a child's book, before it enters the market, must first be +accepted by a committee who test the book according to a standard of +excellence. Any book not coming up to the standard is rejected. A few +of the German editions in use are given:-- + + _Bilderbücher_, by Löwensohn. + + _Bilderbücher_, by Scholz. + + _Liebe Märchen_. One form of the above, giving three tales + in one volume. + + _Märchen_, by W. Hauff, published by Lowe. One edition, + illustrated by Arthur Rackham, is published by Dutton. _The + Caravan Tales_ is an edition published by Stokes. + + _Märchen_, by Musaus, published by Von K.A. Müller. + + 1777-1843. _Undine_, by La Motte Fouqué. A recent edition, + illustrated by Rackham, is published by Doubleday. + + 1817-77. _Books_ by Otillie Wildermuth. (What of hers should + be translated and included?) + + _Hanschen im Blaubeerenwald; Hanschens Skifart Märchen_, + both by Elsa Beskow, published by Carl. + + _Windchen_; and _Wurzelkindern_, both by Sybille von Olfers, + published by Schreiber. + + _Das Märchen von den Sandmannlein_, by Riemann, published by + Schreiber. + + _Der Froschkönig_, by Liebermann, published by Scholz. + + _Weisst du weviel Sternlein stehen_, by Lewinski, published + by Schreiber. + +In Sweden there appeared translations of Perrault and D'Aulnoy. _The +Blue-Bird_ was oftenest printed as a chap-book. Folk-tales were +collected in:-- + + _Swedish Tales_, a collection. H. Von Schroter. + + 1844. _Folk-Tales_. George Stevens and Hylten Cavallius. + +Sweden has given us the modern fairy tale, _The Wonderful Adventures +of Nils_ (2 volumes). This delightful tale by Selma Lagerlöf, born +1858, and a winner of the Nobel prize, has established itself as a +child's classic. It has been translated by V.S. Howard, published by +Doubleday, 1907. + +In Norway we have:-- + + 1851. _Norske Folkeeventyr_, collected by Asbjörnsen and Moe. + + 1862. _Norse Tales_. The above tales translated by Sir + George W. Dasent. + +In Denmark we have:-- + + _Sagas of Bodvar Biarke_. + + _Danske Folkeeventyr_, by M. Winther, Copenhagen, 1823. + + 1843-60. _Danmarks Folkesagn_, 3 vols., by J.M. Thiele. + + 1805-1875. _Fairy Tales_, by Hans Christian Andersen. These + tales are important as marking the beginning of the modern + fairy tale. They are important also as literary fairy tales + and have not been equaled in modern times. + +In Slavonia we have:-- + + _Wochentliche Nachrichten_, by Busching, published by Schottky. + +In Hungary we have:-- + + 1822. _Marchen der Magyaren_, by George von Gaal. + +In Greece and Russia no popular tales were collected before the time +of the Grimms. + +In Italy the two great collections of the world of fairy tales have +been mentioned. Italy has also given the modern fairy tale which has +been accepted as a classic: _Pinocchio_, by C. Collodi (Carlo +Lorenzini). This has been illustrated by Copeland, published by Ginn; +and illustrated by Folkhard, published by Dutton. + +In America the publication of fairy tales was at first a reprinting of +English editions. In colonial times, previous to the revolution, +booksellers imported largely from England. After the revolution a new +home-growth in literature gradually developed. At first this was +largely in imitation of literature in England. After the time of +Washington Irving a distinct American adult literature established +itself. The little child's toy-book followed in the wake of the +grown-up's fiction. The following list[7] shows the growth of the +American fairy tale, previous to 1870. Recent editions are given in +Chapter VI. + + 1747-1840. _Forgotten Books of the American Nursery, A + History of the Development of the American Story-Book_. + Halsey, Rosalie V. Boston, C.E. Goodspeed & Co., 1911. 244 + pp. + + 1785-1788. _Isaiah Thomas, Printer, Writer, and Collector. + Nichols, Charles L_. A paper read April 12, 1911, before the + Club of Odd Volumes.... Boston. Printed for the Club of Odd + Volumes, 1912. 144 pp. List of juveniles 1787-88: pp. + 132-33. + + 1785. _Mother Goose_. The original Mother Goose's melody, as + first issued by John Newbery, of London, about A.D. 1760. + Reproduced in facsimile from the edition as reprinted by + Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, Mass., A.D. 1785 (about) ... + Albany, J. Munsell's Sons, 1889. 28 pp. + + 1787. _Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book Literature_ + (of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) ... + Pearson, Edwin. With very much that is interesting and + valuable appertaining to the early typography of children's + books relating to Great Britain and America.... London, A. + Reader, 1890: 116 pp. Impressions from wood-cut blocks by T. + and J. Bewick, Cruikshank, Craig, Lee, Austin, and others. + + 1789. _The Olden Time Series_. Gleanings chiefly from old + newspapers of Boston and Salem, Mass. Brooks, Henry M., + _comp_. Boston, Ticknor & Co., 1886. 6 vols. _The Books that + Children Read in 1798_ ... by T.C. Cushing: vol. 6, pp. + 62-63. + + 1800-1825. Goodrich, S.G. _Recollections of a Lifetime_. + New York, Miller, Orton, and Mulligan, 1856. 2 vols. Children's + books (1800-1825): vol. 1, pp. 164-74. + + 1686. _The History of Tom Thumb_. John Dunton, Boston. + + 1728. _Chap-Books_. Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia. + + 1730. _Small Histories_. Andrew Bradford, Philadelphia. + These included _Tom Thumb_, _Tom Hickathrift_, and _Dick + Whittington_. + + 1744. _The Child's New Plaything_. Draper & Edwards, Boston. + Reprint. Contained alphabet in rhyme, proverbs, fables, and + stories: _St. George and the Dragon_; _Fortunatus_; _Guy of + Warwick_; _Brother and Sister_; _Reynard the Fox_; and _The + Wolf and the Kids_. + + 1750. John Newbery's books. Advertised in Philadelphia + _Gazette_. The _Pretty Book for Children_ probably included + _Cinderella_, _Tom Thumb_, etc. + + 1760. All juvenile publications for sale in England. + Imported and sold by Hugh Gaine, New York. + + 1766. _Children's books_. Imported and sold by John Mein, a + London bookseller who had a shop in Boston. Included _The + Famous Tommy Thumb's Story Book_; _Leo the Great Giant_; + _Urax, or the Fair Wanderer_; and _The Cruel Giant, + Barbarico_. + + 1787. All Newbery's publications. Reprinted by Isaiah + Thomas, Worcester, Mass. + + 1794. _Arabian Nights. The Arabian Nights Entertainments_ + .... The first American edition.... Philadelphia, H. & P. + Rice; Baltimore, J. Rice & Co., 1794. 2 vols. + + 1804. _Blue Beard. A New History of Blue Beard, written by + Gaffer Black Beard, for the Amusement of Little Jack Black + and his Pretty Sisters_. Philadelphia, J. Adams, 1804. 31 + pp. + + 1819. _Rip Van Winkle_. A legend included in the works of + Washington Irving, published in London, 1819. + + 1823. _A Visit from St. Nicholas_. Clement Clark Moore, in + Troy _Sentinel_, Dec. 23, 1823. Written the year before for + his own family. The first really good American juvenile + story, though in verse. + + 1825. _Babes in the Wood_. The history of the children of + the wood.... To which is added an interesting account of the + Captive Boy. New York, N.B. Holmes. 36 pp. Plates. + + 1833. _Mother Goose_. The only true Mother Goose Melodies; + an exact reproduction of the text and illustrations of the + original edition, published and copyrighted in Boston in + 1833 by Munroe & Francis.... Boston, Lee & Shepard, 1905. + 103 pp. + + 1836. _The Fairy Book_. With eighty-one engravings on wood, + by Joseph A. Adams. New York, Harper & Bros. 1836. 301 pp. + Introduction by "John Smith." Edited by C.G. Verplanck, + probably. + + 1844. _Fairy Land, and Other Sketches for Youths_, by the + author of _Peter Parley's Tales_ (Samuel G. Goodrich). + Boston, J. Munroe & Co. 167 pp. Plates, Cromo. Lith. of + Bouvé & Sharp, Boston. + + 1848. _Rainbows for Children_, by L. Maria Child, _ed_. New + York, C.S. Francis & Co. 170 pp. 28 original sketches ... by + S. Wallin.... B.F. Childs, wood engraver: p. 8. Advertising + pages: New books published by C.S. Francis & Co., N.Y.... + _The Fairy Gift and the Fairy Gem_. Four volumes of choice + fairy tales. Each illustrated with 200 fine engravings by + French artists: p. 2. + + 1851. _Wonder Book_, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Illustrated by + W. Crane, 60 designs, published by Houghton, 1910. + + 1852. _Legends of the Flowers_, by Susan Pindar. New York, + D. Appleton & Co., 178 pp. + + 1853. _Fairy Tales and Legends of Many Nations_, by Charles + B. Burkhardt. New York, Chas. Scribner. 277 pp. Illustrated + by W. Walcutt and J.H. Cafferty. + + 1854. _The Little Glass Shoe, and Other Stories for + Children_. Philadelphia, Charles H. Davis. 128 pp. + Advertising pages: A description of illustrated juvenile + books, published by Charles H. Davis: 16 pp. _A Book of + Fairy Stories_: p. 9. + + 1854. _The History of Whittington and His Cat_. Miss Corner + and Alfred Crowquill. _Dick Whittington_ is said to have + been the best seller among juvenile publications for five + hundred years. + + 1855. _Flower Fables_, by Louisa May Alcott. Boston, G.W. + Briggs & Co. 182 pp. + + 1855. _The Song of Hiawatha_, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + Published now by Houghton, illustrated by Frederick + Remington. + + 1864. _Seaside and Fireside Fairies_, by George Blum. + Translated from the German of Georg Blum and Louis Wahl. By + A.L. Wister. Philadelphia, Ashmead & Evans, 292 pp. + + 1867. _Grimm's Goblins_, selected from the _Household + Stories_ of the Brothers Grimm. Jacob L.K. Grimm. Boston, + Ticknor & Fields. 111 pp. + + 1867. _Fairy Book. Fairy Tales of All Nations_, by Edouard + Laboulaye. Translated by Mary Booth. New York, Harper & + Bros., 363 pp. Engravings. + + 1867. _The Wonderful Stories of Fuz-buz the Fly and Mother + Grabem the Spider_. By S. Weir Mitchell. Philadelphia, J.B. + Lippincott & Co. 79 pp. + + 1868. _Folks and Fairies_. Stories for little children. Lucy + Comfort. New York, Harpers, 259 pp. Engravings. Advertising + pages: Six fairy tales published by Harper & Bros. + + 1870. _Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper_. Boston, + Fields, Osgood & Co. 1871. 8 pp. Colored plates by Alfred + Fredericks. + + 1873. _Mother Goose_. Illustrations of Mother Goose's + Melodies. By Alexander Anderson. New York. Privately printed + by C.L. Moreau (Analectic Press), 1873, 36 1. 10 numb. 1. + (Designed and engraved on wood.) + + 1870. _Beauty and the Beast_, by Albert Smith. New York, + Manhattan Pub. Co., 1870. 64 pp. With illustrations by + Alfred Crowquill. + +This brings the American child's fairy tale up to recent publications +of the present day which are given in the chapter, "Sources of +Material." An attempt has been made here to give a glimpse of folk and +fairy tales up to the time of the Grimms, and a view of modern +publications in France, Germany, England, and America. The Grimms +started a revolution in folk-lore and in their lifetime took part in +the collection of many tales of tradition and influenced many others +in the same line of work. An enumeration of what was accomplished in +their lifetime appears in the notes of _Grimm's Household Tales_, +edited by Margaret Hunt, published by Bonn's Libraries, vol. II, pp. +531. etc. + +In modern times the Folk-Lore Society of England and America has been +established. Now almost every nation has its folk-lore society and +folk-tales are being collected all over the world. Altogether probably +Russia has collected fifteen hundred such tales, Germany twelve +hundred, Italy and France each one thousand, and India seven hundred. +The work of the Grimms, ended in 1859, was continued by Emanuel +Cosquin, who, in his _Popular Tales of Lorraine_, has made the most +important recent contribution to folklore,--important for the European +tale and important as showing the relation of the European tale to +that of India. + +The principal recent collections of folk-lore are:-- + + _Legends and Fairy Tales of Ireland_. Croker. 1825. + _Welsh and Manx Tales_. Sir John Rhys. 1840-. + _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_. Chambers. 1847. + _Tales of the West Highlands_. Campbell. 1860. + _Popular Tales from the Norse_. Dasent. 1862. + _Zulu Nursery Tales_. Callaway. 1866. + _Old Deccan Days_. Frere. 1868. + _Fireside Tales of Ireland_. Kennedy. 1870. + _Indian Fairy Tales_. Miss Stokes. 1880. + _Buddhist Birth Stories_. Rhys Davids. 1880. + _Kaffir Folk-Lore_. Theal. 1882. + _Folk-Tales of Bengal_. Day. 1883. + _Wide Awake Stories_. Steel and Temple. 1884. + _Italian Popular Tales_. Crane. 1885. + _Popular Tales of Lorraine_. Cosquin. 1886. + _Popular Tales and Fictions_. Clouston. 1887. + _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_. Knowles. 1887. + _Tales of Ancient Egypt_. Maspero. 1889. + _Tales of the Sun_. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. + _Tales of the Punjab_. Steel. 1894. + _Jataka Tales_. Cowell. 1895. + _Russian Folk-Tales_. Bain. 1895. + _Cossack Fairy Tales_. Bain. 1899. + _New World Fairy Book_. Kennedy. 1906. + _Fairy Tales, English, Celtic, and Indian_. Joseph Jacobs. + 1910-11. + +This brings the subject down to the present time. The present-day +contributions to folk-lore are found best in the records of the +Folk-lore Society, published since its founding in London, in 1878; +and daily additions, in the folk-lore journals of the various +countries. + + + + +REFERENCES + + + Adams, Oscar Fay: _The Dear Old Story-Tellers_. Lothrop. + + Ashton, John: _Chap-Books of the 18th Century_. Chatto & + Windus. London, 1882. + + Bunce, John T.: _Fairy Tales, Origin and Meaning_. Macmillan, + 1878. + + Chamberlain, A.F.: _The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought_. + Macmillan. + + Clouston, W.A.: _Popular Tales and Fictions_. Edinburgh, + Blackwoods, 1887. + + Cyclopædia: "Mythology." _Encyclopædia Britannica_. + + Cox, Miss Roalfe: _Cinderella_. Introduction by Lang. Nutt, 1892. + + Dasent, George W.: _Popular Tales from the Norse_. Introduction. + Routledge. + + Fiske, John: _Myth and Myth-Makers_. Houghton. + + Field, Mrs. E.M.: _The Child and His Book_. Gardner, Darton & Co. + + Frazer, J.G.: _The Golden Bough_. (Spring ceremonies and + primitive view of the soul.) Macmillan. + + Frere, Miss: _Old Deccan Days_. Introduction. McDonough. + + Godfrey, Elizabeth: _English Children in the Olden Time_. Dutton, + 1907. + + Grimm, William and Jacob: _Household Tales_. Edited with + valuable notes, by Margaret Hunt. Introduction by Lang. Bell & + Sons, Bohn's Libraries. + + Guerber, Hélène A.: _Legends of the Middle Ages_. (Reynard the + Fox) American Book Co. + + Halliwell, J.O.: _Nursery Rhymes of England_. + + _Ibid.: Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales_. Smith, 1849. + + Halsey, Rosalie: _Forgotten Books of the American Nursery_. + Goodspeed, Boston, 1911. + + Hartland, E.S.: _Science of Fairy Tales_. Preface. Scribner, + 1891. + + _Ibid.: English Folk and Fairy Tales_. Camelot series, Scott, + London. + + Hartland, Sidney: _Legend of Perseus_ (origin of a tale). + + Hewins, Caroline M.: _The History of Children's Books_. + _Atlantic_, 61: 112 (Jan., 1888). + + Jacobs, Joseph: _Reynard the Fox_. Cranford Series. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Introduction, Notes and Appendix. Putnam. + + Keightley, Thomas: _Fairy Mythology_. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Tales and Popular Fictions_. Whittaker & Co., London, + 1834. + + Lang, Andrew: _Custom and Myth_. Longmans, London, 1893. + + Mabie, Hamilton: _Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know_. + Introduction. Doubleday. + + MacDonald, George: _The Light Princess_. Introduction. Putnam. + + Magazine: "Myths and Fairy Tales." _Fortnightly Review_, May, + 1872. + + Mitchell, Donald G.: _About Old Story-Tellers_. Scribners. 1877. + + Moses, Montrose: _Children's Books and Reading_. Kennerley. + + Mulock, Miss: _Fairy Book_. Preface. Crowell. + + Pearson, Edwin. _Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book + Literature_ (18th and early 19th centuries). London. A. + Reader, 1890. + + Perrault, Charles: _Popular Tales_. Edited by A. Lang. + Introduction. Oxford, 1888. + + Ritson, J.: _Fairy Tales_. Pearson, London, 1831. + + Scott, Sir Walter: _Minstrelsy of Scottish Border_. Preface to + Tamlane, "Dissertation on Fairies," p. 108. + + Skinner, H.M.: _Readings in Folk-Lore_. American Book Co. + + Steel, Flora A.: _Tales of the Punjab_. Introduction and + Appendix. Macmillan. + + Tabart, Benj.: _Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet_. London, + 1818. Review: _The Quarterly Review_, 1819, No. 41, pp. 91-112. + + Tappan, Eva M.: _The Children's Hour_. Introduction to + "Folk-Stories and Fables." Houghton. + + Taylor, Edgar: _German Popular Stories_. Introduction by Ruskin. + Chatto & Windus. + + Tylor, E.B.: _Primitive Culture_. Holt, 1889. + + Warner: _Fairy Tales. Library of the World's Best Literature_, + vol. 30. + + Welsh, Charles: _Fairy Tales Children Love_. Introduction. Dodge. + + _Ibid.:_ "The Early History of Children's Books in New + England." _New England Magazine_, n.s. 20: 147-60 (April, + 1899). + + _Ibid.: A Chap-Book_. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World Book Co. + + _Ibid.: Mother Goose_. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World Book Co. + + White, Gleeson: "Children's Books and Their Illustrators." + _International Studio_, Special Winter Number, 1897-98. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + + + +CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES + + + But the fact that after having been repeated for two + thousand years, a story still possesses a perfectly fresh + attraction for a child of to-day, does indeed prove that + there is in it something of imperishable worth.--Felix + Adler. + + Whatever has, at any time, appealed to the best emotions and + moved the heart of a people, must have for their children's + children, political, historical, and cultural value. This is + especially true of folk-tales and folk-songs.--P.P. Claxton, + _United States Commissioner of Education_. + + +I. AVAILABLE TYPES OF TALES + +From all this wealth of accumulated folk-material which has come down +to us through the ages, we must select, for we cannot crowd the child +with all the folk-stuff that folk-lore scientists are striving to +preserve for scientific purposes. Moreover, naturally much of it +contains the crudities, the coarseness, and the cruelties of primitive +civilization; and it is not necessary that the child be burdened with +this natural history of a past society. We must select from the past. +In this selection of what shall be presented to the child we must be +guided by two standards: First, we owe it to the child to hand on to +him his literary heritage; and secondly, we must help him to make of +himself the ideal man of the future. Therefore the tales we offer must +contribute to these two standards. The tales selected will be those +which the ages have found interesting; for the fact that they have +lived proves their fitness, they have lived because there was +something in them that appealed to the universal heart. And because of +this fact they will be those which in the frequent re-tellings of ages +have acquired a classic form and therefore have within themselves the +possibility of taking upon them a perfect literary form. The tales +selected will be those tales which, as we have pointed out, contain +the interests of children; for only through his interests does the +child rise to higher interests and finally develop to the ideal man. +They will be those tales which stand also the test of a classic, the +test of literature, the test of the short-story, and the test of +narration and of description. The child would be handicapped in life +to be ignorant of these tales. + +Tales suitable for the little child may be viewed under these seven +classes of available types: (1) the accumulative, or clock story; (2) +the animal tale; (3) the humorous tale; (4) the realistic tale; (5) +the romantic tale; (6) the old tale; and (7) the modern tale. + + +I. The Accumulative Tale. + +The accumulative tale is the simplest form of the tale. It may be:-- + + (1) A tale of simple repetition. + + (2) A tale of repetition with an addition, incremental iteration. + + (3) A tale of repetition, with variation. + +Repetition and rhythm have grown out of communal conditions. The old +stories are measured utterances. At first there was the spontaneous +expression of a little community, with its gesture, action, sound, and +dance, and the word, the shout, to help out. There was the group which +repeated, which acted as a chorus, and the leader who added his +individual variation. From these developed the folk-tale with the +dialogue in place of the chorus. + +Of the accumulative tales, _The House that Jack Built_ illustrates the +first class of tales of simple repetition. This tale takes on a new +interest as a remarkable study of phonics. If any one were so happy as +to discover the phonic law which governs the euphony produced by the +succession of vowels in the lines of Milton's poetry, he would enjoy +the same law worked out in _The House that Jack Built_. The original, +as given by Halliwell in his _Nursery Rhymes of England_, is said to +be a Hebrew hymn, at first written in Chaldaic. To the Hebrews of the +Middle Ages it was called the _Haggadah_, and was sung to a rude chant +as part of the Passover service. It first appeared in print in 1590, +at Prague. Later, in Leipzig, it was published by the German scholar, +Liebrecht. It begins:-- + + A kid, a kid, my father bought + For two pieces of money: + A kid, a kid, + Then came the cat and ate the kid, etc. + +Then follow the various repetitive stanzas, the last one turning back +and reacting on all the others:-- + + Then came the Holy One, blessed be He, + And killed the angel of death, + That killed the butcher, + That slew the ox, + That drank the water, + That quenched the fire, + That burned the staff, + That beat the dog, + That bit the cat, + That ate the kid, + That my father bought + For two pieces of money: + A kid, a kid. + +The remarkable similarity to _The Old Woman, and Her Pig_[8] at once +proclaims the origin of that tale also. The interpretation of this +tale is as follows: The kid is the Hebrews; the father by whom it was +purchased, is Jehovah; the two pieces of money are Aaron and Moses; +the cat is the Assyrians; the dog is the Babylonians; the staff is the +Persians; the fire is the Greek Empire and Alexander; the water is the +Romans; the ox is the Saracens; the butcher is the Crusaders; and the +angel of death is the Turkish Power. The message of this tale is that +God will take vengeance over the Turks and the Hebrews will be +restored to their own land. + +Another tale of simple repetition, whose fairy element is the magic +key, is _The Key of the Kingdom_, also found in Halliwell's _Nursery +Rhymes of England_:-- + + This is the key of the kingdom. + In that kingdom there is a city, + In that city there is a town, + In that town there is a street, + In that street there is a lane, + In that lane there is a yard, + In that yard there is a house, + In that house there is a room, + In that room there is a bed, + On that bed there is a basket, + In that basket there are some flowers. + Flowers in the basket, basket on the bed, + bed in the room, etc. + +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_ illustrates the second class of +accumulative tale, where there is an addition, and like _Titty Mouse +and Tatty Mouse_, where the end turns back on the beginning and +changes all that precedes. Here there is a more marked plot. This same +tale occurs in Shropshire Folk-Lore, in the _Scotch Wife and Her Bush +of Berries_, in _Club-Fist_, an American folk-game described by +Newell, in Cossack fairy tales, and in the Danish, Spanish, and +Italian. In the Scandinavian, it is _Nanny, Who Wouldn't Go Home to +Supper_, and in the Punjab, _The Grain of Corn_, also given in _Tales +of Laughter_. I have never seen a child who did not like it or who was +not pleased with himself for accomplishing its telling. It lends +itself most happily to illustration. _Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_ +pleases because of the liveliness of its images, and because of the +catastrophe at the end, which affects the child just as the tumble of +his huge pile of blocks--the crash and general upheaval delight him. +This tale has so many variants that it illustrates well the diffusion +of fairy tales. It is Grimm's _The Spider and the Flea_, which as we +have seen, is appealing in its simplicity; the Norse _The Cock Who +Fell into the Brewing Vat_; and the Indian _The Death and Burial of +Poor Hen_. The curious succession of incidents may have been invented +once for all at some definite time, and from thence spread to all the +world. + +_Johnny Cake_ and _The Gingerbread Man_ also represent the second +class of accumulative tale, but show a more definite plot; there is +more story-stuff and a more decided introduction and conclusion. _How +Jack Went to Seek His Fortune_ also shows more plot. It contains a +theme similar to that of _The Bremen Town Musicians_, which is +distinctly a beast tale where the element of repetition remains to +sustain the interest and to preserve unity, but where a full-fledged +short-story which is structurally complete, has developed. A fine +accumulative tale belonging to this second class is the Cossack _Straw +Ox_, which has been described under "The Short-Story." Here we have a +single line of sequence which gets wound up to a climax and then +unwinds itself to the conclusion, giving the child, in the plot, +something of that pleasure which he feels in winding up his toy +animals to watch them perform in the unwinding. + +_The Three Bears_ illustrates the third class of repetitive story, +where there is repetition and variation. Here the iteration and +parallelism have interest like the refrain of a song, and the +technique of the story is like that of _The Merchant of Venice_. This +is the ideal fairy story for the little child. It is unique in that it +is the only instance in which a tale written by an author has become a +folk-tale. It was written by Southey, and appeared in _The Doctor_, in +London, in 1837. Southey may have used as his source, _Scrapefoot_, +which Joseph Jacobs has discovered for us, or he may have used _Snow +White_, which contains the episode of the chairs. Southey has given to +the world a nursery classic which should be retained in its purity of +form. The manner of the Folk, in substituting for the little old woman +of Southey's tale, Goldilocks, and the difference that it effects in +the tale, proves the greater interest children naturally feel in the +tale with a child. Similarly, in telling _The Story of Midas_ to an +audience of eager little people, one naturally takes the fine old myth +from Ovid as Bulfinch gives it, and puts into it the Marigold of +Hawthorne's creation. And after knowing Marigold, no child likes the +story without her. Silver hair is another substitute for the little +Old Woman in _The Three Bears_. The very little child's reception to +_Three Bears_ will depend largely on the previous experience with +bears and on the attitude of the person telling the story. A little +girl who was listening to _The Three Bears_ for the first time, as she +heard how the Three Bears stood looking out of their upstairs window +after Goldilocks running across the wood, said, "Why didn't Goldilocks +lie down beside the Baby Bear?" To her the Bear was associated with +the friendly Teddy Bear she took with her to bed at night, and the +story had absolutely no thrill of fear because it had been told with +an emphasis on the comical rather than on the fearful. Similar in +structure to _The Three Bears_ is the Norse _Three Billy-Goats_, which +belongs to the same class of delightful repetitive tales and in which +the sequence of the tale is in the same three distinct steps. + + +II. The Animal Tale + +The animal tale includes many of the most pleasing children's tales. +Indeed some authorities would go so far as to trace all fairy tales +back to some ancestor of an animal tale; and in many cases this +certainly can be done just as we trace _Three Bears_ back to +_Scrapefoot_. The animal tale is either an old beast tale, such as +_Scrapefoot_ or _Old Sultan_; or a fairy tale which is an elaborated +development of a fable, such as _The Country Mouse and the City Mouse_ +or the tales of _Reynard the Fox_ or Grimm's _The King of the Birds_, +and _The Sparrow and His Four Children_; or it is a purely imaginary +creation, such as Kipling's _The Elephant's Child_ or Andersen's _The +Bronze Pig_. + +The beast tale is a very old form which was a story of some successful +primitive hunt or of some primitive man's experience with animals in +which he looked up to the beast as a brother superior to himself in +strength, courage, endurance, swiftness, keen scent, vision, or +cunning. Later, in more civilized society, when men became interested +in problems of conduct, animals were introduced to point the moral of +the tale, and we have the fable. The fable resulted when a truth was +stated in concrete story form. When this truth was in gnomic form, +stated in general terms, it became compressed into the proverb. The +fable was brief, intense, and concerned with the distinguishing +characteristics of the animal characters, who were endowed with human +traits. Such were the _Fables of Æsop_. Then followed the beast epic, +such as _Reynard the Fox_, in which the personality of the animals +became less prominent and the animal characters became types of +humanity. Later, the beast tale took the form of narratives of +hunters, where the interest centered in the excitement of the hunt and +in the victory of the hunter. With the thirst for universal knowledge +in the days following Bacon there gradually grew a desire to learn +also about animals. Then followed animal anecdotes, the result of +observation and imagination, often regarding the mental processes of +animals. With the growth of the scientific spirit the interest in +natural history developed. The modern animal story since 1850 has a +basis of natural science, but it also seeks to search the motive back +of the action, it is a psychological romance. The early modern animal +tales such as _Black Beauty_ show sympathy with animals, but their +psychology is human. In Seton Thompson's _Krag_, which is a +masterpiece, the interest centers about the personality and the +mentality of the animal and his purely physical characteristics. +Perhaps it is true that these physical characteristics are somewhat +imaginary and over-drawn and that overmuch freedom has been used in +interpreting these physical signs. In Kipling's tales we have a later +evolution of the animal tale. His animals possess personality in +emotion and thought. In the forest-friends of Mowgli we have humanized +animals possessing human power of thinking and of expressing. In real +life animal motives seem simple, one dominant motive crowds out all +others. But Kipling's animals show very complex motives, they reason +and judge more than our knowledge of animal life justifies. In the +_Just-So Stories_ Kipling has given us the animal _pourquois_ tale +with a basis of scientific truth. Of these delightful fairy tales, +_The Elephant's Child_ and _How the Camel Got His Hump_ may be used in +the kindergarten. Perhaps the latest evolution of the animal tale is +by Charles G.D. Roberts. The animal characters in his _Kindred of the +Wild_ are given animal characteristics. They have become interesting +as exhibiting these traits and not as typifying human motives; they +show an animal psychology. The tales have a scientific basis, and the +interest is centered in this and not in an exaggeration of it. + +Having viewed the animal tale as a growth let us look now at a few +individual tales:-- + +One of the most pleasing animal tales is _Henny_ _Penny_, or _Chicken +Lichen_, as it is sometimes called, told by Jacobs in _English Fairy +Tales_. Here the enterprising little hen, new to the ways of the +world, ventures to take a walk. Because a grain of corn falls on her +top-knot, she believes the sky is falling, her walk takes direction, +and thereafter she proceeds to tell the king. She takes with her all +she meets, who, like her, are credulous,--Cocky Locky, Ducky Daddies, +Goosey Poosey, and Turky Lurky,--until they meet Foxy Woxy, who leads +them into his cave, never to come out again. This is similar to the +delightful Jataka tale of _The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, which before has +been outlined for telling, which has been re-told by Ellen C. Babbit. +In this tale a Rabbit, asleep under a palm tree, heard a noise, and +thought "the earth was all breaking up." So he ran until he met +another Rabbit, and then a hundred other Rabbits, a Deer, a Fox, an +Elephant, and at last a Lion. All the animals except the Lion accepted +the Rabbit's news and followed. But the Lion made a stand and asked +for facts. He ran to the hill in front of the animals and roared three +times. He traced the tale back to the first Rabbit, and taking him on +his back, ran with him to the foot of the hill where the palm tree +grew. There, under the tree, lay a cocoanut. The Lion explained the +sound the Rabbit had heard, then ran back and told the other animals, +and they all stopped running. _Brother Rabbit Takes Some Exercise_, a +tale from _Nights with Uncle Remus_ is very similar to _Henny_ _Penny_ +and could be used at the same time. It is also similar to Grimm's +_Wolf and Seven Kids_, the English _Story of Three Pigs_, the Irish +_The End of the World_, and an Italian popular tale. + +_The Sheep and the Pig_, adapted from the Scandinavian by Miss Bailey +in _For the Children's Hour_, given also in Dasent's _Tales from the +Field_, is a delightfully vivacious and humorous tale which reminds +one of _Henny Penny_. A Sheep and Pig started out to find a home, to +live together. They traveled until they met a Rabbit and then followed +this dialogue: + + _R_. "Where are you going?" + + _S. and P_. "We are going to build us a house." + + _R_. "May I live with you?" + + _S. and P_. "What can you do to help?" + +The Rabbit scratched his leg with his left hind foot for a minute and +said, "I can gnaw pegs with my sharp teeth and I can put them in with +my paws." "Good," said the Sheep and the Pig, "you may come with us!" +Then they met a gray Goose who could pull moss and stuff it in cracks, +and a Cock who could crow early and waken all. So they all found a +house and lived in it happily. + +The Spanish _Media Pollito_, or _Little Half-Chick_, is another +accumulative animal tale similar to _Henny Penny_, and one which is +worthy of university study. The disobedient but energetic hero who +went off to Madrid is very appealing and constantly amusing, and the +tale possesses unusual beauty. The interest centers in the character. +The beauty lies in the setting of the adventures, as Medio Pollito +came to a stream, to a large chestnut tree, to the wind, to the +soldiers outside the city gates, to the King's Palace at Madrid, and +to the King's cook, until in the end he reached the high point of +immortalization as the weather-vane of a church steeple. + +_The Story of Three Pigs_ could contend with _The Three Bears_ for the +position of ideal story for little people. It suits them even better +than _The Three Bears_, perhaps because they can identify themselves +more easily with the hero, who is a most winning, clever individual, +though a Pig. The children know nothing of the standards of the Greek +drama, but they recognize a good thing; and when the actors in their +story are great in interest and in liveliness, they respond with a +corresponding appreciation. The dramatic element in _The Three Pigs_ +is strong and all children love to dramatize it. The story is the +Italian _Three Goslings_, the Negro _Tiny Pig_, the Indian _Lambikin_, +and the German _The Wolf and Seven Kids_. This tale is given by Andrew +Lang in his _Green Fairy Book_. The most satisfactory presentation of +the story is given by Leslie Brooke in his _Golden Goose Book_. The +German version occurred in an old poem, _Reinhart Fuchs_, in which the +Kid sees the Wolf through a chink. Originally the characters must have +been Kids, for little pigs do not have hair on their "chinny chin +chins." + +One of the earliest modern animal tales is _The Good-Natured Bear_,[9] +by Richard Hengist Horne, the English critic. This tale was written in +1846, just when men were beginning to gain a greater knowledge of +animal life. It is both psychological and imaginative. It was brought +to the attention of the English public in a criticism, _On Some +Illustrated Christmas Books_,[10] by Thackeray, who considered it one +of the "wittiest, pleasantest, and kindest of books, and an admirable +story." It is now out of print, but it seems to be worthy of being +preserved and reprinted. The story is the autobiography of a Bear, who +first tells about his interesting experiences as a Baby Bear. He first +gives to Gretchen and the children gathered about him an account of +his experience when his Mother first taught him to walk alone. + + +III. The Humorous Tale + +The humorous tale is one of the most pleasing to the little child. It +pleases everybody, but it suits him especially because the essence of +humor is a mixture of love and surprise, and both appeal to the child +completely. Humor brings joy into the world, so does the little child, +their very existence is a harmony. Humor sees contrasts, shows good +sense, and feels compassion. It stimulates curiosity. Its laughter is +impersonal and has a social and spiritual effect. It acts like fresh +air, it clarifies the atmosphere of the mind and it enables one to see +things in a sharply defined light. It reveals character; it breaks up +a situation, reconstructs it, and so views life, interprets it. It +plays with life, it frees the spirit, and it invigorates the soul. + +Speaking of humor, Thackeray, in "A Grumble About Christmas Books," +1847, considered that the motto for humor should be the same as the +talisman worn by the Prioress in Chaucer:-- + + About hire arm a broche of gold ful shene, + On which was first ywritten a crowned _A_, + And after, _Amor vincit omnia_. + +He continued: "The works of the real humorist always have this sacred +press-mark, I think. Try Shakespeare, first of all, Cervantes, +Addison, poor Dick Steele, and dear Harry Fielding, the tender and +delightful Jean Paul, Sterne, and Scott,--and Love is the humorist's +best characteristic and gives that charming ring to their laughter in +which all the good-natured world joins in chorus." + +The humorous element for children appears in the repetition of phrases +such as we find in _Three Bears_, _Three Pigs_, and _Three +Billy-Goats_; in the contrast in the change of voice so noticeable +also in these three tales; in the contrast of ideas so conspicuous in +Kipling's _Elephant's Child_; and in the element of surprise so +evident when Johnny Cake is eaten by the Fox, or when Little Hen eats +the bread, or when Little Pig outwits the Wolf. The humorous element +for children also lies in the incongruous, the exaggerated, or in the +grotesque, so well displayed in Lear's _Nonsense Rhymes_, and much of +the charm of _Alice in Wonderland_. The humorous element must change +accordingly for older children, who become surprised less easily, and +whose tales therefore, in order to surprise, must have more clever +ideas and more subtle fancy. + +_The Musicians of Bremen_ is a good type of humorous tale. It shows +all the elements of true humor. Its philosophy is healthy; it views +life as a whole and escapes tragedy by seeing the comic situation in +the midst of trouble. It is full of the social good-comradeship which +is a condition of humor. It possesses a suspense that is unusual, and +is a series of surprises with one grand surprise to the robbers at +their feast as its climax. The Donkey is a noble hero who breathes a +spirit of courage like that of the fine Homeric heroes. His +achievement of a home is a mastery that pleases children. And the +message of the tale, which after all, is its chief worth--that there +ought to be room in the world for the aged and the worn out, and that +"The guilty flee when no man pursueth"--appeals to their compassion +and their good sense. The variety of noises furnished by the different +characters is a pleasing repetition with variation that is a special +element of humor; and the grand chorus of music leaves no doubt as to +the climax. We must view life with these four who are up against the +facts of life, and whose lot presents a variety of contrast. The +Donkey, incapacitated because of old age, had the courage to set out +on a quest. He met the Dog who could hunt no longer, stopping in the +middle of the road, panting for breath; the Cat who had only stumps +for teeth, sitting in the middle of the road, wearing an unhappy heart +behind a face dismal as three rainy Sundays; and the Rooster who just +overheard the cook say he was to be made into soup next Sunday, +sitting on the top of the gate crowing his last as loud as he could +crow. The Donkey, to these musicians he collected, spoke as a leader +and as a true humorist. + +In a simple tale like _The Bremen Town Musicians_ it is surprising how +much of interest can develop: the adventure in the wood; the motif of +some one going to a tree-top and seeing from there a light afar off, +which appears in _Hop-o'-my-Thumb_ and in many other tales; the +example of coöperation, where all had a unity of purpose; an example +of a good complete short-story form which illustrates introduction, +setting, characters and dialogue--all these proclaim this one of the +fine old stories. In its most dramatic form, and to Jacobs its most +impressive one, it appears in the Celtic tales as _Jack and His +Comrades_. It may have been derived from _Old Sultan_, a Grimm tale +which is somewhat similar to _The Wolf and the Hungry Dog_, in +Steinhowel, 1487. _How Jack Sought His Fortune_ is an English tale of +coöperation which is similar but not nearly so pleasing. A Danish tale +of cooperation, _Pleiades_, is found in Lansing's _Fairy Tales_. _How +Six Traveled Through the World_ is a Grimm tale which, though suited +to older children, contains the same general theme. + +Very many of the tales suited to kindergarten children which have been +mentioned in various chapters, contain a large element of humor. The +nonsense drolls are a type distinct from the humorous tale proper, yet +distinctly humorous. Such are the realistic _Lazy Jack_, _Henny +Penny_, and _Billy Bobtail_. Then since repetition is an element of +humor, many accumulative tales rank as humorous: such as _Lambikin_, +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_, _Medio Pollito_, _The Straw Ox_, _Johnny +Cake_, and _Three Billy-Goats_. Among the humorous tales proper are +Andersen's _Snow Man_; _The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_; _The +Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings_; _The Elephant's Child_; and very many of +the Uncle Remus Tales, such as _Why the Hawk Catches Chickens_, +_Brother Rabbit and Brother Tiger_, and _Heyo, House_! all in _Uncle +Remus and the Little Boy_. _The Story of Little Black Mingo_ in _Tales +of Laughter_, is a very attractive humorous tale, but it is more +suited to the child of the second grade. + +_Drakesbill_ is a French humorous accumulative tale with a plot +constructed similarly to that of the Cossack _Straw Ox_. Drakesbill, +who was so tiny they called him Bill Drake, was a great worker and +soon saved a hundred dollars in gold which he lent to the King. But as +the King never offered to pay, one morning Drakesbill set out, singing +as he went, "Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?" To +all the objects he met and to their questions he replied, "I am going +to the King to ask him to pay me what he owes me." When they begged, +"Take me with you!" he was willing, but he said, "You must make +yourself small, get into my mouth, and creep under my tongue!" He +arrived at the palace with his companions concealed in his mouth: a +Fox, a Ladder, Laughing River, and Wasp-Nest. On asking to see the +King, he was not escorted with dignity but sent to the poultry-yard, +to the turkeys and chickens who fought him. Then he surprised them by +calling forth the Fox who killed the fowls. When he was thrown into a +well, he called out the Ladder to help him. When about to be thrown +into the fire, he called out the River who overwhelmed the rest and +left him serenely swimming. When surrounded by the King's men and +their swords he called out the Wasp-Nest who drove away all but +Drakesbill, leaving him free to look for his money. But he found none +as the King had spent all. So he seated himself upon the throne and +became King. The element of humor here, as has been mentioned +previously, is that Drakesbill, after every rebuff of fortune +maintained his happy, fresh vivacity, and triumphantly repeated his +one cry, "Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?" There +is humor, too, in the repetition of dialogue, as on his way to the +King he met the various characters and talked to them. Humor lies also +in the real lively surprises which Drakesbill so effectively gave +during his visit to the King. One can see how this tale might have +been a satire reflecting upon a spendthrift King. + + +IV. The Realistic Tale + +The realistic fairy tale has a great sympathy with humble life and +desires to reproduce faithfully all life worth while. The spirit of it +has been expressed by Kipling-- + + each in his separate star, + Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They + are. + +Sometimes the realistic story has a scientific spirit and interest. A +realistic tale that is good will present not only what is true but +what is possible, probable, or inevitable, making its truth +impressive. Very often it does not reach this ideal. A transcript of +actual life may be selected, but that is a photograph and not a +picture with a strong purpose to make one point, and with artistic +design. The characters, though true to life, may be lifeless and +colorless, and their doings and what happens to them uninteresting. +For this reason, many modern writers of tales for children, respecting +the worth of the realistic, neglect to comply with what the realistic +demands, and produce insipid, unconvincing tales. The realistic tale +should deal with the simple and the ordinary rather than with the +exceptional; and the test is not how much, but how little, credulity +it arouses. + +Grimm's _Hans in Luck_ is a perfect realistic tale, as are Grimm's +_Clever Elsa_ and the Norse _Three Sillies_, although these tales are +suited to slightly older children. The drolls often appear among the +realistic tales, as if genuine humor were more fresh when related to +the things of actual life. The English _Lazy Jack_ is a delightful +realistic droll which contains motifs that appear frequently among the +tales. The Touchstone motif of a humble individual causing nobility to +laugh appears in Grimm's _Dummling and His Golden Goose_. It appears +also in _Zerbino the Savage_, a most elaborated Neapolitan tale retold +by Laboulaye in his _Last Fairy Tales_; a tale full of humor, wit, and +satire that would delight the cultured man of the world. + +In _Lazy Jack_ the setting is in humble life. A poor mother lived on +the common with her indolent son and managed to earn a livelihood by +spinning. One day the mother lost patience and threatened to send from +home this idle son if he did not get work. So he set out. Each day he +returned to his mother with his day's earnings. The humor lies in what +he brought, in how he brought it, and in what happened to it; in the +admonition of his mother, "You should have done so and so," and Jack's +one reply, "I'll do so another time"; in Jack's literal use of his +mother's admonition, and the catastrophe it brought him on the +following day, and on each successive day, as he brought home a piece +of money, a jar of milk, a cream cheese, a tom-cat, a shoulder of +mutton, and at last a donkey. The humor lies in the contrast between +what Jack did and what anybody "with sense" knows he ought to have +done, until when royalty beheld him carrying the donkey on his +shoulders, with legs sticking up in the air, it could bear no more, +and burst into laughter. This is a good realistic droll to use because +it impresses the truth, that even a little child must reason and judge +and use his own common sense. + +_The Story of the Little Red Hen_ is a realistic tale which presents a +simple picture of humble thrift. Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ is a +realistic tale which gives an adventure that might happen to a real +tin soldier. _The Old Woman and her Pig_, whose history has been given +under _The Accumulative Tale_, is realistic. Its theme is the simple +experience of an aged peasant who swept her house, who had the unusual +much-coveted pleasure of finding a dime, who went to market and bought +a Pig for so small a sum. But on the way home, as the Pig became +contrary when reaching a stile, and refused to go, the Old Woman had +to seek aid. So she asked the Dog, the Stick, the Fire, etc. She asked +aid first from the nearest at hand; and each object asked, in its turn +sought help from the next higher power. One great source of pleasure +in this tale is that each object whose aid is sought is asked to do +the thing its nature would compel it to do--the Dog to bite, the Stick +to beat, etc.; and each successive object chosen is the one which, by +the law of its nature, is a master to the preceding one. The Dog, by +virtue of ability to bite, has power over the Pig; the Stick has +ability to master the Dog; and Water in its power to quench is master +over Fire. Because of this intimate connection of cause and effect, +this tale contributes in an unusual degree to the development of the +child's reason and memory. He may remember the sequence of the plot or +remake the tale if he forgets, by reasoning out the association +between the successive objects from whom aid was asked. It is through +this association that the memory is exercised. + +_How Two Beetles Took Lodgings_, in _Tales of Laughter_, is a +realistic story which has a scientific spirit and interest. Its basis +of truth belongs to the realm of nature study. Its narration of how +two Beetles set up housekeeping by visiting an ant-hill and helping +themselves to the home and furnishings of the Ants, would be very well +suited either to precede or to follow the actual study of an ant-hill +by the children. The story gives a good glimpse of the home of the +Ants, of their manner of living, and of the characteristics of the +Ants and Beetles. It is not science mollified, but a good story full +of life and humor, with a basis of scientific truth. + +Many tales not realistic contain a large realistic element. The fine +old romantic tales, such as _Cinderella_, _Sleeping Beauty_, and +_Bremen Town Musicians_, have a large realistic element. In _The +Little Elves_ we have the realistic picture of a simple German home. +In _Beauty and the Beast_ we have a realistic glimpse of the three +various ways the wealthy merchant's daughters accommodated themselves +to their father's loss of fortune, which reminds us of a parallel +theme in Shakespeare's _King Lear_. In _Red Riding Hood_ we have the +realistic starting out of a little girl to visit her grandmother. This +realistic element appeals to the child because, as we have noted, it +accords with his experience, and it therefore seems less strange. + +In _Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_ the setting is realistic but becomes +transformed into the romantic when natural doings of everyday life +take on meaning from the unusual happening in the tale. It is +realistic for Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse to live in a little house, +to get some corn, to make a pudding, and to put it on to boil. But +when the pot tumbled over and scalded Titty, the romantic began. The +stool which was real and common and stood by the door became +transformed with animation, it talked: "Titty's dead, and so I weep"; +and it hopped! Then a broom caught the same animation from the same +theme, and swept; a door jarred; a window creaked; an old form ran +round the house; a walnut tree shed its leaves; a little bird moulted +his pretty feathers; a little girl spilled her milk; a man tumbled off +his ladder; and the walnut tree fell with a crash, upsetting +everything and burying Titty in the ruins. They all learned to convey +the same message. The common and customary became uncommon and unusual +with extraordinary life, feeling, and lively movement. + +Other romantic tales with a large realistic element are _The Three +Bears_, _The Three Pigs_, and _The Three Billy-Goats_, animal tales +which of necessity must be largely realistic, for their foundation is +in the facts of the nature, habits, and traits of the animal +characters they portray. + + +V. The Romantic Tale + +The romantic tale reflects emotion and it contains adventure and the +picturesque; it deals with dreams, distant places, the sea, the sky, +and objects of wonder touched with beauty and strangeness. The purpose +of the romantic is to arouse emotion, pity, or the sense of the +heroic; and it often exaggerates character and incidents beyond the +normal. The test of the romantic tale as well as of the realistic tale +is in the reality it possesses. This reality it will possess, not only +because it is true, but because it is also true to life. And it is to +be remembered that because of the unusual setting in a romantic tale +the truth it presents stands out very clearly with much +impressiveness. _Red Riding Hood_ is a more impressive tale than _The +Three Bears_. + +_Cinderella_ is a good type of the old romantic tale. It has a +never-ending attraction for children just as it has had for all +peoples of the world; for this tale has as many as three hundred and +forty-five variants, which have been examined by Miss Cox. In these +variants there are many common incidents, such as the hearth abode, +the helpful animal, the heroine disguise, the ill-treated heroine, the +lost shoe, the love-sick prince, magic dresses, the magic tree, the +threefold flight, the false bride, and many others. But the one +incident which claims the tale as a Cinderella tale proper, is the +recognition of the heroine by means of her shoe. In the Greek +_Rhodope_, the slipper is carried off by an eagle and dropped into the +lap of the King of Egypt, who seeks and marries the owner. In the +Hindu tale the Rajah's daughter loses her slipper in the forest where +it is found by the Prince. The interpretation of _Cinderella_ is that +the Maiden, the Dawn, is dull and gray away from the brightness of the +sun. The Sisters are the Clouds that shadow the Dawn, and the +Stepmother is Night. The Dawn hurries away from the pursuing Prince, +the Sun, who, after a long search, overtakes her in her glorious robes +of sunset. + +This tale is the Hindu _Sodewa Bai_, the Zuni _Poor Turkey Girl_, and +the English _Rushen Coatie, Cap-o'-Rushes_, and _Catskin_. _Catskin_, +which Mr. Burchell told to the children of the Vicar of Wakefield, is +considered by Newell as the oldest of the Cinderella types, appearing +in Straparola in 1550, while _Cinderella_ appeared first in Basile in +1637. _Catskin_, in ballad form as given by Halliwell, was printed in +Aldermary Churchyard, England, in 1720; and the form as given by +Jacobs well illustrates how the prose tale developed from the old +ballad. The two most common forms of _Cinderella_ are Perrault's and +Grimm's, either of which is suited to the very little child. +Perrault's _Cinderella_ shows about twenty distinct differences from +the Grimm tale:-- + + (1) It omits the Mother's death-bed injunction to Cinderella. + + (2) It omits the wooden shoes and the cloak. + + (3) The Stepmother assigns more modern tasks. It omits the + pease-and-beans task. + + (4) It shows Cinderella sleeping in a garret instead of on + the hearth. + + (5) It omits the Father. + + (6) It omits the hazel bough. + + (7) It omits the three wishes. + + (8) It substitutes the fairy Godmother for the hazel tree + and the friendly doves. + + (9) It substitutes transformation for tree-shaking. + + (10) It omits the episode of the pear tree and of the + pigeon-house. + + (11) It omits the use of pitch and axe-cutting. + + (12) It omits the false bride and the two doves. + + (13) It substitutes two nights at the ball for three nights. + + (14) It makes C. forgiving and generous at the end. The Sisters + are not punished. + + (15) It contains slippers of glass instead of slippers of gold. + + (16) It simplifies the narrative, improves the structure, and puts + in the condition, which is a keystone to the structure. + + (17) It has no poetical refrain. + + (18) It is more direct and dramatic. + + (19) It draws the characters more clearly. + + (20) Is it not more artificial and conventional? + +This contrast shows the Grimm tale to be the more poetical, while it +is the more complex, and contains more barbarous and gruesome elements +unsuited to the child of to-day. Of the two forms, the Grimm tale +seems the superior tale, however, and if rewritten in a literary form +suited to the child, might become even preferable. + +_Sleeping Beauty_, which is another romantic tale that might claim to +be the most popular fairy tale, has for its theme the long sleep of +winter and the awakening of spring. The Earth goddess, pricked by +winter's dart, falls into a deep sleep from which she is awakened by +the Sun who searches far for her. This tale is similar to the Norse +_Balder_ and the Greek _Persephone_. Some of its incidents appear also +in _The Two Brothers_, an Egyptian tale of the Nineteenth Dynasty of +Seti II, in which the Hathors who pronounce the fate of the Prince +correspond to the wicked old Fairy. The spindle whose prick caused +slumber is the arrow that wounded Achilles, the thorn which pricked +Siegfried, the mistle-toe which wounded Balder, and the poisoned nail +of the demon in _Surya Bai_. In the northern form of the story we find +the ivy, which is the one plant that can endure winter's touch. The +theme of the long sleep occurs in the mediæval legend of _The Seven +Sleepers of Ephesus_, in the English _The King of England and His +Three Sons_, poetically as Tennyson has given it in his _Day-Dream_, +and in the _Story of Brunhilde_, in _Siegfried_. Here a hedge of +flames encircles Brunhilde who is awakened at the touch of Siegfried's +magic sword, just as Sleeping Beauty is awakened by the Prince's kiss. +The kiss may be a survival of an ancient form of worship of some local +goddess. In the Hindu _Panch-Rhul Ranee_, seven ditches surmounted by +seven hedges of spears, surround the heroine. Of the Perrault and +Grimm versions of _Sleeping Beauty_, the Perrault version is long and +complex because it contains the minor tale of the cruel stepmother +added to the main tale, while the Grimm _Briar Rose_ is a model of +structure easily separated into ten leading episodes. _Sleeping +Beauty_ appeared in Basile's _Pentamerone_ where there is given the +beautiful incident of the baby sucking the spike of flax out of its +sleeping mother's fingers. The Perrault version agrees with that of +Basile in naming the twins, who are Sun and Moon in the _Pentamerone_, +Day and Dawn. + +_Red Riding Hood_ is another romantic tale[11] that could claim to be +the one most popular fairy tale of all fairy tales. Similar tales +occur in the story of the Greek Kronos swallowing his children, in the +Algonquin legend repeated in _Hiawatha_, and in an Aryan story of a +Dragon swallowing the sun and being killed by the sun-god, Indra. _Red +Riding Hood_ appeals to a child's sense of fear, it gives a thrill +which if not too intense, is distinctly pleasing. But it pleases less +noticeably perhaps because of its atmosphere of love and service, and +because it presents a picture of a dear little maid. The Grandmother's +gift of love to the child, the bright red hood, the mother's parting +injunction, the Wolf's change of aspect and voice to suit the +child--all these directly and indirectly emphasize love, tenderness, +and appreciation of simple childhood. The child's errand of gratitude +and love, the play in the wood, the faith in the woodcutter's +presence--all are characteristic of a typical little maid and one to +be loved. There is in the tale too, the beauty of the wood--flowers, +birds, and the freshness of the open air. The ending of the tale is +varied. In Perrault the Wolf ate Grandmother and then ate Red Riding +Hood. In Grimm one version gives it that the Hunter, hearing snoring, +went to see what the old lady needed. He cut open the Wolf, and +Grandmother and Red Riding Hood became alive. He filled the Wolf with +stones. When the Wolf awoke, he tried to run, and died. All three were +happy; the Hunter took the skin, Grandmother had her cake and wine, +and Red Riding Hood was safe and had her little girl's lesson of +obedience. Another Grimm ending is that Little Red-Cap reached the +Grandmother before the Wolf, and after telling her that she had met +him, they both locked the door. Then they filled a trough with water +in which the sausages had been boiled. When the Wolf tried to get in +and got up on the roof, he was enticed by the odor, and fell into the +trough. A great deal of freedom has been used in re-telling the ending +of this tale, usually with the purpose of preventing the Wolf from +eating Red Riding Hood. In regard to the conclusion of _Red Riding +Hood_, Thackeray said: "I am reconciled to the Wolf eating Red Riding +Hood because I have given up believing this is a moral tale altogether +and am content to receive it as a wild, odd, surprising, and not +unkindly fairy story." + +The interpretation of _Red Riding Hood_--which the children need not +know--is that the evening Sun goes to see her Grandmother, the Earth, +who is the first to be swallowed up by the Wolf of Night and Darkness. +The red cloak is the twilight glow. The Hunter may be the rising Sun +that rescues all from Night. _Red Riding Hood_ has been charmingly +elaborated in Tieck's _Romantic Poems_, and a similar story appears in +a Swedish popular song, _Jungfrun i'Blaskagen_, in _Folkviser_ 3; 68, +69. + + + + +VI, VII. The Old Tale and the Modern Tale. + + +The old fairy tale is to be distinguished from the modern fairy tale. +Most of the tales selected have been old tales because they possess +the characteristics suited to the little child. The modern fairy tale +may be said to begin with Andersen's _Fairy Tales_.--Since Andersen +has been referred to frequently and as a study of _The Tin Soldier_ +has already been given, Andersen's work can receive no more detailed +treatment here.--The modern fairy tale, since the time of Andersen, +has yet to learn simplicity and sincerity. It often is long and +involved and presents a multiplicity of images that is confusing. It +lacks the great art qualities of the old tale, the central unity and +harmony of character and plot. The _idea_ must be the soul of the +narrative, and the problem is to make happen to the characters things +that are expressive of the idea. The story must hold by its interest, +and must be sincere and inevitable to be convincing. It must +understand that the method of expression must be the method of +suggestion and not that of detail. The old tale set no boundaries to +its suggestion. It used concrete artistry; but because the symbol +expressed less it implied more. The modern tale is more definitely +intentional and it often sets boundaries to its suggestion because the +symbol expresses so much. Frequently it emphasizes the satiric and +critical element, and its humor often is heavy and clumsy. To be +literature, as has been pointed out, besides characters, plot, +setting, and dialogue, a classic must present truth; it must have +emotion and imagination molded with beauty into the form of language; +and it must have the power of a classic to bestow upon the mind a +permanent enrichment. Any examination of the modern fairy tale very +frequently shows a failure to meet these requirements. + +The modern tale is not so poor, however, when we mention such tales as +Lewis Carroll's _Alice in Wonderland_, Oscar Wilde's _Happy Prince_, +Alice Brown's _Gradual Fairy_, Frances Browne's _Prince Fairyfoot_, +Miss Mulock's _Little Lame Prince_, Barrie's _Peter Pan_, Jean +Ingelow's _Mopsa, the Fairy_ and _The Ouphe in the Wood_, Field's _The +Story of Claus_, Stockton's _Old Pipes and the Dryad_, Kingsley's +_Water Babies_, Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_, Collodi's +_Pinocchio_, Maeterlinck's _Blue-Bird_, Kipling's _Just-So Stories_ +and the tales of the _Jungle Books_, Selma Lagerlöf's _Wonderful +Adventures of Nils_, the _Uncle Remus Tales_ of Harris, etc. But these +classics are, with a few exceptions, the richness of the primary and +elementary literature. The modern fairy tale suited to the +kindergarten child, is at a disadvantage, for most likely it is hidden +away in some magazine, waiting for appreciation to bring some +attention to it. And in these complex modern days it is difficult to +secure a tale whose simplicity suits the little child. + +Among the best tales for little people are Miss Harrison's _Hans and +the Four Giants_ and _Little Beta and the Lame Giant_. In _Little Beta +and the Lame Giant_ a natural child is placed in unusual surroundings, +where the gentleness of the giant and the strength of love in the +little girl present strong contrasts that please and satisfy. _The Sea +Fairy and the Land Fairy_ in _Some Fairies I have Met_, by Mrs. +Stawell, though possessing much charm and beauty, is too complicated +for the little people. It is a quarrel of a Sea Fairy and a Land +Fairy. It is marked by good structure, it presents a problem in the +introduction, has light fancy suited to its characters, piquant +dialogue, good description, visualized expressions, and it presents +distinct pictures. Its method is direct and it gets immediately into +the story. Its method of personification, which in this, perhaps the +best story of the collection, is rather delightful, in some of the +others is less happy and is open to question. _How Double Darling's +Old Shoes Became Lady Slippers_, by Candace Wheeler, in _St. +Nicholas_, is a really delightful modern fairy story suited to be read +to the little child. It is the experience of a little girl with new +shoes and her dream about her old shoes. But the story lacks in +structure, there is not the steady rise to one great action, the +episode of the Santa Claus tree is somewhat foreign and unnecessary, +and the conclusion falls flat because the end seems to continue after +the problem has been worked out. + +In _The Dwarf's Tailor_, by Underhill, there is much conversation +about things and an indirect use of language, such as "arouse them to +reply" and "continued to question," which is tedious. The humor is at +times heavy, quoting proverbs, such as "The pitcher that goes too +often to the well is broken at last." The climax is without interest. +The scene of the Dwarfs around the fire--in which the chief element of +humor seems to be that the Tailor gives the Dwarf a slap--is rather +foolish than funny. The details are trite and the transformation +misses being pleasing. Again there is not much plot and the story does +not hold by its interest. In _The Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold_, by +Scudder, the conversation is not always to the point, is somewhat on +the gossipy order, is trite, and the suspense is not held because the +climax is told beforehand. Mrs. Burton Harrison's _Old Fashioned Fairy +Book_ is very pleasing, but it was written for her two sons, who were +older children. It has the fault of presenting too great a variety of +images and it lacks simplicity of structure. Its _Juliet_, or _The +Little White Mouse_, which seems to be a re-telling of D'Aulnoy's +_Good Little Mouse_, contains a good description of the old-time fairy +dress. _Deep Sea Violets_, perhaps the best-written story in the book, +gives a good picture of a maiden taken to a Merman's realm. _Rosy's +Stay-at-Home Parties_ has delightful imagination similar to that of +Andersen. + +_Five Little Pigs_, by Katherine Pyle, is a delightful little modern +story, which could be used with interest by the child who knows _The +Story of Three Little Pigs_. _The Little Rooster_, by Southey, is a +very pleasing realistic tale of utmost simplicity which, because of +its talking animals, might be included here. A criticism of this tale, +together with a list of realistic stories containing some realistic +fairy tales suited to the kindergarten, may be read in _Educational +Foundations_, October, 1914. _The Hen That Hatched Ducks_, by Harriet +Beecher Stowe, is a pleasing and sprightly humorous tale of Madam +Feathertop and her surprising family of eight ducks, and of Master +Gray Cock, Dame Scratchard and Dr. Peppercorn. A modern tale that is +very acceptable to the children is _The Cock, the Mouse, and the +Little Red Hen_, by Félicité Lefèvre, which is a re-telling of the +_Story of the Little Red Hen_ combined with the story of _The Little +Rid Hin_. In this tale the two old classic stories are preserved but +re-experienced, with such details improvised as a clever child would +himself naturally make. These additional details appeal to his +imagination and give life-likeness and freshness to the tale, but they +do not detract from the impression of the original or confuse the +identity of the characters in the old tales. + +One must not forget _Peter Rabbit_--that captivating, realistic fairy +tale by Beatrix Potter--and his companions, _Benjamin Bunny, Pigling +Bland, Tom Kitten_, and the rest, of which children never tire. _Peter +Rabbit_ undoubtedly holds a place as a kindergarten classic. In +somewhat the same class of merry animal tales is _Tommy and the +Wishing Stone_, a series of tales by Thornton Burgess, in _St. +Nicholas_, 1915. Here the child enjoys the novel transformation of +becoming a Musk-rat, a Ruffed Grouse, a Toad, Honker the Goose, and +other interesting personages. A modern fairy tale which is received +gladly by children is _Ludwig and Marleen_, by Jane Hoxie. Here we +have the friendly Fox who grants to Ludwig the wishes he asks for +Marleen. The theme parallels for the little people the charm of _The +Fisherman and His Wife_, a Grimm tale suited to the second grade. +Among modern animal tales _The Elephant's Child_[12], one of the +_Just-So Stories_ by Rudyard Kipling, ranks high as a fairy tale +produced for little children by one of the great literary masters of +the short-story. + +A modern tale that is a bit of pure imagination and seems an attempt +to follow Grimm and Andersen, is _A Quick-Running Squash_, in +Aspinwall's _Short Stories for Short People_. It uses the little boy's +interest in a garden--his garden.--Interest centers about the fairy, +the magic seed, the wonderful ride, and the happy ending. It uses the +simple, everyday life and puts into it the unusual and the wonderful +where nothing is impossible. It blends the realistic and the romantic +in a way that is most pleasing. _The Rich Goose_, by Leora Robinson, +in the _Outlook_, is an accumulative tale with an interesting ending +and surprise. _Why the Morning Glory Climbs_, by Elizabeth McCracken, +in Miss Bryant's _How to Tell Stories_, is a simple fanciful tale. +_The Discontented Pendulum_, by Jane Taylor, in Poulssen's _In the +Child's World_, is a good illustration of the modern purely fanciful +tale. _What Bunch and Joker saw in the Moon_, in _Wide-Awake +Chatterbox_, about 1887, is a most delightful modern fanciful tale, +although it is best suited to the child of nine or ten. _Greencap_, by +Ruth Hays, in _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915, appeals to the child through +the experience of Sarah Jane, whose Mother and Father traveled to +India. Sarah went to live with Aunt Jane and there met Greencap who +granted the proverbial "three wishes." _Alice in Wonderland_ ranks in +a class by itself among modern fanciful tales but it is better suited +to the child of the third and fourth grades. + +A modern fairy tale which is suited to the child's simplicity and +which will stimulate his own desire to make a tale, is _The Doll Who +Was Sister to a Princess_, one of the _Toy Stories_ by Carolyn Bailey +which have been published by the _Kindergarten Review_ during 1914-15. +Among modern tales selected from _Fairy Stories Re-told from St. +Nicholas_, appear some interesting ones which might be read to the +little child, or told in the primary grades. Among these might be +mentioned:-- + + _The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons_, a modern tale in verse by + Mary E. Wilkins. + + _Casperl_, by H.C. Bunner, a modern Sleeping Beauty tale. This + tale has the virtue of not being complex and elaborate. It has + the underlying idea that "People who are helping others have a + strength beyond their own." + + _Ten Little Dwarfs_, by Sophie Dorsey, from the French of Emile + Souvestre. It tells of the ten little Dwarfs who lived in the + Good-wife's fingers. + + _Wondering Tom_, by Mary Mapes Dodge. This is a bright story of a + boy who Hamlet-like, hesitated to act. Tom was always + wondering. The story contains a fairy, Kumtoo-thepoynt, who sat + on a toadstool and looked profound. It is realistic and + romantic and has fine touches of humor. It tells how Wondering + Tom became transformed into a Royal Ship-Builder. + + _How An Elf Set Up Housekeeping_, by Anne Cleve. This is a good + tale of fancy. An Elf set up housekeeping in a lily and obtained + a curtain from a spider, down from a thistle, a stool from a toad + who lived in a green house in the wood, etc. + + _The Wish-Ring_, translated from the German by Anne Eichberg. + This is a tale with the implied message that "The best way to + secure one's best wish is to work for it." + + _The Hop-About Man_, by Agnes Herbertson, in _Little Folks + Magazine_, is a very pleasing modern romantic fairy tale for + little children. Wee Wun was a gnome who lived in the + Bye-Bye meadow in a fine new house which he loved. As he + flew across the Meadow he had his pockets full of blue + blow-away seeds. In the Meadow he found a pair of shoes, of + blue and silver, and of course he took them home to his new + house. But first he scattered the blue blow-away seeds over + the garden wall in the Stir-About-Wife's garden where golden + dandelions grew. And the seeds grew and crowded out the + dandelions. Next day Wee Wun found a large blue seed which + he planted outside his house; and on the following morning a + great blue blow-away which had grown in a night, made his + house dark. So he went to the Green Ogre to get him to take + it away. When he came home he found, sitting in his chair, + the Hop-About-Man, who had come to live with him. He had + been forewarned of this coming by the little blue shoes when + they hopped round the room singing:-- + + Ring-a-ding-dill, ring-a-ding-dill, + The Hop-About-Man comes over the hill. + Why is he coming, and what will he see? + Rickety, rackety,--one, two, three. + +The story then describes Wee Wun's troubles with the Hop-About-Man, +who remained an unwelcome inhabitant of the house where Wee Wun liked +to sit all alone. The Hop-About-Man made everything keep hopping about +until Wee Wun would put all careless things straight, and until he +would give back to him his blue-and-silver shoes. One day, Wee Wun +became a careful housekeeper and weeded out of the dandelion garden +all the blue blow-away plants that grew from the seeds he had +scattered there in the Stir-About-Wife's garden, and when he came home +his troubles were over, and the Hop-About-Man was gone. + +Perhaps one reason for the frequent failure of the modern fairy tale +is that it fails to keep in harmony with the times. Just as the modern +novel has progressed from the romanticism of Hawthorne, the realism of +Thackeray, through the psychology of George Eliot, and the philosophy +of George Meredith, so the little child's story--which like the adult +story is an expression of the spirit of the times--must recognize +these modern tendencies. It must learn, from _Alice in Wonderland_ and +from _A Child's Garden of Verses_, that the modern fairy tale is not a +_Cinderella_ or _Sleeping Beauty_, but the modern fairy tale is the +child's mind. The real fairy world is the strangeness and beauty of +the child mind's point of view. It is the duty and privilege of the +modern fairy tale to interpret the child's psychology and to present +the child's philosophy of life. + + + +REFERENCES + + Century Co.: _St. Nicholas Magazine_, 1915; _St. Nicholas Fairy + Stories Re-told_. + + Gates, Josephine: "And Piped Those Children Back Again," (Pied + Piper) _St. Nicholas_, Nov., 1914. + + Hays, Ruth: "Greencap," _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915. + + Hazlitt, William; _Essays_. ("Wit and Humor.") Camelot Series. + Scott. + + Hooker, B.: "Narrative and the Fairy Tale," _Bookman_, 33: June + and July, 1911, pp. 389-93, pp. 501-05. + + _Ibid_: "Types of Fairy Tales," _Forum_, 40: Oct., 1908, pp. + 375-84. + + Martin, John: _John Martin's Book_ (Magazine), 1915 + + Meredith, George: _The Comic Spirit_. Scribners. + + Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Committee: "Humorous + Tales" _Kindergarten Review_, Dec, 1914. + + Perry, Bliss: _A Study of Prose Fiction_. ("The Romantic" and + "The Realistic") Houghton. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST OF FAIRY TALES, PICTURES, +PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS + + Shall we permit our children, without scruple, to hear any + fables composed by any authors indifferently, and so to + receive into their minds opinions generally the reverse of + those which, when they are grown to manhood, we shall think + they ought to entertain?--PLATO, in _The Republic_. + +Any list of fairy tales for little children must be selected from +those books which, as we have noted, contain the best collections of +folk-lore, and from books which contain tales that rank as classics. +An examination of the tales of Perrault, of Grimm, of Dasent, of +Andersen, of Jacobs, of Harris, and of miscellaneous tales, to see +what are suited to the little child, would result in the following +lists of tales. Those most worthy of study for the kindergarten are +marked with an asterisk and those suited to the first grade are marked +"1." No attempt has been made to mention all the varied sources of a +tale or its best version. The Boston Public Library issues a _Finding +List of Fairy Tales and Folk Stories_, which may be procured easily, +and the Carnegie Library at Pittsburg issues in its monthly bulletin +for December, 1913, vol. 18, no. 10, a _List of Folk-Tales_, and other +stories which may be dramatized. The Baker, Taylor Company, in 1914, +issued a _Graded Guide to Supplementary Reading_, which contains a +list of many of the best editions of folk and fairy tales suited to +primary grades. A list of school editions is included in this book. +But one cannot fail to be impressed with the general low literary +standard of many school editions of fairy tales when judged by the +standards here applied to the tales themselves.-- + + I. A List of Fairy Tales and Folk Tales + + Tales of Perrault: + + * CINDERELLA. + 1 LITTLE THUMB. + 1 PUSS-IN BOOTS. + * RED RIDING HOOD. + 1 SLEEPING BEAUTY. + 1 THE THREE WISHES. + + + Tales of the Grimms: + + 1 BIRDIE AND LENA. + 1 BRIAR ROSE. + * THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP. + 1 CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET. + 1. HOW THEY WENT TO THE HILLS TO EAT NUTS. + 2. THE VISIT TO M KORBES. + 3. THE DEATH OF PARTLETT. + * CINDERELLA. + * THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER. + THE FOX AND THE GEESE. + 1 THE HARE AND THE HEDGEHOG. + 1 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD. + * THE KING OF THE BIRDS. + 1 LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER + 1 THE LITTLE LAMB AND THE LITTLE FISH. + * LITTLE RED-CAP. + 1 LITTLE SNOW WHITE. + 1 LITTLE TWO-EYES. + MOTHER HOLLE. + 1 THE NOSE. + 1 SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED. + * THE SPARROW AND HIS FOUR CHILDREN. + STAR DOLLARS. + * THE SPIDER AND THE FLEA. + * THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN. + * THE TOWN MUSICIANS OF BREMEN. + THE WILLOW WREN AND THE BEAR. + * THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN KIDS. + * THE WONDERFUL PORRIDGE POT. + + Norse Tales: + + COCK AND HEN. + THE COCK AND HEN A-NUTTING. + THE COCK AND HEN THAT WENT TO THE DOVREFELL. + COCK, CUCKOO, AND BLACK COCK. + * DOLL I' THE GRASS. + 1 GERTRUDE'S BIRD. + 1 KATIE WOODENCLOAK (read). + 1 THE LAD WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND. + 1 LORD PETER (read). + ONE'S OWN CHILDREN ABE ALWAYS PRETTIEST. + * THREE BILLY GOATS. + 1 THUMBIKIN (read). + * WHY THE BEAR IS STUMPY-TAILED (pourquois). + + + English Tales, by Jacobs: + + * THE CAT AND THE MOUSE. + * HENNY PENNY. + 1 THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB. + * HOW JACK WENT TO SEEK HIS FORTUNE. + 1 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK. + * JOHNNY CAKE. + * LAZY JACK. + * THE MAGPIE'S NEST. + 1 MASTER OF ALL MASTERS. + * M MIACCA. + 1 M VINEGAR. + * THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG. + * PUDDOCK, MOUSIE, AND RATTON. + 1 SCRAPEFOOT. + * THE STORY OF THREE BEARS. + * THE STORY OF THREE LITTLE PIGS. + * TEENY TINY. + * TITTY MOUSE AND TATTY MOUSE. + + + Modern Fairy Tales, by Andersen: + + * THE FIR TREE. + * FIVE PEAS IN A POD. + 1 THE HAPPY FAMILY (retold in _Tales of Laughter_). + LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS (read). + * OLE-LUK-OLE (read to end of Thursday). + THURSDAY, WEDDING OF A MOUSE. + * THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA. + * THE SNOW MAN. + 1 THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER. + THE TOP AND THE BALL. + * THUMBELINA. + WHAT THE MOON SAW: + * LITTLE GIRL AND CHICKENS. + * THE NEW FROCK (realistic). + * LITTLE CHIMNEY SWEEP. + * BEAR WHO PLAYED "SOLDIERS." + * BREAD AND BUTTER. + + + Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in _Nights with Uncle Remus_: + + * BRER RABBIT AND THE LITTLE TAR BABY. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND THE LITTLE GIRL. + * BROTHER RABBIT TAKES A WALK. + * BROTHER RABBIT TAKES SOME EXERCISE. + * CUTTA CORD-LA (similar to Wolf and Seven Kids). + * How BROTHER RABBIT BROKE UP A PARTY. + * How BROTHER RABBIT FRIGHTENS HIS NEIGHBORS. + * How M ROOSTER LOST HIS DINNER (read). + * IN SOME LADY'S GARDEN. + * M BENJAMIN RAM (Brother Rabbit's Riddle). + * THE MOON IN THE MILL-POND (pourquois). + * WHY BROTHER BEAK HAS NO TAIL (pourquois). + * WHY M DOG RUNS AFTER BROTHER RABBIT. + * WHY GUINEA FOWLS ARE SPECKLED (pourquois). + + + Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in _Uncle Remus and the Little + Boy_: + + * BROTHER BILLY GOAT'S DINNER. + BROTHER FOX SMELLS SMOKE. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER TIGER. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER LION (similar to _The Dog and His + Shadow_). + * BROTHER MUD-TURTLE'S TRICKERY. + * BROTHER RABBIT'S MONEY MINT. + 1 BROTHER WOLF SAYS GRACE. + 1 THE FIRE TEST (Use with _Three Pigs_). + FUN AT THE FERRY. + * HEYO, HOUSE. + THE LITTLE RABBITS. + MRS. PARTRIDGE HAS A FIT. + WHY BROTHER FOX'S LEGS ARE BLACK. + * WHY THE HAWK CATCHES CHICKENS. + + Tale, by Harris, in _Little Mr. Thimblefinger_: + + * WHY BILLY-GOAT'S TAIL IS SHORT. + + Miscellaneous Tales: + + * THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FIELD MOUSE, _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * BETA AND THE LAME GIANT, Miss Harrison, _In Storyland_. + * BILLY BOBTAIL, Jane Hoxie, _Kindergarten Stories; Child-Lore + Dramatic Reader_, Scribners. + * BLUNDER AND THE WISHING GATE, Louise Chollet, in _Child Life + in Prose_, Whittier. + * THE BOY AND THE GOAT, OR THE GOAT IN THE TURNIP FIELD + (Norwegian), _Primer_, Free and Treadwell; _Child-Lore + Dramatic Reader_, Scribners. + * THE CAP THAT MOTHER MADE OR ANDER'S NEW CAP (Swedish), + _Swedish Fairy Tales_, McClurg; _For the Story-Teller_, + Bailey. + 1 THE CAT AND THE PARROT OR THE GREEDY CAT, _HOW to Tell + Stories_, Bryant; _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin and Smith. + 1 THE CAT THAT WAITED, _Classics in Dramatic Form_, vol. I, + Stevenson. + * THE CAT, THE COCK, AND THE FOX, _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin + and Smith. + 1 CLYTIE, _Nature Myths_, Flora Cooke. + 1 THE COCK, THE MOUSE, AND THE LITTLE RED HEN, Félicité + Lefèvre, Jacobs. + * THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE, _Æsop's Fables_, Joseph + Jacobs. + * DAME WIGGINS AND HER CATS, Mrs. Sharp, in _Six Nursery + Classics_, Heath. + * THE DISCONTENTED PENDULUM, Jane Taylor, in _In the Child's + World_, Poulsson. + * THE DOLL WHO WAS SISTER TO A PRINCESS, THE TOY STORIES, + Carolyn Bailey, _Kindergarten Review_, Dec., 1914. + * DRAKESBILL, _The Story-Teller's Book_, O'Grady and Throop; + _The Fairy Ring_, Wiggin and Smith; _Firelight Stories_, + Bailey. + * THE ELEPHANT'S CHILD, _Just-So Stories_, Kipling. + 1 THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE, _A Little Book of Profitable + Tales_, Eugene Field. + 1 THE FIVE LITTLE PIGS, Katherine Pyle, in _Wide Awake Second + Reader_, Little. + * THE FOOLISH TIMID RABBIT, _Jataka Tales Retold_, Babbit. + THE GOLDEN COCK, _That's Why Stories_, Bryce. + 1 GOLDEN ROD AND ASTER, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + THE GRAIN OF CORN _(Old Woman and Her Pig), Tales of the + Punjab_, Steel. + 1 GREENCAP, Ruth Hays, in _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915. + 1 HANS AND THE FOUR BIG GIANTS, Miss Harrison, _In Storyland_. + 1 THE HEN THAT HATCHED DUCKS, Harriet Beecher Stowe, in _Child + Life in Prose_, Whittier. + * THE HOP-ABOUT-MAN, Agnes Herbertson, in _The Story-Teller's + Book_, O'Grady and Throop; in _Little Folks' Magazine_. + * THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT, _Six Nursery Classics_, D.C. + Heath. + 1 HOW BROTHER RABBIT FOOLED THE WHALE, _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * HOW THE CAMEL GOT HIS HUMP, _Just-So Stories_, Kipling. + 1 HOW THE CHIPMUNK GOT THE STRIPES ON ITS BACK, _Nature Myths_, + Cooke. + * HOW DOUBLE DARLING'S OLD SHOES BECAME LADY SLIPPERS, Candace + Wheeler, in _St. Nicholas_, March, 1887; vol. 14, pp. + 342-47. + * HOW FIRE WAS BROUGHT TO THE INDIANS, _The Book of Nature + Myths_, Holbrook. + * HOW SUN, MOON, AND WEST WIND WENT OUT TO DINNER, _Old Deccan + Days_, Frère. + 1 THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + 1 THE JACKALS AND THE LION, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + 1 KING SOLOMON AND THE ANTS, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + * THE LAMBIKIN, _Tales of the Punjab_, Steel; _Indian Tales_, + Jacobs. + * LITTLE JACK ROLLAROUND, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + * THE LITTLE RABBIT WHO WANTED RED WINGS, _For the + Story-Teller_, Bailey. + * THE LITTLE RED HEN, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + * THE LITTLE RED HIN (Irish dialect verse), _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * THE LITTLE ROOSTER, Robert Southey, in _Boston Collection of + Kindergarten Stories_, Hammett & Co. + * LITTLE SPIDER'S FIRST WEB, _Primer_, Free and Treadwell. + * LITTLE TOP-KNOT (Swedish), _First Reader_, Free and + Treadwell. + * LITTLE TUPPEN, _Fairy Stories and Fables_, Baldwin; _Primer_, + Free and Treadwell. + * LUDWIG AND MARLEEN, Jane Hoxie, in _Kindergarten Review_, + vol. xi, no. 5. + * MEDIO POLLITO, THE LITTLE HALF-CHICK (Spanish), _The Green + Fairy Book_, Lang. + * MEZUMI, THE BEAUTIFUL, OR THE RAT PRINCESS (Japanese), + _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson; _Tales of Laughter_, + Wiggin and Smith. + 1 M ELEPHANT AND M FROG, _Firelight Stories_, Bailey. + 1 THE MOON'S SILVER CLOAK, _Classics in Dramatic Form_, + Stevenson, vol. i. + 1 THE MOUSE AND THE SAUSAGE, _Stories and Story-Telling_, + Angela Keyes. + * OEYVIND AND MARIT, from _The Happy Boy_, Björnstjerne + Björnson, in _The Story-Teller's Book_, O'Grady and + Throop; in _Child-Life in Prose_, Whittier. + * PETER RABBIT, _Peter Rabbit_, Beatrix Potter. + 1 THE PIGS AND THE GIANT, Pyle, in _Child-Lore Dramatic + Reader_, Scribners. + * THE QUICK-RUNNING SQUASH, _Short Stories for Short People_, + Aspinwall. + 1 THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + * THE RICH GOOSE, Leora Robinson, in _The Outlook_. + * THE ROBIN'S CHRISTMAS SONG, _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, + Johnson. + * (WEE) ROBIN'S YULE SONG. _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin and + Smith. + * THE SHEEP AND THE PIG (Scandinavian), _For the Children's + Hour_, Bailey. + * THE SPARROW AND THE CROW, _Tales of the Punjab_, Steel; + _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + * THE STRAW OX, _Cossack Fairy Tales_, Bain. + * STORY OF THE MORNING-GLORY SEED, M. Eytinge, _Boston + Kindergarten Stories_. + 1 THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT, _Oak-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + 1 TOMMY AND THE WISHING-STONE, a series, by T. Burgess, in _St. + Nicholas_, 1915. + 1 TRAVELS OF A FOX, _Oak-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + 1 THE TURTLE WHO COULDN'T STOP TALKING, _Jataka Tales Retold_, + Babbit. + * THE UNHAPPY PINE TREE, _Classic Stories_, McMurry. + 1 What Bunch And Joker Saw In The Moon, _Wide Awake + Chatterbox_, about 1887. + 1 The White Cat, _Fairy Tales_, D'Aulnoy; _Fairy Tales_, Vol. + II, Lansing. + * Why The Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves, _The Book + Of Nature Myths_, Holbrook. + * Why The Juniper Has Berries, _The Book Of Nature Myths_, + Holbrook. + + * Why The Morning Glory Climbs, _How to Tell Stories_, Bryant. + + 1 The Wish Bird, _Classics In Dramatic Form_, Vol. II, + Stevenson. + + II. Bibliography Of Fairy Tales + + Baker, Franklin T.: _Bibliography Of Children's Reading_. + Introduction and lists. Teachers College, Columbia University. + + Baker Taylor Company, The: _Graded Guide to Supplementary + Reading_. 1914. + + Boston Public Library: _Finding List of Fairy Tales_. + + Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh. _List of Folk Tales_. Bulletin, + Dec, 1913, Vol. 18, No. 10. + + _Ibid_.: _Illustrated Editions of Children's Books_. 1915. + + Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, John: _American Library + Economy_. Newark Free Library, Newark, New Jersey. + + Haight, Rachel Webb: "Fairy Tales." _Bulletin of Bibliography_, + 1912. Boston Book Co. + + Hewins, Caroline: _A.L.A. List. Books for Boys and Girls_. Third + Edition, 1913. A.L.A. Pub. Board, Chicago. + + Kready, Laura F.: "Picture-Books For Little Children." + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914. + + Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Com. of I.K.U.: "Humorous + Stories for Children." _Kindergarten Review_, Dec, 1914. + + Salisbury, G.E., and Beckwith, M.E.: _Index to Short Stories_. + St. Louis Public Library. _Lists of Stories and Programs for + Story Hours_. Give best versions. + + Widdemer, Margaret: "A Bibliography of Books and Articles + Relating to Children's Reading. Part I, Children's Reading in + general. Part II, History of Children's Literature, etc. Part + III, Guidance of Children's Reading." _Bulletin of + Bibliography_, July, 1911, Oct., 1911, and Jan., 1912. Boston + Book Co. + + +III. A List of Picture-Books[13] + + Beskow, Elsa: _Hanschen im Blaubeerenwald_. Stuttgart. + + Brooke, Leslie: _The Golden Goose Book_. F. Warne. + + _Ibid._: The _House in the Wood_. F. Warne. + + _Ibid._: _The Truth About Old King Cole_. F. Warne. + + Browning, Robert: _The Pied Piper_, Kate Greenaway, F. Warne; + Hope Dunlap, Rand; T. Butler Stoney, Dutton. + + Caldecott, Randolph: _Picture-Books:_ + 2. _The House that Jack Built_. F. Warne. + 3. _Hey Diddle Diddle Book_. F. Warne. + + Coussens, P.W.: _A Child's Book of Stories_. Jessie W. Smith. + Duffield. + + Crane, Walter: _Picture-Books:_ + _Cinderella_. John Lane. + _Mother Hubbard_. John Lane. + _Red Riding Hood_. John Lane. + _This Little Pig_. John Lane. + + Grimm, Jacob and William: _Cruikshank Fairy Book_. Cruikshank, + Putnam. + + _Ibid._: _Das Deutsche Bilderbuch_. Jos. Scholz. + 1. _Dörnroschen_. + 2. _Aschenputtel_. + 7. _Frau Holle_. + 10. _Der Wolf und Sieben Geislein_. + + _Ibid._: _Liebe Märchen_. 10, 11, 12. Jos. Scholz. + + _Ibid._: _Cherry Blossom_. Helen Stratton. Blackie and Sons. + + Jerrold, Walter: _The Big Book of Fairy Tales_. Robinson. + Blackie. + + Olfers, Sibylle: _Windschen_. J.F. Schreiber. + + _Ibid.: Wurzelkindern_. J.F. Schreiber. + + Sharp, Mrs.: _Dame Wiggins of Lee_. Introduction by Ruskin. + Kate Greenaway. George Allen. + + + + IV. A LIST OF PICTURES + + + Cinderella. 227, Meinhold. Dresden. 724, Meinhold. Dresden. 366, + Teubner. Leipzig. + + _Canadian Magazine_, Dec., 1911, by Val Prinsep, A. + Elves. Arthur Rackham. _St. Nicholas_, Nov., 1914. + + _Ibid.: Book of Pictures_. Century. + + Hop-o'-my-Thumb. _A Child's Own Book of Fairy Tales_. Dore. H. + Pisan, engraver. Elizabeth S. Forbes. _Canadian Magazine_, + Dec., 1911. + + Little Brother and Sister. Tempera Painting, Marianna Stokes. + _Illustrated London News_, Dec., 1907. + + Perrault's Tales. Kay Nielsen. _Illustrated London News_, Dec., + 1913. + + Red Riding Hood. Poster, Mary Stokes. _Ladies' Home Journal_. + 230, Meinhold. Dresden. 77, Teubner. Leipzig and Berlin. G. + Ferrier. Engraved for _St. Nicholas_, Braun, Clement, & Co. + Supplement to _American Primary Teacher_, May, 1908. Picture, 2 + ft. by 1 ft., New Specialty Shop, Phila., Pa. + + Sleeping Beauty. Mouat, London. _Canadian Magazine_, Dec., 1911. + _Illustrated London News_, Dec., 1907. + + Snow White. A series. Maxfield Parrish. Picture by Elizabeth + Shippen Green. + + Two Series. Five pictures in each. Jessie Willcox Smith. P.F. + Collier & Sons. + + + V. A LIST OF FAIRY POEMS + + + Allingham, William: _The Fairy Folk_. The Posy Ring. Bangs, John + Kendrick: _The Little Elf_. The Posy Ring. + + Bird, Robert: _The Fairy Folk_. A Child's Book of Old Verses. + + Dodsley, R.: _Red Caps of Fairies. Fuimus Troes_, Old Plays. + + Drayton, Michael: _Nymphal III_, Poets' Elysium. + + Herford, Oliver: _The Elf and the Dormouse_. The Posy Ring. + + Hood, Thomas: _A Plain Direction_. Heart of Oak Books, III. + + _Ibid._: _Queen Mab_. A Child's Book of Old Verses. + + Howitt, Mary: _The Fairies of the Caldon-Low_. The Posy Ring. + + _Ibid._: _Mabel on Midsummer Day_. The Story-Teller's Book, + O'Grady and Throop. + + Lyly, John: _The Urchin's Dance and Song. Song of the First + Fairy_. _Song of the Second Fairy_. Maydes Metamorphosis. + + McDermot, Jessie: _A Fairy Tale_. Fairy Tales. Rolfe. Amer. Book + Co. + + Noyes, Alfred: _The Magic Casement_. An anthology of fairy + poetry, with an introduction. Dutton. + + Percy, Bishop: _The Fairy Queen_. Reliques of Ancient Poetry; + from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, London, 1658. + + Shakespeare, William: _Ariel's Song_; _A Fairy Song_; "_I know a + bank_"; _The Song of the Fairies_. Shakespeare's Dramas. + + Stevenson, Robert L. _Fairy Bread_; _The Little Land_. A Child's + Garden of Verses. + + Unknown Author: _The Fairy_. "_Oh, who is so merry_." A Child's + Book of Old Verses. Duffield. + + Wilkins, Mary E.: _The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons_. Fairy + Stories Retold from _St. Nicholas_. Century. + + + + VI. MAIN STANDARD FAIRY TALE BOOKS + + + Andersen, Hans Christian: _Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Pedersen & + Stone. Houghton. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Edited by W.A. and J.K. Craigie. Oxford + University Press. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Stories for Youngest Children_. Lucas. + Stratton. Blackie. (English edition.) + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Mrs. Lucas. T.C. and W. Robinson. + Dutton. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Mrs. Lucas. Helen Stratton. Dodge. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Maria L. Kirk. Lippincott. + + Andersen, Hans Christian: _Fairy Tales_. Edmund Dulac. Hodder & + Stoughton. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. W.H. Robinson. Holt. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Braekstad. Tegner. Introd. by Gosse. + Century. + + Asbjörnsen, P.C.: _Fairy Tales from the Far North_. Burt. + + _Ibid.: Round the Yule Log_. Introd. by Gosse. Braekstad. + Lippincott. + + Dasent, Sir George W.: _Popular Tales from the North_. Routledge. + Dutton. + + _Ibid.: Popular Tales from the North_. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Tales from the Field_. Putnam. + + Grimm, Jacob and William: _Household Tales_. Margaret Hunt. + Bonn's Libraries, Bell & Co. + + _Ibid.: Household Tales_. Lucy Crane. Walter Crane. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Helen Stratton. Dodge. + + _Ibid.: German Popular Stories_. Tr. Edgar Taylor. Introd. by + Ruskin. 22 illustrations by Cruikshank. Chatto & Windus. + + _Ibid_.: _Fairy Tales_. Johann & Leinweber. McLoughlin. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Arthur Rackham. Doubleday. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Hope Dunlap. Rand. + + Harris, Joel Chandler: _Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings_. + Appleton. + + _Ibid.: Nights With Uncle Remus_. Church. Houghton. + + _Ibid_.: _Uncle Remus and His Friends_. Frost. Houghton. + + _Ibid.: Uncle Remus and the Little Boy_. J.M. Comte. Small. + + Jacobs, Joseph: _English Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Celtic Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Indian Fairy Tales_. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox_. + + Frank Calderon. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Europa's Fairy Tales_. Batten. Putnam. + + O'Shea, M.V.: _Old World Wonder Stories_. Heath. + + Perrault, Charles: _Tales of Mother Goose_. Welsh. Heath. + + _Ibid_.: _Fairy Tales_. Appleton. Estes. + + Perrault, Charles: _Tales of Passed Times_. Temple Classics. C. + Robinson. Dutton. + + _Ibid.: Popular Tales_. Edited by Andrew Lang. French; and + English translation of original edition. Oxford, Clarendon + Press. + + +VII. FAIRY TALES OF ALL NATIONS + + Celtic. Jacobs. 1911. Putnam. + + Chinese. Pitnam. 1910. Crowell. + + Cossack. Bain. 1899. Burt. + + Danish. Bay. 1899. Harper. + + Donegal. McManus. 1900. Doubleday. + + English. Jacobs. 1904. Putnam. + + _Ibid_.: Folk and Fairy Stories. Hartland, born 1848. Camelot + series. + + French. DeSegur. 1799-1874. Winston. + + German. Grimm. 1812, 1822. Bonn's Libraries. + + Hungarian. Pogany. 1914. Stokes. + + Indian. _Old Deccan Days_. Frère. 1868. McDonough. + + _Ibid.: Tales of the Sun_. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. W.H. Allen. + + _Ibid.: Buddhist Birth Stories_. Rhys Davids. 1880. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Stokes. 1880. Ellis & White. + + _Ibid.: Folk Tales of Bengal_. Day. 1883. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Wide Awake Stories_. Steel and Temple. 1884. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Folk-Tales of Kashmir_. Knowles. 1887. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Tales of the Punjab_. Steel. 1894. Macmillan. + + Irish. Yeats. 1902. Burt. + + Italian. Macdonell. 1911. Stokes. + + _Ibid_.: Crane. 1885. Macmillan. + + Japanese. Ozaki. 1909. Dutton. + + Manx. Morrison. 1899. Nutt. + + New World. Kennedy. 1904. Dutton. + + Norse. Dasent. 1820-1896. Lippincott. + + _Ibid_.: Mabie. 1846-. Dodd. + + Papuan. Kerr. 1910. Macmillan. + + Persian. Stephen. 1892. Dutton. + + _Ibid_.: Clouston. 1907. Stokes. + + Russian. Dole. 1907. Crowell. + + _Ibid_.: Bain. Bilibin. 1914. Century. + + Scottish. Grierson. 1910. Stokes. + + South African. Honey. 1910. Baker & Taylor. + + Welsh. Thomas. 1908. Stokes. + + +VIII. MISCELLANEOUS EDITIONS OF FAIRY TALES + + D'Aulnoy, Madame: _Fairy Tales_. Trans, by Planché. Gordon + Browne. McKay. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Introd. by Anne T. Ritchie. Scribners. + + Austin, M.H.: _Basket Woman_. Houghton. + + Babbit, Ellen: _Jataka Tales Retold_. Century. + + Bailey, Carolyn: _Firelight Stories_. Bradley. + + Bailey and Lewis: _For the Children's Hour_. Bradley. + + Baldwin, James: _Fairy Stories and Fables_. Amer. Book Co. + + Barrie, J.M.: _Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens_. Rackham. + Scribners. + + Baumbach, Rudolf: _Tales from Wonderland_. Simmons. + + Bertelli, Luigi: _The Prince and His Ants_. Holt. + + Bryant, Sara C.: _Best Stories to Tell to Children_. Houghton. + + Burgess, Thornton: _Old Mother West Wind_. Little. + + _Ibid.: The Adventures of Reddy Fox_. Little. + + _Ibid.: The Adventures of Johnny Chuck_. Little. + + _Ibid.: Tommy and the Wishing-stone_. Animal Tales. _St. + Nicholas_, 1915. + + Chapin, Anna: _The Now-a-Days Fairy Book_. Jessie W. Smith. Dodd. + + Chisholm, Louey: _In Fairyland_. Katherine Cameron. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Little Red Riding Hood; Cinderella_; (I Read Them + Myself series). Dodge. + + Collection: _Half a Hundred Stories for Little People_. Bradley. + + Cooke, Flora J.: _Nature Myths and Stories_. Flanagan. + + Cowell, E.B.: _The Jatakas or Stories of the Buddha's Former + Births_. Tr. from the Pali. 6 vols. Cambridge University + Press. Putnam. 1895-1907. + + Crothers, Samuel McChord: _Miss Muffet's Christmas Party_. + Houghton. + + Emerson, Ellen: _Indian Myths_. Houghton. + + Everyman Series: _157; 365; and 541_. Dutton. + + France, Anatole: _The Honey Bee_. John Lane. + + Grover, Eulalie O., editor: _Mother Goose_. F. Richardson. + Volland. + + Harris, Joel C.: _Little Mr. Thimblefinger_. Houghton. + + Harrison, Miss: In Storyland. Central Pub. Co., Chicago. + Holbrook, Florence: _The Book of Nature Myths_. Houghton. + + James, Grace: _The Green Willow_: Japanese. Goble. Macmillan. + + Jerrold, Walter: _The Reign of King Oberon_. Robinson. Dent. + Little. + + Johnson, Clifton: _Fairy Books: Oak-Tree; Birch-Tree; and + Elm-Tree_. Little. + + _Ibid._: _Book of Fairy Tale Bears_. Houghton. + + _Ibid._: _Book of Fairy Tale Foxes_. Houghton. + + Kingsley, Charles: _Water-Babies_. Warwick Goble. Macmillan. + + _Ibid_.: _Water-Babies_. Introd, by Rose Kingsley. Margaret + Tarrant. Dutton. + + Kipling, Rudyard: _Jungle Books_. 2 vols. Original edition. + Century. + + _Ibid._: _Jungle Books_. M. and E. Detmold. Century. + + _Ibid._: _Jungle Books_. A. Rackham. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Just-So Stories_. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Puck of Pook's Hill_. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Rewards and Fairies_. Doubleday. + + Laboulaye, Edouard: _Fairy Book_. Harper. + + _Ibid._: _Last Fairy Tales_. Harper. + + Lang, Andrew: _Fairy Books: Red; Orange; Yellow; Green_; _Blue; + Violet; Gray; Crimson; Brown; Pink_. Longmans. + + Lansing, Marion: _Rhymes and Stories_. Ginn. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Ginn. + + Leamy, Edward: Golden Spears. FitzGerald. + + Lefèvré, Felicité: _The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen_. + Tony Sarg. Jacobs, Phila. + + Lindsay, Maud: _Mother Stories; More Mother Stories_. Bradley. + + Maeterlinck, Madam: _The Children's Bluebird_. Dodd. + + Molesworth, Mary Louise: _The Cuckoo Clock_. Maria Kirk. + Lippincott. + + Mulock, Miss: _The Fairy Book_. Boyd Smith. Crowell. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Book_. 32 illus. by W. Goble. Macmillan. + + _Ibid._: _Little Lame Prince_. Hope Dunlap. Rand. + + Musset, Paul de: _Mr. Wind and Madam Rain_. Bennett. Putnam. + + Nyblom, Helena: _Jolly Cable and other Swedish Fairy Tales_. + Folknin. Dutton. + + Olcott, Frances J.: _Arabian Nights_. Tr. by Lane. Cairo text. + Selections. Holt. + + Perrault, Charles: _The Story of Bluebeard_. Stone & Kimball, + Chicago. + + Poulsson, E.: _In the Child's World_. Bradley. + + Pyle, Howard: _The Garden Behind the Moon_. Scribners. + + _Ibid._: _Wonder-Clock_. Harper. + + Pyle, Katherine: _Fairy Tales from Many Lands_. Dutton. + + Rackham, Arthur: _Mother Goose_. Century. + + Ramé, Louise de la (Ouida): _Nürnberg Stove: Bimbi Stories for + Children_. Page. + + Rhys, Ernest: _Fairy Gold_. Herbert Cole. Dutton. + + Rolfe, William: _Fairy Tales in Prose and Verse_. Amer. Book Co. + + Shakespeare, William: _Midsummer Night's Dream_. With forty + illustrations in color by Arthur Rackham. Doubleday. + + Shedlock, Marie: _A Collection of Eastern Stories and Legends_. + Foreword by T. Rhys Davids. Dutton. + + Smith, Jessie Willcox: _Mother Goose_. Dodd. + + Stephen, A.: _Fairy Tales of a Parrot_. Ellis. Nister. Dutton. + + Stockton, F.: _The Queen's Museum_. F. Richardson. Scribners. + + Tappan, Eva March: _The Children's Hour: Folk Stories and + Fables_. Houghton. + + Thorne-Thomson: _East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon_. Row. + + Underhill, Zoe D.: _The Dwarf's Tailor_. Harper. + + Valentine, Mrs. Laura: _Old, Old Fairy Tales_. F. Warne. + + Welsh, Charles: _Fairy Tales Children Love_. Dodge. + + Wheeler, W.A.: _Mother Goose Melodies_. Houghton. + + Wiggin, Kate; and Smith, Nora: _The Fairy Ring: Tales of + Laughter: Magic Casements_: and _Tales of Wonder_. Doubleday. + + + +IX. SCHOOL EDITIONS OF FAIRY TALES + + + Alderman, E.A.: _Classics Old and New_. Amer. Book Co. + + Alexander, G.: _Child Classics_. Bobbs. + + Baker, F.T., and Carpenter, G.: _Language Readers_. Macmillan. + + Baldwin, James: _The Fairy Reader_, I and II. Amer. Book Co. + + Blaisdell, Etta (MacDonald): _Child Life in Tale and Fable_. + Macmillan. + + Blumenthal, Verra: _Fairy Tales from the Russian_. Rand. + + Brooks, Dorothy: _Stories of Red Children_. Educational. + + Bryce, Catherine: _Child-Lore Dramatic Reader_. Scribners. + + Burchill, Ettinger: _Progressive Road to Reading_, Readers. + Silver. + + Chadwick, Mara P.: _Three Bears Story Primer_. Educational. + + Chadwick, M.P. and Freeman, E.G.: _Chain Stories and Playlets: + The Cat That Was Lonesome: The Mouse That Lost Her Tail_; and + _The Woman and Her Pig_. World Book Co. + + Coe and Christie: _Story Hour Readers_. Amer. Book Co. + + Craik, Georgiana: _So Fat and Mew Mew_. Heath. + + Davis, M.H. and Leung, Chow: _Chinese Fables and Folk Stories_. + Amer. Book. Co. + + Dole, C.F.: _Crib and Fly_. Heath. + + Free and Treadwell: _Reading Literature Series_. Row, Peterson. + + Grover, Eulalie O.: _Folk Lore Primer_. Atkinson. + + Hale, E.E.: _Arabian Nights_. Selections. Ginn. + + Heath, D.C.: _Dramatic Reader_. Heath. + + Henderson, Alice: _Andersen's Best Fairy Tales_. Rand. + + Hix, Melvin: _Once Upon a Time Stories_. Longmans. + + Holbrook, Florence: _Dramatic Reader for the Lower Grades_. Amer. + Book Co. + + Howard, F.W.: _The Banbury Cross Stories: The Fairy Gift and Tom + Hickathrift_. Merrill. + + Johnston, E.; and Barnum, M.: _Book of Plays for Little Actors_. + Amer. Book. Co. + + Kennerley: _The Kipling Reader_. 2 vols. Appleton. + + Ketchum and Rice: _Our First Story Reader_. Scribners. + + Lang, Andrew: _Fairy Readers_. Longmans. + + Lansing, M.: _Tales of Old England_. Ginn. + + Mabie, H.: _Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know_. Doubleday. + + McMahon, H., M., and A.: _Rhyme and Story Primer_. Heath. + + McMurry, Mrs. Lida B.: _Classic Stories_. Public School Pub. Co. + + Norton, Charles E.: _Heart of Oak Books_. Heath. + + Norvell, F.T., and Haliburton, M.W.: _Graded Classics_. Johnson. + + Perkins, F.O.: _The Bluebird Arranged for Schools_. Silver. + + Pratt, Mara L.: _Legends of Red Children_. Amer. Book Co. + + Roulet, Mary Nixon: _Japanese Folk-Stories and Fairy Tales_. + Amer. Book Co. + + Scudder, H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales: Grimm's Fairy Tales; + Fables and Folk Stories; The Children's Book_. Houghton. + + Smythe, Louise: _Reynard the Fox_. Amer. Book Co. + + Spaulding and Bryce: _Aldine Readers_. Newson. + + Stevenson, Augusta: _Children's Classics in Dramatic Form_. 5 + vols. Houghton. + + Stickney, J.H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales_. 2 series. Ginn. + + Summers, Maud: _The Summers Readers_. Beattys. + + Turpin, E.H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales_. Merrill. + + Underwood, Kate: _Fairy Tale Plays_ (For Infants and Juniors). + Macmillan. + + University Pub. Co.: _Fairy Tales_. Standard Literature Series; + Hans Andersen's Best Stories; Grimm's Best Stories. Newson and + Co. + + Van Sickle, J.H., etc.: _The Riverside Readers_. Houghton. + + Varney, Alice: _Story Plays Old and New_. Amer. Book Co. + + Villee: _Little Folk Dialog Reader_. Sower. + + Wade, Mary H.: _Indian Fairy Tales_. Wilde. + + Washburne, Mrs. M.: _Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales_ (Retold from + poetic versions of Thomas Hood). Rand. + + White, Emma G.: _Pantomime Primer_. Amer. Book Co. + + Williston, P.: _Japanese Fairy Tales_. 2 series. Rand. + + Wiltse, Sara E.: _Folk Lore Stories and Proverbs_. Ginn. + + Wohlfarth, J., and McMurry, Frank: _Little Folk-Tales_. 2 vols. + + Zitkala-sa: _Old Indian Legends_. Ginn. + + + + + + +APPENDIX + +ILLUSTRATIONS OF CREATIVE RETURN[14] + +Tales suited for dramatization + +_Little Two-Eyes_ + + +_Little Two-Eyes_, which is suited to the first-grade child, is one of +the most attractive of folk-tales and contains blended within itself +the varied beauties of the tales. It is in _cante-fable_ form, which +gives it the poetic touch so appealing to children. It contains the +magic rhymes,-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + + Little kid, bleat, + Clear it off, neat! + +the fairy wise woman, and the friendly goat. It contains the fairy +housekeeping in the forest which combines tea-party, picnic, and magic +food--all of which could not fail to delight children. The lullaby to +put Two-Eyes to sleep suits little children who know all there is to +know about "going to sleep." The magic tree, the silver leaves, the +golden fruit, the knight and his fine steed, and the climax of the +tale when the golden apple rolls from under the cask--all possess +unusual interest. There is exceptional beauty in the setting of this +tale; and its message of the worth of goodness places it in line with +_Cinderella_. It should be dramatized as two complete episodes, each +of three acts:-- + +_The Goat Episode_ + + _Place_ The home and the forest. + + _Time_ Summer. + + _Act I, Scene i_. A home scene showing how the Mother and + Sisters despised Two-Eyes. + + _Scene ii_. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. + + _Scene iii_. Two-Eyes and the Goat. Evening of the first day. + + _Act II, Scene i_. One-Eye went with Two-Eyes. Third morning. + Song ... Feast ... Return home. + + _Act III, Scene i_. Three-Eyes went with Two-Eyes. Fourth + morning. Song ... Feast ... Return home. + +_The Story of Two-Eyes_ + + _Place_ The forest; and the magic tree before the house. + + _Time_ Summer. + + _Act I, Scene i_. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. + + _Act II, Scene i_. The magic tree. Mother and Sisters attempt to + pluck the fruit. + + _Act III, Scene i_. The Knight. Second attempt to pluck fruit. + Conclusion. The happy marriage. + +_Snow White_ + +_The Story of Snow White_ is one of the romantic fairy tales which has +been re-written and staged as a play for children, and now may be +procured in book form. It was produced by Winthrop Ames at the Little +Theatre in New York City. The dramatization by Jessie Braham White +followed closely the original tale. The entire music was composed by +Edmond Rickett, who wrote melodies for a number of London Christmas +pantomimes. The scenery, by Maxfield Parrish, was composed of six +stage pictures, simple, harmonious, and beautiful, with tense blue +skies, a dim suggestion of the forest, and the quaint architecture of +the House of the Seven Dwarfs. Pictures in old nursery books were the +models for the scenes. Because of the simplicity of the plot and the +few characters, _Snow White_ could be played very simply in four +scenes, by the children of the second and third grades for the +kindergarten and first grade. + +_Snow White_ + + _Scene i_. A Festival on the occasion of Snow White's sixteenth + birthday. + + _Scene ii_. In the Forest. + + _Scene iii_. A Room in the House of the Seven Dwarfs. + + _Scene iv_. The Reception to Snow White as Queen, on the grounds + near the young King's Palace. + +The beautiful character of Snow White; the glimpse of Dwarf life--the +kindly little men with their unique tasks and their novel way of +living; the beauty and cheer of Snow White which her housekeeping +brought into their home; their devotion to her; the adventure in the +wood; the faithful Huntsman; the magic mirror; the wicked Queen; and +the Prince seeking the Princess--all contribute to the charm of the +tale. The songs written for the play may be learned by the children, +who will love to work them into their simple play: _Snow White, as +fair as a lily, as sweet as a rose_; the song of the forest fairies, +_Welcome, Snow White_; and their second song which they sing as they +troop about Snow White lying asleep on the Dwarf's bed, _Here you'll +find a happy home, softly sleep!_ or the song of Snow White to the +Dwarfs, _I can brew, I can bake_. + +_The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_ + +Once upon a time there lived a sister and a brother who loved each +other very much. They were named Gretchen and Peterkin. One day their +father who was King of the country, left them and brought home with +him a new Queen who was not kind to the children. She banished them +from the castle and told the King bad tales about them. So they made +friends with the Cook and ate in the kitchen. Peterkin would bring +water and Gretchen could carry plates and cups and saucers. + +One beautiful spring day when all the children were out-of-doors +playing games, Gretchen and Peterkin went to play with them, by the +pond, on the meadow, beyond the castle wall. Around this pond the +children would run, joining hands and singing:-- + + "Eneke, Beneke, let me live, + And I to you my bird will give; + The bird shall fetch of straw a bunch, + And that the cow shall have to munch; + The cow shall give me milk so sweet, + And that I'll to the baker take, + Who with it shall a small cake bake; + The cake the cat shall have to eat, + And for it catch a mouse for me, + * * * * * + "And this is the end of the tale." + +Round and round the pond the children ran singing; and as the word +"tale" fell on Peterkin he had to run away over the meadow and all the +rest ran after to catch him. + +But just then the wicked Queen from her window in the castle spied the +happy children. She did not look pleased and she muttered words which +you may be sure were not very pleasant words. + +The children had been racing across the meadow after Peterkin. Now one +called, "Where is Peterkin? I saw him near that tree, but now I cannot +see him. Gretchen, can you see Peterkin?--Why, where's Gretchen?" + +Peterkin and Gretchen were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a little boy +said, "Where did that lamb come from over there? It must have been +behind the linden tree!" + +The children drew near the lamb, when what was their surprise to hear +it call out to them, "Run children, run quick or the Queen will harm +you! I am Gretchen! Run, and never come near the pond again!" And at +the little Lamb's words the children fled. + +But the little Lamb ran all about the meadow, calling, "Peterkin, +Peterkin!" and would not touch a blade of grass. Sadly she walked to +the edge of the pond and slowly walked round and round it calling, +"Peterkin, where are you?" + +Suddenly the water bubbled and a weak voice cried, "Here, Gretchen, in +the pond,-- + + "Here Gretchen, here swim I in the pond, + Nor may I ever come near castle ground." + +And the Lamb replied:-- + + "Ah, my brother! In the wood, + A lamb, now I must search for food." + +Then Peterkin comforted Gretchen and promised early every morning to +come up to the water to talk with her; and Gretchen promised to come +early from the wood, before the sun was up, to be with Peterkin. And +Peterkin said, "I will never forsake you, Gretchen, if you will never +forsake me!" And Gretchen said, "I will never forsake you, Peterkin, +if you will never forsake me!" + +Then the little Lamb fled sadly to the wood to look for food and the +little Fish swam round the pond. But the children did not forget their +playmates. Every day they saved their goodies and secretly laid them +at the edge of the wood where the Lamb could get them. And the Lamb +always saved some to throw the crumbs to the little Fish in the +morning. + +Many days passed by. One day visitors were coming to the castle. "Now +is my chance," thought the wicked Queen. So she said to the Cook, "Go, +fetch me the lamb out of the meadow, for there is nothing else for the +strangers!" + +Now the Lamb had lingered by the pond longer than usual that morning +so that the Cook easily caught her; and taking her with him tied her +to the tree just outside the kitchen. But when the Cook was gone to +the kitchen, the little Fish swam up from the pond into the little +brook that ran by the tree and said-- + + "Ah, my sister, sad am I, + That so great harm to you is nigh! + And far from you I love must be, + A-swimming in the deep, deep sea!" + +And the Lamb replied:-- + + "Ah, my brother in the pond, + Sad must I leave you, though I'm fond; + The cook has come to take my life, + Swim off to sea,--Beware!" + +Just then the Cook came back and hearing the Lamb speak became +frightened. Thinking it could not be a real lamb, he said, "Be still, +I will not harm you. Run, hide in the wood, and when it is evening, +come to the edge of the wood and I will help you!" + +Then the Cook caught another lamb and dressed it for the guests. And +before evening he went to a wise woman who happened to be the old +Nurse who had taken care of Peterkin and Gretchen. She loved the +children and she soon saw what the wicked Queen had done. She told the +Cook what the Lamb and Fish must do to regain their natural forms. + +As soon as it was dark the little Lamb came to the edge of the wood +and the Cook said, "Little Lamb, I will tell you what you must do to +be a maid again!" So the Cook whispered what the wise Woman had said. +The little Lamb thanked the Cook and promised to do as he said. + +Next morning very early before the break of day, the little Lamb +hurried from the wood across the meadow. Not taking time to go near +the pond she hastily pushed against the castle gate which the kind +Cook had left unfastened for her. She ran up the path, and there under +the Queen's window stood the beautiful rose-tree with only two red +roses on it--just as the Cook had said. Not even glancing at the +Queen's window, the little Lamb began nibbling the lowest one. And +behold, there in the path stood Gretchen again! Then hastening to +seize the other rose before the sun's first ray might touch it, she +ran lightly down the path, away from castle ground, across the meadow +to the pond. Calling little Fish to the water's edge--for he had +lingered in the pond--she sprinkled over him the drops of dew in the +heart of the rose. And there stood little Peterkin beside Gretchen! + +Then hand in hand, Gretchen and Peterkin hurried from the pond and +fled into the wood just as the sun began to show beyond the trees. +There they built themselves a cottage and lived in it happily ever +afterwards. The kind Cook and the wise Nurse found them and visited +them. But Gretchen and Peterkin never went near castle ground until +the Cook told them the Queen was no more.--_Laura F. Kready_. + + +_How the Birds came to Have Different Nests Time..._. + +_Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme, +And monkeys chewed tobacco. +And hens took snuff to make them tough, +And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!_ + +_Place_. ... Madge Magpie's Nest up in a Tree-top. + +_Characters_: Madge Magpie, the Teacher; Thrush, Blackbird, Owl, +Sparrow, Starling, and Turtle-Dove. + +_All the Birds_. "We have come to you, Madge Magpie, to ask you to +teach us how to build nests. All the Birds tell how clever you are at +building nests." + +_Magpie_. "Make a circle round about the foot of this old pear-tree. I +will sit upon this limb near my nest and show you how to do it. First +I take some mud and make a fine round cake with it." + +_Thrush_. "Oh, that's how it's done, is it? I'll hurry home! Goodbye, +Birds, I can't stay another minute! + + "Mud in a cake, mud in a cake, + To-whit, to-whee, a nest I'll make!" + +_Magpie_. "Next I take some twigs and arrange them about the mud." + +_Blackbird_. "Now I know all about it. Here I go, I'm off to make my +nest in the cherry-tree in Mr. Smith's cornfield! + + "Sticks upon mud, mud upon sticks, + Caw, caw! I'll make a nest for six!" + +_Magpie_. "See, here I put another layer of mud over the twigs." + +_Wise Owl_. "Oh! That's quite obvious. Strange I never thought of that +before. Farewell, come to see me at the old elm-tree beside the gray +church! + + "Mud over twigs! To-whit, to-whoo! + No better nest than that ever grew!" + +_Magpie_. "See these long twigs. I just twine them round the outside." + +_Sparrow_. "The very thing. I'll do it this very day. I can pick some +up on my way home. I'll choose the spout that looks down over the +school-yard; then I can see the children at play. They must like me +for they never chase me away or hit me. + + "A nest with twigs twined round and round, + Chip, chip! No fear that would fall to the ground!" + +_Magpie_. "And see these little feathers and soft stuff. What a +comfortable, cosy lining for the nest they make!" + +_Starling_. "That suits me! Off I go, I like a cosy warm nest. It +shall be in that old plum-tree in the orchard, on the side of the hill. + + "Feathers and down to make cosy and warm, + That's the nest to keep us from harm!" + +_Magpie_. "Well, Birds, have you seen how I made my nest? Do you think +you know how?--Why, where are all the Birds? They couldn't wait until +I'd finished. Only you, Turtle-Dove, left!" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "Here I put a twig across. But not two--one's +enough!" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "One's enough I tell you, do you not see how I +lay it across?" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "Here I fly away from my nest for awhile! I will teach no +more Birds to build nests. I cannot teach a silly Turtle-Dove who will +not learn. I heard him sing just now as I turned around," + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o, + Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Laura F. Kready_. + + + + +TYPES OF TALES + + +An Animal Tale[15] + +_The Good-Natured Bear_ + + +"I shall never forget the patience, the gentleness, the skill, and the +firmness with which she first taught me to walk alone. I mean to walk +on all fours, of course; the upright manner of my present walking was +only learned afterwards. As this infant effort, however, is one of my +earliest recollections, I have mentioned it before all the rest, and +if you please, I will give you a little account of it." + +"Oh! do, Mr. Bear," cried Gretchen; and no sooner had she uttered the +words than all the children cried out at the same time, "Oh, please +do, sir!" + +The Bear took several long whiffs at his pipe, and thus continued,-- + +"My Mother took me to a retired part of the forest (of Towskipowski, +Poland) where few animals ever came; and telling me that I must now +stand alone, extended both paws, and slowly lowered me towards the +earth. The height as I looked down, seemed terrible, and I felt my +legs kick in the air, with fear of I did not know what, till suddenly +I felt four hard things and no motion. It was the fixed earth beneath +my four infant legs. 'Now,' said my Mother, 'you are what is called +standing alone!' But what she said I heard as in a dream. With my back +in the air as though it rested on a wooden trussel, with my nose +poking out straight snuffing the fresh breeze and the many secrets of +the woods, my ears pricking and shooting with all sorts of new sounds +to wonder at, to want to have, to love, or to tumble down at,--and my +eyes staring before me full of light and confused gold and dancing +things, I seemed to be in a condition over which I had no power to +effect the least change, and in which I must remain fixed till some +wonderful thing happened. But the firm voice of my Mother came to my +assistance and I heard her tell me to look upon the earth beneath me +and see where I was. First I looked up among the boughs, then +side-ways at my shoulder, then I squinted at the tip of my nose--all +by mistake and innocence--at last I bent my nose in despair and saw my +forepaws standing, and this of course was right. The first thing that +caught my attention, being the first thing I saw distinctly, was a +little blue flower with a bright jewel in the middle, which I +afterwards found was a drop of dew. Sometimes I thought this little +blue darling was so close that it almost touched my eyes and certainly +the color of it was up in my head; sometimes I thought it was deep +down, a long way off. When I bent my face towards it to give it a kiss +it seemed just where it was though I had not done what I had thought +to do. + +"The next thing I saw upon the ground was a soft-looking little +creature that crawled along with a round ball upon the middle of its +back, of a beautiful white color, with brown and red curling stripes. +The creature moved very, very slowly, and appeared always to follow +the opinion and advice of two long horns on its head, that went +feeling about on all sides. Presently it slowly approached my right +forepaw and I wondered how I should feel or smell or hear it as it +went over my toes; but the instant one of the horns touched the hair +of my paw, both horns shrunk into nothing and presently came out +again, and the creature slowly moved away in another direction. While +I was wondering at this strange proceeding--for I never thought of +hurting the creature, not knowing how to hurt anything, and what +should have made the horns think otherwise?--while then I was +wondering at this, my attention was suddenly drawn to a tuft of moss +on my right near a hollow tree trunk. Out of this green tuft looked a +pair of very bright round small eyes, which were staring up at me. + +"If I had known how to walk I should have stepped back a few steps +when I saw those bright little eyes, but I never ventured to lift a +paw from the earth since my Mother had first set me down, nor did I +know how to do so, or what were the proper thoughts or motions to +begin with. So I stood looking at the eyes and presently I saw that +the head was yellow and that it had a large mouth. 'What you have just +seen,' said my Mother, 'we call a snail; and what you now see is a +frog.' The names however did not help me at all to understand. Why the +first should have turned from my paw so suddenly and why this creature +should continue to stare up at me in such a manner I could not +conceive. I expected however that it would soon come slowly crawling +forth and then I should see whether it would also avoid me in the same +manner. I now observed that its body and breast were double some-how, +and that its paws were very large for its size, but had no hair upon +them, which I thought was probably occasioned by its slow crawling +having rubbed it all off. I had scarcely made these observations and +reflections, when a beam of bright light breaking through the trees, +the creature suddenly gave a great hop right up under my nose; and I, +thinking the world was at an end, instantly fell flat down on one side +and lay there waiting!"-- + +With this glimpse of an old-time modern animal tale we shall have to +say with "Mr. Titmarsh," "Those who wish to know more about him must +buy the book for themselves,"--and add: Or they must get some +enterprising publisher to reprint it. + + +A Few Romantic Tales[16] + +_Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter_ + +_Puss-in-Boots_, a romantic tale suited to the first grade, delights +with its strong sense of adventure and of the heroic. Puss is a +Master-Cat, a hero clever and quick, and with fine imagination to see +what would happen and prepare for it. He is successful, combining +initiative and motivation delightfully. His devotion to his master +seems like disinterested loyalty, love, and sacrifice. While it is +true the plot is based on a lie, the moral effect is not bad because +we recognize Puss as a match-making character similar to the +matchmaking Jackal of India; and in love "all is fair." Moreover +Puss-in-Boots was only true to his cat-nature in playing a trick, and +we admire the cleverness of his trick in behalf of a master really +deserving. The underlying philosophy of the tale, "That there is a +power in making the best with what you possess," appeals to all, and +has the ability to lend dignity and force to the light intrigue of the +tale. + +The setting in _Puss-in-Boots_ gives a touch of nature beauty. First +we have the Miller's poor home, and from there we are led in +succession to the brambles through which Puss scampered; the rabbits' +warren where he lay in waiting to bag the heedless rabbits; the palace +to which he took the rabbits caught by the Marquis of Carabas; the +cornfield where he bagged the partridges; the river-side where the +Marquis bathed; the meadow where the countrymen were mowing; the +cornfields where the good people were reaping; until at last we are +escorted to the stately castle where the Ogre dwelt. + +The plot of the tale is very pleasing as it easily arranges itself +into a simple drama of three acts:-- + + Act I, + Scene i. Revery of the Master. The Cat's promise to help. + Scene ii. Puss in the rabbits' warren with his bag. + Scene iii. Puss takes the rabbits to the King in his + palace. + + Act II, + Scene i. Puss with his bag in the cornfield. + Scene ii. Puss takes partridges to the King. + Scene iii. Puss and his Master. Puss gives advice. + + Act III, + Scene i. The Marquis bathing and Puss by the river-side. + Scene ii. The Drive. Puss runs before and meets the mowers. + Scene iii. The Ogre's Castle. Puss's reception of the coach. + Marriage of the Marquis of Carabas. Puss + becomes a Lord. + +The tale possesses an appeal to the emotions, we want Puss-in-Boots to +accomplish whatever scheme he invents, and we want the Miller's son to +win the Princess. Its appeal to the imagination is an orderly +succession of images, varied and pleasing. The invention of Puss and +his successful adventures make the tale one of unusual interest, +vivacity, and force. The transformation of the Ogre into a Lion and +again into a Mouse, and the consequent climax of Puss's management of +the Mouse, bring in the touch of the miraculous. A similar +transformation occurs in Hesiod, where the transformed Metis is +swallowed by Zeus. This transformation may be produced by a witch, +when the help of another is needed, as in _Beauty and the Beast_ and +in _Hansel and Grethel_; or the transformation may come from within, +as in this case when the Ogre changes himself into a Mouse, or when a +man changes himself into a Wolf. A situation which parallels the theme +of Puss-in-Boots occurs in _The Golden Goose_ where Dummling gets as +his share only a goose, but having the best disposition makes his +fortune out of his goose. Grimm's _Three Feathers_ also contains a +similar motif. D'Aulnoy's _White Cat_, the feminine counterpart of +_Puss-in-Boots_, is a tale of pleasing fancy in which the hero wins +the White Cat, a transformed Princess, who managed to secure for him, +the youngest son, the performance of all the tasks his father had set +for him. + +But the most interesting parallel of _Puss-in-Boots_ is the Norse +_Lord Peter_ told by Dasent in _Norse Tales_. Here the helpful Cat +does not use a bag, but in true Norse fashion catches game in the wood +by sitting on the head of the reindeer and threatening, "If you don't +go straight to the King's palace, I'll claw your eyes out!" The Norse +tale omits the bathing episode. The King wants to visit Lord Peter but +the Cat manages that Lord Peter shall visit the King. The Cat promises +to supply coach, horses and clothes, not by craft--their source is not +given--but they are furnished on the condition that Peter must obey to +say always, when he sees fine things in the Castle, that he has far +finer things of his own. In the Norse tale Peter and the Cat work +together, Peter is in the secret; while in the Perrault tale Puss does +all the managing, Carabas is simply being entertained by the King. In +the Norse tale, on the way home the coach meets a flock of sheep, a +herd of fine kine, and a drove of horses. The Cat does not threaten +that the caretakers shall be "chopped as fine as herbs for the pot," +if they do not say all belongs to Lord Peter, but he cunningly bribes +the shepherd with a silver spoon, the neat-herd with a silver ladle, +and the drover with a silver stoop. In place of the Ogre's Castle, +there is a Troll's Castle with three gates--one of tin, one of silver, +and one of gold. The Norse Cat wins the victory by craftily playing +upon the troll-nature. He gains the Troll's attention by meeting him +at the gate and telling him about the secrets of agriculture, one of +the secrets of men the trolls wanted to learn. Then at the height of +interest, he plays upon his curiosity by getting him to look round. +Whereupon, the Troll, meeting the glare of the full sun, burst; for +trolls cannot bear the sight of the sun, and live. In the Norse tale, +the Cat, after Lord Peter at her request cuts off her head, becomes +the Princess and marries Lord Peter. In Perrault's tale, the King, +with French etiquette and diplomacy, invites the Marquis to be his +son-in-law. + +The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ appeared in _Straparola_, 11, 1, and in +_Basile_, 2, 4. Laboulaye, in his _Last Fairy Tales_, has retold the +Pentamerone tale, _Gagliuso_, in which the Cat is a crafty advocate of +his Master's interests, but the Master is ungrateful and forgets the +Cat. The effect of the tale is not pleasing, it is a satire on +gratitude. + +The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ is also told by Ludwig Tieck, with twelve +etchings by Otto Speckter, published in Leipzig, in 1843. A critic, +writing for the Quarterly Review in 1844, "An Article on Children's +Books,"[17] recommended this edition of _Puss-in-Boots_ as the beau +ideal of nursery books. _Puss-in-Boots_ appeared also in the Swedish +of Cavallius. A monograph on the Carabas tale has been written by +Andrew Lang. + + +_Tom Thumb and Little Thumb_ + +_Tom Thumb_, another romantic tale suited to the first grade, is one +of the most entertaining of tales. The germ of _Tom Thumb_ exists in +various forms in the books of the far East, among American Indians, +and among the Zulus of South Africa. Tom Thumb is one of the oldest +characters in English nursery literature. In 1611, the ancient tales +of Tom Thumb were said to have been "in the olde time the only +survivors of drouzy age at midnight. Old and young, with his tales +chim'd mattens till the cock's crow in the morning. Batchelors and +maids have with his tales compassed the Christmas fireblocke till the +curfew bell rings candle out. The old shepheard and the young plowboy, +after a days' labour, have carol'ed out a _Tale of Tom Thumb_ to make +them merry with, and who but little Tom hath made long nights seem +short and heavy toyles easie." + +_Tom Thumb_, as has been previously mentioned, most probably was +transmitted to England by the early Norsemen. _The Tale of Tom Thumb_, +as told by Jacobs, was taken from the chap-book version in +_Halliwell_. The first mention of Tom is in Scot's _Discoverie of +Witchcraft_, in 1584. Tradition says that Tom died at Lincoln, which +was one of the five Danish towns of England. A little blue flagstone +in the cathedral, said to be his tombstone, was lost and has never +been replaced during recent repairs early in the nineteenth century. +_Tom Thumb_ was first written in prose by Richard Johnson, in 1621. In +Ashton's _Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century_ we have a facsimile of +the chap-book, _The Famous History of Tom Thumb_. The tale is in three +parts. The first part, which is much superior to the rest of the tale, +was taken from a copy printed for John Wright, in 1630. The second and +third parts were written about 1700. The first part closes with the +death of Tom from knightly feats. He was buried in great pomp, but the +fairies carried him to Fairy Land. The first part closed with a +promise of the second:-- + + The Fairy Queen, she lov'd him so + As you shall understand, + That once again she let him go + Down to the Fairy Land. + + The very time that he return'd + Unto the court again, + It was as we are well inform'd + In good King Arthur's reign. + + When in the presence of the King, + He many wonders wrought, + Recited in the Second Part + Which now is to be bought + + In Bow Church Yard, where is sold + Diverting Histories many; + And pleasant tales as e'er was told + For purchase of One Penny. + +The second part opens with Tom's return to Fairy Land. His second +death is caused by a combat with a cat. Again he is taken to Fairy +Land. In the third part the Fairy Queen sends Tom to earth in King +Thunston's reign. His final death occurred from the bite of a spider. + +_The Life and Adventures of Tom Thumb_ appeared in the _Tabart +Collection of Fairy Tales_, noted before, and a version entirely in +verse was included in _Halliwell_. A monograph on _Tom Thumb_ was +written by M. Gaston Paris. _Little Thumb_ as it appeared in +_Perrault_ and in _Basile_, was a tale similar to the German _Hansel +and Grethel_. _Thumbling_, and _Thumbling as Journeyman_ are German +variants. Andersen's _Thumbelina_ is a feminine counterpart to _Tom +Thumb_, and in Laboulaye's _Poucinet_ we have a tale of the successful +younger brother, similarly diminutive. + +There were current many old stories of characters similar to Tom +Thumb. A certain man was so thin that he could jump through the eye of +a needle. Another crept nimbly to a spider's web which was hanging in +the air, and danced skillfully upon it until a spider came, which spun +a thread round his neck and throttled him. A third was able to pierce +a sunmote with his head and pass his whole body through it. A fourth +was in the habit of riding an ant, but the ant threw him off and +trampled him. In a work written in 1601, referred to in Grimm's +_Household Tales_ a spider relates:-- + + Once did I catch a tailor proud + Heavy he was as elder wood, + From Heaven above he'd run a race, + With an old straw hat to this place, + In Heaven he might have stayed no doubt, + For no one wished to turn him out. + He fell in my web, hung in a knot, + Could not get out, I liked it not, + That e'en the straw hat, safe and sound, + Nine days ere him came to the ground. + +A delightful little rhyme, _Tom Thumb_, is among Halliwell's _Nursery +Rhymes_. It may refer to the Danish _History of Tom Thumb_: + + I had a little husband + No bigger than my thumb; + I put him in a pint pot + And there I bade him drum: + I bridled him and saddled him, + And sent him out of town; + I gave him a pair of garters + To tie up his little hose; + And a little handkerchief + To wipe his little nose. + +The English version of _Tom Thumb_ as we know it today, opens with a +visit of the magician Merlin at the cottage of an honest and +hospitable ploughman. Merlin rewarded the Goodman and his Wife for +their hospitality by calling on the Queen of the fairies, who brought +to the home, Tom Thumb, a boy no bigger than a man's thumb. + +The time of the tale is in the days of Merlin and King Arthur's court. +The tale is marked by a number of distinct English elements. The +introduction of the Queen of the Fairies, of Fairy Land and the visit +there, and of the fairy clothes they make for Tom, are all decidedly +English. The sly ways of Tom, his tricks and his cleverness are +distinctly English humor. He played with the boys for cherry-stones, +and took theirs. He had so much curiosity that he fell into his +mother's pudding. He was so light that on a windy day he had to be +tied to a thistle when his mother went to milk the cow; and so, with +his oak-leaf hat, he got caught in the cow's one mouthful. After other +strange adventures he arrived at King Arthur's court where he became +the favorite. His feats at tilts and tournaments give a glimpse of +English court life, with its pastime of hunting; and fighting with the +sword brings in the knight element. The story has little plot, being a +succession of many episodes and a repetition of some. It shows little +constructive ability, promises to be a perpetual tale, and is ended +only by sudden death at the poisonous breath of the spider. _Tom +Thumb_ is one of the tales of pure fancy, with no underlying meaning, +created for pure entertainment, to please children and grown-ups by +its little people and little things. The moral is in the effect of +Tom's character. + +Perrault's _Little Thumb_ tells how a poor Fagot-maker and his Wife +sat by the hearth, sad with famine, and Little Thumb overheard their +words. When they started to the wood to gather fagots, Little Thumb, +like Hansel, scattered pebbles. The parents left the seven children in +the wood but little Thumb guided them home by his pebbles. They set +out a second time, when Little Thumb scattered bread-crumbs; and as +the birds ate them, the children were lost. Little Thumb climbed a +tree and saw the light of the Ogre's cottage afar off. The children +reached the Ogre's cottage where Little Thumb changed the golden +crowns of the seven little Ogresses, and putting them on his brothers, +saved their lives. Then they all fled through the wood and hid in a +rock, while the Ogre in his seven-league boots, pursued them and lay +down to rest at the rock in which they were hidden. Little Thumb sent +his brothers home, stole the fairy boots, and through craft, persuaded +the Ogre's Wife to give him all the Ogre's gold. So, rich and happy, +he returned to his father's home. + +This tale shows a number of common motifs that appear in other tales: + + (1) The design of distressed parents to expose children to the + forest. + + (2) The discovery and prevention of the scheme by a child. + + (3) The repetition of incident; the clew spoiled by the birds. + The trail motif, similar to the one in _Hansel and Grethel_. + + (4) The arrival of children at the home of the Ogre. + + (5) The shifting of crowns to the heads of his brothers. + + (6) The flight of the brothers pursued by the Ogre in + seven-league boots. + + (7) Little Thumb, stealing the boots and winning court favor, or + the Ogre's treasure. + +Some say that in this tale, symbolically, the forest represents night; +the crumbs and pebbles, stars; and the Ogre, the sun. Little Thumb, +because of his cunning and invention, has been called the Ulysses of +the fairy tales. His adventure with the Ogre at the rock, while not a +parallel one, reminds one of Ulysses and Polyphemus. Both succeeded in +getting the better of the giant. An English edition of this tale was +illustrated by William Blake. + +_Snow White and Rose Red_ + +_Snow White and Rose Red_, besides blending the romantic and the +realistic, illustrates rather completely how the old tale may stand +the tests which have been emphasized here. As a romantic type, it +contains adventure and the picturesque. It arouses emotion. It +contains objects of beauty; and the strange Bear and the stranger +Dwarf, about both of whom there is a sense of mystery. It exaggerates +character and incidents beyond the normal,--the Mother and Daughters +were more lovely than mortals usually are,--and the harmony between +man and beast may belong to the millennium rather than to this common +earth. This is one of the most romantic of fairy tales in that it is a +highly idealized type. + +The story was current in Germany before the time of the Grimms, and +appeared in the collection of Caroline Stahl. The rhyme,-- + + Snowy-white, rosy-red, + Will ye strike your lover dead? + +was taken from a popular song, and is found in a child's story in +_Taschenbuch Minerva_ for 1813. + +_Snow White and Rose Red_ is full of many beauties; the characters are +beautiful, the setting is beautiful, and the spirit of the whole is +full of beauty. There is sister-love; and mother-love--not the selfish +kind that loves but its own, but that similar to the rich growth of +our modern times, when mother-love seeks to include those without the +home. There is genuine kindness that pours its sweetness on the Bear +or on the Dwarf, that falls like the rain on the deserving and on the +ungrateful; there is devotion to animals and a lack of enmity between +man and beast; and there is a portrayal of the beauty of domestic life +and of the charms of childhood in simple life--its play, its pleasure, +and its tasks. This is all set as in two pictures whose sky is the +golden glow of passion for the sun and the spring-time and summer it +brings. In the first picture, on the edge of the forest stands a +little cottage before whose gate grow two rose-trees, a red rose-tree +and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the beauty of the +spring-time and of the rich fruitage of summer, but also symbols +typifying the more wondrous beauty of the character of the two +children, Snow White and Rose Red. In the second picture, a tall +palace rears itself, before whose gate grow two rose-trees also, a red +rose-tree and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the same beauty +of spring-time and fruitage of summer, but also symbols typifying the +beauty of loveliness and the fairness of happiness and prosperity that +guarded from harm the lives of the deserving Snow White and Rose Red, +and continued to bless them to the close. + +First, looking at the characters in this tale, we see a Mother who +illustrates the richness of womanhood. She managed her own home and +kept it a place of beauty and cheer. She had two daughters, both +lovely, but very different. She recognized this difference and +respected it, and permitted each child to enjoy a delightful freedom +to grow as was her nature. She permitted the children to play but she +also commanded willing obedience. She arranged their work with +fairness so that each had her share and each seemed free in doing that +work to use her individual taste and judgment. She taught her children +to spin and to sew, and she read to them. She told them about the +guardian Angel who watched over them to keep them from harm. She was +not anxious when they were out of sight, for even when Snow White and +Rose Red stayed in the wood all night and slept on the leaves, she had +no fear, for no accident ever happened to them. As a strong, noble +woman, without fear, and full of love, pity, and fairness,--George +Eliot's ideal of highest character,--the Mother of Snow White and Rose +Red has no equal in the fairy tales. + +The two Children, beautiful as the roses that grew outside the +cottage, were both industrious, good, amiable little girls, who in +their natural sweetness showed the spirit of the Golden Age when peace +and good-will dwelt among men. They were natural children and they +loved to play. They gathered berries in the forest, they played +hide-and-seek among the trees, they waded in the river, went fishing, +made wreaths of flowers, and played with their animal friends. They +fed the hares cauliflower, or watched the fawns grazing and the goats +frisking; and even the birds loved them and did not fly away when they +were near. In the home they kept things not only clean but beautiful; +they not only did work but took pleasure in doing that work. Now at a +time when domestic life in the home is being threatened, _Snow White +and Rose Red_ gives a realistic picture of the beauty of domestic +life, its simple joys and charm. In summer there was always a nose-gay +for the Mother, and in winter there was a cheery fire with a copper +kettle over it, shining like gold. And in the evening when the snow +fell fast outside, inside was warmth and comfort. The Children sat +sewing and the Mother reading, while a lamb and a white dove beside +them enjoyed their protection and care. + +The entrance of the Bear gave the Children a natural thrill of fear. +But the Mother, with beautiful hospitality, gave the Bear protection +and kindness and led them to overcome that fear. To the Bear they +showed that good nature which willingly serves; and in the tricks they +played with their comrade they showed a great strength of vitality and +that freedom which grows where there is no repression. + +The Bear departed at spring-time; and as he left Snow White thought +she saw glittering gold under his coat. This seems to hint that the +tale is symbolic, typifying the change of seasons. Spring, the Bear, +took refuge in the cottage during the cold winter months; but in the +spring he had to go abroad into the forest, to guard his treasures +from the evil Dwarf of winter. + +The Children again showed their sweetness and good nature when, while +gathering sticks, they came upon the Dwarf, with his wrinkled face and +snow-white beard, the end of which was caught in a split of a tree. +The contrast is delightful, between the cross and impatient Dwarf and +Rose Red who offered to fetch help, and Snow White who politely tried +to soothe his impatience by cutting off the end of his beard with her +scissors. This time the Dwarf snatched a sack of gold which lay at the +foot of the tree, and fled, most ungrateful, not even thanking the +Children. The Children had two other adventures with the Dwarf; and +these, together with their adventure with the Bear, make up the plot +of the story. They met the Dwarf a second time, one day when they went +fishing. Then Rose Red told him to be careful or he'd fall into the +water, because a great fish was pulling on the bait and his beard +became entangled in the fishing-line. Snow White again cut off the end +of his beard to free him and again he snatched his bag--this time of +pearls, lying among the rushes--and fled. One day, on going to town to +buy thread, needles, laces, and ribbons, they met the Dwarf a third +time. This time an eagle had caught him and was about to carry him +off. The Children, with compassion, held on and freed him; but again +he scolded, seized his bag of precious stones, and slipped away to his +cave. On their return from town, the Children again met the Dwarf, in +the wood, counting his treasure. Again he was very angry, but just +then the Bear arrived out of the forest and demanded the life of the +Dwarf. The Dwarf offered up in his stead, Snow White and Rose Red. But +the Bear, faithful to his old comrades, slew the Dwarf, and then +becoming a beautiful Prince, went home with the Sisters. Snow White +married the Prince and Rose Red his Brother, and they all lived with +their Mother happily in the beautiful palace. + +When the Bear slew the Dwarf spring returned to the land. The Dwarf +with his snow-white beard seems to typify winter. Each time the +Dwarf's beard was cut the beard of winter became shorter, another +winter month was gone, and there remained a shorter season. The bag of +gold which the Dwarf first took might signify the golden fruit of +autumn, and the pearls and diamonds which he next took, the ice and +snow of winter. The Dwarf's beard became entangled in the fishing-line +when the icy winds of winter began to give the pond its frozen coat; +and then the animals of the wood were compelled to seek a refuge. When +the Bear came out of the wood to meet the Dwarf and slew him, the time +for the departure of winter was at hand, and spring returned to the +land. + +This fairy tale evidently shows a good, interesting plot, with +something happening all the time. The climax is very distinctly +marked, everything leads up to the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf +in the forest. The characters present interesting variety and strong +contrasts. The setting is unusually beautiful: the cottage, the wood, +the lake, the town, the hillside, the palace, and the two symbolic +rose-trees. The tale appeals to the emotions of love, kindness, +compassion, and gratitude. It presents to the imagination distinct +episodes: the home-life of the Children in the cottage, their life in +the wood, their adventure with the Bear, their three adventures with +the Dwarf, and the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf. The conclusion +follows closely upon the climax,--the Bear, grateful to the kind +Children, saved their lives and re-transformed, became a Prince. The +happy marriage brings the tale to a close, with the palace home +guarded by the two rose-trees. The message of the tale is the possible +beauty of woman's love and character, and the loveliness of spring and +of summer. + +A Modern Tale[18] + +_The Elephant's Child_ + + +_The Elephant's Child_ might be examined here more particularly +because it is unusually interesting as an example of the complete test +applied to the child's fairy tale. One need not test it as to interest +for it was written especially for children by one who could play with +them. As to literature it certainly has mind and soul; there is no +doubt about its structure or its appeal to the sympathies. The +quantity of good humor and fun it bestows upon childhood is a +permanent enrichment; for even a child's world has need of all the +good cheer and fun that can be given to it. + +This tale is especially interesting also because it might be classed +as almost any one of the types of tales. It is not accumulative though +it possesses to a marked degree three characteristics of the +accumulative tale, repetition, alliteration, and all sorts of phonic +effects. And it is not an old tale. But it is not only one of the most +pleasing animal tales we possess but one of the best humorous tales +having the rare quality of freshness. It is realistic in its portrayal +of animal life; and it is highly romantic in its sense of adventure, +the heroic, the strange, and the remote. + +As a short-story it shows the essentials, originality, ingenuity, and +compression. The single interest is how the Elephant got his trunk, +and everything points to the climax of his getting it. The plot is +"entertaining, novel, comical and thrilling." The structure is very +easily seen in these ten episodes:-- + + 1. The introduction; the family; the Child; his home; his + questions; the new, fine question. + 2. The Elephant's Child set out to answer his own question. + 3. The Elephant's Child met Kolokolo Bird. + 4. The Elephant's Child journeyed to the Limpopo. + 5. The Elephant's Child met the Python. + 6. The Elephant's Child met the Crocodile. He got his trunk. + (Climax.) + 7. The Elephant's Child gained experience from the Python. + 8. The Elephant's Child's journey home. + 9. The Elephant's Child's return home. + 10. Conclusion. How all elephants got trunks. Peace. + +The characters are unique and interesting. They are usual animals but +unusual in what they say. They exhibit animal traits and motives but +they also show us a hidden meaning in their actions and words. They +seem living, they speak directly; yet they preserve the idea of the +fable for they are symbolic. The Elephant's Child typifies human +innocence, the inexperience of youth; the Kolokolo Bird, a friend; the +Python, experience or wisdom; and the Crocodile, guile or evil. All +the animals become very interesting because we are concerned to know +their particular reason for spanking the "'satiable Elephant's Child." +What they say is so humorous and what they do is consistent, in +harmony with their natural animal traits. The Child is the hero. He is +a very attractive character because he has that rare charm we call +temperament. He is curious, polite, and sweet, and follows his own +nose in spite of everything. He wins out with strength, experience, +and a new nose; and we are rejoiced at his triumphs. His questions are +so funny and yet they seem quite what any elephant with a bump of +curiosity might ask. To the Giraffe--"What made his skin spotty?" To +the Hippopotamus--"Why her eyes were red?" To the Baboon--"Why melons +tasted just so?" And at last, "What does the Crocodile have for +dinner?" + +The setting of the tale is suggested continually in expressions which +show visual imagination of a high order: such as, "And he lived in +Africa"; "dragged him through a thorn bush"; "blew bubbles into her +ear"; "hove him into a hornet's nest"; and "from Graham's Town to +Kimberley and from Kimberley to Khama's Country, and from Khama's +Country east by north to the Limpopo." + +The tale possesses most delightful humor. A verbal magic which fairly +scintillates with the comic spirit, and clinging epithets of which +Kipling is a master, suggest the exact picture needed. Humor is +secured largely through the use of the unique word; as, "_spanked_," +"_precisely_ as Kolokolo Bird had said," and "for he was a _Tidy_ +Pachyderm." Often it is increased by the use of newly coined words; +as, "hijjus," "curtiosity," "scalesome, flailsome, tail," +"fever-trees," "self-propelling man-of-war," and "schloop of mud." +Another element of humor in the tale is the artistic use of +repetition, which has been previously referred to as one of the +child's interests. Sometimes one meaning is expressed in several +different ways; as, "immediately and directly, without stopping, for a +long time." Or we are given contrasted terms; as, "a little warm but +not at all astonished," and then later, "very warm and greatly +astonished." One main element of humor is this way in which +expressions reflect back on preceding ones. Sometimes we are given +very surprising, startling, expressions; as, "wait-a-bit-thorn-bush +"--which reminds us of the "all-alone-stone" in _Water Babies_--and +"he sang to himself down his trunk." + +As to imagination, _The Elephant's Child_ is a delightful illustration +of the appeal to the associative, the penetrative, and the +contemplative imagination. While its philosophy may be understood in +part by the child it has a deeper meaning for the adult. It seems to +imply that it is the way of life to spank somebody else. It is the +stronger who spank the weaker until they become strong enough to stand +up for themselves. Then nobody spanks anybody any more and there is +peace. When the Child asked a question that no one would answer he set +out to find his own answer just as in life it often is best to work to +answer one's own questions. When the Elephant trusted the Crocodile he +got something to keep just as in life the innocent may bear the marks +of a contest though in no sense responsible for the contest. +Experience in the guise of the Python helped the Child in his contest +for life with the advice his own common sense would have offered. As +an allegory of Experience _The Elephant's Child_ does not view life as +a whole; it gives but a glimpse of life. It would say: Experience +teaches us to make the best with what we have. The way to get +experience is to try a new power, just as the Child with his trunk +tried to kill the fly and eat grass. As soon as he had received his +new power he tested it on the Hippopotamous. He won the respect of his +kind by beating them at their own game. + +The emotional appeal in _The Elephant's Child_ would repay study. The +dominant emotional tone is that of the adventurous hero with his +"'satiable curtiosity." There is vividness of emotion, steadiness of +emotion, and a rich variety in the contrasts of feeling. Emotion of a +moral quality is characteristic of its implied message of worldly +wisdom but it does not leave one exactly satisfied. + +The form of the story is a splendid example of a literary classic +style. A pleasing humorous touch is given to the unity of the tale by +making the Elephant's Child pick up with his new trunk, on his way +home, the melon-rinds he had scattered on his journey to the Limpopo. +The coherence in the tale is unusually fine and is secured largely by +expressions which look backward or forwards; as, "By and by when that +was finished," or "One fine morning," or "That very next morning." Any +study will show that the tale possesses the general qualities of form +and has its parts controlled by the principles of composition. + + + + +OUTLINE + + + I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES + + I. Two public tributes 1 + + II. The value of fairy tales in education 3 + + 1. They bring joy into child-life 3 + + 2. They satisfy the play-spirit of childhood 4 + + 3. They give a power of accurate observation 6 + + 4. They strengthen the power of emotion, develop the + power of imagination, train the memory and + exercise the reason 6 + + 5. They extend and intensify the child's social + relations 7 + + 6. In school they unify the child's work or play 8 + + 7. In the home they employ leisure time profitably 9 + + 8. They afford a vital basis for language-training 10 + + III. References 12 + +II. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES + + I. The interests of children 13 + + 1. Fairy tales must follow the law of composition + and must contain the interests of children 13 + + a. A sense of life 14 + + b. The familiar 14 + + c. The surprise 15 + + d. Sense impression 17 + + e. The beautiful 18 + + f. Wonder, mystery, magic 19 + + g. Adventure 19 + + h. Success 20 + + i. Action 20 + + j. Humor 21 + + k. Poetic justice 22 + + l. The imaginative 23 + + m. Animals 24 + + n. A portrayal of human relations, especially + with children 24 + + o. The diminutive 25 + + p. Rhythm and repetition 26 + + q. The simple and sincere 28 + + r. Unity of effect 29 + + 2. Fairy tales must follow the law of the emotions + and avoid elements opposed to the interests of + the very young child 30 + + a. The tale of the witch 31 + + b. The tale of the dragon 31 + + c. Giant tales 31 + + d. Some tales of transformation 32 + + e. The tale of strange animal relations and + strange creatures 33 + + f. Unhappy tales 34 + + g. The tale of capture 34 + + h. The very long tale 35 + + i. The complicated or the insincere tale 36 + + II. The fairy tale as literature 37 + + 1. The fairy tale must be a true classic 38 + + 2. The fairy tale must have mind and soul 39 + + 3. The fairy tale must have the distinguishing + marks of literature 40 + + a. A power to appeal to the emotions 41 + + 1) Literary emotion is not personal 41 + + 2) Literary emotion must have justness 41 + + 3) Literary emotion must have vividness 41 + + 4) Literary emotion must have steadiness 41 + + 5) Literary emotion must have variety 41 + + 6) Literary emotion must have moral quality 41 + + 7) Application of the test of emotion to the + Fairy tales 41 + + 8) The value of fairy tales in the development + of emotion 44 + + b. A power to appeal to the imagination 45 + + 1) Appeal to the creative imagination 45 + + 2) Appeal to the associative imagination 46 + + a) Appeal to fancy 46 + + 3) Appeal to the penetrative imagination 47 + + 4) Appeal to the contemplative imagination 47 + + a) Philosophy in the fairy tales 48 + + b) Proverbs in the fairy tales 50 + + c) Relation of the contemplative + imagination to science 52 + + c. A basis of truth, or appeal to the intellect 53 + + 1) The truth must be idealistic 53 + + a) It may be realistic 53 + + b) It may be romantic 53 + + 2) Value of the appeal of literature to the + intellect 53 + + d. A form more or less perfect 54 + + 1) The elements of form: words, sentences, + paragraphs, and wholes 58 + + a) Words, the medium of language must + have two powers 54 + + (1) Denotation, to name what they + mean 54 + + (2) Connotation, to suggest what they + imply 54 + + b) Suggestive power of words illustrated 55 + + 2) General qualities characteristic of perfect + form 57 + + a) Precision or clearness 57 + + (1) Precision demands that words have + denotation 57 + + (2) Precision appeals to the intellect 57 + + b) Energy or force 57 + + (1) Energy demands that words have + connotation 58 + + (2) Energy appeals to the emotions and + holds the attention 58 + + c) Delicacy or emotional harmony 58 + + (1) Delicacy demands that words have + the power of adaptation 58 + + (2) Delicacy demands that form appeal + to the æsthetic sense 58 + + (3) Delicacy is secured by selection and + arrangement of words according to + emotional associations 58 + + d) Personality 58 + + (1) Personality gives the charm of + individuality 58 + + (2) Personality suggests the character + of the writer 58 + + 3) Principles controlling the elements + of form, principles of composition 58 + + a) The principle of sincerity 58 + + (1) Sincerity demands a just expression 58 + + b) The principle of unity 59 + + (1) Unity demands a central idea 59 + + (2) Unity demands completeness 59 + + (3) Unity demands no irrelevant material 59 + + (4) Unity demands method, sequence + and climax 59 + + c) The principle of mass 59 + + (1) Mass demands that the chief parts + readily catch the eye 59 + + (2) Mass demands harmonious proportion + of parts 59 + + d) The principle of coherence 59 + + (1) Coherence demands unmistakable + relation of parts 59 + + (2) Coherence demands this unmistakable + relation be preserved by the + order, forms and connections 59 + + 4) Form characterized by perfect adaptation + of words to thought and feeling is called + style 59 + + a) Style demands that form possess the + four general qualities of form in + perfection: precision, energy, delicacy, + and personality 59 + + b) Style demands that form have its + elements controlled by the four general + principles: sincerity, unity, mass, and + coherence 59 + + c) _Oeyvind and Marit_, a modern tale + illustrating style 60 + + d) _Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, a folk-tale + illustrating style 64 + + e) The folk-tale generally considered as to + literary form 65 + + f) The tale by Grimm, Perrault, Dasent, + Harris, Jacobs, Lang, and Andersen + considered as to literary form 67 + + g) The tale of to-day considered as to + literary form 69 + + III. The fairy tale as a short-story 70 + + 1. Characters 71 + + a. Characters must be unique, original, and + striking 72 + + b. Characters of the fairy tales 72 + + 2. Plot 73 + + a. Plot must be entertaining, comical, novel, or + thrilling 73 + + b. Plot must show a beginning, a middle, and + an end 73 + + c. Plot must have a distinct climax 74 + + d. Introduction must be simple 74 + + e. Conclusion must show poetic justice 74 + + f. Plot must be good narration and description 74 + + 1) Narration must have truth, interest, and + consistency 74 + + 2) Description must have aptness and + concreteness 75 + + g. Structure illustrated by _Three Pigs_ and + _Briar Rose_ 76 + + 3. Setting 77 + + a. Setting must give the time and place, the + background of the tale 77 + + b. Setting must arouse sensation and feeling 77 + + c. Effect of transformation of setting 77 + + 1) Story sequence preserved by setting + illustrated by _Robin's Christmas Song_ 78 + + d. Setting and phonics, illustrated. _The + Spider and the Flea_ 79 + + e. Setting illustrated. _Chanticleer and + Partlet_ 81 + + 4. A blending of characters, plot, and setting + illustrated by _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ 82 + + 5. Tests to be applied to fairy tales 84 + + 6. Tales examined and tested by the complete test + of interests, classic, literature, short-story, + narration, and description 84 + + a. _How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went to + Dinner_ (Indian) 84 + + b. The Straw Ox (Cossack) 86 + + IV. References 87 + + +III. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES + + Story-telling as an Art. Introductory 90 + + 1. Story-telling as an ancient art 90 + + 2. The place of the story in the home, library, and + the school 93 + + 3. Principles of story-telling 94 + + I. The teacher's preparation. Rules 94 + + 1. Select the tale for some purpose 94 + + a. The teacher's problem of selecting the tale + psychologically or logically 95 + + 2. Know the tale historically as folk-lore, as + literature, and as a short-story 96 + + a. The various motives contained in the fairy + tales listed 97 + + 3. Master the structure of the tale 99 + + 4. Dwell upon the life of the story 99 + + 5. Secure the message 100 + + 6. Master the form 100 + + II. The presentation of the tale 102 + + 1. Training of the voice 103 + + a. Study of phonetics 103 + + 2. Exercises in breathing 104 + + 3. A knowledge of gesture 105 + + a. Gesture precedes speech 106 + + b. Gesture begins in the face 106 + + c. Hands and arms lie close to the body in + controlled emotion 106 + + 4. A power of personality 106 + + 5. Suggestions for telling 107 + + a. The establishment of the personal relation + between the teacher and the listener 108 + + b. The placing of the story in a concrete + situation for the child 110 + + c. The consideration of the child's aim in + listening, by the teacher in her preparation 112 + + 6. The telling of the tale 112 + + a. The re-creative method of story-telling. + Illustrated by a criticism of the telling of + _The Princess and the Pea_ 114 + + b. The re-creative method illustrated by _The + Foolish, Timid Rabbit_ 116 + + 7. Adaptation of the fairy tale. Illustrated by + _Thumbelina_ and by _The Snow Man_ 118 + + III. The return from the child 119 + + Story-telling as one phase of the art of teaching. + Introductory 119 + + 1. Teaching as good art and as great art; and + fairy tales as subject-matter suited to + accomplish high purposes in teaching 120 + + 2. The part the child has to play in story-telling 121 + + 3. The child's return, the expression of his + natural instincts or general interests 125 + + 1. The instinct of conversation 125 + + a. Language expression, oral re-telling 125 + + b. The formation of original little stories 126 + + c. Reading of the tale a form of creative + reaction 127 + + 2. The instinct of inquiry 127 + + a. Appeal of the folk-tale to this instinct 128 + + b. The instinct of inquiry united to the instinct + of conversation, of construction, and of + artistic expression, illustrated 128 + + 3. The instinct of construction 129 + + a. Clay-modelling 129 + + b. Construction of objects 129 + + 4. The instinct of artistic expression 130 + + a. Cutting of free silhouette pictures. + Illustrated 130 + + b. Drawing and crayon-sketching. Illustrated 132 + + c. Painting. Illustrated 132 + + d. Song. Illustrated 133 + + e. Dance, rhythm plays. Illustrated 134 + + f. Game. Illustrated 135 + + g. Representation of the fairy tale. Illustrated + by _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ 135 + + h. Free play and dramatization 138 + + 1) Virtues of dramatization 138 + + a) It develops voice 138 + + b) It gives grace of movement 138 + + c) It develops control and poise 138 + + d) It strengthens attention and power of + visualization 138 + + e) It combines intellectual, emotional, + artistic, and physical action 138 + + f) It impresses many pieces of literature + effectively 138 + + g) It is the true Direct Moral Method and + may establish a habit 143 + + 2) Dangers of dramatization 139 + + a) Dramatization often is in very poor + form 139 + + b) Dramatization may develop boldness + in a child 141 + + c) Dramatization may spoil some + literature 142 + + d) Dramatization has lacked sequence in + tales used from year to year 142 + + i. Illustrations of creative return 144 + + 1) _The Country Mouse and the City Mouse_ as + expression in language, dramatization, + drawing, and crayon-sketching 144 + + 2) _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ as + expression in the dramatic game 145 + + 3) _Little Two-Eyes_ as expression in + dramatization. A fairy-play outline. + (See _Appendix_) 145 + + 4) _Snow White_ as expression in + dramatization. (See _Appendix_) 145 + + 5) _Sleeping Beauty_ as expression of partial + narration, dramatic game, and + dramatization combined 146 + + 6) _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_, an + original tale developed from a Grimm + fragmentary tale, illustrating expression + in folk-game and dramatization. (See + _Appendix_) 147 + + 7) _The Bird and the Trees_, an original play + illustrating expression in rhythm play and + dramatization 149 + + 8) _How the Birds came to Have Different + Nests_, an original play illustrating + language expression and dramatization. + (See _Appendix_) 151 + + 9) Andersen's _Fir Tree_ as expression in + dramatization, illustrating organization + of ideas through a play 152 + + IV. References 154 + + + IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES + + I. The origin of fairy tales 158 + + 1. The fairy tale defined 159 + + 2. The derivation and history of the name, _fairy_ 159 + + a. Four senses in which _fairy_ has been used 160 + + 3. The theories concerning the origin of fairy + tales 161 + + a. Fairy tales are detritus of myth 161 + + 1) The evolution of the tale 161 + + b. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Rain, Dawn, + Thunder, etc., the Aryan Theory 162 + + c. Fairy tales all arose in India, the + Philological theory 165 + + d. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity + of early fancy 167 + + e. Fairy tales owe their origin to a combination + of all these theories 167 + + II. The transmission of fairy tales 167 + + 1. The oral transmission of fairy tales 167 + + a. Examples of transmission of fairy tales: _Jack + the Giant-Killer_, _Dick Whittington_, etc. 168 + + 2. Literary transmission of fairy tales 170 + + a. An enumeration of the literary collections and + books that have handed down the tales; as + _Reynard the Fox_, the _Persian King-book, The + Thousand and One Nights_, Straparola's + _Nights_, Basile's _Pentamerone_, and Perrault's + _Tales of Mother Goose_ 170 + + b. French publications of fairy tales 179 + + 1) The tales of Perrault 179 + + 2) Tales by followers of Perrault 181 + + 3) A list of tales from the time of Perrault to + the present time 183 + + c. English and Celtic publications of fairy tales 183 + + 1) Tales of Scotland and Ireland 184 + + 2) English tales and books 184 + + 3) A list illustrating the history of the English + fairy tale, including chap-books: _Jack the + Giant-Killer_, _Tom Hickathrift_; + old collections; etc. 184 + + 4) A list illustrating the development of + fairy-tale illustration in England 188 + + d. German publications of fairy tales 192 + + 1) A list of tales from the time of the Grimms + to the present 193 + + e. Fairy-tale publications of other nations 193 + + f. American publications of fairy tales 195 + + 1) A list of tales from the earliest times to + 1870 196 + + g. Recent collections of folk-lore 200 + + III. References 201 + + + V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES + + I. Available types of tales 204 + + 1. The accumulative or clock story 205 + + a. Tales of simple repetition 206 + + 1) The House that Jack Built 206 + + 2) The Key of the Kingdom 207 + + b. Tales of repetition with an addition 208 + + 1) The Old Woman and Her Pig 208 + + 2) Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse 208 + + 3) Johnny Cake 209 + + 4) The Gingerbread Man 209 + + 5) The Straw Ox 209 + + c. Tales of repetition and variation 209 + + 1) The Three Bears 209 + + 2) The Three Billy Goats 211 + + 2. The animal tale 211 + + a. The evolution of the animal tale 211 + + b. The animal tale may be an old beast tale 211 + + 1) Henny Penny 213 + + 2) The Foolish Timid Rabbit 214 + + 3) The Sheep and the Pig 215 + + 4) Medio Pollito 215 + + 5) The Three Pigs 216 + + c. The animal tale may be an elaborated fable, + illustrated 211 + + d. The animal tale may be an imaginary creation, + illustrated 211 + + e. The Good-Natured Bear, a modern type. (See + _Appendix_) 217 + + 3. The humorous tale 217 + + a. The humorous element for children 218 + + b. The Musicians of Bremen, a humorous type 219 + + c. Humorous tales mentioned previously 221 + + d. Drakesbill, a humorous type 221 + + 4. The realistic tale 223 + + a. Lazy Jack, a realistic type of common life 224 + + b. The Old Woman and Her Pig, a realistic type 225 + + c. How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, a realistic + tale of scientific interest 226 + + d. Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, a realistic + theme transformed into a romantic tale 227 + + 5. The romantic tale 228 + + a. Cinderella 228 + + b. Sleeping Beauty 231 + + c. Red Riding Hood 232 + + d. Puss-in-Boots. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 1) The Norse Lord Peter (See _Appendix_) 232 + + e. Tom Thumb, a romantic tale of fancy. (See + _Appendix_) 232 + + 1) The French Little Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 2) The English Tom Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + f. Snow White and Rose Red, a highly idealized + romantic type tested by the standards + included here. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 6. The old tale and the modern tale 234 + + a. The modern tale often lacks the great art + qualities of the old tale, unity and harmony, + sincerity and simplicity 235 + + b. The modern tale often fails to use the + method of suggestion 235 + + c. The modern tale often does not stand the + test of literature 235 + + d. The modern tale gives richly to the primary + and elementary field 235 + + e. Criticism of a few modern tales 236 + + 1) Little Beta and the Lame Giant, a good + modern tale 236 + + 2) The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red + Hen, a good modern tale 238 + + 3) Peter Rabbit, a classic; other animal + tales 239 + + 4) The Elephant's Child, a modern animal + tale. (See _Appendix_) 239 + + 5) A Quick-Running Squash, a good modern + tale 240 + + 6) A few St. Nicholas fairy stories 241 + + 7) The Hop-About-Man, a romantic modern + fairy tale 241 + + f. What the modern fairy tale is 243 + + VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST OF FAIRY TALES, + FOLK-TALES, PICTURES, PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS. + + Basis on which lists are made. Introductory 245 + + I. A list of fairy tales and folk-tales suited to the + kindergarten and first grade 246 + + 1. Tales of Perrault 246 + + 2. Tales of the Grimms 246 + + 3. Norse tales 247 + + 4. English tales, by Jacobs 247 + + 5. Modern fairy tales, by Andersen 248 + + 6. Uncle Remus tales, by Harris 248 + + 7. Miscellaneous tales 249 + + II. Bibliography of fairy tales 253 + + III. A list of picture-books 254 + + IV. A list of pictures 255 + + V. A list of fairy poems 256 + + VI. Main standard fairy-tale books 256 + + VII. Fairy tales of all nations 258 + + VIII. Miscellaneous editions of fairy tales 259 + + IX. School editions of fairy tales 262 + +APPENDIX + + Illustrations of creative return 265 + + Tales suited for dramatization 265 + + Little Two-Eyes 265 + + Snow White 266 + + The Little Lamb and the Little Fish 267 + + How the Birds came to Have Different Nests 270 + + Types of tales 272 + + An animal tale 272 + + The Good-Natured Bear 272 + + A few romantic tales 275 + + Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter 275 + + Tom Thumb and Little Thumb 278 + + Snow White and Rose Red 282 + + A modern tale 287 + + The Elephant's Child 287 + +NOTES: + + +[1: McLoughlin edition.] + +[2: What if we could give the child that which is called education + through his voluntary activities, and have him always as eager as + he is at play! (_Froebel_.) + + What if we could let the child be free and happy, and yet bring + to him those things which he ought to have so that he will choose + them freely! + + What would be the possibilities for a future race if we would + give the child mind a chance to come out and express itself, if + we would remove adult repression, offer a stimulus, and closely + watch the product, untouched by adult skill. (_Unknown_.) + + The means by which the higher selective interest is aroused, is + the exercise of selected forms of activity. (_Susan Blow_.)] + +[3: _Little Two-Eyes_ and _Snow White_ are tales also suited to the + first grade for dramatization. See _Appendix_.] + +[4: A similar tale is told by Miss Holbrook in _The Book of Nature + Myths_. Also by Mary McDowell as "The Three Little Christmas + Trees." A simple version of this tale, "The Three Little + Christmas Trees that Grew on the Hill," is given in _The + Story-Teller's Book_ by Alice O'Grady and Frances Throop.] + +[5: Joseph Jacobs, in his Introduction to the Cranford edition, and + Ashton, in _Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century_, furnish most + of the facts mentioned here.] + +[6: This list has been compiled largely from "Children's Books and + Their Illustrators," by Gleeson White, in _The International + Studio_. Special Winter Number, 1897-98.] + +[7: The following list, compiled by Mr. H.H.B. Meyer, the chief + bibliographer of the Library of Congress, has been furnished + through the courtesy of the United States Bureau of Education. A + few additional books were inserted by the author. The books at + the head of the list give information on the subject.] + +[8: _The Woman and Her Kid_, a version of this tale adapted from an + ancient Jewish Sacred Book, is given in _Boston Kindergarten + Stories_, p. 171.] + +[9: See Appendix.] + +[10: William M. Thackeray, _Miscellanies_, v. Boston: James Osgood + & Co., 1873. "Titmarsh among Pictures and Books"; "On Some + Illustrated Christmas Books," 1846.] + +[11: A few romantic tales for the first grade are treated in the + Appendix: _Puss-in-Boots_, _Lord Peter_, _Tom Thumb_, _Little + Thumb_, and _Snow White and Rose Red_.] + +[12: See _Appendix_.] + +[13: Laura F. Kready, "Picture-Books for Little Children," + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914.] + +[14: For _Little Two-Eyes_ and _Snow White, see_ note on p. 145; for + _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish, see_ pp. 147-48; and for + _How the Birds came to have Different Nests, see_ p. 151.] + +[15: _See_ note, p. 217.] + +[16: _See_ note, p. 232] + +[17: Reprinted in _Living Age_, Aug. 13, 1844, vol. 2, p. 1.] + +[18: _See_ p. 239] + + + +INDEX + +Accumulative or clock story, 205-11. + +Action, 20-21. + +Adaptation of fairy tales, 117-19. + +Adventure, 19-20. + +Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet, 81-82. + +American fairy tales, 195-99. + +Andersen, Hans C.: + tales by, tested as literary form, 69; + Steadfast Tin Soldier, 46, 49, 135-38; + Fir Tree, 151-53; + list of tales by, 248; + editions, 256-57. + +Animal tale: + class, 211-17; + evolution of, 211-13; + types of, 213-17, 272-75, 287-90. + +Animals: + an interest, 24; + tale of strange, 33-34. + +Appendix, 265-90: + Little Two-Eyes, 265-66; + Snow White, 266-67; + The Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 267-70; + How the Birds came to Have Different Nests, 270-72; + The Good-Natured Bear, 272-75; + Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter, 275-78; + Tom Thumb and Little Thumb, 278-82; + Snow White and Rose Red, 282-86; + The Elephant's Child, 287-90. + +Arabian Nights, Thousand and One Nights, 176-78, 190, 196. + +Art: + of teaching, 119-20; + in teaching, good, 120; + in teaching, great, 120-21; + in literature, good, 39-40; + in literature, fine, 39-40; + of story-telling, 90-91, 93-94; + ancient, of story-telling, 91-93. + +Artistic expression, instinct of, 130-54. + +Aulnoy, Comtesse d', tales of, 181-82. + +Basile, 178-79. + +Beaumont, Madam de, 182. + +Beautiful, the, 18-19. + +Beauty and the Beast, + dramatization of, 140-41; + editions of, 189, 198. + +Bibliography of fairy tales, 253-54. + +Bird and the Trees, 148-51. + +Books, main standard fairy tale, a list, 256-58. _See_ Sources of +material. + +Breathing, exercises in, 104-05. + +Briar Rose, 77. _See also_ Sleeping Beauty. + +Capture, tales of, 34-35. + +Celtic fairy tales, 183-84. + +Chap-books, 185-87, 188, 196, 198. + +Characters, 71-73. + +Child: + his part in story-telling, 121-25; + interests, 13-37; + instincts, 125-54; + growth: + in observation, 6, 47-48; + in reason, 6-7, 53-54; + in language, 10; + in emotion, 44-45; + in imagination, 45-53; + in experience, 54; + in intellect, 53-54; + in self-activity, 121-22; + in consciousness, 122-23; + in initiative, 122; + in purpose, 123-25; + in creative return possible to him, 123-54; + in self-expression, 124-54; + in organization of ideas, 153. + +Child's Own Book, The, 190. + +Cinderella, + a chap-book, 187,188, 198; + a romantic type, 228-31. + +Classes of tales, 204-44: + accumulative, 205-11; + animal, 211-17; + humorous, 217-23; + realistic, 223-28; + romantic, 228-34; + old and modern, compared, 234-43; + references, 243-44. + +Classic, fairy tale as a, 38-39. + +Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen, 238-39. + +Coherence, + principle of, 58-59; + illustrated, 62, 65. + +Complicated or insincere, the, 36. + +Composition: + general qualities of, 57-58; + precision, 57; + energy, 57-58; + delicacy, 58; + personality, 58; + principles of, 58-59; + sincerity, 58-59; + unity, 59; + mass, 59; + coherence, 59; + style in, 59-60. + +Comte de Caylus, 182. + +Concrete situation, placing of story in, 94-95, 110-11. + +Connotation, 54-57. + +Consciousness, development of, 122-23. + +Construction, expression of instinct of, 129-30. + +Conversation, expression of instinct of, 125-27. + +Country Mouse and City Mouse, 144-45. + +Crayon-sketching, as expression, 132. + +Creative return, illustrated, 144-54. _See_ Return. + +Criticism: + of life, teaching, a, 120-21; + of Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64; + of Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65; + of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner, 84-86; + of Straw Ox, 86-87; + of Steadfast Tin Soldier, 135-38; + of Musicians of Bremen, 219-20; + of Drakesbill, 221-23; + of Puss-in-Boots and Norse Lord Peter, 275-78; + of Tom Thumb and Little Thumb, 278-82; + of Snow White and Rose Red, 282-86; + and of Elephant's Child, 287-90. + +Danish tales, 194. + +Dasent, Sir George W., + tales by, as literary form, 68-69; + Norse tales by, 194, 247, 257. + +Delicacy, + or emotional harmony, quality of, 57-58; + illustrated, 60, 61, 64. + +Denotation, 54. + +Description, 75. + +Dick Whittington, + illustrating oral transmission of tales, 169; + a chap-book, 185, 188, 196, 198. + +Diminutive, the, 25-26. + +Dragon tales, 31. + +Drakesbill, 221-23. + +Dramatic game: Elves and the Shoemaker, 145; Sleeping Beauty, 146-47. + +Dramatization, + as expression, 138-54; + virtues of, 138, 143; + dangers of, 139-43; + of Sleeping Beauty, 146-47; + of Bird and the Trees, 149-51; + of Fir Tree, 152-53; + of Little Two Eyes, 265-66; + of Snow White, 266-67; + of How the Birds came to have Different Nests, 270-72; + and of Puss-in-Boots, 276. + +Drawing, as expression, 132. + +Dwarf's Tailor, 237. + +Editions, + main fairy tale, 256-58; + fairy tale, of all nations, 258-59; + illustrated, 254-55; + miscellaneous, of fairy tales, 259-62; + school, of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Elements to be avoided, 30-36. + +Elephant's Child, illustrating: + repetition, 27-28; + suggestion, 56-57; + form, 100-01; + modern animal tale, 239, 287-90. + +Elves and the Shoemaker, + illustrating: structure and short-story, 82-84; + story, 82-84; creative return, 145. + +Emelyan the Fool, 170. + +Emotion, + appeal to, distinguishing literary trait, 40-41; + qualities of literary, 41; + literary, in fairy tales, 41-44; + growth of, 44-45; + comparison of, in fairy tales and Shakespeare's dramas, 7, 43-44. + +Energy or force, quality of, 57-58; + illustrated, 61, 64. + +English fairy tales, 184-92; + collections of, 184-88; + illustrating development of illustration, 188-92; + by Jacobs, list, 247-48; + editions, 257. + +Expression in: + language, 125-27; + reading, 127; + inquiry, 127-29; + construction, 129-30; + art, 130-54; + paper-cutting, 130-31; + drawing, 132; + painting, 132; + rhythm play, 133-34; + song, 132-33; + game, 134-35; + representation, 135-38; + dramatization, 138-54, 265-72. + +Fairy, + derivation of, 159-60; + history of the name, 160. + +Fairy tales: worth of, 1-12; + principles of selection for, 13-89; + telling of, 90-157; + history of, 158-203; + classes of, 204-44; + sources of material for, 245-64; + tributes to, 1-3; + interests in, 13-37; + as literature, 37-70; + as classics, 38-39; + possessing mind and soul, 39-40; + distinguished by marks of literature, 40; + as emotion, 41-45; + as imagination, 45-53; + philosophy in, 48-52; + proverbs in, 50; + as truth, 53-54; + as form, 54-70; + powers of words in, 54-57; + general qualities of form in, 57-58; + general principles controlling form in, 58-59; + style in, defined, 59-60; + tested as literary form, 60-70; + as a form of short-story, 70-87; + characters, 71-73; + plot, 73-77; + narration, 74-75; + description, 75; + structure, 76-77; + setting, 77-82; + three elements blended, 82-84; + tested by complete standards, 84-87; + teacher's preparation for telling, 94-102; + presentation of, by teacher, 102-19; + return of child from, 119-54; + rules for preparation of, 94-102; + selection of, 95-96; + motifs in, 96-98; + re-telling of, 101-02; + training of voice in telling, 103-04; + breathing in telling, 104-05; + gesture in telling, 105-06; + power of personality, in telling, 106-07; + suggestions for telling, 107-12; + establishment of personal relation in telling, 107-10; + placing of, in a concrete situation, 110-11; + conception of child's aim in listening to, 112; + re-creative method of telling, 112-17; + adaptation of, 117-19; + art of teaching, in telling, 119-25; + as expression of conversation, 125-27; + as expression of inquiry, 127-29; + as expression of construction, 129-30; + as expression of art, 130-54; + origin of, 158-67; + transmission of, 167-200; + French, 179-83; + Celtic, 183-84; + English, 184-92; + German, 192-93; + tales of other nations, 193-95; + American, 195-99; + collections of folklore, 200; + accumulative, 205-11; + animal, 211-17; + humorous, 217-23; + realistic, 223-28; + romantic, 228-34, 275-86; + old and modern, 234-43; + of Perrault, 246; + of the Grimms, 246-47; + Norse, 247; + English, by Jacobs, 247-48; + modern, by Andersen, 248; + Uncle Remus, by Harris, 248-49; + miscellaneous, 249-53; + bibliography of, 253-54; + in picture-books, 254-55; + in pictures, 255; + in poems, 255-56; + in standard books, 256-58; + of all nations, 258-59; + in miscellaneous editions, 259-62; + in school editions, 262-64; + in Appendix, 265-90. + +Familiar, the, 14-15. + +Fancy, 46, 47. + +Fir Tree, 151-53. + +First-grade fairy tales, 231-34, 265-86. + +Folk-game, illustrated by Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 147-48, + 267-70. + +Folk-tales, + generally, as literary form, 65-67; + tested as literary form, 60-70; + characters of, compared with those of Shakespeare, 7, 43-44; + recent collections of, 200. + +Foolish, Timid Rabbit, + illustrating method in story-telling, 116-17; + an animal type, 214. + +Form, + a distinguishing literary trait, 40, 54; + perfect, 57-60; + general qualities of, 57-58; + precision, a quality, 57; + energy, a quality, 57-58; + delicacy, a quality, 58; + personality, a quality, 58; + principles controlling, 58-60: + sincerity, 58-59; + unity, 59; + mass, 59; + coherence, 59; + style in, 59-60; + illustrated: by Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64; + by Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65; + folk-tales as literary, 65-70; + mastery of tale as, 100-02. + +French fairy tales, 179-83. + +Game, as expression, 134-35. + +Gardens of the Tuileries, 1. + +German fairy tales, 192-93. + +Gesta Romanorum, 174-75. + +Gesture, + knowledge of, 105-06; + library pamphlet relating to, 106. + +Giant tales, 31-32. + +Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold, 237-38. + +Good-Natured Bear, + a modern animal type, 217, 272-75; + a book, 190. + +Grimm, William and Jacob, 67-68; + list of tales by, 246-47; + editions by, 257; + tales by, as literary form, 67. + +Harris, J.C., + list of Uncle Remus tales by, 248-49; + tales by, as literary form, 69; + editions by, 257. + +Henny Penny, 214. + +History of fairy tales, 158-203; + origin of fairy tales, 158-67; + transmission of fairytales, 167-200; + oral transmission, 167-70; + literary transmission, 170-200; + references, 201-03. + +Hop-About-Man, 241-43. + +House that Jack Built, 206-07. + +How the Birds came to Have Different Nests, 151; 270-72. + +How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner, 84-86. + +How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, 226. + +Humor in fairy tales: an interest, 21-22; 217-19. + +Humorous tales, 217-23; types of, 219-23. + +Imagination, + a distinguishing literary mark of fairy tales, 40, 45-53; + creative, 45; + associative, 46; + penetrative, 47; + contemplative, 47-53; + fancy, 46, 47; + exhibited in child's return, 122, 125-54. + +Imaginative, the, 23. + +Initiative, development of, 122, 123-25. + +Instincts of child, expression of: + conversation, 125-27; + inquiry, 127-29; + construction, 129-30; + artistic expression, 130-54. + +Intellect, appeal of fairy tales to, 53-54. + +Interests of children, 13-37; + sense of life, 14; + the familiar, 14-15; + surprise, 15-17; + sense impression, 17-18; + the beautiful, 18-19; + wonder, mystery, magic, 19; + adventure, 19-20; + success, 20; + action, 20-21; + humor, 21-22; + poetic justice, 22-23; + the imaginative, 23; + animals, 24; + portrayal of human relations, 24-25; + the diminutive, 25-26; + rhythm and repetition, 26-28; + the simple and the sincere, 28-29; + unity of effect, 29-30; + opposed to, 30-36; + witch tales, 31; + dragon tales, 31; + giant tales, 31-32; + some tales of transformation, 32-33; + tales of strange creatures, 33-34; + unhappy tales, 34; + tales of capture, 34-35; + very long tales, 35-36; + complicated or insincere tales, 36. + +Introduction, i-iii. + +Inquiry, instinct of, 127-29. + +Jack the Giant-Killer, 185, 186, 188, 190. + +Jacobs, Joseph, + list of tales by, 247-48; + tales by, as literary form, 69; + editions by, 257. + +Jatakas, 170. + +Key of the Kingdom, 207-08. + +Kindergarten: + play in, 5-6; + work in, unified by the fairy tale, 8-9; + language-training in, 10-11; + interests of child in, 13-37; + standards for literature in, 37-87; + standards for composition in, 54-60; + story-telling in, 94-119; + return to be expected from child in, 119-54; + standards of teaching for teacher in, 119-25; + instincts of child in, 125-54; + history of fairy tales to be used in, 158-203; + classes of tales used in, 204-44; + sources of material for fairy tales to be used in, 245-64. + +King-book, Persian, The, 175-76. + +Lang, Andrew, tales by, as literary form, 69. + +Lambikin, 21. + +Language, expression in, 125-27. + +Lazy Jack, 224-25. + +Life, + a sense of, 14; + criticism of, 120-21; + fairy tale a counterpart to, 8-9. + +Lists: of tales, 246-53; _See_ Sources of material. + +Literature, + mind and soul in, 39-40; + qualities of, 40; + fairy tale as, 37-87. + +Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 147-48, 267-70. + +Little Two-Eyes, 145, 265-66. + +Little Thumb, + editions, 189; + tale, 232, 281-82. + +Literary collections of tales, 170-200. + +Logical method of selecting tales, 95-96. + +Long tales, opposed to child's interests, 35-36. + +Lord Peter, 232, 277. + +Magpie's Nest, 151, 270-72. + +Märchen Brunnen or Fairy-tale Fountain, 2-3. + +Mass, + principle of, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 61-62; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 65. + +Medio Pollito, 215-16. + +Memory, development of, 226. + +Message, of the tale, 100; of this book. _See_ Summaries. + +Method of story-telling, + the recreative, 113-17; + criticism of, 114-16; + illustration of, 116-17; + direct moral, 143. + +Mind, in literature, 40. + +Miscellaneous, + tales, a list, 249-53; + editions, 259-62. + +Modern tale, + compared with old tale, 234-43; + types of, 235-43; + what it is, 243; + tales, by Andersen, 28-29, 234, 248, 256-57. + +Motifs in folk-tales, classified, 97-98. + +Mother Goose, + tales of, 179-81; + her Melodies, 187, 195, 197, 198. + +Musicians of Bremen, 130-31, 219-20. + +Narration, + in fairy tales, 74-75; + illustrated by Sleeping Beauty, 146-47. + +Norse tales, 194; a list of, 247; editions, 257. + +Objectification in fairy tales, 135-38. + +Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64. + +Old Woman and Her Pig, + accumulative type, 207, 208; + realistic type, 225-26; + an exercise of memory, 226. + +Organization of ideas, + accomplished through Fir Tree, 152-53; + social, of tale, 153-54. + +Origin of fairy tales, 158-67. + +Outline, 291-303. + +Paper-cutting, 130-31. + +Painting, as expression, 132. + +Panchatantra, the Five Books, 171. + +Pause, in story-telling, 104-05. + +Pentamerone, The, 178-79. + +Perrault, Charles, + statue of, 1; + list of tales by, 180; + tales by, tested as literary form, 68; + editions by, 257-58. + +Personality, + quality of, 57-58; + in Oeyvind and Marit, 60; + in Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64; + power of, 106-07. + +Personal relation, establishment of, 107-10. + +Peter Rabbit, 239. + +Philosophy, + in fairy tales, 48-52; + of Uncle Remus Tales, 51-52; + of Laboulaye's Tales, 51; + of Cat and Mouse in Partnership, 48; + of Emperor's New Suit, 48-49; + of Ugly Duckling, 49-50; + of Elephant's Child, 49; + child's, 50-51. + +Phonics in fairy tales, 79-81. + +Pictures, list, 255. + +Picture-Books, list, 254-55. + +Plot, + element of fairy tale as short-story, 73-77; + structure illustrated, 76-77. + +Poems, fairy, list, 255-56. + +Poetic justice, 22-23. + +Poetry, of teaching, 120. + +Portrayal of human relations, especially with children, 24-25. + +Position, of story-teller, 107. + +Precision, + quality of, 57; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 60; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64. + +Preparation, teacher's, + in story-telling, 94-102; + rules for telling, 94-102. + +Presentation, teacher's, + of tale, 102-19; + training of voice, 103-04; + exercises in breathing, 104-05; + gesture, 105-06; + power of personality, 106-07; + suggestions for telling, 107-12; + establishment of personal relation, 108-10; + placing of story in concrete situation, 94-95, 110-11; + conception of child's aim, 112; + telling of tale, 112-19; + re-creative method of story-telling, 113-17; + adaptation of fairy tales, 117-19. + +Princess and Pea, 114-16. + +Principles, + of selection for fairy tales, 13-89; + interests of children, 13-37; + fairy tale as literature, 37-70; + fairy tale as short-story, 70-87; + references, 87-89. + +Principles, + of composition, 58-60; + of story-telling, 94; + of teaching, 119-25; + concerning instincts of children, 124-25. + +Problem, a means of developing consciousness, 122-25. + +Proverbs in fairy tales, 50. + +Purpose, growth in child's, 123-25. + +Puss-in-Boots, 232, 275-78. + +Psychological method of selecting tales, 95-96. + +Quick-Running Squash, 240. + +Realistic, tale, 223-28; types of, 224-28. + +Reading, as expression, 127; relation of, to literature, 10-11, 127. + +Reason, growth in, 6-7, 10; development of, 53-54. + +Re-creative method of story-telling, 113-17. + +Red Riding Hood, chap-book, 189; a romantic type, 232-34. + +References; + chapter I, 12; + chapter II, 87-89; + chapter III, 154-57; + chapter IV, 201-03; + chapter V, 243-44. + +Relation, + of contemplative imagination to language-training, 47-48; + of contemplative imagination to power of observation, 47-48; + of contemplative imagination to science, 52-53; + of literature to intellect, 53-54; + of sound to sense or meaning, 55; + of sound to action, 55-56; + of phonics and emotional effect, 55; + of gesture to story-telling, 105-06; + personal, between the story-teller and listener, 107-10; + of reading to story-telling, 127; + of reading to literature, 10, 11, 38, 127; + of rhyme to meaning, 56; + of fairy tales to nature study, 6, 47-48; + of fairy tales to industrial education, 71-73; + of fairy tales to child, 3-11; + of dramatization to story-telling, 138-54; + of fairy tales to literature, 37-70; + of fairy tales to composition, 54-70; + of fairy tales to story-telling, 90-91. + +Repetition, 26-28, 205-11. + +Representation, 135-38. + +Re-telling of fairy tales, 101-02. + +Return, creative, from child, + in telling of fairy tales, 119-54: + in language, 125-27; + in inquiry, 127-29; + in construction, 129-30; + in artistic expression, 130-54; + in paper-cutting, 130-31; + in drawing, 132; + in painting, 132; + in song, 132-33; + in rhythm, 133-34; + in game, 134-35; + in dance, 137, 145, 147; + in dramatization, 138-54; + illustrated, 145-54, 265-72. + +Reynard the Fox, + place in the animal tale, 212; + history, 172-74; + chap-book, 185, 186, 190, 196. + +Rhyme, 56. + +Rhythm, in fairy tales, 26-28; + plays, 133-34. + +Robin's Christmas song, 78-79. + +Romantic tale, 228-34; types of, 228-34, 275-86. + +St. Nicholas, Stories retold from, 241. + +Sanskrit Tales, 171. + +School editions of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Science, relation of contemplative imagination to, 52-53. + +Sea Fairy and the Land Fairy, 236-37. + +Selection of fairy tales by teacher, psychological or logical, 95-96. + +Sense impression, 17-18. + +Setting, + element of fairy tale as short-story, 77-82; + sequence in, 78-79; + story told by, 81-82; + and phonics, 79-81. + +Sheep and Pig, 215. + +Short-story, + fairy tale as, 70-87: + elements of, 70-71; + ways of writing, 71; + characters, 71-73; + plot, 73-77; + narration in, 74-75; + description in, 75; + setting, 77-82; + elements of, blended, 82-84; + tales tested as, 84-87; + telling of, 90-154. + +Silhouette pictures, cutting of, 130-31. + +Simple and sincere, 28-29. + +Sincerity, principle of, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 60, 61; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65. + +Sindibad, The Book of, 172. + +Sleeping Beauty, + romantic type, 231-32; + uniting partial narration, dramatization, and dramatic game, 146-47. + +Snow White, 145, 266-67. + +Snow White and Rose Red, 232, 282-86. + +Song, as expression, 132-33. + +Soul, in literature, 39-40. + +Sources of material for fairy tales, 245-64: + list of fairy tales and folk-tales, 246-53; + bibliography of fairy tales, 253-54; + list of picture-books, 254-55; + list of pictures, 255; + list of fairy poems, 255-56; + main standard fairy-tale books, 256-58; + fairy tales of all nations, 258-59; + miscellaneous editions of fairy tales, 259-62; + school editions of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Sparrow and the Crow, as expression, 125-26. + +Spider and the Flea, 79-81. + +Standards, + for testing fairy tales, 84; + for selecting tales, 204-05; + for making lists, 245-46. _See_ Summaries. + +Standard fairy-tale books, a list, 256-58. + +Story, place of, + in home, library, and school, 93-94; + formation of original stories, 126-27. + +Story-telling, + an ancient art, 91-93; + principles governing, 94; + teacher's preparation for, 94-102; + rules for, 94-102; + presentation in, 102-119; + voice in, 103-04; + breathing in, 104-05; + gesture in, 105-06; + re-creative method of, 113-17; + return from child, in, 119-54; + child's part in, 121-25. + +Straparola, 178. + +Straparola's Nights, 178. + +Straw Ox, 86-87. + +Structure, illustrated, 76-77; + study of, in story-telling, 99-100. + +Study of tale as folk-lore and as literature, 96-99. + +Style, + defined, 59-60; + illustrated, 60-65; + qualities of, 59-60; + principles controlling, 59-60. + +Success, 20. + +Suggestion, + illustrated by Pope, 55; + by Andersen, 136; + by Kipling, 56-57; + through gesture and sound, 55; + through arrangement of words and speech-tunes of voice, 56-57. + +Summaries: giving message of book, 13, 37-38, 40, 70-71, 84, 158, + 204-05, 235. + +Surprise, 15-17. + +Swedish tales, 193. + +Tales: + of Mother Goose, 179-81; + of Perrault, 246; + of the Grimms, 246-47; + Norse, 247; + English, by Jacobs, 247-48; + modern fairy, by Andersen, 248; + Uncle Remus, 248-49; + miscellaneous, 249-53; + fairy, of all nations, 258-59; + literary collections of, 170-200. _See_ Fairy tales. + +Teaching, + story-telling, a part of the art of, 119-25; + poetry of, 120; + good art in, 120; + great art in, 120-21; + a criticism of life, 120-21. + +Telling, of fairy tales, 90-154; + art of story-telling, 90-94; + principles controlling, 94; + preparation by teacher for, 94-102; + presentation by teacher, in, 102-19; + suggestions for, 107-12; + return by child, from, 119-54; + re-creative method of, 113-17; + adaptation of tales for, 117-19; + references, 154-57. + +Theories of origin of fairy tales: + detritus of myth, 161-63; + sun-myth theory, 163-64; + common Indian heritage, 165-67; + identity of early fancy, 167. + +Three Bears, + illustrating surprise, 16-17; + a chap-book, 190; + accumulative, 209-11. + +Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65. + +Three Pigs, + illustrating structure, 76; + animal type, 216. + +Thumbelina, + illustrating adaptation, 118; + illustrating rhythm play, 134. + +Tin Soldier, + Steadfast, as emotion, 42; + tale of imagination, 46; + as representation, 135-38; + as a game, 135, 138. + +Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, 81, 208-09, 227-28. + +Tom Hickathrift, 185, 186, 187, 196. + +Tom Thumb, + chap-book tale, 185, 188, 190, 196; + romantic type, 278-81. + +Tone-color, in story-telling, 105. + +Training of voice, 103-04. + +Transformation, tales of, 32-33; kinds of, 276. + +Transmission, of tales: + oral, 167-170; + literary, 170; + illustrated by: Dog Gellert, 166; + Dick Whittington, 169; + Peruonto, 169-70. + +Tributes, two public, 1-3. + +Truth, basis of, in fairy tales, a distinguishing literary mark, 40, + 53-54. + +Tuileries, gardens of. _See_ Gardens. + +Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, 248-49; editions, 257. + +Unhappy tales, 34. + +Unity, + of effect, 29-30; + principle of composition, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 61; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 65. + +Value, + of fairy tales in education, 3-12, 119-25; + to give joy, 3-4; + to satisfy the play-spirit, 4-6; + to develop observation, 6; + to give habits of mind, 6-7; + to strengthen emotion, 6-7, 44-45; + to extend social relations, 7-8 + in home, library, and school, 8-9; + to give language-training, 10-11; + to develop imagination, 45-53; + to develop reason, 53-54; + to develop power of creative return, 119-54; + to develop self-activity, 121-22; + to develop consciousness, through problems, 122-23; + to develop initiative, 122; + to develop purpose, 123-25; + to develop self-expression, 124-54; + to strengthen originality, 127-29; + to develop organization of ideas, 153; + and to exercise memory, 226. + +Version, of tale, 101-02. + +Villeneuve, Madam, 182. + +Voice, training of, 103-04. + +Witch tales, 31. + +Wolf and the Seven Kids, + expression in painting, 132; + in song, 132-33. + +Words, + powers of, 54-55; + denotation, 54; + connotation, 54-55; + suggestion, 54-57. + +Wonder, mystery, magic, an interest, 19. + +Worth of fairy tales, 1-12: + two public tributes, 1-3; + value of fairy tales in education, 3-12; + references, 12. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13666 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3a22fb5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #13666 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13666) diff --git a/old/13666-8.txt b/old/13666-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5aa3a96 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13666-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12110 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Study of Fairy Tales, by Laura F. Kready, +et al + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Study of Fairy Tales + +Author: Laura F. Kready + +Release Date: October 7, 2004 [eBook #13666] +[Date last updated: August 21, 2006] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES*** + + +E-text prepared by Ted Garvin, Keith M. Eckrich, and the Project Gutenberg +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES + +by + +LAURA F. KREADY, B.S. + +With an Introduction by Henry Suzzallo, Ph.D. +President of the University of Washington, Seattle + + + + + + + +TO THE CHILDREN WHO, BECAUSE OF IT, MAY RECEIVE ANY GOOD. + + + + +PREFACE + + +One of the problems of present-day education is to secure for the +entire school system, from the kindergarten to the university, a +curriculum which shall have a proved and permanent value. In this +curriculum literature has established itself as a subject of +unquestioned worth. But children's literature, as that distinct +portion of the subject literature written especially for children or +especially suited to them, is only beginning to take shape and form. +It seems necessary at this time to work upon the content of children's +literature to see what is worthy of a permanent place in the child's +English, and to dwell upon its possibilities. A consideration of this +subject has convinced me of three points: + + (1) that literature in the kindergarten and elementary + school should be taught as a distinct subject, accessory + neither to reading nor to any other subject of the + curriculum, though intimately related to them; + + (2) that it takes training in the subject to teach + literature to little children; + + (3) that the field of children's literature is largely + untilled, inviting laborers, embracing literature which + should be selected from past ages down to the present. + +A single _motif_ of this children's literature, _Fairy Tales_, is here +presented, with the aim of organizing this small portion of the +curriculum for the child of five, six, or seven years, in the +kindergarten and the first grade. The purpose has been to show this +unit of literature in its varied connection with those subjects which +bear an essential relation to it. This presentation incidentally may +serve as an example of one method of giving to teachers a course in +literature by showing what training may be given in a single _motif, +Fairy Tales_. Incidentally also it may set forth a few theories of +education, not isolated from practice, but united to the everyday +problems where the teacher will recognize them with greatest +impression. In the selection of the subject no undue prominence is +hereby advocated for fairy tales. We know fairy tales about which we +could agree with Maria Edgeworth when she said: "Even if children do +prefer fairy tales, is this a reason why their minds should be filled +with fantastic visions instead of useful knowledge?" However, there is +no danger that fairy tales will occupy more than a fair share of the +child's interest, much as he enjoys a tale; for the little child's +main interest is centered in the actual things of everyday life and +his direct contact with them. Yet there is a part of him untouched by +these practical activities of his real and immediate life; and it is +this which gives to literature its unique function, to minister to the +spirit. Fairy tales, in contributing in their small way to this high +service, while they occupy a position of no undue prominence, +nevertheless hold a place of no mean value in education. + +In the study of fairy tales, as of any portion of the curriculum or as +in any presentation of subject-matter, three main elements must unite +to form one combined whole: the child, the subject, and the teaching +of the subject. In behalf of the child I want to show how fairy tales +contain his interests and how they are means for the expression of his +instincts and for his development in purpose, in initiative, in +judgment, in organization of ideas, and in the creative return +possible to him. In behalf of the subject I want to show what fairy +tales must possess as classics, as literature and composition, and as +short-stories; to trace their history, to classify the types, and to +supply the sources of material. In behalf of the teaching of fairy +tales I want to describe the telling of the tale: the preparation it +involves, the art required in its presentation, and the creative +return to be expected from the child. + +In the consideration of the subject the main purpose has been to +relate fairy tales to the large subjects, literature and composition. +From the past those tales have come down to us which inherently +possessed the qualities of true classics. In modern times so few +children's tales have survived because they have been written mainly +from the point of view of the subject and of the child without regard +to the standards of literary criticism. In the school the teaching of +literature in the kindergarten and elementary grades has been +conducted largely also from the point of view of the child and of the +subject without regard to the arts of literature and composition. In +bookshops counters are filled with many books that lack literary value +or artistic merit. The object in this book has been to preserve the +point of view of the child and of the subject and yet at the same time +relate the tale to the standards of literature and of composition. The +object has been to get the teacher, every time she selects or tells a +tale, to apply practically the great underlying principles of +literature, of composition, and of the short-story, as well as those +of child-psychology and of pedagogy. + +This relating of the tale to literary standards will give to the +teacher a greater respect for the material she is handling and a +consequent further understanding of its possibilities. It will reveal +what there is in the tale to teach and also how to teach it. In +teaching literature as also other art subject-matter in the +kindergarten and first grade, the problem is to hold fast to the +principles of the art and yet select, or let the child choose, +material adapted to his simplicity. As the little child uses analysis +but slightly, his best method of possessing a piece of literature is +to do something with it. + +The fairy tale is also related to life standards, for it presents to +the child a criticism of life. By bringing forward in high light the +character of the fairy, the fairy tale furnishes a unique contribution +to life. Through its repeated impression of the idea of fairyhood it +may implant in the child a desire which may fructify into that pure, +generous, disinterested kindness and love of the grown-up, which aims +to play fairy to another, with sincere altruism to make appear before +his eyes his heart's desire, or in a twinkling to cause what hitherto +seemed impossible. Fairy tales thus are harbingers of that helpfulness +which would make a new earth, and as such afford a contribution to the +religion of life. + +In stressing the history of fairy tales the purpose has been to +present fairy tales as an evolution. The kindergarten and first-grade +teacher must therefore look to find her material anywhere in the whole +field and intimately related with the whole. Special attention has +been placed upon the English fairy tale as the tale of our language. +As we claim an American literature since the days of Washington +Irving, the gradual growth of the American fairy tale has been +included, for which we gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of the +Librarian of the United States Bureau of Education and the +Bibliographer of the Library of Congress. A particular treatment of +some North American Indian folk-tales would also be desirable. But a +study of these tales reveals but one unimportant _pourquois_ tale, of +sufficient simplicity. This study of the natural history of the fairy +tale as an art form is not necessary for the child. But for the +teacher it reveals the nature of fairy tales and their meaning. It is +an aid to that scholarly command of subject-matter which is the first +essential for expertness in teaching. Only when we view the American +fairy tale of to-day in the light of its past history can we obtain a +correct standard by which to judge of its excellence or of its worth. + +In the classification of fairy tales the purpose has been to organize +the entire field so that any tale may be studied through the type +which emphasizes its distinguishing features. The source material +endeavors to furnish a comprehensive treatment of fairy tales for the +kindergarten and elementary school. + +In the preparation of this book the author takes pleasure in +expressing an appreciation of the criticism and helpful suggestions +given by the Editor, Dr. Henry Suzzallo, under whose counsel, +cooperation, and incentive the work grew. The author wishes also to +make a general acknowledgment for the use of many books which of +necessity would be consulted in organizing and standardizing any unit +of literature. Special acknowledgment should be made for the use of +_Grimm's Household Tales_, edited by Margaret Hunt, containing +valuable notes and an introduction by Andrew Lang of _English Fairy +Tales_, _More English Fairy Tales_, _Indian Fairy Tales_, and _Reynard +the Fox_, and their scholarly introductions and notes, by Joseph +Jacobs; of _Norse Tales_ and its full introduction, by Sir George W. +Dasent; of _Tales of the Punjab_ and its Appendix, by Mrs. F.A. Steel; +of the _Uncle Remus Books_, by J.C. Harris; of _Fairy Tales_, by Hans +C. Andersen; of _Fairy Mythology_ and _Tales and Popular Fictions_, by +Thomas Keightley; of _Principles of Literary Criticism_, by Professor +C.T. Winchester, for its standards of literature; of _English +Composition_, by Professor Barrett Wendell, for its standards of +composition; of Professor John Dewey's classification of the child's +instincts; and of the _Kindergarten Review_, containing many articles +of current practice illustrating standards emphasized here. + +Recognition is gratefully given for the use of various collections of +fairy tales and for the use of any particular fairy tale that has been +presented in outline, descriptive narrative, criticism, or +dramatization. Among collections special mention should be made of +_The Fairy Library_, by Kate D. Wiggin and Nora A. Smith; the _Fairy +Books_, by Clifton Johnson; and the _Fairy Books_, by Andrew Lang. +Among tales, particular mention should be made for the use, in +adaptation, made of _Oeyvind and Marit_, given in Whittier's _Child +Life in Prose_; of _The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, given in _The Jataka +Tales_, by Ellen C. Babbit; of _The Sheep and the Pig_, in Miss +Bailey's _For the Children's Hour_; of _Drakesbill_, in _The Fairy +Ring_, by Wiggin and Smith; of _The Magpie's Nest_, in _English Fairy +Tales_, by Joseph Jacobs; of _How the Evergreen Trees Lose their +Leaves_, in _The Book of Nature Myths_, by Miss Holbrook; of _The +Good-Natured Bear_, described by Thackeray in "On Some Illustrated +Christmas Books"; and of _The Hop-About-Man_, by Agnes Herbertson, +given in _The Story-Teller's Book_, by Alice O'Grady (Moulton) and +Frances Throop. + +The author wishes also to express thanks to the many teachers and +children whose work has in any way contributed to _A Study of Fairy +Tales_. + +LAURA F. KREADY +LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA +August, 1916 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + INTRODUCTION BY HENRY SUZZALLO xv + + I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 1 + + II. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES 13 + +III. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 90 + + IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 158 + + V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 204 + + VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES 245 + + APPENDIX 265 + + OUTLINE 291 + + INDEX 305 + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The fairy tale has a place in the training of children which common +sense and a sympathetic attitude toward childhood will not deny. Some +rigid philosophers, who see no more of life than is to be found in +logical science, condemn the imaginative tale. They regard the +teaching of myths and stories as the telling of pleasant lies, which, +if harmless, are wasteful. What the child acquires through them, he +must sooner or later forget or unlearn. + +Such arguments carry conviction until one perceives that their authors +are measuring the worth of all teaching in terms of strictly +intellectual products. Life is more than precise information; it is +impulse and action. The fairy tale is a literary rather than a +scientific achievement. Its realities are matters of feeling, in which +thought is a mere skeleton to support the adventure. It matters little +that the facts alleged in the story never were and never can be. The +values and ideals which enlist the child's sympathy are morally +worthy, affording a practice to those fundamental prejudices toward +right and wrong which are the earliest acquisitions of a young soul. +The other characteristics of the tale--the rhythmic, the grotesque, +the weird, and the droll--are mere recreation, the abundant +playfulness which children require to rest them from the dangers and +terrors which fascinate them. + +The fairy tale, like every other literary production, must be judged +by the fitness of its emotional effects. Fairyland is the stage-world +of childhood, a realm of vicarious living, more elemental and more +fancy-free than the perfected dramas of sophisticated adults whose +ingrained acceptance of binding realities demands sterner stuff. The +tales are classics of a particular kind; they are children's classics, +artful adaptations of life and form which grip the imaginations of +little folks. + +The diet of babes cannot be determined by the needs of grown-ups. A +spiritual malnutrition which starves would soon set in if adult wisdom +were imposed on children for their sustenance. The truth is amply +illustrated by those pathetic objects of our acquaintance, the men and +women who have never been boys and girls. + +To cast out the fairy tale is to rob human beings of their childhood, +that transition period in which breadth and richness are given to +human life so that it may be full and plastic enough to permit the +creation of those exacting efficiencies which increasing knowledge and +responsibility compel. We cannot omit the adventures of fairyland from +our educational program. They are too well adapted to the restless, +active, and unrestrained life of childhood. They take the objects +which little boys and girls know vividly and personify them so that +instinctive hopes and fears may play and be disciplined. + +While the fairy tales have no immediate purpose other than to amuse, +they leave a substantial by-product which has a moral significance. In +every reaction which the child has for distress or humor in the tale, +he deposits another layer of vicarious experience which sets his +character more firmly in the mould of right or wrong attitude. Every +sympathy, every aversion helps to set the impulsive currents of his +life, and to give direction to his personality. + +Because of the important aesthetic and ethical bearings of this form +of literary experience, the fairy stories must be rightly chosen and +artfully told. In no other way can their full worth in education be +realized. They are tools which require discrimination and skill. Out +of the wisdom of one who knows both tales and children, and who holds +a thoughtful grasp on educational purpose, we offer this volume of +unusually helpful counsel.--HENRY SUZZALLO. + + + + + +CHAPTER I + + + + +THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES + + In olde dayes of the kyng Arthour, + Of which that Britouns speken gret honour, + Al was this lond fulfilled of fayrie; + The elf-queen, with hir joly compaignye, + Daunced ful oft in many a grene mede.--CHAUCER. + + +I. TWO PUBLIC TRIBUTES + + +Only a few years ago, in the gardens of the Tuileries, in Paris, a +statue was erected in memory of Charles Perrault, to be placed there +among the sculptures of the never-to-be-forgotten fairy tales he had +created,--_Red Riding Hood_, _Sleeping Beauty_, _Puss-in-Boots_, +_Hop-o'-my-Thumb_, _Bluebeard_, and the rest,--so that the children +who roamed the gardens, and in their play gathered about the statues +of their beloved fairy friends, might have with them also a reminder +of the giver of all this joy, their friend Perrault. Two hundred years +before, Perrault truly had been their friend, not only in making for +them fairy tales, but in successfully pleading in their behalf when he +said, "I am persuaded that the gardens of the King were made so great +and spacious that all the children may walk in them." + +Only in December, 1913, in Berlin, was completed the _Märchen +Brunnen_, or "Fairy-Tale Fountain," at the entrance to Friedrichshain +Park, in which the idea of the architect, Stadt-Baurat Ludwig +Hoffmann, wholly in harmony with the social spirit of the times, was +to erect an artistic monument to give joy to multitudes of children. +This fairy entrance to the park is a decorative lay-out, a central +ground surrounded by a high, thick lodge of beeches. Toward this +central ground--which has been transformed into a joyous fairy +world--many hedge walks lead; while in the sidewalks, to warn naughty +children, are concealed fantastic figures. There is the huge +_Menschen-fresser_, who grasps a tender infant in each Titan hand and +bears on his head a huge basket of children too young to have known +much wrong. A humorous touch, giving distinct charm to the whole +creation, pervades all. From lions' heads and vases, distributed at +regular intervals in the semicircular arcade in the background, water +gushes forth; while in the central basin, nine small water +animals--seven frogs and two larger animals--appear spouting great +jets of water. Clustered about the central fountain are the nine fairy +characters of Professor Ignatius Taschner, among whom are Red Riding +Hood, Hansel and Grethel each riding a duck, Puss-in-Boots, +Cinderella, and Lucky Hans; and looking down upon them from the +surrounding balustrade are the animal figures by Joseph Rauch. In +these simple natural classic groups, fancy with what pleasure the +children may look to find the friendly beasts and the favorite tales +they love! + +Such is the tribute to fairy tales rendered by two great nations who +have recognized fairy tales as the joyous right of children. Any +education which claims to relate itself to present child life can +hardly afford to omit what is acknowledged as part of the child's +everyday life; nor can it afford to omit to hand on to the child those +fairy tales which are a portion of his literary heritage. + + + +II. THE VALUE OF FAIRY TALES IN EDUCATION + + +In considering fairy tales for the little child, the first question +which presents itself is, "Why are fairy stories suited to the little +child, and what is their value for him?" + +Fairy tales bring joy into child life. The mission of joy has not been +fully preached, but we know that joy works toward physical health, +mental brightness, and moral virtue. In the education of the future, +happiness together with freedom will be recognized as the largest +beneficent powers that will permit the individual of four, from his +pristine, inexperienced self-activity, to become that final, matured, +self-expressed, self-sufficient, social development--the educated man. +Joy is the mission of art and fairy tales are art products. As such +Pater would say, "For Art comes to you, proposing to give nothing but +the highest quality to your moments as they pass, and simply for those +moments' sake. Not the fruit of experience, but experience, is the +end." Such quality came from the art of the fairy tale into the walk +of a little girl, for whom even the much-tabooed topic of the weather +took on a new, fresh charm. In answer to a remark concerning the day +she replied, "Yes, it's not too hot, and not too cold, but just +right." All art, being a product of the creative imagination, has the +power to stimulate the creative faculties. "For Art, like Genius," +says Professor Woodberry, "is common to all men, it is the stamp of +the soul in them." All are creatures of imitation and combination; and +the little child, in handling an art product, puts his thought through +the artist's mould and gains a touch of the artist's joy. + +Fairy tales satisfy the play spirit of childhood. Folk-tales are the +product of a people in a primitive stage when all the world is a +wonder-sphere. Most of our popular tales date from days when the +primitive Aryan took his evening meal of yava and fermented mead, and +the dusky Sudra roamed the Punjab. "All these fancies are pervaded +with that purity by which children seem to us so wonderful," said +William Grimm. "They have the same blue-white, immaculate bright +eyes." Little children are in this same wonder-stage. They believe +that the world about throbs with life and is peopled with all manner +of beautiful, powerful folk. All children are poets, and fairy tales +are the poetic recording of the facts of life. In this day of +commercial enterprise, if we would fit children for life we must see +to it that we do not blight the poets in them. In this day of emphasis +on vocational training we must remember there is a part of life unfed, +unnurtured, and unexercised by industrial education. Moreover, +whatever will be accomplished in life will be the achievement of a +free and vigorous life of the imagination. Before it was realized, +everything new had existed in some trained imagination, fertile with +ideas. The tale feeds the imagination, for the soul of it is a bit of +play. It suits the child because in it he is not bound by the law of +cause and effect, nor by the necessary relations of actual life. He is +entirely in sympathy with a world where events follow as one may +choose. He likes the mastership of the universe. And fairyland--where +there is no time; where troubles fade; where youth abides; where +things come out all right--is a pleasant place. + +Furthermore, fairy tales are play forms. "Play," Bichter says, "is the +first creative utterance of man." "It is the highest form in which the +native activity of childhood expresses itself," says Miss Blow. Fairy +tales offer to the little child an opportunity for the exercise of +that self-active inner impulse which seeks expression in two kinds of +play, the symbolic activity of free play and the concrete presentation +of types. The play, _The Light Bird_, and the tale, _The Bremen_ _Town +Musicians_, both offer an opportunity for the child to express that +pursuit of a light afar off, a theme which appeals to childhood. The +fairy tale, because it presents an organized form of human experience, +helps to organize the mind and gives to play the values of human life. +By contributing so largely to the play spirit, fairy tales contribute +to that joy of activity, of achievement, of coöperation, and of +judgment, which is the joy of all work. This habit of kindergarten +play, with its joy and freedom and initiative, is the highest goal to +be attained in the method of university work. + +Fairy tales give the child a power of accurate observation. The habit +of re-experiencing, of visualization, which they exercise, increases +the ability to see, and is the contribution literature offers to +nature study. In childhood acquaintance with the natural objects of +everyday life is the central interest; and in its turn it furnishes +those elements of experience upon which imagination builds. For this +reason it is rather remarkable that the story, which is omitted from +the Montessori system of education, is perhaps the most valuable means +of effecting that sense-training, freedom, self-initiated play, +repose, poise, and power of reflection, which are foundation stones of +its structure. + +Fairy tales strengthen the power of emotion, develop the power of +imagination, train the memory, and exercise the reason. As emotion and +imagination are considered in Chapter 11, in the section, "The Fairy +Tale as Literature," and the training of the memory and the exercise +of the reason in connection with the treatment of various other topics +later on, these subjects will be passed by for the present. Every day +the formation of habits of mind during the process of education is +being looked upon with a higher estimate. The formation of habits of +mind through the use of fairy tales will become evident during +following chapters. + +Fairy tales extend and intensify the child's social relations. They +appeal to the child by presenting aspects of family life. Through them +he realizes his relations to his own parents: their care, their +guardianship, and their love. Through this he realizes different +situations and social relations, and gains clear, simple notions of +right and wrong. His sympathies are active for kindness and fairness, +especially for the defenseless, and he feels deeply the calamity of +the poor or the suffering and hardship of the ill-treated. He is in +sympathy with that poetic justice which desires immediate punishment +of wrong, unfairness, injustice, cruelty, or deceit. Through fairy +tales he gains a many-sided view of life. Through his dramas, with a +power of sympathy which has seemed universal, Shakespeare has given +the adult world many types of character and conduct that are noble. +But fairy tales place in the hands of childhood all that the thousands +and thousands of the universe for ages have found excellent in +character and conduct. They hold up for imitation all those cardinal +virtues of love and self-sacrifice,--which is the ultimate criterion +of character,--of courage, loyalty, kindness, gentleness, fairness, +pity, endurance, bravery, industry, perseverance, and thrift. Thus +fairy tales build up concepts of family life and of ethical standards, +broaden a child's social sense of duty, and teach him to reflect. +Besides developing his feelings and judgments, they also enlarge his +world of experience. + +In the school, the fairy tale as one form of the story is one part of +the largest means to unify the entire work or play of the child. In +proportion as the work of art, nature-study, game, occupation, etc., +is fine, it will deal with some part of the child's everyday life. The +good tale parallels life. It is a record of a portion of the race +reaction to its environment; and being a permanent record of +literature, it records experience which is universal and presents +situations most human. It is therefore material best suited to furnish +the child with real problems. As little children have their thoughts +and observations directed mainly toward people and centered about the +home, the fairy tale rests secure as the intellectual counterpart to +those thoughts. As self-expression and self-activity are the great +natural instincts of the child, in giving opportunity to make a crown +for a princess, mould a clay bowl, decorate a tree, play a game, paint +the wood, cut paper animals, sing a lullaby, or trip a dance, the tale +affords many problems exercising all the child's accomplishments in +the variety of his work. This does not make the story the central +interest, for actual contact with nature is the child's chief +interest. But it makes the story, because it is an organized +experience marked by the values of human life, the unity of the +child's return or reaction to his environment. The tale thus may bring +about that "living union of thought and expression which dispels the +isolation of studies and makes the child live in varied, concrete, +active relation to a common world." + +In the home fairy tales employ leisure hours in a way that builds +character. Critical moments of decision will come into the lives of +all when no amount of reason will be a sufficient guide. Mothers who +cannot follow their sons to college, and fathers who cannot choose for +their daughters, can help their children best to fortify their spirits +for such crises by feeding them with good literature. This, when they +are yet little, will begin the rearing of a fortress of ideals which +will support true feeling and lead constantly to noble action. Then, +too, in the home, the illustration of his tale may give the child much +pleasure. For this is the day of fairy-tale art; and the child's +satisfaction in the illustration of the well-known tale is limitless. +It will increase as he grows older, as he understands art better, and +as he becomes familiar with the wealth of beautiful editions which are +at his command. + +And finally, though not of least moment, fairy tales afford a vital +basis for language training and thereby take on a new importance in +the child's English. Through the fairy tale he learns the names of +things and the meanings of words. One English fairy tale, _The Master +of all Masters_, is a ludicrous example of the tale built on this very +theme of names and meanings. Especially in the case of foreign +children, in a tale of repetition, such as _The Cat and the Mouse_, +_Teeny Tiny_, or _The Old Woman and Her Pig_, will the repetitive +passages be an aid to verbal expression. The child learns to follow +the sequence of a story and gains a sense of order. He catches the +note of definiteness from the tale, which thereby clarifies his +thinking. He gains the habit of reasoning to consequences, which is +one form of a perception of that universal law which rules the world, +and which is one of the biggest things he will ever come upon in life. +Never can he meet any critical situation where this habit of reasoning +to consequences will not be his surest guide in a decision. Thus fairy +tales, by their direct influence upon habits of thinking, effect +language training. + +Fairy tales contribute to language training also by providing another +form of that basic content which is furnished for reading. In the +future the child will spend more time in the kindergarten and early +first grade in acquiring this content, so that having enjoyed the real +literature, when he reads later on he will be eager to satisfy his own +desires. Then reading will take purpose for him and be accomplished +almost without drill and practically with no effort. The reading book +will gradually disappear as a portion of his literary heritage. In the +kindergarten the child will learn the play forms, and in the first +grade the real beginnings, of phonics and of the form of words in the +applied science of spelling. In music he will learn the beginnings of +the use of the voice. This will leave him free, when he begins reading +later, to give attention to the thought reality back of the symbols. +When the elements combining to produce good oral reading are cared for +in the kindergarten and in the first grade, in the subjects of which +they properly form a part, the child, when beginning to read, no +longer will be needlessly diverted, his literature will contribute to +his reading without interference, and his growth in language will +become an improved, steady accomplishment. + + + +REFERENCES + + + Allison, Samuel; and Perdue, Avis: _The Story in Primary + Instruction_. Flanagan. + + Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: _The + Kindergarten_. Houghton. + + Blow, Susan: _Symbolic Education_. Appleton. + + Chamberlain, Alexander: "Folk-Lore in the Schools," _Pedagogical + Seminary_, vol. vii, pp. 347-56. + + Chubb, Percival: "Value and Place of Fairy Stories," _National + Education Association Report_, 1905. + + Dewey, John: _The School and the Child_. Blackie & Sons. + + _Ibid.: The School and Society_. University of Chicago Press. + + "Fairy Tales," _Public Libraries_, 1906, vol. 11, pp. 175-78. + + Palmer, Luella: "Standard for Kindergarten Training," + _Kindergarten Review_, June, 1914. + + Welsh, Charles: _Right Reading for Children_. Heath. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES + + All our troubles come from doing that in which we have no + interest.--EPICTETUS. + + That is useful for every man which is conformable to his own + constitution and nature.--MARCUS AURELIUS. + + Genuine interest means that a person has identified himself + with, or found himself in, a certain course of activity. It + is obtained not by thinking about it and consciously aiming + at it, but by considering and aiming at the conditions that + lie back of it, and compel it.--JOHN DEWEY. + + + +I. THE INTERESTS OF CHILDREN + + +Now that the value of fairy tales in education has been made clear, +let us consider some of those principles of selection which should +guide the teacher, the mother, the father, and the librarian, in +choosing the tale for the little child. + +Fairy tales must contain what interests children. It is a well-known +principle that selective interest precedes voluntary attention; +therefore interest is fundamental. All that is accomplished of +permanent good is a by-product of the enjoyment of the tale. The tale +will go home only as it brings joy, and it will bring joy when it +secures the child's interest. Now interest is the condition which +requires least mental effort. And fairy tales for little children must +follow that great law of composition pointed out by Herbert Spencer, +which makes all language consider the audience and the economy of the +hearer's attention. The first step, then, is to study the interests of +the child. We do not wish to give him just what he likes, but we want +to give him a chance to choose from among those things which he ought +to have and, as good and wise guardians, see that we offer what is in +harmony with his interests. Any observation of the child's interest +will show that he loves the things he finds in his fairy tales. He +enjoys-- + + _A sense of life_. This is the biggest thing in the fairy + tales, and the basis for their universal appeal. The little + child who is just entering life can no more escape its + attraction than can the aged veteran about to leave the + pathway. The little pig, Whitie, who with his briskly + curling tail goes eagerly down the road to secure, from the + man who carried a load of straw, a bit with which to build + his easily destructible house; Red Riding Hood taking a pot + of jam to her sick grandmother; Henny Penny starting out on + a walk, to meet with the surprise of a nut falling on her + head--the biggest charm of all this is that it is life. + + _The familiar_. The child, limited in experience, loves to + come in touch with the things he knows about. It soothes his + tenderness, allays his fears, makes him feel at home in the + world,--and he hates to feel strange,--it calms his + timidity, and satisfies his heart. The home and the people + who live in it; the food, the clothing, and shelter of + everyday life; the garden, the plant in it, or the live ant + or toad; the friendly dog and cat, the road or street near + by, the brook, the hill, the sky--these are a part of his + world, and he feels them his own even in a story. The + presents which the Rabbit went to town to buy for the little + Rabbits, in _How Brother Rabbit Frightens his Neighbors_; + the distinct names, Miss Janey and Billy Malone, given to + the animals of _In Some Lady's Garden_, just as a child + would name her dolls; and the new shoes of the Dog which the + Rabbit managed to get in _Why Mr. Dog Runs after Brother + Rabbit_--these all bring up in the child's experience + delightful familiar associations. The tale which takes a + familiar experience, gives it more meaning, and organizes + it, such as _The Little Red Hen_, broadens, deepens, and + enriches the child's present life. + + _The surprise_. While he loves the familiar, nothing more + quickly brings a smile than the surprise. Perhaps the most + essential of the fairy traits is the combination of the + familiar and the unfamiliar. The desire for the unknown, + that curiosity which brings upon itself surprise, is the + charm of childhood as well as the divine fire of the + scientist. The naughty little Elephant who asked "a new, + fine question he had never asked before," and who went to + answer his own question of "what the crocodile has for + dinner," met with many surprises which were spankings; and + as a result, he returned home with a trunk and experience. + He is a very good example of how delightful to the child + this surprise can be. The essence of the fairy tale is + natural life in a spiritual world, the usual child in the + unusual environment, or the unusual child in the natural + environment. This combination of the usual and unusual is + the chief charm of _Alice in Wonderland_, where a natural + child wanders through a changing environment that is + unusual. For an idle moment enjoy the task of seeing how + many ideas it contains which are the familiar ideas of + children, and how they all have been "made different." All + children love a tea-party, but what child would not be + caught by having a tea-party with a Mad Hatter, a March + Hare, and a sleepy Dormouse, with nothing to eat and no tea! + Red Riding Hood was a dear little girl who set out to take a + basket to her grandmother. But in the wood, after she had + been gathering a nosegay and chasing butterflies, "just as I + might do," any child might say, she met a wolf! And what + child's ears would not rise with curiosity? "Now something's + going to happen!" The Three Bears kept house. That was usual + enough; but everything was different, and the charm is in + giving the child a real surprise at every step. The house + was not like an ordinary house; it was in the wood, and more + like a play-house than a real one. There was a room, but not + much in it; a table, but there was not on it what is on your + table--only three bowls. What they contained was usual, but + unusually one bowl of porridge was big and hot, one was less + big and cold, and one was little and just right. There were + usual chairs, unusual in size and very unusual when + Goldilocks sat in them. Upstairs the bedroom was usual, but + the beds were unusual when Goldilocks lay upon them. The + Bears themselves were usual, but their talk and action was a + delightful mixture of the surprising and the comical. + Perhaps this love of surprise accounts for the perfect leap + of interest with which a child will follow the Cock in _The + Bremen Town Musicians_, as he saw from the top of the tree + on which he perched, a light, afar off through the wood. + Certainly the theme of a light in the distance has a charm + for children as it must have had for man long ago. + + _Sense impression_. Good things to eat, beautiful flowers, + jewels, the beauties of sight, color, and sound, of odor and + of taste, all gratify a child's craving for sense + impression. This, in its height, is the charm of the + _Arabian Nights_. But in a lesser degree it appears in all + fairy tales. Cinderella's beautiful gowns at the ball and + the fine supper stimulate the sense of color, beauty, and + taste. The sugar-panes and gingerbread roof of the Witch's + House, in _Hansel and Grethel_, stir the child's kindred + taste for sweets and cookies. The Gingerbread Boy, with his + chocolate jacket, his cinnamon buttons, currant eyes, + rose-sugar mouth, orange-candy cap, and gingerbread shoes, + makes the same strong sense appeal. There is a natural + attraction for the child in the beautiful interior of + Sleeping Beauty's Castle, in the lovely perfume of roses in + the Beast's Rose-Garden, in the dance and song of the Elves, + and in the dance of the Goat and her seven Kids about the + well. + + _The beautiful_. Closely related to this love of the + material is the sense of the beautiful. "Beauty is pleasure + regarded as the quality of a thing," says Santayana. + Pleasures of the eye and ear, of the imagination and memory, + are those most easily objectified, and form the groundwork + on which all higher beauty rests. The green of the spring, + the odor of Red Riding Hood's flowers, the splendor of the + Prince's ball in _Cinderella_--these when perceived + distinctly are intelligible, and when perceived delightfully + are beautiful. Language is a kind of music, too; the mode of + speaking, the sound of letters, the inflection of the + voice--all are elements of beauty. But this material beauty + is tied up in close association with things "eye hath not + seen nor ear heard," the moral beauty of the good and the + message of the true. The industry of the little Elves + reflects the worth of honest effort of the two aged + peasants, and the dance of the Goat and seven Kids reflects + the triumph of mother wit and the sharpness of love. The + good, the true, and the beautiful are inseparably linked in + the tale, just as they forever grow together in the life of + the child. The tales differ largely in the element of beauty + they present. Among those conspicuous for beauty may be + mentioned Andersen's _Thumbelina_; the Indian _How the Sun, + the Moon, and West Wind Went Out to Dinner_; the Japanese + _Mezumi, the Beautiful_; and the English _Robin's Christmas + Song. Little Two-Eyes_ stands out as one containing a large + element of beauty, and _Oeyvind and Marit_ represents in an + ideal way the possible union of the good, the true, and the + beautiful. This union of the good, the true, and the + beautiful has been expressed by an old Persian legend: "In + the midst of the light is the beautiful, in the midst of the + beautiful is the good, in the midst of the good is God, the + Eternal One." + + _Wonder, mystery, magic_. The spirit of wonder, like a + will-o'-the-wisp, leads on through a fairy tale, enticing + the child who follows, knowing that something will happen, + and wondering what. When magic comes in he is gratified + because some one becomes master of the universe--Cinderella, + when she plants the hazel bough, and later goes to the + wishing-tree; the fairy godmother, when with her wand she + transforms a pumpkin to a gilded coach and six mice to + beautiful gray horses; Little Two-Eyes, when she says,-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + + and immediately her little table set with food so + marvelously appears; or Hop-o'-my-Thumb when he steps into + his Seven-League Boots and goes like the wind. + + _Adventure_. This is a form of curiosity. In the old tale, + as the wood was the place outside the usual habitation, + naturally it was the place where things happened. Often + there was a house in the wood, like the one "amidst the + forest darkly green," where Snow White lived with the + Dwarfs. This adventure the little child loves for its own + sake. Later, when he is about eleven or twelve, he loves it + for its motive. This love of adventure is part of the charm + of _Red Riding Hood_, of the _Three Bears_, of the _Three + Pigs_, or of any good tale you might mention. + + _Success_. The child likes the fairy tale to tell him of + some one who succeeds. He admires the little pig Speckle who + outwitted the Wolf in getting to the field of turnips first, + or in going to the apple tree at Merry-Garden, or to the + fair at Shanklin; who built his house of brick which would + defy assault; and whose cleverness ended the Wolf's life. + This observation of success teaches the child to admire + masterliness, to get the motto, _Age quod agis_, stamped + into his child life from the beginning. It influences + character to follow such conduct as that of the Little Red + Hen, who took a grain of wheat,--her little mite,--who + planted it, reaped it, made it into bread, and then ate it; + who, in spite of the Goose and the Duck, secured to herself + the reward of her labors. + + _Action_. Akin to his love of running, skipping, and + jumping, to his enjoyment in making things go and in seeing + others make things go, is the child's desire for action in + his fairy tales; and this is just another way of saying he + wants his fairy tales to parallel life. Action is the + special charm of the Gingerbread Boy, who opened the oven + door and so marvelously ran along, outrunning an old Man, an + old Woman, a little Boy, two Well-Diggers, two + Ditch-Diggers, a Bear, and a Wolf, until he met the Fox + waiting by the corner of the fence. _Dame Wiggins of Lee and + Her Seven Wonderful Cats_--a humorous tale written by Mrs. + Sharp, a lady of ninety, edited by John Ruskin, who added + the third, fourth, eighth, and ninth stanzas, and + illustrated by Kate Greenaway--has this pleasing trait of + action to a unique degree. So also has _The Cock, the Mouse, + and the Little Red Hen_, a modern tale by Félicité Lefèvre. + This very popular tale among children is a retelling of two + old tales combined, _The Little Red Hen_ and the Irish + _Little Rid Hin_. + + _Humor_. The child loves a joke, and the tale that is + humorous is his special delight. Humor is the source of + pleasure in _Billy Bobtail_, where the number of animals and + the noises they make fill the tale with hilarious fun. There + is most pleasing humor in _Lambikin_. Here the reckless hero + frolicked about on his little tottery legs. On his way to + Granny's house, as he met the Jackal, the Vulture, the + Tiger, and the Wolf, giving a little frisk, he said,-- + + To Granny's house I go, + Where I shall fatter grow, + Then you can eat me so! + + Later, on returning, when the animals asked, "Have you seen + Lambikin?" cozily settled within his Drumikin, laughing and + singing to himself, he called out slyly-- + + Lost in the forest, and so are you, + On, little Drumikin! Tum-pa, turn-too! + + Humor is the charm, too, of Andersen's _Snow Man_. Here the + child can identify himself with the Dog and thereby join in + the sport which the Dog makes at the Snow Man's expense, + just as if he himself were enlightening the Snow Man about + the Sun, the Moon, and the Stove. There is most delightful + humor in _The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_, where the + Cat has the face to play upon the credulity of the poor + housekeeper Mouse, who always "stayed at home and did not go + out into the daytime." Returning home from his ventures + abroad he named the first kitten Top-Off, the second one + Half-Out, and the third one All-Out; while instead of having + attended the christening of each, as he pretended, he + secretly had been visiting the jar of fat he had placed for + safe-keeping in the church. + + _Poetic justice_. Emotional satisfaction and moral + satisfaction based on emotional instinct appeal to the + child. He pities the plight of the animals in the _Bremen + Town Musicians_, and he wants them to find a refuge, a safe + home. He is glad that the robbers are chased out, his sense + of right and wrong is satisfied. Poetic justice suits him. + This is one reason why fairy tales make a more definite + impression often than life--because in the tale the + retribution follows the act so swiftly that the child may + see it, while in life "the mills of the gods grind slowly," + and even the adult who looks cannot see them grind. The + child wants Cinderella to gain the reward for her goodness; + and he wishes the worthy Shoemaker and his Wife, in the + _Elves and the Shoemaker_, to get the riches their industry + deserves. + + _The imaginative_. Fairy tales satisfy the activity of the + child's imagination and stimulate his fancy. Some beautiful + spring day, perhaps, after he has enjoyed an excursion to a + field or meadow or wood, he will want to follow Andersen's + Thumbelina in her travels. He will follow her as she floats + on a lily pad, escapes a frog of a husband, rides on a + butterfly, lives in the house of a field-mouse, escapes a + mole of a husband, and then rides on the back of a friendly + swallow to reach the south land and to become queen of the + flowers. Here there is much play of fancy. But even when the + episodes are homely and the situations familiar, as in + _Little Red Hen_, the act of seeing them as distinct images + and of following them with interest feeds the imagination. + For while the elements are familiar, the combination is + unusual; and this nourishes the child's ability to remove + from the usual situation, which is the essential element in + all originality. By entering into the life of the characters + and identifying himself with them, he develops a large + sympathy and a sense of power, he gains insight into life, + and a care for the interests of the world. Thus imagination + grows "in flexibility, in scope, and in sympathy, till the + life which the individual lives is informed with the life of + nature and of society," and acquires what Professor John + Dewey calls Culture. + + _Animals_. Very few of the child's fairy tales contain no + animals. Southey said of a home: "A house is never perfectly + furnished for enjoyment unless there is in it a child rising + three years old and a kitten rising six weeks; kitten is in + the animal world what a rose-bud is in a garden." In the + same way it might be said of fairy tales: No tale is quite + suited to the little child unless in it there is at least + one animal. Such animal tales are _The Bremen Town + Musicians, Henny Penny, Ludwig and Marleen_ and _The + Elephant's Child_. The episode of the hero or heroine and + the friendly animal, as we find it retained in Two-Eyes and + her little Goat, was probably a folk-lore convention--since + dropped--common to the beginning of many of the old tales. + It indicates how largely the friendly animal entered into + the old stories. + + _A portrayal of human relations, especially with children_. + In _Cinderella_ the child is held by the unkind treatment + inflicted upon Cinderella by her Stepmother and the two + haughty Sisters. He notes the solicitude of the Mother of + the Seven Kids in guarding them from the Wolf. In the _Three + Bears_ he observes a picture of family life. A little child, + on listening to _The Three Pigs_ for the first time, was + overwhelmed by one thought and cried out, "And didn't the + Mother come home any more?" Naturally the child would be + interested especially in children, for he is like the older + boy, who, when looking at a picture-book, gleefully + exclaimed, "That's me!" He likes to put himself in the place + of others. He can do it most readily if the character is a + small individual like Red Riding Hood who should obey her + mother; or like Goldilocks who must not wander in the wood; + or like Henny Penny who went to take a walk and was accosted + by, "Where are you going?" In _Brother Rabbit and the Little + Girl_ the Little Girl takes the keenest enjoyment in putting + herself in the customary grown-up's place of granting + permission, while the Rabbit takes the usual child's place + of mentioning a request with much persuasion. The child is + interested, too, in the strange people he meets in the fairy + tales: the clever little elves who lived in the groves and + danced on the grass; the dwarfs who inhabited the + earth-rocks and the hills; the trolls who dwelt in the wild + pine forest or the rocky spurs, who ate men or porridge, and + who fled at the noise of bells; the fairies who pleased with + their red caps, green jackets, and sprightly ways; the + beautiful fairy godmother who waved her wonderful wand; or + those lovely fairy spirits who appeared at the moment when + most needed--just as all best friends do--and who could + grant, in a twinkling, the wish that was most desired. + + _The diminutive_. This pleasure in the diminutive is found + in the interest in the fairy characters, Baby Bear, Little + Billy-Goat, Little Pig, the Little Elves, Teeny Tiny, + Thumbelina, and Tom Thumb, as well as in tiny objects. In + the _Tale of Tom Thumb_ the child is captivated by the + miniature chariot drawn by six small mice, the tiny + butterfly-wing shirt and chicken-skin boots worn by Tom, and + the small speech produced by him at court, when asked his + name:-- + + My name is Tom Thumb, + From the Fairies I come; + When King Arthur shone, + This court was my home. + In me he delighted, + By him I was knighted. + Did you never hear of + Sir Thomas Thumb? + + _Doll i' the Grass_ contains a tiny chariot made from a + silver spoon and drawn by two white mice, and _Little + Two-Eyes_ gives a magic table. The child takes keen delight + in the fairy ship which could be folded up and put into a + pocket, and in the wonderful nut-shell that could bring + forth beautiful silver and gold dresses. The little wagon of + Chanticleer and Partlet that took them a trip up to the + hill, and the tiny mugs and beds, table and plates, of Snow + White's cottage in the wood--such as these all meet the + approval of child-nature. + + _Rhythm and repetition_. The child at first loves sound; + later he loves sound and sense, or meaning. Repetition + pleases him because he has limited experience and is glad to + come upon something he has known before. He observes and he + wants to compare, but it is a job. Repetition saves him a + task and boldly proclaims, "We are the same." Such is the + effect of the repetitive expressions which we find in _Teeny + Tiny_: as, "Now when the teeny-tiny woman got home to her + teeny-tiny house, she was a teeny-tiny bit tired"; or, in + _Little Jack Rollaround_, who cried out with such vigorous + persistence, "Roll me around!" and called to the moon, "I + want the people to see me!" In _The Little Rabbit Who Wanted + Red Wings_, one of the pleasantest tales for little + children, the White Rabbit said to his Mammy, "Oh, Mammy, I + wish I had a long gray tail like Bushy Tail's; I wish I had + a back full of bristles like Mr. Porcupine's; I wish I had a + pair of red rubbers like Miss Puddleduck's." At last, when + he beheld the tiny red-bird at the Wishing-Pond, he said, + "Oh, I wish I had a pair of little red wings!" Then, after + getting his wings, when he came home at night and his Mammy + no longer knew him, he repeated to Mr. Bushy Tail, Miss + Puddleduck, and old Mr. Ground Hog, the same petition to + sleep all night, "Please, kind Mr. Bushy Tail, may I sleep + in your house all night?" etc. Repetition here aids the + child in following the characters, the story, and its + meaning. It is a distinct help to unity and to clearness. + + _The Elephant's Child_ is an example of how the literary + artist has used this element of repetition, and used it so + wonderfully that the form is the matter and the tale cannot + be told without the artist's words. "'Satiable curtiosity," + "the banks of the great, grey-green, greasy, Limpopo River, + all set about with fever-trees," and "'Scuse me," are but a + few of those expressions for which the child will watch as + eagerly as one does for a signal light known to be due. The + repetition of the one word, "curtiosity," throughout the + tale, simply makes the point of the whole story and makes + that point delightfully impressive. + + Rhythm and repetition also make a bodily appeal, they appeal + to the child's motor sense and instinctively get into his + muscles. This is very evident in _Brother Rabbit's + Riddle_:-- + + De big bird bob en little bird sing; + De big bee zoon en little bee sting, + De little man lead en big hoss foller-- + Kin you tell wat 's good fer a head in a holler? + + The song in _Brother Rabbit and the Little Girl_ appeals + also to the child's sense of sound:-- + + De jay-bird hunt de sparrer-nes; + De bee-martin sail all 'roun'; + De squer'l, he holler from de top er de tree, + Mr. Mole, he stay in de ground; + He hide en he stay twel de dark drap down-- + Mr. Mole, he hide in de groun'. + + _The simple and the sincere_. The child's taste for the + simple and the sincere is one reason for the appeal which + Andersen's tales make. In using his stories it is to be + remembered that, although Andersen lacked manliness in being + sentimental, he preserved the child's point of view and gave + his thought in the true nursery story's mode of expression. + Since real sentiment places the emphasis on the object which + arouses feeling and the sentimental places the emphasis on + the feeling, sincerity demands that in using Andersen's + tales, one lessen the sentimental when it occurs by omitting + to give prominence to the feeling. Andersen's tales reflect + what is elementary in human nature, childlike fancy, and + emotion. His speech is characterized by the simplest words + and conceptions, an avoidance of the abstract, the use of + direct language, and a naïve poetic expression adapted to + general comprehension. He is not to be equaled in child + conversations. The world of the fairy tale must be simple + like the world Andersen has given us. It must be a world of + genuine people and honest occupations in order to form a + suitable background for the supernatural. Only fairy tales + possessing simplicity are suited to the oldest kindergarten + child of five or six years. To the degree that the child is + younger than five years, he should be given fewer and fewer + fairy tales. Those given should be largely realistic stories + of extreme simplicity. + + _Unity of effect_. The little child likes the short tale, + for it is a unity he can grasp. If you have ever listened to + a child of five spontaneously attempting to tell you a long + tale he has not grasped, and have observed how the units of + the tale have become confused in the mind that has not held + the central theme, you then realize how harmful it is to + give a child too long a story. Unity demands that there be + no heaping up of sensations, but neat, orderly, essential + incidents, held together by one central idea. The tale must + go to the climax directly. It must close according to Uncle + Remus's idea when he says, "De tale ain't persoon atter em + no furder don de place whar dey [the characters] make der + disappear'nce." It will say what it has to say and lose no + time in saying it; and often it will attempt to say only one + thing. It will be remarkable as well for what it omits as + for what it tells. The Norse _Doll i' the Grass_ well + illustrates this unity. Boots set out to find a wife and + found a charming little lassie who could spin and weave a + shirt in one day, though of course the shirt was tiny. He + took her home and then celebrated his wedding with the + pleasure of the king. This unity, which is violated in + Grimm's complicated _Golden Bird_, appears pleasantly in + _The Little Pine Tree that Wished for New Leaves_. Here one + feeling dominates the tale, the Pine Tree was no longer + contented. So she wished, first for gold leaves, next for + glass leaves, and then for leaves like those of the oaks and + maples. But the robber who stole her gold leaves, the storm + that shattered her glass leaves, and the goat that ate her + broad green leaves, changed her feeling of discontent, until + she wished at last to have back her slender needles, green + and fair, and awoke next morning, happy and contented. + +Fairy tales for little children must avoid certain elements opposed to +the interests of the very young child. Temperaments vary and one must +be guided by the characteristics of the individual child. But while +the little girl with unusual power of visualization, who weeps on +hearing of Thumbling's travels down the cow's mouth in company with +the hay, may be the exception, she proves the rule: the little child +generally should not have the tale that creates an emotion of horror +or deep feeling of pain. This standard would determine what tales +should not be given to the child of kindergarten age:-- + + _The tale of the witch_. The witch is too strange and too + fearful for the child who has not learned to distinguish the + true from the imaginative. This would move _Hansel and + Grethel_ into the second-grade work and _Sleeping Beauty_ + preferably into the work of the first grade. The child soon + gains sufficient experience so that later the story + impresses, not the strangeness. + + _The tale of the dragon_. This would eliminate _Siegfried + and the Dragon_. A dragon is too fearful a beast and + produces terror in the heart of the child. Tales of heroic + adventure with the sword are not suited to his strength. He + has not yet entered the realm of bold adventure where + Perseus and Theseus and Hercules display their powers. The + fact that hero-tales abound in delightful literature is not + adequate reason for crowding the _Rhinegold Legends, Wagner + Stories_, and _Tales of King Arthur_, into the kindergarten. + Their beauty and charm do not make it less criminal to + present to little children such a variety of images as + knighthood carries with it. These tales are not sufficiently + simple for the little child, and must produce a mental + confusion and the crudest of returns. + + _Giant tales_. This would omit _Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack + the Giant-Killer_, and _Tom Hickathrift_, moving them up + into the primary field. A little girl, when eating tongue, + confidingly asked, "Whose tongue?" and when told, "A cow's," + immediately questioned with tenderness, "Don't he feel it?" + Thereafter she insisted that she didn't like tongue. To a + child of such sensibilities the cutting off of heads is + savage and gruesome and should not be given a chance to + impress so prominently. Life cannot be without its strife + and struggle, but the little child need not meet everything + in life at once. This does not mean that absolutely no giant + tale would be used at this time. The tale of _Mr. Miacca_, + in which "little Tommy couldn't always be good and one day + went round the corner," is a giant tale which could be used + with young children because it is full of delightful humor. + Because of the simplicity of Tommy's language and his sweet + childishness it appeals to the child's desire to identify + himself with the character. Tommy is so clever and inventive + and his lively surprises so brimful of fun that the final + effect is entirely pleasing. + + _Some tales of transformation_. The little child is not + pleased but shocked by the transformation of men into + animals. A little girl, on looking at an illustration of + _Little Brother and Sister_, remarked, "If my Sister would + turn into a fawn I would cry." When the animals are + terrifying, the transformation contains horror for the + child. This, together with the length and complexity of the + story, would move _Beauty and the Beast_ up into the second + grade where the same transformation becomes an element of + pleasure. A simple tale of transformation, such as _The + Little Lamb and the Little Fish_, in which Gretchen becomes + a lamb and Peterkin a little fish, is interesting but not + horrible, and could be used. So also could a tale such as + Grimm's _Fundevogel_, in which the brother and sister escape + the pursuit of the witch by becoming, one a rosebush and the + other a rose; later, one a church and the other a steeple; + and a third time, one a pond and the other a duck. In both + these tales we have the witch and transformation, but the + effect contains no horror. + + _The tale of strange animal relations and strange creatures. + Tom Tit Tot_, which Jacobs considers the most delightful of + all fairy tales, is brimful of humor for the older child, + but here the tailed man is not suited to the faith and + understanding of six years. _Rumpelstiltskin_, its parallel, + must also be excluded. _The House in the Wood_, and its + Norse parallel, _The Two Step-Sisters_, are both very + beautiful, but are more suited to the second grade. In the + kindergarten it is much better to present the tale which + emphasizes goodness, rather than the two just mentioned, + which present the good and the bad and show what happens to + both. Besides there is a certain elation resulting from the + superior reward won by the good child which crowds out any + pity for the erring child. Such elation is a form of + selfishness and ought not to be emphasized. _Snow White and + Rose Red_ contains the strange dwarf, but it is a tale so + full of love and goodness and home life that in spite of its + length it could be used in the first grade. + + _Unhappy tales_. The very little child pities, and its + tender heart must be protected from depressing sadness as + unrelieved as we find it in _The Little Match Girl_. The + image of suffering impressed on a child, who cannot forget + the sight of a cripple for days, is too intense to be + healthful. The sorrow of the poor is one of the elements of + life that even the very little child meets, and it is + legitimate that his literature should include tales that + call for compassion. But in a year or two, when he develops + less impressionability and more poise, he is better prepared + to meet such situations, as he must meet them in life. + + _The tale of capture_. This would eliminate _Proserpine_. No + more beautiful myth exists than this one of the springtime, + but its beauty and its symbolism do not make it suitable for + the kindergarten. It is more suited to the elementary child + of the fourth grade. In fact, very few myths of any sort + find a legitimate place in the kindergarten, perhaps only a + few of the simpler _pourquois_ tales. _The Legend of the + Pied Piper of Hamelin_, which is very beautiful, and appeals + to little children because of the piping and of the children + following after, should be omitted from the kindergarten + because the capture at the close--the disappearance of the + children in the hill--is tragic in pathos. It is better to + leave the literature as it is and offer it later when the + child reaches the second grade. The effect of this tragic + end has been realized by Josephine Scribner Gates, who (_St. + Nicholas_, November, 1914) has given to the children, "And + Piped Those Children Back Again." This is a modern + completion of _The Pied Piper_. It most happily makes the + little lame boy who was left in Hamelin when the Piper + closed the door of the mountain, the means of the + restoration of the other children to their parents. + + _The very long tale_. This would omit _The Ugly Duckling. + The Ugly Duckling_ is a most artistic tale and one that is + very true to life. Its characters are the animals of the + barn-yard, the hens and ducks familiar to the little child's + experience. But the theme and emotional interest working out + at length through varied scenes, make it much better adapted + to the capacities of a third-grade child. _The White Cat_, a + feminine counterpart of _Puss-in-Boots_--which gives a most + charming picture of how a White Cat, a transformed princess, + helped a youth, and re-transformed became his bride--because + of its length, is better used in the first grade at the same + time with _Puss-in-Boots_. The same holds true of _Peter, + Paul, and Espen_, or its parallel, Laboulaye's _Poucinet_. + This is a fine tale telling how the youngest of three sons + succeeded in winning the king's favor and finally the + princess and half the kingdom. First, Espen had to cut down + the giant oak that shadowed the palace and dig a well in the + courtyard of the castle deep enough to furnish water the + entire year. But after winning in these tests, he is + required to conquer a great Ogre who dwells in the forest, + and later to prove himself cleverer in intellect than the + princess by telling the greater falsehood. It is evident + that not only the subject-matter but the working out of the + long plot are much beyond kindergarten children. + + _The complicated or the insincere tale_. This would + eliminate a tale of complicated structure, such as Grimm's + _Golden Bird_; and many of the modern fairy tales, which + will be dealt with later on. + +The fairy tales mentioned above are all important tales which the +child should receive at a later time when he is ready for them. They +are mentioned because they all have been suggested for kindergarten +use. The whole field of children's literature is largely unclassified +and ungraded as yet, and such arrangements as we possess show slight +respect for standards. There is abundant material for the youngest, +and much will be gained by omitting to give the very young what they +will enjoy a little later, much better and with freshness. It is true +that a few classics are well-suited to the child at any age, such as +_Alice in Wonderland_, _The Jungle Books_, and _Uncle Remus Tales_. In +regard to this grading of the classics, Lamb in _Mackery End_, +speaking of his sister's education, said, "She was tumbled early, by +accident or design, into a spacious closet of good old English +reading, without much selection or prohibition, and browsed at will +upon that fair and wholesome pasturage. Had I twenty girls they should +be brought up exactly in this fashion." Lamb would have argued: Set +the child free in the library and let him choose for himself, and feed +on great literature, those stories which give general types of +situation and character, which give the simplest pictures of a people +at different epochs. But with all due respect to Lamb it must be said +that Lamb is not living in this scientific day of discovery of the +child's personality and of accurate attention to the child's needs. +Because the _Odyssey_ is a great book and will give much to any child +does not prove at all that the same child would not be better off by +reading it when his interests reach its life. This outlook on the +problem would eliminate the necessity of having the classics rewritten +from a new moral viewpoint, which is becoming a custom now-a-days, and +which is to be frowned upon, for it deprives the literature of much of +its vigor and force. + + + +II. THE FAIRY TALE AS LITERATURE + + +From the point of view of the child, we have seen that in a subjective +sense, fairy tales must contain the interests of children. In an +objective sense, rather from the point of view of literature, let us +now consider what fairy tales must contain, what are the main +standards which determine the value of fairy tales as literature, and +as such, subject-matter of real worth to the child. + +The old tale will not always be perfect literature; often it will be +imperfect, especially in form. Yet the tale should be selected with +the standards of literature guiding in the estimate of its worth and +in the emphasis to be placed upon its content. Such relating of the +tale to literary standards would make it quite impossible later in the +primary grades when teaching the reading of _Three Pigs_, to put the +main stress on a mere external like the expression of the voice. A +study of the story as literature would have centered the attention on +the situation, the characters, and the plot. If the voice is receiving +training in music and in the phonics of spelling, then when the +reading of the tale is undertaken it will be a willing servant to the +mind which is concentrating on the reality, and will express what the +thought compels. + +The fairy tale first must be a classic in reality even if it lacks the +crowning touch of perfect form given through the re-treatment of a +literary artist. In _Reynard the Fox_ we have an exact example of the +folk-tale that has been elevated into literature. But this was +possible only because the tales originally possessed the qualities of +a true classic. "A true classic," Sainte-Beuve has said, "is one which +enriches the human mind, has increased its treasure and caused it to +advance a step, which has discovered some moral and unequivocal truth +or revealed some eternal passion in that heart where all seemed known +and discovered; which is an expression of thought, observation, or +invention, in no matter what form, only provided it be broad and +great, refined and sensible, sane and beautiful in itself; which +speaks in its own peculiar style which is found to be also that of the +whole world, a style new and old, easily contemporary with all time." +Immediately some of the great fairy tales stand out as answering to +this test--_Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, +Cinderella, Jack the Giant-Killer_,--which has been said to be the +epitome of the whole life of man--_Beauty and the Beast_, and a crowd +of others. Any fairy tale which answers to the test of a real classic +must, like these, show itself to contain for the child a permanent +enrichment of the mind. + +Fairy tales must have certain qualities which belong to all literature +as a fine art, whether it is the literature of knowledge or the +literature of power. Literature is not the book nor is it life; but +literature is the sense of life, whose artist is the author, and the +medium he uses is words, language. It is good art when his sense of +life is truth, and fine art when there is beauty in that truth. The +one essential beauty of literature is in its essence and does not +depend upon any decoration. As words are the medium, literature will +distinguish carefully among them and use them as the painter, for +particular lights and shades. According to Pater literature must have +two qualities, mind and soul. Literature will have mind when it has +that architectural sense of structure which foresees the end in the +beginning and keeps all the parts related in a harmonious unity. It +will have soul when it has that "vagrant sympathy" which makes it come +home to us and which makes it suggest what it does not say. Test the +_Tale of Cinderella_ by this standard. As to mind, it makes one think +of a bridge in which the very keystone of the structure is the +condition that Cinderella return from the ball by the stroke of +twelve. And its "vagrant sympathy" is quite definite enough to reach a +maid of five, who remarked: "If I'd have been Cinderella, I wouldn't +have helped those ugly sisters, would you?" + +If the fairy tale stands the test of literature it must have proved +itself, not only a genuine classic according to Sainte-Beuve's +standard, and a tale possessing qualities of mind and soul according +to Pater's _Style_, but it must have shown itself also a work owning +certain features distinguishing it as literature. These particular +literary marks which differentiate the literary tale from the ordinary +prose tale have been pointed out by Professor Winchester in his +_Principles of Literary Criticism_. They apply to the old tale of +primitive peoples just as well as to the modern tale of to-day. As +literature the tale must have: + + (1) a power to appeal to the emotions; + + (2) a power to appeal to the imagination; + + (3) a basis of truth; and + + (4) a form more or less perfect. + +(1) A power to appeal to the emotions. This appeal to the emotions is +its unique distinguishing literary trait. Literature appeals, not to +the personal emotions but to the universal ones. For this reason, +through literature the child may come in time to develop a power of +universal sympathy, which is not the least value literature has to +bestow upon him, for this sympathy will become a benediction to all +those with whom he may have to deal. In order that emotion in the +tales may be literary--make a permanent appeal--according to Professor +Winchester's standards, it must have justness given by a deep and +worthy cause; vividness so that it may enlarge and thrill; a certain +steadiness produced by everything in the tale contributing to the main +emotion; a variety resulting from contrasts of character; and a high +quality obtained through its sympathy with life and its relation to +the conduct of life, so that the feeling for the material beauty of +mere sights and sounds is closely related to the deepest suggestions +of moral beauty. The best literary tales will possess emotion having +all five characteristics. Many tales will exhibit one or more of these +traits conspicuously. No tale that is literature will be found which +does not lay claim to some one of these qualities which appeal to the +broadly human emotions. + +Applying the test of emotion to fairy tales, _Cinderella_ possesses a +just emotion, Cinderella's cause is the cause of goodness and kindness +and love, and deserves a just reward. _The Town Musicians of Bremen_ +exhibits vivid emotion, for all four characters are in the same +desperate danger of losing life, all four unite to save it, and to +find a home. Andersen's _Steadfast Tin Soldier_ is a good example of +steadiness of emotion, as it maintains throughout its message of +courage. The Tin Soldier remained steadfast, whether on the table just +escaped from the toy-box, or in the street after a frightful fall from +the window, or spinning in a paper boat that bobbed, or sailing under +the crossing, or lying at full length within the fish that swallowed +him, or at last melting in the full glare of the hearth fire. It is a +very good example, too, of vividness of emotion. _The Little Elves_ +illustrates steadiness of emotion, it is pervaded by the one feeling, +that industry deserves reward. The French tale, _Drakesbill_, is +especially delightful and humorous because "Bill Drake" perseveres in +his happy, fresh vivacity, at the end of every rebuff of fortune, and +triumphantly continues his one cry of, "Quack, quack, quack! When +shall I get my money back?" _Lambikin_ leaves the one distinct +impression of light gaiety and happy-heartedness; and _The Foolish, +Timid Rabbit_ preserves steadily the one effect of the credulity of +the animals, made all the more prominent by contrast to the wisdom of +the Lion. Variety of emotion appears in tales such as _Cinderella, +Little Two-Eyes, Sleeping Beauty_, and _Three Pigs_, where the various +characters are drawn distinctly and their contrasting traits produce +varied emotional effects. All the great fairy tales appeal to emotion +of a high moral quality and it is this which is the source of their +universal appeal. It is this high moral quality of the spiritual +truth, which is the center of the tale's unity, holding together all +the parts under one emotional theme. This is the source of the +perennial freshness of the old tale; for while the immortal truth it +presents is old, the personality of the child that meets it is new. +For the child, the tale is new because he discovers in it a bit of +himself he had not known before, and it retains for him a lasting +charm so that he longs to hear it again and again. The beauty of +truth, the reward of goodness, and the duty of fairness, give a high +emotional quality to _Little Two-Eyes_; and _Sleeping Beauty_ +illustrates the blighting power of hatred to impose a curse and the +saving power of love to overcome the works of hatred. + +Considering folk-tales from the standpoint of emotion, if asked to +suggest what author's work would rank in the same class, one is rather +surprised to find, that for high moral quality, variety, and worthy +cause, the author who comes to mind is none other than Shakespeare. +Perhaps, with all due respect to literature's idol, one might even +venture to question which receives honor by the comparison, +Shakespeare or the folk-tales? It might be rather a pleasant task to +discover who is the Cordelia, the Othello, the Rosalind, and the +Portia of the folk-tales; or who the Beauty, the Bluebeard, the +Cinderella, the Puss-in-Boots, and the Hop-o'-my-Thumb, of +Shakespeare. + +The little child is open to emotional appeal, his heart is tender and +he is impressionable. If he feels with the characters in his tales he +develops a power of emotion. In Andersen's _Snow Man_ it is hard to +say which seems more human to him or which makes more of an emotional +appeal, the Snow Man or the Dog. He is sorry for the poor Shoemaker in +_The Little Elves_, glad when he grows rich, delighted for the Elves +when they receive their presents, and satisfied at the happy end. +Since literature depicts life and character in order to awaken noble +emotions, it follows that one must omit to present what awakens +repulsive or degrading emotions. And it is for this reason, as has +been mentioned under the heading "Elements to be avoided," that the +tales of the witch and the dragon must be excluded, not for all time, +but for the earliest years, when they awaken horror. + +Through fairy tales we have seen that the emotional power of the child +is strengthened. This has been effected because, in the tale just as +truly as in life, action is presented in real situations; and back of +every action is the motive force of emotion. This cumulative power of +emotion, secured by the child through the handling of tales, will +serve daily a present need. It will be the dynamic force which he will +require for anything he wishes to accomplish in life. It will give the +child the ability to use it in any situation similar to that in which +it was acquired. It will make a difference in his speech; he will not +have to say so much, for what he does say will produce results. This +growing power of emotion will carry over into feelings of relation and +thus lead to judgment of values. This evaluation is the basis of +reasoning and answers to the child's daily call to think from causes +to consequences. This increasing power of emotion develops into the +æsthetic sensibilities and so results in a cultivation of taste and an +understanding of life. Emotion therefore leads to appreciation, which, +when logically developed, becomes expression. Fairy tales, thus, in +conducting emotional capacity through this varied growth and toward +this high development, hold an educational value of no mean order. + +(2) The power to appeal to the imagination. Emotion can be aroused by +showing the objects which excite emotion. Imagination is this power to +see and show things in the concrete. Curry says, "Whenever the soul +comes vividly in contact with any fact, truth, etc., whenever it takes +them home to itself with more than common intensity, out of that +meeting of the soul and its object there arises a thrill of joy, a +glow of feeling. It is the faculty that can create ideal presence." +When through imagination we select spontaneously from the elements of +experience and combine into new wholes, we call it creative +imagination.--The creative imagination will be viewed here as it +appears in action in the creative return given by the child to his +fairy tales.--When we emphasize a similarity seen in mere external or +accidental relations or follow suggestions not of an essential nature +in the object, we call it fancy. Ruskin, in his _Modern Painters_, +vol. I, part III, _Of the Imaginative Faculty_, would distinguish +three classes of the imagination:-- + +(a) _The associative imagination_. This is the power of imagination by +which we call into association other images that tend to produce the +same or allied emotion. When this association has no common ground of +emotion it is fancy. The test for the associative imagination, which +has the power to combine ideas to form a conception, is that if one +part is taken away the rest of the combination goes to pieces. It +requires intense simplicity, harmony, and absolute truth. Andersen's +_Fairy Tales_ are a perfect drill for the associative imagination. +Literature parallels life and what is presented calls up individual +experience. Any child will feel a thrill of kinship with the +experiences given in _The Tin Soldier_--a little boy's birthday, the +opening of the box, the counting of the soldiers, and the setting of +them upon the table. And because here Andersen has transformed this +usual experience with a vivacity and charm, the tale ranks high as a +tale of imagination. _Little Ida's Flowers_ and _Thumbelina_ are tales +of pure fancy. Grimm's _The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean_ and _The +Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle_ rank in the same class, as also +do the Norse _The Doll i' the Grass_ and the English _Tom Thumb_. + +(b) _The penetrative imagination_. This power of imagination shows the +real character of a thing and describes it by its spiritual effects. +It sees the heart and inner nature of things. Through fancy the child +cannot reach this central viewpoint since fancy deals only with +externals. Through the exercise of this power the child develops +insight, intuition, and a perception of spiritual values, and gains a +love of the ideal truth and a perpetual thirst for it. He develops +genuineness, one of the chief virtues of originality. He will tend not +to have respect for sayings or opinions but will seek the truth, be +governed by its laws, and hold a passion for perfection. This power of +imagination makes of him a continual seeker, "a pilgrim upon earth." +Through the penetrative imagination the child forgets himself and +enters into the things about him, into the doings of Three Pigs or the +adventures of Henny Penny. + +(c) _The contemplative imagination_. This is that special phase of the +imagination that gives to abstract being consistency and reality. +Through the contemplative imagination the child gains the significance +of meaning and discerns the true message of the tale. When merely +external resemblance is caught, when the likeness is forced, and the +image created believed in, we have fancy. The contemplative +imagination interprets the past in the tale and relates it to the +future. It shows what is felt by indicating some aspect of what is +seen. Through the exercise of this power the child develops the +capacity to see. This capacity has received a high estimate from +Ruskin, who said, "Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, +thousands can think for one who can see." For language-training the +capacity to see gives that ability to image words which results in +mental growth. + +The labor of the spirit seeking the full message of the fairy tale, +often is rewarded with bits of philosophy which are the essence of its +personal wisdom. Even the Woman Suffragists of our day might be amused +to find, in _The Cat and Mouse in Partnership_, this side-light on one +of their claims. The Mouse said she did not know what to think of the +curious names, Top-off, Half-Out, and All-Out, which the Cat had +chosen. To which the Cat replied, "That is because you always stay at +home. You sit here in your soft gray coat and long tail, and these +foolish whims get into your head. It is always the way when one does +not go out in the daytime." Sometimes the philosophy of the tale is +expressed not at all directly. This is the case in Andersen's _The +Emperor's New Suit_, a gem in story-telling art--more suited to the +second grade--where the purpose of the story is veiled, and the satire +or humor is conveyed through a very telling word or two.--"'I will +send my _old, honest_ minister to the weavers,' thought the Emperor. +And the old, honest minister went to the room where the two swindlers +sat working at empty looms. 'Heaven preserve me!' thought the old +minister, opening his eyes wide. 'Why, I cannot see anything!'--But he +did not say so." The entire tale is a concrete representation of one +point; and the concreteness is so explicit that at the close of the +story its philosophy easily forms itself into the implied message of +worldly wisdom: People are afraid to speak truth concerning much +through cowardice or through fear of acting otherwise than all the +world. The philosophy underlying _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ is even +finer as a bit of truth than the perfect art of the literary story: +That what happens in life does not matter so much as the way you take +it. The Tin Soldier always remained steadfast, no matter what +happened. Kipling's _Elephant's Child_ is more charming than ever when +looked at from the standpoint of its philosophy. It might be +interpreted as an allegory answering the question, "How should one get +experience?" a theme which cannot be said to lack universal appeal. +_The Ugly Duckling_ is full of sayings of philosophy that contribute +to its complete message. The Cat and the Hen to whom the duckling +crept for refuge said, "We and the world," and could not bear a +difference of opinion. "You may believe me," said the Hen, "because I +tell you the truth. That is the way to tell your friends." Their +treatment of the Duckling expressed the philosophy: "If you can't do +what I can you're no good." The Hen said to him, "You have nothing to +do, that's why you have such strange ideas." The Duckling expressed +his philosophy by saying quietly, "You don't understand me." + +These bits of philosophy often become compressed into expressions +which to-day we recognize as proverbs. The words of the Mother Duck, +"Into the water he goes if I have to kick him in," became a +Scandinavian proverb. "A little bird told it," a common saying of +to-day, appears in Andersen's _Nightingale_ and in _Thumbelina_. But +this saying is traceable at least to the third story of the fourth +night in Straparola, translated by Keightley, _The Dancing Water, the +Singing Apple, and the Beautiful Green Bird_, in which the bird tells +the King that his three guests are his own children. "Even a cat may +look at a king," is probably traceable to some fairy tale if not to +_Puss-in-Boots_. The philosophy in the fairy tales and the proverbs +that have arisen in them, are subjects which offer to the adult much +pleasure and fruitfulness. + +But one must ask, "Does this philosophy appeal to the child? Is it not +adult wisdom foreign to his immaturity?" The old folk-tales are the +products of adult minds; but the adults were grown-ups that looked +upon the world with the eyes of children, and their philosophy often +was the philosophy of childhood. For childhood has its philosophy; but +because it meets with repression on so many sides it usually keeps it +to itself. When given freedom and self-activity and self-expression, +the child's philosophy appears also. And it is the inner truth of the +tale rather than the outer forms of sense and shapes of beauty which, +when suited to the little child, appeals to this child-philosophy and +makes the deepest impression upon him. + +In the literary fairy tale there often appears a philosophy which is +didactic and above and beyond the child's knowledge of the world. It +remains a question how much this adult philosophy appeals to him. +Although his tales were written for his grandchildren, so finished a +telling of the tale as we find in Laboulaye, with its delightful hits +of satire, appeals more to the grown-up versed in the ways of the +world. But the sage remarks of worldly wisdom of Uncle Remus could not +fail to impress a little boy: "Go where you will and when you may, and +stay long ez you choosen ter stay, en right dar en den you'll sholy +fin' dat folks what git full er consate en proudness is gwine ter git +it tuck out 'm um."--Uncle Remus treated the little boy as if he was +"pestered with sense, like grown-ups," and surely the little boy +gained much amusement from sayings such as these: "If you know the man +thab would refuse to take care of himself, I'd like mighty well if +you'd point him out."--"Well, well," said Uncle Remus soothingly, "in +deze low groun's er sorrer, you des got to lean back en make +allowances fer all sorts er folks. You got ter low fer dem dat knows +too much same ez dem what knows too little. A heap er sayin's en a +heap er doin's in dis roun' worl' got ter be tuck on trus'."--The +child does not get the full force of the philosophy but he gets what +he can and that much sinks in. + +It is through the contemplative imagination that the child realizes +the meaning of particular tales. He learns: that _Cinderella_ means +that goodness brings its own reward; that _Three Pigs_ means that the +wise build with care and caution, with foresight; that _Star Dollars_ +means compassion for others and kindness to them; and that _Red Riding +Hood_ means obedience. + +The power of the contemplative imagination is based on the +indistinctness of the image. It suggests, too, the relation between +cause and effect, which reason afterwards proves; and therefore it is +a direct aid to science. In the tales there are expressed facts of +truth symbolically clothed which science since then has discovered. +And now that folk-lore is being studied seriously to unfold all it +gives of an earlier life, perhaps this new study may reveal some new +truths of science hidden in its depths. The marvels of modern shoe +manufacture were prophesied in _The Little Elves_, and the power of +electricity to hold fast was foretold in _Dummling and his Golden +Goose_. The wonders of modern machinery appeared in the magic axe of +Espen that hit at every stroke; and the miracle of modern canals sees +a counterpart in the spring which Espen brought to the giant's +boiling-pot in the wood. The magic sleep from which there was an +awakening, even after a hundred years, may have typified hypnotism and +its strange power upon man. These are realizations of some of the +wonders of fairyland. But there may be found lurking in its depths +many truths as yet undiscovered by science. Perhaps the dreams of +primitive man may suggest to the present-day scientist new +possibilities.--What primitive man has done in fancy present-day man +can do in reality. + +(3) A basis of truth. All fine emotional effects arise from truth. The +tale must hold the mirror and show an image of life. It must select +and combine facts which will suggest emotion but the facts must be a +true expression of human nature. The tale, whether it is realistic in +emphasizing the familiar, the commonplace, and the present, or +romantic in emphasizing the strange, the heroic, and the remote, must +be idealistic to interpret truly the facts of life by high ideals. If +the tale has this basis of truth the child will gain, through his +handling of it, a body of facts. This increases his knowledge and +strengthens his intellect. And it is to be remembered that, for the +child's all-round development, the appeal of literature to the +intellect is a value to be emphasized equally with the appeal to the +emotions and to the imagination. Speaking of the nature of the +intellect in his essay on _Intellect_, Emerson has said: "We do not +determine what we will think. We only open our senses, clear away as +we can all obstruction from the fact, and suffer the intellect to +see." Attention to the intellectual element in literature gives a +power of thought. The consideration of the truth of the fairy tale +aids the child to clear, definite thinking because the experience of +the tale is ordered from a beginning, through a development, to a +climax, and to a conclusion. It assists him to form conclusions +because it presents results of circumstances and consequences of +conduct. Continued attention to the facts, knowledge, and truth +presented in the tales, helps the child to grow a sincerity of spirit. +This leads to that love of actual truth, which is one of the armors of +middle life, against which false opinion falls harmless. + +(4) A form, more or less perfect. Form is the union of all the means +which the writer employs to convey his thought and emotion to the +reader. Flaubert has said, "Among all the expressions of the world +there is but _one_, one form, one mode, to express what I want to +say."--"Say what you have to say, what you have a will to say, in the +simplest, the most direct and exact manner possible, with no +surplusage," Walter Pater has spoken. Then the form and the matter +will fit each other so perfectly there will be no unnecessary +adornment. + +In regard to form it is to be remembered that feeling is best awakened +incidentally by suggestion. Words are the instruments, the medium of +the writer. Words have two powers: the power to name what they mean, +or denotation; and the power to suggest what they imply, or +connotation. Words have the power of connotation in two ways: They may +mean more than they say or they may produce emotional effect not only +from meaning but also from sound. To make these two suggestive powers +of words work together is the perfect art of Milton. Pope describes +for us the relation of sound to sense in a few lines which themselves +illustrate the point:-- + + Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows, + And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows. + But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, + The hoarse, rough verse, should like the torrent roar. + When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw. + The line too labors, and the words move slow: + Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, + Flies o'er the unbending corn and skims along the main. + +When a kindergarten child, the most timid one of a group, on listening +to the telling of _The Bremen Town Musicians_, at the description of +the Donkey and the Dog coming to the Cat, sitting in the road with a +face "dismal as three rainy Sundays," chuckled with humor at the word +"dismal," it was not because she knew the meaning of the word or the +significance of "three rainy Sundays," but because the sounds of the +words and the facial expression of the story-teller conveyed the +emotional effect, which she sensed. + +The connection between sound and action appears in _Little Spider's +First Web_: The Fly said, "Then I will _buzz_"; the Bee said, "Then I +will _hum_"; the Cricket said, "Then I will _chirp_"; the Ant said, +"Then I will _run_ to and fro"; the Butterfly said, "Then I will +_fly_"; and the Bird said, "Then I will _sing_." The effect is +produced here because the words selected are concrete ones which +visualize. Repetitive passages in the tales often contribute this +effect of sound upon meaning, as we find in _The Three Billy-Goats +Gruff_: "Trip, trap; trip, trap! went the bridge as the youngest +Billy-Goat Gruff came to cross the bridge." The sound of the words in +this entire tale contributes largely to the meaning. The Troll roared +and said, "Now I'm coming to gobble you up!" Usually the bits of rhyme +interspersed throughout the tales, illustrate this contribution of +sound to meaning; as in the _Three Pigs_:-- + + Then I'll huff, + And I'll puff, + And I'll blow your house in! + +Especially is this the case in tales dignified by the cante-fable +form; such as Grimm's _Cinderella_:-- + + Rustle and shake yourself, dear tree, + And silver and gold throw down to me! + +Or in _Little Two-Eyes_:-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + +Or in _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_:-- + + Ah, my brother, in the wood + A Iamb, now I must search for food! + +The suggestive power of words to convey more than they mean, is +produced, not only by the sounds contained in the words themselves, +but also largely by the arrangement of the words and by the +speech-tunes of the voice in speaking them. Kipling's _Elephant's +Child_ is a living example of the suggestive power of words. The "new, +fine question" suggests that the Elephant's Child had a habit of +asking questions which had not been received as if they were fine. +"Wait-a-bit thorn-bush," suggests the Kolokolo Bird sitting alone on +the bush in placid quiet. "And _still_ I want to know what the +crocodile has for dinner" implies that there had been enough spankings +to have killed the curiosity, but contrary to what one would expect, +it was living and active. When Kolokolo Bird said with a _mournful_ +cry, "Go to the banks of the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo River," +etc., the implication of _mournful_ is, that there the Elephant's +Child would have a sorry time of it. The expression, "dear families," +which occurs so often, is full of delightful irony and suggests the +vigorous treatment, anything but dear, which had come to the +Elephant's Child from them. + +Perfect form consists in the "ability to convey thought and emotion +with perfect fidelity." The general qualities characteristic of +perfect form, which have been outlined by Professor Winchester, in his +_Principles of Literary Criticism_, are: (1) precision or clearness; +(2) energy or force; (3) delicacy or emotional harmony; and (4) +personality. Precision or clearness demands the precise value and +meaning of words. It requires that words have the power of denotation. +It appeals to the intellect of the reader or listener and demands that +language be neither vague nor ambiguous nor obscure. Energy or force +demands that perfect form have the quality of emotion. It requires +that words have especially the power of connotation. It appeals to the +emotions of the reader or listener and has the power to hold the +attention. It demands of language that sympathy which will imply what +it would suggest. Delicacy or emotional harmony demands that perfect +form please the taste. It requires that an emotional harmony be +secured by a selection and arrangement of the melody of words and of +the emotional associations which, together with the meanings, are tied +up in words. It demands that words have the power of perfect +adaptation to the thought and feeling they express, that words have +both the power of denotation and of connotation. It appeals to the +æsthetic sense of the reader or listener, it gives to form beauty and +charm. Personality is the influence of the author, the charm of +individuality, and suggests the character of the writer. + +At the same time that perfect form is characterized by the general +qualities of precision, energy, delicacy, and personality, as +composition consisting of words, sentences, paragraphs, or large +wholes, its elements must be controlled by certain main principles, +which have been presented by Professor Barrett Wendell in _English +Composition_. Perfect form cannot possess the four general qualities +above mentioned unless its elements are controlled by these main +principles. These are: (1) the principle of sincerity; (2) the +principle of unity; (3) the principle of mass; and (4) the principle +of coherence. Sincerity demands of perfect form that it be a just +expression. Unity demands that every composition should group itself +about a central idea. There must be one story, all incidents +subordinated, one main course of action, one main group of characters, +and one tone of feeling to produce an emotional effect. Variety of +action must lead to one definite result and variety of feeling to one +total impression. Unity demands that the tale must have a plan that is +complete, with no irrelevant material, and that there must be a +logical order and a climax. Mass demands that the chief parts of every +composition should readily catch the eye. It maintains a harmonious +proportion of all the parts. Coherence demands of any composition that +the relation of each part to its neighbors should be unmistakable, and +that the order, forms, and connections of the parts preserve this +relation. + +When form secures a perfect adaptation of the language to the thought +and feeling expressed, it may be said to possess style, in a broad +sense of the word. In a more detailed sense, when form is +characterized by precision, energy, delicacy, and personality, and at +the same time has the elements of its composition controlled by the +principles of sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence, it is said to +possess style. The fairy tale which is a classic characterized by that +perfect form called style, will possess the general qualities of +precision, energy, delicacy, and personality; and the elements of its +structure, its words, its sentences, its paragraphs, will display a +control of the principles of sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence. + +A tale which well illustrates the literary form possible to the +child's tale, which may be said to possess that perfection of form we +call style, and which may be used with the distinct aim to improve the +child's English and perfect his language expression, is the modern +realistic fairy tale, _Oeyvind and Marit_. + +_Oeyvind and Marit_ is so entirely realistic as to be excluded here, +but the talking rhymes which the Mother sings to Oeyvind bring in the +fairy element of the talking animals. In the form of this tale, the +perfect fidelity with which the words fit the meaning is +apparent--nothing seems superfluous. When Oeyvind asked Marit who she +was, she replied:-- + +"I am Marit, mother's little one, father's fiddle, the elf in the +house, granddaughter of Ole Nordistuen of the Heidi farms, four years +old in the autumn, two days after the frost nights, I!" + +And Oeyvind replied:-- + + "Are you really?"--and drew a long breath which he had not + dared to do so long as she was speaking. + +The story is full of instances illustrating precision, energy, and +delicacy. In fact, almost any passage exemplifies the general +qualities of form and the qualities of composition. The personality of +the writer has given to the tale a poetic and dramatic charm of +simplicity. Note the precision and delicacy displayed in the opening +paragraph:-- + + Oeyvind was his name. A low barren cliff overhung the house + in which he was born; fir and birch looked down on the roof, + and wild cherry strewed flowers over it. Upon this roof + there walked about a little goat, which belonged to Oeyvind. + He was kept there that he might not go astray; and Oeyvind + carried leaves and grass up to him. One fine day the goat + leaped down, and away to the cliff; he went straight up and + came where he never had been before. + +Energy is apparent in the following passage:-- + + "Is it yours, this goat?" asked the girl again. + + "Yes," he said, and looked up. + + "I have taken such a fancy to the goat. You will not give it + to me?" + + "No, that I won't." + + She lay kicking her legs and looking down at him, and then + she said, "But if I give you a butter-cake for the goat, can + I have him then?" + +The justness of expression, the sincerity, is especially impressive +when Oeyvind's Mother came out and sat down by his side when the goat +no longer satisfied him and he wanted to hear stories of what was far +away. There is emotional harmony too, because the words suggest the +free freshness of the mountain air and the landscape which rose round +about the Boy and his Mother. + + So she told him how once everything could talk: "The + mountain talked to the stream, and the stream to the river, + the river to the sea, and the sea to the sky."--But then he + asked if the sky did not talk to any one: "And the sky + talked to the clouds, the clouds to the trees, the trees to + the grass, the grass to the flies, the flies to the animals, + the animals to the children, the children to the grown-up + people...." Oeyvind looked at the mountain, the trees, and + the sky and had never seen them before. + +There is delicacy or emotional harmony also in the Mother's song. When +Oeyvind asked, "What does the Cat say?" his Mother sang:-- + + At evening softly shines the sun. + The cat lies lazy on the stone. + Two small mice, + Cream, thick and nice, + Four bits of fish, + 1 stole behind a dish, + And am so lazy and tired, + Because so well I have fared. + +The unity is maintained through the central interest of the two +Children and the goat. + +The tale is characterized by fairly good mass. As the story aims to +portray a natural picture of child life, obviously it could not +maintain a style of too great solidity and force, but rather would +seek one of ease and naturalness. Mass, as shown in _Oeyvind and +Marit_, appears in the following description of Oeyvind's play with +the goat, after he first realized its return:-- + + He jumped up, took it by the two fore-legs, and danced with + it as if it were a brother; he pulled its beard, and he was + just going in to his mother with it, when he heard someone + behind him; and looking, saw the girl sitting on the + greensward by his side. Now he understood it all, and let go + the goat. + +The story of child-friendship is told in distinct little episodes +which naturally connect. That unmistakable relation of the parts which +is essential to coherence, appears in the following outline of the +story:-- + + 1. A new acquaintance; Oeyvind and Marit meet. The exchange of a + goat for a cake. The departure of the goat. Marit sings to the + goat. The return of the goat. Marit accompanies the goat. + + 2. New interests. The stories of what the animals say, told to + Oeyvind by his Mother. The first day of school. + + 3. An old acquaintance renewed: Oeyvind again meets Marit at + School. + +The Children's love of the goat, the comradeship of Oeyvind and Marit, +of Oeyvind and his Mother, and of Marit and her Grandfather, are +elements which assist in producing coherence. The songs of Marit, and +the songs and stories of Oeyvind's Mother, especially preserve the +relation of parts. In the following paragraphs, which give distinct +pictures, note the coherence secured internally largely by the +succession of verbs denoting action and also by the denotation of the +words. + + When he came in, there sat as many children round a table as + he had ever seen at church; others were sitting on their + luncheon-boxes, which were ranged round the walls; some + stood in small groups round a large printed card; the + school-master, an old gray-haired man, was sitting on a + stool by the chimney-corner, filling his pipe. They all + looked up as Oeyvind and his mother entered, and the + mill-hum ceased as if the water had suddenly been turned + off.... + + As he was going to find his seat, they all wanted to make + room for him. He looked round a long time, while they + whispered and pointed; he turned round on all sides, with + his cap in his hand and his book under his arm.... + + Just as the boy is going to turn round to the school-master, + he sees close beside him, sitting down by the hearthstone on + a little red painted tub, Marit, of the many names; she had + covered her face with both hands, and sat peeping at him + through her fingers. + +The imagination is appealed to continually through the simple concrete +expressions which present an image; as, "He grew hot all over, looked +around about, and called, 'Killy-killy-killy-goat!'" + +The emotional element is distinct and pleasing and contributes to the +total impression of admiration for the characters. We admire Oeyvind +for his fondness for the goat and for his pain at losing it; for his +dissatisfaction in keeping it after Marit returned it, though she +wanted it; for his delight in his Mother's stories; and for his +pleasure in Marit's friendship at school. We admire Marit for her +appreciation of the beautiful goat; for her obedience to her +Grandfather; for her sorrow at giving up the goat; for her generosity +in giving the neck-chain with it; and for the childish comradeship she +gave to Oeyvind. We admire the goat for his loyalty to his little +master. We trust the Grandfather who trained Marit to be fair and +courteous; who guarded her from the cliff; and who bought for her +another goat. We have faith in the Mother who had feeling for the +little goat her son bartered for a cake; and who had the wisdom to +sing for her little boy and tell him stories when he was sorrowful and +needed new interests. + +Undoubtedly _Oeyvind and Marit_ is a tale which conveys its thought +clearly and makes you feel its feeling, and therefore may be said to +possess style in a broad sense. In a particular sense, because its +form is marked by the four general qualities: precision, energy, +delicacy, and personality; and its elements are controlled by the +principles of composition: sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence, it +therefore may be said to possess style. + +An old tale which has a literary form unusual in its approach to the +perfect literary form, is the Norse, _The Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, +told by Dasent in _Tales from the Norse_. Indeed after looking +carefully at this tale one is tempted to say that, for perfection of +style, some of the old folk-tales are not to be equaled. Note the +simple precision shown in the very first paragraph:-- + + Once on a time there were three Billy-Goats, who were to go + up to the hill-side to make themselves fat, and the name of + all three was "Gruff." + +Energy or force appeals to the emotions in the words of the tiny +Billy-Goat Gruff to the Troll:-- + + "Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," + said the Billy-Goat; "wait a bit till the second Billy-Goat + Gruff comes, he's much bigger." + +There is emotional harmony displayed in the second paragraph; the +words used fit the ideas:-- + + On the way up was a bridge over a burn they had to cross; + and under the bridge lived a great ugly Troll, with eyes as + big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker. + +The quality of personality is best described, perhaps, by saying that +the tale seems to have impersonality. Any charm of the story-tellers +of the ages has entered into the body of the tale, which has become an +objective presentment of a reality that concentrates on itself and +keeps personality out of sight. The character of the tellers is shown +however in the qualities of the tale. The charm of the primitive +story-tellers has given the tale inimitable morning-dew freshness. +This seems to result from a fine simplicity, a sprightly +visualization, a quaint picturesqueness, a pleasing terseness, and an +Anglo-Saxon vigor. + +Sincerity is displayed in the words of the Troll and of the three +Billy-Goats. Note the sincerity of little Billy-Goat Gruff:-- + + "Oh! it is only I, the tiniest Billy-Goat Gruff; and I'm + going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the + Billy-Goat, with such a small voice. + +The unity in this tale is unusually good. The central idea which +groups all the happenings in the tale is: Three Billy-Goats are +crossing a bridge to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat. +There are four characters, three Goats and the Troll. All that happens +in the tale contributes to the one effect of a bridge going trip, +trap! as a Goat crossed it on his way up the hillside; of a Troll +roaring: "Who's that tripping over my bridge?" of the explanation of +the Billy-Goat; of the answer of the Troll, "Now I'm coming to gobble +you up"; and of the Billy-Goat's final petition. Unity is emphasized +by the repetition in the tale, as the three Billy-Goats successively +cross the bridge and reply to the Troll. The climax is the big +Billy-Goat Gruff's tramp across the bridge. + +This tale is characterized by perfect mass, the paragraphs always end +with words that deserve distinction, and the sentences have their +strongest words at the points where the eye would most readily see +them; as, "But just then up came the big Billy-Goat Gruff." The +coherence is fine, and is secured largely by the cumulative plan in a +threefold sense. The relation of the parts is unmistakable. The +similarity and contrast evident in the episodes of the three +Billy-Goats makes this relation very clearly defined. To make doubly +sure the end has been reached the tale concludes:-- + + Snip, snap, snout, + This tale's told out. + +Let us examine the folk-tale generally as to its literary form. The +folk-tale originally did not come from the people in literary form. +The tale was first told by some nameless primitive man, who, returning +from some adventure of everyday life, would narrate it to a group of +his comrades. First told to astonish and interest, or to give a +warning of the penalty of breaking Nature's laws, or to teach a moral +lesson, or to raise a laugh, later it became worked up into the +fabulous stories of gods and heroes. These fabulous stories developed +into myth-systems, and these again into household tales. By constant +repetition from one generation to another, incidents likely to happen +in everyday life, which represented universal experiences and +satisfied common needs of childhood, were selected and combined. These +gradually assumed a form of simplicity and literary charm, partly +because, just as a child insists on accuracy, savage people adhered +strictly to form in repeating the tale, and because it is a law of +permanence that what meets the universal need will survive. The great +old folk-tales have acquired in their form a clearness and precision; +for in the process of telling and re-telling through the ages all the +episodes became clearly defined. And as irrelevant details dropped +out, there developed that unity produced by one dominant theme and one +dominant mood. The great old folk-tales, then, naturally acquired a +good classic literary form through social selection and survival. But +many of the tales as we know them have suffered either through +translation or through careless modern retelling. Many of the +folk-tales take on real literary form only through the re-treatment of +a literary artist. Mrs. Steel, who has collected the _Tales of the +Punjab_, tells how the little boys of India who seek to hold their +listening groups will vary the incidents in a tale in different +tellings, proving that the complete tale was not the original unit, +but that single incidents are much more apt to retain their stock +forms than plots. The combination we now have in a given tale was +probably a good form once hit upon and thereafter transmitted. + +Jacob (1785-1863) and William (1786-1859) Grimm, both fine scholars, +incapable of any but good work, did not undertake to put the tale into +literary form suited to children. They were interested in preserving +folk-lore records for scientific purposes. And we must distinguish +between the tale as a means of reflecting the ideals of social and +religious life, of displaying all the genius of primitive man for +science to interpret, and the tale as a means of pleasing and +educating the child. The Grimms obtained most of their tales from the +lips of people in Hesse and Hanau, Germany. They were very fortunate +in securing many of the tales they were thirteen years in collecting, +from an old nurse, Frau Vichmannin, the wife of a cowherd, who lived +at Niederzwehrn, near Cassel, who told her story with exactness and +never changed anything in repeating. Grimm himself said, "Our first +care was faithfulness to the truth. We strove to penetrate into the +wild forests of our ancestors, listening to their noble language, +watching their pure customs, recognizing their ancient freedom and +hearty faith." The Grimms sought the purity of a straightforward +narration. They were against reconstruction to beautify and poetize +the legends. They were not opposed to a free appropriation for modern +and individual purposes. They kept close to the original, adding +nothing of circumstance or trait, but rendering the stories in a style +and language and development of detail which was their own literary +German. + +Perrault (1628-1703) had taken the old tales as his son, Charles, a +lad of ten or twelve, told them. The father had told them to the son +as he had gathered them up, intending to put them into verse after the +manner of La Fontaine. The lad loved the stories and re-wrote them +from memory for his father with such charming naïveté that the father +chose the son's version in preference to his own, and published it. +But the tales of Perrault, nevertheless, show the embellishment of the +mature master-Academician's touch in subduing the too marvelous tone, +or adding a bit of court manners, or a satirical hit at the vanity and +failings of man. + +Dasent (1820-96) has translated the Norse tales from the original +collection of Asbjörnsen and Moe. Comrades from boyhood to manhood, +scholar and naturalist, these two together had taken long walks into +the secluded peasant districts and had secured the tales from the +people of the dales and fells, careful to retain the folk-expressions. +Dasent, with the instinct, taste, and skill of a true scholar, has +preserved these tales of an honest manly race, a race of simple men +and women, free and unsubdued. He has preserved them in their +folk-language and in their true Norse setting. Harris (1848-1908) has +given his tales in the dialect of Uncle Remus. Jacobs (1854-) has +aimed to give the folk-tales in the language of the folk, retaining +nurses' expressions, giving a colloquial and romantic tone which often +contains what is archaic and crude. He has displayed freedom with the +text, invented whole incidents, or completed incidents, or changed +them. His object has been to fill children's imaginations with bright +images. Andrew Lang (1844-1912) has given the tale mainly to entertain +children. He has accepted translations from many sources and has given +a straightforward narration. He has collected fairy tales +indefatigably in his rainbow _Fairy Books_, but they are not always to +be recommended for children. + +Andersen (1805-75), like Perrault, made his tale for the child as an +audience, and he too has put the tale into literary form. Andersen's +tale is not the old tale, but an original creation, a number of which +are based on old folk-material. Preserving the child's point of view, +Andersen has enriched his language with a mastery of perfection and +literary style. And the "mantle of Andersen" has, so far, fallen on no +one. + +To-day it is to be questioned if the child should be given the tale in +nurses' talk. To-day children are best cared for by mothers who feel +ignorant if they cannot tell their children stories, and who, having +an appreciation of their mother English, want their children to hear +stories, not only told by themselves rather than by their servants, +but also told in the best literary form possible. They recognize that +these earliest years, when the child is first learning his language, +are the years for a perfection of form to become indelibly impressed. +The fairy tale, like every piece of literature, is an organism and +"should be put before the youngest child with its head on, and +standing on both feet." The wholesale re-telling of every tale is to +be deplored. And stories which have proved themselves genuine +classics, which have a right to live, which have been handed down by +tradition, which have been preserved by folk-lore records, and which +have been rescued from oblivion,--in this age of books should have a +literary form, which is part of their message, settled upon them. The +Grimm tales await their literary master. + + + +III. THE FAIRY TALE AS A SHORT-STORY + + +The fairy tale, then, which in an objective sense, from the standpoint +of literature, has proved itself subject-matter of real worth, must be +a classic, must have the qualities of mind and soul, must possess the +power to appeal to the emotions, a power to appeal to the imagination, +and it must have a basis of truth and a perfection of form. But in +addition to possessing these characteristics, because the fairy tale +is a special literary form,--the short-story,--as literature it must +stand the test of the short-story. + +The three main characteristics of the short-story, as given by +Professor Brander Matthews in his _Philosophy of the Short-Story_, are +originality of theme, ingenuity of invention, and brevity, or +compression. A single effect must be conceived, and no more written +than contributes to that effect. The story depends for its power and +charm on (1) characters; (2) plot; and (3) setting. In _The Life and +Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson_, by Graham Balfour, Stevenson has +said, concerning the short-story:-- + + "There are, so far as I know, three ways, and three ways + only, of writing a story. You may take a plot and fit + characters to it, or you may take a character and choose + incidents and situations to develop it, or lastly--you must + bear with me while I try to make this clear.... You may take + a certain atmosphere and get action and persons to express + and realize it. I'll give you an example--_The Merry Men_. + There I began with the feeling of one of those islands on + the west coast of Scotland, and I gradually developed the + story to express the sentiment with which the coast affected + me." + +According to the method by which the story was made, the emphasis will +be on character, plot, or setting. Sometimes you may have a perfect +blending of all three. + +(1) Characters. The characters must be unique and original, so that +they catch the eye at once. They dare not be colorless, they must have +striking experiences. The Elephant's Child, Henny Penny, Medio +Pollito, Jack of the Beanstalk, the Three Pigs, the Three Bears, and +Drakesbill--the characters of the fairy tales have no equal in +literature for freshness and vivacity. The very mention of the thought +brings a smile of recognition; and it is for this reason, no doubt, +that leading men in large universities turn aside from their high +scholarly labors, to work or play with fairy tales. Besides the +interesting chief characters, moreover, there are many more +subordinate characters that are especially unique: the fairies, the +fairy godmothers and wise women, the elves of the trees, the dwarfs of +the ground, the trolls of the rocks and hills, and the giants and +witches. Then that great company of toilers in every occupation of +life bring the child in touch with many novel phases of life. At best +we are all limited by circumstances to a somewhat narrow sphere and +like to enter into all that we are not. The child, meeting in his tale +the shoemaker, the woodcutter, the soldier, the fisherman, the hunter, +the poor traveler, the carpenter, the prince, the princess, and a host +of others, gets a view of the industrial and social conditions that +man in simple life had to face. This could not fail to interest; and +it not only broadens his experience and deepens his sympathy, but is +the best means for acquiring a foundation upon which to build his own +vocational training. This acquisition is one contribution of +literature to industrial work. Those characters will appeal to the +child which present what the child has noticed or can notice. They +should appear as they do in life, by what they say and by what they +do. This, in harmony with the needs of the young child, makes the +tales which answer to the test of suitability, largely dramatic. + +(2) Plot. The characters of the tales can be observed only in action. +Plot is the synthesis of the actions, all the incidents which happen +to the characters. The plot gives the picture of experience and allows +us to see others through the events which come to them. According to +Professor Bliss Perry, the plot should be entertaining, comical, +novel, or thrilling. It should present images that are clear-cut and +not of too great variety. It should easily separate itself into large, +leading episodes that stand out distinctly. The sequence of events +should be orderly and proceed without interruption. The general +structure should easily be discerned into the beginning, the middle, +and the end. Various writers of tales have their particular ways of +beginning. Andersen loses no time in getting started, while Kipling +begins by stating his theme. The old tales frequently began with the +words, "Once upon a time," which Kipling modified to "In the High and +Far-Off times, O Best Beloved," etc. Hawthorne begins variously with +"Once upon a time", or, "Long, long ago"; or, "Did you ever hear of +the golden apples?" etc.--Hawthorne has been omitted in this book +because, so far as I can discover, he furnishes no tale for the +kindergarten or first grade. His simplest tale, _Midas and the Golden_ +_Touch_, properly belongs in the second grade when told; when read, in +the fourth grade.--The introduction, in whatever form, should be +simple and to the point. It should give the time and place and present +the characters; and if good art it will be impatient of much +preliminary delay. The great stories all show a rise of interest +culminating in one central climax; and after that, sometimes following +on its very heels, the conclusion where poetic justice is meted out. +This climax is a very important feature in the tale, so important that +it has been said, "The climax is the tale." It is the point where +interest focuses. It makes the story because it is where the point of +the story is made. In a good story this point always is made +impressive and often is made so by means of surprise. The conclusion +must show that the tale has arrived at a stopping place and in a moral +tale it must leave one satisfied, at rest. + +If the folk-tale is good narration, in answer to the question, "What?" +it will tell what happened; in answer to the question, "Who?" it will +tell to whom it happened; in answer to the question, "Where?" it will +tell the place where, and the time when, it happened; and in answer to +the question, "Why?" it will give the reason for telling the story, it +will give the message, and the truth embodied in its form. As +narration the tale must have truth, interest, and consistency. Its +typical mood must be action and its language the language of +suggestion. This language of suggestion appears when it shows an +object by indicating how it is like something else; by telling what we +feel when we see the object; and by telling what actions of the person +or object make it hateful or charming. We learn to know Andersen's +Snow Man through what the Dog says of him. + +Description, in the sense of a static, detailed delineation of various +qualities of objects, has no place in the child's story, for it bores +the child, who is very persistent in wanting the main theme +uninterrupted. But description that has touches of movement and action +or that lays emphasis on a single effect and has point, distinctly +aids visualization, and produces a pleasing result, as we have seen in +Kipling's _Elephant's Child_. The young child of to-day, trained in +nature study to look upon bird, tree, and flower with vital interest, +to observe the color and the form of these, gains a love of the +beautiful that makes him exclaim over the plumage of a bird or tint of +a flower. To him beauty in the tale must make a direct appeal which +the child unfamiliar with these things might not feel. _The Wonderful +Adventures of Nils_ makes an appeal to the modern child which could +not possibly have been felt by the child living before 1850. The +modern child brought up on phonics is sensitive to sound also, and +open to an appreciation of the beauty of the individual word used in +description. This description, when it occurs, should be characterized +mainly by aptness and concreteness. + +Having observed the general characteristics of the narrative contained +in the plot, let us examine the structure of a few tales to see: What +is the main theme of the plot and how it works itself out; what are +the large, leading episodes, and how they culminate in the climax; and +what is the conclusion, and how closely it follows the climax. + +_The Story of Three Pigs_ + + I. _Introduction_. Time. Place. Characters: Mother and + Three Pigs. Mother gone. + + II. _Rise_. + + 1. First Pig's venture with a man with a load of straw. + Builds a straw house. (Wolf enters.) + Wolf comes and destroys him. + + 2. Second Pig's venture with a man with a load of furze. + Builds a furze house. + Wolf comes and destroys him. + + 3. Third Pig's venture with a man with a load of bricks. + Builds a brick house. + Wolf comes. (Climax.) + + III. _Conclusion_. Third Pig outwits the Wolf. + At the turnip-field in Mr. Smith's home-field. + At the apple tree in Merry-Garden. + At the fair at Shanklin. + At his own brick house. + +Evidently the climax here is when the Wolf comes to the third Pig's +brick house. After that things take a turn; and the final test of +strength and cleverness comes at the very end of the tale, at Little +Pig's brick house. + +Grimm's _Briar Rose_ is a model of structure and easily separates +itself into ten large episodes. + +_Briar Rose_ + + 1. _The Introduction_. + + 2. The Christening Feast. + (a) The Fairies and their gifts. + (b) The wicked Fairy and her curse. + + 3. The King's decree. + + 4. Princess Rose's birthday. + (a) Princess Rose's visit to the old tower. + (b) Princess Rose and the wicked Fairy spinning. + (c) The magic sleep. + + 5. The hedge of briars. + + 6. The Prince and the old Man. + + 7. The Prince and the opening hedge. + + 8. The Prince in the castle. (Climax.) + + 9. The awakening. + + 10. The wedding. (Conclusion.) + +The climax here is the Prince's awakening kiss. The blossoming of the +hedge into roses prepares for the climax; and the conclusion--the +awakening of all the life of the castle and the wedding--follow +immediately after. + +(3) Setting. The third element of the short-story that is essential to +its power and charm is setting. The setting is the circumstances or +events which surround the characters and action. The setting occupies +a much more important place in the tale than we realize, for it is the +source of a variety of sensations and feelings which it may arouse. It +gives the poetic or artistic touch to a tale. In the old tale the +setting is given often in a word or two which act like magic, to open +to our eyes a whole vision of associations. The road in the _Three +Pigs_, the wood in _Red Riding Hood_, the castle in the _Sleeping +Beauty_--these add charm. Often the transformation in setting aids +greatly in producing effect. In _Cinderella_ the scene shifts from the +hearth to the palace ballroom; in the _Princess and the Pea_, from the +comfortable castle of the Queen to the raging storm, and then back +again to the castle, to the breakfast-room on the following morning. +In _Snow White and Rose Red_ the scene changes from the cheery, +beautiful interior of the cottage, to the snowstorm from which the +Bear emerged. In accumulative tales, such as _The Old Woman and her +Pig_, _Medio Pollito_, and _The Robin's Christmas Song_, the sequence +of the story itself is preserved mainly by the change of setting. This +appears in the following outline of _The Robin's Christmas Song_, an +English tale which is the same as the Scotch _Robin's Yule-Song_, +which has been attributed to Robert Burns. This tale illustrates one +main line of sequence:-- + +_The Robin's Christmas Song_ + + 1. _Introduction_. A sunny morning. Waterside. A Gray Pussy. + A Robin came along. + + 2. _Rise_. + + Pussy said, ... "See my white fur." + + Robin replied, ... "You ate the wee mousie." + + _Change in setting_. Stone wall on border of the wood. A + greedy Hawk, sitting. + + Hawk said, ... "See the speckled feather in my wing." + + Robin replied, ... "You pecked the sparrow," etc. + + _Change in setting_. Great rock. A sly Fox. + + Fox said, "See the spot on my tail." + + Robin replied, "You bit the wee lambie." + + _Change in setting_. Banks of a rivulet. A small Boy. + + Boy said, "See the crumbs in my pocket." + + Robin replied, "You caught the goldfinch." + + _Change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill. The + King at the window. + + Robin sang, "A song for the King." + + King replied, "What shall we give Robin?" + + 3. _Conclusion_. + + _No change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill. + The King at the window. + + King Filled a plate and set it on the window sill. + + Robin Ate, sang a song again, and flew away. + +Here, not only the sequence of the tale is held largely by the change +in setting, but also the pleasure in the tale is due largely to the +setting, the pictures of landscape beauty it presents, and the +feelings arising from these images. + +A Japanese tale, in which the setting is a large part of the tale, and +a large element of beauty, is _Mezumi, the Beautiful_, or _The Rat +Princess_. + +A Grimm tale in which the setting is a very large element of pleasure +and in which it preserves the sequence of the tale, is _The Spider and +the Flea_, a lively accumulative tale that deserves attention for +several reasons.--A Spider and a Flea dwelt together. One day a number +of unusual occurrences happened, so that finally a little Girl with a +water-pitcher broke it, and then the Streamlet from which she drew the +water asked, "Why do you break your pitcher, little Girl?" And she +replied:-- + + The little Spider's burned herself. + And the Flea weeps; + The little Door creaks with the pain, + And the Broom sweeps; + The little Cart runs on so fast, + And the Ashes burn; + The little Tree shakes down its leaves. + Now it is my turn! + +And then the Streamlet said, "Now I must flow." + +And it flowed on and on, getting bigger and bigger, until it swallowed +up the little Girl, the little Tree, the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom, +the Door, the Flea, and at last, the Spider--all together. + +Here we have a tale, which, in its language, well illustrates +Stevenson's "pattern of style," especially as regards the harmony +produced by the arrangement of letters. From the standpoint of style, +this tale might be named, _The Adventure of the Letter E_; it +illustrates the part the phonics of the tale may contribute to the +effect of the setting. Follow the letter _e_ in the opening of the +tale, both as to the eye and the ear:-- + + A Spid_e_r and a Fl_e_a dw_e_lt tog_e_th_e_r in on_e_ + hous_e_ and br_e_w_e_d th_e_ir b_ee_r in an _e_gg-shell. + On_e_ day wh_e_n th_e_ Spid_e_r was stirring it up sh_e_ + f_e_ll in and burn_e_d h_e_rs_e_lf. Th_e_r_e_upon th_e_ + Fl_e_a b_e_gan to scr_e_am. And th_e_n th_e_ Door ask_e_d, + "Why ar_e_ you scr_e_aming, littl_e_ Fl_e_a?" + +If we follow the _e_ sound through the tale, we find it in _Flea, +beer, scream, creak, weeps, sweep, reason, heap_, _Tree, leaves_, and +_Streamlet_. This repetition of the one sound puts music into the tale +and creates a center of the harmony of sound. But if we examine the +next part of the tale we find a variety of sounds of _o_ in +_thereupon, Door, Broom, stood_, and _corner_. Later, in connection +with _Cart_, we have _began, fast, past_, and _Ashes_. Other phonic +effects are crowded into the tale; such as the sound of _l_ in +_violently, till, all, leaves_, and _fell_; the sound of _i_ in +_little_ and _Girl_; of _p_ in _pitcher_ and _passing_; of _t_ in +_little_ and _pitcher_; and of _ew_ in _threw_ and _drew_. Altogether +this very effective use of sound is a fine employment of concrete +language, words which present images that are clear-cut as a cameo. It +also gives to the tale a poetical touch. + +_Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_, an English tale, and a parallel of _The +Spider and the Flea_, preserves the same beauty and sequence by means +of its setting and illustrates the same very unusual contribution of +the sounds of particular letters combined in the harmony of the whole. +_The Phonics of the Fairy Tales_ is a subject which yields much +interest and, as yet, has been almost untouched. + +In _The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet_, in part I, _The Trip +to the Nut-Hill_, taken from Arthur Rackham's _Grimm Tales_, the +setting contributes largely to the attractiveness of the tale, as is +shown in Rackham's beautiful illustration. The setting is given +throughout the tale often in a telling word or two. Chanticleer and +Partlet went up the _nut-hill_ to gather nuts before the _squirrel_ +carried them all away. The _day_ was _bright_ and they stayed till +_evening_. The _carriage_ of _nut-shells_; the _Duck_ they met; the +_dirty road_ they traveled in the _pitch dark_; the _Inn_ they arrived +at; the _night_ at the Inn; the early _dawn_; the _hearth_ where they +threw the egg-shells; the Landlord's _chair_ whose _cushion_ received +the Needle; the _towel_ which received the Pin; the _heath_ over which +they hurried away; the _yard_ of the Inn where the Duck slept and the +_stream_ he escaped by; the Landlord's _room_ where he gained +experience with his towel; the _kitchen_ where the egg-shells from the +_hearth_ flew into his face; and the _arm-chair_ which received him +with a Needle--these are all elements of setting which contribute +largely to the humor and the beauty of the tale. + +A blending of the three elements, characters, plot, and setting, +appears in the following outline of _The Elves and the Shoemaker_:-- + +_The Elves and the Shoemaker_ + + 1. _Introduction_. A poor Shoemaker. A poor room containing + a bed and a shoemaker's board. Leather for one pair of + shoes. + + 2. _Development_. + + First night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes ready + next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for two pairs. + + Second night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes + ready next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for four + pairs. + + One night ... Conversation of Shoemaker and his wife: + "I should like to sit up to-night to see who it is that + makes the shoes." They sat up. Two Elves ran in, sewed, + rapped, and tapped, and ran away when the shoes were + made. + + Day after ... Conversation. "These Elves made us rich. + I should like to do something for them. You make each + of them a little pair of shoes, and I will make them + each a little shirt, a coat, a waistcoat, trousers, and + a pair of stockings." + + Christmas Eve ... Finished shoes and clothes put on the + table. Shoemaker and Wife hid in the corner of the room + behind clothes, and watched. (Climax.) + + Elves came in and put on clothes. + + 3. _Conclusion_. + + Happy end. Elves danced and sang,-- + + "Smart and natty boys are we, + Cobblers we'll no longer be." + + Shoemaker and Wife became happy and prosperous. + +The characters of this tale are usual, a poor Shoemaker and his Wife; +and unusual, the dainty Elves who made shoes in a twinkling. But the +commonplace peasants become interesting through their generosity, +kindness, and service to the Elves; and the Elves become human in +their joy at receiving gifts. The structure of the tale is so distinct +as to be seen a thing itself, apart from the story. The framework is +built on what happens on two nights and following nights, the +conversation of the next day, and what happens on Christmas Eve. The +climax evidently is what the Shoemaker and his Wife hid in the corner +to see--the entrance of the Elves on Christmas Eve--which episode has +been interpreted charmingly by the English illustrator, Cruikshank. +The joy of the Elves and of the two aged people, the gifts received by +the one and the riches won by the other, form the conclusion, which +follows very closely upon the climax. The commonplace setting, the +poor room with its simple bed and table, becomes transformed by the +unusual happenings in the place. If we should take away this setting, +we see how much the tale would suffer. Also without the characters the +tale would be empty. And without the interesting, human, humorous, and +pleasing plot, characters and setting would be insufficient. Each +element of the short-story contributes its fair share to the tale, and +blends harmoniously in the whole. + +Various standards for testing the folk-tale have been given by +writers. One might refer to the standards given by Wilman in his +_Pedagogische Vorträge_ and those mentioned by William Rein in _Das +Erste Schuljahr_. We have seen here that the fairy tale must contain +the child's interests and it must be able to stand the test of a true +classic. It must stand the test of literature in its appeal to emotion +and to imagination, in its appeal to the intellect through its basis +of truth, and to the language-sense through its perfection of form; it +must stand the test of the short-story and of good narration and of +description. Let us now examine a few of the old tales to see how they +stand the complete test:-- + +_How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner_ + + _This story of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went out to + Dinner_ appeals to the children's interest in a family + dinner--they went to dine with their Uncle and Aunt, Thunder + and Lightning. The characters are interesting to the child, + for they are the inhabitants of his sky that cause him much + wonder: the star, the sun, the moon, the thunder, and the + lightning. To the little child, who as she watched a + grown-up drying her hands, remarked, "I wouldn't like to be + a towel, would you?" the idea of the moon, sun, and wind + possessing personality and going to a dinner-party will + amuse and please. The theme of the story finds a place in + the experience of children who go to a party; and secretly + they will enjoy making comparisons. When they go to a party + they too like to bring something home; but they wouldn't + think of hiding goodies in their hands. They are fortunate + enough to have their hostess give them a toy animal or a box + of sweetmeats, a tiny dolly or a gay balloon, as a souvenir. + The greediness and selfishness of the Sun and Wind impress + little children, for these are perhaps the two sins possible + to childhood; and all children will fully appreciate why the + Sun and the Wind received so swiftly the punishment they + deserved. The thoughtfulness of the loving gentle Moon to + remember her Mother the Star, appeals to them. The rapid + punishment, well-deserved, and the simplicity of the story + with its one point, make it a very good tale for little + children. The whole effect is pleasing. What children recall + is the motherly Star; and the beautiful Moon, who was cool + and calm and bright as a reward for being good. + + The structure of the tale is neat and orderly, dominated by + a single theme. The form of the tale, as given in Jacobs's + _Indian Tales_, shows a good use of telling expressions; + such as, "the Mother waited _alone_ for her children's + return," "Kept watch with her _little bright eye_," "the + Moon, _shaking_ her hands _showered_ down such a _choice_ + dinner," etc. Here we have too, the use of concrete, + visualized expressions and direct language. There is also a + good use of repetition, which aids the child in following + the plot and which clarifies the meaning. The Mother Star, + when pronouncing a punishment upon Sun, repeated his own + words as he had spoken when returning from the dinner: "I + went out to enjoy myself with my friends." In her speech to + Wind she included his own remark: "I merely went for my own + pleasure."--The examination of this tale shows that it + stands well the complete test applied here to the fairy + tale. + +_The Straw Ox_ + + _The Straw Ox_ is an accumulative tale which has sufficient + plot to illustrate the fine points of the old tale + completely. A poor woman who could barely earn a living had + an idea and carried it out successfully.--Her need + immediately wins sympathy in her behalf.--She asked her + husband to make her a straw ox and smear it with tar. Then + placing it in the field where she spun, she called out, + "Graze away, little Ox, graze away, while I spin my flax!" + First a Bear came out of the Wood and got caught by the tar + so that the Straw Ox dragged him home. The old Man then put + the Bear in the cellar. Then a Wolf, a Fox, and a Hare got + caught in the same way and also were consigned to the + cellar.--The plot has so far built itself up by an orderly + succession of incidents.--But just when the Man is preparing + to kill the animals, they save their lives by promising + vicarious offerings: The Bear promises honey; the Wolf a + flock of sheep; the Fox a flock of geese; and the Hare kale + and cauliflower.--Then the plot, having tied itself into a + knot, unties itself as the animals return, each with the + gift he promised. + + The setting is the field where the old Woman placed the Ox + and where she spun, the wood from which the animals came, + and the peasant home. The characters are two poor people who + need food and clothing and seek to secure both; and the + animals of the forest. The peasants need the Bear for a + coat, the Wolf for a fur cap, the Fox for a fur collar, and + the Hare for mittens. This human need produces an emotional + appeal so that we wish to see the animals caught. But when + the plot unties itself, the plight of the animals appeals to + us equally and we want just as much to see them win their + freedom. Each animal works out his own salvation by offering + the old people a worthy substitute. Each animal is true to + his nature in the substitute he offers, he promises what is + only natural for him to procure, and what he himself likes + best. The conclusion is satisfying because in the end + everybody is happy: the old people who have all they need; + and the animals who have life and freedom. The distinct + pictures offered to the imagination are the capture of the + four animals and their return with their life-substitutes. + The form of the tale is a good example of folk-story style, + with its vivid words, direct language, and repetition. This + is one of the tales which is finer than at first appears + because it has a strong sense of life. It touches the + present-day problem: "How can the inhuman slaughter of + animals for man's use be avoided?" Its underlying message + is: Self-help is a good way out of a difficulty.--_The Straw + Ox_ also answers the complete test of the tale with much + satisfaction. + + + +REFERENCES: + + +The Child: + + Barnes, Earl: _Study of Children's Stories_. ("Children's + Interests.") + + Dewey, John: _Interest and Effort in Education_. Houghton. + + King, Irving: _Psychology of Child Development_. University of + Chicago Press. + + Lawrence, Isabel: "Children's Interests in Literature." _N.E.A. + Report_, 1899, p. 1044. + + McCracken, Elizabeth: "What Children Like to Read." _Outlook_, + Dec, 1904, vol. 78. + + Tyler, John M.: _Growth in Education_. Houghton. + + Vostrovsky, Clara: "A Study of Children's Own Stories." _Studies + in Education_, vol. i, pp. 15-17. + + +Literature: + + Baldwin, Charles S.: _Specimens of Prose Description_. Holt. + + Brewster, William T.: _English Composition and Style_. Century. + + _Ibid.: Specimens of Prose Narration_. Holt. + + Gardiner, John H.: _Forms of Prose Literature_. Scribner. + + Matthews, Brander: _The Philosophy of the Short-Story_. Longmans. + Pater, Walter: _Appreciations. (Essay on Style_). Macmillan. + + Perry, Bliss: _A Study of Prose Fiction_. ("The Short Story.") + Houghton. + + Sainte-Beuve, Charles A.: _Essays_. ("What is a Classic?") + Dutton. + + Santayana, George: _The Sense of Beauty_. Scribner. + + Wendell, Barrett: _English Composition_. Scribner. + + Winchester, Caleb T.: _Principles of Literary Criticism_. + Macmillan. + + +Emotion: + + Bain, Alexander: _The Emotions and the Will_. Appleton. + + Darwin, Charles: _Expression of the Emotions in Man and + Animals_. Appleton. + + +Imagination: + + Colvin, Stephen: _The Learning Process_. Macmillan. + + Curry, S.S.: _Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct_. Expression + Co. + + Ruskin, John: _Modern Painters_, vol. r. ("Of the Imagination.") + + + +Children's Literature: + + Baker, Franklin T.: _Bibliography of Children's Reading. + (Introduction.)_ Teachers College, Columbia University. + + Day, Mary B., and Wilson, Elisabeth: _Suggestive Outlines on + Children's Literature_. S. Illinois Normal, Carbondale. + + Dodd, C.F.: "Fairy Tales in the Schoolroom." _Living Age_, Nov. + 8, 1902, vol. 235, pp. 369-75. + + Fay, Lucy, and Eaton, Anne: _Instruction in the Use of Books and + Libraries_. (Chap, xv, "Fairy Tales.") Boston Book Co. + + Field, Mrs. E.M.: _The Child and His Book_. Wells Gardner, Darton + & Co. + + Field, Walter T.: _Finger-Posts to Children's Reading_. A.C. + McClurg. + + Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, J.C.: _A Course of Study + on Literature for Children_. Newark Public Library. + + Hosic, James F.: "The Conduct of a Course in Literature for + Children." _N.E.A. Report_, 1913. + + _Ibid.: The Elementary Course in English_. University of + Chicago. + + Hunt, Clara: _What shall we Read to the Children?_ Houghton. + + Kready, Laura F.: "Picture-Books for Little Children." + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914. + + Lowe, Orton: _Literature for Children_. Macmillan. + + MacClintock, Porter L.: _Literature in the Elementary School_. + University of Chicago. + + Moore, Annie E.: "Principles in the Selection of Stories for the + Kindergarten." _I.K.U. Report_, 1913. + Moses, Montrose: _Children's Books and Reading_. M. Kennerley. + + Olcott, Frances J.: _The Children's Reading_. Houghton. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + + +THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES + + + The telling of stories refreshes the mind as a bath + refreshes the body. It gives exercise to the intellect and + its powers. It tests the judgments and feelings. The + story-teller must wholly take into himself the life of which + he speaks, must let it live and operate in himself freely. + He must reproduce it whole and undiminished, yet stand + superior to life as it actually is.--FROEBEL. + + The purpose of the story.--To look out with new eyes upon + the many-featured, habitable world; to be thrilled by the + pity and the beauty of this life of ours, itself brief as a + tale that is told; to learn to know men and women better, + and to love them more.--BLISS PERRY. + + Expertness in teaching consists in a scholarly command of + subject-matter, in a better organization of character, in a + larger and more versatile command of conscious modes of + transmitting facts and ideals, and in a more potent and + winsome, forceful and sympathetic manner of personal contact + with other human beings.--HENRY SUZZALLO. + +Story-telling as an art. No matter how perfectly the tale, in a +subjective sense, may contain the interests of the child, or how +carefully it may avoid what repels him; though in an objective sense +it may stand the test of a true classic in offering a permanent +enrichment of the mind and the test of literature in appealing to the +emotions and the imagination, in giving a contribution of truth and an +embodiment of good form; though it may stand the test of the +short-story--furnishing interesting characters, definite plot, and +effective setting; though its sequence be orderly and its climax +pointed, its narration consistent and its description apt--the tale +yet remains to be told. The telling of the tale is a distinct art +governed by distinct principles because the life of the story must be +transmitted and rendered into voice. + +Story-telling is one of the most ancient and universal of arts. +Concerning this art Thackeray has said:-- + + Stories exist everywhere: there is no calculating the + distance through which stories have come to us, the number + of languages through which they have been filtered, or the + centuries during which they have been told. Many of them + have been narrated almost in their present shape for + thousands of years to the little copper-colored Sanskrit + children, listening to their mothers under the palm-trees by + the banks of the yellow Jumna--their Brahmin mother, who + softly narrated them through the ring in her nose. The very + same tale has been heard by the northern Vikings as they lay + on their shields on deck; and the Arabs couched under the + stars on the Syrian plains when their flocks were gathered + in, and their mares were picketed by the tents. + +In his _Roundabout Papers_, Thackeray gives a picture of a score of +white-bearded, white-robed warriors or grave seniors of the city, +seated at the gate of Jaffa or Beyrout, listening to the story-teller +reciting his marvels out of _Arabian Nights_. "A Reading from Homer," +by Alma Tadema, is a well-known picture which portrays the Greeks +listening to the _Tales of Homer_. In the _Lysistrata_ of +Aristophanes, the chorus of old men begins with, "I will tell ye a +story!" Plutarch, in his _Theseus_ says, "All kinds of stories were +told at the festival Oschophoria, as the mothers related such things +to their children before their departure, to give them courage." In +his _Symposium_ he mentions a child's story containing the proverb, +"No man can make a gown for the moon."-- + + The Moon begged her Mother to weave her a little frock which + would fit her. + + The Mother said, "How can I make it fit thee, when thou art + sometimes a Full Moon, and then a Half Moon, and then a New + Moon?"-- + +In the works of the German, Schuppius (1677), appeared this:-- + + Your old folks can remember how, in the olden times, it was + customary at vespers on Easter day, to tell some Easter + tidings from the pulpit. These were foolish fables and + stories such as are told to children in the spinning-room. + They were intended to make people merry. + +In England, _Chaucer's Tales_ reflect the common custom of the times +for the pilgrim, the traveler, the lawyer, the doctor, the monk, and +the nun, to relate a tale. _The Wife of Bathes Tale_ is evidently a +fairy tale. In Peele's _Old Wives' Tale_ we learn how the smith's +goodwife related some nursery tales of Old England to the two +travelers her husband brought to the cottage for the night. In +Akenside's _Pleasures of Imagination_ we find:-- + + Hence, finally by night, + The village matres, round the blazing hearth + Suspend the infant audience with their tales, + Breathing astonishment. + +The custom of Florentine mothers has been described by the poet, +Dante, when he says:-- + + Another, drawing tresses from her distaff. + Told o'er among her family the tales + Of Trojans, and of Fesole and Rome. + +The French troubadours and the Italian counts of Boccaccio's time told +tales. It is recorded of the French Galland, the first translator of +_The Arabian Nights_, how the young men of his day would gather under +his windows at night and shout for him until he showed himself and +told them stories. The German Luther paid a high tribute to stories; +and Goethe's mother, in giving her experience in telling stories to +her children, has shown how the German mother valued the story in the +home. To-day, savage children, when the day of toil is ended with the +setting sun, gather in groups to listen to the never-dying charm of +the tale; and the most learned of men, meeting in the great centers of +civilization to work out weighty problems, find relief and pleasure +when wit and culture tell the tale. + +In the home the tale is the mother's power to build in her little +children ideals of life which will tower as a fortress when there come +critical moments of decision for which no amount of reasoning will be +a sufficient guide, but for which true feeling, a kind of unconscious +higher reasoning, will be the safest guide. In the library the story +is the greatest social asset of the librarian, it is her best means of +reaching the obscure child who seeks there some food for his spirit, +it is her best opportunity to lead and direct his tastes. In the +school it is the teacher's strongest personal ally. It is her +wishing-ring, with which she may play fairy to herself in +accomplishing a great variety of aims, and incidentally be a fairy +godmother to the child. + +Story-telling is an art handling an art and therefore must be pursued +in accordance with certain principles. These principles govern: (1) +the teacher's preparation; (2) the presentation of the tale; and (3) +the return from the child. + + + +I. THE TEACHER'S PREPARATION + + +1. The teacher's preparation must be concerned with a variety of +subjects. The first rule to be observed is: _Select the tale for some +purpose, to meet a situation_. This purpose may be any one of the +elements of value which have been presented here under "The Worth of +Fairy Tales." The teacher must consider, not only the possibilities of +her subject-matter and what she wishes to accomplish through the +telling of the tale, but also what the child's purpose will be in +listening. She may select her tale specifically, not just because it +contains certain interests, but because through those interests she +can direct the child's activity toward higher interests. She must +consider what problems the tale can suggest to the child. She may +select her tale to develop habits in the child, to clarify his +thinking, to give a habit of memory or to develop emotion or +imagination. She may select her tale "just for fun," to give pure joy, +or to teach a definite moral lesson, to make a selfish child see the +beauty of unselfishness or to impress an idea. The _Story of Lazy +Jack_, like the realistic _Epaminondas_, will impress more deeply than +any word of exhortation, the necessity for a little child to use "the +sense he was born with." + +In the selection of the tale the teacher is up against the problem of +whether she shall choose her tale psychologically or logically. As +this is the day of the psychologic point of view in education, the +teacher realizing this feels that she must select a tale for a +particular purpose, according to the child's interests, his needs, and +the possibilities it offers for his self-activity and self-expression. +Looking freely over the field she may choose any tale which satisfies +her purposes. This is psychologic. But in a year's work this choice of +a tale for a particular purpose is followed by successive choices +until she has selected a wide variety of tales giving exercise to many +forms of activity, establishing various habits of growth. This method +of choice is the psychologic built up until, in the hands of the +teacher who knows the subject, it becomes somewhat logical. It is the +method which uses the ability of the individual teacher, alone and +unaided. There is another method. The teacher may be furnished with a +course of tales arranged by expert study of the full subject outlined +in large units of a year's work, offering the literary heritage +possible to the child of a given age. This is logical. From this +logical course of tales she may select one which answers to the +momentary need, she may use it according to its nature, to develop +habits, to give opportunity for self-activity and self-expression, and +to enter into the child's daily life. This method of choice is the +logical, which through use and adaptation has become psychologized. It +uses the ability of the individual teacher in adaptation, not unaided +and alone, but assisted by the concentrated knowledge and practice of +the expert. Such a logical course, seeking uniformity only by what it +requires at the close of a year's work, would give to the individual +teacher a large freedom of choice and would bring into kindergarten +and elementary literature a basis of content demanding as much respect +as high school or college literature. It is in no way opposed to +maintaining the child as the center of interest. The teacher's problem +is to see that she uses the logical course psychologically. + +2. Having selected the tale then, from a logical course, and +psychologically for a present particular purpose, the next step is: +_Know the tale_. Know the tale historically, if possible. Know it +first as folk-lore and then as literature. Read several versions of +the tale, the original if possible, selecting that version which seems +most perfectly fitted to express what there is in the tale. As +folk-lore, study its variants and note its individual motifs. Note +what glimpses it gives of the social life and customs of a primitive +people. The best way to dwell on the life of the story, to realize it, +is to compare these motifs with similar motifs in other tales. It has +been said that we do not see anything clearly until we compare it with +another; and associating individual motifs of the tales makes the +incidents stand out most clearly. Henny Penny's walk appears more +distinctly in association with that of Medio Pollito or that of +Drakesbill or of the Foolish Timid Rabbit; the fairy words in +_Sleeping Beauty_ and the good things they bestowed upon Briar Rose in +association with the fairy wand in _Cinderella_ and the good things it +brought her; the visit of the Wolf in _The Wolf and Seven Kids_ with +the visit of the Wolf in _Three Pigs_ and of the Fox in _The Little +Rid Hin_. It is interesting to note that a clog motif, similar to the +motif of shoes in _The Elves and the Shoemaker_, occurs in the Hindu +_Panch-Rhul Ranee_, told in _Old Deccan Days_. + +All the common motifs which occur in the fairy tales have been +classified by Andrew Lang under these heads:-- + + (1) Bride or bridegroom who transgresses a mystic command. + + (2) Penelope formula; one leaves the other and returns later. + + (3) Attempt to avoid Fate. + + (4) Slaughter of monster. + + (5) Flight, by aid of animal. + + (6) Flight from giant or wizard. + + (7) Success of youngest. + + (8) Marriage test, to perform tasks. + + (9) Grateful beasts. + + (10) Strong man and his comrades. + + (11) Adventure with Ogre, and trick. + + (12) Descent to Hades. + + (13) False bride. + + (14) Bride with animal children. + +From a less scientific view some of the common motifs noticeable in +the fairy tales, which however would generally fall under one of the +heads given by Lang, might be listed:-- + + (1) Child wandering into a home; as in _Three Bears_ and + _Snow White_. + + (2) Transformation; simple, as in _Puss-in-Boots_; by + love, as in _Beauty and the Beast_, by sprinkling with + water, as in _Beauty and the Beast_ or by bathing, as in + _Catskin_; by violence, as in _Frog Prince_ and _White + Cat_. + + (3) Tasks as marriage tests; as in _Cinderella_. + + (4) Riddle test; as in _Peter, Paul, and Espen_; questions + asked, as in _Red Riding Hood_. + + (5) Magic sleep; as in _Sleeping Beauty_. + + (6) Magic touch; as in _Golden Goose_. + + (7) Stupid person causing royalty to laugh; as in _Lazy Jack_. + + (8) Exchange; as in _Jack and the Beanstalk_. + + (9) Curiosity punished; as in _Bluebeard_ and _Three Bears_. + + (10) Kindness to persons rewarded; as in _Cinderella, Little + Two-Eyes_, and _The House in the Wood_. + + (11) Kindness to animals repaid; as in _Thumbelina, Cinderella_, + and _White Cat_. + + (12) Industry rewarded; as in _Elves and the Shoemaker_. + + (13) Hospitality rewarded; as in _Tom Thumb_. + + (14) Success of a venture; as in _Dick Whittington_. + +After studying the tale as folk-lore, know it as literature. Master it +as a classic, test it as literature, to see wherein lies its appeal to +the emotions, its power of imagination, its basis of truth, and its +quality of form; study it as a short-story and view it as a piece of +narration. It is rather interesting to note that you can get all there +is in a tale from any one point of view. If you follow the sequence as +setting, through association you get the whole, as may be seen by +referring to _Chanticleer and Partlet_ under the heading, "Setting," +in the chapter on the "Short-Story." Or, if you follow the successive +doings of the characters you get the whole, as may be observed in the +story of _Medio Pollito_, described later in the "Animal Tale" in the +chapter, "Classes of Tales." Or if you follow the successive +happenings to the characters, the plot, you get the whole, as may +appear in the outline of _Three Pigs_ given in the chapter which +handles "Plot." Note the beauty of detail and the quality of +atmosphere with which the setting surrounds the tale; note the +individual traits of the characters and their contrasts; observe how +what each one does causes what happens to him. Realize your story from +the three points of view to enter into the author's fullness. Get a +good general notion of the story first. + +3. The next step is: _Master the complete structure of the tale_. This +is the most important step in the particular study of the tale, for it +is the unity about which any perfection in the art of telling must +center. To discern that repose of centrality which the main theme of +the tale gives, to follow it to its climax and to its conclusion, +where poetic justice leaves the listener satisfied--this is the most +fundamental work of the story-teller. The teacher must analyze the +structure of her tale into its leading episodes, as has been +illustrated in the handling of structure, under the subject, "Plot," +in the chapter on the "Short-Story." + +4. The next step is: _Secure the message of the tale_. The message is +what we wish to transmit, it is the explicit reason for telling the +tale. And one evidently must possess a message before one can give it. +As the message is the chief worth of the tale, the message should +dominate the telling and pervade its life. A complete realization of +the message of the tale will affect the minutest details giving color +and tone to the telling, and resulting so that what the child does +with the story will deepen the impression of the message he receives. + +5. The next step is: _Master the tale as form_. This means that if the +tale is in classic form, not only the message and the structure must +be transmitted, but the actual words. Words are the artist's medium, +Stevenson includes them in his pattern of style, and how can we +exclude them if we wish to express what they have expressed? A tale +like Kipling's _The Elephant's Child_ would be ruined without those +clinging epithets, such as "the wait-a-bit thorn-bush," "mere-smear +nose," "slushy squshy mud-cap," "Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake," and +"satiable curtiosity." No one could substitute other words in this +tale; for contrasts of feeling and humor are so tied up with the words +that other words would fail to tell the real story. If an interjection +has seemed an insignificant part of speech, note the vision of +tropical setting opened up by the exclamation, "O Bananas! Where did +you learn that trick?" This is indeed a tale where the form is the +matter, the form and the message are one complete whole that cannot be +separated. But it is a proof that where any form is of sufficient +perfection to be a classic form, you may give a modified tale by +changing it, but you do not give the real complete tale. You cannot +tell Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ in your own words; for its sentences, +its phrases, its sounds, its suggestive language, its humor, its +imagination, its emotion, and its message, are so intricately woven +together that you could not duplicate them. + +When the fairy tale does not possess a settled classic form, select, +as was mentioned, that version in which the language best conveys the +life of the story, improving it yourself, if you can, in harmony with +the standards of literature, until the day in the future when the tale +may be fortunate enough to receive a settled form at the hands of a +literary artist. Sometimes a slight change may improve greatly an old +tale. In Grimm's _Briar Rose_[1] the episode of the Prince and the old +Man contains irrelevant material. The two paragraphs following, "after +the lapse of many years there came a king's son into the country," +easily may be re-written to preserve the same unity and simplicity +which mark the rest of the tale. This individual retelling of an old +tale demands a careful distinction between what is essential and +internal and what may have been added, what is accidental and +external. The clock-case in _The Wolf and Seven Kids_ evidently is not +a part of the original story, which arose before clocks were in use, +and is a feature added in some German telling of the tale. It may be +retained but it is not essential to the tale that it should be. Exact +conversations and bits of dialogue, repetitive phrases, rhymes, +concrete words which visualize, brief expressions, and Anglo-Saxon +words--these are all bits of detail which need to be mastered in a +complete acquirement of the story's form, because these are +characteristics of the form which time has settled upon the old tales. +Any literary form bestowed upon the tales worthy of the name +literature, will have to preserve these essentials. + + + +II. THE PRESENTATION OF THE TALE + + +In the oral presentation of the tale new elements of the teacher's +preparation enter, for here the voice is the medium and the teacher +must use the voice as the organist his keys. The aim of the oral +presentation is to give the spiritual effect. This requires certain +conditions of effectiveness--to speak with distinctness, to give the +sense, and to cause to understand; and certain intellectual +requirements--to articulate with perfection, to present successive +thoughts in clear outline, and to preserve relative values of +importance. + +The production of the proper effect necessitates placing in the +foreground, with full expression, what needs emphasis, and throwing +back with monotony or acceleration parts that do not need emphasis. It +requires slighting subordinate, unimportant parts, so that one point +is made and one total impression given. This results in that +flexibility and lightsomeness of the voice, which is one of the most +important features in the telling of the tale. The study of technique, +when controlled by these principles of vocal expression, is not +opposed to the art of story-telling any more than the painter's +knowledge of color is opposed to his art of painting. To obtain +complete control of the voice as an instrument of the mind, there is +necessary: (1) training of the voice; (2) exercises in breathing; (3) +a knowledge of gesture; and (4) a power of personality. + +(1) Training of the voice. This training aims to secure freedom of +tone, purity of tone, fullness of tone, variety of volume, and +tone-color. It will include a study of phonetics to give correct +pronunciation of sounds and a knowledge of their formation; freeing +exercises to produce a jaw which is not set, an open throat, a mobile +lip, and nimble tongue; and exercises to get rid of nasality or +throatiness. The art of articulation adds to the richness of meaning, +it is the connection between sound and sense. Open sounds are in +harmony with joy, and very distinct emotional effects are produced by +arrangements of consonants. The effect created by the use of the +vowels and consonants in _The Spider and the Flea_ has already been +referred to under "Setting." The open vowels of "Ón, little Drumikin! +Tum-pä, tum-t[=oo]!" help to convey the impression of lightsome gaiety +in _Lambikin_. The effect of power displayed by "Then I'll huff and +I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in," is made largely by the sound +of the consonants _ff_ and the _n_ in the concluding _in_, the force +of the rough _u_ of _huff_ and _puff_, and the prolonged _o_ in +_blow_. The effect of walking is produced by the _p_ of "_Trip, +trap_," and of varied walking by the change of vowel from _[ui]_ to +_[ua]_. The action of "I have come to gobble you up," is emphasized +and made realistic by the _bb_ of _gobble_ and the _p_ of _up_. +Attention to the power of phonics to contribute to the emotional force +and to the strength of meaning in the tale, will reveal to the +story-teller many new beauties. + +(2) Exercises in breathing. Training in breathing includes exercises +to secure the regulation of proper breathing during speech and to +point out the relation between breathing and voice expression. The +correct use of the voice includes also ability to place tone.--Find out +your natural tone and tell the story in that tone.--Many of the +effects of the voice need to be dealt with from the inside, not +externally. The use of the pause in story-telling is one of the +subtlest and most important elements that contribute to the final +effect. The proper placing of the pause will follow unconsciously as a +consequence when the structure of the story is realized in distinct +episodes and the proper emphasis given mentally to the most important +details of action, while less emphasis in thought is given to +subordinate parts. Therefore, the study of the pause must be made, not +artificially and externally, but internally through the elements of +the story which produce the pause. Tone-color, which is to ordinary +speech what melody is to music--those varied effects of intonation, +inflection, and modulation--is to be sought, not as a result from an +isolated study of technique, but from attention to those elements in +association with the complete realization of the life of the story. +Genuine feeling is worth more than mere isolated exercises to secure +modulation, and complete realization eliminates the necessity of +"pretending to be." The study of the fairy tale as literature, as has +been indicated in the chapter on "Principles of Selection," will +therefore be fundamental to the presentation of the tale. Entering +into the motives of the story gives action, entering into the thought +gives form, and entering into the feeling gives tone-color to the +voice. The sincere desire to share the thought will be the best aid to +bring expression. + +(3) A knowledge of gesture. The teacher must understand the laws of +gesture. The body is one means of the mind's expression. There is the +eloquence of gesture and of pose. The simplest laws of gesture may be +stated:-- + + (a) All gesture precedes speech in proportion to the + intense realization of emotion. + + (b) All expression begins in the face and passes to some + other agent of the body in proportion to the quality + Of the emotion. The eye leads in pointing. + + (c) Hands and arms remain close to the body in gesture + when intensity of emotion is controlled. + +In regard to gesture, a Children's Library pamphlet, dealing with the +purpose of story-telling, has said, "The object of the story-teller is +to present the story, not in the way advocated usually in the schools, +but to present it with as little dramatic excitement and foreign +gesture as possible, keeping one's personality in the background and +giving all prominence to the story itself, relying for interest in the +story alone." The schools have perhaps been misinterpreted. It is +clear that only that personality is allowable which interprets truly +the story's life. The listening child must be interested in the life +of the story, not in the story-teller; and therefore gesture, tone, or +sentiment that is individual variation and addition to the story +itself, detracts from the story, is foreign to its thought, and +occupies a wrong place of prominence. It is possible to tell a story, +however, just as the author tells it, and yet give it naturally by +realizing it imaginatively and by using the voice and the body +artistically, as means of expression. + +(4) A power of personality. What rules shall be given for the making +of that personality which is to bring with it force in the telling of +the tale and which must override phonetics, inflection, and gesture? + +The very best help towards acquiring that personality which is the +power of story-telling, is to have a power of life gained through the +experience of having lived; to have a power of emotion acquired +through the exercise of daily affairs; a power of imagination won from +having dwelt upon the things of life with intentness, a power of +sympathy obtained from seeing the things of others as you meet them +day by day; and a first-hand knowledge of the sights and sounds and +beauties of Nature, a knowledge of bird and flower, tree and rock, +their names and some of their secrets--knowledge accumulated from +actual contact with the real physical world. This power of life will +enable the story-teller to enter, at the same time, into the life of +the story she tells, and the life of those listening, to see the gift +of the one and the need of the other. + +The ideal position for the story-teller is to be seated opposite the +center of the semicircle of listeners, facing them. The extreme +nearness of the group, when the teller seeks the fingers of the +listeners to add force to the telling, seems an infringement upon the +child's personal rights. A strong personality will make the story go +home without too great nearness and will want to give the children a +little room so that their thoughts may meet hers out in the story. + +Suggestions for telling. Now that the teacher is ready to speak, her +first step in the art of story-telling, which is the first step in the +art of any teaching, which lies at the very foundation of teaching, +which is the most important step, and which is the step that often is +neglected, is the _establishing of the personal relation between +herself and the listener_. This is one of those subtleties which +evades measuring, but its influence is most lasting. It is the setting +to the whole story of teaching. It must play so important a part +because, as teacher and listener are both human beings, there must be +between them a common bond of humanity. How do you wish to appear to +this group of listeners? As a friend to be trusted, a brother or +sister to give help, or as a good comrade to be played with; as +"master, expert, leader, or servant"? If you wish to be as real and +forceful as the characters in your story, you must do something which +will cause the personal relation you desire, to be established; and +moreover, having established it, you must live up to it, and prove no +friend without faith. You must do this before you presume to teach or +to tell a story. You need not do it before each individual story you +present to a group you meet often; you may do it so effectively, with +a master-stroke, at the beginning when you first meet your class, that +all you need do at successive meetings will be but to add point to +your first establishment. + +A student-teacher, in telling a story to a group of kindergarten +children who were complete strangers, and telling it to them as they +sat in a semicircle in front of her comrades, adult students, +established this personal relation by beginning to tell the little +children her experience with the first telling of _Three Bears_ to a +little girl of four:--Seated before a sand-box in the yard, after +hearing the story of _Three Bears_, M---- had been asked, "Wouldn't +this be a good time for you to tell me the story?" In reply, she +paused, and while the story-teller was expecting her to begin, +suddenly said, "Do you think M----'s big enough for all that?" and +refused to tell a word. Then turning to the group before her, the +student-teacher made the direct appeal. "But you are the biggest +little people in the kindergarten, and you wouldn't treat a story like +that, would you?" The children, through the personal picture of +friendly story-telling with a little child, that paralleled their own +situation somewhat, immediately felt at home with the teller; it was +just as if they were the same intimate friends with her that the +little girl portrayed to them was. The human bond of good comradeship +and intimacy was established. In the direct appeal at the end, the +children were held up to an ideal they dare not disappoint, they must +live up to their size, be able to get the story, and be the biggest +little people in the kindergarten by showing what they could do with +it. Again there was an undefined problem thrown at them, as it +were--an element of wonder. They did not know just what was coming and +they were mentally alert, waiting, on the lookout. The way for the +story was open.--This is what you want, for no matter how perfect a +gem of folk-lore you tell, it will fall heedless if the children do +not listen to it. + +The second step in the art of story-telling is one which grows +naturally out of this first step. This second step, _to put the story +in a concrete situation for the child_, to make the connection between +the child and the literature you present, is the one which displays +your unique power as an artist. It is the step which often is omitted +and is the one which exercises all your individual ability and +cleverness. It is the step which should speak comfort to the eager +teacher of to-day, who is compelled to stand by, Montessori fashion, +while many changing conceptions say to her: "Hands off! It is not what +you do that helps the child develop; it is what he himself does!" Here +at least is one of the teacher's chances to act. This step is the +opening of the gateway so that the story you are about to tell may +enter into the thoughts of your listeners. It is your means to +organize the tale in the child's life. If in the school program you +permit nature study, representing the central interest, to occupy the +place of main emphasis, and if the game, occupation, and song work is +related to the child's life, this organization of the child's tale in +his life will be accomplished naturally. + +In the example cited above, both the establishment of the personal +relation and the placing of the story in a concrete situation, were +managed partly at the one stroke. Your best help to furnish a concrete +situation will be to preserve at the one end a sympathy for the life +of your story and at the other to perceive the experience of the +children in the listening group. Seeing both at once will result in a +knowledge of what the children need most to make the story go home. If +your children are good enough, and you and they sufficiently good +friends to bear the fun of pantomime and the gaiety of hilarity, +asking several boys, as they walk across the room before the children, +to imitate some animals they had seen at a circus, and getting the +children to guess the animal represented until they hit upon the +elephant, would put certain children in a spirit of fun that would be +exactly the wide-awake brightness and good humor needed to receive the +story of _The Elephant's Child_. You can get children best into the +story-telling mood by calling up ideas in line with the story. In the +case of the story cited above, under the establishment of the personal +relation, the story, _The Bremen Town Musicians_, was related to the +child's experience by a few questions concerning kinds of music he +knew, and what musician and kind of music the kindergarten had. In +telling Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ you must call up experience +concerning a soldier, not only because of the relation of the toy to +the real soldier, but because the underlying meaning of the tale is +courage, and the emotional theme is steadfastness. And to preserve the +proper unity between the tale and the telling of it, the telling must +center itself in harmony with the message of the tale, its one +dominant impression and its one dominant mood. + +Every story told results in some return from the child. The teacher, +in her presentation, must _conceive the child's aim in listening_. +This does not mean that she forces her aim upon him. But it does mean +that she makes a mental list of the child's own possible problems that +the tale is best suited to originate, one of which the child himself +will suggest. For the return should originate, not in imitation of +what the teller plans, but spontaneously, as the child's own plan, +answering to some felt need of his. But that does not prevent the +story-teller from using her own imagination, and through it, from +realizing what opportunities for growth the story presents, and what +possible activities ought to be stimulated. A good guide will keep +ahead of the children, know the possibilities of the material, and by +knowledge and suggestion lead them to realize and accomplish the plans +they crudely conceive. A consideration of these plans will modify the +telling of the tale, and should be definitely thought about before the +telling of the tale. A story told definitely to stimulate in the +children dramatization, will emphasize action and dialogue; while one +told to stimulate the painting of a water-color sketch, will emphasize +the setting of the tale. + +The telling of the tale. With this preparation, directions seem +futile. The tale should tell itself naturally. You must begin at the +beginning, as your tale will if you have selected a good one. You must +tell it simply, as your tale will have simplicity if it is a good one, +and your telling must be in harmony with the tale you tell. You will +tell it with joy; of course, if there is joy in it, or beauty, which +is a "joy forever," or if you are giving joy to your listeners. Tell +it, if possible, with a sense of bestowing a blessing, and a delicate +perception of the reception it meets in the group before you, and the +pleasure and interest it arouses in them, so that in the telling there +is that human setting which is a quickening of the spirit and a union +of ideas, which is something quite new and different from the story, +yet born of the story. + +The re-creative method of story-telling. This preparation for telling +here described will result in a fundamental imitation of the author of +the story. By participating in the life of the story; by realizing it +as folklore; by realizing it as literature--its emotion, its +imagination, its basis of truth, its message, its form; by paying +conscious attention to the large units of the structure, the exact +sequence of the plot, the characters, and the setting, the particular +details of description, and the unique word--the story-teller +reproduces the author's mode of thinking. She does with her mind what +she wishes the child to do with his. With the very little child in the +kindergarten and early first grade, who analyzes but slightly, this +results consciously in a clear notion of the story, which shows itself +in the child's free re-telling of the story as a whole. He may want to +tell the story or he may not. Usually he enjoys re-telling it after +some lapse of time; perhaps he tells it to himself, meanwhile. With +the older child, who analyzes more definitely, this results in a +retelling which actually reproduces the teller's mode of thinking. If +persisted in, it gives to one's mode of thinking, the _story-mode_, +just as nature study gives to life the nature point of view. This mode +of thinking is the _mode of re-creation_, of realization. It +re-experiences the life, it reaches the processes of the mind, and +develops free mind movement. It is a habit of thinking, and is at the +basis of reading, which is thinking through symbols; at the basis of +the memorization of poetry, which must first see the pictures the poet +has portrayed; it is the best help toward the adult study of +literature, and the narration of history and geography. It is the +power to conceive a situation, which is most useful in science, +mathematics, and the reasoning of logic. "For," says Professor John +Dewey, "the mind which can make independent judgments, look at facts +with fresh vision, and reach conclusions with simplicity, is the +perennial power in the world." + +This re-creative method of fundamental imitation was illustrated in the +telling of Andersen's _Princess and the Pea_, in a student-teacher's +class: + + The story was told by the Professor. After the telling of + the story it was decided to have the story told again, but + this time in parts and by those who had listened, in such a + way that it would seem as if one person were telling the + whole story. + + The Professor named the first part of the story. A student + was asked to tell the story from _the beginning_ to the end + of _the Prince's coming home again, sad at heart_. Another + student told the second part, beginning with _the storm_ and + ending with _what the old Queen thought_. A third student + told the third part, beginning with _the next morning_ and + ending with the close of the story, _Now this is a true + story_. + + The Professor next asked students to think over the entire + story, to see if each student could find any weak places in + the remembering of the story. Several students reported + difficulty--one failed to remember the exact description of + the storm. A number of details were thus filled in, in the + exact words of the author. After this intimate handling of + the separate parts of the story, a final re-telling by one + student--omitted in this case because of lack of time--would + bring together what had been contributed by individual + students, and would represent the final re-creation of the + entire story. + +The simplicity of this selection, the simplicity of the plot, the few +characters, the literary art of the story, the skillful use of the +unique word, the art of presenting distinct pictures by means of vivid +words, through suggestion rather than through illustration, together +with the delicate humor that hovered about the tale, and the art of +the Professor's telling--all combined in the final effect. The +re-telling of the story in parts accomplished the analysis of the +story into three big heads: + + (1) From _The Prince who wanted a real Princess_ ... to _his + return home_. + + (2) From _The storm, one dark evening_ ... to _what the old Queen + thought_. + + (3) From _What the Queen did next morning_ ... to _the end of the + story_. + +In the analysis of the story into parts, telling exactly what happened +gave the framework of the story, gave its basis of meaning. Telling it +in three steps gave a strong sense of sequence and a vivid conception +of climax.--If the division into parts for re-telling corresponds with +the natural divisions of the plot into its main episodes, this telling +in steps impresses the structure of the tale and is in harmony with +the real literary mastery of the story.--The re-telling of each part +drew attention to the visualization of that part. Each hesitation on +behalf of a student telling a part, led the class to fill in the +details for themselves, and impressed the remembrance of the exact +words of the author. This resulted in the mastery of each part through +a visualization of it. Hand in hand with the visualization came the +feeling aroused by the realization. This was more easily mastered +because changes of feeling were noticeable in passing from one part of +the story to another. + +After a mastery of the structure of the story through analysis, after +a mastery of the thought, imagination, and feeling of the story, after +a mastery of the form, and the exact words of the author in the +description of details embodied in that form, the story is possessed +as the teller's own, ready to be given, not only to bestow pleasure, +as in this case, but often to transmit a message of worth and to +preserve a classic form. + +_The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, a Jataka tale, might be prepared for +telling by this same re-creative method of story-telling. It +must be remembered--and because of its importance it will bear +repetition,--that the separation of the story-structure into parts for +separate telling should always be in harmony with the divisions of the +plot so that there may be no departure from the author's original mode +of thinking, and no break in the natural movement of sequence. A +separation of the tale into parts for re-telling would result in the +following analysis:-- + + (1) _Rabbit asleep under a palm tree_ ... to _his meeting + hundreds of Rabbits_. + + (2) _Rabbits met a Deer_ ... to _when the Elephant joined them_. + + (3) _Lion saw the animals running_ ... to _when he came to + the Rabbit who first had said the earth was all breaking up_. + + (4) _Lion asked the Foolish Rabbit, 'Is it true the earth is + all breaking up_,' ... to _end of the story, 'And they all + stopped running_.' + +After the re-telling of these parts, each part should be filled in +with the exact details so that in the final re-telling practically the +whole tale is reproduced. This is a very good tale to tell by this +method because the theme is attractive, the plot is simple, the +sequence a very evident movement, the characters distinctive, the +setting pleasing and rather prominent, and the details sufficiently +few and separate to be grasped completely. The final re-telling +therefore may be accomplished readily as a perfected result of this +method of telling a tale. + +During the telling, the charm here is in preserving the typical bits +of dialogue, giving to the Lion's words that force and strength and +sagacity which rank him the King of the Beasts. One must feel clearly +the message and make this message enter into every part of the +telling: That the Lion showed his superior wisdom by making a stand +and asking for facts, by accepting only what he tested; while the +Rabbit showed his credulity by foolishly accepting what he heard +without testing it. + +Adaptation of the fairy tale. Sometimes, in telling a story one cannot +tell it exactly as it is. This may be the case when the story is too +long for a purpose, or if it contains matter which had better be +omitted, or if it needs to be amplified. In any case one must follow +these general rules:-- + + (1) Preserve the essential story from a single point of view. + + (2) Preserve a clear sequence with a distinct climax. + + (3) Preserve a simplicity of plot and simple language. + +In shortening a long story one may: + + (1) Eliminate secondary themes. + + (2) Eliminate extra personages. + + (3) Eliminate passages of description. + + (4) Eliminate irrelevant events. + +It has been the practice to adapt such stories as Andersen's _Ugly +Duckling_ and Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_. In the _King of the +Golden River_ the description of Treasure Valley could be condensed +into a few sentences and the character of South West Wind omitted; and +in _The Ugly Duckling_, passages of description and bits of philosophy +might be left out. But there is no reason why literature in the +elementary school should be treated with mutilation. These stories are +not suited to the kindergarten or first grade and may be reserved for +the third and fourth grades where they may be used and enjoyed by the +children as they are. Andersen's _Thumbelina_ might be adapted for +kindergarten children because it is suitable for them yet it is very +long. It could easily be analyzed into its leading episodes, each +episode making a complete tale, and one or more episodes be told at +one time. This would have the added attraction for the child of having +one day's story follow naturally the preceding story. Adapted thus, +the episodes would be:-- + + (1) Thumbelina in her Cradle. + + (2) Thumbelina and the Toad. + + (3) Thumbelina and the Fishes. + + (4) Thumbelina and the Cockchafer in the tree. + + (5) Thumbelina and the Field-Mouse. + + (6) Thumbelina and the Mole. + + (7) Thumbelina and the Swallow. + + (8) Thumbelina as Queen of the Flowers. + +Andersen's _Snow Man_ as adapted for the kindergarten would require +the episode of the lover omitted. It is irrelevant, not essential to +the story, and is an illustration of the sentimental, which must be +omitted when we use Andersen. To omit this episode one would cut out +from "'That is wonderfully beautiful,' said a young girl," to the end +of "'Why, they belong to the Master,' retorted the Yard Dog." + + + + +III. THE RETURN FROM THE CHILD[2] + + +The telling of the fairy tale is one phase of the teacher's art. And +it is maintained that fairy tales are one portion of subject-matter +suited to accomplish the highest greatness of the teaching art. For +teaching is an art, an art of giving suggestions, of bearing +influences, of securing adjustments, an art of knowing the best and of +making it known. The material the artist works upon is the living +child. The medium the artist uses is subject-matter. In the process +the artist must ask, "What new connections or associations am I +establishing in the child?" "To what power of curiosity and of +problem-solving do these connections and associations lead?" The ideal +which guides the teacher is the child's best self as she can interpret +him. This ideal will be higher and larger than the child himself can +know. In the manipulation of subject-matter, through the practical +application of principles, the artist aims to have the child awake, +inquire, plan, and act, so that under her influences he grows by what +he thinks, by what he feels, by what he chooses, and by what he +achieves. + +Teaching will be good art when the child's growth is a perfect fit to +the uses of his life, when subject-matter brings to him influences he +needs and can use. Teaching will be good art when it breaks up old +habits, starts new ones, strengthens good traits, and weakens bad +ones; when it gives a new attitude of cheerfulness in life or of +thoughtfulness for others or of reason in all things. It will be good +art when under it the child wants to do something and learns _how_ to +do it. Teaching will be great art when under it the child continually +attains self-activity, self-development, and self-consciousness, when +he continually grows so that he may finally contribute his utmost +portion to the highest evolution of the race. Teaching will be great +art when it touches the emotions of the child,--when history calls +forth a warm indignation against wrong, when mathematics strengthens a +noble love of truth or literature creates a strong satisfaction in +justice. This is the poetry of teaching, because mere subject-matter +becomes a criticism of life. Teaching will be great art when you, the +teacher, through the humble means of your presentation of +subject-matter, furnish the child at the same time with ideas, +perceptions, and opinions which are your personal criticism of life. +Teaching will be great art when you, the teacher, have worked up into +your own character a portion of life which is of value, so that the +child coming in touch with you knows an influence more powerful than +anything you can do or say. Teaching will then awaken in the child a +social relation of abiding confidence, of secure trust, of faith +unshakable. And this relation will then create for the teacher the +obligation to keep this trust inviolable, to practice daily, _noblesse +oblige_. Teaching will be great art when with the subject-matter the +artist gives love, a great universal kindness that thinks not of +itself but, being no respecter of persons, looks upon each child in +the light of that child's own best realization. This penetrating +sympathy, this great understanding, will call forth from the child an +answering love, which grows daily into a larger humanity of soul until +the child, in time too, comes to have a universal sympathy. This is +the true greatness of teaching. This it is which brings the child into +harmony with the Divine love which speaks in all God's handiwork and +brings him into that unity with God which is the mystery of Froebel's +teaching. + +During the story-telling one must ask, "In all this what is the part +the child has to play?" In the telling the teacher has aimed to give +what there is in the tale. The child's part is to receive what there +is in the tale, the emotion, the imagination, the truth, and the form +embodied in the tale. The content of feeling, of portrayal, of truth, +and of language he receives, he will in some way transmit before the +school day is ended, even if in forms obscure and hidden. Long years +afterwards, he may exhibit this same emotion, imagination, truth and +form, in deeds that proclaim loudly the return from his fairy tales. +However, if the child is being surrounded by pragmatic influences +through his teachers he will soon become aware that his feelings are +useless unless he does something because of them; that what he sees is +worthless unless he sees to some purpose; that it is somewhat +fruitless to know the truth and not use it; and if words have in their +form expressed the life of the tale, he is more dead than words not to +express the life that teems within his own soul. The little child +grows gradually into the responsibility for action, for expression, +into a consciousness of purpose and a knowledge of his own problems. +But each opportunity he is given to announce his own initiative breaks +down the inhibition of inaction and aids him to become a free +achieving spirit. As the child listens to the tale he is a thinking +human creature; but in the return which he makes to his tale he +becomes a quickened creator. The use which he makes of the ideas he +has gained through his fairy tales, will be the work of his creative +imagination. + +Fairy tales, though perfectly ordinary subject-matter, may become the +means of the greatest end in education, the development in the child +of the power of consciousness. The special appeal to the various +powers and capacities of the child mind, such as emotion, imagination, +memory, and reason, here have been viewed separately. But in life +action the mind is a unit. Thinking is therefore best developed +through subject-matter which focuses the various powers of the child. +The one element which makes the child manipulate his emotion, +imagination, memory, and reason, is the presence of a problem. The +problem is the best chance for the child to secure the adjustment of +means to ends. This adjustment of means to ends in a problem +situation, is real thinking and is the use of the highest power of +which man is capable, that of functional consciousness. The real need +of doing things is the best element essential to the problem. Through +a problem which expresses such a genuine need, to learn to know +himself, to realize his capacities and his limitations, and to secure +for himself the evolution of his own character until it adapts, not +itself to its environment, but its environment to its own uses and +masters circumstances for its own purposes--this is the high hill to +which education must look, "from which cometh its strength." The +little child, in listening to a fairy tale, in seeing in it a problem +of real need, and in working it out, may win some of this strength. We +have previously seen that fairy tales, because of their universal +elements, are subject-matter rich in possible problems. + +During the story-telling what is the part the child has to play? The +part of the child in all this may be to listen to the story because he +has some problem of his own to work out through the literature, +because he has some purpose of his own in listening, because he enjoys +the story and wishes to find out what there is in it, or because he +expects it to show him what he may afterwards wish to do with it. In +any case the child's part is to see the characters and what they do, +to follow the sequence of the tale, and to realize the life of the +story through the telling. He may have something to say about the +story at the close of the telling, he may wish to compare its motifs +with similar motifs in other tales, or he may wish to talk about the +life exhibited by the story. The various studies of the curriculum +every day are following more closely the Greek ideal and giving the +child daily exercise to keep the channels of expression free and open. +And when the well-selected fairy tale which is art is told, through +imitation and invention it awakens in the child the art-impulse and +tends to carry him from appreciation to expression. If before the +telling the story-teller has asked herself, "What variety of creative +reaction will this tale arouse in the child?" and if she has told the +story in the way to bring forward the best possibility for creative +reaction the nature of the tale affords, she will help to make clear +to the child what he himself will want to do with the story. She will +help him to see a way to use the story to enter into his everyday +life. The return of creative reaction possible to the child will be +that in harmony with his natural instincts or large general interests. +These instincts, as indicated by Professor John Dewey, in _The School +and Society_, are:-- + + (1) the instinct of conversation or communication; + + (2) the instinct of inquiry or finding out things; + + (3) the instinct of construction or making things; and + + (4) the instinct of artistic expression or [of imitating and + combining things]. + +(1) The instinct of conversation. The little child likes to talk. If +you have ever listened to a little girl of five artlessly proceeding +to tell a story, such as _Little Black Sambo_, which she had gathered +from looking at a neighbor's book, but which she had not yet mastered +sufficiently to grasp its central theme, reiterating the particular +incidents with the enthusiasm and joy and narrative tone of the +story-teller, you realized how the child likes to talk. For there +appeared the charm of the story-telling mode distinct from the story +it told. + +Because of this instinct of conversation one form of creative reaction +may be _language expression_. The oral reproduction of the story +re-experiences the story anew. The teacher may help here by creating a +situation for the re-telling. A teacher might put a little foreign boy +through rapid paces in learning English by selecting a story like _The +Sparrow and the Crow_ and by managing that in the re-telling the +little foreigner would be the Crow who makes the repetitive speeches, +who must go to the Pond and say:-- + + Your name, sir, is Pond + And my name is Crow, + Please give me some water, + For if you do so + I can wash and be neat, + And the nice soup can eat, + Though I really don't know + What the sparrow can mean, + I'm quite sure, as crows go, + I'm remarkably clean. + +As the Crow must go to the Deer, the Cow, the Grass, and the +Blacksmith, and each time varies the beginning of his speech, four +other children could represent the Crow successively, thus bringing in +a social element which would relieve any one child's timidity. By that +time any group of children would realize the fun they could get by +playing out the simple tale; and there would be petitions to be the +Deer, the Cow, etc. If the teacher sees that the characters place +themselves as they should, carry out the parts naturally, and that the +Crow begs with the correct rhyme, she is performing her legitimate +task of suggestion and criticism that works toward developing from the +first attempts of children, a good form in harmony with the story. +Here, while there is free play, the emphasis is on the speeches of +rhyme, so that the reaction is largely a language expression. The +language expression is intimately related to all varieties of +expression of which the child is capable, and may be made to dominate +and use any of them, or be subordinated to them. + +A most delightful form of creative reaction possible to the child in +language expression, is the _formation of original little stories_ +similar to the "Toy Stories" written by Carolyn Bailey for the +_Kindergarten Review_ during 1915. A story similar to "The Little +Woolly Dog" might be originated by the little child about any one of +his toys. This would be related to his work with fairy tales because +in such a story the child would be imitating his accumulative tales; +and the adventures given the toy would be patterned after the familiar +adventures of his tales. + +A form of creative reaction, which will be a part of the language +return given by the first-grade child from the telling of the tale, +will be his _reading of the tale_. When the child re-experiences the +life of the story as has been described, his mental realization of it +will be re-creative, and his reading the tale aloud afterwards will be +just as much a form of re-creative activity as his re-telling of the +tale. The only difference is, that in one case the re-creative +activity is exercised by thinking through symbols, while in the other +case it is employed without the use of a book. This concentration on +the reality brings about the proper relation of reading to literature. +It frees literature from the slavery to reading which it has been made +to serve, yet it makes literature contribute more effectively toward +good reading than it has done in the past. + +(2) The instinct of inquiry. No more predominating trait proclaims +itself in the child than the instinct of inquiry. Every grown-up +realizes his habit of asking questions, which trait Kipling has +idealized delightfully in _The Elephant's Child_. We know also that +the folk-tale in its earliest beginnings was the result of primitive +man's curiosity toward the actual physical world about him, its sun +and sky, its mountain and its sea. The folk-tale therefore is the +living embodiment of the child's instinct of inquiry permanently +recorded in the adventures and surprises of the folk-tale characters. +And because the folk-tale is so pervaded with this quest of the ages +in search of truth, and because the child by nature is so deeply +imitative, the folk-tale inherently possesses an educational value to +stir and feed original impulses of investigation and experiment. This +is a value which is above and beyond its more apparent uses. + +In the creative reaction to be expected from the child's use of fairy +tales the expression of this instinct of investigation unites with the +instinct of conversation, the instinct of construction, and the +instinct of artistic expression. In fact, it is the essence of +creative reaction in any form, whether in the domain of the Industrial +Shop, the Domestic Science Kitchen, the Household Arts' Sewing-Room, +or the Fine Arts' Studio. To do things and then see what happens, is +both the expression of this instinct and the basis of any creative +return the child makes through his handling of the fairy tale. In the +formation of a little play such as is given on page 149, the instinct +of conversation is expressed in the talk of the Trees to the little +Bird. But this talk of the Trees also expresses _doing things to see +what happens_; each happening to the Bird, each reply of a Tree to the +Bird, influences each successive doing of the Bird. After the Story of +_Medio Pollito_ all the child's efforts of making Little Half-Chick +into a weathervane and of fixing the directions to his upright shaft, +will be expressions of the search for the unknown, of the instinct of +experiment. After the story of _The Little Elves_, the dance of the +Elves to the accompaniment of music will represent an expression of +the artistic instinct; but it also represents expression of the +instinct for the new and the untried. After the dance is finished the +child has seen himself do something he had not done before. This union +of the instinct of inquiry with that of artistic expression shows +itself most completely in the entire dramatization of a fairy tale. + +(3) The instinct of construction. In his industrial work the very +youngest child is daily exercising his active tendency to make +things. In the kindergarten he may make the toy with which he plays, +the doll-house and its furnishings, small clay dishes, etc. In +the first grade he may make small toy animals, baskets, paper hats, +card-board doll-furniture, little houses, book-covers, toys, etc. +Self-expression, self-activity, and constructive activity would all +be utilized, and the work would have more meaning to the child, if it +_expressed some idea_, if after the story of _Three Bears_ the child +would make the Bears' kitchen, the table of wood, and the three +porridge bowls of clay, or the Bears' hall with the three chairs. In +the Grimm tale, _Sweet Rice Porridge_, after the story has been told +and before the re-telling, children would like to make a clay +porridge-pot, which could be there before them in the re-telling. +Perhaps they would make the rice porridge also, and put some in the +pot, for little children are very fond of making things to eat, and +domestic science has descended even into the kindergarten. After the +story of _Chanticleer and Partlet_, children would enjoy making a +little wagon and harnessing to it a Duck, and putting in it the Cock +and the Hen, little animals they have made. In the first grade, after +the story of _Sleeping Beauty_, children would naturally take great +pleasure in making things needed to play the story: the paper silver +and gold crowns of the maids and Princess and the Prince's sword. +After the story of _Medio Pollito_, we have noted with what special +interest children might make a weathervane, with Little Half-Chick +upon it! + +(4) The instinct of artistic expression. This is the instinct of +drawing, painting, paper-cutting, and crayon-sketching, the instinct +of song, rhythm, dance, and game, of free play and dramatization. + +(a) One form of artistic creative reaction will be _the cutting of +free silhouette pictures_. The child should attempt this with the +simplest of the stories which are suited for drawing, painting, or +crayon-sketching. He loves to represent the animals he sees every day; +and the art work should direct this impulse and show him how to do it +so that he may draw or cut out a dog, a cat, a sheep, or a goat; or +simple objects, as a broom, a barrel, a box, a table, and a chair. +_The Bremen Town_ _Musicians_, while offering a fine opportunity for +dramatization, also might stimulate the child to cut out the +silhouettes of the Donkey, the Dog, the Cat, and the Cock, to draw the +window of the cottage and to place the animals one on top of another, +looking in the window. The beautiful picture-books illustrating his +fairy tales, which the child may see, will give him many ideas of +drawing and sketching, and help him to arrange his silhouettes. A +recent primer, _The Pantomime Primer_, will give the child new ideas +in silhouettes. Recent articles in the _Kindergarten Review_ will give +the teacher many helpful suggestions along the line of expression. In +the May number, 1915, in _Illustrated Stories_, the story of "Ludwig +and Marleen," by Jane Hoxie, is shown as a child might illustrate it +with paper-cutting.--A class of children were seen very pleasantly +intent on cutting out of paper a basket filled with lovely tinted +flowers. But how attractive that same work would have become if the +basket had been Red Riding Hood's basket and they were being helped by +an art-teacher to show peeping out of her basket the cake and pot of +butter, with the nosegay tucked in one end. A very practical problem +in paper-cutting would arise in any room when children desire to make +a frieze to decorate the front wall. _The Old Woman and her Pig, The +Country Mouse and the City Mouse, The Little Red Hen, The Story of +Three Pigs, The Story of Three Bears_, and _Little Top-Knot_, would be +admirably adapted for simple work. + +(b) _The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean_ is most likely to stir the +child's impulse to _draw_. Leslie Brooke's illustration in _The House +in the Wood_ might aid a child who wanted to put some fun into his +representation. _Birdie and Lena_ or _Fundevogel_, is a story that +naturally would seek illustration. Three _crayon-sketches_, one of a +rosebush and a rose, a second of a church and a steeple, and a third +of a pond and a duck, would be enough to suggest the tale. + +(c) The Story of _The Wolf and Seven Kids_, if told with the proper +emphasis on the climax of triumph and conclusion of joy, would lead +the child to react with a _water-color sketch_ of the dance of the +Goat and her Kids about the well. For here you have all the elements +needed for a simple picture--the sky, the full moon, the hill-top, the +well, and the animals dancing in a ring. After finishing their +sketches the children would enjoy comparing them with the illustration +of _Der Wolf und die Sieben Geislein_ in _Das Deutsche Bilderbüch_, +and perhaps they might try making a second sketch. This same tale +would afford the children a chance to compose a simple tune and a +simple song, such as the well-taught kindergarten child to-day knows. +Such are songs which express a single theme and a single mood; as, +_The Muffin Man_ and _To the Great Brown House_; or _There was a Small +Boy with a Toot_ and _Dapple Gray_ in _St. Nicholas Songs_. In this +tale of _The Wolf and Seven Kids_, the conclusion impresses a single +mood of joy and the single theme of freedom because the Wolf is dead. +The child could produce a very simple song of perhaps two lines, such +as,-- + + Let's sing and dance! Hurrah, hurrah! + The Wolf is dead! Hurrah! + +(d) It is a little difficult to get down to the simplicity of the +little girl who will play her own tune upon the piano and sing to it +just the number of the house in which she lives, repeating it again +and again. But the child can _compose little songs_ that will please +him, and he can use, too, in connection with the tales, some of the +songs that he knows. The first-grade child could work into _Snow White +and Rose Red_, "Good morrow, little rosebush," and into _Little +Two-Eyes_ a lullaby such as "Sleep, baby, sleep." Later in _Hansel and +Grethel_ he may learn some of the simple songs that have been written +for Hansel and Grethel to sing to the birds when they spend the night +in the wood. In _Snow White_ he may learn some of the songs written +for the children's play, _Snow White_. In connection with music, the +kindergarten child learns to imitate the sounds of animals, the sound +of bells, whistles, the wind, etc. All this will cause him to react, +so that when these occur in his stories he will want to make them. + +(e) One of the forms of creative reaction possible to the child as a +variety of expression, which has received attention most recently, has +been handled by Miss Caroline Crawford in _Rhythm Plays of Childhood_; +and by Miss Carol Oppenheimer in "Suggestions Concerning Rhythm +Plays," in the _Kindergarten Review_, April and May, 1915. Here again +the fairy tales cannot be excelled in abundant situations for rhythm +plays. The sea, the wind, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the +stars--all nature is rich in suggestion of rhythms. The social +situations furnish the rhythm of simple housekeeping tasks. In _Snow +White and Rose Red_ there are the rhythms of fishing and of chasing +animals. In _The Elves_ we have the rhythm of shoe-making and in _The +Straw Ox_, the rhythm of spinning. The story of _Thumbelina_, after +its eight episodes have been re-told by the children, might very +attractively be re-told in eight rhythms, each rhythm expressing a +single episode. And for the oldest children, a union of the oral +re-telling by individual children with the retelling in rhythms by all +the children, would give much pleasure and social exhilaration. +Thumbelina in her Cradle, Thumbelina and the Toad, Thumbelina and the +Swallow and Thumbelina as Queen of the Flowers--these at once suggest +a cradle rhythm, a toad rhythm, the flight of birds, and a butterfly +dance. Because the rhythm is a lyric form it must be remembered that +the part of a story suited to a rhythm play is always a part +characterized by a distinct emotional element. In the performance of +rhythm plays the point is to secure the adjustment of music, motion, +and idea. + +(f) Many of the fairy tales might arouse in the child a desire _to +originate a game_, especially if he were accustomed to originate games +in the regular game work. A modification of the game of tag might grow +from _Red Riding Hood_ and a pleasant ring game easily might develop +from _Sleeping Beauty_. In fact there is a traditional English game +called "Sleeping Beauty." An informal ring game which would be +somewhat of a joke, and would have the virtue of developing attention, +might grow from _The Tin Soldier_. The Tin Soldier stands in the +center while the circle is formed of Jack-in-the-boxes, with lids +closed. The Tin Soldier turns round and round slowly, and when he +stops looks steadily at a certain Jack-in-the-box, whereupon the Jack +must bob up and retort, "Keep your eyes to yourself, Tin Soldier!" The +Jack and Soldier then change places. Any Jack failing to open when +looked at forfeits his place in the ring. Some games derived from +folk-tales were given in the _Delineator_, November, 1914. These could +not be used by the youngest without adaptation; they suggest a form of +fun that so far as I know has been undeveloped. + +(g) The artistic creative return of the child may sometimes take the +form of _objectification or representation_. _The Steadfast Tin +Soldier_ is a model of the literary fairy tale which gives a stimulus +to the child to represent his fairy tale objectively. As +straightforward narrative it ranks high. Its very first clause is the +child's point of view: "There were five and twenty tin soldiers"; for +the child counts his soldiers. Certainly the theme is unique and the +images clear-cut. + +It makes one total impression and it has one emotional tone to which +everything is made to contribute. Its message of courage and its +philosophy of life, which have been mentioned previously, are not so +insignificant even if the story does savor of the sentimental. Its +structure is one single line of sequence, from the time this marvelous +soldier was stood up on the table, until he, like many another toy, +was thrown into the fire. The vivid language used gives vitality to +the story, the words suit the ideas, and often the words recall a +picture or suggestion; as, "The Soldier _fell headlong,"_ "_trod_," +"came down in _torrents_," "boat _bobbed_," "_spun_ round," "_clasped_ +his gun," "boat _shot_ along," "_blinked_ his eyes," etc. The method +of suggestion by which an object is described through its effect on +some one else, produces a very pleasing result here. You see the +steadfast look of the Tin Soldier's eyes when the Jack-in-the-box +says, "Keep your eyes to yourself, Tin Soldier!" The position of the +Soldier in the street is given through the exclamation of the little +boys who see him--"Look! there lies a Tin Soldier, let us give him a +sail in the gutter!" + +The setting in this story is a table in a sitting-room and the +playthings on the table. The characters are two playthings. After the +first telling of this story the child naturally would like to +represent it. The story has made his playthings come alive and so he +would like to make them appear also. This is a tale in which +representation, after the first telling, will give to the child much +pleasure and will give him a chance to do something with it +cooperatively. He can reproduce the setting of this tale upon a table +in a schoolroom. Each child could decide what is needed to represent +the story and offer what he can. One child could make the yard outside +the castle of green blotting-paper. Another child could furnish a +mirror for the lake, another two toy green trees, one two wax swans, +one a box of tin soldiers, another a jack-in-the-box, while the girls +might dress a paper doll for a tinsel maid. The teacher, instructed by +the class, might make a castle of heavy gray cardboard, fastening it +together with heavy brass paper-fasteners and cutting out the door, +windows, and tower. It is natural for children to handle playthings; +and when a story like this is furnished the teacher should not be too +work-a-day to enter into its play-spirit. After the representation +objectively, the re-telling of the tale might be enjoyed. The child +who likes to draw might tell this story also in a number of little +sketches: _The Jack-in-the-box, The Window, The Boat, The Rat, The +Fish_, and _The Fire_. Or a very simple little dramatic dance and song +might be invented, characterized by a single mood and a single form of +motion, something like this, sung to the tune of "Here we go round the +mulberry bush, etc":-- + + Here we come marching, soldiers tin, soldiers tin, soldiers tin, + Here we come marching, soldiers tin, + On one leg steady we stand. + (Circle march on one leg). + +This could easily be concluded with a game if the child who first was +compelled to march on two legs had to pay some penalty, stand in the +center of the ring, or march at the end of the line. + +(h) Creative reaction as a result of listening to the telling of fairy +tales, appears in its most varied form of artistic expression in _free +play and dramatization_. It is here that the child finds a need for +the expression of all his skill in song and dance, construction, +language, and art, for here he finds a use for these things. + +In free play the child represents the characters and acts out the +story. His desire to play will lead to a keenness of attention to the +story-telling, which is the best aid to re-experiencing, and the play +will react upon his mind and give greater power to visualize. Nothing +is better for the child than the freedom and initiative used in +dramatization, and nothing gives more self-reliance and poise than to +act, to do something.--We must remember that in the history of the +child's literature it was education that freed his spirit from the +deadening weight of didacticism in the days of the _New England +Primer_. And we must now have a care that education never may become +guilty of crushing the spirit of his freedom, spontaneity, and +imagination, by a dead formalism in its teaching method.--The play +develops the voice, and it gives freedom and grace to bodily +movements. It fixes in the child mind the details of the story and +impresses effectively many a good piece of literature; it combines +intellectual, emotional, artistic, and physical action. The simplest +kindergarten plays, such as _The Farmer, The Blacksmith_, and _Little +Travelers_, naturally lead into playing a story such as _The Sheep and +the Pig_ or _The Gingerbread Man_. _The Mouse that Lost Her Tail_ and +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_ are delightful simple plays given in +_Chain Stories and Playlets_ by Mara Chadwick and E. Gray Freeman, +suited to the kindergarten to play or the first grade to read and +play. Working out a complete dramatization of a folk-tale such as +_Sleeping Beauty_, in the first grade, and having the children come +into the kindergarten and there play it for them, will be a great +incentive toward catching the spirit of imaginatively entering into a +situation which you are not. This is the essential for dramatization. +_Johnny Cake_ is a good tale to be played in the kindergarten because +it uses a great number of children. As the kindergarten room generally +is large, it enables the children who represent the man, the woman, +the little boy, etc., to station themselves at some distance. + +There are some dangers in dramatization which are to be avoided:-- + +(1) _Dramatization often is in very poor form_. The result is not the +important thing, but the process. And sometimes teachers have +understood this to mean, "Hands off!" and left the children to their +crude impulses, unaided and unimproved. When the child shows _what_ he +is trying to do the teacher may show him _how_ he can do what he wants +to do. By suggestion and criticism she may get him to improve his +first effort, provided she permits him to be absolutely free when he +acts.--The place of this absolute freedom in the child's growth has +been emblazoned to the kindergarten by the Montessori System.--Also by +participating in the play as one of the characters, the teacher may +help to a better form. Literature will be less distorted by +dramatization when teachers are better trained to see the +possibilities of the material, when through training they appreciate +the tale as one of the higher forms of literature, and respect it +accordingly. Also it will be less distorted by dramatization when the +tales selected for use are those containing the little child's +interests, when he will have something to express which he really +knows about. Moreover, as children gain greater skill in expression in +construction, in the game, in song, in dance, and in speech, the parts +these contribute to the play will show a more perfected form. Each +expression by the child grows new impressions, gives him new sensory +experiences. Perhaps if the high school would realize the +possibilities in a fairy tale such as _Beauty and the Beast_, work it +up into really good artistic form, and play it for the little +children, much would be gained not only towards good form in +dramatics, in both the elementary school and the high school, but +towards unifying the entire course of literature from the kindergarten +to the university. Using Crane's picture-book as a help, they might +bring into the play the beauty of costume and scenery, the +court-jester, and Beauty's pages. Into the Rose-Garden they might +bring a dance of Moon Fairies, Dawn Fairies, Noon, and Night who, in +their symbolic gauzy attire, dance to persuade Beauty to remain in the +Beast's castle. There might be singing fairies who decorate the bushes +with fairy roses, and others who set the table with fairy dishes, +singing as they work:-- + + See the trees with roses gay. + Fairy roses, fairy roses, etc. + +Elves and Goblins might surround the Beast when dying. The change of +scene from the simple home of Beauty to the rich castle of the Beast, +and the change of costume, would furnish ample opportunity for +original artistic work from older students. For the little child it is +good to see the familiar dignified with art and beauty; and for the +older student the imagination works more freely when dealing with +rather simple and familiar elements such as the folk-tale offers. +_Cinderella_, like _Beauty and the Beast_, offers abundant opportunity +to the high school student for a play or pantomime which it would be +good for the little people to see. The stately minuet and folk-dances +of different peoples may be worked into the ball-scene. And here, too, +the beautiful picture-books will suggest features of costume and +scenery. + +(2) _Dramatization may develop boldness in a child_. The tendency is to +use children with good dramatic ability continually for leading parts, +even when the children choose the parts. This fault may be +counteracted by distinguishing between work for growth and one or two +rather carefully prepared plays to be given on special occasions. It +is also counteracted by looking well to the social aspect of the play, +by introducing features such as the song, dance, or game, where all +have a part, or by adding attractive touches to less important parts, +so that while a character may still be leading it will have no reason +to feel over-important. This danger is not prominent until after the +first grade. + +(3) _Dramatization may spoil some selections_. Beautiful descriptions +which make a tale poetic are not to be represented, and without them a +tale is cheapened. Such is the case with _The King of the Golden +River_ and _The Ugly Duckling_. Care should be exercised to choose for +dramatization only what is essentially dramatic and what is of a grade +suited to the child. Tales suited to the little child are largely +suited for dramatization. + +(4) _Dramatization has omitted to preserve a sequence in the +selections used from year to year_. A sequence in dramatization will +follow naturally as the tales offered from year to year show a +sequence in the variety of interests they present and the +opportunities for growth and activity they offer. Plays most suited to +the kindergarten are those which do not require a complete re-telling +of the story in the acting, so that the child need not say so much. +Such are stories like _The Old Woman and Her Pig, Henny Penny, The +Foolish Timid Rabbit, Little Tuppen, Three Billy-Goats_, _Johnny +Cake_, and _Billy Bobtail_. When the course of literature in the +elementary school gets its content organized, the sequence of +dramatization will take care of itself. + +Dramatization has one rather unusual virtue:-- + +(1) _Dramatization may be used to establish a good habit_. An indolent +child may be given the part of the industrious child in the play. At +first the incongruity will amuse him, then it will support his +self-respect or please his vanity, then it will prove to him the +pleasure of being industrious, and finally stimulate the desire to be +that which before he was not. It may build a habit and, if repeated, +fortify one. This is the true "Direct Moral Method." The so-called +"Direct Moral Method," advocated by Dr. Gould, an English educator, +which in telling a story separates the moral from the tale to +emphasize it and talk about it, leaves the child a passive listener +with only a chance to say "Yes" or "No" or a single word in answer to +the moral questions. It is unnatural because it directs the child's +attention away from the situation, action, and people which interest +him. It does not parallel life in which morals are tied up with +conduct. One must ask, "According to this method what will the child +recall if his mind reverts to the story--courage, or the variety of +images from the number of short-stories told to impress the abstract +moral idea of courage?" Dramatization like life represents character +in the making and therefore helps to make character. + +Illustrations of creative return. Let us look now at a few tales +illustrating the creative return possible to the child. _The Country +Mouse and the City Mouse_ is an animal tale that offers to the +kindergarten child a chance to prove how intensely he enters into the +situation by the number of details he will improvise and put into his +dramatization in representing life in the country and life in the +city. The good feast atmosphere in this tale pleases little children +and suits it to their powers. It is a fine tale to _unite the language +expression and dramatization_. It is especially suited to call forth +reaction from the child also in the form of _drawing or crayon +sketching_. Here it is best for the child to attempt typical bits. +Complete representation tires him and it is not the method of art, +which is selective. The field of corn and two mice may be shown in the +country scene; and a table with cheese, some plates filled with +dainties, and two mice in the city scene. Here again this return +relates itself to the presentation of the tale as literature. For if +the story has been presented so as to make the characters, the plot, +and the setting stand out, the child naturally will select these to +portray in a sketch. In his expression the child will represent what +he chooses, but the teacher by selecting from among the results the +one which is of most value, leads him to a better result in a +following attempt. It is the _teacher's selection among the results of +activity_ that brings about development. Freedom with guidance is no +less free, but it is freedom under that stimulation which helps the +child to make more of himself than he knew was possible.--The +kindergarten would proclaim to the Montessori System the place of +_guidance of freedom_ in the child's growth. + +_The Elves and the Shoemaker_ offers to a first grade a pleasing +opportunity for the _fairy tale to unite with the dramatic game_. One +child may act as narrator, standing to tell the story from the +beginning to the end of the evening's conversation, "I should like to +sit up tonight and see who it is that makes the shoes." At this point, +noiselessly a dozen or more Elves may troop in, and seating themselves +sing and act the first part of the _Dramatic Game of Little Elves_, +one form of which is given by Miss Crawford. After they have stitched, +rapped, and tapped quickly, and the shoes are made, they depart +hurriedly. The narrator now continues the story, telling how the +Shoemaker and his wife made little clothes for the Elves, ending with +what happened on Christmas Eve, when they put the gay jackets and caps +on the table and hid in the corner to watch. At this point the Elves +come in a second time, donning their new clothes; and sing and dance +the second part of the dramatic game. As they dance out of sight the +narrator concludes the story. If the primary children made these +clothes or if the kindergarten children bought them at Christmas time +to give to the poor, the play[3] would take on a real human value. + +_Sleeping Beauty_, another tale suited to the first grade, is +admirably adapted for dramatization.--In all this work the children do +the planning but the teacher directs their impulses, criticizes their +plans, and shows them what they have done. She leads them to see the +tale in the correct acts and scenes, to put together what belongs +together. _Sleeping Beauty_ naturally outlines itself into the ten +main incidents we have noted before. If the story has been presented +according to the standards given here, the children will see the story +in those main incidents. In the dramatization they might work together +narration of the story and the dramatic game, _Dornröschen_. A wide +circle of children might be the chorus while the players take their +places in the center of the circle. The narrator, one of the circle, +stands apart from it as he narrates. The version here used is the +McLoughlin one, illustrated by Johann and Leinweber. + +_Sleeping Beauty_ + + _Place: Castle_. King, Queen, and courtiers take their places + within the circle. The circle moves to waltz step, singing + stanza I, of the dramatic game:-- + + The Princess was so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, etc. + + At the conclusion of stanza I, the circle stops, the + narrator steps forth and tells the story to the end of the + words, "one had to stay at home." + + _Scene i. The Feast_. Twelve fairies enter, each presenting + her gift and making a speech. The wicked thirteenth comes in + and pronounces her curse, and the twelfth fairy softens it + to sleep. The King proclaims his decree, that all spindles + in the land be destroyed. + + _Scene ii. The Attic_. Princess goes to the attic. Old lady + sits spinning. Princess pricks herself and falls asleep. + Narration begins with "The King and Queen who had just come + in fell asleep," and ends with "not a leaf rustled on the + trees around the castle." At the close of the narration, the + circle moves, singing stanza _5_ of the dramatic game:-- + + A great hedge grew up giant high, giant high, giant high, + etc. + + _Scene ii. The Castle Grounds_. The Prince talks to an old + Man outside the castle. The Prince comes to the hedge, which + parts, and he enters. The Prince wakens the Princess and the + rest of the castle. The narrator then closes with "By and by + the wedding of the Prince ... to the end of their lives they + lived happy and contented." The courtiers then form into + couples, and the circle, in couples, follow the courtiers. + The Prince and Princess lead in a slow waltz while all sing + stanza 10 of the dramatic game: + + And all the people made merry then, merry then, merry then, + etc. + +Here we do not have complete dramatization, narration, or dramatic +game. Only three short parts are narrated, only three leading scenes +are represented, and only three high points of narrative are depicted +in the dramatic game. The music, which the specialist in physical +education can furnish, might be:-- + + Galloping...................... Wild Horseman. + Fairy Run...................... Chalef Book, p. 18. + Climbing to Tower.............. Chaly, p. 10. + Guy Walk Music. + Phyllis........................ Seymour Smith. + Bleking........................ Folk-Dance Book. + + +In connection with the _dramatic game_, there is only one tale in +Grimm which contains a folk-game. This tale is somewhat incomplete as +it stands in Grimm. It could become a tale suited for dramatization in +the first grade, beginning the play with the folk-game. An original, +amplified version of this tale, _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_ +is given in the _Appendix_. + +An original little play similar to one which the kindergarten children +could work out is given below. This play is based on the _pourquois_ +tale, _Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves_.[4] It affords +much play of originality because familiar trees may be used; and the +talk of the Trees to the Bird may have some relation to the +characteristics of the Trees. It could be used by children of six, +seven, or eight years of age. It could serve as a Christmas play +because of its spirit of kindness. North Wind might wear a wig and the +Frost King wear a crown and carry a wand. Little Bird could have +wings, one of which is broken, or simply carry one arm sleeveless. + +The play might open with a rhythmic flight of the birds to the music +of "The Swallow's Plight," in _Kindergarten Review_, May, 1915. The +rhythm play of the birds would be especially pleasing because +different birds would be represented by different children. The play +would furnish a fine opportunity also for a rhythmic dance of the +wind, which could form a distinct interlude later on in the play. In +connection with the wind the beautiful picture-book, _Windschen_, by +Elsa Beskow, might be referred to. Here the wind is personified as the +playmate of Hans Georg. Its refined art, lovely color, and imaginative +illustration, would stimulate the child's artistic representation of +the wind. + +_The Bird and the Trees: A Play_ + + _Time_ . . . . Daytime, in late autumn. + _Place_ . . . The Forest. + _Characters_: Poplar, Oak, Maple, Willow, Spruce, Pine, + Juniper, the Bird, North Wind, and the Frost King. + + _Trees of the forest_. "See that great crowd of birds flying + away! They must be going South where the air is warm, and + where they can find berries to eat. There is one left + behind. Why, he is coming this way. What can he want?" + + _The Bird_. "Oh, I can fly no farther! My wing hurts and I + cannot hold it up. I am tired and cold and hungry. I must + rest in this forest. Maybe some good kind tree will help me. + Dear friend Poplar, my wing is broken and my friends have + all gone South. Will you let me live in your branches until + they come back again?" + + _Poplar_. "I am sorry but do you not see how my leaves are + all a-tremble at the thought of taking in a strange bird? + Ask some other tree!" + + _The Bird_. "It might not be very warm there at any rate. + And the wind might blow me off the branches. I will try the + Oak, he is so big and mighty. Dear old Oak-tree, you are so + big and strong, will you let me rest in your branches + to-night among your thick warm leaves? I am a poor little + Bird with a broken wing and I cannot fly!" + + _Oak_. "Oh, you must not ask me, little Bird, for all day + long my little friends, the squirrels, have been jumping + across my branches, gathering nuts and seeking holes to + store their acorns in. I have no room for a stranger." + + _The Bird_. "Ah! I did not think the Oak could be so cruel. + Perhaps Maple will help me, she always seemed kind like a + Mother. Dear, beautiful Maple, I am tired. May I rest among + your lovely red leaves until my broken wing is mended and my + friends come back to me?" + + _Maple_. "Oh, no, I could not think of it! I have just + dressed my leaves all in red and you might spoil their + lovely clothes. Do go away. There are other trees in the + forest not so gay as I." + + _The Bird_. "What should I do? No one wants to help me. Can + I not find one kind tree? Dear kind Willow, your branches + bend almost to the ground. Could I live in them until the + spring-time?" + + _Willow_. "Really, little Bird with the broken wing, you are + a stranger. You should have gone with the other birds. Maybe + some other tree can help you but we willows are particular." + + _The Bird_. "I do not know where to go and I'm so cold! I + wonder if the other birds have reached the beautiful warm + South." + + _Spruce_. "Little Bird, little Bird, where are you going?" + + _The Bird_. "I do not know. I am very cold." + + _Spruce_. "Come, make a big hop and rest in this snug corner + of my branches. You can stay with me all winter if you + like." + + _The Bird_. "You are so good, dear Spruce-tree. Will you + really let me?" + + _Spruce_. "If your friends the birds have left you, your + other friends, the trees, will surely help you. Ho, + Pine-tree, you would help a little Bird with a broken wing, + wouldn't you?" + + _Pine_. "Oh, yes, dear Bird! My branches are not wide but I + am tall and thick, and I will keep the cold North Wind from + you." + + _Juniper_. "And maybe I can help. Are you hungry, little + Bird? You can eat my nice little berries whenever you like." + + _The Bird_. "Thank you, kind friends! I will go to sleep now + on this nice branch of the Spruce-tree, Good-night, dear + Trees." + + _Spruce, Pine, and Juniper_. "Good-night, little Bird." + + _North Wind. "Oo_,--_Oo_!--Now I must run in and out among + all the trees of the forest.--But who comes here?" + + _Frost King_. "Stop, North Wind! I have just gone before + you, as King Winter said, and touched the trees of the + forest. But the trees that have been kind to the Bird with + the broken wing, those I did not touch. They shall keep + their leaves. Do not you harm them!" + + _North Wind_. "Very well, King Frost. Good-bye! + _Oo_!--Oo!--" (The Wind frolics among the Trees, bending + branches, careering wildly, shaking leaves.) "Little + Spruce-tree, you have been kind to the Bird, I will not blow + on you! Dear Pine-tree, you are tall and keep the Bird warm, + I will not blow on you! Little Juniper, you gave the Bird + your berries, I will not blow on you!" + + _(The following morning_.) + + _The Bird_. "Good-morning, dear Spruce-tree, your branch was + warm and safe.--Why, what has happened to the other Trees? + Look at the big Oak and the lovely Maple and all the rest! + See how bare their branches are; and on the ground their + shining leaves lie in red and yellow and brown heaps! O, how + glad I am that your leaves have not fallen; they are bright + and green! And so are Pine-tree's and Juniper's. I will call + you my Evergreen Trees, and I will stay with you until the + Spring!" + +The English fairy tale, _The Magpie's Nest_, told by Joseph Jacobs, +might be dramatized by first-grade children. This tale might offer the +problem of observing how different birds make their nests and how they +vary their calls. It also might offer the language problem of making +suitable rhymes. An original dramatization of the _pourquois_ tale is +given in the _Appendix_. + +Andersen's _Fir Tree_ would offer a fine opportunity for a first grade +at Christmas time. The fir tree has become vitally interesting through +nature study at this time of the year. The children love to make +things to decorate a tree. They have a short list of stories they can +tell by this time. All this can be utilized in a Christmas tree +play.--For the play use the original story, not a weakened version.--A +pleasant Christmas play could end most happily with the story-telling +under the tree. For the play an actual small fir tree may be in the +room placed so that it may be moved easily. A child standing closely +behind it may represent it and speak for it through its branches. The +air and the sun, ordinarily not to be represented, in this case may +be, as they come up to the Tree and talk to it. Much freedom of +originality may be displayed through the children's entering into the +character of the Fir Tree and improvising speeches. + +_The Fir Tree_ + + _Time_.......Spring. + _Place_.......Forest. + _Characters_: Sun, Air, Hare, Woodmen, Swallow, Stork, Sparrows, + Children, Servants, and Fir Tree. + + _Act I, Scene i_. + A Fir Tree in the forest. + Sun and Air talk to it. + Children sit under its branches. + A Hare comes and jumps over it. + Woodcutters come. + A Swallow comes and talks to it. + A Stork comes and talks to it. + Sparrows talk to it. + + (Have the Tree removed. Apparently from a cart + outside the door, a larger Christmas Tree may be + brought in and planted in a sand-box by two + servants, students from grammar grades. The same + child now grown older, represents the Tree.) + + + _Act II, Scene i_. The Fir Tree brought into the room. + The decorating of the Tree by the Children and Teacher. + Talk of the Children about the Tree when decorating it. + Singing of Christmas carols; dancing of + folk-dances; or recitation of Christmas + poems, after the decoration of the Tree. + + The distribution of gifts by the Children. An + audience to whom the Children wanted to give + presents, could be invited. + + The Story-telling under the Tree. + +The presence of visiting children would create an audience for the +story-telling. The selection of the story-teller and the story or +stories might be the result of a previous story contest. The contest +and the story-telling under the Tree would be ideal drill situations. +The entire play would serve as a fine unification of the child's work +in nature, in construction, in physical education, in music, in +composition, and in literature. Everything he does in the play will be +full of vital interest to him; and his daily tasks will seem of more +worth to him when he sees how he can use them with so much pleasure to +himself and to others. This play is an example of the organizing of +ideas which a good tale may exercise in the mind of the child and the +part the tale as an organized experience may play in his development. + +The creative return desired by the teacher, as well as the choice of +tales for particular purposes, will depend largely on the controlling +ideas in the program. It must be remembered that the child of to-day +is not bookish nor especially literary; and he has increasing life +interests. In the ordinary school year, work naturally divides itself +into the main season festivals. While story work is here presented in +its separate elements, any teacher realizes the possibility of making +the story work lead up to and culminate in the Thanksgiving, +Christmas, Easter, or May Festival. Because the good story bears a +close relation to nature and to human life, any good course of stories +will offer to the teacher ample freedom of choice for any natural +school purpose. The good tale always gains by being placed in a +situation where it assists in carrying out a larger idea. When the +tale is one unit of a festival program it appeals to the child as a +unit in his everyday life, it becomes socially organized for him. + + + +REFERENCES: + + +English: + + Baker, F.T.; Carpenter, G.; and Scott, F.N.: _The Teaching of + English_. Longmans. + + Chubb, Percival: _The Teaching of English_. Macmillan. + +Story-Telling: + + Bailey, Carolyn: _For the Story Teller_. Bradley. + + Bryant, Sara C.: _How to Tell Stories to Children_. Houghton. + + _Ibid.: Stories to Tell_. Houghton. + + Buckland, Anna: _Use of Stories in the Kindergarten_. Steiger. + + Coe, F.E.: _First Book of Stories for the Story-teller_. + Houghton. + + Hotchkiss, Mary T.: "Story-telling in the Kindergarten." _N.E.A. + Report_, 1893. + + Keyes, Angela: _Stories and Story-Telling_. Appleton. + + Lyman, Edna: _Story-Telling_. McClurg. + + McMurry, Charles: _Special Method in Primary Reading_. Macmillan. + + O'Grady, Alice (Moulton), and Throop, Frances: _The + Story-Teller's Book_. Rand. + + Olcott, F.J.: "Story-Telling as a Means of Teaching Literature." + _N.Y. Libraries_; vol. 4, pp. 38-43. Feb., 1914. + + Olcott, Frances, and Pendleton, Amena: _The Jolly Book for Boys + and Girls_. Houghton. + + Partridge, E.N., and Partridge, G.E.: _Story-Telling in School + and Home_. Sturgis. + + St. John, Edward: _Stories and Story-Telling_. Westminster Press, + Phila. + + Shedlock, Marie: _Art of the Story Teller_. Appleton. + + Speare, Georgina: "Story-Telling as an Art." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1913, to May, 1914. + + The Storyteller's Company: _The Storyteller's Magazine_. New + York. + + +The Voice: + + Corson, Hiram: _Voice and Spiritual Education_. Macmillan. + + Curry, Samuel S.: _Foundations of Expression_. Expression Co. + + _Ibid._: _Province of Expression_: Expression Co. + + Rush, James: _The Philosophy of the Human Voice_. Lippincott. + + Quintilian, Marcus F.: _Institutes of Oratory_. Macmillan. + + +Gesture and Phonetics: + + Chamberlain, W.B., and Clark, S.H.: _Principles of Vocal + Expression_. Scott. + + Jespersen, Otto: _Growth and Structure of the English Language_. + Stechert. + + Jones, Daniel: _Pronunciation of English; Phonetics and Phonetic + Transcriptions_. Putnam. + + _Ibid._: _Chart of English Speech Sounds_. Oxford. + + Rippman, Walter: _Elements of Phonetics, English, French, and + German_. Dent. + + _Ibid._: _The Sounds of Spoken English_. Dent. + + Sweet, Henry: _Primer of Phonetics_. Oxford. + + +The Kindergarten: + + Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: _The + Kindergarten_. Houghton. + + Blow, Susan: "The Kindergarten and the Primary Grade." + _Kindergarten Review_, June, 1915. + + Crawford, Caroline: "The Teaching of Dramatic Arts in the + Kindergarten and the Elementary School." _Teachers College + Record_, Sept., 1915. + + McMurry, Frank M.: "Principles Underlying the Making of School + Curricula." _Teachers College Record_, Sept., 1915. + + Palmer, Luella: "Montessori Suggestions for Kindergartners." + _Kindergarten Review_, Feb. 1915. + + _Ibid_.: "Problems vs. Subject Matter as a Basis for + Kindergarten Curriculum." _Kindergarten Review_, Nov., 1914. + + Teachers College Record: "Experimental Studies in Kindergarten + Education." _Teachers College Record_, Jan., 1914. + + Thorndike, Edward L.: "Foundations of Educational Achievement." + _N.E.A. Report_, 1914. + + +The Return: + + Archer, William: _Play-Making_. Small. + + Bailey, Carolyn: "Toy Stories." "The Story of the Woolly Dog." + _Kindergarten Review_, Feb., 1915. + + Baker, Franklin T., and Thorndike, Ashley H.: _Everyday English. + Book One_. Macmillan. + + Barnes, Earl: _Studies in Education_. Drawing. Barnes. + + Buffum, Katherine: _Silhouettes to Cut in School_. Bradley. + + Crawford, Caroline: _Dramatic Games and Dances_. Barnes. + _Folk Dances and Games_. Barnes. + _The Rhythms of Childhood_. Barnes. + + Curry, S.S.: _Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct_. Expression + Co. + + Dewey, John: _The Child and the Curriculum_. University of + Chicago. + + _Ibid_.: "Imagination and Expression." _Kindergarten + Magazine_, Sept., 1896. + + Dow, Arthur: "Color in the Kindergarten." _Kindergarten Review_, + June, 1914. + + _Ibid.: Composition_. Doubleday. + + Harvey, Nellie: "Japanese Art in the Kindergarten." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1914. + + Hervey, Walter: _Picture Work_. Revell. + + Laurie, S.S.: _Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method in the + School_. Macmillan. + + Macintosh, C.: "Toys Made by Little Children." _Kindergarten + Review_, Jan., and Feb., 1914. + + Maxwell, W.H.; Johnston, E.L.; and Barnum, M.: _Speaking and + Writing_. American Book Co. + + Oppenheimer, Carol: Drawing. _Kindergarten Review_, March, 1914. + + _Ibid_.: "Scissors and Paper." _Kindergarten Review_, Jan., + 1914. + + _Ibid_.: "Suggestions Concerning Rhythm Plays." _Kindergarten + Review_, April and May, 1915. + + _Ibid_.: "The Use of the Song Exercise." _Kindergarten Review_, + May, 1914. + + Parker School: _Francis W. Parker Year-Book_, vol. III, June, + 1914. ("Expression as a Means of Developing Motives.") Francis + Parker School, Chicago. + + Psychological Review: Monograph--"Development of Imagination in + School Children." _Suppl. Psych. Review_, vol. XI, no. 1, 1909. + + Wagner, Carrie: "Furniture for the Doll House." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1914. + + Worst, E.F.; Barber, H.; and Seymour, M.: _Constructive Work_. + Mumford. + + Zook, Mabel; and Maloy, Regina: "Illustrated Stories." + _Kindergarten Review_, May, 1915. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + + +THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES + + The gods of ancient mythology were changed into the + demi-gods and heroes of ancient poetry, and these demi-gods + again became, at a later age, the principal characters of + our nursery tales.--MAX MÜLLER + + Stories originally told about the characters of savage + tales, were finally attracted into the legends of the gods + of ancient mythology, or were attributed to demi-gods and + heroes.--ANDREW LANG. + + +I. THE ORIGIN OF FAIRY TALES + +Now that we have indicated the worth of fairy tales, have observed +those principles which should guide the teacher in choosing and in +interpreting a tale, and have stated those rules which should govern +the story-teller in the telling of the tale, we may well ask a few +further questions concerning the nature of these fairy tales. What is +a fairy tale and whence did it come, and how are we to find its +beginning? Having found it, how are we to follow it down through the +ages? How shall it be classed, what are the available types which seek +to include it and show its nature? And lastly, what are the books +which are to be the main practical sources of fairy tales for the +teacher of little children? The remaining pages attempt to give some +help to the teacher who wishes to increase her resources with an +intelligent knowledge of the material she is handling. + +Many times the question, "What is a fairy tale?" has been asked. One +has said: "The fairy tale is a poetic presentation of a spiritual +truth." George MacDonald has answered: "_Undine_ is a fairy tale." Mr. +G.K. Chesterton has said: "A fairy tale is a tale told in a morbid age +to the only remaining sane person, a child. A legend is a fairy tale +told to men when men were sane." Some, scorning to reply, have treated +the question as one similar to, "What poem do you consider best in the +English language?" As there are many tales included here which do not +contain a fairy, fairy tales here are taken to include tales which +contain something fairy or extraordinary, the magic or the +marvelous--fairies, elves, or trolls, speaking animals, trees, or a +talkative Tin Soldier. The Myth proper and the Fable are both excluded +here, while the _pourquois_ tale, a myth development, and the Beast +tale, a short-story fable development, are both included. + +The origin of the word "fairy," as given by Thomas Keightley in his +_Fairy Mythology_, and later in the Appendix of his _Tales and Popular +Fictions_, is the Latin _fatum_, "to enchant." The word was derived +directly from the French form of the root. The various forms of the +root were:-- + + Latin _fatum_, "to enchant." + French _fee, feerie_, "illusion." + Italian _fata_. + Provençal _fada_. + +In old French romance, _fee_ was a "woman skilled in magic." "All +those women were called Fays who had to do with enchantment and charms +and knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs, by +which they were kept in youth and in great beauty and in great +riches." This was true also of the Italian _fata_. + +The word "fairy" was used in four senses. _Fairy_ represented:-- + + (1) Illusion, or enchantment. + + (2) Abode of the Faes, the country of the Fays. + + (3) Inhabitants collectively, the people of Fairyland. + + (4) The individual in Fairyland, the fairy Knight, or Elf. + +The word was used in the fourth sense before the time of Chaucer. +After the appearance of Spenser's _Faerie Queene_ distinctions became +confused, and the name of the real fairies was transferred to "the +little beings who made the green, sour ringlets whereof the ewe not +bites." The change adopted by the poets gained currency among the +people. Fairies were identified with nymphs and elves. Shakespeare was +the principal means of effecting this revolution, and in his +_Midsummer Night's Dream_ he has incorporated most of the fairy lore +known in England at his time. But the tales are older than their name. + +The origin of fairy tales is a question which has kept many very able +scholars busy and which has not yet been settled to the satisfaction +of many. What has been discovered resolves itself mainly into four +different origins of fairy tales:-- + +I. Fairy tales are detritus of myth, surviving echoes of gods and +heroes. Against this theory it may be said that, when popular tales +have incidents similar to Greek heroic myths, the tales are not +detritus of myth, but both have a more ancient tale as their original +source. There was:-- + + (1) A popular tale which reflected the condition of a rude + people, a tale full of the monstrous and the miraculous. + + (2) The same tale, a series of incidents and plot, with the + monstrous element modified, which survived in the oral + traditions of illiterate peasantry. + + (3) The same plot and incidents, as they existed in heroic + epics of cultivated people. A local and historical character + was given by the introduction of known places and native + heroes. Tone and manners were refined by literary + workmanship, in the _Rig Veda_, the Persian _King-book_, the + _Homeric Epics_, etc. + +The Grimms noted that the evolution of the tale was from a strongly +marked, even ugly, but highly expressive form of its earlier stages, +to that which possessed external beauty of mold. The origin is in the +fancy of a primitive people, the survival is through _Märchen_ of +peasantry, and the transfiguration into epics is by literary artists. +Therefore, one and the same tale may be the source of Perrault's +_Sleeping Beauty_, also of a _Greek myth_, and also of an _old tale of +illiterate peasantry_. This was the opinion held by Lang, who said, +"For the roots of stories, we must look, not in the clouds but upon +the earth, not in the various aspects of nature but in the daily +occurrences and surroundings, in the current opinions and ideas of +savage life." + +In the savage _Märchen_ of to-day, the ideas and incidents are the +inevitable result of the mental habits and beliefs of savages. We gain +an idea of the savage mind through Leviticus, in the Bible, through +Herodotus, Greek and Roman geographers, Aristotle, Plutarch, Pliny, +etc., through voyagers, missionaries, and travelers, and through +present savage peoples. Savage existence is based on two great +institutions:-- + +(a) The division of society into clans.--Marriage laws depend on the +conception that these clans descend from certain plants, animals, or +inorganic objects. There was the belief in human descent from animals +and kinship and personal intercourse with them. + +(b) Belief in magic and medicine-men, which resulted in powers of +metamorphosis, the effect of incantation, and communion with the +dead.--To the savage all nature was animated, all things were persons. +The leading ideas of savage peoples have already been referred to in +the list of motifs which appear in the different fairy tales, as given +by Lang, mentioned under the "Preparation of the Teacher," in _The +Telling of the Tale_. + + + +II. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Dawn, Thunder, Rain, etc. + + +This is sometimes called the Sun-Myth Theory or the Aryan Theory, and +it is the one advocated by Max Müller and by Grimm. + +The fairy tales were primitive man's experience with nature in days +when he could not distinguish between nature and his own personality, +when there was no supernatural because everything was endowed with a +personal life. They were the poetic fancies of light and dark, cloud +and rain, day and night; and underneath them were the same fanciful +meanings. These became changed by time, circumstances in different +countries, and the fancy of the tellers, so that they became sunny and +many-colored in the South, sterner and wilder in the North, and more +home-like in the Middle and West. To the Bushmen the wind was a bird, +and to the Egyptian fire was a living beast. Even _The Song of +Six-Pence_ has been explained as a nature-myth, the pie being the +earth and sky, the birds the twenty-four hours, the king the sun, the +queen the moon, and the opening of the pie, day-break. + +Every word or phrase became a new story as soon as the first meaning +of the original name was lost. Andrew Lang tells how Kephalos the sun +loved Prokris the dew, and slew her by his arrows. Then when the first +meaning of the names for sun, dew, and rays was lost, Kephalos, a +shepherd, loved Prokris, a nymph, and we have a second tale which, by +a folk-etymology, became the _Story of Apollo, the Wolf_. Tales were +told of the sun under his frog name; later people forgot that _frog_ +meant "sun," and the result was the popular tale, _A Frog, He Would +A-Wooing Go_. + +In regard to this theory, "It is well to remember," says Tylor in his +_Primitive Culture_, "that rash inferences which, on the strength of +mere resemblances, derive episodes of myth from episodes of nature, +must be regarded with utter distrust; for the student who has no more +stringent criterion than this for his myths of sun and sky and dawn +will find them wherever it pleases him to seek them." There is a +danger of being carried away by false analogies. But all scholars +agree that some tales are evidently myths of sun and dawn. If we +examine the natural history of savages, we do find summer feasts, +winter feasts, rituals of sorrow for the going of summer and of +rejoicing for its return, anxious interest in the sun, interest in the +motion of the heavenly bodies, the custom of naming men and women from +the phenomena of nature, and interest in making love, making war, +making fun, and making dinner. + + + +III. Fairy tales all arose in India, they are part of the common Aryan +heritage and are to be traced by the remains of their language. + + +They were first written in the _Vedas_, the sacred Sanskrit books of +Buddhism. This theory is somewhat allied to the Sun-Myth Theory. This +theory was followed by Max Müller and by Sir George Cox. + +The theory of a common source in India will not answer entirely for +the origin of tales because many similar tales have existed in +non-Aryan countries. Old tales were current in Egypt, 2000 B.C., and +were brought from there by Crusaders, Mongol missionaries, the +Hebrews, and Gypsies. + +The idea of connecting a number of disconnected stories, as we find in +_Arabian Nights_, _The Canterbury Tales_, and the _Decameron_, is +traced to the idea of making Buddha the central figure in the +folk-literature of India. And Jacobs says that at least one-third of +all the stories common to the children of Europe are derived from +India, and by far the majority of the drolls. He also says that +generally, so far as incidents are marvelous and of true fairy-like +character, India is the probable source, because of the vitality of +animism and transformation in India in all time. Moreover, as a +people, the Hindus had spread among their numbers enough literary +training and mental grip to invent plots. + +And again, there is an accepted connection in myth and language +between all Aryan languages and Sanskrit. According to Sir George +Dasent, "The whole human race has sprung from one stock planted in the +East, which has stretched its boughs and branches laden with the fruit +of language and bright with the bloom of song and story, by successive +offshoots to the utmost parts of the earth." Dasent tells how the +Aryans who went west, who went out to _do_, were distinguished from +the nations of the world by their common sense, by their power of +adapting themselves to circumstances, by making the best of their +position, by being ready to receive impressions, and by being able to +develop impressions. They became the Greeks, the Latins, the Teutons, +the Celts, and the Slavonians. The Aryans who stayed at home, remained +to _reflect_, and were distinguished by their power of thought. They +became a nation of philosophers and gave to the world the Sanskrit +language as the basis of comparative philology. Dasent shows how +legends, such as the _Story of William Tell_ and _Dog Gellert_, which +have appeared in many Aryan peoples were common in germ to the Aryan +tribes before migration. Joseph Jacobs has more recently settled the +travels of _Gellert_, tracing its literary route from the Indian +_Vinaya Pitaka_, through the _Fables of Bidpai, Sindibad, Seven Sages +of Rome, Gesta Romanorum_, and the Welsh _Fables of Cottwg_, until the +legend became localized in Wales. + + + +IV. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity of early fancy. + + +Just as an individual, after thinking along certain lines, is +surprised to come upon the exact sequence of his thought in a book he +had never seen, so primitive peoples in remote parts of the world, up +against similar situations, would express experience in tales +containing similar motifs. A limited set of experiences was presented +to the inventive faculty, and the limited combinations possible would +result in similar combinations. The Aryan Jackal, the Mediaeval +Reynard, the Southern Brer Rabbit, and the Weasel of Africa, are near +relations. Dasent said, "In all mythology and tradition there are +natural resemblances, parallelisms, suggested to the senses of each +race by natural objects and everyday events; and these might spring up +spontaneously all over the earth as home-growths, neither derived by +imitation from other tribes, nor from the tradition of a common +stock." + +It is probable that all four theories of the origin of fairy tales are +correct and that fairy tales owe their origin not to any one cause but +to all four. + + + +II. THE TRANSMISSION OF FAIRY TALES + + +Oral transmission. The tale, having originated, may have been +transmitted in many ways: by women compelled to marry into alien +tribes; by slaves from Africa to America; by soldiers returning from +the Crusades; by pilgrims returning from the Holy Land or from Mecca; +by knights gathering at tournaments; by sailors and travelers; and by +commercial exchange between southern Europe and the East--Venice +trading with Egypt and Spain with Syria. Ancient tales of Persia +spread along the Mediterranean shores. In this way the Moors of Spain +learned many a tale which they transmitted to the French. _Jack the +Giant-Killer_ and _Thomas Thumb_, according to Sir Walter Scott, +landed in England from the very same keels and warships which conveyed +Hengist and Horsa and Ebba the Saxon. A recent report of the Bureau of +Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution of the United States +expressed the opinion that the _Uncle Remus Tales_ have an Indian +origin. Slaves had associated with Indian tribes such as the +Cherokees, and had heard the story of the Rabbit who was so clever +that no one could fool him. Gradually the Southern negroes had adopted +the Indian tales and changed them. Joseph Jacobs claims to have found +the original of the "Tar Baby" in the _Jataka Tales_. A tale, once +having originated, could travel as easily as the wind. Certainly a +good type when once hit upon was diffused widely. Sir Walter Scott has +said: "A work of great interest might be compiled from the origin of +popular fiction and the transmission of similar tales from age to age +and from country to country. The mythology of one period would then +appear to pass into the romance of the next century, and that into the +nursery tales of subsequent ages. Such an investigation would show +that these fictions, however wild and childish, possess such charms +for the populace as to enable them to penetrate into countries +unconnected by manners and language, and having no apparent +intercourse to afford the means of transmission." + +Thomas Keightley, in _Tales and Popular Fictions_, has given +interesting examples of the transmission of tales. Selecting _Jack the +Giant-Killer_, he has shown that it is the same tale as Grimm's _The +Brave Tailor_, and _Thor's Journey to Utgard_ in the Scandinavian +_Edda_. Similar motifs occur also in a Persian tale, _Ameen of Isfahan +and the Ghool_, and in the _Goat and the Lion_, a tale from the +_Panchatantra_. Selecting the _Story of Dick Whittington_ he has shown +that in England it was current in the reign of Elizabeth; that two +similar tales, Danish legends, were told by Thiele; that a similar +Italian tale existed at the time of Amerigo Vespucci, which was a +legend told by Arlotto in 1396-1483; that another similar Italian tale +was connected with the origin of Venice, in 1175; and that a similar +tale existed in Persia in 1300, before 1360, when Whittington of +England was born. He also pointed out that the _Odyssey_ must have +traveled east as well as west, from Greece, for Sindbad's adventure +with the Black Giant is similar to that of Ulysses with the Cyclops. + +Another interesting set of parallels shown by him is connected with +the _Pentamerone_ tale, _Peruonto_. This is the Straparola _Peter the +Fool_, the Russian _Emelyan the Fool_, the Esthonian tale by +Laboulaye, _The Fairy Craw-Fish_, and the Grimm _The Fisherman and his +Wife_. The theme of a peasant being rewarded by the fish he had thrown +back into the water takes on a delightful varied form in the tale of +different countries. The magic words of Emelyan, "Up and away! At the +pike's command, and at my request, go home, sledge!" in each variant +take an interesting new form. + +Literary transmission. The travels of a tale through oral tradition +are to be attempted with great difficulty and by only the most careful +scholarship. One may follow the transmission of tales through literary +collections with somewhat greater ease and exactness. Popular tales +have a literature of their own. The following list seeks to mention +the most noteworthy collections:-- + + No date. _Vedas_. Sanskrit. + + No date. _Zend Avesta_. Persian. + + Fifth century, B.C. _Jatakas_. Probably the oldest + literature. It was written at Ceylon and has been translated + into 38 languages, in 112 editions. Recently the Cambridge + edition has been translated from the Pali, edited by E.B. + Cowell, published by Putnam, New York, 1895-1907. + + 4000 B.C. _Tales of Ancient Egypt_. These were the tales of + magicians, recorded on papyrus. + + 600 B.C. (about). _Homeric Legends_. + + 200 B.C. (about). _Book of Esther_. + + Second century, A.D. _The Golden Ass, Metamorphoses of Apuleius_. + + 550 A.D. _Panchatantra_, the _Five Books_. This was a + Sanskrit collection of fables, the probable source of the + _Fables of Bidpai_. + + Second century, A.D. _The Hitopadesa_, or _Wholesome + Instruction_. A selection from the _Panchatantra_, first + edited by Carey, in 1804; by Max Müller, in 1844. + + 550 A.D. _Panchatantra_. Pehlevi version. + + Tenth century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Arabic version. + + Eleventh century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Greek version. + + Twelfth century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Persian version. + + 1200 A.D. _Sanskrit Tales_. These tales were collected by + Somadeva Bhatta, of Cashmere, and were published to amuse + the Queen of Cashmere. They have been translated by + Brockhaus, 1844. Somadeva's _Ocean of the Streams of Story_ + has been translated by Mr. Tawney, of Calcutta, 1880. + +Tales of the West came from the East in two sources:-- + + 1262-78. (1) _Directorium Humanæ Vitæ_, of John of Capua. + This was translated from the _Hebrew_, from the _Arabic_ of + the eighth century, from the _Pehlevi_ of Persia of the + sixth century, from the _Panchatantra_, from the _Sanskrit + original_. This is the same as the famous Persian version, + _The Book of Calila and Dimna_, attributed to Bidpai, of + India. There was a late Persian version, in 1494, and one in + Paris in 1644, which was the source of La Fontaine. + + Thirteenth century. (2) _The Story of the Seven Sages of + Rome_, or _The Book of Sindibad_. This appeared in Europe as + the Latin _History of the Seven Sages of Rome_, by Dame + Jehans, a monk in the Abbey of Haute Selve. There is a + Hebrew, an Arabic, and a Persian version. It is believed the + Persian version came from Sanskrit but the Sanskrit original + has not yet been found. + + Tenth century. _Reynard the Fox_. This was first found as a + Latin product of the monks, in a cloister by the banks of + the Mosel and Mass. _Reynard the Fox_ shares with _Æsop's + Fables_ the distinction of being folk-lore raised into + literature. It is a series of short stories of adventure + forming a romance. These versions are known:-- + + 1180. German-_Reinhart_, an epic of twelve + adventures by Heinrich Glichesäre. + + 1230. French-_Roman de Renard_, with its + twenty-seven branches. + + 1250. Flemish-_Reinaert_, part of which was + composed by Willem, near Ghent. + + 1148. _Ysengrimus_, a Latin poem written at Ghent. + + Thirteenth century. _Of the Vox and of the Wolf_, + an English poem. + + Later date. _Rainardo_, Italian. + + Later date. Greek _mediaeval version_. + + _Reynard the Fox_[5] was first printed in England + by Caxton in 1481, translated from a Dutch copy. A + copy of Caxton's book is in the British Museum. + Caxton's edition was adapted by "Felix Summerley"; + and Felix Summerley's edition, with slight + changes, was used by Joseph Jacobs in his Cranford + edition. + + A Dutch prose romance, _Historie von Reynaert de + Vos_ was published in 1485. A German copy, written + in Lower Saxony was published in 1498. A + chap-book, somewhat condensed, but giving a very + good account of the romance, was published in + London in 1780, printed and sold in Aldermary + Churchyard, Bow Lane. This chap-book is very much + finer in language than many of the others in + Ashton's collection. Its structure is good, + arranged in nine chapters. It shows itself a real + classic and would be read with pleasure to-day. + Goethe's poem, _Reineke Fuchs_, was published in + 1794. This version was more refined than previous + ones but it lost in simplicity. Monographs have + been written on _Reynard_ by Grimm, Voigt, Martin, + and Sudre. + + Raginhard was a man's name, meaning "strong in + counsel," and was common in Germany which bordered + on France. This name naturally was given to the + beast who lived by his wits. Grimm considered + _Reynard_ the result of a Teutonic Beast Epic of + primitive origin. Later research has exploded this + theory and has decided that all versions are + descended from an original French one existing + between 1150 and 1170. Modern editions have come + from the Flemish version. The literary artist who + compiled _Reynard_ took a nucleus of fables and + added to it folk-tales which are known to have + existed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and + which exist to-day as tradition among some folk. + The folk-tales included in _Reynard_ are: _Reynard + and Dame Wolf_; _The Iced Wolf's Tail_; _The + Fishes in the Car_; _The Bear in the Cleft_; _The + Wolf as Bell-Ringer_; and _The Dyed Fox_. The + method of giving individual names to the animals + such as Reynard, Bruin, and Tibert, was current + among the Folk before a literary form was given to + _Reynard_. As this was the custom in the province + of Lorraine it is supposed that the origin of + these names was in Lorraine. Other names, such as + Chanticleer, the Cock, and Noble, the Lion, were + given because of a quality, and indicate a + tendency to allegory. These names increase in the + later development of the romance. In the beginning + when the beasts had only personal adventures, + these were told by the Folk to raise a laugh. + Later there was a meaning underneath the laugh and + the Beast Epic Comedy of the Folk grew into the + world Beast Satire of the literary artist. + + _Reynard_ exhibits the bare struggle for existence + which was generally characteristic of Feudal life. + Cunning opposes force and triumphs over it. The + adventurous hero appeals because of his faculty of + _adjustment_, his power to adapt himself to + circumstances and to master them. He also appeals + because of his small size when compared with the + other animals. In the Middle Ages _Reynard_ + appealed because it was a satire upon the monks. + Of _Reynard_ Carlyle has said, "It comes before us + with a character such as can belong only to very + few; that of being a true World's Book which + through centuries was everywhere at home, the + spirit of which diffused itself into all languages + and all minds." + + * * * * * + + About one tenth of European folk-lore is traced to + collections used in the Middle Ages: _Fables of Bidpai_, + _Seven Wise Masters_, _Gesta Romanorum_, and _Barlaam and + Josophat_. These tales became diffused through the _Exempla_ + of the monks, used in their sermons, through the _Novelle_ + of Italy, the _Decameron_ of Boccaccio, the _Tales of + Chaucer_, Painter's _Palace of Pleasure_, and the + _Elizabethan Drama_ of England. One half of La Fontaine's + _Fables_ are of Indian sources. + + 1326. The _Gesta Romanorum_, written in Latin. This was a + compilation, by the monks, of stories with a moral appended + to each. It was the most popular story-book before the + invention of printing. In England it was printed by Wynkyn + de Worde, of which edition the only known copy is at St. + John's College, Cambridge. The earliest manuscript of the + collection is dated 1326. Between 1600 and 1703 fifteen + editions of the book prove its popularity. One English + version is by Sir Frederick Madden, who lived 1801-73. The + author of the _Gesta Romanorum_ is unknown, but was likely a + German. The stories included are miscellaneous and vary in + different editions. Among its stories are Oriental tales, + tales of the deeds of Roman Emperors, an early form of _Guy + of Warwick_, the casket episode of _The Merchant of Venice_, + a story of the Jew's bond, a tale of the Emperor Theodosius, + being a version of _King Lear_, the story of the Hermit, and + a tale of Aglas, the daughter of the Roman Emperor Pompey, + being a version of _Atalanta and her Race_. + + 1000 A.D. (about). _Shah-Nameh_, or _King-book of Persia_, + by Ferdousee, born about 940 A.D. This book is the pride and + glory of Persian literature. It was written by the Persian + poet at the command of the king, who wished to have + preserved the old traditions and heroic glories of Persians + before the Arabian conquest. Ferdousee declared that he + invented none of his material, but took it from the + _Bostan-Nameh_ or _Old-Book_. + + The _King-Book_ is very ancient, it is the Persian Homer. It + was the labor of thirty years. It consisted of 56,000 + distichs or couplets, for every thousand of which the Sultan + had promised the poet one thousand pieces of gold. Instead + of the elephant-load of gold promised, the Sultan sent in + payment 60,000 small silver coins. This so enraged the poet + that he gave away one third to the man who brought them, one + third to a seller of refreshments, and one third to the + keeper of the bath where the messenger found him. After the + poet's death the insult was retrieved by proper payment. + This was refused by his one daughter, but accepted by the + other and used to erect a public dike the poet had always + desired to build to protect his native town from the river. + The fine character of the tales of the _King-Book_ is shown + in the tale of _Roostem and Soohrab_, taken from this book, + which Keightley has translated in _Tales and Popular + Fictions_. Keightley considered it superior to any Greek or + Latin tale. Modern literature knows this tale through + Matthew Arnold's poem. + + 1548 (not later than). _The Thousand and One Nights_, + Arabian. 12 volumes. Galland's French translation appeared + in 1704. This was supplemented by Chavis and Cazotte, and by + Caussin de Percival. Monsieur Galland was Professor of + Arabic in the Royal College of Paris. He was a master of + French and a fairly good scholar of Arabic. He brought his + manuscript, dated 1548, to Paris from Constantinople. He + severely abbreviated the original, cutting out poetical + extracts and improving the somewhat slovenly style. In his + translation he gave to English the new words, _genie, ogre_, + and _vizier_. His work was very popular. + + Boulak and Calcutta texts are better than the Galland. They + contain about two hundred and fifty stories. The Cairo + edition has been admirably translated by Edward W. Lane, in + 3 volumes (1839-41) published in London. This is probably + the best edition. It also omits many poetical quotations. A + recent edition using Lane's translation is by Frances + Olcott, published by Holt in 1913. Editions which attempt to + be complete versions are by John Payne (13 volumes, + 1882-84), and by Sir Richard Burton (16 volumes, 1885-88). + Lane and Burton give copious notes of value. The recent + edition by Wiggin and Smith used the editions of Scott and + Lane. + + The stories in _Arabian Nights_ are Indian, Egyptian, + Arabian, and Persian. Scenes are laid principally in Bagdad + and Cairo. Lane considered that the one hundred and fifteen + stories, which are common to all manuscripts, are based on + the Pehlevi original. The idea of the frame of the story + came from India. This was the birth of the serial story. + There is authority for considering the final collection to + have been made in Egypt. Cairo is described most minutely + and the customs are of Egypt of the thirteenth century and + later. The stories must have been popular in Egypt as they + were mentioned by an historian, 1400-70. Lane considered + that the final Arabic collection bears to Persian tales the + same relation that the _Æneid_ does to the _Odyssey_. Life + depicted is Arabic, and there is an absence of the great + Persian heroes. Internal evidence assists in dating the + work. Coffee is mentioned only three times. As its use + became popular in the East in the fourteenth century this + indicates the date of the work to be earlier than the very + common use of coffee. Cannon, which are mentioned, were + known in Egypt in 1383. Additions to the original were + probably made as late as the sixteenth century. _The Arabian + Nights_ has been the model for many literary attempts to + produce the Oriental tale, of which the tales of George + Meredith are notable examples. + + Thomas Keightley, in _Tales and Popular Fictions_, + considered Persia the original country of _The Thousand and + One Nights_, and _The Voyages of Sinbad_, originally a + separate work. He showed how some of these tales bear marks + of Persian extraction and how some had made their way to + Europe through oral transmission before the time of + Galland's translation. He selected the tale, "Cleomedes and + Claremond," and proved that it must have been learned by a + certain Princess Blanche, of Castile, and transmitted by her + to France about 1275. This romance must have traveled to + Spain from the East. It is the same as "The Enchanted Horse" + in _The Thousand and One Nights_, and through Keightley's + proof, is originally Persian. Keightley also selected the + Straparola tale, _The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and + the Beautiful Green Bird_, and proved it to be the same as + Grimm's _Three Little Birds_, as a Persian _Arabian Night's_ + tale, and also as _La Princesse Belle Etoile_, of D'Aulnoy. + But as Galland's translation appeared only the year after + Madame D'Aulnoy's death, Madame D'Aulnoy must have obtained + the tale elsewhere than from the first printed version of + _Arabian Nights_. + + No date. _The Thousand and One Days_. This is a Persian + collection containing the "History of Calaf." + + 1550. _Straparola's Nights_, by Straparola. This collection + of jests, riddles, and twenty-one stories was published in + Venice. The stories were taken from oral tradition, from the + lips of ten young women. Some were agreeable, some unfit, so + that the book was forbidden in Rome, in 1605, and an + abridged edition prepared. There was a complete Venetian + edition in 1573, a German translation in 1679, a French one + in 1611, and a good German one with valuable notes, by + Schmidt, in 1817. Straparola's _Nights_ contained stories + similar to the German _The Master Thief, The Little Peasant, + Hans and the Hedge-Hog, Iron Hans, The Four Brothers, The + Two Brothers_, and _Dr. Know-all_. + + 1637. _The Pentamerone_, by Basile. Basile spent his early + youth in Candia or Crete, which was owned by Venice. He + traveled much in Italy, following his sister, who was a + noted singer, to Mantua. He probably died in 1637. There may + have been an earlier edition of _The Pentamerone_, which + sold out. It was republished in Naples in 1645, 1674, 1714, + 1722, 1728, 1749, 1788, and in Rome in 1679. This was the + best collection of tales formed by a nation for a long time. + The traditions were complete, and the author had a special + talent for collecting them, and an intimate knowledge of + dialect. This collection of fifty stories may be looked upon + as the basis of many others. Basile wrote independently of + Straparola, though a few tales are common to both. He was + very careful not to alter the tale as he took it down from + the people. He told his stories with allusions to manners + and customs, to old stories and mythology. He abounds in + picturesque, proverbial expressions, with turns and many + similes, and displays a delightful exuberance of fancy. A + valuable translation, with notes, was written by Felix + Liebrecht, in 1842, and an English one by John Edward + Taylor, in 1848. Keightley, in _Fairy Mythology_, has + translated three of these tales and in _Tales and Popular + Fictions_, two tales. Keightley's were the first + translations of these tales into any language other than + Italian. Among the stories of Basile are the German + _Cinderella, How Six got on in the World, Rapunzel, Snow + White, Dame Holle, Briar Rose_, and _Hansel and Grethel_. + + 1697. _The Tales of Mother Goose_, by Charles Perrault. In + France the collecting of fairy tales began in the + seventeenth century. French, German, and Italian tales were + all derived independently by oral tradition. In 1696, in + _Recueil_, a magazine published by Moetjens, at The Hague, + appeared _The Story of Sleeping Beauty_, by Perrault. In + 1697 appeared seven other tales by Perrault. Eight stories + were published in 12mo, under a title borrowed from a + _fabliau_, _Contes de ma Mere l'Oye_. In a later edition + three stories were added, _The Ass's Skin_, _The Clever + Princess_, and _The Foolish Wishes_. The tales of Perrault + were:-- + + 1. The Fairies. + 2. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. + 3. Bluebeard. + 4. Little Red Riding Hood. + 5. Puss-in-Boots. + 6. Cinderella. + 7. Rique with the Tuft. + 8. Little Thumb. + 9. The Ass's Skin. + 10. The Clever Princess. + 11. The Foolish Wishes. + + Immediately afterwards the tales appeared published at Paris + in a volume entitled, _Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passe, + avec des Moralites--Contes de ma Mère l'Oye_. The earliest + translation into English was in a book containing French and + English, _Tales of Passed Times, by Mother Goose, with + Morals. Written in French by M. Charles Perrault and + Englished by R.S., Gent_. An English translation by Mr. + Samber was advertised in the English _Monthly Chronicle_, + March, 1729. Andrew Lang, with an introduction, has edited + these tales from the original edition, published by the + Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1888. These tales made their way + slowly in England, but gradually eclipsed the native English + tales and legends which had been discouraged by Puritan + influence. In Perrault's time, when this influence was + beginning to decline, they superseded the English tales, + crowding out all but _Jack the Giant-Killer, Tom + Hickathrift, Jack and the Beanstalk, Tom Thumb_, and _Childe + Rowland_. + + 1650-1705. _Fairy Tales_, by Madame D'Aulnoy. In France + there were many followers of Perrault. The most important of + these was Madame D'Aulnoy. She did not copy Perrault. She + was a brilliant, witty countess, and brought into her tales, + entitled _Contes de Fées_, the graces of the court. She + adhered less strictly to tradition than Perrault, and + handled her material freely, making additions, + amplifications, and moral reflections, to the original tale. + Her weaving together of incidents is artistic and her style + graceful and not unpleasing. It is marked by ornamentation, + sumptuousness, and French sentimentality. It shows a lack of + naïveté resulting from the palace setting given to her + tales, making them adapted only to children of high rank. + Often her tale is founded on a beautiful tradition. _The + Blue-Bird_, one of the finest of her tales, was found in the + poems of Marie de France, in the thirteenth century. Three + of her tales were borrowed from Straparola. Among her tales + the most important are:-- + + _Graciosa and Percinet_. (Basile.) + + _The Blue-Bird_. (Contains a motif similar to one + in _The Singing, Soaring Lark_.) + + _The White Cat_. (Similar to _Three Feathers_ and + _The Miller's Boy and the Cat_.) + + _The Hind in the Wood_. (Similar to _Rumpelstiltskin_.) + + _The Good Little Mouse_. (Basile.) + + _The Fair One with the Golden Locks. (Ferdinand + the Faithful.)_ + + _The Yellow Dwarf_. + + _Princess Belle Etoile_. (Straparola.) + + The careful translation of Madame D'Aulnoy's tales by Mr. + Planché faithfully preserves the spirit of the original. + + There were many imitators of Countess D'Aulnoy, in France, + in the eighteenth century. Their work was on a much lower + level and became published in the _Cabinet des Fées_, a + collection of stories including in its forty volumes the + work of many authors, of which the greater part is of little + value. Of those following D'Aulnoy three deserve mention:-- + + 1711-1780. _Moral Tales_, by Madame de Beaumont. + These were collected while the author was in + England. Of these we use _Prince Cherry_. Madame + de Beaumont wrote a children's book in which is + found a tale similar to _The Singing, Soaring + Lark_, entitled _The Maiden and the Beast_. She + also wrote 69 volumes of romance. + + 1765. _Tales_, by Madame Villeneuve. Of these we + use _Beauty and the Beast_. + + 1692-1765. _Tales_, by Comte de Caylus. The author + was an antiquarian and scholar. Of his tales we + use _Sylvain and Yocosa_. + + Very little attempt has been made in modern times to include + in our children's literature the best of foreign literature + for children, for there has been very little study of + foreign books for children. Certainly the field of + children's literature would be enriched to receive + translations of any books worthy of the name classic. A + partial list of French fairy tales is here given, indicating + to children's librarians how little has been done to open up + this field, and inviting their labor:-- + + _Bibliothèque Rose_, a collection. (What should be + included?) + + _Bibliothèque des Petits Enfants_, a collection. + (What should be included?) + + 1799-1874. _Fairy Tales from the French_, by + Madame de Ségur. These tales are published by + Winston. We also use her _Story of a Donkey_, + written in 1860 and published by Heath in 1901. + + 1866. _Fairy Tales of all Nations_, by Edouard + Laboulaye. + + 1902. _Last Fairy Tales_, also by Laboulaye. + + _Tales_, by Zenaide Fleuriot. (What should be + included?) + + 1910. _Chantecler_, by Edmund Rostand. Translated + by Gertrude Hall, published by Duffield. + + 1911. _The Honey Bee_, by Anatole France; + translated by Mrs. Lane; published by Lane. + + 1911. _The Blue-Bird_, by Maurice Maeterlinck; + published by Dodd. + +In Great Britain many old tales taken from tradition were included in +the Welsh Mabinogion, Irish sagas, and Cornish Mabinogion. Legends of +Brittany were made known by the poems of Marie de France, who lived in +the thirteenth century. These were published in Paris, in 1820. In +fact, most of the early publications of fairy tales were taken from +the French. + +Celtic tales have been collected in modern times in a greater number +than those of any nation. This has been due largely to the work of +J.F. Campbell. Celtic tales are unusual in that they have been +collected while the custom of story-telling is yet flourishing among +the Folk. They are therefore of great literary and imaginative +interest. They are especially valuable as the oldest of the European +tales. The Irish tale of _Connla and the Fairy Maiden_ has been traced +to a date earlier than the fifth century and therefore ranks as the +oldest tale of modern Europe. The principal Celtic collections are:-- + + _Iolo M. S_., published by the Welsh M. S. Society. + + _Mabinogion_, translated by Lady Guest. (Contains tales + that trace back to the twelfth century.) + + _Y Cymrodor_, by Professor Rhys. + + 1825. _Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of + Ireland_, by T. Crofton Croker. + + 1842. _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_. Chambers. + + 1860-62. _Popular Tales of the West Highlands_, by J.F. + Campbell. + + _Tales_, collected and published with notes, by Mr. Alfred + Nutt. + + 1866. By Patrick Kennedy, the Irish Grimm. _Legendary + Fictions of the Irish Celts; Fireside Stories of Ireland_ + (1870); and _Bardic Stories of Ireland_ (1871). + +In England the publication of fairy tales may be followed more readily +because the language proves no hindrance and the literature gives +assistance. In England the principal publications of fairy tales +were:-- + + 1604. _Pasquil's Jests_. Contained a tale similar to one of + Grimm's. + + 1635. _A Tract, A Descryption of the Kynge and Quene of + Fairies, their habit, fare, abode, pomp, and state_. + + Eighteenth century (early). _Madame D'Aulnoy's Tales_, a + translation. + + 1667-1745. _Gulliver's Travels_, by Dean Swift. (One modern + edition, with introduction by W.D. Howells, and more than + one hundred illustrations by Louis Rhead, is published by + Harpers. Another edition, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, is + published by Dutton.) + + 1700-1800. _Chap-Books_. Very many of these books, + especially the best ones, were published by William and + Cluer Dicey, in Aldermary Church Yard, Bow Lane, London. + Rival publishers, whose editions were rougher in engraving, + type, and paper, labored in Newcastle. + + The chap-books were little paper books hawked by chap-men, + or traveling peddlers, who went from village to village with + "Almanacks, Bookes of Newes, or other trifling wares." These + little books were usually from sixteen to twenty-four pages + in bulk and in size from two and one half inches by three + and one half inches to five and one half inches by four and + one quarter inches. They sold for a penny or six-pence and + became the very popular literature of the middle and lower + classes of their time. After the nineteenth century they + became widely published, deteriorated, and gradually were + crowded out by the _Penny Magazine_ and _Chambers's Penny + Tracts and Miscellanies_. For many years before the + Victorian period, folk-lore was left to the peasants and + kept out of reach of the children of the higher classes. + This was the reign of the moral tale, of Thomas Bewick's + _Looking Glass of the Mind_ and Mrs. Sherwood's _Henry and + His Bearer_. Among the chap-books published by William and + Cluer Dicey, may be mentioned: _The Pleasant and Delightful + History of Jack and the Giants_ (part second was printed and + sold by J. White); _Guy, Earl of Warwick; Bevis of Hampton; + The History of Reynard the Fox_, dated 1780; _The History of + Fortunatus_, condensed from an edition of 1682; _The Fryer + and the Boy; A True Tale of Robin Hood_ (Robin Hood Garland + Blocks, from 1680, were used in the London Bridge Chap-Book + edition); _The Famous History of Thomas Thumb; The History + of Sir Richard Whittington_; and _The Life and Death of St. + George. Tom Hickathrift_ was printed by and for M. Angus and + Son, at Newcastle-in-the-Side: _Valentine and Orson_ was + printed at Lyons, France, in 1489; and in England by Wynkyn + de Worde. Among the chap-books many tales not fairy tales + were included. With the popularity of _Goody Two Shoes_ and + the fifty little books issued by Newbery, the realistic tale + of modern times made a sturdy beginning. Of these realistic + chap-books one of the most popular was _The History of + Little Tom Trip_, probably by Goldsmith, engraved by the + famous Thomas Bewick, published by T. Saint, of Newcastle. + This was reprinted by Ed. Pearson in 1867. + + Of _Jack the Giant-Killer_, in Skinner's _Folk-Lore_, David + Masson has said: "Our _Jack the Giant-Killer_ is clearly the + last modern transmutation of the old British legend, told in + Geoffrey of Monmouth, of Corineüs the Trojan, the companion + of the Trojan Brutus when he first settled in Britain; which + Corineüs, being a very strong man, and particularly + good-humored, is satisfied with being King of Cornwall, and + killing out all the aboriginal giants there, leaving to + Brutus all the rest of the island, and only stipulating + that, whenever there is a peculiarly difficult giant in any + part of Brutus' dominions, he shall be sent for to finish + the fellow." + + _Tom Hickathrift_, whose history is given in an old number + of _Fraser's Magazine_, is described by Thackeray as one of + the publisher Cundall's books, bound in blue and gold, + illustrated by Frederick Taylor in 1847. According to + Thackeray this chap-book tale was written by Fielding. + Speaking of the passage, "The giant roared hideously but Tom + had no more mercy on him than a bear upon a dog," he said: + "No one but Fielding could have described battle so." Of the + passage, "Having increased his strength by good living and + improved his courage by drinking strong ale," he remarked: + "No one but Fielding could have given such an expression." + The quality of the English of this chap-book is apparent in + the following sentence, taken from Ashton's version: "So Tom + stepped to a gate and took a rail for a staff." + + In regard to their literary merit the chap-books vary + greatly. Some evidently are works of scholars who omitted to + sign their names. In the collection by Ashton those + deserving mention for their literary merit are: _Patient + Grissel_, by Boccaccio; _Fortunatus_; _Valentine and Orson_; + _Joseph and His Brethren_; _The Friar and the Boy_; _Reynard + the Fox_, from Caxton's translation; _Tom Hickathrift_, + probably by Fielding; and _The Foreign Travels of Sir John + Mandeville_. + + 1708-90. Chap-Books. Printed by J. White, of York, + established at Newcastle, 1708. These included: _Tom + Hickathrift; Jack the Giant-Killer_; and _Cock Robin_. + + 1750. _A New Collection of Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. + + 1760. _Mother Goose's Melodies_. A collection of many + nursery rhymes, songs, and a few old ballads and tales, + published by John Newbery. The editor is unknown, but most + likely was Oliver Goldsmith. The title of the collection may + have been borrowed from Perrault's _Contes de ma Mère + l'Oye_, of which an English version appeared in 1729. The + title itself has an interesting history dating hundreds of + years before Perrault's time. By 1777 _Mother Goose's + Melodies_ had passed the seventh edition. In 1780 they were + published by Carnan, Newbery's stepson, under the title + _Sonnets for the Cradle_. In 1810 _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, + a collection, was edited by Joseph Ritson, an English + scholar. In 1842 J.O. Halliwell issued, for the Percy + Society, _The Nursery Rhymes of England_. The standard + modern text should consist of Newbery's book with such + additions from Ritson and Halliwell as bear internal + evidence of antiquity and are true nursery rhymes. + + 1770. _Queen Mab, A Collection of Entertaining Tales of + Fairies_. + + 1783. _The Lilliputian Magazine_. Illustrated by Thomas + Bewick, published by Carnan. + + 1788. _The Pleasing Companion, A Collection of Fairy Tales_. + + 1788. _Fairy Tales Selected from the Best Authors_, 2 vols. + + 1770-91. Books published by John Evans, of Long Lane. + Printed on coarse sugar paper. They included: _Cock Robin_, + 1791; _Mother Hubbard; Cinderella_; and _The Tragical Death + of an Apple Pye_. + + 1809. _A Collection of Popular Stories for the Nursery_, + translated from French, Italian, and Old English, by + Benjamin Tabart, in 4 volumes. + + 1810 (about). _Lilliputian Library_, by J.G. Rusher, of + Bridge St., Banbury. The Halfpenny Series included: + + _Mother Hubbard and Her Dog; Jack The + Giant-Killer; Dick Whittington and His Cat; The + History of Tom Thumb_ (Middlesex); _Death and + Burial of Cock Robin; and Cinderella and Her Glass + Slipper_. + + The Penny Series included:-- + + _History of a Banbury Cake, and Jack the + Giant-Killer_, designed by Craig, engraved by Lee. + + Of Rusher's books those engraved by the Bewick School were: + + _Cock Robin; The History of Tom Thumb_; and + _Children in the Wood_. + + Rusher's books also included: + + _Mother Hubbard and Her Dog, Cinderella and Her + Glass Slipper_, and _Dick Whittington and His + Cat_, all designed by Cruikshank, engraved by + Branstone. + + 1818. _Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet_, collected + by Benj. Tabart, London. This was a new edition of the + collection of 1809, and contained twenty-four stories. A + full review of it may be seen in the _Quarterly Review_, + 1819, No. 41, pp. 91-112. The tales included translations + from Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, Madame de Beaumont, tales + from _The Thousand and One Nights_, and from _Robin Hood_; + and the single tales of _Jack the Giant-Killer, Tom Thumb_, + and _Jack and the Bean-Stalk_. + + 1824, 1826. _German Popular Stories_, translated by Edgar + Taylor, with illustrations by Cruikshank, published by + Charles Tilt, London. A new edition, introduction by Ruskin, + was published by Chatto & Windus, 1880. + +The above are the main collections of fairy tales in England. Many +individual publications show the gradual development of fairy tale +illustration in England:[6]-- + + 1713-1767. John Newbery's _Books for Children_. Among these + were _Beauty and the Beast_, by Charles Lamb, 1765, and + _Sinbad the Sailor_, 1798. + + 1778. _Fabulous Histories of the Robins_. Mrs. Sarah + Trimmer. Cuts designed by Thomas Bewick, engraved by John + Thompson, Whittingham's Chiswick Press. + + 1755-1886. _Life and Perambulations of a Mouse_; and + _Adventures of a Pin-Cushion_. Dorothy Kilner. + + 1785. Baron Munchausen's _Narratives of His Famous Travels + and Campaigns in Russia_. Rudolf Raspe. + + 1788. _Little Thumb and the Ogre_. Illustrated by William + Blake; published by Dutton. + + 1790. _The Death and Burial of Cock Robin_. Illustrated by Thomas + Bewick. Catnach. + + 1807. _Tales from Shakespeare_. Charles and Mary Lamb. W.J. + Godwin and Co. William Blake illustrated an edition of these + tales, probably the original edition. + + 1813. Reprints of forgotten books, by Andrew Tuer: _Dame + Wiggins of Lee; The Gaping Wide-Mouthed Waddling Frog: The + House that Jack Built. Dame Wiggins of Lee_ was first + printed by A.K. Newman and Co., Minerva Press. Original cuts + by Stennet or Sinnet. Reprinted by Allen, 1885, with + illustrations added by Kate Greenaway. + + 1841. _King of the Golden River_. John Ruskin. Illustrated + by Richard Doyle, 1884. + + 1844. _Home Treasury_, by "Felix Summerley" (Sir Henry + Cole). "Felix Summerley" was a reformer in children's books. + He secured the assistance of many of the first artists of + his time: Mulready, Cope, Horsley, Redgrave, Webster, all of + the Royal Academy, Linnell and his three sons, Townsend, and + others. These little books were published by Joseph Cundall + and have become celebrated through Thackeray's mention of + them. They aimed to cultivate the affections, fancy, + imagination, and taste of children, they were a distinct + contrast to the Peter Parley books. + They were new books, new combinations of old materials, and + reprints, purified but not weakened. Their literature + possessed brightness. The books were printed in the best + style of the Chiswick Press, with bindings and end papers + especially designed. They included these tales: _Puck's + Reports to Oberon; Four New Fairy Tales; The Sisters; Golden + Locks; Grumble and Cherry; Little Red Riding Hood_, with + four colored illustrations by Webster; _Beauty and the + Beast_, with four colored illustrations by Horsley; _Jack + and the Bean-Stalk_, with four colored illustrations by + Cope; _Jack the Giant-Killer_, also illustrated by Cope; and + _The Pleasant History of Reynard, the Fox_, with forty of + the fifty-seven etchings made by Everdingen, in 1752. + + 1824-1883. Publications by Richard Doyle. These included + _The Fairy Ring_, 1845; _Snow White and Rosy Red_, 1871; + _Jack the Giant-Killer_, 1888, etc. + + 1846. _Undine_, by De La Motté Fouque, illustrated by John + Tenniel, published by James Burns. + + 1846. _The Good-Natured Bear_, by Richard Hengist Home, the + English critic. This was illustrated by Frederick Taylor, + published probably by Cundall. The book is now out of print, + but deserves to be reprinted. + + 1847-1864. _Cruikshank Fairy Library_. A series of small + books in paper wrappers. Not equal to the German popular + stories in illustration. It included _Tom Thumb_, 1830; + _John Gilpin_, 1828 (realistic); and _The Brownies_, 1870. + + 1847. _Bob and Dog Quiz_. Author unknown. Revived by E.V. + Lucas in _Old-fashioned Tales_. Illustrated by F.D. Bedford; + published by Stokes, 1905. + + 1850. _The Child's Own Book_. Published in London. There was + an earlier edition, not before 1830. The introduction, which + in the 1850 edition was copied from the original, indicates + by its style that the book was written early in the + nineteenth century. The book was the delight of generations + of children. It was a collection containing tales from + _Arabian Nights_, Perrault's tales of _Cinderella, + Puss-in-Boots, Hop-o'-my-Thumb, Bluebeard_, etc., D'Aulnoy's + _Valentine and Orson_, chap-book stories of _Dick + Whittinqton, Fortunatus, Griselda, Robinson Crusoe, The + Children in the Wood, Little Jack_, and others. A recent + edition of this book is in the _Young Folks' library_, vol. + 1, published by Hall & Locke, Boston, 1901. + + 1850 (about). _The Three Bears_. Illustrated by Absalon and + Harrison Weir. Addy and Co. + + 1824-1889. Work by Mrs. Mary Whateley. She had a Moslem + school in Cairo and exerted a fairy tale influence. + + 1826-1887. _The Little Lame Prince; Adventures of a_ + _Brownie_; and _The Fairy Book_. Produced by Mrs. Dinah + Muloch Craik. + + 1854. _The Rose and the Ring_, by William M. Thackeray. A + modern edition contains the original illustrations with + additions by Monsell. Crowell. + + 1855. _Granny's Story Box_. A collection. Illustrated by J. + Knight; published by Piper, Stephenson, and Spence. + + 1856. _Granny's Wonderful Chair_, containing _Prince + Fairy-foot_. Written by Frances Browne, a blind Irish + poetess. + + 1863. _Water Babies_. Charles Kingsley. Sir Noel Patton. The + Macmillan Company. + + 1865. _Stories Told to a Child, including Fairy Tales; Mopsa + the Fairy_, 1869. By Jean Ingelow. + + 1865. _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, by Lewis Carroll + (Charles Dodgson), with 42 illustrations by John Tenniel, + published by Macmillan Company, Oxford. First edition + recalled. Later editions were published by Richard Clay, + London. + + 1869. _At the Back of the North Wind_; _The Princess and the + Goblin_, 1871. By George MacDonald. Arthur Hughes. Strahan. + Reprinted by Blackie. + + 1870. _The Brownies_; 1882, _Old-fashioned Fairy Tales_. By + Juliana Ewing. + + 1873. _A Series of Toy-Books for Children_, by Walter Crane + (1845-1914). Published by Routledge and printed in colors by + Edmund Evans. Twenty-seven of these stories in nine volumes + are published by John Lane, Bodley Head. _Princess + Fioromonde_, 1880, _Grimm's Household Stories_, 1882, and + _The Cuckoo Clock_, 1887, all by Mrs. Molesworth, were also + illustrated by Crane. + + 1878-. _Picture-Books_, by Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886). + These were sixteen in number. They are published by F. + Warne. + + 1875-. _Stories from the Eddas; Dame Wiggins of Lee + (Allen)_; and _The Pied Piper of Hamelin_. These delightful + books by Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) were published by + Routledge and engraved by Edmund Evans. They are now + published by F. Warne. + +This brings the English side of the subject down to +the present time. Present editions of fairy tales are +given in Chapter VI. + +In Germany there were also many translations from the French of +Perrault and D'Aulnoy. There were editions in 1764, 1770, etc. Most of +those before the _Grimms' Tales_ were not important. One might +mention:-- + + 1782. _Popular German Stories_, by Musäus. + + 1818. _Fables, Stories, and Tales for Children_, by Caroline + Stahl. + + 1819. _Bohemian Folk-Tales_, by Wolfgang Gerle. + + 1812-1814. _Kinder und Haus-Märchen_, by Jacob and William + Grimm. The second edition was published in 3 volumes in + Berlin, by Reiner, in 1822. This latter work formed an era + in popular literature and has been adopted as a model by all + true collectors since. + +Concerning the modern German fairy tale, the Germans have paid such +special attention to the selection and grading of children's +literature that their library lists are to be recommended. Wolgast, +the author of _Vom Kinderbuch_, is an authority on the child's book. +The fairy tale received a high estimate in Germany and no nation has +attained a higher achievement in the art of the fairy tale book. The +partial list simply indicates the slight knowledge of available +material and would suggest an inviting field to librarians. A great +stimulus to children's literature would be given by a knowledge of +what the Germans have already accomplished in this particular. In +Germany a child's book, before it enters the market, must first be +accepted by a committee who test the book according to a standard of +excellence. Any book not coming up to the standard is rejected. A few +of the German editions in use are given:-- + + _Bilderbücher_, by Löwensohn. + + _Bilderbücher_, by Scholz. + + _Liebe Märchen_. One form of the above, giving three tales + in one volume. + + _Märchen_, by W. Hauff, published by Lowe. One edition, + illustrated by Arthur Rackham, is published by Dutton. _The + Caravan Tales_ is an edition published by Stokes. + + _Märchen_, by Musaus, published by Von K.A. Müller. + + 1777-1843. _Undine_, by La Motte Fouqué. A recent edition, + illustrated by Rackham, is published by Doubleday. + + 1817-77. _Books_ by Otillie Wildermuth. (What of hers should + be translated and included?) + + _Hanschen im Blaubeerenwald; Hanschens Skifart Märchen_, + both by Elsa Beskow, published by Carl. + + _Windchen_; and _Wurzelkindern_, both by Sybille von Olfers, + published by Schreiber. + + _Das Märchen von den Sandmannlein_, by Riemann, published by + Schreiber. + + _Der Froschkönig_, by Liebermann, published by Scholz. + + _Weisst du weviel Sternlein stehen_, by Lewinski, published + by Schreiber. + +In Sweden there appeared translations of Perrault and D'Aulnoy. _The +Blue-Bird_ was oftenest printed as a chap-book. Folk-tales were +collected in:-- + + _Swedish Tales_, a collection. H. Von Schroter. + + 1844. _Folk-Tales_. George Stevens and Hylten Cavallius. + +Sweden has given us the modern fairy tale, _The Wonderful Adventures +of Nils_ (2 volumes). This delightful tale by Selma Lagerlöf, born +1858, and a winner of the Nobel prize, has established itself as a +child's classic. It has been translated by V.S. Howard, published by +Doubleday, 1907. + +In Norway we have:-- + + 1851. _Norske Folkeeventyr_, collected by Asbjörnsen and Moe. + + 1862. _Norse Tales_. The above tales translated by Sir + George W. Dasent. + +In Denmark we have:-- + + _Sagas of Bodvar Biarke_. + + _Danske Folkeeventyr_, by M. Winther, Copenhagen, 1823. + + 1843-60. _Danmarks Folkesagn_, 3 vols., by J.M. Thiele. + + 1805-1875. _Fairy Tales_, by Hans Christian Andersen. These + tales are important as marking the beginning of the modern + fairy tale. They are important also as literary fairy tales + and have not been equaled in modern times. + +In Slavonia we have:-- + + _Wochentliche Nachrichten_, by Busching, published by Schottky. + +In Hungary we have:-- + + 1822. _Marchen der Magyaren_, by George von Gaal. + +In Greece and Russia no popular tales were collected before the time +of the Grimms. + +In Italy the two great collections of the world of fairy tales have +been mentioned. Italy has also given the modern fairy tale which has +been accepted as a classic: _Pinocchio_, by C. Collodi (Carlo +Lorenzini). This has been illustrated by Copeland, published by Ginn; +and illustrated by Folkhard, published by Dutton. + +In America the publication of fairy tales was at first a reprinting of +English editions. In colonial times, previous to the revolution, +booksellers imported largely from England. After the revolution a new +home-growth in literature gradually developed. At first this was +largely in imitation of literature in England. After the time of +Washington Irving a distinct American adult literature established +itself. The little child's toy-book followed in the wake of the +grown-up's fiction. The following list[7] shows the growth of the +American fairy tale, previous to 1870. Recent editions are given in +Chapter VI. + + 1747-1840. _Forgotten Books of the American Nursery, A + History of the Development of the American Story-Book_. + Halsey, Rosalie V. Boston, C.E. Goodspeed & Co., 1911. 244 + pp. + + 1785-1788. _Isaiah Thomas, Printer, Writer, and Collector. + Nichols, Charles L_. A paper read April 12, 1911, before the + Club of Odd Volumes.... Boston. Printed for the Club of Odd + Volumes, 1912. 144 pp. List of juveniles 1787-88: pp. + 132-33. + + 1785. _Mother Goose_. The original Mother Goose's melody, as + first issued by John Newbery, of London, about A.D. 1760. + Reproduced in facsimile from the edition as reprinted by + Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, Mass., A.D. 1785 (about) ... + Albany, J. Munsell's Sons, 1889. 28 pp. + + 1787. _Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book Literature_ + (of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) ... + Pearson, Edwin. With very much that is interesting and + valuable appertaining to the early typography of children's + books relating to Great Britain and America.... London, A. + Reader, 1890: 116 pp. Impressions from wood-cut blocks by T. + and J. Bewick, Cruikshank, Craig, Lee, Austin, and others. + + 1789. _The Olden Time Series_. Gleanings chiefly from old + newspapers of Boston and Salem, Mass. Brooks, Henry M., + _comp_. Boston, Ticknor & Co., 1886. 6 vols. _The Books that + Children Read in 1798_ ... by T.C. Cushing: vol. 6, pp. + 62-63. + + 1800-1825. Goodrich, S.G. _Recollections of a Lifetime_. + New York, Miller, Orton, and Mulligan, 1856. 2 vols. Children's + books (1800-1825): vol. 1, pp. 164-74. + + 1686. _The History of Tom Thumb_. John Dunton, Boston. + + 1728. _Chap-Books_. Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia. + + 1730. _Small Histories_. Andrew Bradford, Philadelphia. + These included _Tom Thumb_, _Tom Hickathrift_, and _Dick + Whittington_. + + 1744. _The Child's New Plaything_. Draper & Edwards, Boston. + Reprint. Contained alphabet in rhyme, proverbs, fables, and + stories: _St. George and the Dragon_; _Fortunatus_; _Guy of + Warwick_; _Brother and Sister_; _Reynard the Fox_; and _The + Wolf and the Kids_. + + 1750. John Newbery's books. Advertised in Philadelphia + _Gazette_. The _Pretty Book for Children_ probably included + _Cinderella_, _Tom Thumb_, etc. + + 1760. All juvenile publications for sale in England. + Imported and sold by Hugh Gaine, New York. + + 1766. _Children's books_. Imported and sold by John Mein, a + London bookseller who had a shop in Boston. Included _The + Famous Tommy Thumb's Story Book_; _Leo the Great Giant_; + _Urax, or the Fair Wanderer_; and _The Cruel Giant, + Barbarico_. + + 1787. All Newbery's publications. Reprinted by Isaiah + Thomas, Worcester, Mass. + + 1794. _Arabian Nights. The Arabian Nights Entertainments_ + .... The first American edition.... Philadelphia, H. & P. + Rice; Baltimore, J. Rice & Co., 1794. 2 vols. + + 1804. _Blue Beard. A New History of Blue Beard, written by + Gaffer Black Beard, for the Amusement of Little Jack Black + and his Pretty Sisters_. Philadelphia, J. Adams, 1804. 31 + pp. + + 1819. _Rip Van Winkle_. A legend included in the works of + Washington Irving, published in London, 1819. + + 1823. _A Visit from St. Nicholas_. Clement Clark Moore, in + Troy _Sentinel_, Dec. 23, 1823. Written the year before for + his own family. The first really good American juvenile + story, though in verse. + + 1825. _Babes in the Wood_. The history of the children of + the wood.... To which is added an interesting account of the + Captive Boy. New York, N.B. Holmes. 36 pp. Plates. + + 1833. _Mother Goose_. The only true Mother Goose Melodies; + an exact reproduction of the text and illustrations of the + original edition, published and copyrighted in Boston in + 1833 by Munroe & Francis.... Boston, Lee & Shepard, 1905. + 103 pp. + + 1836. _The Fairy Book_. With eighty-one engravings on wood, + by Joseph A. Adams. New York, Harper & Bros. 1836. 301 pp. + Introduction by "John Smith." Edited by C.G. Verplanck, + probably. + + 1844. _Fairy Land, and Other Sketches for Youths_, by the + author of _Peter Parley's Tales_ (Samuel G. Goodrich). + Boston, J. Munroe & Co. 167 pp. Plates, Cromo. Lith. of + Bouvé & Sharp, Boston. + + 1848. _Rainbows for Children_, by L. Maria Child, _ed_. New + York, C.S. Francis & Co. 170 pp. 28 original sketches ... by + S. Wallin.... B.F. Childs, wood engraver: p. 8. Advertising + pages: New books published by C.S. Francis & Co., N.Y.... + _The Fairy Gift and the Fairy Gem_. Four volumes of choice + fairy tales. Each illustrated with 200 fine engravings by + French artists: p. 2. + + 1851. _Wonder Book_, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Illustrated by + W. Crane, 60 designs, published by Houghton, 1910. + + 1852. _Legends of the Flowers_, by Susan Pindar. New York, + D. Appleton & Co., 178 pp. + + 1853. _Fairy Tales and Legends of Many Nations_, by Charles + B. Burkhardt. New York, Chas. Scribner. 277 pp. Illustrated + by W. Walcutt and J.H. Cafferty. + + 1854. _The Little Glass Shoe, and Other Stories for + Children_. Philadelphia, Charles H. Davis. 128 pp. + Advertising pages: A description of illustrated juvenile + books, published by Charles H. Davis: 16 pp. _A Book of + Fairy Stories_: p. 9. + + 1854. _The History of Whittington and His Cat_. Miss Corner + and Alfred Crowquill. _Dick Whittington_ is said to have + been the best seller among juvenile publications for five + hundred years. + + 1855. _Flower Fables_, by Louisa May Alcott. Boston, G.W. + Briggs & Co. 182 pp. + + 1855. _The Song of Hiawatha_, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + Published now by Houghton, illustrated by Frederick + Remington. + + 1864. _Seaside and Fireside Fairies_, by George Blum. + Translated from the German of Georg Blum and Louis Wahl. By + A.L. Wister. Philadelphia, Ashmead & Evans, 292 pp. + + 1867. _Grimm's Goblins_, selected from the _Household + Stories_ of the Brothers Grimm. Jacob L.K. Grimm. Boston, + Ticknor & Fields. 111 pp. + + 1867. _Fairy Book. Fairy Tales of All Nations_, by Edouard + Laboulaye. Translated by Mary Booth. New York, Harper & + Bros., 363 pp. Engravings. + + 1867. _The Wonderful Stories of Fuz-buz the Fly and Mother + Grabem the Spider_. By S. Weir Mitchell. Philadelphia, J.B. + Lippincott & Co. 79 pp. + + 1868. _Folks and Fairies_. Stories for little children. Lucy + Comfort. New York, Harpers, 259 pp. Engravings. Advertising + pages: Six fairy tales published by Harper & Bros. + + 1870. _Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper_. Boston, + Fields, Osgood & Co. 1871. 8 pp. Colored plates by Alfred + Fredericks. + + 1873. _Mother Goose_. Illustrations of Mother Goose's + Melodies. By Alexander Anderson. New York. Privately printed + by C.L. Moreau (Analectic Press), 1873, 36 1. 10 numb. 1. + (Designed and engraved on wood.) + + 1870. _Beauty and the Beast_, by Albert Smith. New York, + Manhattan Pub. Co., 1870. 64 pp. With illustrations by + Alfred Crowquill. + +This brings the American child's fairy tale up to recent publications +of the present day which are given in the chapter, "Sources of +Material." An attempt has been made here to give a glimpse of folk and +fairy tales up to the time of the Grimms, and a view of modern +publications in France, Germany, England, and America. The Grimms +started a revolution in folk-lore and in their lifetime took part in +the collection of many tales of tradition and influenced many others +in the same line of work. An enumeration of what was accomplished in +their lifetime appears in the notes of _Grimm's Household Tales_, +edited by Margaret Hunt, published by Bonn's Libraries, vol. II, pp. +531. etc. + +In modern times the Folk-Lore Society of England and America has been +established. Now almost every nation has its folk-lore society and +folk-tales are being collected all over the world. Altogether probably +Russia has collected fifteen hundred such tales, Germany twelve +hundred, Italy and France each one thousand, and India seven hundred. +The work of the Grimms, ended in 1859, was continued by Emanuel +Cosquin, who, in his _Popular Tales of Lorraine_, has made the most +important recent contribution to folklore,--important for the European +tale and important as showing the relation of the European tale to +that of India. + +The principal recent collections of folk-lore are:-- + + _Legends and Fairy Tales of Ireland_. Croker. 1825. + _Welsh and Manx Tales_. Sir John Rhys. 1840-. + _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_. Chambers. 1847. + _Tales of the West Highlands_. Campbell. 1860. + _Popular Tales from the Norse_. Dasent. 1862. + _Zulu Nursery Tales_. Callaway. 1866. + _Old Deccan Days_. Frere. 1868. + _Fireside Tales of Ireland_. Kennedy. 1870. + _Indian Fairy Tales_. Miss Stokes. 1880. + _Buddhist Birth Stories_. Rhys Davids. 1880. + _Kaffir Folk-Lore_. Theal. 1882. + _Folk-Tales of Bengal_. Day. 1883. + _Wide Awake Stories_. Steel and Temple. 1884. + _Italian Popular Tales_. Crane. 1885. + _Popular Tales of Lorraine_. Cosquin. 1886. + _Popular Tales and Fictions_. Clouston. 1887. + _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_. Knowles. 1887. + _Tales of Ancient Egypt_. Maspero. 1889. + _Tales of the Sun_. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. + _Tales of the Punjab_. Steel. 1894. + _Jataka Tales_. Cowell. 1895. + _Russian Folk-Tales_. Bain. 1895. + _Cossack Fairy Tales_. Bain. 1899. + _New World Fairy Book_. Kennedy. 1906. + _Fairy Tales, English, Celtic, and Indian_. Joseph Jacobs. + 1910-11. + +This brings the subject down to the present time. The present-day +contributions to folk-lore are found best in the records of the +Folk-lore Society, published since its founding in London, in 1878; +and daily additions, in the folk-lore journals of the various +countries. + + + + +REFERENCES + + + Adams, Oscar Fay: _The Dear Old Story-Tellers_. Lothrop. + + Ashton, John: _Chap-Books of the 18th Century_. Chatto & + Windus. London, 1882. + + Bunce, John T.: _Fairy Tales, Origin and Meaning_. Macmillan, + 1878. + + Chamberlain, A.F.: _The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought_. + Macmillan. + + Clouston, W.A.: _Popular Tales and Fictions_. Edinburgh, + Blackwoods, 1887. + + Cyclopædia: "Mythology." _Encyclopædia Britannica_. + + Cox, Miss Roalfe: _Cinderella_. Introduction by Lang. Nutt, 1892. + + Dasent, George W.: _Popular Tales from the Norse_. Introduction. + Routledge. + + Fiske, John: _Myth and Myth-Makers_. Houghton. + + Field, Mrs. E.M.: _The Child and His Book_. Gardner, Darton & Co. + + Frazer, J.G.: _The Golden Bough_. (Spring ceremonies and + primitive view of the soul.) Macmillan. + + Frere, Miss: _Old Deccan Days_. Introduction. McDonough. + + Godfrey, Elizabeth: _English Children in the Olden Time_. Dutton, + 1907. + + Grimm, William and Jacob: _Household Tales_. Edited with + valuable notes, by Margaret Hunt. Introduction by Lang. Bell & + Sons, Bohn's Libraries. + + Guerber, Hélène A.: _Legends of the Middle Ages_. (Reynard the + Fox) American Book Co. + + Halliwell, J.O.: _Nursery Rhymes of England_. + + _Ibid.: Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales_. Smith, 1849. + + Halsey, Rosalie: _Forgotten Books of the American Nursery_. + Goodspeed, Boston, 1911. + + Hartland, E.S.: _Science of Fairy Tales_. Preface. Scribner, + 1891. + + _Ibid.: English Folk and Fairy Tales_. Camelot series, Scott, + London. + + Hartland, Sidney: _Legend of Perseus_ (origin of a tale). + + Hewins, Caroline M.: _The History of Children's Books_. + _Atlantic_, 61: 112 (Jan., 1888). + + Jacobs, Joseph: _Reynard the Fox_. Cranford Series. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Introduction, Notes and Appendix. Putnam. + + Keightley, Thomas: _Fairy Mythology_. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Tales and Popular Fictions_. Whittaker & Co., London, + 1834. + + Lang, Andrew: _Custom and Myth_. Longmans, London, 1893. + + Mabie, Hamilton: _Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know_. + Introduction. Doubleday. + + MacDonald, George: _The Light Princess_. Introduction. Putnam. + + Magazine: "Myths and Fairy Tales." _Fortnightly Review_, May, + 1872. + + Mitchell, Donald G.: _About Old Story-Tellers_. Scribners. 1877. + + Moses, Montrose: _Children's Books and Reading_. Kennerley. + + Mulock, Miss: _Fairy Book_. Preface. Crowell. + + Pearson, Edwin. _Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book + Literature_ (18th and early 19th centuries). London. A. + Reader, 1890. + + Perrault, Charles: _Popular Tales_. Edited by A. Lang. + Introduction. Oxford, 1888. + + Ritson, J.: _Fairy Tales_. Pearson, London, 1831. + + Scott, Sir Walter: _Minstrelsy of Scottish Border_. Preface to + Tamlane, "Dissertation on Fairies," p. 108. + + Skinner, H.M.: _Readings in Folk-Lore_. American Book Co. + + Steel, Flora A.: _Tales of the Punjab_. Introduction and + Appendix. Macmillan. + + Tabart, Benj.: _Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet_. London, + 1818. Review: _The Quarterly Review_, 1819, No. 41, pp. 91-112. + + Tappan, Eva M.: _The Children's Hour_. Introduction to + "Folk-Stories and Fables." Houghton. + + Taylor, Edgar: _German Popular Stories_. Introduction by Ruskin. + Chatto & Windus. + + Tylor, E.B.: _Primitive Culture_. Holt, 1889. + + Warner: _Fairy Tales. Library of the World's Best Literature_, + vol. 30. + + Welsh, Charles: _Fairy Tales Children Love_. Introduction. Dodge. + + _Ibid.:_ "The Early History of Children's Books in New + England." _New England Magazine_, n.s. 20: 147-60 (April, + 1899). + + _Ibid.: A Chap-Book_. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World Book Co. + + _Ibid.: Mother Goose_. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World Book Co. + + White, Gleeson: "Children's Books and Their Illustrators." + _International Studio_, Special Winter Number, 1897-98. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + + + +CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES + + + But the fact that after having been repeated for two + thousand years, a story still possesses a perfectly fresh + attraction for a child of to-day, does indeed prove that + there is in it something of imperishable worth.--Felix + Adler. + + Whatever has, at any time, appealed to the best emotions and + moved the heart of a people, must have for their children's + children, political, historical, and cultural value. This is + especially true of folk-tales and folk-songs.--P.P. Claxton, + _United States Commissioner of Education_. + + +I. AVAILABLE TYPES OF TALES + +From all this wealth of accumulated folk-material which has come down +to us through the ages, we must select, for we cannot crowd the child +with all the folk-stuff that folk-lore scientists are striving to +preserve for scientific purposes. Moreover, naturally much of it +contains the crudities, the coarseness, and the cruelties of primitive +civilization; and it is not necessary that the child be burdened with +this natural history of a past society. We must select from the past. +In this selection of what shall be presented to the child we must be +guided by two standards: First, we owe it to the child to hand on to +him his literary heritage; and secondly, we must help him to make of +himself the ideal man of the future. Therefore the tales we offer must +contribute to these two standards. The tales selected will be those +which the ages have found interesting; for the fact that they have +lived proves their fitness, they have lived because there was +something in them that appealed to the universal heart. And because of +this fact they will be those which in the frequent re-tellings of ages +have acquired a classic form and therefore have within themselves the +possibility of taking upon them a perfect literary form. The tales +selected will be those tales which, as we have pointed out, contain +the interests of children; for only through his interests does the +child rise to higher interests and finally develop to the ideal man. +They will be those tales which stand also the test of a classic, the +test of literature, the test of the short-story, and the test of +narration and of description. The child would be handicapped in life +to be ignorant of these tales. + +Tales suitable for the little child may be viewed under these seven +classes of available types: (1) the accumulative, or clock story; (2) +the animal tale; (3) the humorous tale; (4) the realistic tale; (5) +the romantic tale; (6) the old tale; and (7) the modern tale. + + +I. The Accumulative Tale. + +The accumulative tale is the simplest form of the tale. It may be:-- + + (1) A tale of simple repetition. + + (2) A tale of repetition with an addition, incremental iteration. + + (3) A tale of repetition, with variation. + +Repetition and rhythm have grown out of communal conditions. The old +stories are measured utterances. At first there was the spontaneous +expression of a little community, with its gesture, action, sound, and +dance, and the word, the shout, to help out. There was the group which +repeated, which acted as a chorus, and the leader who added his +individual variation. From these developed the folk-tale with the +dialogue in place of the chorus. + +Of the accumulative tales, _The House that Jack Built_ illustrates the +first class of tales of simple repetition. This tale takes on a new +interest as a remarkable study of phonics. If any one were so happy as +to discover the phonic law which governs the euphony produced by the +succession of vowels in the lines of Milton's poetry, he would enjoy +the same law worked out in _The House that Jack Built_. The original, +as given by Halliwell in his _Nursery Rhymes of England_, is said to +be a Hebrew hymn, at first written in Chaldaic. To the Hebrews of the +Middle Ages it was called the _Haggadah_, and was sung to a rude chant +as part of the Passover service. It first appeared in print in 1590, +at Prague. Later, in Leipzig, it was published by the German scholar, +Liebrecht. It begins:-- + + A kid, a kid, my father bought + For two pieces of money: + A kid, a kid, + Then came the cat and ate the kid, etc. + +Then follow the various repetitive stanzas, the last one turning back +and reacting on all the others:-- + + Then came the Holy One, blessed be He, + And killed the angel of death, + That killed the butcher, + That slew the ox, + That drank the water, + That quenched the fire, + That burned the staff, + That beat the dog, + That bit the cat, + That ate the kid, + That my father bought + For two pieces of money: + A kid, a kid. + +The remarkable similarity to _The Old Woman, and Her Pig_[8] at once +proclaims the origin of that tale also. The interpretation of this +tale is as follows: The kid is the Hebrews; the father by whom it was +purchased, is Jehovah; the two pieces of money are Aaron and Moses; +the cat is the Assyrians; the dog is the Babylonians; the staff is the +Persians; the fire is the Greek Empire and Alexander; the water is the +Romans; the ox is the Saracens; the butcher is the Crusaders; and the +angel of death is the Turkish Power. The message of this tale is that +God will take vengeance over the Turks and the Hebrews will be +restored to their own land. + +Another tale of simple repetition, whose fairy element is the magic +key, is _The Key of the Kingdom_, also found in Halliwell's _Nursery +Rhymes of England_:-- + + This is the key of the kingdom. + In that kingdom there is a city, + In that city there is a town, + In that town there is a street, + In that street there is a lane, + In that lane there is a yard, + In that yard there is a house, + In that house there is a room, + In that room there is a bed, + On that bed there is a basket, + In that basket there are some flowers. + Flowers in the basket, basket on the bed, + bed in the room, etc. + +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_ illustrates the second class of +accumulative tale, where there is an addition, and like _Titty Mouse +and Tatty Mouse_, where the end turns back on the beginning and +changes all that precedes. Here there is a more marked plot. This same +tale occurs in Shropshire Folk-Lore, in the _Scotch Wife and Her Bush +of Berries_, in _Club-Fist_, an American folk-game described by +Newell, in Cossack fairy tales, and in the Danish, Spanish, and +Italian. In the Scandinavian, it is _Nanny, Who Wouldn't Go Home to +Supper_, and in the Punjab, _The Grain of Corn_, also given in _Tales +of Laughter_. I have never seen a child who did not like it or who was +not pleased with himself for accomplishing its telling. It lends +itself most happily to illustration. _Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_ +pleases because of the liveliness of its images, and because of the +catastrophe at the end, which affects the child just as the tumble of +his huge pile of blocks--the crash and general upheaval delight him. +This tale has so many variants that it illustrates well the diffusion +of fairy tales. It is Grimm's _The Spider and the Flea_, which as we +have seen, is appealing in its simplicity; the Norse _The Cock Who +Fell into the Brewing Vat_; and the Indian _The Death and Burial of +Poor Hen_. The curious succession of incidents may have been invented +once for all at some definite time, and from thence spread to all the +world. + +_Johnny Cake_ and _The Gingerbread Man_ also represent the second +class of accumulative tale, but show a more definite plot; there is +more story-stuff and a more decided introduction and conclusion. _How +Jack Went to Seek His Fortune_ also shows more plot. It contains a +theme similar to that of _The Bremen Town Musicians_, which is +distinctly a beast tale where the element of repetition remains to +sustain the interest and to preserve unity, but where a full-fledged +short-story which is structurally complete, has developed. A fine +accumulative tale belonging to this second class is the Cossack _Straw +Ox_, which has been described under "The Short-Story." Here we have a +single line of sequence which gets wound up to a climax and then +unwinds itself to the conclusion, giving the child, in the plot, +something of that pleasure which he feels in winding up his toy +animals to watch them perform in the unwinding. + +_The Three Bears_ illustrates the third class of repetitive story, +where there is repetition and variation. Here the iteration and +parallelism have interest like the refrain of a song, and the +technique of the story is like that of _The Merchant of Venice_. This +is the ideal fairy story for the little child. It is unique in that it +is the only instance in which a tale written by an author has become a +folk-tale. It was written by Southey, and appeared in _The Doctor_, in +London, in 1837. Southey may have used as his source, _Scrapefoot_, +which Joseph Jacobs has discovered for us, or he may have used _Snow +White_, which contains the episode of the chairs. Southey has given to +the world a nursery classic which should be retained in its purity of +form. The manner of the Folk, in substituting for the little old woman +of Southey's tale, Goldilocks, and the difference that it effects in +the tale, proves the greater interest children naturally feel in the +tale with a child. Similarly, in telling _The Story of Midas_ to an +audience of eager little people, one naturally takes the fine old myth +from Ovid as Bulfinch gives it, and puts into it the Marigold of +Hawthorne's creation. And after knowing Marigold, no child likes the +story without her. Silver hair is another substitute for the little +Old Woman in _The Three Bears_. The very little child's reception to +_Three Bears_ will depend largely on the previous experience with +bears and on the attitude of the person telling the story. A little +girl who was listening to _The Three Bears_ for the first time, as she +heard how the Three Bears stood looking out of their upstairs window +after Goldilocks running across the wood, said, "Why didn't Goldilocks +lie down beside the Baby Bear?" To her the Bear was associated with +the friendly Teddy Bear she took with her to bed at night, and the +story had absolutely no thrill of fear because it had been told with +an emphasis on the comical rather than on the fearful. Similar in +structure to _The Three Bears_ is the Norse _Three Billy-Goats_, which +belongs to the same class of delightful repetitive tales and in which +the sequence of the tale is in the same three distinct steps. + + +II. The Animal Tale + +The animal tale includes many of the most pleasing children's tales. +Indeed some authorities would go so far as to trace all fairy tales +back to some ancestor of an animal tale; and in many cases this +certainly can be done just as we trace _Three Bears_ back to +_Scrapefoot_. The animal tale is either an old beast tale, such as +_Scrapefoot_ or _Old Sultan_; or a fairy tale which is an elaborated +development of a fable, such as _The Country Mouse and the City Mouse_ +or the tales of _Reynard the Fox_ or Grimm's _The King of the Birds_, +and _The Sparrow and His Four Children_; or it is a purely imaginary +creation, such as Kipling's _The Elephant's Child_ or Andersen's _The +Bronze Pig_. + +The beast tale is a very old form which was a story of some successful +primitive hunt or of some primitive man's experience with animals in +which he looked up to the beast as a brother superior to himself in +strength, courage, endurance, swiftness, keen scent, vision, or +cunning. Later, in more civilized society, when men became interested +in problems of conduct, animals were introduced to point the moral of +the tale, and we have the fable. The fable resulted when a truth was +stated in concrete story form. When this truth was in gnomic form, +stated in general terms, it became compressed into the proverb. The +fable was brief, intense, and concerned with the distinguishing +characteristics of the animal characters, who were endowed with human +traits. Such were the _Fables of Æsop_. Then followed the beast epic, +such as _Reynard the Fox_, in which the personality of the animals +became less prominent and the animal characters became types of +humanity. Later, the beast tale took the form of narratives of +hunters, where the interest centered in the excitement of the hunt and +in the victory of the hunter. With the thirst for universal knowledge +in the days following Bacon there gradually grew a desire to learn +also about animals. Then followed animal anecdotes, the result of +observation and imagination, often regarding the mental processes of +animals. With the growth of the scientific spirit the interest in +natural history developed. The modern animal story since 1850 has a +basis of natural science, but it also seeks to search the motive back +of the action, it is a psychological romance. The early modern animal +tales such as _Black Beauty_ show sympathy with animals, but their +psychology is human. In Seton Thompson's _Krag_, which is a +masterpiece, the interest centers about the personality and the +mentality of the animal and his purely physical characteristics. +Perhaps it is true that these physical characteristics are somewhat +imaginary and over-drawn and that overmuch freedom has been used in +interpreting these physical signs. In Kipling's tales we have a later +evolution of the animal tale. His animals possess personality in +emotion and thought. In the forest-friends of Mowgli we have humanized +animals possessing human power of thinking and of expressing. In real +life animal motives seem simple, one dominant motive crowds out all +others. But Kipling's animals show very complex motives, they reason +and judge more than our knowledge of animal life justifies. In the +_Just-So Stories_ Kipling has given us the animal _pourquois_ tale +with a basis of scientific truth. Of these delightful fairy tales, +_The Elephant's Child_ and _How the Camel Got His Hump_ may be used in +the kindergarten. Perhaps the latest evolution of the animal tale is +by Charles G.D. Roberts. The animal characters in his _Kindred of the +Wild_ are given animal characteristics. They have become interesting +as exhibiting these traits and not as typifying human motives; they +show an animal psychology. The tales have a scientific basis, and the +interest is centered in this and not in an exaggeration of it. + +Having viewed the animal tale as a growth let us look now at a few +individual tales:-- + +One of the most pleasing animal tales is _Henny_ _Penny_, or _Chicken +Lichen_, as it is sometimes called, told by Jacobs in _English Fairy +Tales_. Here the enterprising little hen, new to the ways of the +world, ventures to take a walk. Because a grain of corn falls on her +top-knot, she believes the sky is falling, her walk takes direction, +and thereafter she proceeds to tell the king. She takes with her all +she meets, who, like her, are credulous,--Cocky Locky, Ducky Daddies, +Goosey Poosey, and Turky Lurky,--until they meet Foxy Woxy, who leads +them into his cave, never to come out again. This is similar to the +delightful Jataka tale of _The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, which before has +been outlined for telling, which has been re-told by Ellen C. Babbit. +In this tale a Rabbit, asleep under a palm tree, heard a noise, and +thought "the earth was all breaking up." So he ran until he met +another Rabbit, and then a hundred other Rabbits, a Deer, a Fox, an +Elephant, and at last a Lion. All the animals except the Lion accepted +the Rabbit's news and followed. But the Lion made a stand and asked +for facts. He ran to the hill in front of the animals and roared three +times. He traced the tale back to the first Rabbit, and taking him on +his back, ran with him to the foot of the hill where the palm tree +grew. There, under the tree, lay a cocoanut. The Lion explained the +sound the Rabbit had heard, then ran back and told the other animals, +and they all stopped running. _Brother Rabbit Takes Some Exercise_, a +tale from _Nights with Uncle Remus_ is very similar to _Henny_ _Penny_ +and could be used at the same time. It is also similar to Grimm's +_Wolf and Seven Kids_, the English _Story of Three Pigs_, the Irish +_The End of the World_, and an Italian popular tale. + +_The Sheep and the Pig_, adapted from the Scandinavian by Miss Bailey +in _For the Children's Hour_, given also in Dasent's _Tales from the +Field_, is a delightfully vivacious and humorous tale which reminds +one of _Henny Penny_. A Sheep and Pig started out to find a home, to +live together. They traveled until they met a Rabbit and then followed +this dialogue: + + _R_. "Where are you going?" + + _S. and P_. "We are going to build us a house." + + _R_. "May I live with you?" + + _S. and P_. "What can you do to help?" + +The Rabbit scratched his leg with his left hind foot for a minute and +said, "I can gnaw pegs with my sharp teeth and I can put them in with +my paws." "Good," said the Sheep and the Pig, "you may come with us!" +Then they met a gray Goose who could pull moss and stuff it in cracks, +and a Cock who could crow early and waken all. So they all found a +house and lived in it happily. + +The Spanish _Media Pollito_, or _Little Half-Chick_, is another +accumulative animal tale similar to _Henny Penny_, and one which is +worthy of university study. The disobedient but energetic hero who +went off to Madrid is very appealing and constantly amusing, and the +tale possesses unusual beauty. The interest centers in the character. +The beauty lies in the setting of the adventures, as Medio Pollito +came to a stream, to a large chestnut tree, to the wind, to the +soldiers outside the city gates, to the King's Palace at Madrid, and +to the King's cook, until in the end he reached the high point of +immortalization as the weather-vane of a church steeple. + +_The Story of Three Pigs_ could contend with _The Three Bears_ for the +position of ideal story for little people. It suits them even better +than _The Three Bears_, perhaps because they can identify themselves +more easily with the hero, who is a most winning, clever individual, +though a Pig. The children know nothing of the standards of the Greek +drama, but they recognize a good thing; and when the actors in their +story are great in interest and in liveliness, they respond with a +corresponding appreciation. The dramatic element in _The Three Pigs_ +is strong and all children love to dramatize it. The story is the +Italian _Three Goslings_, the Negro _Tiny Pig_, the Indian _Lambikin_, +and the German _The Wolf and Seven Kids_. This tale is given by Andrew +Lang in his _Green Fairy Book_. The most satisfactory presentation of +the story is given by Leslie Brooke in his _Golden Goose Book_. The +German version occurred in an old poem, _Reinhart Fuchs_, in which the +Kid sees the Wolf through a chink. Originally the characters must have +been Kids, for little pigs do not have hair on their "chinny chin +chins." + +One of the earliest modern animal tales is _The Good-Natured Bear_,[9] +by Richard Hengist Horne, the English critic. This tale was written in +1846, just when men were beginning to gain a greater knowledge of +animal life. It is both psychological and imaginative. It was brought +to the attention of the English public in a criticism, _On Some +Illustrated Christmas Books_,[10] by Thackeray, who considered it one +of the "wittiest, pleasantest, and kindest of books, and an admirable +story." It is now out of print, but it seems to be worthy of being +preserved and reprinted. The story is the autobiography of a Bear, who +first tells about his interesting experiences as a Baby Bear. He first +gives to Gretchen and the children gathered about him an account of +his experience when his Mother first taught him to walk alone. + + +III. The Humorous Tale + +The humorous tale is one of the most pleasing to the little child. It +pleases everybody, but it suits him especially because the essence of +humor is a mixture of love and surprise, and both appeal to the child +completely. Humor brings joy into the world, so does the little child, +their very existence is a harmony. Humor sees contrasts, shows good +sense, and feels compassion. It stimulates curiosity. Its laughter is +impersonal and has a social and spiritual effect. It acts like fresh +air, it clarifies the atmosphere of the mind and it enables one to see +things in a sharply defined light. It reveals character; it breaks up +a situation, reconstructs it, and so views life, interprets it. It +plays with life, it frees the spirit, and it invigorates the soul. + +Speaking of humor, Thackeray, in "A Grumble About Christmas Books," +1847, considered that the motto for humor should be the same as the +talisman worn by the Prioress in Chaucer:-- + + About hire arm a broche of gold ful shene, + On which was first ywritten a crowned _A_, + And after, _Amor vincit omnia_. + +He continued: "The works of the real humorist always have this sacred +press-mark, I think. Try Shakespeare, first of all, Cervantes, +Addison, poor Dick Steele, and dear Harry Fielding, the tender and +delightful Jean Paul, Sterne, and Scott,--and Love is the humorist's +best characteristic and gives that charming ring to their laughter in +which all the good-natured world joins in chorus." + +The humorous element for children appears in the repetition of phrases +such as we find in _Three Bears_, _Three Pigs_, and _Three +Billy-Goats_; in the contrast in the change of voice so noticeable +also in these three tales; in the contrast of ideas so conspicuous in +Kipling's _Elephant's Child_; and in the element of surprise so +evident when Johnny Cake is eaten by the Fox, or when Little Hen eats +the bread, or when Little Pig outwits the Wolf. The humorous element +for children also lies in the incongruous, the exaggerated, or in the +grotesque, so well displayed in Lear's _Nonsense Rhymes_, and much of +the charm of _Alice in Wonderland_. The humorous element must change +accordingly for older children, who become surprised less easily, and +whose tales therefore, in order to surprise, must have more clever +ideas and more subtle fancy. + +_The Musicians of Bremen_ is a good type of humorous tale. It shows +all the elements of true humor. Its philosophy is healthy; it views +life as a whole and escapes tragedy by seeing the comic situation in +the midst of trouble. It is full of the social good-comradeship which +is a condition of humor. It possesses a suspense that is unusual, and +is a series of surprises with one grand surprise to the robbers at +their feast as its climax. The Donkey is a noble hero who breathes a +spirit of courage like that of the fine Homeric heroes. His +achievement of a home is a mastery that pleases children. And the +message of the tale, which after all, is its chief worth--that there +ought to be room in the world for the aged and the worn out, and that +"The guilty flee when no man pursueth"--appeals to their compassion +and their good sense. The variety of noises furnished by the different +characters is a pleasing repetition with variation that is a special +element of humor; and the grand chorus of music leaves no doubt as to +the climax. We must view life with these four who are up against the +facts of life, and whose lot presents a variety of contrast. The +Donkey, incapacitated because of old age, had the courage to set out +on a quest. He met the Dog who could hunt no longer, stopping in the +middle of the road, panting for breath; the Cat who had only stumps +for teeth, sitting in the middle of the road, wearing an unhappy heart +behind a face dismal as three rainy Sundays; and the Rooster who just +overheard the cook say he was to be made into soup next Sunday, +sitting on the top of the gate crowing his last as loud as he could +crow. The Donkey, to these musicians he collected, spoke as a leader +and as a true humorist. + +In a simple tale like _The Bremen Town Musicians_ it is surprising how +much of interest can develop: the adventure in the wood; the motif of +some one going to a tree-top and seeing from there a light afar off, +which appears in _Hop-o'-my-Thumb_ and in many other tales; the +example of coöperation, where all had a unity of purpose; an example +of a good complete short-story form which illustrates introduction, +setting, characters and dialogue--all these proclaim this one of the +fine old stories. In its most dramatic form, and to Jacobs its most +impressive one, it appears in the Celtic tales as _Jack and His +Comrades_. It may have been derived from _Old Sultan_, a Grimm tale +which is somewhat similar to _The Wolf and the Hungry Dog_, in +Steinhowel, 1487. _How Jack Sought His Fortune_ is an English tale of +coöperation which is similar but not nearly so pleasing. A Danish tale +of cooperation, _Pleiades_, is found in Lansing's _Fairy Tales_. _How +Six Traveled Through the World_ is a Grimm tale which, though suited +to older children, contains the same general theme. + +Very many of the tales suited to kindergarten children which have been +mentioned in various chapters, contain a large element of humor. The +nonsense drolls are a type distinct from the humorous tale proper, yet +distinctly humorous. Such are the realistic _Lazy Jack_, _Henny +Penny_, and _Billy Bobtail_. Then since repetition is an element of +humor, many accumulative tales rank as humorous: such as _Lambikin_, +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_, _Medio Pollito_, _The Straw Ox_, _Johnny +Cake_, and _Three Billy-Goats_. Among the humorous tales proper are +Andersen's _Snow Man_; _The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_; _The +Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings_; _The Elephant's Child_; and very many of +the Uncle Remus Tales, such as _Why the Hawk Catches Chickens_, +_Brother Rabbit and Brother Tiger_, and _Heyo, House_! all in _Uncle +Remus and the Little Boy_. _The Story of Little Black Mingo_ in _Tales +of Laughter_, is a very attractive humorous tale, but it is more +suited to the child of the second grade. + +_Drakesbill_ is a French humorous accumulative tale with a plot +constructed similarly to that of the Cossack _Straw Ox_. Drakesbill, +who was so tiny they called him Bill Drake, was a great worker and +soon saved a hundred dollars in gold which he lent to the King. But as +the King never offered to pay, one morning Drakesbill set out, singing +as he went, "Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?" To +all the objects he met and to their questions he replied, "I am going +to the King to ask him to pay me what he owes me." When they begged, +"Take me with you!" he was willing, but he said, "You must make +yourself small, get into my mouth, and creep under my tongue!" He +arrived at the palace with his companions concealed in his mouth: a +Fox, a Ladder, Laughing River, and Wasp-Nest. On asking to see the +King, he was not escorted with dignity but sent to the poultry-yard, +to the turkeys and chickens who fought him. Then he surprised them by +calling forth the Fox who killed the fowls. When he was thrown into a +well, he called out the Ladder to help him. When about to be thrown +into the fire, he called out the River who overwhelmed the rest and +left him serenely swimming. When surrounded by the King's men and +their swords he called out the Wasp-Nest who drove away all but +Drakesbill, leaving him free to look for his money. But he found none +as the King had spent all. So he seated himself upon the throne and +became King. The element of humor here, as has been mentioned +previously, is that Drakesbill, after every rebuff of fortune +maintained his happy, fresh vivacity, and triumphantly repeated his +one cry, "Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?" There +is humor, too, in the repetition of dialogue, as on his way to the +King he met the various characters and talked to them. Humor lies also +in the real lively surprises which Drakesbill so effectively gave +during his visit to the King. One can see how this tale might have +been a satire reflecting upon a spendthrift King. + + +IV. The Realistic Tale + +The realistic fairy tale has a great sympathy with humble life and +desires to reproduce faithfully all life worth while. The spirit of it +has been expressed by Kipling-- + + each in his separate star, + Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They + are. + +Sometimes the realistic story has a scientific spirit and interest. A +realistic tale that is good will present not only what is true but +what is possible, probable, or inevitable, making its truth +impressive. Very often it does not reach this ideal. A transcript of +actual life may be selected, but that is a photograph and not a +picture with a strong purpose to make one point, and with artistic +design. The characters, though true to life, may be lifeless and +colorless, and their doings and what happens to them uninteresting. +For this reason, many modern writers of tales for children, respecting +the worth of the realistic, neglect to comply with what the realistic +demands, and produce insipid, unconvincing tales. The realistic tale +should deal with the simple and the ordinary rather than with the +exceptional; and the test is not how much, but how little, credulity +it arouses. + +Grimm's _Hans in Luck_ is a perfect realistic tale, as are Grimm's +_Clever Elsa_ and the Norse _Three Sillies_, although these tales are +suited to slightly older children. The drolls often appear among the +realistic tales, as if genuine humor were more fresh when related to +the things of actual life. The English _Lazy Jack_ is a delightful +realistic droll which contains motifs that appear frequently among the +tales. The Touchstone motif of a humble individual causing nobility to +laugh appears in Grimm's _Dummling and His Golden Goose_. It appears +also in _Zerbino the Savage_, a most elaborated Neapolitan tale retold +by Laboulaye in his _Last Fairy Tales_; a tale full of humor, wit, and +satire that would delight the cultured man of the world. + +In _Lazy Jack_ the setting is in humble life. A poor mother lived on +the common with her indolent son and managed to earn a livelihood by +spinning. One day the mother lost patience and threatened to send from +home this idle son if he did not get work. So he set out. Each day he +returned to his mother with his day's earnings. The humor lies in what +he brought, in how he brought it, and in what happened to it; in the +admonition of his mother, "You should have done so and so," and Jack's +one reply, "I'll do so another time"; in Jack's literal use of his +mother's admonition, and the catastrophe it brought him on the +following day, and on each successive day, as he brought home a piece +of money, a jar of milk, a cream cheese, a tom-cat, a shoulder of +mutton, and at last a donkey. The humor lies in the contrast between +what Jack did and what anybody "with sense" knows he ought to have +done, until when royalty beheld him carrying the donkey on his +shoulders, with legs sticking up in the air, it could bear no more, +and burst into laughter. This is a good realistic droll to use because +it impresses the truth, that even a little child must reason and judge +and use his own common sense. + +_The Story of the Little Red Hen_ is a realistic tale which presents a +simple picture of humble thrift. Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ is a +realistic tale which gives an adventure that might happen to a real +tin soldier. _The Old Woman and her Pig_, whose history has been given +under _The Accumulative Tale_, is realistic. Its theme is the simple +experience of an aged peasant who swept her house, who had the unusual +much-coveted pleasure of finding a dime, who went to market and bought +a Pig for so small a sum. But on the way home, as the Pig became +contrary when reaching a stile, and refused to go, the Old Woman had +to seek aid. So she asked the Dog, the Stick, the Fire, etc. She asked +aid first from the nearest at hand; and each object asked, in its turn +sought help from the next higher power. One great source of pleasure +in this tale is that each object whose aid is sought is asked to do +the thing its nature would compel it to do--the Dog to bite, the Stick +to beat, etc.; and each successive object chosen is the one which, by +the law of its nature, is a master to the preceding one. The Dog, by +virtue of ability to bite, has power over the Pig; the Stick has +ability to master the Dog; and Water in its power to quench is master +over Fire. Because of this intimate connection of cause and effect, +this tale contributes in an unusual degree to the development of the +child's reason and memory. He may remember the sequence of the plot or +remake the tale if he forgets, by reasoning out the association +between the successive objects from whom aid was asked. It is through +this association that the memory is exercised. + +_How Two Beetles Took Lodgings_, in _Tales of Laughter_, is a +realistic story which has a scientific spirit and interest. Its basis +of truth belongs to the realm of nature study. Its narration of how +two Beetles set up housekeeping by visiting an ant-hill and helping +themselves to the home and furnishings of the Ants, would be very well +suited either to precede or to follow the actual study of an ant-hill +by the children. The story gives a good glimpse of the home of the +Ants, of their manner of living, and of the characteristics of the +Ants and Beetles. It is not science mollified, but a good story full +of life and humor, with a basis of scientific truth. + +Many tales not realistic contain a large realistic element. The fine +old romantic tales, such as _Cinderella_, _Sleeping Beauty_, and +_Bremen Town Musicians_, have a large realistic element. In _The +Little Elves_ we have the realistic picture of a simple German home. +In _Beauty and the Beast_ we have a realistic glimpse of the three +various ways the wealthy merchant's daughters accommodated themselves +to their father's loss of fortune, which reminds us of a parallel +theme in Shakespeare's _King Lear_. In _Red Riding Hood_ we have the +realistic starting out of a little girl to visit her grandmother. This +realistic element appeals to the child because, as we have noted, it +accords with his experience, and it therefore seems less strange. + +In _Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_ the setting is realistic but becomes +transformed into the romantic when natural doings of everyday life +take on meaning from the unusual happening in the tale. It is +realistic for Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse to live in a little house, +to get some corn, to make a pudding, and to put it on to boil. But +when the pot tumbled over and scalded Titty, the romantic began. The +stool which was real and common and stood by the door became +transformed with animation, it talked: "Titty's dead, and so I weep"; +and it hopped! Then a broom caught the same animation from the same +theme, and swept; a door jarred; a window creaked; an old form ran +round the house; a walnut tree shed its leaves; a little bird moulted +his pretty feathers; a little girl spilled her milk; a man tumbled off +his ladder; and the walnut tree fell with a crash, upsetting +everything and burying Titty in the ruins. They all learned to convey +the same message. The common and customary became uncommon and unusual +with extraordinary life, feeling, and lively movement. + +Other romantic tales with a large realistic element are _The Three +Bears_, _The Three Pigs_, and _The Three Billy-Goats_, animal tales +which of necessity must be largely realistic, for their foundation is +in the facts of the nature, habits, and traits of the animal +characters they portray. + + +V. The Romantic Tale + +The romantic tale reflects emotion and it contains adventure and the +picturesque; it deals with dreams, distant places, the sea, the sky, +and objects of wonder touched with beauty and strangeness. The purpose +of the romantic is to arouse emotion, pity, or the sense of the +heroic; and it often exaggerates character and incidents beyond the +normal. The test of the romantic tale as well as of the realistic tale +is in the reality it possesses. This reality it will possess, not only +because it is true, but because it is also true to life. And it is to +be remembered that because of the unusual setting in a romantic tale +the truth it presents stands out very clearly with much +impressiveness. _Red Riding Hood_ is a more impressive tale than _The +Three Bears_. + +_Cinderella_ is a good type of the old romantic tale. It has a +never-ending attraction for children just as it has had for all +peoples of the world; for this tale has as many as three hundred and +forty-five variants, which have been examined by Miss Cox. In these +variants there are many common incidents, such as the hearth abode, +the helpful animal, the heroine disguise, the ill-treated heroine, the +lost shoe, the love-sick prince, magic dresses, the magic tree, the +threefold flight, the false bride, and many others. But the one +incident which claims the tale as a Cinderella tale proper, is the +recognition of the heroine by means of her shoe. In the Greek +_Rhodope_, the slipper is carried off by an eagle and dropped into the +lap of the King of Egypt, who seeks and marries the owner. In the +Hindu tale the Rajah's daughter loses her slipper in the forest where +it is found by the Prince. The interpretation of _Cinderella_ is that +the Maiden, the Dawn, is dull and gray away from the brightness of the +sun. The Sisters are the Clouds that shadow the Dawn, and the +Stepmother is Night. The Dawn hurries away from the pursuing Prince, +the Sun, who, after a long search, overtakes her in her glorious robes +of sunset. + +This tale is the Hindu _Sodewa Bai_, the Zuni _Poor Turkey Girl_, and +the English _Rushen Coatie, Cap-o'-Rushes_, and _Catskin_. _Catskin_, +which Mr. Burchell told to the children of the Vicar of Wakefield, is +considered by Newell as the oldest of the Cinderella types, appearing +in Straparola in 1550, while _Cinderella_ appeared first in Basile in +1637. _Catskin_, in ballad form as given by Halliwell, was printed in +Aldermary Churchyard, England, in 1720; and the form as given by +Jacobs well illustrates how the prose tale developed from the old +ballad. The two most common forms of _Cinderella_ are Perrault's and +Grimm's, either of which is suited to the very little child. +Perrault's _Cinderella_ shows about twenty distinct differences from +the Grimm tale:-- + + (1) It omits the Mother's death-bed injunction to Cinderella. + + (2) It omits the wooden shoes and the cloak. + + (3) The Stepmother assigns more modern tasks. It omits the + pease-and-beans task. + + (4) It shows Cinderella sleeping in a garret instead of on + the hearth. + + (5) It omits the Father. + + (6) It omits the hazel bough. + + (7) It omits the three wishes. + + (8) It substitutes the fairy Godmother for the hazel tree + and the friendly doves. + + (9) It substitutes transformation for tree-shaking. + + (10) It omits the episode of the pear tree and of the + pigeon-house. + + (11) It omits the use of pitch and axe-cutting. + + (12) It omits the false bride and the two doves. + + (13) It substitutes two nights at the ball for three nights. + + (14) It makes C. forgiving and generous at the end. The Sisters + are not punished. + + (15) It contains slippers of glass instead of slippers of gold. + + (16) It simplifies the narrative, improves the structure, and puts + in the condition, which is a keystone to the structure. + + (17) It has no poetical refrain. + + (18) It is more direct and dramatic. + + (19) It draws the characters more clearly. + + (20) Is it not more artificial and conventional? + +This contrast shows the Grimm tale to be the more poetical, while it +is the more complex, and contains more barbarous and gruesome elements +unsuited to the child of to-day. Of the two forms, the Grimm tale +seems the superior tale, however, and if rewritten in a literary form +suited to the child, might become even preferable. + +_Sleeping Beauty_, which is another romantic tale that might claim to +be the most popular fairy tale, has for its theme the long sleep of +winter and the awakening of spring. The Earth goddess, pricked by +winter's dart, falls into a deep sleep from which she is awakened by +the Sun who searches far for her. This tale is similar to the Norse +_Balder_ and the Greek _Persephone_. Some of its incidents appear also +in _The Two Brothers_, an Egyptian tale of the Nineteenth Dynasty of +Seti II, in which the Hathors who pronounce the fate of the Prince +correspond to the wicked old Fairy. The spindle whose prick caused +slumber is the arrow that wounded Achilles, the thorn which pricked +Siegfried, the mistle-toe which wounded Balder, and the poisoned nail +of the demon in _Surya Bai_. In the northern form of the story we find +the ivy, which is the one plant that can endure winter's touch. The +theme of the long sleep occurs in the mediæval legend of _The Seven +Sleepers of Ephesus_, in the English _The King of England and His +Three Sons_, poetically as Tennyson has given it in his _Day-Dream_, +and in the _Story of Brunhilde_, in _Siegfried_. Here a hedge of +flames encircles Brunhilde who is awakened at the touch of Siegfried's +magic sword, just as Sleeping Beauty is awakened by the Prince's kiss. +The kiss may be a survival of an ancient form of worship of some local +goddess. In the Hindu _Panch-Rhul Ranee_, seven ditches surmounted by +seven hedges of spears, surround the heroine. Of the Perrault and +Grimm versions of _Sleeping Beauty_, the Perrault version is long and +complex because it contains the minor tale of the cruel stepmother +added to the main tale, while the Grimm _Briar Rose_ is a model of +structure easily separated into ten leading episodes. _Sleeping +Beauty_ appeared in Basile's _Pentamerone_ where there is given the +beautiful incident of the baby sucking the spike of flax out of its +sleeping mother's fingers. The Perrault version agrees with that of +Basile in naming the twins, who are Sun and Moon in the _Pentamerone_, +Day and Dawn. + +_Red Riding Hood_ is another romantic tale[11] that could claim to be +the one most popular fairy tale of all fairy tales. Similar tales +occur in the story of the Greek Kronos swallowing his children, in the +Algonquin legend repeated in _Hiawatha_, and in an Aryan story of a +Dragon swallowing the sun and being killed by the sun-god, Indra. _Red +Riding Hood_ appeals to a child's sense of fear, it gives a thrill +which if not too intense, is distinctly pleasing. But it pleases less +noticeably perhaps because of its atmosphere of love and service, and +because it presents a picture of a dear little maid. The Grandmother's +gift of love to the child, the bright red hood, the mother's parting +injunction, the Wolf's change of aspect and voice to suit the +child--all these directly and indirectly emphasize love, tenderness, +and appreciation of simple childhood. The child's errand of gratitude +and love, the play in the wood, the faith in the woodcutter's +presence--all are characteristic of a typical little maid and one to +be loved. There is in the tale too, the beauty of the wood--flowers, +birds, and the freshness of the open air. The ending of the tale is +varied. In Perrault the Wolf ate Grandmother and then ate Red Riding +Hood. In Grimm one version gives it that the Hunter, hearing snoring, +went to see what the old lady needed. He cut open the Wolf, and +Grandmother and Red Riding Hood became alive. He filled the Wolf with +stones. When the Wolf awoke, he tried to run, and died. All three were +happy; the Hunter took the skin, Grandmother had her cake and wine, +and Red Riding Hood was safe and had her little girl's lesson of +obedience. Another Grimm ending is that Little Red-Cap reached the +Grandmother before the Wolf, and after telling her that she had met +him, they both locked the door. Then they filled a trough with water +in which the sausages had been boiled. When the Wolf tried to get in +and got up on the roof, he was enticed by the odor, and fell into the +trough. A great deal of freedom has been used in re-telling the ending +of this tale, usually with the purpose of preventing the Wolf from +eating Red Riding Hood. In regard to the conclusion of _Red Riding +Hood_, Thackeray said: "I am reconciled to the Wolf eating Red Riding +Hood because I have given up believing this is a moral tale altogether +and am content to receive it as a wild, odd, surprising, and not +unkindly fairy story." + +The interpretation of _Red Riding Hood_--which the children need not +know--is that the evening Sun goes to see her Grandmother, the Earth, +who is the first to be swallowed up by the Wolf of Night and Darkness. +The red cloak is the twilight glow. The Hunter may be the rising Sun +that rescues all from Night. _Red Riding Hood_ has been charmingly +elaborated in Tieck's _Romantic Poems_, and a similar story appears in +a Swedish popular song, _Jungfrun i'Blaskagen_, in _Folkviser_ 3; 68, +69. + + + + +VI, VII. The Old Tale and the Modern Tale. + + +The old fairy tale is to be distinguished from the modern fairy tale. +Most of the tales selected have been old tales because they possess +the characteristics suited to the little child. The modern fairy tale +may be said to begin with Andersen's _Fairy Tales_.--Since Andersen +has been referred to frequently and as a study of _The Tin Soldier_ +has already been given, Andersen's work can receive no more detailed +treatment here.--The modern fairy tale, since the time of Andersen, +has yet to learn simplicity and sincerity. It often is long and +involved and presents a multiplicity of images that is confusing. It +lacks the great art qualities of the old tale, the central unity and +harmony of character and plot. The _idea_ must be the soul of the +narrative, and the problem is to make happen to the characters things +that are expressive of the idea. The story must hold by its interest, +and must be sincere and inevitable to be convincing. It must +understand that the method of expression must be the method of +suggestion and not that of detail. The old tale set no boundaries to +its suggestion. It used concrete artistry; but because the symbol +expressed less it implied more. The modern tale is more definitely +intentional and it often sets boundaries to its suggestion because the +symbol expresses so much. Frequently it emphasizes the satiric and +critical element, and its humor often is heavy and clumsy. To be +literature, as has been pointed out, besides characters, plot, +setting, and dialogue, a classic must present truth; it must have +emotion and imagination molded with beauty into the form of language; +and it must have the power of a classic to bestow upon the mind a +permanent enrichment. Any examination of the modern fairy tale very +frequently shows a failure to meet these requirements. + +The modern tale is not so poor, however, when we mention such tales as +Lewis Carroll's _Alice in Wonderland_, Oscar Wilde's _Happy Prince_, +Alice Brown's _Gradual Fairy_, Frances Browne's _Prince Fairyfoot_, +Miss Mulock's _Little Lame Prince_, Barrie's _Peter Pan_, Jean +Ingelow's _Mopsa, the Fairy_ and _The Ouphe in the Wood_, Field's _The +Story of Claus_, Stockton's _Old Pipes and the Dryad_, Kingsley's +_Water Babies_, Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_, Collodi's +_Pinocchio_, Maeterlinck's _Blue-Bird_, Kipling's _Just-So Stories_ +and the tales of the _Jungle Books_, Selma Lagerlöf's _Wonderful +Adventures of Nils_, the _Uncle Remus Tales_ of Harris, etc. But these +classics are, with a few exceptions, the richness of the primary and +elementary literature. The modern fairy tale suited to the +kindergarten child, is at a disadvantage, for most likely it is hidden +away in some magazine, waiting for appreciation to bring some +attention to it. And in these complex modern days it is difficult to +secure a tale whose simplicity suits the little child. + +Among the best tales for little people are Miss Harrison's _Hans and +the Four Giants_ and _Little Beta and the Lame Giant_. In _Little Beta +and the Lame Giant_ a natural child is placed in unusual surroundings, +where the gentleness of the giant and the strength of love in the +little girl present strong contrasts that please and satisfy. _The Sea +Fairy and the Land Fairy_ in _Some Fairies I have Met_, by Mrs. +Stawell, though possessing much charm and beauty, is too complicated +for the little people. It is a quarrel of a Sea Fairy and a Land +Fairy. It is marked by good structure, it presents a problem in the +introduction, has light fancy suited to its characters, piquant +dialogue, good description, visualized expressions, and it presents +distinct pictures. Its method is direct and it gets immediately into +the story. Its method of personification, which in this, perhaps the +best story of the collection, is rather delightful, in some of the +others is less happy and is open to question. _How Double Darling's +Old Shoes Became Lady Slippers_, by Candace Wheeler, in _St. +Nicholas_, is a really delightful modern fairy story suited to be read +to the little child. It is the experience of a little girl with new +shoes and her dream about her old shoes. But the story lacks in +structure, there is not the steady rise to one great action, the +episode of the Santa Claus tree is somewhat foreign and unnecessary, +and the conclusion falls flat because the end seems to continue after +the problem has been worked out. + +In _The Dwarf's Tailor_, by Underhill, there is much conversation +about things and an indirect use of language, such as "arouse them to +reply" and "continued to question," which is tedious. The humor is at +times heavy, quoting proverbs, such as "The pitcher that goes too +often to the well is broken at last." The climax is without interest. +The scene of the Dwarfs around the fire--in which the chief element of +humor seems to be that the Tailor gives the Dwarf a slap--is rather +foolish than funny. The details are trite and the transformation +misses being pleasing. Again there is not much plot and the story does +not hold by its interest. In _The Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold_, by +Scudder, the conversation is not always to the point, is somewhat on +the gossipy order, is trite, and the suspense is not held because the +climax is told beforehand. Mrs. Burton Harrison's _Old Fashioned Fairy +Book_ is very pleasing, but it was written for her two sons, who were +older children. It has the fault of presenting too great a variety of +images and it lacks simplicity of structure. Its _Juliet_, or _The +Little White Mouse_, which seems to be a re-telling of D'Aulnoy's +_Good Little Mouse_, contains a good description of the old-time fairy +dress. _Deep Sea Violets_, perhaps the best-written story in the book, +gives a good picture of a maiden taken to a Merman's realm. _Rosy's +Stay-at-Home Parties_ has delightful imagination similar to that of +Andersen. + +_Five Little Pigs_, by Katherine Pyle, is a delightful little modern +story, which could be used with interest by the child who knows _The +Story of Three Little Pigs_. _The Little Rooster_, by Southey, is a +very pleasing realistic tale of utmost simplicity which, because of +its talking animals, might be included here. A criticism of this tale, +together with a list of realistic stories containing some realistic +fairy tales suited to the kindergarten, may be read in _Educational +Foundations_, October, 1914. _The Hen That Hatched Ducks_, by Harriet +Beecher Stowe, is a pleasing and sprightly humorous tale of Madam +Feathertop and her surprising family of eight ducks, and of Master +Gray Cock, Dame Scratchard and Dr. Peppercorn. A modern tale that is +very acceptable to the children is _The Cock, the Mouse, and the +Little Red Hen_, by Félicité Lefèvre, which is a re-telling of the +_Story of the Little Red Hen_ combined with the story of _The Little +Rid Hin_. In this tale the two old classic stories are preserved but +re-experienced, with such details improvised as a clever child would +himself naturally make. These additional details appeal to his +imagination and give life-likeness and freshness to the tale, but they +do not detract from the impression of the original or confuse the +identity of the characters in the old tales. + +One must not forget _Peter Rabbit_--that captivating, realistic fairy +tale by Beatrix Potter--and his companions, _Benjamin Bunny, Pigling +Bland, Tom Kitten_, and the rest, of which children never tire. _Peter +Rabbit_ undoubtedly holds a place as a kindergarten classic. In +somewhat the same class of merry animal tales is _Tommy and the +Wishing Stone_, a series of tales by Thornton Burgess, in _St. +Nicholas_, 1915. Here the child enjoys the novel transformation of +becoming a Musk-rat, a Ruffed Grouse, a Toad, Honker the Goose, and +other interesting personages. A modern fairy tale which is received +gladly by children is _Ludwig and Marleen_, by Jane Hoxie. Here we +have the friendly Fox who grants to Ludwig the wishes he asks for +Marleen. The theme parallels for the little people the charm of _The +Fisherman and His Wife_, a Grimm tale suited to the second grade. +Among modern animal tales _The Elephant's Child_[12], one of the +_Just-So Stories_ by Rudyard Kipling, ranks high as a fairy tale +produced for little children by one of the great literary masters of +the short-story. + +A modern tale that is a bit of pure imagination and seems an attempt +to follow Grimm and Andersen, is _A Quick-Running Squash_, in +Aspinwall's _Short Stories for Short People_. It uses the little boy's +interest in a garden--his garden.--Interest centers about the fairy, +the magic seed, the wonderful ride, and the happy ending. It uses the +simple, everyday life and puts into it the unusual and the wonderful +where nothing is impossible. It blends the realistic and the romantic +in a way that is most pleasing. _The Rich Goose_, by Leora Robinson, +in the _Outlook_, is an accumulative tale with an interesting ending +and surprise. _Why the Morning Glory Climbs_, by Elizabeth McCracken, +in Miss Bryant's _How to Tell Stories_, is a simple fanciful tale. +_The Discontented Pendulum_, by Jane Taylor, in Poulssen's _In the +Child's World_, is a good illustration of the modern purely fanciful +tale. _What Bunch and Joker saw in the Moon_, in _Wide-Awake +Chatterbox_, about 1887, is a most delightful modern fanciful tale, +although it is best suited to the child of nine or ten. _Greencap_, by +Ruth Hays, in _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915, appeals to the child through +the experience of Sarah Jane, whose Mother and Father traveled to +India. Sarah went to live with Aunt Jane and there met Greencap who +granted the proverbial "three wishes." _Alice in Wonderland_ ranks in +a class by itself among modern fanciful tales but it is better suited +to the child of the third and fourth grades. + +A modern fairy tale which is suited to the child's simplicity and +which will stimulate his own desire to make a tale, is _The Doll Who +Was Sister to a Princess_, one of the _Toy Stories_ by Carolyn Bailey +which have been published by the _Kindergarten Review_ during 1914-15. +Among modern tales selected from _Fairy Stories Re-told from St. +Nicholas_, appear some interesting ones which might be read to the +little child, or told in the primary grades. Among these might be +mentioned:-- + + _The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons_, a modern tale in verse by + Mary E. Wilkins. + + _Casperl_, by H.C. Bunner, a modern Sleeping Beauty tale. This + tale has the virtue of not being complex and elaborate. It has + the underlying idea that "People who are helping others have a + strength beyond their own." + + _Ten Little Dwarfs_, by Sophie Dorsey, from the French of Emile + Souvestre. It tells of the ten little Dwarfs who lived in the + Good-wife's fingers. + + _Wondering Tom_, by Mary Mapes Dodge. This is a bright story of a + boy who Hamlet-like, hesitated to act. Tom was always + wondering. The story contains a fairy, Kumtoo-thepoynt, who sat + on a toadstool and looked profound. It is realistic and + romantic and has fine touches of humor. It tells how Wondering + Tom became transformed into a Royal Ship-Builder. + + _How An Elf Set Up Housekeeping_, by Anne Cleve. This is a good + tale of fancy. An Elf set up housekeeping in a lily and obtained + a curtain from a spider, down from a thistle, a stool from a toad + who lived in a green house in the wood, etc. + + _The Wish-Ring_, translated from the German by Anne Eichberg. + This is a tale with the implied message that "The best way to + secure one's best wish is to work for it." + + _The Hop-About Man_, by Agnes Herbertson, in _Little Folks + Magazine_, is a very pleasing modern romantic fairy tale for + little children. Wee Wun was a gnome who lived in the + Bye-Bye meadow in a fine new house which he loved. As he + flew across the Meadow he had his pockets full of blue + blow-away seeds. In the Meadow he found a pair of shoes, of + blue and silver, and of course he took them home to his new + house. But first he scattered the blue blow-away seeds over + the garden wall in the Stir-About-Wife's garden where golden + dandelions grew. And the seeds grew and crowded out the + dandelions. Next day Wee Wun found a large blue seed which + he planted outside his house; and on the following morning a + great blue blow-away which had grown in a night, made his + house dark. So he went to the Green Ogre to get him to take + it away. When he came home he found, sitting in his chair, + the Hop-About-Man, who had come to live with him. He had + been forewarned of this coming by the little blue shoes when + they hopped round the room singing:-- + + Ring-a-ding-dill, ring-a-ding-dill, + The Hop-About-Man comes over the hill. + Why is he coming, and what will he see? + Rickety, rackety,--one, two, three. + +The story then describes Wee Wun's troubles with the Hop-About-Man, +who remained an unwelcome inhabitant of the house where Wee Wun liked +to sit all alone. The Hop-About-Man made everything keep hopping about +until Wee Wun would put all careless things straight, and until he +would give back to him his blue-and-silver shoes. One day, Wee Wun +became a careful housekeeper and weeded out of the dandelion garden +all the blue blow-away plants that grew from the seeds he had +scattered there in the Stir-About-Wife's garden, and when he came home +his troubles were over, and the Hop-About-Man was gone. + +Perhaps one reason for the frequent failure of the modern fairy tale +is that it fails to keep in harmony with the times. Just as the modern +novel has progressed from the romanticism of Hawthorne, the realism of +Thackeray, through the psychology of George Eliot, and the philosophy +of George Meredith, so the little child's story--which like the adult +story is an expression of the spirit of the times--must recognize +these modern tendencies. It must learn, from _Alice in Wonderland_ and +from _A Child's Garden of Verses_, that the modern fairy tale is not a +_Cinderella_ or _Sleeping Beauty_, but the modern fairy tale is the +child's mind. The real fairy world is the strangeness and beauty of +the child mind's point of view. It is the duty and privilege of the +modern fairy tale to interpret the child's psychology and to present +the child's philosophy of life. + + + +REFERENCES + + Century Co.: _St. Nicholas Magazine_, 1915; _St. Nicholas Fairy + Stories Re-told_. + + Gates, Josephine: "And Piped Those Children Back Again," (Pied + Piper) _St. Nicholas_, Nov., 1914. + + Hays, Ruth: "Greencap," _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915. + + Hazlitt, William; _Essays_. ("Wit and Humor.") Camelot Series. + Scott. + + Hooker, B.: "Narrative and the Fairy Tale," _Bookman_, 33: June + and July, 1911, pp. 389-93, pp. 501-05. + + _Ibid_: "Types of Fairy Tales," _Forum_, 40: Oct., 1908, pp. + 375-84. + + Martin, John: _John Martin's Book_ (Magazine), 1915 + + Meredith, George: _The Comic Spirit_. Scribners. + + Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Committee: "Humorous + Tales" _Kindergarten Review_, Dec, 1914. + + Perry, Bliss: _A Study of Prose Fiction_. ("The Romantic" and + "The Realistic") Houghton. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST OF FAIRY TALES, PICTURES, +PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS + + Shall we permit our children, without scruple, to hear any + fables composed by any authors indifferently, and so to + receive into their minds opinions generally the reverse of + those which, when they are grown to manhood, we shall think + they ought to entertain?--PLATO, in _The Republic_. + +Any list of fairy tales for little children must be selected from +those books which, as we have noted, contain the best collections of +folk-lore, and from books which contain tales that rank as classics. +An examination of the tales of Perrault, of Grimm, of Dasent, of +Andersen, of Jacobs, of Harris, and of miscellaneous tales, to see +what are suited to the little child, would result in the following +lists of tales. Those most worthy of study for the kindergarten are +marked with an asterisk and those suited to the first grade are marked +"1." No attempt has been made to mention all the varied sources of a +tale or its best version. The Boston Public Library issues a _Finding +List of Fairy Tales and Folk Stories_, which may be procured easily, +and the Carnegie Library at Pittsburg issues in its monthly bulletin +for December, 1913, vol. 18, no. 10, a _List of Folk-Tales_, and other +stories which may be dramatized. The Baker, Taylor Company, in 1914, +issued a _Graded Guide to Supplementary Reading_, which contains a +list of many of the best editions of folk and fairy tales suited to +primary grades. A list of school editions is included in this book. +But one cannot fail to be impressed with the general low literary +standard of many school editions of fairy tales when judged by the +standards here applied to the tales themselves.-- + + I. A List of Fairy Tales and Folk Tales + + Tales of Perrault: + + * CINDERELLA. + 1 LITTLE THUMB. + 1 PUSS-IN BOOTS. + * RED RIDING HOOD. + 1 SLEEPING BEAUTY. + 1 THE THREE WISHES. + + + Tales of the Grimms: + + 1 BIRDIE AND LENA. + 1 BRIAR ROSE. + * THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP. + 1 CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET. + 1. HOW THEY WENT TO THE HILLS TO EAT NUTS. + 2. THE VISIT TO M KORBES. + 3. THE DEATH OF PARTLETT. + * CINDERELLA. + * THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER. + THE FOX AND THE GEESE. + 1 THE HARE AND THE HEDGEHOG. + 1 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD. + * THE KING OF THE BIRDS. + 1 LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER + 1 THE LITTLE LAMB AND THE LITTLE FISH. + * LITTLE RED-CAP. + 1 LITTLE SNOW WHITE. + 1 LITTLE TWO-EYES. + MOTHER HOLLE. + 1 THE NOSE. + 1 SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED. + * THE SPARROW AND HIS FOUR CHILDREN. + STAR DOLLARS. + * THE SPIDER AND THE FLEA. + * THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN. + * THE TOWN MUSICIANS OF BREMEN. + THE WILLOW WREN AND THE BEAR. + * THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN KIDS. + * THE WONDERFUL PORRIDGE POT. + + Norse Tales: + + COCK AND HEN. + THE COCK AND HEN A-NUTTING. + THE COCK AND HEN THAT WENT TO THE DOVREFELL. + COCK, CUCKOO, AND BLACK COCK. + * DOLL I' THE GRASS. + 1 GERTRUDE'S BIRD. + 1 KATIE WOODENCLOAK (read). + 1 THE LAD WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND. + 1 LORD PETER (read). + ONE'S OWN CHILDREN ABE ALWAYS PRETTIEST. + * THREE BILLY GOATS. + 1 THUMBIKIN (read). + * WHY THE BEAR IS STUMPY-TAILED (pourquois). + + + English Tales, by Jacobs: + + * THE CAT AND THE MOUSE. + * HENNY PENNY. + 1 THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB. + * HOW JACK WENT TO SEEK HIS FORTUNE. + 1 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK. + * JOHNNY CAKE. + * LAZY JACK. + * THE MAGPIE'S NEST. + 1 MASTER OF ALL MASTERS. + * M MIACCA. + 1 M VINEGAR. + * THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG. + * PUDDOCK, MOUSIE, AND RATTON. + 1 SCRAPEFOOT. + * THE STORY OF THREE BEARS. + * THE STORY OF THREE LITTLE PIGS. + * TEENY TINY. + * TITTY MOUSE AND TATTY MOUSE. + + + Modern Fairy Tales, by Andersen: + + * THE FIR TREE. + * FIVE PEAS IN A POD. + 1 THE HAPPY FAMILY (retold in _Tales of Laughter_). + LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS (read). + * OLE-LUK-OLE (read to end of Thursday). + THURSDAY, WEDDING OF A MOUSE. + * THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA. + * THE SNOW MAN. + 1 THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER. + THE TOP AND THE BALL. + * THUMBELINA. + WHAT THE MOON SAW: + * LITTLE GIRL AND CHICKENS. + * THE NEW FROCK (realistic). + * LITTLE CHIMNEY SWEEP. + * BEAR WHO PLAYED "SOLDIERS." + * BREAD AND BUTTER. + + + Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in _Nights with Uncle Remus_: + + * BRER RABBIT AND THE LITTLE TAR BABY. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND THE LITTLE GIRL. + * BROTHER RABBIT TAKES A WALK. + * BROTHER RABBIT TAKES SOME EXERCISE. + * CUTTA CORD-LA (similar to Wolf and Seven Kids). + * How BROTHER RABBIT BROKE UP A PARTY. + * How BROTHER RABBIT FRIGHTENS HIS NEIGHBORS. + * How M ROOSTER LOST HIS DINNER (read). + * IN SOME LADY'S GARDEN. + * M BENJAMIN RAM (Brother Rabbit's Riddle). + * THE MOON IN THE MILL-POND (pourquois). + * WHY BROTHER BEAK HAS NO TAIL (pourquois). + * WHY M DOG RUNS AFTER BROTHER RABBIT. + * WHY GUINEA FOWLS ARE SPECKLED (pourquois). + + + Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in _Uncle Remus and the Little + Boy_: + + * BROTHER BILLY GOAT'S DINNER. + BROTHER FOX SMELLS SMOKE. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER TIGER. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER LION (similar to _The Dog and His + Shadow_). + * BROTHER MUD-TURTLE'S TRICKERY. + * BROTHER RABBIT'S MONEY MINT. + 1 BROTHER WOLF SAYS GRACE. + 1 THE FIRE TEST (Use with _Three Pigs_). + FUN AT THE FERRY. + * HEYO, HOUSE. + THE LITTLE RABBITS. + MRS. PARTRIDGE HAS A FIT. + WHY BROTHER FOX'S LEGS ARE BLACK. + * WHY THE HAWK CATCHES CHICKENS. + + Tale, by Harris, in _Little Mr. Thimblefinger_: + + * WHY BILLY-GOAT'S TAIL IS SHORT. + + Miscellaneous Tales: + + * THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FIELD MOUSE, _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * BETA AND THE LAME GIANT, Miss Harrison, _In Storyland_. + * BILLY BOBTAIL, Jane Hoxie, _Kindergarten Stories; Child-Lore + Dramatic Reader_, Scribners. + * BLUNDER AND THE WISHING GATE, Louise Chollet, in _Child Life + in Prose_, Whittier. + * THE BOY AND THE GOAT, OR THE GOAT IN THE TURNIP FIELD + (Norwegian), _Primer_, Free and Treadwell; _Child-Lore + Dramatic Reader_, Scribners. + * THE CAP THAT MOTHER MADE OR ANDER'S NEW CAP (Swedish), + _Swedish Fairy Tales_, McClurg; _For the Story-Teller_, + Bailey. + 1 THE CAT AND THE PARROT OR THE GREEDY CAT, _HOW to Tell + Stories_, Bryant; _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin and Smith. + 1 THE CAT THAT WAITED, _Classics in Dramatic Form_, vol. I, + Stevenson. + * THE CAT, THE COCK, AND THE FOX, _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin + and Smith. + 1 CLYTIE, _Nature Myths_, Flora Cooke. + 1 THE COCK, THE MOUSE, AND THE LITTLE RED HEN, Félicité + Lefèvre, Jacobs. + * THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE, _Æsop's Fables_, Joseph + Jacobs. + * DAME WIGGINS AND HER CATS, Mrs. Sharp, in _Six Nursery + Classics_, Heath. + * THE DISCONTENTED PENDULUM, Jane Taylor, in _In the Child's + World_, Poulsson. + * THE DOLL WHO WAS SISTER TO A PRINCESS, THE TOY STORIES, + Carolyn Bailey, _Kindergarten Review_, Dec., 1914. + * DRAKESBILL, _The Story-Teller's Book_, O'Grady and Throop; + _The Fairy Ring_, Wiggin and Smith; _Firelight Stories_, + Bailey. + * THE ELEPHANT'S CHILD, _Just-So Stories_, Kipling. + 1 THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE, _A Little Book of Profitable + Tales_, Eugene Field. + 1 THE FIVE LITTLE PIGS, Katherine Pyle, in _Wide Awake Second + Reader_, Little. + * THE FOOLISH TIMID RABBIT, _Jataka Tales Retold_, Babbit. + THE GOLDEN COCK, _That's Why Stories_, Bryce. + 1 GOLDEN ROD AND ASTER, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + THE GRAIN OF CORN _(Old Woman and Her Pig), Tales of the + Punjab_, Steel. + 1 GREENCAP, Ruth Hays, in _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915. + 1 HANS AND THE FOUR BIG GIANTS, Miss Harrison, _In Storyland_. + 1 THE HEN THAT HATCHED DUCKS, Harriet Beecher Stowe, in _Child + Life in Prose_, Whittier. + * THE HOP-ABOUT-MAN, Agnes Herbertson, in _The Story-Teller's + Book_, O'Grady and Throop; in _Little Folks' Magazine_. + * THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT, _Six Nursery Classics_, D.C. + Heath. + 1 HOW BROTHER RABBIT FOOLED THE WHALE, _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * HOW THE CAMEL GOT HIS HUMP, _Just-So Stories_, Kipling. + 1 HOW THE CHIPMUNK GOT THE STRIPES ON ITS BACK, _Nature Myths_, + Cooke. + * HOW DOUBLE DARLING'S OLD SHOES BECAME LADY SLIPPERS, Candace + Wheeler, in _St. Nicholas_, March, 1887; vol. 14, pp. + 342-47. + * HOW FIRE WAS BROUGHT TO THE INDIANS, _The Book of Nature + Myths_, Holbrook. + * HOW SUN, MOON, AND WEST WIND WENT OUT TO DINNER, _Old Deccan + Days_, Frère. + 1 THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + 1 THE JACKALS AND THE LION, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + 1 KING SOLOMON AND THE ANTS, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + * THE LAMBIKIN, _Tales of the Punjab_, Steel; _Indian Tales_, + Jacobs. + * LITTLE JACK ROLLAROUND, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + * THE LITTLE RABBIT WHO WANTED RED WINGS, _For the + Story-Teller_, Bailey. + * THE LITTLE RED HEN, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + * THE LITTLE RED HIN (Irish dialect verse), _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * THE LITTLE ROOSTER, Robert Southey, in _Boston Collection of + Kindergarten Stories_, Hammett & Co. + * LITTLE SPIDER'S FIRST WEB, _Primer_, Free and Treadwell. + * LITTLE TOP-KNOT (Swedish), _First Reader_, Free and + Treadwell. + * LITTLE TUPPEN, _Fairy Stories and Fables_, Baldwin; _Primer_, + Free and Treadwell. + * LUDWIG AND MARLEEN, Jane Hoxie, in _Kindergarten Review_, + vol. xi, no. 5. + * MEDIO POLLITO, THE LITTLE HALF-CHICK (Spanish), _The Green + Fairy Book_, Lang. + * MEZUMI, THE BEAUTIFUL, OR THE RAT PRINCESS (Japanese), + _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson; _Tales of Laughter_, + Wiggin and Smith. + 1 M ELEPHANT AND M FROG, _Firelight Stories_, Bailey. + 1 THE MOON'S SILVER CLOAK, _Classics in Dramatic Form_, + Stevenson, vol. i. + 1 THE MOUSE AND THE SAUSAGE, _Stories and Story-Telling_, + Angela Keyes. + * OEYVIND AND MARIT, from _The Happy Boy_, Björnstjerne + Björnson, in _The Story-Teller's Book_, O'Grady and + Throop; in _Child-Life in Prose_, Whittier. + * PETER RABBIT, _Peter Rabbit_, Beatrix Potter. + 1 THE PIGS AND THE GIANT, Pyle, in _Child-Lore Dramatic + Reader_, Scribners. + * THE QUICK-RUNNING SQUASH, _Short Stories for Short People_, + Aspinwall. + 1 THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + * THE RICH GOOSE, Leora Robinson, in _The Outlook_. + * THE ROBIN'S CHRISTMAS SONG, _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, + Johnson. + * (WEE) ROBIN'S YULE SONG. _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin and + Smith. + * THE SHEEP AND THE PIG (Scandinavian), _For the Children's + Hour_, Bailey. + * THE SPARROW AND THE CROW, _Tales of the Punjab_, Steel; + _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + * THE STRAW OX, _Cossack Fairy Tales_, Bain. + * STORY OF THE MORNING-GLORY SEED, M. Eytinge, _Boston + Kindergarten Stories_. + 1 THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT, _Oak-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + 1 TOMMY AND THE WISHING-STONE, a series, by T. Burgess, in _St. + Nicholas_, 1915. + 1 TRAVELS OF A FOX, _Oak-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + 1 THE TURTLE WHO COULDN'T STOP TALKING, _Jataka Tales Retold_, + Babbit. + * THE UNHAPPY PINE TREE, _Classic Stories_, McMurry. + 1 What Bunch And Joker Saw In The Moon, _Wide Awake + Chatterbox_, about 1887. + 1 The White Cat, _Fairy Tales_, D'Aulnoy; _Fairy Tales_, Vol. + II, Lansing. + * Why The Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves, _The Book + Of Nature Myths_, Holbrook. + * Why The Juniper Has Berries, _The Book Of Nature Myths_, + Holbrook. + + * Why The Morning Glory Climbs, _How to Tell Stories_, Bryant. + + 1 The Wish Bird, _Classics In Dramatic Form_, Vol. II, + Stevenson. + + II. Bibliography Of Fairy Tales + + Baker, Franklin T.: _Bibliography Of Children's Reading_. + Introduction and lists. Teachers College, Columbia University. + + Baker Taylor Company, The: _Graded Guide to Supplementary + Reading_. 1914. + + Boston Public Library: _Finding List of Fairy Tales_. + + Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh. _List of Folk Tales_. Bulletin, + Dec, 1913, Vol. 18, No. 10. + + _Ibid_.: _Illustrated Editions of Children's Books_. 1915. + + Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, John: _American Library + Economy_. Newark Free Library, Newark, New Jersey. + + Haight, Rachel Webb: "Fairy Tales." _Bulletin of Bibliography_, + 1912. Boston Book Co. + + Hewins, Caroline: _A.L.A. List. Books for Boys and Girls_. Third + Edition, 1913. A.L.A. Pub. Board, Chicago. + + Kready, Laura F.: "Picture-Books For Little Children." + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914. + + Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Com. of I.K.U.: "Humorous + Stories for Children." _Kindergarten Review_, Dec, 1914. + + Salisbury, G.E., and Beckwith, M.E.: _Index to Short Stories_. + St. Louis Public Library. _Lists of Stories and Programs for + Story Hours_. Give best versions. + + Widdemer, Margaret: "A Bibliography of Books and Articles + Relating to Children's Reading. Part I, Children's Reading in + general. Part II, History of Children's Literature, etc. Part + III, Guidance of Children's Reading." _Bulletin of + Bibliography_, July, 1911, Oct., 1911, and Jan., 1912. Boston + Book Co. + + +III. A List of Picture-Books[13] + + Beskow, Elsa: _Hanschen im Blaubeerenwald_. Stuttgart. + + Brooke, Leslie: _The Golden Goose Book_. F. Warne. + + _Ibid._: The _House in the Wood_. F. Warne. + + _Ibid._: _The Truth About Old King Cole_. F. Warne. + + Browning, Robert: _The Pied Piper_, Kate Greenaway, F. Warne; + Hope Dunlap, Rand; T. Butler Stoney, Dutton. + + Caldecott, Randolph: _Picture-Books:_ + 2. _The House that Jack Built_. F. Warne. + 3. _Hey Diddle Diddle Book_. F. Warne. + + Coussens, P.W.: _A Child's Book of Stories_. Jessie W. Smith. + Duffield. + + Crane, Walter: _Picture-Books:_ + _Cinderella_. John Lane. + _Mother Hubbard_. John Lane. + _Red Riding Hood_. John Lane. + _This Little Pig_. John Lane. + + Grimm, Jacob and William: _Cruikshank Fairy Book_. Cruikshank, + Putnam. + + _Ibid._: _Das Deutsche Bilderbuch_. Jos. Scholz. + 1. _Dörnroschen_. + 2. _Aschenputtel_. + 7. _Frau Holle_. + 10. _Der Wolf und Sieben Geislein_. + + _Ibid._: _Liebe Märchen_. 10, 11, 12. Jos. Scholz. + + _Ibid._: _Cherry Blossom_. Helen Stratton. Blackie and Sons. + + Jerrold, Walter: _The Big Book of Fairy Tales_. Robinson. + Blackie. + + Olfers, Sibylle: _Windschen_. J.F. Schreiber. + + _Ibid.: Wurzelkindern_. J.F. Schreiber. + + Sharp, Mrs.: _Dame Wiggins of Lee_. Introduction by Ruskin. + Kate Greenaway. George Allen. + + + + IV. A LIST OF PICTURES + + + Cinderella. 227, Meinhold. Dresden. 724, Meinhold. Dresden. 366, + Teubner. Leipzig. + + _Canadian Magazine_, Dec., 1911, by Val Prinsep, A. + Elves. Arthur Rackham. _St. Nicholas_, Nov., 1914. + + _Ibid.: Book of Pictures_. Century. + + Hop-o'-my-Thumb. _A Child's Own Book of Fairy Tales_. Dore. H. + Pisan, engraver. Elizabeth S. Forbes. _Canadian Magazine_, + Dec., 1911. + + Little Brother and Sister. Tempera Painting, Marianna Stokes. + _Illustrated London News_, Dec., 1907. + + Perrault's Tales. Kay Nielsen. _Illustrated London News_, Dec., + 1913. + + Red Riding Hood. Poster, Mary Stokes. _Ladies' Home Journal_. + 230, Meinhold. Dresden. 77, Teubner. Leipzig and Berlin. G. + Ferrier. Engraved for _St. Nicholas_, Braun, Clement, & Co. + Supplement to _American Primary Teacher_, May, 1908. Picture, 2 + ft. by 1 ft., New Specialty Shop, Phila., Pa. + + Sleeping Beauty. Mouat, London. _Canadian Magazine_, Dec., 1911. + _Illustrated London News_, Dec., 1907. + + Snow White. A series. Maxfield Parrish. Picture by Elizabeth + Shippen Green. + + Two Series. Five pictures in each. Jessie Willcox Smith. P.F. + Collier & Sons. + + + V. A LIST OF FAIRY POEMS + + + Allingham, William: _The Fairy Folk_. The Posy Ring. Bangs, John + Kendrick: _The Little Elf_. The Posy Ring. + + Bird, Robert: _The Fairy Folk_. A Child's Book of Old Verses. + + Dodsley, R.: _Red Caps of Fairies. Fuimus Troes_, Old Plays. + + Drayton, Michael: _Nymphal III_, Poets' Elysium. + + Herford, Oliver: _The Elf and the Dormouse_. The Posy Ring. + + Hood, Thomas: _A Plain Direction_. Heart of Oak Books, III. + + _Ibid._: _Queen Mab_. A Child's Book of Old Verses. + + Howitt, Mary: _The Fairies of the Caldon-Low_. The Posy Ring. + + _Ibid._: _Mabel on Midsummer Day_. The Story-Teller's Book, + O'Grady and Throop. + + Lyly, John: _The Urchin's Dance and Song. Song of the First + Fairy_. _Song of the Second Fairy_. Maydes Metamorphosis. + + McDermot, Jessie: _A Fairy Tale_. Fairy Tales. Rolfe. Amer. Book + Co. + + Noyes, Alfred: _The Magic Casement_. An anthology of fairy + poetry, with an introduction. Dutton. + + Percy, Bishop: _The Fairy Queen_. Reliques of Ancient Poetry; + from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, London, 1658. + + Shakespeare, William: _Ariel's Song_; _A Fairy Song_; "_I know a + bank_"; _The Song of the Fairies_. Shakespeare's Dramas. + + Stevenson, Robert L. _Fairy Bread_; _The Little Land_. A Child's + Garden of Verses. + + Unknown Author: _The Fairy_. "_Oh, who is so merry_." A Child's + Book of Old Verses. Duffield. + + Wilkins, Mary E.: _The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons_. Fairy + Stories Retold from _St. Nicholas_. Century. + + + + VI. MAIN STANDARD FAIRY TALE BOOKS + + + Andersen, Hans Christian: _Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Pedersen & + Stone. Houghton. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Edited by W.A. and J.K. Craigie. Oxford + University Press. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Stories for Youngest Children_. Lucas. + Stratton. Blackie. (English edition.) + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Mrs. Lucas. T.C. and W. Robinson. + Dutton. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Mrs. Lucas. Helen Stratton. Dodge. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Maria L. Kirk. Lippincott. + + Andersen, Hans Christian: _Fairy Tales_. Edmund Dulac. Hodder & + Stoughton. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. W.H. Robinson. Holt. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Braekstad. Tegner. Introd. by Gosse. + Century. + + Asbjörnsen, P.C.: _Fairy Tales from the Far North_. Burt. + + _Ibid.: Round the Yule Log_. Introd. by Gosse. Braekstad. + Lippincott. + + Dasent, Sir George W.: _Popular Tales from the North_. Routledge. + Dutton. + + _Ibid.: Popular Tales from the North_. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Tales from the Field_. Putnam. + + Grimm, Jacob and William: _Household Tales_. Margaret Hunt. + Bonn's Libraries, Bell & Co. + + _Ibid.: Household Tales_. Lucy Crane. Walter Crane. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Helen Stratton. Dodge. + + _Ibid.: German Popular Stories_. Tr. Edgar Taylor. Introd. by + Ruskin. 22 illustrations by Cruikshank. Chatto & Windus. + + _Ibid_.: _Fairy Tales_. Johann & Leinweber. McLoughlin. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Arthur Rackham. Doubleday. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Hope Dunlap. Rand. + + Harris, Joel Chandler: _Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings_. + Appleton. + + _Ibid.: Nights With Uncle Remus_. Church. Houghton. + + _Ibid_.: _Uncle Remus and His Friends_. Frost. Houghton. + + _Ibid.: Uncle Remus and the Little Boy_. J.M. Comte. Small. + + Jacobs, Joseph: _English Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Celtic Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Indian Fairy Tales_. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox_. + + Frank Calderon. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Europa's Fairy Tales_. Batten. Putnam. + + O'Shea, M.V.: _Old World Wonder Stories_. Heath. + + Perrault, Charles: _Tales of Mother Goose_. Welsh. Heath. + + _Ibid_.: _Fairy Tales_. Appleton. Estes. + + Perrault, Charles: _Tales of Passed Times_. Temple Classics. C. + Robinson. Dutton. + + _Ibid.: Popular Tales_. Edited by Andrew Lang. French; and + English translation of original edition. Oxford, Clarendon + Press. + + +VII. FAIRY TALES OF ALL NATIONS + + Celtic. Jacobs. 1911. Putnam. + + Chinese. Pitnam. 1910. Crowell. + + Cossack. Bain. 1899. Burt. + + Danish. Bay. 1899. Harper. + + Donegal. McManus. 1900. Doubleday. + + English. Jacobs. 1904. Putnam. + + _Ibid_.: Folk and Fairy Stories. Hartland, born 1848. Camelot + series. + + French. DeSegur. 1799-1874. Winston. + + German. Grimm. 1812, 1822. Bonn's Libraries. + + Hungarian. Pogany. 1914. Stokes. + + Indian. _Old Deccan Days_. Frère. 1868. McDonough. + + _Ibid.: Tales of the Sun_. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. W.H. Allen. + + _Ibid.: Buddhist Birth Stories_. Rhys Davids. 1880. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Stokes. 1880. Ellis & White. + + _Ibid.: Folk Tales of Bengal_. Day. 1883. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Wide Awake Stories_. Steel and Temple. 1884. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Folk-Tales of Kashmir_. Knowles. 1887. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Tales of the Punjab_. Steel. 1894. Macmillan. + + Irish. Yeats. 1902. Burt. + + Italian. Macdonell. 1911. Stokes. + + _Ibid_.: Crane. 1885. Macmillan. + + Japanese. Ozaki. 1909. Dutton. + + Manx. Morrison. 1899. Nutt. + + New World. Kennedy. 1904. Dutton. + + Norse. Dasent. 1820-1896. Lippincott. + + _Ibid_.: Mabie. 1846-. Dodd. + + Papuan. Kerr. 1910. Macmillan. + + Persian. Stephen. 1892. Dutton. + + _Ibid_.: Clouston. 1907. Stokes. + + Russian. Dole. 1907. Crowell. + + _Ibid_.: Bain. Bilibin. 1914. Century. + + Scottish. Grierson. 1910. Stokes. + + South African. Honey. 1910. Baker & Taylor. + + Welsh. Thomas. 1908. Stokes. + + +VIII. MISCELLANEOUS EDITIONS OF FAIRY TALES + + D'Aulnoy, Madame: _Fairy Tales_. Trans, by Planché. Gordon + Browne. McKay. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Introd. by Anne T. Ritchie. Scribners. + + Austin, M.H.: _Basket Woman_. Houghton. + + Babbit, Ellen: _Jataka Tales Retold_. Century. + + Bailey, Carolyn: _Firelight Stories_. Bradley. + + Bailey and Lewis: _For the Children's Hour_. Bradley. + + Baldwin, James: _Fairy Stories and Fables_. Amer. Book Co. + + Barrie, J.M.: _Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens_. Rackham. + Scribners. + + Baumbach, Rudolf: _Tales from Wonderland_. Simmons. + + Bertelli, Luigi: _The Prince and His Ants_. Holt. + + Bryant, Sara C.: _Best Stories to Tell to Children_. Houghton. + + Burgess, Thornton: _Old Mother West Wind_. Little. + + _Ibid.: The Adventures of Reddy Fox_. Little. + + _Ibid.: The Adventures of Johnny Chuck_. Little. + + _Ibid.: Tommy and the Wishing-stone_. Animal Tales. _St. + Nicholas_, 1915. + + Chapin, Anna: _The Now-a-Days Fairy Book_. Jessie W. Smith. Dodd. + + Chisholm, Louey: _In Fairyland_. Katherine Cameron. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Little Red Riding Hood; Cinderella_; (I Read Them + Myself series). Dodge. + + Collection: _Half a Hundred Stories for Little People_. Bradley. + + Cooke, Flora J.: _Nature Myths and Stories_. Flanagan. + + Cowell, E.B.: _The Jatakas or Stories of the Buddha's Former + Births_. Tr. from the Pali. 6 vols. Cambridge University + Press. Putnam. 1895-1907. + + Crothers, Samuel McChord: _Miss Muffet's Christmas Party_. + Houghton. + + Emerson, Ellen: _Indian Myths_. Houghton. + + Everyman Series: _157; 365; and 541_. Dutton. + + France, Anatole: _The Honey Bee_. John Lane. + + Grover, Eulalie O., editor: _Mother Goose_. F. Richardson. + Volland. + + Harris, Joel C.: _Little Mr. Thimblefinger_. Houghton. + + Harrison, Miss: In Storyland. Central Pub. Co., Chicago. + Holbrook, Florence: _The Book of Nature Myths_. Houghton. + + James, Grace: _The Green Willow_: Japanese. Goble. Macmillan. + + Jerrold, Walter: _The Reign of King Oberon_. Robinson. Dent. + Little. + + Johnson, Clifton: _Fairy Books: Oak-Tree; Birch-Tree; and + Elm-Tree_. Little. + + _Ibid._: _Book of Fairy Tale Bears_. Houghton. + + _Ibid._: _Book of Fairy Tale Foxes_. Houghton. + + Kingsley, Charles: _Water-Babies_. Warwick Goble. Macmillan. + + _Ibid_.: _Water-Babies_. Introd, by Rose Kingsley. Margaret + Tarrant. Dutton. + + Kipling, Rudyard: _Jungle Books_. 2 vols. Original edition. + Century. + + _Ibid._: _Jungle Books_. M. and E. Detmold. Century. + + _Ibid._: _Jungle Books_. A. Rackham. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Just-So Stories_. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Puck of Pook's Hill_. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Rewards and Fairies_. Doubleday. + + Laboulaye, Edouard: _Fairy Book_. Harper. + + _Ibid._: _Last Fairy Tales_. Harper. + + Lang, Andrew: _Fairy Books: Red; Orange; Yellow; Green_; _Blue; + Violet; Gray; Crimson; Brown; Pink_. Longmans. + + Lansing, Marion: _Rhymes and Stories_. Ginn. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Ginn. + + Leamy, Edward: Golden Spears. FitzGerald. + + Lefèvré, Felicité: _The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen_. + Tony Sarg. Jacobs, Phila. + + Lindsay, Maud: _Mother Stories; More Mother Stories_. Bradley. + + Maeterlinck, Madam: _The Children's Bluebird_. Dodd. + + Molesworth, Mary Louise: _The Cuckoo Clock_. Maria Kirk. + Lippincott. + + Mulock, Miss: _The Fairy Book_. Boyd Smith. Crowell. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Book_. 32 illus. by W. Goble. Macmillan. + + _Ibid._: _Little Lame Prince_. Hope Dunlap. Rand. + + Musset, Paul de: _Mr. Wind and Madam Rain_. Bennett. Putnam. + + Nyblom, Helena: _Jolly Cable and other Swedish Fairy Tales_. + Folknin. Dutton. + + Olcott, Frances J.: _Arabian Nights_. Tr. by Lane. Cairo text. + Selections. Holt. + + Perrault, Charles: _The Story of Bluebeard_. Stone & Kimball, + Chicago. + + Poulsson, E.: _In the Child's World_. Bradley. + + Pyle, Howard: _The Garden Behind the Moon_. Scribners. + + _Ibid._: _Wonder-Clock_. Harper. + + Pyle, Katherine: _Fairy Tales from Many Lands_. Dutton. + + Rackham, Arthur: _Mother Goose_. Century. + + Ramé, Louise de la (Ouida): _Nürnberg Stove: Bimbi Stories for + Children_. Page. + + Rhys, Ernest: _Fairy Gold_. Herbert Cole. Dutton. + + Rolfe, William: _Fairy Tales in Prose and Verse_. Amer. Book Co. + + Shakespeare, William: _Midsummer Night's Dream_. With forty + illustrations in color by Arthur Rackham. Doubleday. + + Shedlock, Marie: _A Collection of Eastern Stories and Legends_. + Foreword by T. Rhys Davids. Dutton. + + Smith, Jessie Willcox: _Mother Goose_. Dodd. + + Stephen, A.: _Fairy Tales of a Parrot_. Ellis. Nister. Dutton. + + Stockton, F.: _The Queen's Museum_. F. Richardson. Scribners. + + Tappan, Eva March: _The Children's Hour: Folk Stories and + Fables_. Houghton. + + Thorne-Thomson: _East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon_. Row. + + Underhill, Zoe D.: _The Dwarf's Tailor_. Harper. + + Valentine, Mrs. Laura: _Old, Old Fairy Tales_. F. Warne. + + Welsh, Charles: _Fairy Tales Children Love_. Dodge. + + Wheeler, W.A.: _Mother Goose Melodies_. Houghton. + + Wiggin, Kate; and Smith, Nora: _The Fairy Ring: Tales of + Laughter: Magic Casements_: and _Tales of Wonder_. Doubleday. + + + +IX. SCHOOL EDITIONS OF FAIRY TALES + + + Alderman, E.A.: _Classics Old and New_. Amer. Book Co. + + Alexander, G.: _Child Classics_. Bobbs. + + Baker, F.T., and Carpenter, G.: _Language Readers_. Macmillan. + + Baldwin, James: _The Fairy Reader_, I and II. Amer. Book Co. + + Blaisdell, Etta (MacDonald): _Child Life in Tale and Fable_. + Macmillan. + + Blumenthal, Verra: _Fairy Tales from the Russian_. Rand. + + Brooks, Dorothy: _Stories of Red Children_. Educational. + + Bryce, Catherine: _Child-Lore Dramatic Reader_. Scribners. + + Burchill, Ettinger: _Progressive Road to Reading_, Readers. + Silver. + + Chadwick, Mara P.: _Three Bears Story Primer_. Educational. + + Chadwick, M.P. and Freeman, E.G.: _Chain Stories and Playlets: + The Cat That Was Lonesome: The Mouse That Lost Her Tail_; and + _The Woman and Her Pig_. World Book Co. + + Coe and Christie: _Story Hour Readers_. Amer. Book Co. + + Craik, Georgiana: _So Fat and Mew Mew_. Heath. + + Davis, M.H. and Leung, Chow: _Chinese Fables and Folk Stories_. + Amer. Book. Co. + + Dole, C.F.: _Crib and Fly_. Heath. + + Free and Treadwell: _Reading Literature Series_. Row, Peterson. + + Grover, Eulalie O.: _Folk Lore Primer_. Atkinson. + + Hale, E.E.: _Arabian Nights_. Selections. Ginn. + + Heath, D.C.: _Dramatic Reader_. Heath. + + Henderson, Alice: _Andersen's Best Fairy Tales_. Rand. + + Hix, Melvin: _Once Upon a Time Stories_. Longmans. + + Holbrook, Florence: _Dramatic Reader for the Lower Grades_. Amer. + Book Co. + + Howard, F.W.: _The Banbury Cross Stories: The Fairy Gift and Tom + Hickathrift_. Merrill. + + Johnston, E.; and Barnum, M.: _Book of Plays for Little Actors_. + Amer. Book. Co. + + Kennerley: _The Kipling Reader_. 2 vols. Appleton. + + Ketchum and Rice: _Our First Story Reader_. Scribners. + + Lang, Andrew: _Fairy Readers_. Longmans. + + Lansing, M.: _Tales of Old England_. Ginn. + + Mabie, H.: _Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know_. Doubleday. + + McMahon, H., M., and A.: _Rhyme and Story Primer_. Heath. + + McMurry, Mrs. Lida B.: _Classic Stories_. Public School Pub. Co. + + Norton, Charles E.: _Heart of Oak Books_. Heath. + + Norvell, F.T., and Haliburton, M.W.: _Graded Classics_. Johnson. + + Perkins, F.O.: _The Bluebird Arranged for Schools_. Silver. + + Pratt, Mara L.: _Legends of Red Children_. Amer. Book Co. + + Roulet, Mary Nixon: _Japanese Folk-Stories and Fairy Tales_. + Amer. Book Co. + + Scudder, H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales: Grimm's Fairy Tales; + Fables and Folk Stories; The Children's Book_. Houghton. + + Smythe, Louise: _Reynard the Fox_. Amer. Book Co. + + Spaulding and Bryce: _Aldine Readers_. Newson. + + Stevenson, Augusta: _Children's Classics in Dramatic Form_. 5 + vols. Houghton. + + Stickney, J.H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales_. 2 series. Ginn. + + Summers, Maud: _The Summers Readers_. Beattys. + + Turpin, E.H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales_. Merrill. + + Underwood, Kate: _Fairy Tale Plays_ (For Infants and Juniors). + Macmillan. + + University Pub. Co.: _Fairy Tales_. Standard Literature Series; + Hans Andersen's Best Stories; Grimm's Best Stories. Newson and + Co. + + Van Sickle, J.H., etc.: _The Riverside Readers_. Houghton. + + Varney, Alice: _Story Plays Old and New_. Amer. Book Co. + + Villee: _Little Folk Dialog Reader_. Sower. + + Wade, Mary H.: _Indian Fairy Tales_. Wilde. + + Washburne, Mrs. M.: _Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales_ (Retold from + poetic versions of Thomas Hood). Rand. + + White, Emma G.: _Pantomime Primer_. Amer. Book Co. + + Williston, P.: _Japanese Fairy Tales_. 2 series. Rand. + + Wiltse, Sara E.: _Folk Lore Stories and Proverbs_. Ginn. + + Wohlfarth, J., and McMurry, Frank: _Little Folk-Tales_. 2 vols. + + Zitkala-sa: _Old Indian Legends_. Ginn. + + + + + + +APPENDIX + +ILLUSTRATIONS OF CREATIVE RETURN[14] + +Tales suited for dramatization + +_Little Two-Eyes_ + + +_Little Two-Eyes_, which is suited to the first-grade child, is one of +the most attractive of folk-tales and contains blended within itself +the varied beauties of the tales. It is in _cante-fable_ form, which +gives it the poetic touch so appealing to children. It contains the +magic rhymes,-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + + Little kid, bleat, + Clear it off, neat! + +the fairy wise woman, and the friendly goat. It contains the fairy +housekeeping in the forest which combines tea-party, picnic, and magic +food--all of which could not fail to delight children. The lullaby to +put Two-Eyes to sleep suits little children who know all there is to +know about "going to sleep." The magic tree, the silver leaves, the +golden fruit, the knight and his fine steed, and the climax of the +tale when the golden apple rolls from under the cask--all possess +unusual interest. There is exceptional beauty in the setting of this +tale; and its message of the worth of goodness places it in line with +_Cinderella_. It should be dramatized as two complete episodes, each +of three acts:-- + +_The Goat Episode_ + + _Place_ The home and the forest. + + _Time_ Summer. + + _Act I, Scene i_. A home scene showing how the Mother and + Sisters despised Two-Eyes. + + _Scene ii_. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. + + _Scene iii_. Two-Eyes and the Goat. Evening of the first day. + + _Act II, Scene i_. One-Eye went with Two-Eyes. Third morning. + Song ... Feast ... Return home. + + _Act III, Scene i_. Three-Eyes went with Two-Eyes. Fourth + morning. Song ... Feast ... Return home. + +_The Story of Two-Eyes_ + + _Place_ The forest; and the magic tree before the house. + + _Time_ Summer. + + _Act I, Scene i_. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. + + _Act II, Scene i_. The magic tree. Mother and Sisters attempt to + pluck the fruit. + + _Act III, Scene i_. The Knight. Second attempt to pluck fruit. + Conclusion. The happy marriage. + +_Snow White_ + +_The Story of Snow White_ is one of the romantic fairy tales which has +been re-written and staged as a play for children, and now may be +procured in book form. It was produced by Winthrop Ames at the Little +Theatre in New York City. The dramatization by Jessie Braham White +followed closely the original tale. The entire music was composed by +Edmond Rickett, who wrote melodies for a number of London Christmas +pantomimes. The scenery, by Maxfield Parrish, was composed of six +stage pictures, simple, harmonious, and beautiful, with tense blue +skies, a dim suggestion of the forest, and the quaint architecture of +the House of the Seven Dwarfs. Pictures in old nursery books were the +models for the scenes. Because of the simplicity of the plot and the +few characters, _Snow White_ could be played very simply in four +scenes, by the children of the second and third grades for the +kindergarten and first grade. + +_Snow White_ + + _Scene i_. A Festival on the occasion of Snow White's sixteenth + birthday. + + _Scene ii_. In the Forest. + + _Scene iii_. A Room in the House of the Seven Dwarfs. + + _Scene iv_. The Reception to Snow White as Queen, on the grounds + near the young King's Palace. + +The beautiful character of Snow White; the glimpse of Dwarf life--the +kindly little men with their unique tasks and their novel way of +living; the beauty and cheer of Snow White which her housekeeping +brought into their home; their devotion to her; the adventure in the +wood; the faithful Huntsman; the magic mirror; the wicked Queen; and +the Prince seeking the Princess--all contribute to the charm of the +tale. The songs written for the play may be learned by the children, +who will love to work them into their simple play: _Snow White, as +fair as a lily, as sweet as a rose_; the song of the forest fairies, +_Welcome, Snow White_; and their second song which they sing as they +troop about Snow White lying asleep on the Dwarf's bed, _Here you'll +find a happy home, softly sleep!_ or the song of Snow White to the +Dwarfs, _I can brew, I can bake_. + +_The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_ + +Once upon a time there lived a sister and a brother who loved each +other very much. They were named Gretchen and Peterkin. One day their +father who was King of the country, left them and brought home with +him a new Queen who was not kind to the children. She banished them +from the castle and told the King bad tales about them. So they made +friends with the Cook and ate in the kitchen. Peterkin would bring +water and Gretchen could carry plates and cups and saucers. + +One beautiful spring day when all the children were out-of-doors +playing games, Gretchen and Peterkin went to play with them, by the +pond, on the meadow, beyond the castle wall. Around this pond the +children would run, joining hands and singing:-- + + "Eneke, Beneke, let me live, + And I to you my bird will give; + The bird shall fetch of straw a bunch, + And that the cow shall have to munch; + The cow shall give me milk so sweet, + And that I'll to the baker take, + Who with it shall a small cake bake; + The cake the cat shall have to eat, + And for it catch a mouse for me, + * * * * * + "And this is the end of the tale." + +Round and round the pond the children ran singing; and as the word +"tale" fell on Peterkin he had to run away over the meadow and all the +rest ran after to catch him. + +But just then the wicked Queen from her window in the castle spied the +happy children. She did not look pleased and she muttered words which +you may be sure were not very pleasant words. + +The children had been racing across the meadow after Peterkin. Now one +called, "Where is Peterkin? I saw him near that tree, but now I cannot +see him. Gretchen, can you see Peterkin?--Why, where's Gretchen?" + +Peterkin and Gretchen were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a little boy +said, "Where did that lamb come from over there? It must have been +behind the linden tree!" + +The children drew near the lamb, when what was their surprise to hear +it call out to them, "Run children, run quick or the Queen will harm +you! I am Gretchen! Run, and never come near the pond again!" And at +the little Lamb's words the children fled. + +But the little Lamb ran all about the meadow, calling, "Peterkin, +Peterkin!" and would not touch a blade of grass. Sadly she walked to +the edge of the pond and slowly walked round and round it calling, +"Peterkin, where are you?" + +Suddenly the water bubbled and a weak voice cried, "Here, Gretchen, in +the pond,-- + + "Here Gretchen, here swim I in the pond, + Nor may I ever come near castle ground." + +And the Lamb replied:-- + + "Ah, my brother! In the wood, + A lamb, now I must search for food." + +Then Peterkin comforted Gretchen and promised early every morning to +come up to the water to talk with her; and Gretchen promised to come +early from the wood, before the sun was up, to be with Peterkin. And +Peterkin said, "I will never forsake you, Gretchen, if you will never +forsake me!" And Gretchen said, "I will never forsake you, Peterkin, +if you will never forsake me!" + +Then the little Lamb fled sadly to the wood to look for food and the +little Fish swam round the pond. But the children did not forget their +playmates. Every day they saved their goodies and secretly laid them +at the edge of the wood where the Lamb could get them. And the Lamb +always saved some to throw the crumbs to the little Fish in the +morning. + +Many days passed by. One day visitors were coming to the castle. "Now +is my chance," thought the wicked Queen. So she said to the Cook, "Go, +fetch me the lamb out of the meadow, for there is nothing else for the +strangers!" + +Now the Lamb had lingered by the pond longer than usual that morning +so that the Cook easily caught her; and taking her with him tied her +to the tree just outside the kitchen. But when the Cook was gone to +the kitchen, the little Fish swam up from the pond into the little +brook that ran by the tree and said-- + + "Ah, my sister, sad am I, + That so great harm to you is nigh! + And far from you I love must be, + A-swimming in the deep, deep sea!" + +And the Lamb replied:-- + + "Ah, my brother in the pond, + Sad must I leave you, though I'm fond; + The cook has come to take my life, + Swim off to sea,--Beware!" + +Just then the Cook came back and hearing the Lamb speak became +frightened. Thinking it could not be a real lamb, he said, "Be still, +I will not harm you. Run, hide in the wood, and when it is evening, +come to the edge of the wood and I will help you!" + +Then the Cook caught another lamb and dressed it for the guests. And +before evening he went to a wise woman who happened to be the old +Nurse who had taken care of Peterkin and Gretchen. She loved the +children and she soon saw what the wicked Queen had done. She told the +Cook what the Lamb and Fish must do to regain their natural forms. + +As soon as it was dark the little Lamb came to the edge of the wood +and the Cook said, "Little Lamb, I will tell you what you must do to +be a maid again!" So the Cook whispered what the wise Woman had said. +The little Lamb thanked the Cook and promised to do as he said. + +Next morning very early before the break of day, the little Lamb +hurried from the wood across the meadow. Not taking time to go near +the pond she hastily pushed against the castle gate which the kind +Cook had left unfastened for her. She ran up the path, and there under +the Queen's window stood the beautiful rose-tree with only two red +roses on it--just as the Cook had said. Not even glancing at the +Queen's window, the little Lamb began nibbling the lowest one. And +behold, there in the path stood Gretchen again! Then hastening to +seize the other rose before the sun's first ray might touch it, she +ran lightly down the path, away from castle ground, across the meadow +to the pond. Calling little Fish to the water's edge--for he had +lingered in the pond--she sprinkled over him the drops of dew in the +heart of the rose. And there stood little Peterkin beside Gretchen! + +Then hand in hand, Gretchen and Peterkin hurried from the pond and +fled into the wood just as the sun began to show beyond the trees. +There they built themselves a cottage and lived in it happily ever +afterwards. The kind Cook and the wise Nurse found them and visited +them. But Gretchen and Peterkin never went near castle ground until +the Cook told them the Queen was no more.--_Laura F. Kready_. + + +_How the Birds came to Have Different Nests Time..._. + +_Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme, +And monkeys chewed tobacco. +And hens took snuff to make them tough, +And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!_ + +_Place_. ... Madge Magpie's Nest up in a Tree-top. + +_Characters_: Madge Magpie, the Teacher; Thrush, Blackbird, Owl, +Sparrow, Starling, and Turtle-Dove. + +_All the Birds_. "We have come to you, Madge Magpie, to ask you to +teach us how to build nests. All the Birds tell how clever you are at +building nests." + +_Magpie_. "Make a circle round about the foot of this old pear-tree. I +will sit upon this limb near my nest and show you how to do it. First +I take some mud and make a fine round cake with it." + +_Thrush_. "Oh, that's how it's done, is it? I'll hurry home! Goodbye, +Birds, I can't stay another minute! + + "Mud in a cake, mud in a cake, + To-whit, to-whee, a nest I'll make!" + +_Magpie_. "Next I take some twigs and arrange them about the mud." + +_Blackbird_. "Now I know all about it. Here I go, I'm off to make my +nest in the cherry-tree in Mr. Smith's cornfield! + + "Sticks upon mud, mud upon sticks, + Caw, caw! I'll make a nest for six!" + +_Magpie_. "See, here I put another layer of mud over the twigs." + +_Wise Owl_. "Oh! That's quite obvious. Strange I never thought of that +before. Farewell, come to see me at the old elm-tree beside the gray +church! + + "Mud over twigs! To-whit, to-whoo! + No better nest than that ever grew!" + +_Magpie_. "See these long twigs. I just twine them round the outside." + +_Sparrow_. "The very thing. I'll do it this very day. I can pick some +up on my way home. I'll choose the spout that looks down over the +school-yard; then I can see the children at play. They must like me +for they never chase me away or hit me. + + "A nest with twigs twined round and round, + Chip, chip! No fear that would fall to the ground!" + +_Magpie_. "And see these little feathers and soft stuff. What a +comfortable, cosy lining for the nest they make!" + +_Starling_. "That suits me! Off I go, I like a cosy warm nest. It +shall be in that old plum-tree in the orchard, on the side of the hill. + + "Feathers and down to make cosy and warm, + That's the nest to keep us from harm!" + +_Magpie_. "Well, Birds, have you seen how I made my nest? Do you think +you know how?--Why, where are all the Birds? They couldn't wait until +I'd finished. Only you, Turtle-Dove, left!" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "Here I put a twig across. But not two--one's +enough!" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "One's enough I tell you, do you not see how I +lay it across?" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "Here I fly away from my nest for awhile! I will teach no +more Birds to build nests. I cannot teach a silly Turtle-Dove who will +not learn. I heard him sing just now as I turned around," + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o, + Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Laura F. Kready_. + + + + +TYPES OF TALES + + +An Animal Tale[15] + +_The Good-Natured Bear_ + + +"I shall never forget the patience, the gentleness, the skill, and the +firmness with which she first taught me to walk alone. I mean to walk +on all fours, of course; the upright manner of my present walking was +only learned afterwards. As this infant effort, however, is one of my +earliest recollections, I have mentioned it before all the rest, and +if you please, I will give you a little account of it." + +"Oh! do, Mr. Bear," cried Gretchen; and no sooner had she uttered the +words than all the children cried out at the same time, "Oh, please +do, sir!" + +The Bear took several long whiffs at his pipe, and thus continued,-- + +"My Mother took me to a retired part of the forest (of Towskipowski, +Poland) where few animals ever came; and telling me that I must now +stand alone, extended both paws, and slowly lowered me towards the +earth. The height as I looked down, seemed terrible, and I felt my +legs kick in the air, with fear of I did not know what, till suddenly +I felt four hard things and no motion. It was the fixed earth beneath +my four infant legs. 'Now,' said my Mother, 'you are what is called +standing alone!' But what she said I heard as in a dream. With my back +in the air as though it rested on a wooden trussel, with my nose +poking out straight snuffing the fresh breeze and the many secrets of +the woods, my ears pricking and shooting with all sorts of new sounds +to wonder at, to want to have, to love, or to tumble down at,--and my +eyes staring before me full of light and confused gold and dancing +things, I seemed to be in a condition over which I had no power to +effect the least change, and in which I must remain fixed till some +wonderful thing happened. But the firm voice of my Mother came to my +assistance and I heard her tell me to look upon the earth beneath me +and see where I was. First I looked up among the boughs, then +side-ways at my shoulder, then I squinted at the tip of my nose--all +by mistake and innocence--at last I bent my nose in despair and saw my +forepaws standing, and this of course was right. The first thing that +caught my attention, being the first thing I saw distinctly, was a +little blue flower with a bright jewel in the middle, which I +afterwards found was a drop of dew. Sometimes I thought this little +blue darling was so close that it almost touched my eyes and certainly +the color of it was up in my head; sometimes I thought it was deep +down, a long way off. When I bent my face towards it to give it a kiss +it seemed just where it was though I had not done what I had thought +to do. + +"The next thing I saw upon the ground was a soft-looking little +creature that crawled along with a round ball upon the middle of its +back, of a beautiful white color, with brown and red curling stripes. +The creature moved very, very slowly, and appeared always to follow +the opinion and advice of two long horns on its head, that went +feeling about on all sides. Presently it slowly approached my right +forepaw and I wondered how I should feel or smell or hear it as it +went over my toes; but the instant one of the horns touched the hair +of my paw, both horns shrunk into nothing and presently came out +again, and the creature slowly moved away in another direction. While +I was wondering at this strange proceeding--for I never thought of +hurting the creature, not knowing how to hurt anything, and what +should have made the horns think otherwise?--while then I was +wondering at this, my attention was suddenly drawn to a tuft of moss +on my right near a hollow tree trunk. Out of this green tuft looked a +pair of very bright round small eyes, which were staring up at me. + +"If I had known how to walk I should have stepped back a few steps +when I saw those bright little eyes, but I never ventured to lift a +paw from the earth since my Mother had first set me down, nor did I +know how to do so, or what were the proper thoughts or motions to +begin with. So I stood looking at the eyes and presently I saw that +the head was yellow and that it had a large mouth. 'What you have just +seen,' said my Mother, 'we call a snail; and what you now see is a +frog.' The names however did not help me at all to understand. Why the +first should have turned from my paw so suddenly and why this creature +should continue to stare up at me in such a manner I could not +conceive. I expected however that it would soon come slowly crawling +forth and then I should see whether it would also avoid me in the same +manner. I now observed that its body and breast were double some-how, +and that its paws were very large for its size, but had no hair upon +them, which I thought was probably occasioned by its slow crawling +having rubbed it all off. I had scarcely made these observations and +reflections, when a beam of bright light breaking through the trees, +the creature suddenly gave a great hop right up under my nose; and I, +thinking the world was at an end, instantly fell flat down on one side +and lay there waiting!"-- + +With this glimpse of an old-time modern animal tale we shall have to +say with "Mr. Titmarsh," "Those who wish to know more about him must +buy the book for themselves,"--and add: Or they must get some +enterprising publisher to reprint it. + + +A Few Romantic Tales[16] + +_Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter_ + +_Puss-in-Boots_, a romantic tale suited to the first grade, delights +with its strong sense of adventure and of the heroic. Puss is a +Master-Cat, a hero clever and quick, and with fine imagination to see +what would happen and prepare for it. He is successful, combining +initiative and motivation delightfully. His devotion to his master +seems like disinterested loyalty, love, and sacrifice. While it is +true the plot is based on a lie, the moral effect is not bad because +we recognize Puss as a match-making character similar to the +matchmaking Jackal of India; and in love "all is fair." Moreover +Puss-in-Boots was only true to his cat-nature in playing a trick, and +we admire the cleverness of his trick in behalf of a master really +deserving. The underlying philosophy of the tale, "That there is a +power in making the best with what you possess," appeals to all, and +has the ability to lend dignity and force to the light intrigue of the +tale. + +The setting in _Puss-in-Boots_ gives a touch of nature beauty. First +we have the Miller's poor home, and from there we are led in +succession to the brambles through which Puss scampered; the rabbits' +warren where he lay in waiting to bag the heedless rabbits; the palace +to which he took the rabbits caught by the Marquis of Carabas; the +cornfield where he bagged the partridges; the river-side where the +Marquis bathed; the meadow where the countrymen were mowing; the +cornfields where the good people were reaping; until at last we are +escorted to the stately castle where the Ogre dwelt. + +The plot of the tale is very pleasing as it easily arranges itself +into a simple drama of three acts:-- + + Act I, + Scene i. Revery of the Master. The Cat's promise to help. + Scene ii. Puss in the rabbits' warren with his bag. + Scene iii. Puss takes the rabbits to the King in his + palace. + + Act II, + Scene i. Puss with his bag in the cornfield. + Scene ii. Puss takes partridges to the King. + Scene iii. Puss and his Master. Puss gives advice. + + Act III, + Scene i. The Marquis bathing and Puss by the river-side. + Scene ii. The Drive. Puss runs before and meets the mowers. + Scene iii. The Ogre's Castle. Puss's reception of the coach. + Marriage of the Marquis of Carabas. Puss + becomes a Lord. + +The tale possesses an appeal to the emotions, we want Puss-in-Boots to +accomplish whatever scheme he invents, and we want the Miller's son to +win the Princess. Its appeal to the imagination is an orderly +succession of images, varied and pleasing. The invention of Puss and +his successful adventures make the tale one of unusual interest, +vivacity, and force. The transformation of the Ogre into a Lion and +again into a Mouse, and the consequent climax of Puss's management of +the Mouse, bring in the touch of the miraculous. A similar +transformation occurs in Hesiod, where the transformed Metis is +swallowed by Zeus. This transformation may be produced by a witch, +when the help of another is needed, as in _Beauty and the Beast_ and +in _Hansel and Grethel_; or the transformation may come from within, +as in this case when the Ogre changes himself into a Mouse, or when a +man changes himself into a Wolf. A situation which parallels the theme +of Puss-in-Boots occurs in _The Golden Goose_ where Dummling gets as +his share only a goose, but having the best disposition makes his +fortune out of his goose. Grimm's _Three Feathers_ also contains a +similar motif. D'Aulnoy's _White Cat_, the feminine counterpart of +_Puss-in-Boots_, is a tale of pleasing fancy in which the hero wins +the White Cat, a transformed Princess, who managed to secure for him, +the youngest son, the performance of all the tasks his father had set +for him. + +But the most interesting parallel of _Puss-in-Boots_ is the Norse +_Lord Peter_ told by Dasent in _Norse Tales_. Here the helpful Cat +does not use a bag, but in true Norse fashion catches game in the wood +by sitting on the head of the reindeer and threatening, "If you don't +go straight to the King's palace, I'll claw your eyes out!" The Norse +tale omits the bathing episode. The King wants to visit Lord Peter but +the Cat manages that Lord Peter shall visit the King. The Cat promises +to supply coach, horses and clothes, not by craft--their source is not +given--but they are furnished on the condition that Peter must obey to +say always, when he sees fine things in the Castle, that he has far +finer things of his own. In the Norse tale Peter and the Cat work +together, Peter is in the secret; while in the Perrault tale Puss does +all the managing, Carabas is simply being entertained by the King. In +the Norse tale, on the way home the coach meets a flock of sheep, a +herd of fine kine, and a drove of horses. The Cat does not threaten +that the caretakers shall be "chopped as fine as herbs for the pot," +if they do not say all belongs to Lord Peter, but he cunningly bribes +the shepherd with a silver spoon, the neat-herd with a silver ladle, +and the drover with a silver stoop. In place of the Ogre's Castle, +there is a Troll's Castle with three gates--one of tin, one of silver, +and one of gold. The Norse Cat wins the victory by craftily playing +upon the troll-nature. He gains the Troll's attention by meeting him +at the gate and telling him about the secrets of agriculture, one of +the secrets of men the trolls wanted to learn. Then at the height of +interest, he plays upon his curiosity by getting him to look round. +Whereupon, the Troll, meeting the glare of the full sun, burst; for +trolls cannot bear the sight of the sun, and live. In the Norse tale, +the Cat, after Lord Peter at her request cuts off her head, becomes +the Princess and marries Lord Peter. In Perrault's tale, the King, +with French etiquette and diplomacy, invites the Marquis to be his +son-in-law. + +The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ appeared in _Straparola_, 11, 1, and in +_Basile_, 2, 4. Laboulaye, in his _Last Fairy Tales_, has retold the +Pentamerone tale, _Gagliuso_, in which the Cat is a crafty advocate of +his Master's interests, but the Master is ungrateful and forgets the +Cat. The effect of the tale is not pleasing, it is a satire on +gratitude. + +The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ is also told by Ludwig Tieck, with twelve +etchings by Otto Speckter, published in Leipzig, in 1843. A critic, +writing for the Quarterly Review in 1844, "An Article on Children's +Books,"[17] recommended this edition of _Puss-in-Boots_ as the beau +ideal of nursery books. _Puss-in-Boots_ appeared also in the Swedish +of Cavallius. A monograph on the Carabas tale has been written by +Andrew Lang. + + +_Tom Thumb and Little Thumb_ + +_Tom Thumb_, another romantic tale suited to the first grade, is one +of the most entertaining of tales. The germ of _Tom Thumb_ exists in +various forms in the books of the far East, among American Indians, +and among the Zulus of South Africa. Tom Thumb is one of the oldest +characters in English nursery literature. In 1611, the ancient tales +of Tom Thumb were said to have been "in the olde time the only +survivors of drouzy age at midnight. Old and young, with his tales +chim'd mattens till the cock's crow in the morning. Batchelors and +maids have with his tales compassed the Christmas fireblocke till the +curfew bell rings candle out. The old shepheard and the young plowboy, +after a days' labour, have carol'ed out a _Tale of Tom Thumb_ to make +them merry with, and who but little Tom hath made long nights seem +short and heavy toyles easie." + +_Tom Thumb_, as has been previously mentioned, most probably was +transmitted to England by the early Norsemen. _The Tale of Tom Thumb_, +as told by Jacobs, was taken from the chap-book version in +_Halliwell_. The first mention of Tom is in Scot's _Discoverie of +Witchcraft_, in 1584. Tradition says that Tom died at Lincoln, which +was one of the five Danish towns of England. A little blue flagstone +in the cathedral, said to be his tombstone, was lost and has never +been replaced during recent repairs early in the nineteenth century. +_Tom Thumb_ was first written in prose by Richard Johnson, in 1621. In +Ashton's _Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century_ we have a facsimile of +the chap-book, _The Famous History of Tom Thumb_. The tale is in three +parts. The first part, which is much superior to the rest of the tale, +was taken from a copy printed for John Wright, in 1630. The second and +third parts were written about 1700. The first part closes with the +death of Tom from knightly feats. He was buried in great pomp, but the +fairies carried him to Fairy Land. The first part closed with a +promise of the second:-- + + The Fairy Queen, she lov'd him so + As you shall understand, + That once again she let him go + Down to the Fairy Land. + + The very time that he return'd + Unto the court again, + It was as we are well inform'd + In good King Arthur's reign. + + When in the presence of the King, + He many wonders wrought, + Recited in the Second Part + Which now is to be bought + + In Bow Church Yard, where is sold + Diverting Histories many; + And pleasant tales as e'er was told + For purchase of One Penny. + +The second part opens with Tom's return to Fairy Land. His second +death is caused by a combat with a cat. Again he is taken to Fairy +Land. In the third part the Fairy Queen sends Tom to earth in King +Thunston's reign. His final death occurred from the bite of a spider. + +_The Life and Adventures of Tom Thumb_ appeared in the _Tabart +Collection of Fairy Tales_, noted before, and a version entirely in +verse was included in _Halliwell_. A monograph on _Tom Thumb_ was +written by M. Gaston Paris. _Little Thumb_ as it appeared in +_Perrault_ and in _Basile_, was a tale similar to the German _Hansel +and Grethel_. _Thumbling_, and _Thumbling as Journeyman_ are German +variants. Andersen's _Thumbelina_ is a feminine counterpart to _Tom +Thumb_, and in Laboulaye's _Poucinet_ we have a tale of the successful +younger brother, similarly diminutive. + +There were current many old stories of characters similar to Tom +Thumb. A certain man was so thin that he could jump through the eye of +a needle. Another crept nimbly to a spider's web which was hanging in +the air, and danced skillfully upon it until a spider came, which spun +a thread round his neck and throttled him. A third was able to pierce +a sunmote with his head and pass his whole body through it. A fourth +was in the habit of riding an ant, but the ant threw him off and +trampled him. In a work written in 1601, referred to in Grimm's +_Household Tales_ a spider relates:-- + + Once did I catch a tailor proud + Heavy he was as elder wood, + From Heaven above he'd run a race, + With an old straw hat to this place, + In Heaven he might have stayed no doubt, + For no one wished to turn him out. + He fell in my web, hung in a knot, + Could not get out, I liked it not, + That e'en the straw hat, safe and sound, + Nine days ere him came to the ground. + +A delightful little rhyme, _Tom Thumb_, is among Halliwell's _Nursery +Rhymes_. It may refer to the Danish _History of Tom Thumb_: + + I had a little husband + No bigger than my thumb; + I put him in a pint pot + And there I bade him drum: + I bridled him and saddled him, + And sent him out of town; + I gave him a pair of garters + To tie up his little hose; + And a little handkerchief + To wipe his little nose. + +The English version of _Tom Thumb_ as we know it today, opens with a +visit of the magician Merlin at the cottage of an honest and +hospitable ploughman. Merlin rewarded the Goodman and his Wife for +their hospitality by calling on the Queen of the fairies, who brought +to the home, Tom Thumb, a boy no bigger than a man's thumb. + +The time of the tale is in the days of Merlin and King Arthur's court. +The tale is marked by a number of distinct English elements. The +introduction of the Queen of the Fairies, of Fairy Land and the visit +there, and of the fairy clothes they make for Tom, are all decidedly +English. The sly ways of Tom, his tricks and his cleverness are +distinctly English humor. He played with the boys for cherry-stones, +and took theirs. He had so much curiosity that he fell into his +mother's pudding. He was so light that on a windy day he had to be +tied to a thistle when his mother went to milk the cow; and so, with +his oak-leaf hat, he got caught in the cow's one mouthful. After other +strange adventures he arrived at King Arthur's court where he became +the favorite. His feats at tilts and tournaments give a glimpse of +English court life, with its pastime of hunting; and fighting with the +sword brings in the knight element. The story has little plot, being a +succession of many episodes and a repetition of some. It shows little +constructive ability, promises to be a perpetual tale, and is ended +only by sudden death at the poisonous breath of the spider. _Tom +Thumb_ is one of the tales of pure fancy, with no underlying meaning, +created for pure entertainment, to please children and grown-ups by +its little people and little things. The moral is in the effect of +Tom's character. + +Perrault's _Little Thumb_ tells how a poor Fagot-maker and his Wife +sat by the hearth, sad with famine, and Little Thumb overheard their +words. When they started to the wood to gather fagots, Little Thumb, +like Hansel, scattered pebbles. The parents left the seven children in +the wood but little Thumb guided them home by his pebbles. They set +out a second time, when Little Thumb scattered bread-crumbs; and as +the birds ate them, the children were lost. Little Thumb climbed a +tree and saw the light of the Ogre's cottage afar off. The children +reached the Ogre's cottage where Little Thumb changed the golden +crowns of the seven little Ogresses, and putting them on his brothers, +saved their lives. Then they all fled through the wood and hid in a +rock, while the Ogre in his seven-league boots, pursued them and lay +down to rest at the rock in which they were hidden. Little Thumb sent +his brothers home, stole the fairy boots, and through craft, persuaded +the Ogre's Wife to give him all the Ogre's gold. So, rich and happy, +he returned to his father's home. + +This tale shows a number of common motifs that appear in other tales: + + (1) The design of distressed parents to expose children to the + forest. + + (2) The discovery and prevention of the scheme by a child. + + (3) The repetition of incident; the clew spoiled by the birds. + The trail motif, similar to the one in _Hansel and Grethel_. + + (4) The arrival of children at the home of the Ogre. + + (5) The shifting of crowns to the heads of his brothers. + + (6) The flight of the brothers pursued by the Ogre in + seven-league boots. + + (7) Little Thumb, stealing the boots and winning court favor, or + the Ogre's treasure. + +Some say that in this tale, symbolically, the forest represents night; +the crumbs and pebbles, stars; and the Ogre, the sun. Little Thumb, +because of his cunning and invention, has been called the Ulysses of +the fairy tales. His adventure with the Ogre at the rock, while not a +parallel one, reminds one of Ulysses and Polyphemus. Both succeeded in +getting the better of the giant. An English edition of this tale was +illustrated by William Blake. + +_Snow White and Rose Red_ + +_Snow White and Rose Red_, besides blending the romantic and the +realistic, illustrates rather completely how the old tale may stand +the tests which have been emphasized here. As a romantic type, it +contains adventure and the picturesque. It arouses emotion. It +contains objects of beauty; and the strange Bear and the stranger +Dwarf, about both of whom there is a sense of mystery. It exaggerates +character and incidents beyond the normal,--the Mother and Daughters +were more lovely than mortals usually are,--and the harmony between +man and beast may belong to the millennium rather than to this common +earth. This is one of the most romantic of fairy tales in that it is a +highly idealized type. + +The story was current in Germany before the time of the Grimms, and +appeared in the collection of Caroline Stahl. The rhyme,-- + + Snowy-white, rosy-red, + Will ye strike your lover dead? + +was taken from a popular song, and is found in a child's story in +_Taschenbuch Minerva_ for 1813. + +_Snow White and Rose Red_ is full of many beauties; the characters are +beautiful, the setting is beautiful, and the spirit of the whole is +full of beauty. There is sister-love; and mother-love--not the selfish +kind that loves but its own, but that similar to the rich growth of +our modern times, when mother-love seeks to include those without the +home. There is genuine kindness that pours its sweetness on the Bear +or on the Dwarf, that falls like the rain on the deserving and on the +ungrateful; there is devotion to animals and a lack of enmity between +man and beast; and there is a portrayal of the beauty of domestic life +and of the charms of childhood in simple life--its play, its pleasure, +and its tasks. This is all set as in two pictures whose sky is the +golden glow of passion for the sun and the spring-time and summer it +brings. In the first picture, on the edge of the forest stands a +little cottage before whose gate grow two rose-trees, a red rose-tree +and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the beauty of the +spring-time and of the rich fruitage of summer, but also symbols +typifying the more wondrous beauty of the character of the two +children, Snow White and Rose Red. In the second picture, a tall +palace rears itself, before whose gate grow two rose-trees also, a red +rose-tree and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the same beauty +of spring-time and fruitage of summer, but also symbols typifying the +beauty of loveliness and the fairness of happiness and prosperity that +guarded from harm the lives of the deserving Snow White and Rose Red, +and continued to bless them to the close. + +First, looking at the characters in this tale, we see a Mother who +illustrates the richness of womanhood. She managed her own home and +kept it a place of beauty and cheer. She had two daughters, both +lovely, but very different. She recognized this difference and +respected it, and permitted each child to enjoy a delightful freedom +to grow as was her nature. She permitted the children to play but she +also commanded willing obedience. She arranged their work with +fairness so that each had her share and each seemed free in doing that +work to use her individual taste and judgment. She taught her children +to spin and to sew, and she read to them. She told them about the +guardian Angel who watched over them to keep them from harm. She was +not anxious when they were out of sight, for even when Snow White and +Rose Red stayed in the wood all night and slept on the leaves, she had +no fear, for no accident ever happened to them. As a strong, noble +woman, without fear, and full of love, pity, and fairness,--George +Eliot's ideal of highest character,--the Mother of Snow White and Rose +Red has no equal in the fairy tales. + +The two Children, beautiful as the roses that grew outside the +cottage, were both industrious, good, amiable little girls, who in +their natural sweetness showed the spirit of the Golden Age when peace +and good-will dwelt among men. They were natural children and they +loved to play. They gathered berries in the forest, they played +hide-and-seek among the trees, they waded in the river, went fishing, +made wreaths of flowers, and played with their animal friends. They +fed the hares cauliflower, or watched the fawns grazing and the goats +frisking; and even the birds loved them and did not fly away when they +were near. In the home they kept things not only clean but beautiful; +they not only did work but took pleasure in doing that work. Now at a +time when domestic life in the home is being threatened, _Snow White +and Rose Red_ gives a realistic picture of the beauty of domestic +life, its simple joys and charm. In summer there was always a nose-gay +for the Mother, and in winter there was a cheery fire with a copper +kettle over it, shining like gold. And in the evening when the snow +fell fast outside, inside was warmth and comfort. The Children sat +sewing and the Mother reading, while a lamb and a white dove beside +them enjoyed their protection and care. + +The entrance of the Bear gave the Children a natural thrill of fear. +But the Mother, with beautiful hospitality, gave the Bear protection +and kindness and led them to overcome that fear. To the Bear they +showed that good nature which willingly serves; and in the tricks they +played with their comrade they showed a great strength of vitality and +that freedom which grows where there is no repression. + +The Bear departed at spring-time; and as he left Snow White thought +she saw glittering gold under his coat. This seems to hint that the +tale is symbolic, typifying the change of seasons. Spring, the Bear, +took refuge in the cottage during the cold winter months; but in the +spring he had to go abroad into the forest, to guard his treasures +from the evil Dwarf of winter. + +The Children again showed their sweetness and good nature when, while +gathering sticks, they came upon the Dwarf, with his wrinkled face and +snow-white beard, the end of which was caught in a split of a tree. +The contrast is delightful, between the cross and impatient Dwarf and +Rose Red who offered to fetch help, and Snow White who politely tried +to soothe his impatience by cutting off the end of his beard with her +scissors. This time the Dwarf snatched a sack of gold which lay at the +foot of the tree, and fled, most ungrateful, not even thanking the +Children. The Children had two other adventures with the Dwarf; and +these, together with their adventure with the Bear, make up the plot +of the story. They met the Dwarf a second time, one day when they went +fishing. Then Rose Red told him to be careful or he'd fall into the +water, because a great fish was pulling on the bait and his beard +became entangled in the fishing-line. Snow White again cut off the end +of his beard to free him and again he snatched his bag--this time of +pearls, lying among the rushes--and fled. One day, on going to town to +buy thread, needles, laces, and ribbons, they met the Dwarf a third +time. This time an eagle had caught him and was about to carry him +off. The Children, with compassion, held on and freed him; but again +he scolded, seized his bag of precious stones, and slipped away to his +cave. On their return from town, the Children again met the Dwarf, in +the wood, counting his treasure. Again he was very angry, but just +then the Bear arrived out of the forest and demanded the life of the +Dwarf. The Dwarf offered up in his stead, Snow White and Rose Red. But +the Bear, faithful to his old comrades, slew the Dwarf, and then +becoming a beautiful Prince, went home with the Sisters. Snow White +married the Prince and Rose Red his Brother, and they all lived with +their Mother happily in the beautiful palace. + +When the Bear slew the Dwarf spring returned to the land. The Dwarf +with his snow-white beard seems to typify winter. Each time the +Dwarf's beard was cut the beard of winter became shorter, another +winter month was gone, and there remained a shorter season. The bag of +gold which the Dwarf first took might signify the golden fruit of +autumn, and the pearls and diamonds which he next took, the ice and +snow of winter. The Dwarf's beard became entangled in the fishing-line +when the icy winds of winter began to give the pond its frozen coat; +and then the animals of the wood were compelled to seek a refuge. When +the Bear came out of the wood to meet the Dwarf and slew him, the time +for the departure of winter was at hand, and spring returned to the +land. + +This fairy tale evidently shows a good, interesting plot, with +something happening all the time. The climax is very distinctly +marked, everything leads up to the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf +in the forest. The characters present interesting variety and strong +contrasts. The setting is unusually beautiful: the cottage, the wood, +the lake, the town, the hillside, the palace, and the two symbolic +rose-trees. The tale appeals to the emotions of love, kindness, +compassion, and gratitude. It presents to the imagination distinct +episodes: the home-life of the Children in the cottage, their life in +the wood, their adventure with the Bear, their three adventures with +the Dwarf, and the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf. The conclusion +follows closely upon the climax,--the Bear, grateful to the kind +Children, saved their lives and re-transformed, became a Prince. The +happy marriage brings the tale to a close, with the palace home +guarded by the two rose-trees. The message of the tale is the possible +beauty of woman's love and character, and the loveliness of spring and +of summer. + +A Modern Tale[18] + +_The Elephant's Child_ + + +_The Elephant's Child_ might be examined here more particularly +because it is unusually interesting as an example of the complete test +applied to the child's fairy tale. One need not test it as to interest +for it was written especially for children by one who could play with +them. As to literature it certainly has mind and soul; there is no +doubt about its structure or its appeal to the sympathies. The +quantity of good humor and fun it bestows upon childhood is a +permanent enrichment; for even a child's world has need of all the +good cheer and fun that can be given to it. + +This tale is especially interesting also because it might be classed +as almost any one of the types of tales. It is not accumulative though +it possesses to a marked degree three characteristics of the +accumulative tale, repetition, alliteration, and all sorts of phonic +effects. And it is not an old tale. But it is not only one of the most +pleasing animal tales we possess but one of the best humorous tales +having the rare quality of freshness. It is realistic in its portrayal +of animal life; and it is highly romantic in its sense of adventure, +the heroic, the strange, and the remote. + +As a short-story it shows the essentials, originality, ingenuity, and +compression. The single interest is how the Elephant got his trunk, +and everything points to the climax of his getting it. The plot is +"entertaining, novel, comical and thrilling." The structure is very +easily seen in these ten episodes:-- + + 1. The introduction; the family; the Child; his home; his + questions; the new, fine question. + 2. The Elephant's Child set out to answer his own question. + 3. The Elephant's Child met Kolokolo Bird. + 4. The Elephant's Child journeyed to the Limpopo. + 5. The Elephant's Child met the Python. + 6. The Elephant's Child met the Crocodile. He got his trunk. + (Climax.) + 7. The Elephant's Child gained experience from the Python. + 8. The Elephant's Child's journey home. + 9. The Elephant's Child's return home. + 10. Conclusion. How all elephants got trunks. Peace. + +The characters are unique and interesting. They are usual animals but +unusual in what they say. They exhibit animal traits and motives but +they also show us a hidden meaning in their actions and words. They +seem living, they speak directly; yet they preserve the idea of the +fable for they are symbolic. The Elephant's Child typifies human +innocence, the inexperience of youth; the Kolokolo Bird, a friend; the +Python, experience or wisdom; and the Crocodile, guile or evil. All +the animals become very interesting because we are concerned to know +their particular reason for spanking the "'satiable Elephant's Child." +What they say is so humorous and what they do is consistent, in +harmony with their natural animal traits. The Child is the hero. He is +a very attractive character because he has that rare charm we call +temperament. He is curious, polite, and sweet, and follows his own +nose in spite of everything. He wins out with strength, experience, +and a new nose; and we are rejoiced at his triumphs. His questions are +so funny and yet they seem quite what any elephant with a bump of +curiosity might ask. To the Giraffe--"What made his skin spotty?" To +the Hippopotamus--"Why her eyes were red?" To the Baboon--"Why melons +tasted just so?" And at last, "What does the Crocodile have for +dinner?" + +The setting of the tale is suggested continually in expressions which +show visual imagination of a high order: such as, "And he lived in +Africa"; "dragged him through a thorn bush"; "blew bubbles into her +ear"; "hove him into a hornet's nest"; and "from Graham's Town to +Kimberley and from Kimberley to Khama's Country, and from Khama's +Country east by north to the Limpopo." + +The tale possesses most delightful humor. A verbal magic which fairly +scintillates with the comic spirit, and clinging epithets of which +Kipling is a master, suggest the exact picture needed. Humor is +secured largely through the use of the unique word; as, "_spanked_," +"_precisely_ as Kolokolo Bird had said," and "for he was a _Tidy_ +Pachyderm." Often it is increased by the use of newly coined words; +as, "hijjus," "curtiosity," "scalesome, flailsome, tail," +"fever-trees," "self-propelling man-of-war," and "schloop of mud." +Another element of humor in the tale is the artistic use of +repetition, which has been previously referred to as one of the +child's interests. Sometimes one meaning is expressed in several +different ways; as, "immediately and directly, without stopping, for a +long time." Or we are given contrasted terms; as, "a little warm but +not at all astonished," and then later, "very warm and greatly +astonished." One main element of humor is this way in which +expressions reflect back on preceding ones. Sometimes we are given +very surprising, startling, expressions; as, "wait-a-bit-thorn-bush +"--which reminds us of the "all-alone-stone" in _Water Babies_--and +"he sang to himself down his trunk." + +As to imagination, _The Elephant's Child_ is a delightful illustration +of the appeal to the associative, the penetrative, and the +contemplative imagination. While its philosophy may be understood in +part by the child it has a deeper meaning for the adult. It seems to +imply that it is the way of life to spank somebody else. It is the +stronger who spank the weaker until they become strong enough to stand +up for themselves. Then nobody spanks anybody any more and there is +peace. When the Child asked a question that no one would answer he set +out to find his own answer just as in life it often is best to work to +answer one's own questions. When the Elephant trusted the Crocodile he +got something to keep just as in life the innocent may bear the marks +of a contest though in no sense responsible for the contest. +Experience in the guise of the Python helped the Child in his contest +for life with the advice his own common sense would have offered. As +an allegory of Experience _The Elephant's Child_ does not view life as +a whole; it gives but a glimpse of life. It would say: Experience +teaches us to make the best with what we have. The way to get +experience is to try a new power, just as the Child with his trunk +tried to kill the fly and eat grass. As soon as he had received his +new power he tested it on the Hippopotamous. He won the respect of his +kind by beating them at their own game. + +The emotional appeal in _The Elephant's Child_ would repay study. The +dominant emotional tone is that of the adventurous hero with his +"'satiable curtiosity." There is vividness of emotion, steadiness of +emotion, and a rich variety in the contrasts of feeling. Emotion of a +moral quality is characteristic of its implied message of worldly +wisdom but it does not leave one exactly satisfied. + +The form of the story is a splendid example of a literary classic +style. A pleasing humorous touch is given to the unity of the tale by +making the Elephant's Child pick up with his new trunk, on his way +home, the melon-rinds he had scattered on his journey to the Limpopo. +The coherence in the tale is unusually fine and is secured largely by +expressions which look backward or forwards; as, "By and by when that +was finished," or "One fine morning," or "That very next morning." Any +study will show that the tale possesses the general qualities of form +and has its parts controlled by the principles of composition. + + + + +OUTLINE + + + I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES + + I. Two public tributes 1 + + II. The value of fairy tales in education 3 + + 1. They bring joy into child-life 3 + + 2. They satisfy the play-spirit of childhood 4 + + 3. They give a power of accurate observation 6 + + 4. They strengthen the power of emotion, develop the + power of imagination, train the memory and + exercise the reason 6 + + 5. They extend and intensify the child's social + relations 7 + + 6. In school they unify the child's work or play 8 + + 7. In the home they employ leisure time profitably 9 + + 8. They afford a vital basis for language-training 10 + + III. References 12 + +II. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES + + I. The interests of children 13 + + 1. Fairy tales must follow the law of composition + and must contain the interests of children 13 + + a. A sense of life 14 + + b. The familiar 14 + + c. The surprise 15 + + d. Sense impression 17 + + e. The beautiful 18 + + f. Wonder, mystery, magic 19 + + g. Adventure 19 + + h. Success 20 + + i. Action 20 + + j. Humor 21 + + k. Poetic justice 22 + + l. The imaginative 23 + + m. Animals 24 + + n. A portrayal of human relations, especially + with children 24 + + o. The diminutive 25 + + p. Rhythm and repetition 26 + + q. The simple and sincere 28 + + r. Unity of effect 29 + + 2. Fairy tales must follow the law of the emotions + and avoid elements opposed to the interests of + the very young child 30 + + a. The tale of the witch 31 + + b. The tale of the dragon 31 + + c. Giant tales 31 + + d. Some tales of transformation 32 + + e. The tale of strange animal relations and + strange creatures 33 + + f. Unhappy tales 34 + + g. The tale of capture 34 + + h. The very long tale 35 + + i. The complicated or the insincere tale 36 + + II. The fairy tale as literature 37 + + 1. The fairy tale must be a true classic 38 + + 2. The fairy tale must have mind and soul 39 + + 3. The fairy tale must have the distinguishing + marks of literature 40 + + a. A power to appeal to the emotions 41 + + 1) Literary emotion is not personal 41 + + 2) Literary emotion must have justness 41 + + 3) Literary emotion must have vividness 41 + + 4) Literary emotion must have steadiness 41 + + 5) Literary emotion must have variety 41 + + 6) Literary emotion must have moral quality 41 + + 7) Application of the test of emotion to the + Fairy tales 41 + + 8) The value of fairy tales in the development + of emotion 44 + + b. A power to appeal to the imagination 45 + + 1) Appeal to the creative imagination 45 + + 2) Appeal to the associative imagination 46 + + a) Appeal to fancy 46 + + 3) Appeal to the penetrative imagination 47 + + 4) Appeal to the contemplative imagination 47 + + a) Philosophy in the fairy tales 48 + + b) Proverbs in the fairy tales 50 + + c) Relation of the contemplative + imagination to science 52 + + c. A basis of truth, or appeal to the intellect 53 + + 1) The truth must be idealistic 53 + + a) It may be realistic 53 + + b) It may be romantic 53 + + 2) Value of the appeal of literature to the + intellect 53 + + d. A form more or less perfect 54 + + 1) The elements of form: words, sentences, + paragraphs, and wholes 58 + + a) Words, the medium of language must + have two powers 54 + + (1) Denotation, to name what they + mean 54 + + (2) Connotation, to suggest what they + imply 54 + + b) Suggestive power of words illustrated 55 + + 2) General qualities characteristic of perfect + form 57 + + a) Precision or clearness 57 + + (1) Precision demands that words have + denotation 57 + + (2) Precision appeals to the intellect 57 + + b) Energy or force 57 + + (1) Energy demands that words have + connotation 58 + + (2) Energy appeals to the emotions and + holds the attention 58 + + c) Delicacy or emotional harmony 58 + + (1) Delicacy demands that words have + the power of adaptation 58 + + (2) Delicacy demands that form appeal + to the æsthetic sense 58 + + (3) Delicacy is secured by selection and + arrangement of words according to + emotional associations 58 + + d) Personality 58 + + (1) Personality gives the charm of + individuality 58 + + (2) Personality suggests the character + of the writer 58 + + 3) Principles controlling the elements + of form, principles of composition 58 + + a) The principle of sincerity 58 + + (1) Sincerity demands a just expression 58 + + b) The principle of unity 59 + + (1) Unity demands a central idea 59 + + (2) Unity demands completeness 59 + + (3) Unity demands no irrelevant material 59 + + (4) Unity demands method, sequence + and climax 59 + + c) The principle of mass 59 + + (1) Mass demands that the chief parts + readily catch the eye 59 + + (2) Mass demands harmonious proportion + of parts 59 + + d) The principle of coherence 59 + + (1) Coherence demands unmistakable + relation of parts 59 + + (2) Coherence demands this unmistakable + relation be preserved by the + order, forms and connections 59 + + 4) Form characterized by perfect adaptation + of words to thought and feeling is called + style 59 + + a) Style demands that form possess the + four general qualities of form in + perfection: precision, energy, delicacy, + and personality 59 + + b) Style demands that form have its + elements controlled by the four general + principles: sincerity, unity, mass, and + coherence 59 + + c) _Oeyvind and Marit_, a modern tale + illustrating style 60 + + d) _Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, a folk-tale + illustrating style 64 + + e) The folk-tale generally considered as to + literary form 65 + + f) The tale by Grimm, Perrault, Dasent, + Harris, Jacobs, Lang, and Andersen + considered as to literary form 67 + + g) The tale of to-day considered as to + literary form 69 + + III. The fairy tale as a short-story 70 + + 1. Characters 71 + + a. Characters must be unique, original, and + striking 72 + + b. Characters of the fairy tales 72 + + 2. Plot 73 + + a. Plot must be entertaining, comical, novel, or + thrilling 73 + + b. Plot must show a beginning, a middle, and + an end 73 + + c. Plot must have a distinct climax 74 + + d. Introduction must be simple 74 + + e. Conclusion must show poetic justice 74 + + f. Plot must be good narration and description 74 + + 1) Narration must have truth, interest, and + consistency 74 + + 2) Description must have aptness and + concreteness 75 + + g. Structure illustrated by _Three Pigs_ and + _Briar Rose_ 76 + + 3. Setting 77 + + a. Setting must give the time and place, the + background of the tale 77 + + b. Setting must arouse sensation and feeling 77 + + c. Effect of transformation of setting 77 + + 1) Story sequence preserved by setting + illustrated by _Robin's Christmas Song_ 78 + + d. Setting and phonics, illustrated. _The + Spider and the Flea_ 79 + + e. Setting illustrated. _Chanticleer and + Partlet_ 81 + + 4. A blending of characters, plot, and setting + illustrated by _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ 82 + + 5. Tests to be applied to fairy tales 84 + + 6. Tales examined and tested by the complete test + of interests, classic, literature, short-story, + narration, and description 84 + + a. _How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went to + Dinner_ (Indian) 84 + + b. The Straw Ox (Cossack) 86 + + IV. References 87 + + +III. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES + + Story-telling as an Art. Introductory 90 + + 1. Story-telling as an ancient art 90 + + 2. The place of the story in the home, library, and + the school 93 + + 3. Principles of story-telling 94 + + I. The teacher's preparation. Rules 94 + + 1. Select the tale for some purpose 94 + + a. The teacher's problem of selecting the tale + psychologically or logically 95 + + 2. Know the tale historically as folk-lore, as + literature, and as a short-story 96 + + a. The various motives contained in the fairy + tales listed 97 + + 3. Master the structure of the tale 99 + + 4. Dwell upon the life of the story 99 + + 5. Secure the message 100 + + 6. Master the form 100 + + II. The presentation of the tale 102 + + 1. Training of the voice 103 + + a. Study of phonetics 103 + + 2. Exercises in breathing 104 + + 3. A knowledge of gesture 105 + + a. Gesture precedes speech 106 + + b. Gesture begins in the face 106 + + c. Hands and arms lie close to the body in + controlled emotion 106 + + 4. A power of personality 106 + + 5. Suggestions for telling 107 + + a. The establishment of the personal relation + between the teacher and the listener 108 + + b. The placing of the story in a concrete + situation for the child 110 + + c. The consideration of the child's aim in + listening, by the teacher in her preparation 112 + + 6. The telling of the tale 112 + + a. The re-creative method of story-telling. + Illustrated by a criticism of the telling of + _The Princess and the Pea_ 114 + + b. The re-creative method illustrated by _The + Foolish, Timid Rabbit_ 116 + + 7. Adaptation of the fairy tale. Illustrated by + _Thumbelina_ and by _The Snow Man_ 118 + + III. The return from the child 119 + + Story-telling as one phase of the art of teaching. + Introductory 119 + + 1. Teaching as good art and as great art; and + fairy tales as subject-matter suited to + accomplish high purposes in teaching 120 + + 2. The part the child has to play in story-telling 121 + + 3. The child's return, the expression of his + natural instincts or general interests 125 + + 1. The instinct of conversation 125 + + a. Language expression, oral re-telling 125 + + b. The formation of original little stories 126 + + c. Reading of the tale a form of creative + reaction 127 + + 2. The instinct of inquiry 127 + + a. Appeal of the folk-tale to this instinct 128 + + b. The instinct of inquiry united to the instinct + of conversation, of construction, and of + artistic expression, illustrated 128 + + 3. The instinct of construction 129 + + a. Clay-modelling 129 + + b. Construction of objects 129 + + 4. The instinct of artistic expression 130 + + a. Cutting of free silhouette pictures. + Illustrated 130 + + b. Drawing and crayon-sketching. Illustrated 132 + + c. Painting. Illustrated 132 + + d. Song. Illustrated 133 + + e. Dance, rhythm plays. Illustrated 134 + + f. Game. Illustrated 135 + + g. Representation of the fairy tale. Illustrated + by _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ 135 + + h. Free play and dramatization 138 + + 1) Virtues of dramatization 138 + + a) It develops voice 138 + + b) It gives grace of movement 138 + + c) It develops control and poise 138 + + d) It strengthens attention and power of + visualization 138 + + e) It combines intellectual, emotional, + artistic, and physical action 138 + + f) It impresses many pieces of literature + effectively 138 + + g) It is the true Direct Moral Method and + may establish a habit 143 + + 2) Dangers of dramatization 139 + + a) Dramatization often is in very poor + form 139 + + b) Dramatization may develop boldness + in a child 141 + + c) Dramatization may spoil some + literature 142 + + d) Dramatization has lacked sequence in + tales used from year to year 142 + + i. Illustrations of creative return 144 + + 1) _The Country Mouse and the City Mouse_ as + expression in language, dramatization, + drawing, and crayon-sketching 144 + + 2) _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ as + expression in the dramatic game 145 + + 3) _Little Two-Eyes_ as expression in + dramatization. A fairy-play outline. + (See _Appendix_) 145 + + 4) _Snow White_ as expression in + dramatization. (See _Appendix_) 145 + + 5) _Sleeping Beauty_ as expression of partial + narration, dramatic game, and + dramatization combined 146 + + 6) _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_, an + original tale developed from a Grimm + fragmentary tale, illustrating expression + in folk-game and dramatization. (See + _Appendix_) 147 + + 7) _The Bird and the Trees_, an original play + illustrating expression in rhythm play and + dramatization 149 + + 8) _How the Birds came to Have Different + Nests_, an original play illustrating + language expression and dramatization. + (See _Appendix_) 151 + + 9) Andersen's _Fir Tree_ as expression in + dramatization, illustrating organization + of ideas through a play 152 + + IV. References 154 + + + IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES + + I. The origin of fairy tales 158 + + 1. The fairy tale defined 159 + + 2. The derivation and history of the name, _fairy_ 159 + + a. Four senses in which _fairy_ has been used 160 + + 3. The theories concerning the origin of fairy + tales 161 + + a. Fairy tales are detritus of myth 161 + + 1) The evolution of the tale 161 + + b. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Rain, Dawn, + Thunder, etc., the Aryan Theory 162 + + c. Fairy tales all arose in India, the + Philological theory 165 + + d. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity + of early fancy 167 + + e. Fairy tales owe their origin to a combination + of all these theories 167 + + II. The transmission of fairy tales 167 + + 1. The oral transmission of fairy tales 167 + + a. Examples of transmission of fairy tales: _Jack + the Giant-Killer_, _Dick Whittington_, etc. 168 + + 2. Literary transmission of fairy tales 170 + + a. An enumeration of the literary collections and + books that have handed down the tales; as + _Reynard the Fox_, the _Persian King-book, The + Thousand and One Nights_, Straparola's + _Nights_, Basile's _Pentamerone_, and Perrault's + _Tales of Mother Goose_ 170 + + b. French publications of fairy tales 179 + + 1) The tales of Perrault 179 + + 2) Tales by followers of Perrault 181 + + 3) A list of tales from the time of Perrault to + the present time 183 + + c. English and Celtic publications of fairy tales 183 + + 1) Tales of Scotland and Ireland 184 + + 2) English tales and books 184 + + 3) A list illustrating the history of the English + fairy tale, including chap-books: _Jack the + Giant-Killer_, _Tom Hickathrift_; + old collections; etc. 184 + + 4) A list illustrating the development of + fairy-tale illustration in England 188 + + d. German publications of fairy tales 192 + + 1) A list of tales from the time of the Grimms + to the present 193 + + e. Fairy-tale publications of other nations 193 + + f. American publications of fairy tales 195 + + 1) A list of tales from the earliest times to + 1870 196 + + g. Recent collections of folk-lore 200 + + III. References 201 + + + V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES + + I. Available types of tales 204 + + 1. The accumulative or clock story 205 + + a. Tales of simple repetition 206 + + 1) The House that Jack Built 206 + + 2) The Key of the Kingdom 207 + + b. Tales of repetition with an addition 208 + + 1) The Old Woman and Her Pig 208 + + 2) Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse 208 + + 3) Johnny Cake 209 + + 4) The Gingerbread Man 209 + + 5) The Straw Ox 209 + + c. Tales of repetition and variation 209 + + 1) The Three Bears 209 + + 2) The Three Billy Goats 211 + + 2. The animal tale 211 + + a. The evolution of the animal tale 211 + + b. The animal tale may be an old beast tale 211 + + 1) Henny Penny 213 + + 2) The Foolish Timid Rabbit 214 + + 3) The Sheep and the Pig 215 + + 4) Medio Pollito 215 + + 5) The Three Pigs 216 + + c. The animal tale may be an elaborated fable, + illustrated 211 + + d. The animal tale may be an imaginary creation, + illustrated 211 + + e. The Good-Natured Bear, a modern type. (See + _Appendix_) 217 + + 3. The humorous tale 217 + + a. The humorous element for children 218 + + b. The Musicians of Bremen, a humorous type 219 + + c. Humorous tales mentioned previously 221 + + d. Drakesbill, a humorous type 221 + + 4. The realistic tale 223 + + a. Lazy Jack, a realistic type of common life 224 + + b. The Old Woman and Her Pig, a realistic type 225 + + c. How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, a realistic + tale of scientific interest 226 + + d. Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, a realistic + theme transformed into a romantic tale 227 + + 5. The romantic tale 228 + + a. Cinderella 228 + + b. Sleeping Beauty 231 + + c. Red Riding Hood 232 + + d. Puss-in-Boots. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 1) The Norse Lord Peter (See _Appendix_) 232 + + e. Tom Thumb, a romantic tale of fancy. (See + _Appendix_) 232 + + 1) The French Little Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 2) The English Tom Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + f. Snow White and Rose Red, a highly idealized + romantic type tested by the standards + included here. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 6. The old tale and the modern tale 234 + + a. The modern tale often lacks the great art + qualities of the old tale, unity and harmony, + sincerity and simplicity 235 + + b. The modern tale often fails to use the + method of suggestion 235 + + c. The modern tale often does not stand the + test of literature 235 + + d. The modern tale gives richly to the primary + and elementary field 235 + + e. Criticism of a few modern tales 236 + + 1) Little Beta and the Lame Giant, a good + modern tale 236 + + 2) The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red + Hen, a good modern tale 238 + + 3) Peter Rabbit, a classic; other animal + tales 239 + + 4) The Elephant's Child, a modern animal + tale. (See _Appendix_) 239 + + 5) A Quick-Running Squash, a good modern + tale 240 + + 6) A few St. Nicholas fairy stories 241 + + 7) The Hop-About-Man, a romantic modern + fairy tale 241 + + f. What the modern fairy tale is 243 + + VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST OF FAIRY TALES, + FOLK-TALES, PICTURES, PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS. + + Basis on which lists are made. Introductory 245 + + I. A list of fairy tales and folk-tales suited to the + kindergarten and first grade 246 + + 1. Tales of Perrault 246 + + 2. Tales of the Grimms 246 + + 3. Norse tales 247 + + 4. English tales, by Jacobs 247 + + 5. Modern fairy tales, by Andersen 248 + + 6. Uncle Remus tales, by Harris 248 + + 7. Miscellaneous tales 249 + + II. Bibliography of fairy tales 253 + + III. A list of picture-books 254 + + IV. A list of pictures 255 + + V. A list of fairy poems 256 + + VI. Main standard fairy-tale books 256 + + VII. Fairy tales of all nations 258 + + VIII. Miscellaneous editions of fairy tales 259 + + IX. School editions of fairy tales 262 + +APPENDIX + + Illustrations of creative return 265 + + Tales suited for dramatization 265 + + Little Two-Eyes 265 + + Snow White 266 + + The Little Lamb and the Little Fish 267 + + How the Birds came to Have Different Nests 270 + + Types of tales 272 + + An animal tale 272 + + The Good-Natured Bear 272 + + A few romantic tales 275 + + Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter 275 + + Tom Thumb and Little Thumb 278 + + Snow White and Rose Red 282 + + A modern tale 287 + + The Elephant's Child 287 + +NOTES: + + +[1: McLoughlin edition.] + +[2: What if we could give the child that which is called education + through his voluntary activities, and have him always as eager as + he is at play! (_Froebel_.) + + What if we could let the child be free and happy, and yet bring + to him those things which he ought to have so that he will choose + them freely! + + What would be the possibilities for a future race if we would + give the child mind a chance to come out and express itself, if + we would remove adult repression, offer a stimulus, and closely + watch the product, untouched by adult skill. (_Unknown_.) + + The means by which the higher selective interest is aroused, is + the exercise of selected forms of activity. (_Susan Blow_.)] + +[3: _Little Two-Eyes_ and _Snow White_ are tales also suited to the + first grade for dramatization. See _Appendix_.] + +[4: A similar tale is told by Miss Holbrook in _The Book of Nature + Myths_. Also by Mary McDowell as "The Three Little Christmas + Trees." A simple version of this tale, "The Three Little + Christmas Trees that Grew on the Hill," is given in _The + Story-Teller's Book_ by Alice O'Grady and Frances Throop.] + +[5: Joseph Jacobs, in his Introduction to the Cranford edition, and + Ashton, in _Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century_, furnish most + of the facts mentioned here.] + +[6: This list has been compiled largely from "Children's Books and + Their Illustrators," by Gleeson White, in _The International + Studio_. Special Winter Number, 1897-98.] + +[7: The following list, compiled by Mr. H.H.B. Meyer, the chief + bibliographer of the Library of Congress, has been furnished + through the courtesy of the United States Bureau of Education. A + few additional books were inserted by the author. The books at + the head of the list give information on the subject.] + +[8: _The Woman and Her Kid_, a version of this tale adapted from an + ancient Jewish Sacred Book, is given in _Boston Kindergarten + Stories_, p. 171.] + +[9: See Appendix.] + +[10: William M. Thackeray, _Miscellanies_, v. Boston: James Osgood + & Co., 1873. "Titmarsh among Pictures and Books"; "On Some + Illustrated Christmas Books," 1846.] + +[11: A few romantic tales for the first grade are treated in the + Appendix: _Puss-in-Boots_, _Lord Peter_, _Tom Thumb_, _Little + Thumb_, and _Snow White and Rose Red_.] + +[12: See _Appendix_.] + +[13: Laura F. Kready, "Picture-Books for Little Children," + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914.] + +[14: For _Little Two-Eyes_ and _Snow White, see_ note on p. 145; for + _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish, see_ pp. 147-48; and for + _How the Birds came to have Different Nests, see_ p. 151.] + +[15: _See_ note, p. 217.] + +[16: _See_ note, p. 232] + +[17: Reprinted in _Living Age_, Aug. 13, 1844, vol. 2, p. 1.] + +[18: _See_ p. 239] + + + +INDEX + +Accumulative or clock story, 205-11. + +Action, 20-21. + +Adaptation of fairy tales, 117-19. + +Adventure, 19-20. + +Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet, 81-82. + +American fairy tales, 195-99. + +Andersen, Hans C.: + tales by, tested as literary form, 69; + Steadfast Tin Soldier, 46, 49, 135-38; + Fir Tree, 151-53; + list of tales by, 248; + editions, 256-57. + +Animal tale: + class, 211-17; + evolution of, 211-13; + types of, 213-17, 272-75, 287-90. + +Animals: + an interest, 24; + tale of strange, 33-34. + +Appendix, 265-90: + Little Two-Eyes, 265-66; + Snow White, 266-67; + The Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 267-70; + How the Birds came to Have Different Nests, 270-72; + The Good-Natured Bear, 272-75; + Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter, 275-78; + Tom Thumb and Little Thumb, 278-82; + Snow White and Rose Red, 282-86; + The Elephant's Child, 287-90. + +Arabian Nights, Thousand and One Nights, 176-78, 190, 196. + +Art: + of teaching, 119-20; + in teaching, good, 120; + in teaching, great, 120-21; + in literature, good, 39-40; + in literature, fine, 39-40; + of story-telling, 90-91, 93-94; + ancient, of story-telling, 91-93. + +Artistic expression, instinct of, 130-54. + +Aulnoy, Comtesse d', tales of, 181-82. + +Basile, 178-79. + +Beaumont, Madam de, 182. + +Beautiful, the, 18-19. + +Beauty and the Beast, + dramatization of, 140-41; + editions of, 189, 198. + +Bibliography of fairy tales, 253-54. + +Bird and the Trees, 148-51. + +Books, main standard fairy tale, a list, 256-58. _See_ Sources of +material. + +Breathing, exercises in, 104-05. + +Briar Rose, 77. _See also_ Sleeping Beauty. + +Capture, tales of, 34-35. + +Celtic fairy tales, 183-84. + +Chap-books, 185-87, 188, 196, 198. + +Characters, 71-73. + +Child: + his part in story-telling, 121-25; + interests, 13-37; + instincts, 125-54; + growth: + in observation, 6, 47-48; + in reason, 6-7, 53-54; + in language, 10; + in emotion, 44-45; + in imagination, 45-53; + in experience, 54; + in intellect, 53-54; + in self-activity, 121-22; + in consciousness, 122-23; + in initiative, 122; + in purpose, 123-25; + in creative return possible to him, 123-54; + in self-expression, 124-54; + in organization of ideas, 153. + +Child's Own Book, The, 190. + +Cinderella, + a chap-book, 187,188, 198; + a romantic type, 228-31. + +Classes of tales, 204-44: + accumulative, 205-11; + animal, 211-17; + humorous, 217-23; + realistic, 223-28; + romantic, 228-34; + old and modern, compared, 234-43; + references, 243-44. + +Classic, fairy tale as a, 38-39. + +Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen, 238-39. + +Coherence, + principle of, 58-59; + illustrated, 62, 65. + +Complicated or insincere, the, 36. + +Composition: + general qualities of, 57-58; + precision, 57; + energy, 57-58; + delicacy, 58; + personality, 58; + principles of, 58-59; + sincerity, 58-59; + unity, 59; + mass, 59; + coherence, 59; + style in, 59-60. + +Comte de Caylus, 182. + +Concrete situation, placing of story in, 94-95, 110-11. + +Connotation, 54-57. + +Consciousness, development of, 122-23. + +Construction, expression of instinct of, 129-30. + +Conversation, expression of instinct of, 125-27. + +Country Mouse and City Mouse, 144-45. + +Crayon-sketching, as expression, 132. + +Creative return, illustrated, 144-54. _See_ Return. + +Criticism: + of life, teaching, a, 120-21; + of Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64; + of Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65; + of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner, 84-86; + of Straw Ox, 86-87; + of Steadfast Tin Soldier, 135-38; + of Musicians of Bremen, 219-20; + of Drakesbill, 221-23; + of Puss-in-Boots and Norse Lord Peter, 275-78; + of Tom Thumb and Little Thumb, 278-82; + of Snow White and Rose Red, 282-86; + and of Elephant's Child, 287-90. + +Danish tales, 194. + +Dasent, Sir George W., + tales by, as literary form, 68-69; + Norse tales by, 194, 247, 257. + +Delicacy, + or emotional harmony, quality of, 57-58; + illustrated, 60, 61, 64. + +Denotation, 54. + +Description, 75. + +Dick Whittington, + illustrating oral transmission of tales, 169; + a chap-book, 185, 188, 196, 198. + +Diminutive, the, 25-26. + +Dragon tales, 31. + +Drakesbill, 221-23. + +Dramatic game: Elves and the Shoemaker, 145; Sleeping Beauty, 146-47. + +Dramatization, + as expression, 138-54; + virtues of, 138, 143; + dangers of, 139-43; + of Sleeping Beauty, 146-47; + of Bird and the Trees, 149-51; + of Fir Tree, 152-53; + of Little Two Eyes, 265-66; + of Snow White, 266-67; + of How the Birds came to have Different Nests, 270-72; + and of Puss-in-Boots, 276. + +Drawing, as expression, 132. + +Dwarf's Tailor, 237. + +Editions, + main fairy tale, 256-58; + fairy tale, of all nations, 258-59; + illustrated, 254-55; + miscellaneous, of fairy tales, 259-62; + school, of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Elements to be avoided, 30-36. + +Elephant's Child, illustrating: + repetition, 27-28; + suggestion, 56-57; + form, 100-01; + modern animal tale, 239, 287-90. + +Elves and the Shoemaker, + illustrating: structure and short-story, 82-84; + story, 82-84; creative return, 145. + +Emelyan the Fool, 170. + +Emotion, + appeal to, distinguishing literary trait, 40-41; + qualities of literary, 41; + literary, in fairy tales, 41-44; + growth of, 44-45; + comparison of, in fairy tales and Shakespeare's dramas, 7, 43-44. + +Energy or force, quality of, 57-58; + illustrated, 61, 64. + +English fairy tales, 184-92; + collections of, 184-88; + illustrating development of illustration, 188-92; + by Jacobs, list, 247-48; + editions, 257. + +Expression in: + language, 125-27; + reading, 127; + inquiry, 127-29; + construction, 129-30; + art, 130-54; + paper-cutting, 130-31; + drawing, 132; + painting, 132; + rhythm play, 133-34; + song, 132-33; + game, 134-35; + representation, 135-38; + dramatization, 138-54, 265-72. + +Fairy, + derivation of, 159-60; + history of the name, 160. + +Fairy tales: worth of, 1-12; + principles of selection for, 13-89; + telling of, 90-157; + history of, 158-203; + classes of, 204-44; + sources of material for, 245-64; + tributes to, 1-3; + interests in, 13-37; + as literature, 37-70; + as classics, 38-39; + possessing mind and soul, 39-40; + distinguished by marks of literature, 40; + as emotion, 41-45; + as imagination, 45-53; + philosophy in, 48-52; + proverbs in, 50; + as truth, 53-54; + as form, 54-70; + powers of words in, 54-57; + general qualities of form in, 57-58; + general principles controlling form in, 58-59; + style in, defined, 59-60; + tested as literary form, 60-70; + as a form of short-story, 70-87; + characters, 71-73; + plot, 73-77; + narration, 74-75; + description, 75; + structure, 76-77; + setting, 77-82; + three elements blended, 82-84; + tested by complete standards, 84-87; + teacher's preparation for telling, 94-102; + presentation of, by teacher, 102-19; + return of child from, 119-54; + rules for preparation of, 94-102; + selection of, 95-96; + motifs in, 96-98; + re-telling of, 101-02; + training of voice in telling, 103-04; + breathing in telling, 104-05; + gesture in telling, 105-06; + power of personality, in telling, 106-07; + suggestions for telling, 107-12; + establishment of personal relation in telling, 107-10; + placing of, in a concrete situation, 110-11; + conception of child's aim in listening to, 112; + re-creative method of telling, 112-17; + adaptation of, 117-19; + art of teaching, in telling, 119-25; + as expression of conversation, 125-27; + as expression of inquiry, 127-29; + as expression of construction, 129-30; + as expression of art, 130-54; + origin of, 158-67; + transmission of, 167-200; + French, 179-83; + Celtic, 183-84; + English, 184-92; + German, 192-93; + tales of other nations, 193-95; + American, 195-99; + collections of folklore, 200; + accumulative, 205-11; + animal, 211-17; + humorous, 217-23; + realistic, 223-28; + romantic, 228-34, 275-86; + old and modern, 234-43; + of Perrault, 246; + of the Grimms, 246-47; + Norse, 247; + English, by Jacobs, 247-48; + modern, by Andersen, 248; + Uncle Remus, by Harris, 248-49; + miscellaneous, 249-53; + bibliography of, 253-54; + in picture-books, 254-55; + in pictures, 255; + in poems, 255-56; + in standard books, 256-58; + of all nations, 258-59; + in miscellaneous editions, 259-62; + in school editions, 262-64; + in Appendix, 265-90. + +Familiar, the, 14-15. + +Fancy, 46, 47. + +Fir Tree, 151-53. + +First-grade fairy tales, 231-34, 265-86. + +Folk-game, illustrated by Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 147-48, + 267-70. + +Folk-tales, + generally, as literary form, 65-67; + tested as literary form, 60-70; + characters of, compared with those of Shakespeare, 7, 43-44; + recent collections of, 200. + +Foolish, Timid Rabbit, + illustrating method in story-telling, 116-17; + an animal type, 214. + +Form, + a distinguishing literary trait, 40, 54; + perfect, 57-60; + general qualities of, 57-58; + precision, a quality, 57; + energy, a quality, 57-58; + delicacy, a quality, 58; + personality, a quality, 58; + principles controlling, 58-60: + sincerity, 58-59; + unity, 59; + mass, 59; + coherence, 59; + style in, 59-60; + illustrated: by Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64; + by Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65; + folk-tales as literary, 65-70; + mastery of tale as, 100-02. + +French fairy tales, 179-83. + +Game, as expression, 134-35. + +Gardens of the Tuileries, 1. + +German fairy tales, 192-93. + +Gesta Romanorum, 174-75. + +Gesture, + knowledge of, 105-06; + library pamphlet relating to, 106. + +Giant tales, 31-32. + +Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold, 237-38. + +Good-Natured Bear, + a modern animal type, 217, 272-75; + a book, 190. + +Grimm, William and Jacob, 67-68; + list of tales by, 246-47; + editions by, 257; + tales by, as literary form, 67. + +Harris, J.C., + list of Uncle Remus tales by, 248-49; + tales by, as literary form, 69; + editions by, 257. + +Henny Penny, 214. + +History of fairy tales, 158-203; + origin of fairy tales, 158-67; + transmission of fairytales, 167-200; + oral transmission, 167-70; + literary transmission, 170-200; + references, 201-03. + +Hop-About-Man, 241-43. + +House that Jack Built, 206-07. + +How the Birds came to Have Different Nests, 151; 270-72. + +How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner, 84-86. + +How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, 226. + +Humor in fairy tales: an interest, 21-22; 217-19. + +Humorous tales, 217-23; types of, 219-23. + +Imagination, + a distinguishing literary mark of fairy tales, 40, 45-53; + creative, 45; + associative, 46; + penetrative, 47; + contemplative, 47-53; + fancy, 46, 47; + exhibited in child's return, 122, 125-54. + +Imaginative, the, 23. + +Initiative, development of, 122, 123-25. + +Instincts of child, expression of: + conversation, 125-27; + inquiry, 127-29; + construction, 129-30; + artistic expression, 130-54. + +Intellect, appeal of fairy tales to, 53-54. + +Interests of children, 13-37; + sense of life, 14; + the familiar, 14-15; + surprise, 15-17; + sense impression, 17-18; + the beautiful, 18-19; + wonder, mystery, magic, 19; + adventure, 19-20; + success, 20; + action, 20-21; + humor, 21-22; + poetic justice, 22-23; + the imaginative, 23; + animals, 24; + portrayal of human relations, 24-25; + the diminutive, 25-26; + rhythm and repetition, 26-28; + the simple and the sincere, 28-29; + unity of effect, 29-30; + opposed to, 30-36; + witch tales, 31; + dragon tales, 31; + giant tales, 31-32; + some tales of transformation, 32-33; + tales of strange creatures, 33-34; + unhappy tales, 34; + tales of capture, 34-35; + very long tales, 35-36; + complicated or insincere tales, 36. + +Introduction, i-iii. + +Inquiry, instinct of, 127-29. + +Jack the Giant-Killer, 185, 186, 188, 190. + +Jacobs, Joseph, + list of tales by, 247-48; + tales by, as literary form, 69; + editions by, 257. + +Jatakas, 170. + +Key of the Kingdom, 207-08. + +Kindergarten: + play in, 5-6; + work in, unified by the fairy tale, 8-9; + language-training in, 10-11; + interests of child in, 13-37; + standards for literature in, 37-87; + standards for composition in, 54-60; + story-telling in, 94-119; + return to be expected from child in, 119-54; + standards of teaching for teacher in, 119-25; + instincts of child in, 125-54; + history of fairy tales to be used in, 158-203; + classes of tales used in, 204-44; + sources of material for fairy tales to be used in, 245-64. + +King-book, Persian, The, 175-76. + +Lang, Andrew, tales by, as literary form, 69. + +Lambikin, 21. + +Language, expression in, 125-27. + +Lazy Jack, 224-25. + +Life, + a sense of, 14; + criticism of, 120-21; + fairy tale a counterpart to, 8-9. + +Lists: of tales, 246-53; _See_ Sources of material. + +Literature, + mind and soul in, 39-40; + qualities of, 40; + fairy tale as, 37-87. + +Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 147-48, 267-70. + +Little Two-Eyes, 145, 265-66. + +Little Thumb, + editions, 189; + tale, 232, 281-82. + +Literary collections of tales, 170-200. + +Logical method of selecting tales, 95-96. + +Long tales, opposed to child's interests, 35-36. + +Lord Peter, 232, 277. + +Magpie's Nest, 151, 270-72. + +Märchen Brunnen or Fairy-tale Fountain, 2-3. + +Mass, + principle of, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 61-62; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 65. + +Medio Pollito, 215-16. + +Memory, development of, 226. + +Message, of the tale, 100; of this book. _See_ Summaries. + +Method of story-telling, + the recreative, 113-17; + criticism of, 114-16; + illustration of, 116-17; + direct moral, 143. + +Mind, in literature, 40. + +Miscellaneous, + tales, a list, 249-53; + editions, 259-62. + +Modern tale, + compared with old tale, 234-43; + types of, 235-43; + what it is, 243; + tales, by Andersen, 28-29, 234, 248, 256-57. + +Motifs in folk-tales, classified, 97-98. + +Mother Goose, + tales of, 179-81; + her Melodies, 187, 195, 197, 198. + +Musicians of Bremen, 130-31, 219-20. + +Narration, + in fairy tales, 74-75; + illustrated by Sleeping Beauty, 146-47. + +Norse tales, 194; a list of, 247; editions, 257. + +Objectification in fairy tales, 135-38. + +Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64. + +Old Woman and Her Pig, + accumulative type, 207, 208; + realistic type, 225-26; + an exercise of memory, 226. + +Organization of ideas, + accomplished through Fir Tree, 152-53; + social, of tale, 153-54. + +Origin of fairy tales, 158-67. + +Outline, 291-303. + +Paper-cutting, 130-31. + +Painting, as expression, 132. + +Panchatantra, the Five Books, 171. + +Pause, in story-telling, 104-05. + +Pentamerone, The, 178-79. + +Perrault, Charles, + statue of, 1; + list of tales by, 180; + tales by, tested as literary form, 68; + editions by, 257-58. + +Personality, + quality of, 57-58; + in Oeyvind and Marit, 60; + in Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64; + power of, 106-07. + +Personal relation, establishment of, 107-10. + +Peter Rabbit, 239. + +Philosophy, + in fairy tales, 48-52; + of Uncle Remus Tales, 51-52; + of Laboulaye's Tales, 51; + of Cat and Mouse in Partnership, 48; + of Emperor's New Suit, 48-49; + of Ugly Duckling, 49-50; + of Elephant's Child, 49; + child's, 50-51. + +Phonics in fairy tales, 79-81. + +Pictures, list, 255. + +Picture-Books, list, 254-55. + +Plot, + element of fairy tale as short-story, 73-77; + structure illustrated, 76-77. + +Poems, fairy, list, 255-56. + +Poetic justice, 22-23. + +Poetry, of teaching, 120. + +Portrayal of human relations, especially with children, 24-25. + +Position, of story-teller, 107. + +Precision, + quality of, 57; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 60; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64. + +Preparation, teacher's, + in story-telling, 94-102; + rules for telling, 94-102. + +Presentation, teacher's, + of tale, 102-19; + training of voice, 103-04; + exercises in breathing, 104-05; + gesture, 105-06; + power of personality, 106-07; + suggestions for telling, 107-12; + establishment of personal relation, 108-10; + placing of story in concrete situation, 94-95, 110-11; + conception of child's aim, 112; + telling of tale, 112-19; + re-creative method of story-telling, 113-17; + adaptation of fairy tales, 117-19. + +Princess and Pea, 114-16. + +Principles, + of selection for fairy tales, 13-89; + interests of children, 13-37; + fairy tale as literature, 37-70; + fairy tale as short-story, 70-87; + references, 87-89. + +Principles, + of composition, 58-60; + of story-telling, 94; + of teaching, 119-25; + concerning instincts of children, 124-25. + +Problem, a means of developing consciousness, 122-25. + +Proverbs in fairy tales, 50. + +Purpose, growth in child's, 123-25. + +Puss-in-Boots, 232, 275-78. + +Psychological method of selecting tales, 95-96. + +Quick-Running Squash, 240. + +Realistic, tale, 223-28; types of, 224-28. + +Reading, as expression, 127; relation of, to literature, 10-11, 127. + +Reason, growth in, 6-7, 10; development of, 53-54. + +Re-creative method of story-telling, 113-17. + +Red Riding Hood, chap-book, 189; a romantic type, 232-34. + +References; + chapter I, 12; + chapter II, 87-89; + chapter III, 154-57; + chapter IV, 201-03; + chapter V, 243-44. + +Relation, + of contemplative imagination to language-training, 47-48; + of contemplative imagination to power of observation, 47-48; + of contemplative imagination to science, 52-53; + of literature to intellect, 53-54; + of sound to sense or meaning, 55; + of sound to action, 55-56; + of phonics and emotional effect, 55; + of gesture to story-telling, 105-06; + personal, between the story-teller and listener, 107-10; + of reading to story-telling, 127; + of reading to literature, 10, 11, 38, 127; + of rhyme to meaning, 56; + of fairy tales to nature study, 6, 47-48; + of fairy tales to industrial education, 71-73; + of fairy tales to child, 3-11; + of dramatization to story-telling, 138-54; + of fairy tales to literature, 37-70; + of fairy tales to composition, 54-70; + of fairy tales to story-telling, 90-91. + +Repetition, 26-28, 205-11. + +Representation, 135-38. + +Re-telling of fairy tales, 101-02. + +Return, creative, from child, + in telling of fairy tales, 119-54: + in language, 125-27; + in inquiry, 127-29; + in construction, 129-30; + in artistic expression, 130-54; + in paper-cutting, 130-31; + in drawing, 132; + in painting, 132; + in song, 132-33; + in rhythm, 133-34; + in game, 134-35; + in dance, 137, 145, 147; + in dramatization, 138-54; + illustrated, 145-54, 265-72. + +Reynard the Fox, + place in the animal tale, 212; + history, 172-74; + chap-book, 185, 186, 190, 196. + +Rhyme, 56. + +Rhythm, in fairy tales, 26-28; + plays, 133-34. + +Robin's Christmas song, 78-79. + +Romantic tale, 228-34; types of, 228-34, 275-86. + +St. Nicholas, Stories retold from, 241. + +Sanskrit Tales, 171. + +School editions of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Science, relation of contemplative imagination to, 52-53. + +Sea Fairy and the Land Fairy, 236-37. + +Selection of fairy tales by teacher, psychological or logical, 95-96. + +Sense impression, 17-18. + +Setting, + element of fairy tale as short-story, 77-82; + sequence in, 78-79; + story told by, 81-82; + and phonics, 79-81. + +Sheep and Pig, 215. + +Short-story, + fairy tale as, 70-87: + elements of, 70-71; + ways of writing, 71; + characters, 71-73; + plot, 73-77; + narration in, 74-75; + description in, 75; + setting, 77-82; + elements of, blended, 82-84; + tales tested as, 84-87; + telling of, 90-154. + +Silhouette pictures, cutting of, 130-31. + +Simple and sincere, 28-29. + +Sincerity, principle of, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 60, 61; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65. + +Sindibad, The Book of, 172. + +Sleeping Beauty, + romantic type, 231-32; + uniting partial narration, dramatization, and dramatic game, 146-47. + +Snow White, 145, 266-67. + +Snow White and Rose Red, 232, 282-86. + +Song, as expression, 132-33. + +Soul, in literature, 39-40. + +Sources of material for fairy tales, 245-64: + list of fairy tales and folk-tales, 246-53; + bibliography of fairy tales, 253-54; + list of picture-books, 254-55; + list of pictures, 255; + list of fairy poems, 255-56; + main standard fairy-tale books, 256-58; + fairy tales of all nations, 258-59; + miscellaneous editions of fairy tales, 259-62; + school editions of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Sparrow and the Crow, as expression, 125-26. + +Spider and the Flea, 79-81. + +Standards, + for testing fairy tales, 84; + for selecting tales, 204-05; + for making lists, 245-46. _See_ Summaries. + +Standard fairy-tale books, a list, 256-58. + +Story, place of, + in home, library, and school, 93-94; + formation of original stories, 126-27. + +Story-telling, + an ancient art, 91-93; + principles governing, 94; + teacher's preparation for, 94-102; + rules for, 94-102; + presentation in, 102-119; + voice in, 103-04; + breathing in, 104-05; + gesture in, 105-06; + re-creative method of, 113-17; + return from child, in, 119-54; + child's part in, 121-25. + +Straparola, 178. + +Straparola's Nights, 178. + +Straw Ox, 86-87. + +Structure, illustrated, 76-77; + study of, in story-telling, 99-100. + +Study of tale as folk-lore and as literature, 96-99. + +Style, + defined, 59-60; + illustrated, 60-65; + qualities of, 59-60; + principles controlling, 59-60. + +Success, 20. + +Suggestion, + illustrated by Pope, 55; + by Andersen, 136; + by Kipling, 56-57; + through gesture and sound, 55; + through arrangement of words and speech-tunes of voice, 56-57. + +Summaries: giving message of book, 13, 37-38, 40, 70-71, 84, 158, + 204-05, 235. + +Surprise, 15-17. + +Swedish tales, 193. + +Tales: + of Mother Goose, 179-81; + of Perrault, 246; + of the Grimms, 246-47; + Norse, 247; + English, by Jacobs, 247-48; + modern fairy, by Andersen, 248; + Uncle Remus, 248-49; + miscellaneous, 249-53; + fairy, of all nations, 258-59; + literary collections of, 170-200. _See_ Fairy tales. + +Teaching, + story-telling, a part of the art of, 119-25; + poetry of, 120; + good art in, 120; + great art in, 120-21; + a criticism of life, 120-21. + +Telling, of fairy tales, 90-154; + art of story-telling, 90-94; + principles controlling, 94; + preparation by teacher for, 94-102; + presentation by teacher, in, 102-19; + suggestions for, 107-12; + return by child, from, 119-54; + re-creative method of, 113-17; + adaptation of tales for, 117-19; + references, 154-57. + +Theories of origin of fairy tales: + detritus of myth, 161-63; + sun-myth theory, 163-64; + common Indian heritage, 165-67; + identity of early fancy, 167. + +Three Bears, + illustrating surprise, 16-17; + a chap-book, 190; + accumulative, 209-11. + +Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65. + +Three Pigs, + illustrating structure, 76; + animal type, 216. + +Thumbelina, + illustrating adaptation, 118; + illustrating rhythm play, 134. + +Tin Soldier, + Steadfast, as emotion, 42; + tale of imagination, 46; + as representation, 135-38; + as a game, 135, 138. + +Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, 81, 208-09, 227-28. + +Tom Hickathrift, 185, 186, 187, 196. + +Tom Thumb, + chap-book tale, 185, 188, 190, 196; + romantic type, 278-81. + +Tone-color, in story-telling, 105. + +Training of voice, 103-04. + +Transformation, tales of, 32-33; kinds of, 276. + +Transmission, of tales: + oral, 167-170; + literary, 170; + illustrated by: Dog Gellert, 166; + Dick Whittington, 169; + Peruonto, 169-70. + +Tributes, two public, 1-3. + +Truth, basis of, in fairy tales, a distinguishing literary mark, 40, + 53-54. + +Tuileries, gardens of. _See_ Gardens. + +Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, 248-49; editions, 257. + +Unhappy tales, 34. + +Unity, + of effect, 29-30; + principle of composition, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 61; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 65. + +Value, + of fairy tales in education, 3-12, 119-25; + to give joy, 3-4; + to satisfy the play-spirit, 4-6; + to develop observation, 6; + to give habits of mind, 6-7; + to strengthen emotion, 6-7, 44-45; + to extend social relations, 7-8 + in home, library, and school, 8-9; + to give language-training, 10-11; + to develop imagination, 45-53; + to develop reason, 53-54; + to develop power of creative return, 119-54; + to develop self-activity, 121-22; + to develop consciousness, through problems, 122-23; + to develop initiative, 122; + to develop purpose, 123-25; + to develop self-expression, 124-54; + to strengthen originality, 127-29; + to develop organization of ideas, 153; + and to exercise memory, 226. + +Version, of tale, 101-02. + +Villeneuve, Madam, 182. + +Voice, training of, 103-04. + +Witch tales, 31. + +Wolf and the Seven Kids, + expression in painting, 132; + in song, 132-33. + +Words, + powers of, 54-55; + denotation, 54; + connotation, 54-55; + suggestion, 54-57. + +Wonder, mystery, magic, an interest, 19. + +Worth of fairy tales, 1-12: + two public tributes, 1-3; + value of fairy tales in education, 3-12; + references, 12. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES*** + + +******* This file should be named 13666-8.txt or 13666-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/6/6/13666 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/13666-8.zip b/old/13666-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b27394f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13666-8.zip diff --git a/old/13666.txt b/old/13666.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8787983 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13666.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12110 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Study of Fairy Tales, by Laura F. Kready, +et al + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Study of Fairy Tales + +Author: Laura F. Kready + +Release Date: October 7, 2004 [eBook #13666] +[Date last updated: August 21, 2006] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES*** + + +E-text prepared by Ted Garvin, Keith M. Eckrich, and the Project Gutenberg +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES + +by + +LAURA F. KREADY, B.S. + +With an Introduction by Henry Suzzallo, Ph.D. +President of the University of Washington, Seattle + + + + + + + +TO THE CHILDREN WHO, BECAUSE OF IT, MAY RECEIVE ANY GOOD. + + + + +PREFACE + + +One of the problems of present-day education is to secure for the +entire school system, from the kindergarten to the university, a +curriculum which shall have a proved and permanent value. In this +curriculum literature has established itself as a subject of +unquestioned worth. But children's literature, as that distinct +portion of the subject literature written especially for children or +especially suited to them, is only beginning to take shape and form. +It seems necessary at this time to work upon the content of children's +literature to see what is worthy of a permanent place in the child's +English, and to dwell upon its possibilities. A consideration of this +subject has convinced me of three points: + + (1) that literature in the kindergarten and elementary + school should be taught as a distinct subject, accessory + neither to reading nor to any other subject of the + curriculum, though intimately related to them; + + (2) that it takes training in the subject to teach + literature to little children; + + (3) that the field of children's literature is largely + untilled, inviting laborers, embracing literature which + should be selected from past ages down to the present. + +A single _motif_ of this children's literature, _Fairy Tales_, is here +presented, with the aim of organizing this small portion of the +curriculum for the child of five, six, or seven years, in the +kindergarten and the first grade. The purpose has been to show this +unit of literature in its varied connection with those subjects which +bear an essential relation to it. This presentation incidentally may +serve as an example of one method of giving to teachers a course in +literature by showing what training may be given in a single _motif, +Fairy Tales_. Incidentally also it may set forth a few theories of +education, not isolated from practice, but united to the everyday +problems where the teacher will recognize them with greatest +impression. In the selection of the subject no undue prominence is +hereby advocated for fairy tales. We know fairy tales about which we +could agree with Maria Edgeworth when she said: "Even if children do +prefer fairy tales, is this a reason why their minds should be filled +with fantastic visions instead of useful knowledge?" However, there is +no danger that fairy tales will occupy more than a fair share of the +child's interest, much as he enjoys a tale; for the little child's +main interest is centered in the actual things of everyday life and +his direct contact with them. Yet there is a part of him untouched by +these practical activities of his real and immediate life; and it is +this which gives to literature its unique function, to minister to the +spirit. Fairy tales, in contributing in their small way to this high +service, while they occupy a position of no undue prominence, +nevertheless hold a place of no mean value in education. + +In the study of fairy tales, as of any portion of the curriculum or as +in any presentation of subject-matter, three main elements must unite +to form one combined whole: the child, the subject, and the teaching +of the subject. In behalf of the child I want to show how fairy tales +contain his interests and how they are means for the expression of his +instincts and for his development in purpose, in initiative, in +judgment, in organization of ideas, and in the creative return +possible to him. In behalf of the subject I want to show what fairy +tales must possess as classics, as literature and composition, and as +short-stories; to trace their history, to classify the types, and to +supply the sources of material. In behalf of the teaching of fairy +tales I want to describe the telling of the tale: the preparation it +involves, the art required in its presentation, and the creative +return to be expected from the child. + +In the consideration of the subject the main purpose has been to +relate fairy tales to the large subjects, literature and composition. +From the past those tales have come down to us which inherently +possessed the qualities of true classics. In modern times so few +children's tales have survived because they have been written mainly +from the point of view of the subject and of the child without regard +to the standards of literary criticism. In the school the teaching of +literature in the kindergarten and elementary grades has been +conducted largely also from the point of view of the child and of the +subject without regard to the arts of literature and composition. In +bookshops counters are filled with many books that lack literary value +or artistic merit. The object in this book has been to preserve the +point of view of the child and of the subject and yet at the same time +relate the tale to the standards of literature and of composition. The +object has been to get the teacher, every time she selects or tells a +tale, to apply practically the great underlying principles of +literature, of composition, and of the short-story, as well as those +of child-psychology and of pedagogy. + +This relating of the tale to literary standards will give to the +teacher a greater respect for the material she is handling and a +consequent further understanding of its possibilities. It will reveal +what there is in the tale to teach and also how to teach it. In +teaching literature as also other art subject-matter in the +kindergarten and first grade, the problem is to hold fast to the +principles of the art and yet select, or let the child choose, +material adapted to his simplicity. As the little child uses analysis +but slightly, his best method of possessing a piece of literature is +to do something with it. + +The fairy tale is also related to life standards, for it presents to +the child a criticism of life. By bringing forward in high light the +character of the fairy, the fairy tale furnishes a unique contribution +to life. Through its repeated impression of the idea of fairyhood it +may implant in the child a desire which may fructify into that pure, +generous, disinterested kindness and love of the grown-up, which aims +to play fairy to another, with sincere altruism to make appear before +his eyes his heart's desire, or in a twinkling to cause what hitherto +seemed impossible. Fairy tales thus are harbingers of that helpfulness +which would make a new earth, and as such afford a contribution to the +religion of life. + +In stressing the history of fairy tales the purpose has been to +present fairy tales as an evolution. The kindergarten and first-grade +teacher must therefore look to find her material anywhere in the whole +field and intimately related with the whole. Special attention has +been placed upon the English fairy tale as the tale of our language. +As we claim an American literature since the days of Washington +Irving, the gradual growth of the American fairy tale has been +included, for which we gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of the +Librarian of the United States Bureau of Education and the +Bibliographer of the Library of Congress. A particular treatment of +some North American Indian folk-tales would also be desirable. But a +study of these tales reveals but one unimportant _pourquois_ tale, of +sufficient simplicity. This study of the natural history of the fairy +tale as an art form is not necessary for the child. But for the +teacher it reveals the nature of fairy tales and their meaning. It is +an aid to that scholarly command of subject-matter which is the first +essential for expertness in teaching. Only when we view the American +fairy tale of to-day in the light of its past history can we obtain a +correct standard by which to judge of its excellence or of its worth. + +In the classification of fairy tales the purpose has been to organize +the entire field so that any tale may be studied through the type +which emphasizes its distinguishing features. The source material +endeavors to furnish a comprehensive treatment of fairy tales for the +kindergarten and elementary school. + +In the preparation of this book the author takes pleasure in +expressing an appreciation of the criticism and helpful suggestions +given by the Editor, Dr. Henry Suzzallo, under whose counsel, +cooperation, and incentive the work grew. The author wishes also to +make a general acknowledgment for the use of many books which of +necessity would be consulted in organizing and standardizing any unit +of literature. Special acknowledgment should be made for the use of +_Grimm's Household Tales_, edited by Margaret Hunt, containing +valuable notes and an introduction by Andrew Lang of _English Fairy +Tales_, _More English Fairy Tales_, _Indian Fairy Tales_, and _Reynard +the Fox_, and their scholarly introductions and notes, by Joseph +Jacobs; of _Norse Tales_ and its full introduction, by Sir George W. +Dasent; of _Tales of the Punjab_ and its Appendix, by Mrs. F.A. Steel; +of the _Uncle Remus Books_, by J.C. Harris; of _Fairy Tales_, by Hans +C. Andersen; of _Fairy Mythology_ and _Tales and Popular Fictions_, by +Thomas Keightley; of _Principles of Literary Criticism_, by Professor +C.T. Winchester, for its standards of literature; of _English +Composition_, by Professor Barrett Wendell, for its standards of +composition; of Professor John Dewey's classification of the child's +instincts; and of the _Kindergarten Review_, containing many articles +of current practice illustrating standards emphasized here. + +Recognition is gratefully given for the use of various collections of +fairy tales and for the use of any particular fairy tale that has been +presented in outline, descriptive narrative, criticism, or +dramatization. Among collections special mention should be made of +_The Fairy Library_, by Kate D. Wiggin and Nora A. Smith; the _Fairy +Books_, by Clifton Johnson; and the _Fairy Books_, by Andrew Lang. +Among tales, particular mention should be made for the use, in +adaptation, made of _Oeyvind and Marit_, given in Whittier's _Child +Life in Prose_; of _The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, given in _The Jataka +Tales_, by Ellen C. Babbit; of _The Sheep and the Pig_, in Miss +Bailey's _For the Children's Hour_; of _Drakesbill_, in _The Fairy +Ring_, by Wiggin and Smith; of _The Magpie's Nest_, in _English Fairy +Tales_, by Joseph Jacobs; of _How the Evergreen Trees Lose their +Leaves_, in _The Book of Nature Myths_, by Miss Holbrook; of _The +Good-Natured Bear_, described by Thackeray in "On Some Illustrated +Christmas Books"; and of _The Hop-About-Man_, by Agnes Herbertson, +given in _The Story-Teller's Book_, by Alice O'Grady (Moulton) and +Frances Throop. + +The author wishes also to express thanks to the many teachers and +children whose work has in any way contributed to _A Study of Fairy +Tales_. + +LAURA F. KREADY +LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA +August, 1916 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + INTRODUCTION BY HENRY SUZZALLO xv + + I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 1 + + II. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES 13 + +III. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 90 + + IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 158 + + V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 204 + + VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES 245 + + APPENDIX 265 + + OUTLINE 291 + + INDEX 305 + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The fairy tale has a place in the training of children which common +sense and a sympathetic attitude toward childhood will not deny. Some +rigid philosophers, who see no more of life than is to be found in +logical science, condemn the imaginative tale. They regard the +teaching of myths and stories as the telling of pleasant lies, which, +if harmless, are wasteful. What the child acquires through them, he +must sooner or later forget or unlearn. + +Such arguments carry conviction until one perceives that their authors +are measuring the worth of all teaching in terms of strictly +intellectual products. Life is more than precise information; it is +impulse and action. The fairy tale is a literary rather than a +scientific achievement. Its realities are matters of feeling, in which +thought is a mere skeleton to support the adventure. It matters little +that the facts alleged in the story never were and never can be. The +values and ideals which enlist the child's sympathy are morally +worthy, affording a practice to those fundamental prejudices toward +right and wrong which are the earliest acquisitions of a young soul. +The other characteristics of the tale--the rhythmic, the grotesque, +the weird, and the droll--are mere recreation, the abundant +playfulness which children require to rest them from the dangers and +terrors which fascinate them. + +The fairy tale, like every other literary production, must be judged +by the fitness of its emotional effects. Fairyland is the stage-world +of childhood, a realm of vicarious living, more elemental and more +fancy-free than the perfected dramas of sophisticated adults whose +ingrained acceptance of binding realities demands sterner stuff. The +tales are classics of a particular kind; they are children's classics, +artful adaptations of life and form which grip the imaginations of +little folks. + +The diet of babes cannot be determined by the needs of grown-ups. A +spiritual malnutrition which starves would soon set in if adult wisdom +were imposed on children for their sustenance. The truth is amply +illustrated by those pathetic objects of our acquaintance, the men and +women who have never been boys and girls. + +To cast out the fairy tale is to rob human beings of their childhood, +that transition period in which breadth and richness are given to +human life so that it may be full and plastic enough to permit the +creation of those exacting efficiencies which increasing knowledge and +responsibility compel. We cannot omit the adventures of fairyland from +our educational program. They are too well adapted to the restless, +active, and unrestrained life of childhood. They take the objects +which little boys and girls know vividly and personify them so that +instinctive hopes and fears may play and be disciplined. + +While the fairy tales have no immediate purpose other than to amuse, +they leave a substantial by-product which has a moral significance. In +every reaction which the child has for distress or humor in the tale, +he deposits another layer of vicarious experience which sets his +character more firmly in the mould of right or wrong attitude. Every +sympathy, every aversion helps to set the impulsive currents of his +life, and to give direction to his personality. + +Because of the important aesthetic and ethical bearings of this form +of literary experience, the fairy stories must be rightly chosen and +artfully told. In no other way can their full worth in education be +realized. They are tools which require discrimination and skill. Out +of the wisdom of one who knows both tales and children, and who holds +a thoughtful grasp on educational purpose, we offer this volume of +unusually helpful counsel.--HENRY SUZZALLO. + + + + + +CHAPTER I + + + + +THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES + + In olde dayes of the kyng Arthour, + Of which that Britouns speken gret honour, + Al was this lond fulfilled of fayrie; + The elf-queen, with hir joly compaignye, + Daunced ful oft in many a grene mede.--CHAUCER. + + +I. TWO PUBLIC TRIBUTES + + +Only a few years ago, in the gardens of the Tuileries, in Paris, a +statue was erected in memory of Charles Perrault, to be placed there +among the sculptures of the never-to-be-forgotten fairy tales he had +created,--_Red Riding Hood_, _Sleeping Beauty_, _Puss-in-Boots_, +_Hop-o'-my-Thumb_, _Bluebeard_, and the rest,--so that the children +who roamed the gardens, and in their play gathered about the statues +of their beloved fairy friends, might have with them also a reminder +of the giver of all this joy, their friend Perrault. Two hundred years +before, Perrault truly had been their friend, not only in making for +them fairy tales, but in successfully pleading in their behalf when he +said, "I am persuaded that the gardens of the King were made so great +and spacious that all the children may walk in them." + +Only in December, 1913, in Berlin, was completed the _Maerchen +Brunnen_, or "Fairy-Tale Fountain," at the entrance to Friedrichshain +Park, in which the idea of the architect, Stadt-Baurat Ludwig +Hoffmann, wholly in harmony with the social spirit of the times, was +to erect an artistic monument to give joy to multitudes of children. +This fairy entrance to the park is a decorative lay-out, a central +ground surrounded by a high, thick lodge of beeches. Toward this +central ground--which has been transformed into a joyous fairy +world--many hedge walks lead; while in the sidewalks, to warn naughty +children, are concealed fantastic figures. There is the huge +_Menschen-fresser_, who grasps a tender infant in each Titan hand and +bears on his head a huge basket of children too young to have known +much wrong. A humorous touch, giving distinct charm to the whole +creation, pervades all. From lions' heads and vases, distributed at +regular intervals in the semicircular arcade in the background, water +gushes forth; while in the central basin, nine small water +animals--seven frogs and two larger animals--appear spouting great +jets of water. Clustered about the central fountain are the nine fairy +characters of Professor Ignatius Taschner, among whom are Red Riding +Hood, Hansel and Grethel each riding a duck, Puss-in-Boots, +Cinderella, and Lucky Hans; and looking down upon them from the +surrounding balustrade are the animal figures by Joseph Rauch. In +these simple natural classic groups, fancy with what pleasure the +children may look to find the friendly beasts and the favorite tales +they love! + +Such is the tribute to fairy tales rendered by two great nations who +have recognized fairy tales as the joyous right of children. Any +education which claims to relate itself to present child life can +hardly afford to omit what is acknowledged as part of the child's +everyday life; nor can it afford to omit to hand on to the child those +fairy tales which are a portion of his literary heritage. + + + +II. THE VALUE OF FAIRY TALES IN EDUCATION + + +In considering fairy tales for the little child, the first question +which presents itself is, "Why are fairy stories suited to the little +child, and what is their value for him?" + +Fairy tales bring joy into child life. The mission of joy has not been +fully preached, but we know that joy works toward physical health, +mental brightness, and moral virtue. In the education of the future, +happiness together with freedom will be recognized as the largest +beneficent powers that will permit the individual of four, from his +pristine, inexperienced self-activity, to become that final, matured, +self-expressed, self-sufficient, social development--the educated man. +Joy is the mission of art and fairy tales are art products. As such +Pater would say, "For Art comes to you, proposing to give nothing but +the highest quality to your moments as they pass, and simply for those +moments' sake. Not the fruit of experience, but experience, is the +end." Such quality came from the art of the fairy tale into the walk +of a little girl, for whom even the much-tabooed topic of the weather +took on a new, fresh charm. In answer to a remark concerning the day +she replied, "Yes, it's not too hot, and not too cold, but just +right." All art, being a product of the creative imagination, has the +power to stimulate the creative faculties. "For Art, like Genius," +says Professor Woodberry, "is common to all men, it is the stamp of +the soul in them." All are creatures of imitation and combination; and +the little child, in handling an art product, puts his thought through +the artist's mould and gains a touch of the artist's joy. + +Fairy tales satisfy the play spirit of childhood. Folk-tales are the +product of a people in a primitive stage when all the world is a +wonder-sphere. Most of our popular tales date from days when the +primitive Aryan took his evening meal of yava and fermented mead, and +the dusky Sudra roamed the Punjab. "All these fancies are pervaded +with that purity by which children seem to us so wonderful," said +William Grimm. "They have the same blue-white, immaculate bright +eyes." Little children are in this same wonder-stage. They believe +that the world about throbs with life and is peopled with all manner +of beautiful, powerful folk. All children are poets, and fairy tales +are the poetic recording of the facts of life. In this day of +commercial enterprise, if we would fit children for life we must see +to it that we do not blight the poets in them. In this day of emphasis +on vocational training we must remember there is a part of life unfed, +unnurtured, and unexercised by industrial education. Moreover, +whatever will be accomplished in life will be the achievement of a +free and vigorous life of the imagination. Before it was realized, +everything new had existed in some trained imagination, fertile with +ideas. The tale feeds the imagination, for the soul of it is a bit of +play. It suits the child because in it he is not bound by the law of +cause and effect, nor by the necessary relations of actual life. He is +entirely in sympathy with a world where events follow as one may +choose. He likes the mastership of the universe. And fairyland--where +there is no time; where troubles fade; where youth abides; where +things come out all right--is a pleasant place. + +Furthermore, fairy tales are play forms. "Play," Bichter says, "is the +first creative utterance of man." "It is the highest form in which the +native activity of childhood expresses itself," says Miss Blow. Fairy +tales offer to the little child an opportunity for the exercise of +that self-active inner impulse which seeks expression in two kinds of +play, the symbolic activity of free play and the concrete presentation +of types. The play, _The Light Bird_, and the tale, _The Bremen_ _Town +Musicians_, both offer an opportunity for the child to express that +pursuit of a light afar off, a theme which appeals to childhood. The +fairy tale, because it presents an organized form of human experience, +helps to organize the mind and gives to play the values of human life. +By contributing so largely to the play spirit, fairy tales contribute +to that joy of activity, of achievement, of cooeperation, and of +judgment, which is the joy of all work. This habit of kindergarten +play, with its joy and freedom and initiative, is the highest goal to +be attained in the method of university work. + +Fairy tales give the child a power of accurate observation. The habit +of re-experiencing, of visualization, which they exercise, increases +the ability to see, and is the contribution literature offers to +nature study. In childhood acquaintance with the natural objects of +everyday life is the central interest; and in its turn it furnishes +those elements of experience upon which imagination builds. For this +reason it is rather remarkable that the story, which is omitted from +the Montessori system of education, is perhaps the most valuable means +of effecting that sense-training, freedom, self-initiated play, +repose, poise, and power of reflection, which are foundation stones of +its structure. + +Fairy tales strengthen the power of emotion, develop the power of +imagination, train the memory, and exercise the reason. As emotion and +imagination are considered in Chapter 11, in the section, "The Fairy +Tale as Literature," and the training of the memory and the exercise +of the reason in connection with the treatment of various other topics +later on, these subjects will be passed by for the present. Every day +the formation of habits of mind during the process of education is +being looked upon with a higher estimate. The formation of habits of +mind through the use of fairy tales will become evident during +following chapters. + +Fairy tales extend and intensify the child's social relations. They +appeal to the child by presenting aspects of family life. Through them +he realizes his relations to his own parents: their care, their +guardianship, and their love. Through this he realizes different +situations and social relations, and gains clear, simple notions of +right and wrong. His sympathies are active for kindness and fairness, +especially for the defenseless, and he feels deeply the calamity of +the poor or the suffering and hardship of the ill-treated. He is in +sympathy with that poetic justice which desires immediate punishment +of wrong, unfairness, injustice, cruelty, or deceit. Through fairy +tales he gains a many-sided view of life. Through his dramas, with a +power of sympathy which has seemed universal, Shakespeare has given +the adult world many types of character and conduct that are noble. +But fairy tales place in the hands of childhood all that the thousands +and thousands of the universe for ages have found excellent in +character and conduct. They hold up for imitation all those cardinal +virtues of love and self-sacrifice,--which is the ultimate criterion +of character,--of courage, loyalty, kindness, gentleness, fairness, +pity, endurance, bravery, industry, perseverance, and thrift. Thus +fairy tales build up concepts of family life and of ethical standards, +broaden a child's social sense of duty, and teach him to reflect. +Besides developing his feelings and judgments, they also enlarge his +world of experience. + +In the school, the fairy tale as one form of the story is one part of +the largest means to unify the entire work or play of the child. In +proportion as the work of art, nature-study, game, occupation, etc., +is fine, it will deal with some part of the child's everyday life. The +good tale parallels life. It is a record of a portion of the race +reaction to its environment; and being a permanent record of +literature, it records experience which is universal and presents +situations most human. It is therefore material best suited to furnish +the child with real problems. As little children have their thoughts +and observations directed mainly toward people and centered about the +home, the fairy tale rests secure as the intellectual counterpart to +those thoughts. As self-expression and self-activity are the great +natural instincts of the child, in giving opportunity to make a crown +for a princess, mould a clay bowl, decorate a tree, play a game, paint +the wood, cut paper animals, sing a lullaby, or trip a dance, the tale +affords many problems exercising all the child's accomplishments in +the variety of his work. This does not make the story the central +interest, for actual contact with nature is the child's chief +interest. But it makes the story, because it is an organized +experience marked by the values of human life, the unity of the +child's return or reaction to his environment. The tale thus may bring +about that "living union of thought and expression which dispels the +isolation of studies and makes the child live in varied, concrete, +active relation to a common world." + +In the home fairy tales employ leisure hours in a way that builds +character. Critical moments of decision will come into the lives of +all when no amount of reason will be a sufficient guide. Mothers who +cannot follow their sons to college, and fathers who cannot choose for +their daughters, can help their children best to fortify their spirits +for such crises by feeding them with good literature. This, when they +are yet little, will begin the rearing of a fortress of ideals which +will support true feeling and lead constantly to noble action. Then, +too, in the home, the illustration of his tale may give the child much +pleasure. For this is the day of fairy-tale art; and the child's +satisfaction in the illustration of the well-known tale is limitless. +It will increase as he grows older, as he understands art better, and +as he becomes familiar with the wealth of beautiful editions which are +at his command. + +And finally, though not of least moment, fairy tales afford a vital +basis for language training and thereby take on a new importance in +the child's English. Through the fairy tale he learns the names of +things and the meanings of words. One English fairy tale, _The Master +of all Masters_, is a ludicrous example of the tale built on this very +theme of names and meanings. Especially in the case of foreign +children, in a tale of repetition, such as _The Cat and the Mouse_, +_Teeny Tiny_, or _The Old Woman and Her Pig_, will the repetitive +passages be an aid to verbal expression. The child learns to follow +the sequence of a story and gains a sense of order. He catches the +note of definiteness from the tale, which thereby clarifies his +thinking. He gains the habit of reasoning to consequences, which is +one form of a perception of that universal law which rules the world, +and which is one of the biggest things he will ever come upon in life. +Never can he meet any critical situation where this habit of reasoning +to consequences will not be his surest guide in a decision. Thus fairy +tales, by their direct influence upon habits of thinking, effect +language training. + +Fairy tales contribute to language training also by providing another +form of that basic content which is furnished for reading. In the +future the child will spend more time in the kindergarten and early +first grade in acquiring this content, so that having enjoyed the real +literature, when he reads later on he will be eager to satisfy his own +desires. Then reading will take purpose for him and be accomplished +almost without drill and practically with no effort. The reading book +will gradually disappear as a portion of his literary heritage. In the +kindergarten the child will learn the play forms, and in the first +grade the real beginnings, of phonics and of the form of words in the +applied science of spelling. In music he will learn the beginnings of +the use of the voice. This will leave him free, when he begins reading +later, to give attention to the thought reality back of the symbols. +When the elements combining to produce good oral reading are cared for +in the kindergarten and in the first grade, in the subjects of which +they properly form a part, the child, when beginning to read, no +longer will be needlessly diverted, his literature will contribute to +his reading without interference, and his growth in language will +become an improved, steady accomplishment. + + + +REFERENCES + + + Allison, Samuel; and Perdue, Avis: _The Story in Primary + Instruction_. Flanagan. + + Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: _The + Kindergarten_. Houghton. + + Blow, Susan: _Symbolic Education_. Appleton. + + Chamberlain, Alexander: "Folk-Lore in the Schools," _Pedagogical + Seminary_, vol. vii, pp. 347-56. + + Chubb, Percival: "Value and Place of Fairy Stories," _National + Education Association Report_, 1905. + + Dewey, John: _The School and the Child_. Blackie & Sons. + + _Ibid.: The School and Society_. University of Chicago Press. + + "Fairy Tales," _Public Libraries_, 1906, vol. 11, pp. 175-78. + + Palmer, Luella: "Standard for Kindergarten Training," + _Kindergarten Review_, June, 1914. + + Welsh, Charles: _Right Reading for Children_. Heath. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES + + All our troubles come from doing that in which we have no + interest.--EPICTETUS. + + That is useful for every man which is conformable to his own + constitution and nature.--MARCUS AURELIUS. + + Genuine interest means that a person has identified himself + with, or found himself in, a certain course of activity. It + is obtained not by thinking about it and consciously aiming + at it, but by considering and aiming at the conditions that + lie back of it, and compel it.--JOHN DEWEY. + + + +I. THE INTERESTS OF CHILDREN + + +Now that the value of fairy tales in education has been made clear, +let us consider some of those principles of selection which should +guide the teacher, the mother, the father, and the librarian, in +choosing the tale for the little child. + +Fairy tales must contain what interests children. It is a well-known +principle that selective interest precedes voluntary attention; +therefore interest is fundamental. All that is accomplished of +permanent good is a by-product of the enjoyment of the tale. The tale +will go home only as it brings joy, and it will bring joy when it +secures the child's interest. Now interest is the condition which +requires least mental effort. And fairy tales for little children must +follow that great law of composition pointed out by Herbert Spencer, +which makes all language consider the audience and the economy of the +hearer's attention. The first step, then, is to study the interests of +the child. We do not wish to give him just what he likes, but we want +to give him a chance to choose from among those things which he ought +to have and, as good and wise guardians, see that we offer what is in +harmony with his interests. Any observation of the child's interest +will show that he loves the things he finds in his fairy tales. He +enjoys-- + + _A sense of life_. This is the biggest thing in the fairy + tales, and the basis for their universal appeal. The little + child who is just entering life can no more escape its + attraction than can the aged veteran about to leave the + pathway. The little pig, Whitie, who with his briskly + curling tail goes eagerly down the road to secure, from the + man who carried a load of straw, a bit with which to build + his easily destructible house; Red Riding Hood taking a pot + of jam to her sick grandmother; Henny Penny starting out on + a walk, to meet with the surprise of a nut falling on her + head--the biggest charm of all this is that it is life. + + _The familiar_. The child, limited in experience, loves to + come in touch with the things he knows about. It soothes his + tenderness, allays his fears, makes him feel at home in the + world,--and he hates to feel strange,--it calms his + timidity, and satisfies his heart. The home and the people + who live in it; the food, the clothing, and shelter of + everyday life; the garden, the plant in it, or the live ant + or toad; the friendly dog and cat, the road or street near + by, the brook, the hill, the sky--these are a part of his + world, and he feels them his own even in a story. The + presents which the Rabbit went to town to buy for the little + Rabbits, in _How Brother Rabbit Frightens his Neighbors_; + the distinct names, Miss Janey and Billy Malone, given to + the animals of _In Some Lady's Garden_, just as a child + would name her dolls; and the new shoes of the Dog which the + Rabbit managed to get in _Why Mr. Dog Runs after Brother + Rabbit_--these all bring up in the child's experience + delightful familiar associations. The tale which takes a + familiar experience, gives it more meaning, and organizes + it, such as _The Little Red Hen_, broadens, deepens, and + enriches the child's present life. + + _The surprise_. While he loves the familiar, nothing more + quickly brings a smile than the surprise. Perhaps the most + essential of the fairy traits is the combination of the + familiar and the unfamiliar. The desire for the unknown, + that curiosity which brings upon itself surprise, is the + charm of childhood as well as the divine fire of the + scientist. The naughty little Elephant who asked "a new, + fine question he had never asked before," and who went to + answer his own question of "what the crocodile has for + dinner," met with many surprises which were spankings; and + as a result, he returned home with a trunk and experience. + He is a very good example of how delightful to the child + this surprise can be. The essence of the fairy tale is + natural life in a spiritual world, the usual child in the + unusual environment, or the unusual child in the natural + environment. This combination of the usual and unusual is + the chief charm of _Alice in Wonderland_, where a natural + child wanders through a changing environment that is + unusual. For an idle moment enjoy the task of seeing how + many ideas it contains which are the familiar ideas of + children, and how they all have been "made different." All + children love a tea-party, but what child would not be + caught by having a tea-party with a Mad Hatter, a March + Hare, and a sleepy Dormouse, with nothing to eat and no tea! + Red Riding Hood was a dear little girl who set out to take a + basket to her grandmother. But in the wood, after she had + been gathering a nosegay and chasing butterflies, "just as I + might do," any child might say, she met a wolf! And what + child's ears would not rise with curiosity? "Now something's + going to happen!" The Three Bears kept house. That was usual + enough; but everything was different, and the charm is in + giving the child a real surprise at every step. The house + was not like an ordinary house; it was in the wood, and more + like a play-house than a real one. There was a room, but not + much in it; a table, but there was not on it what is on your + table--only three bowls. What they contained was usual, but + unusually one bowl of porridge was big and hot, one was less + big and cold, and one was little and just right. There were + usual chairs, unusual in size and very unusual when + Goldilocks sat in them. Upstairs the bedroom was usual, but + the beds were unusual when Goldilocks lay upon them. The + Bears themselves were usual, but their talk and action was a + delightful mixture of the surprising and the comical. + Perhaps this love of surprise accounts for the perfect leap + of interest with which a child will follow the Cock in _The + Bremen Town Musicians_, as he saw from the top of the tree + on which he perched, a light, afar off through the wood. + Certainly the theme of a light in the distance has a charm + for children as it must have had for man long ago. + + _Sense impression_. Good things to eat, beautiful flowers, + jewels, the beauties of sight, color, and sound, of odor and + of taste, all gratify a child's craving for sense + impression. This, in its height, is the charm of the + _Arabian Nights_. But in a lesser degree it appears in all + fairy tales. Cinderella's beautiful gowns at the ball and + the fine supper stimulate the sense of color, beauty, and + taste. The sugar-panes and gingerbread roof of the Witch's + House, in _Hansel and Grethel_, stir the child's kindred + taste for sweets and cookies. The Gingerbread Boy, with his + chocolate jacket, his cinnamon buttons, currant eyes, + rose-sugar mouth, orange-candy cap, and gingerbread shoes, + makes the same strong sense appeal. There is a natural + attraction for the child in the beautiful interior of + Sleeping Beauty's Castle, in the lovely perfume of roses in + the Beast's Rose-Garden, in the dance and song of the Elves, + and in the dance of the Goat and her seven Kids about the + well. + + _The beautiful_. Closely related to this love of the + material is the sense of the beautiful. "Beauty is pleasure + regarded as the quality of a thing," says Santayana. + Pleasures of the eye and ear, of the imagination and memory, + are those most easily objectified, and form the groundwork + on which all higher beauty rests. The green of the spring, + the odor of Red Riding Hood's flowers, the splendor of the + Prince's ball in _Cinderella_--these when perceived + distinctly are intelligible, and when perceived delightfully + are beautiful. Language is a kind of music, too; the mode of + speaking, the sound of letters, the inflection of the + voice--all are elements of beauty. But this material beauty + is tied up in close association with things "eye hath not + seen nor ear heard," the moral beauty of the good and the + message of the true. The industry of the little Elves + reflects the worth of honest effort of the two aged + peasants, and the dance of the Goat and seven Kids reflects + the triumph of mother wit and the sharpness of love. The + good, the true, and the beautiful are inseparably linked in + the tale, just as they forever grow together in the life of + the child. The tales differ largely in the element of beauty + they present. Among those conspicuous for beauty may be + mentioned Andersen's _Thumbelina_; the Indian _How the Sun, + the Moon, and West Wind Went Out to Dinner_; the Japanese + _Mezumi, the Beautiful_; and the English _Robin's Christmas + Song. Little Two-Eyes_ stands out as one containing a large + element of beauty, and _Oeyvind and Marit_ represents in an + ideal way the possible union of the good, the true, and the + beautiful. This union of the good, the true, and the + beautiful has been expressed by an old Persian legend: "In + the midst of the light is the beautiful, in the midst of the + beautiful is the good, in the midst of the good is God, the + Eternal One." + + _Wonder, mystery, magic_. The spirit of wonder, like a + will-o'-the-wisp, leads on through a fairy tale, enticing + the child who follows, knowing that something will happen, + and wondering what. When magic comes in he is gratified + because some one becomes master of the universe--Cinderella, + when she plants the hazel bough, and later goes to the + wishing-tree; the fairy godmother, when with her wand she + transforms a pumpkin to a gilded coach and six mice to + beautiful gray horses; Little Two-Eyes, when she says,-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + + and immediately her little table set with food so + marvelously appears; or Hop-o'-my-Thumb when he steps into + his Seven-League Boots and goes like the wind. + + _Adventure_. This is a form of curiosity. In the old tale, + as the wood was the place outside the usual habitation, + naturally it was the place where things happened. Often + there was a house in the wood, like the one "amidst the + forest darkly green," where Snow White lived with the + Dwarfs. This adventure the little child loves for its own + sake. Later, when he is about eleven or twelve, he loves it + for its motive. This love of adventure is part of the charm + of _Red Riding Hood_, of the _Three Bears_, of the _Three + Pigs_, or of any good tale you might mention. + + _Success_. The child likes the fairy tale to tell him of + some one who succeeds. He admires the little pig Speckle who + outwitted the Wolf in getting to the field of turnips first, + or in going to the apple tree at Merry-Garden, or to the + fair at Shanklin; who built his house of brick which would + defy assault; and whose cleverness ended the Wolf's life. + This observation of success teaches the child to admire + masterliness, to get the motto, _Age quod agis_, stamped + into his child life from the beginning. It influences + character to follow such conduct as that of the Little Red + Hen, who took a grain of wheat,--her little mite,--who + planted it, reaped it, made it into bread, and then ate it; + who, in spite of the Goose and the Duck, secured to herself + the reward of her labors. + + _Action_. Akin to his love of running, skipping, and + jumping, to his enjoyment in making things go and in seeing + others make things go, is the child's desire for action in + his fairy tales; and this is just another way of saying he + wants his fairy tales to parallel life. Action is the + special charm of the Gingerbread Boy, who opened the oven + door and so marvelously ran along, outrunning an old Man, an + old Woman, a little Boy, two Well-Diggers, two + Ditch-Diggers, a Bear, and a Wolf, until he met the Fox + waiting by the corner of the fence. _Dame Wiggins of Lee and + Her Seven Wonderful Cats_--a humorous tale written by Mrs. + Sharp, a lady of ninety, edited by John Ruskin, who added + the third, fourth, eighth, and ninth stanzas, and + illustrated by Kate Greenaway--has this pleasing trait of + action to a unique degree. So also has _The Cock, the Mouse, + and the Little Red Hen_, a modern tale by Felicite Lefevre. + This very popular tale among children is a retelling of two + old tales combined, _The Little Red Hen_ and the Irish + _Little Rid Hin_. + + _Humor_. The child loves a joke, and the tale that is + humorous is his special delight. Humor is the source of + pleasure in _Billy Bobtail_, where the number of animals and + the noises they make fill the tale with hilarious fun. There + is most pleasing humor in _Lambikin_. Here the reckless hero + frolicked about on his little tottery legs. On his way to + Granny's house, as he met the Jackal, the Vulture, the + Tiger, and the Wolf, giving a little frisk, he said,-- + + To Granny's house I go, + Where I shall fatter grow, + Then you can eat me so! + + Later, on returning, when the animals asked, "Have you seen + Lambikin?" cozily settled within his Drumikin, laughing and + singing to himself, he called out slyly-- + + Lost in the forest, and so are you, + On, little Drumikin! Tum-pa, turn-too! + + Humor is the charm, too, of Andersen's _Snow Man_. Here the + child can identify himself with the Dog and thereby join in + the sport which the Dog makes at the Snow Man's expense, + just as if he himself were enlightening the Snow Man about + the Sun, the Moon, and the Stove. There is most delightful + humor in _The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_, where the + Cat has the face to play upon the credulity of the poor + housekeeper Mouse, who always "stayed at home and did not go + out into the daytime." Returning home from his ventures + abroad he named the first kitten Top-Off, the second one + Half-Out, and the third one All-Out; while instead of having + attended the christening of each, as he pretended, he + secretly had been visiting the jar of fat he had placed for + safe-keeping in the church. + + _Poetic justice_. Emotional satisfaction and moral + satisfaction based on emotional instinct appeal to the + child. He pities the plight of the animals in the _Bremen + Town Musicians_, and he wants them to find a refuge, a safe + home. He is glad that the robbers are chased out, his sense + of right and wrong is satisfied. Poetic justice suits him. + This is one reason why fairy tales make a more definite + impression often than life--because in the tale the + retribution follows the act so swiftly that the child may + see it, while in life "the mills of the gods grind slowly," + and even the adult who looks cannot see them grind. The + child wants Cinderella to gain the reward for her goodness; + and he wishes the worthy Shoemaker and his Wife, in the + _Elves and the Shoemaker_, to get the riches their industry + deserves. + + _The imaginative_. Fairy tales satisfy the activity of the + child's imagination and stimulate his fancy. Some beautiful + spring day, perhaps, after he has enjoyed an excursion to a + field or meadow or wood, he will want to follow Andersen's + Thumbelina in her travels. He will follow her as she floats + on a lily pad, escapes a frog of a husband, rides on a + butterfly, lives in the house of a field-mouse, escapes a + mole of a husband, and then rides on the back of a friendly + swallow to reach the south land and to become queen of the + flowers. Here there is much play of fancy. But even when the + episodes are homely and the situations familiar, as in + _Little Red Hen_, the act of seeing them as distinct images + and of following them with interest feeds the imagination. + For while the elements are familiar, the combination is + unusual; and this nourishes the child's ability to remove + from the usual situation, which is the essential element in + all originality. By entering into the life of the characters + and identifying himself with them, he develops a large + sympathy and a sense of power, he gains insight into life, + and a care for the interests of the world. Thus imagination + grows "in flexibility, in scope, and in sympathy, till the + life which the individual lives is informed with the life of + nature and of society," and acquires what Professor John + Dewey calls Culture. + + _Animals_. Very few of the child's fairy tales contain no + animals. Southey said of a home: "A house is never perfectly + furnished for enjoyment unless there is in it a child rising + three years old and a kitten rising six weeks; kitten is in + the animal world what a rose-bud is in a garden." In the + same way it might be said of fairy tales: No tale is quite + suited to the little child unless in it there is at least + one animal. Such animal tales are _The Bremen Town + Musicians, Henny Penny, Ludwig and Marleen_ and _The + Elephant's Child_. The episode of the hero or heroine and + the friendly animal, as we find it retained in Two-Eyes and + her little Goat, was probably a folk-lore convention--since + dropped--common to the beginning of many of the old tales. + It indicates how largely the friendly animal entered into + the old stories. + + _A portrayal of human relations, especially with children_. + In _Cinderella_ the child is held by the unkind treatment + inflicted upon Cinderella by her Stepmother and the two + haughty Sisters. He notes the solicitude of the Mother of + the Seven Kids in guarding them from the Wolf. In the _Three + Bears_ he observes a picture of family life. A little child, + on listening to _The Three Pigs_ for the first time, was + overwhelmed by one thought and cried out, "And didn't the + Mother come home any more?" Naturally the child would be + interested especially in children, for he is like the older + boy, who, when looking at a picture-book, gleefully + exclaimed, "That's me!" He likes to put himself in the place + of others. He can do it most readily if the character is a + small individual like Red Riding Hood who should obey her + mother; or like Goldilocks who must not wander in the wood; + or like Henny Penny who went to take a walk and was accosted + by, "Where are you going?" In _Brother Rabbit and the Little + Girl_ the Little Girl takes the keenest enjoyment in putting + herself in the customary grown-up's place of granting + permission, while the Rabbit takes the usual child's place + of mentioning a request with much persuasion. The child is + interested, too, in the strange people he meets in the fairy + tales: the clever little elves who lived in the groves and + danced on the grass; the dwarfs who inhabited the + earth-rocks and the hills; the trolls who dwelt in the wild + pine forest or the rocky spurs, who ate men or porridge, and + who fled at the noise of bells; the fairies who pleased with + their red caps, green jackets, and sprightly ways; the + beautiful fairy godmother who waved her wonderful wand; or + those lovely fairy spirits who appeared at the moment when + most needed--just as all best friends do--and who could + grant, in a twinkling, the wish that was most desired. + + _The diminutive_. This pleasure in the diminutive is found + in the interest in the fairy characters, Baby Bear, Little + Billy-Goat, Little Pig, the Little Elves, Teeny Tiny, + Thumbelina, and Tom Thumb, as well as in tiny objects. In + the _Tale of Tom Thumb_ the child is captivated by the + miniature chariot drawn by six small mice, the tiny + butterfly-wing shirt and chicken-skin boots worn by Tom, and + the small speech produced by him at court, when asked his + name:-- + + My name is Tom Thumb, + From the Fairies I come; + When King Arthur shone, + This court was my home. + In me he delighted, + By him I was knighted. + Did you never hear of + Sir Thomas Thumb? + + _Doll i' the Grass_ contains a tiny chariot made from a + silver spoon and drawn by two white mice, and _Little + Two-Eyes_ gives a magic table. The child takes keen delight + in the fairy ship which could be folded up and put into a + pocket, and in the wonderful nut-shell that could bring + forth beautiful silver and gold dresses. The little wagon of + Chanticleer and Partlet that took them a trip up to the + hill, and the tiny mugs and beds, table and plates, of Snow + White's cottage in the wood--such as these all meet the + approval of child-nature. + + _Rhythm and repetition_. The child at first loves sound; + later he loves sound and sense, or meaning. Repetition + pleases him because he has limited experience and is glad to + come upon something he has known before. He observes and he + wants to compare, but it is a job. Repetition saves him a + task and boldly proclaims, "We are the same." Such is the + effect of the repetitive expressions which we find in _Teeny + Tiny_: as, "Now when the teeny-tiny woman got home to her + teeny-tiny house, she was a teeny-tiny bit tired"; or, in + _Little Jack Rollaround_, who cried out with such vigorous + persistence, "Roll me around!" and called to the moon, "I + want the people to see me!" In _The Little Rabbit Who Wanted + Red Wings_, one of the pleasantest tales for little + children, the White Rabbit said to his Mammy, "Oh, Mammy, I + wish I had a long gray tail like Bushy Tail's; I wish I had + a back full of bristles like Mr. Porcupine's; I wish I had a + pair of red rubbers like Miss Puddleduck's." At last, when + he beheld the tiny red-bird at the Wishing-Pond, he said, + "Oh, I wish I had a pair of little red wings!" Then, after + getting his wings, when he came home at night and his Mammy + no longer knew him, he repeated to Mr. Bushy Tail, Miss + Puddleduck, and old Mr. Ground Hog, the same petition to + sleep all night, "Please, kind Mr. Bushy Tail, may I sleep + in your house all night?" etc. Repetition here aids the + child in following the characters, the story, and its + meaning. It is a distinct help to unity and to clearness. + + _The Elephant's Child_ is an example of how the literary + artist has used this element of repetition, and used it so + wonderfully that the form is the matter and the tale cannot + be told without the artist's words. "'Satiable curtiosity," + "the banks of the great, grey-green, greasy, Limpopo River, + all set about with fever-trees," and "'Scuse me," are but a + few of those expressions for which the child will watch as + eagerly as one does for a signal light known to be due. The + repetition of the one word, "curtiosity," throughout the + tale, simply makes the point of the whole story and makes + that point delightfully impressive. + + Rhythm and repetition also make a bodily appeal, they appeal + to the child's motor sense and instinctively get into his + muscles. This is very evident in _Brother Rabbit's + Riddle_:-- + + De big bird bob en little bird sing; + De big bee zoon en little bee sting, + De little man lead en big hoss foller-- + Kin you tell wat 's good fer a head in a holler? + + The song in _Brother Rabbit and the Little Girl_ appeals + also to the child's sense of sound:-- + + De jay-bird hunt de sparrer-nes; + De bee-martin sail all 'roun'; + De squer'l, he holler from de top er de tree, + Mr. Mole, he stay in de ground; + He hide en he stay twel de dark drap down-- + Mr. Mole, he hide in de groun'. + + _The simple and the sincere_. The child's taste for the + simple and the sincere is one reason for the appeal which + Andersen's tales make. In using his stories it is to be + remembered that, although Andersen lacked manliness in being + sentimental, he preserved the child's point of view and gave + his thought in the true nursery story's mode of expression. + Since real sentiment places the emphasis on the object which + arouses feeling and the sentimental places the emphasis on + the feeling, sincerity demands that in using Andersen's + tales, one lessen the sentimental when it occurs by omitting + to give prominence to the feeling. Andersen's tales reflect + what is elementary in human nature, childlike fancy, and + emotion. His speech is characterized by the simplest words + and conceptions, an avoidance of the abstract, the use of + direct language, and a naive poetic expression adapted to + general comprehension. He is not to be equaled in child + conversations. The world of the fairy tale must be simple + like the world Andersen has given us. It must be a world of + genuine people and honest occupations in order to form a + suitable background for the supernatural. Only fairy tales + possessing simplicity are suited to the oldest kindergarten + child of five or six years. To the degree that the child is + younger than five years, he should be given fewer and fewer + fairy tales. Those given should be largely realistic stories + of extreme simplicity. + + _Unity of effect_. The little child likes the short tale, + for it is a unity he can grasp. If you have ever listened to + a child of five spontaneously attempting to tell you a long + tale he has not grasped, and have observed how the units of + the tale have become confused in the mind that has not held + the central theme, you then realize how harmful it is to + give a child too long a story. Unity demands that there be + no heaping up of sensations, but neat, orderly, essential + incidents, held together by one central idea. The tale must + go to the climax directly. It must close according to Uncle + Remus's idea when he says, "De tale ain't persoon atter em + no furder don de place whar dey [the characters] make der + disappear'nce." It will say what it has to say and lose no + time in saying it; and often it will attempt to say only one + thing. It will be remarkable as well for what it omits as + for what it tells. The Norse _Doll i' the Grass_ well + illustrates this unity. Boots set out to find a wife and + found a charming little lassie who could spin and weave a + shirt in one day, though of course the shirt was tiny. He + took her home and then celebrated his wedding with the + pleasure of the king. This unity, which is violated in + Grimm's complicated _Golden Bird_, appears pleasantly in + _The Little Pine Tree that Wished for New Leaves_. Here one + feeling dominates the tale, the Pine Tree was no longer + contented. So she wished, first for gold leaves, next for + glass leaves, and then for leaves like those of the oaks and + maples. But the robber who stole her gold leaves, the storm + that shattered her glass leaves, and the goat that ate her + broad green leaves, changed her feeling of discontent, until + she wished at last to have back her slender needles, green + and fair, and awoke next morning, happy and contented. + +Fairy tales for little children must avoid certain elements opposed to +the interests of the very young child. Temperaments vary and one must +be guided by the characteristics of the individual child. But while +the little girl with unusual power of visualization, who weeps on +hearing of Thumbling's travels down the cow's mouth in company with +the hay, may be the exception, she proves the rule: the little child +generally should not have the tale that creates an emotion of horror +or deep feeling of pain. This standard would determine what tales +should not be given to the child of kindergarten age:-- + + _The tale of the witch_. The witch is too strange and too + fearful for the child who has not learned to distinguish the + true from the imaginative. This would move _Hansel and + Grethel_ into the second-grade work and _Sleeping Beauty_ + preferably into the work of the first grade. The child soon + gains sufficient experience so that later the story + impresses, not the strangeness. + + _The tale of the dragon_. This would eliminate _Siegfried + and the Dragon_. A dragon is too fearful a beast and + produces terror in the heart of the child. Tales of heroic + adventure with the sword are not suited to his strength. He + has not yet entered the realm of bold adventure where + Perseus and Theseus and Hercules display their powers. The + fact that hero-tales abound in delightful literature is not + adequate reason for crowding the _Rhinegold Legends, Wagner + Stories_, and _Tales of King Arthur_, into the kindergarten. + Their beauty and charm do not make it less criminal to + present to little children such a variety of images as + knighthood carries with it. These tales are not sufficiently + simple for the little child, and must produce a mental + confusion and the crudest of returns. + + _Giant tales_. This would omit _Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack + the Giant-Killer_, and _Tom Hickathrift_, moving them up + into the primary field. A little girl, when eating tongue, + confidingly asked, "Whose tongue?" and when told, "A cow's," + immediately questioned with tenderness, "Don't he feel it?" + Thereafter she insisted that she didn't like tongue. To a + child of such sensibilities the cutting off of heads is + savage and gruesome and should not be given a chance to + impress so prominently. Life cannot be without its strife + and struggle, but the little child need not meet everything + in life at once. This does not mean that absolutely no giant + tale would be used at this time. The tale of _Mr. Miacca_, + in which "little Tommy couldn't always be good and one day + went round the corner," is a giant tale which could be used + with young children because it is full of delightful humor. + Because of the simplicity of Tommy's language and his sweet + childishness it appeals to the child's desire to identify + himself with the character. Tommy is so clever and inventive + and his lively surprises so brimful of fun that the final + effect is entirely pleasing. + + _Some tales of transformation_. The little child is not + pleased but shocked by the transformation of men into + animals. A little girl, on looking at an illustration of + _Little Brother and Sister_, remarked, "If my Sister would + turn into a fawn I would cry." When the animals are + terrifying, the transformation contains horror for the + child. This, together with the length and complexity of the + story, would move _Beauty and the Beast_ up into the second + grade where the same transformation becomes an element of + pleasure. A simple tale of transformation, such as _The + Little Lamb and the Little Fish_, in which Gretchen becomes + a lamb and Peterkin a little fish, is interesting but not + horrible, and could be used. So also could a tale such as + Grimm's _Fundevogel_, in which the brother and sister escape + the pursuit of the witch by becoming, one a rosebush and the + other a rose; later, one a church and the other a steeple; + and a third time, one a pond and the other a duck. In both + these tales we have the witch and transformation, but the + effect contains no horror. + + _The tale of strange animal relations and strange creatures. + Tom Tit Tot_, which Jacobs considers the most delightful of + all fairy tales, is brimful of humor for the older child, + but here the tailed man is not suited to the faith and + understanding of six years. _Rumpelstiltskin_, its parallel, + must also be excluded. _The House in the Wood_, and its + Norse parallel, _The Two Step-Sisters_, are both very + beautiful, but are more suited to the second grade. In the + kindergarten it is much better to present the tale which + emphasizes goodness, rather than the two just mentioned, + which present the good and the bad and show what happens to + both. Besides there is a certain elation resulting from the + superior reward won by the good child which crowds out any + pity for the erring child. Such elation is a form of + selfishness and ought not to be emphasized. _Snow White and + Rose Red_ contains the strange dwarf, but it is a tale so + full of love and goodness and home life that in spite of its + length it could be used in the first grade. + + _Unhappy tales_. The very little child pities, and its + tender heart must be protected from depressing sadness as + unrelieved as we find it in _The Little Match Girl_. The + image of suffering impressed on a child, who cannot forget + the sight of a cripple for days, is too intense to be + healthful. The sorrow of the poor is one of the elements of + life that even the very little child meets, and it is + legitimate that his literature should include tales that + call for compassion. But in a year or two, when he develops + less impressionability and more poise, he is better prepared + to meet such situations, as he must meet them in life. + + _The tale of capture_. This would eliminate _Proserpine_. No + more beautiful myth exists than this one of the springtime, + but its beauty and its symbolism do not make it suitable for + the kindergarten. It is more suited to the elementary child + of the fourth grade. In fact, very few myths of any sort + find a legitimate place in the kindergarten, perhaps only a + few of the simpler _pourquois_ tales. _The Legend of the + Pied Piper of Hamelin_, which is very beautiful, and appeals + to little children because of the piping and of the children + following after, should be omitted from the kindergarten + because the capture at the close--the disappearance of the + children in the hill--is tragic in pathos. It is better to + leave the literature as it is and offer it later when the + child reaches the second grade. The effect of this tragic + end has been realized by Josephine Scribner Gates, who (_St. + Nicholas_, November, 1914) has given to the children, "And + Piped Those Children Back Again." This is a modern + completion of _The Pied Piper_. It most happily makes the + little lame boy who was left in Hamelin when the Piper + closed the door of the mountain, the means of the + restoration of the other children to their parents. + + _The very long tale_. This would omit _The Ugly Duckling. + The Ugly Duckling_ is a most artistic tale and one that is + very true to life. Its characters are the animals of the + barn-yard, the hens and ducks familiar to the little child's + experience. But the theme and emotional interest working out + at length through varied scenes, make it much better adapted + to the capacities of a third-grade child. _The White Cat_, a + feminine counterpart of _Puss-in-Boots_--which gives a most + charming picture of how a White Cat, a transformed princess, + helped a youth, and re-transformed became his bride--because + of its length, is better used in the first grade at the same + time with _Puss-in-Boots_. The same holds true of _Peter, + Paul, and Espen_, or its parallel, Laboulaye's _Poucinet_. + This is a fine tale telling how the youngest of three sons + succeeded in winning the king's favor and finally the + princess and half the kingdom. First, Espen had to cut down + the giant oak that shadowed the palace and dig a well in the + courtyard of the castle deep enough to furnish water the + entire year. But after winning in these tests, he is + required to conquer a great Ogre who dwells in the forest, + and later to prove himself cleverer in intellect than the + princess by telling the greater falsehood. It is evident + that not only the subject-matter but the working out of the + long plot are much beyond kindergarten children. + + _The complicated or the insincere tale_. This would + eliminate a tale of complicated structure, such as Grimm's + _Golden Bird_; and many of the modern fairy tales, which + will be dealt with later on. + +The fairy tales mentioned above are all important tales which the +child should receive at a later time when he is ready for them. They +are mentioned because they all have been suggested for kindergarten +use. The whole field of children's literature is largely unclassified +and ungraded as yet, and such arrangements as we possess show slight +respect for standards. There is abundant material for the youngest, +and much will be gained by omitting to give the very young what they +will enjoy a little later, much better and with freshness. It is true +that a few classics are well-suited to the child at any age, such as +_Alice in Wonderland_, _The Jungle Books_, and _Uncle Remus Tales_. In +regard to this grading of the classics, Lamb in _Mackery End_, +speaking of his sister's education, said, "She was tumbled early, by +accident or design, into a spacious closet of good old English +reading, without much selection or prohibition, and browsed at will +upon that fair and wholesome pasturage. Had I twenty girls they should +be brought up exactly in this fashion." Lamb would have argued: Set +the child free in the library and let him choose for himself, and feed +on great literature, those stories which give general types of +situation and character, which give the simplest pictures of a people +at different epochs. But with all due respect to Lamb it must be said +that Lamb is not living in this scientific day of discovery of the +child's personality and of accurate attention to the child's needs. +Because the _Odyssey_ is a great book and will give much to any child +does not prove at all that the same child would not be better off by +reading it when his interests reach its life. This outlook on the +problem would eliminate the necessity of having the classics rewritten +from a new moral viewpoint, which is becoming a custom now-a-days, and +which is to be frowned upon, for it deprives the literature of much of +its vigor and force. + + + +II. THE FAIRY TALE AS LITERATURE + + +From the point of view of the child, we have seen that in a subjective +sense, fairy tales must contain the interests of children. In an +objective sense, rather from the point of view of literature, let us +now consider what fairy tales must contain, what are the main +standards which determine the value of fairy tales as literature, and +as such, subject-matter of real worth to the child. + +The old tale will not always be perfect literature; often it will be +imperfect, especially in form. Yet the tale should be selected with +the standards of literature guiding in the estimate of its worth and +in the emphasis to be placed upon its content. Such relating of the +tale to literary standards would make it quite impossible later in the +primary grades when teaching the reading of _Three Pigs_, to put the +main stress on a mere external like the expression of the voice. A +study of the story as literature would have centered the attention on +the situation, the characters, and the plot. If the voice is receiving +training in music and in the phonics of spelling, then when the +reading of the tale is undertaken it will be a willing servant to the +mind which is concentrating on the reality, and will express what the +thought compels. + +The fairy tale first must be a classic in reality even if it lacks the +crowning touch of perfect form given through the re-treatment of a +literary artist. In _Reynard the Fox_ we have an exact example of the +folk-tale that has been elevated into literature. But this was +possible only because the tales originally possessed the qualities of +a true classic. "A true classic," Sainte-Beuve has said, "is one which +enriches the human mind, has increased its treasure and caused it to +advance a step, which has discovered some moral and unequivocal truth +or revealed some eternal passion in that heart where all seemed known +and discovered; which is an expression of thought, observation, or +invention, in no matter what form, only provided it be broad and +great, refined and sensible, sane and beautiful in itself; which +speaks in its own peculiar style which is found to be also that of the +whole world, a style new and old, easily contemporary with all time." +Immediately some of the great fairy tales stand out as answering to +this test--_Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, +Cinderella, Jack the Giant-Killer_,--which has been said to be the +epitome of the whole life of man--_Beauty and the Beast_, and a crowd +of others. Any fairy tale which answers to the test of a real classic +must, like these, show itself to contain for the child a permanent +enrichment of the mind. + +Fairy tales must have certain qualities which belong to all literature +as a fine art, whether it is the literature of knowledge or the +literature of power. Literature is not the book nor is it life; but +literature is the sense of life, whose artist is the author, and the +medium he uses is words, language. It is good art when his sense of +life is truth, and fine art when there is beauty in that truth. The +one essential beauty of literature is in its essence and does not +depend upon any decoration. As words are the medium, literature will +distinguish carefully among them and use them as the painter, for +particular lights and shades. According to Pater literature must have +two qualities, mind and soul. Literature will have mind when it has +that architectural sense of structure which foresees the end in the +beginning and keeps all the parts related in a harmonious unity. It +will have soul when it has that "vagrant sympathy" which makes it come +home to us and which makes it suggest what it does not say. Test the +_Tale of Cinderella_ by this standard. As to mind, it makes one think +of a bridge in which the very keystone of the structure is the +condition that Cinderella return from the ball by the stroke of +twelve. And its "vagrant sympathy" is quite definite enough to reach a +maid of five, who remarked: "If I'd have been Cinderella, I wouldn't +have helped those ugly sisters, would you?" + +If the fairy tale stands the test of literature it must have proved +itself, not only a genuine classic according to Sainte-Beuve's +standard, and a tale possessing qualities of mind and soul according +to Pater's _Style_, but it must have shown itself also a work owning +certain features distinguishing it as literature. These particular +literary marks which differentiate the literary tale from the ordinary +prose tale have been pointed out by Professor Winchester in his +_Principles of Literary Criticism_. They apply to the old tale of +primitive peoples just as well as to the modern tale of to-day. As +literature the tale must have: + + (1) a power to appeal to the emotions; + + (2) a power to appeal to the imagination; + + (3) a basis of truth; and + + (4) a form more or less perfect. + +(1) A power to appeal to the emotions. This appeal to the emotions is +its unique distinguishing literary trait. Literature appeals, not to +the personal emotions but to the universal ones. For this reason, +through literature the child may come in time to develop a power of +universal sympathy, which is not the least value literature has to +bestow upon him, for this sympathy will become a benediction to all +those with whom he may have to deal. In order that emotion in the +tales may be literary--make a permanent appeal--according to Professor +Winchester's standards, it must have justness given by a deep and +worthy cause; vividness so that it may enlarge and thrill; a certain +steadiness produced by everything in the tale contributing to the main +emotion; a variety resulting from contrasts of character; and a high +quality obtained through its sympathy with life and its relation to +the conduct of life, so that the feeling for the material beauty of +mere sights and sounds is closely related to the deepest suggestions +of moral beauty. The best literary tales will possess emotion having +all five characteristics. Many tales will exhibit one or more of these +traits conspicuously. No tale that is literature will be found which +does not lay claim to some one of these qualities which appeal to the +broadly human emotions. + +Applying the test of emotion to fairy tales, _Cinderella_ possesses a +just emotion, Cinderella's cause is the cause of goodness and kindness +and love, and deserves a just reward. _The Town Musicians of Bremen_ +exhibits vivid emotion, for all four characters are in the same +desperate danger of losing life, all four unite to save it, and to +find a home. Andersen's _Steadfast Tin Soldier_ is a good example of +steadiness of emotion, as it maintains throughout its message of +courage. The Tin Soldier remained steadfast, whether on the table just +escaped from the toy-box, or in the street after a frightful fall from +the window, or spinning in a paper boat that bobbed, or sailing under +the crossing, or lying at full length within the fish that swallowed +him, or at last melting in the full glare of the hearth fire. It is a +very good example, too, of vividness of emotion. _The Little Elves_ +illustrates steadiness of emotion, it is pervaded by the one feeling, +that industry deserves reward. The French tale, _Drakesbill_, is +especially delightful and humorous because "Bill Drake" perseveres in +his happy, fresh vivacity, at the end of every rebuff of fortune, and +triumphantly continues his one cry of, "Quack, quack, quack! When +shall I get my money back?" _Lambikin_ leaves the one distinct +impression of light gaiety and happy-heartedness; and _The Foolish, +Timid Rabbit_ preserves steadily the one effect of the credulity of +the animals, made all the more prominent by contrast to the wisdom of +the Lion. Variety of emotion appears in tales such as _Cinderella, +Little Two-Eyes, Sleeping Beauty_, and _Three Pigs_, where the various +characters are drawn distinctly and their contrasting traits produce +varied emotional effects. All the great fairy tales appeal to emotion +of a high moral quality and it is this which is the source of their +universal appeal. It is this high moral quality of the spiritual +truth, which is the center of the tale's unity, holding together all +the parts under one emotional theme. This is the source of the +perennial freshness of the old tale; for while the immortal truth it +presents is old, the personality of the child that meets it is new. +For the child, the tale is new because he discovers in it a bit of +himself he had not known before, and it retains for him a lasting +charm so that he longs to hear it again and again. The beauty of +truth, the reward of goodness, and the duty of fairness, give a high +emotional quality to _Little Two-Eyes_; and _Sleeping Beauty_ +illustrates the blighting power of hatred to impose a curse and the +saving power of love to overcome the works of hatred. + +Considering folk-tales from the standpoint of emotion, if asked to +suggest what author's work would rank in the same class, one is rather +surprised to find, that for high moral quality, variety, and worthy +cause, the author who comes to mind is none other than Shakespeare. +Perhaps, with all due respect to literature's idol, one might even +venture to question which receives honor by the comparison, +Shakespeare or the folk-tales? It might be rather a pleasant task to +discover who is the Cordelia, the Othello, the Rosalind, and the +Portia of the folk-tales; or who the Beauty, the Bluebeard, the +Cinderella, the Puss-in-Boots, and the Hop-o'-my-Thumb, of +Shakespeare. + +The little child is open to emotional appeal, his heart is tender and +he is impressionable. If he feels with the characters in his tales he +develops a power of emotion. In Andersen's _Snow Man_ it is hard to +say which seems more human to him or which makes more of an emotional +appeal, the Snow Man or the Dog. He is sorry for the poor Shoemaker in +_The Little Elves_, glad when he grows rich, delighted for the Elves +when they receive their presents, and satisfied at the happy end. +Since literature depicts life and character in order to awaken noble +emotions, it follows that one must omit to present what awakens +repulsive or degrading emotions. And it is for this reason, as has +been mentioned under the heading "Elements to be avoided," that the +tales of the witch and the dragon must be excluded, not for all time, +but for the earliest years, when they awaken horror. + +Through fairy tales we have seen that the emotional power of the child +is strengthened. This has been effected because, in the tale just as +truly as in life, action is presented in real situations; and back of +every action is the motive force of emotion. This cumulative power of +emotion, secured by the child through the handling of tales, will +serve daily a present need. It will be the dynamic force which he will +require for anything he wishes to accomplish in life. It will give the +child the ability to use it in any situation similar to that in which +it was acquired. It will make a difference in his speech; he will not +have to say so much, for what he does say will produce results. This +growing power of emotion will carry over into feelings of relation and +thus lead to judgment of values. This evaluation is the basis of +reasoning and answers to the child's daily call to think from causes +to consequences. This increasing power of emotion develops into the +aesthetic sensibilities and so results in a cultivation of taste and an +understanding of life. Emotion therefore leads to appreciation, which, +when logically developed, becomes expression. Fairy tales, thus, in +conducting emotional capacity through this varied growth and toward +this high development, hold an educational value of no mean order. + +(2) The power to appeal to the imagination. Emotion can be aroused by +showing the objects which excite emotion. Imagination is this power to +see and show things in the concrete. Curry says, "Whenever the soul +comes vividly in contact with any fact, truth, etc., whenever it takes +them home to itself with more than common intensity, out of that +meeting of the soul and its object there arises a thrill of joy, a +glow of feeling. It is the faculty that can create ideal presence." +When through imagination we select spontaneously from the elements of +experience and combine into new wholes, we call it creative +imagination.--The creative imagination will be viewed here as it +appears in action in the creative return given by the child to his +fairy tales.--When we emphasize a similarity seen in mere external or +accidental relations or follow suggestions not of an essential nature +in the object, we call it fancy. Ruskin, in his _Modern Painters_, +vol. I, part III, _Of the Imaginative Faculty_, would distinguish +three classes of the imagination:-- + +(a) _The associative imagination_. This is the power of imagination by +which we call into association other images that tend to produce the +same or allied emotion. When this association has no common ground of +emotion it is fancy. The test for the associative imagination, which +has the power to combine ideas to form a conception, is that if one +part is taken away the rest of the combination goes to pieces. It +requires intense simplicity, harmony, and absolute truth. Andersen's +_Fairy Tales_ are a perfect drill for the associative imagination. +Literature parallels life and what is presented calls up individual +experience. Any child will feel a thrill of kinship with the +experiences given in _The Tin Soldier_--a little boy's birthday, the +opening of the box, the counting of the soldiers, and the setting of +them upon the table. And because here Andersen has transformed this +usual experience with a vivacity and charm, the tale ranks high as a +tale of imagination. _Little Ida's Flowers_ and _Thumbelina_ are tales +of pure fancy. Grimm's _The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean_ and _The +Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle_ rank in the same class, as also +do the Norse _The Doll i' the Grass_ and the English _Tom Thumb_. + +(b) _The penetrative imagination_. This power of imagination shows the +real character of a thing and describes it by its spiritual effects. +It sees the heart and inner nature of things. Through fancy the child +cannot reach this central viewpoint since fancy deals only with +externals. Through the exercise of this power the child develops +insight, intuition, and a perception of spiritual values, and gains a +love of the ideal truth and a perpetual thirst for it. He develops +genuineness, one of the chief virtues of originality. He will tend not +to have respect for sayings or opinions but will seek the truth, be +governed by its laws, and hold a passion for perfection. This power of +imagination makes of him a continual seeker, "a pilgrim upon earth." +Through the penetrative imagination the child forgets himself and +enters into the things about him, into the doings of Three Pigs or the +adventures of Henny Penny. + +(c) _The contemplative imagination_. This is that special phase of the +imagination that gives to abstract being consistency and reality. +Through the contemplative imagination the child gains the significance +of meaning and discerns the true message of the tale. When merely +external resemblance is caught, when the likeness is forced, and the +image created believed in, we have fancy. The contemplative +imagination interprets the past in the tale and relates it to the +future. It shows what is felt by indicating some aspect of what is +seen. Through the exercise of this power the child develops the +capacity to see. This capacity has received a high estimate from +Ruskin, who said, "Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, +thousands can think for one who can see." For language-training the +capacity to see gives that ability to image words which results in +mental growth. + +The labor of the spirit seeking the full message of the fairy tale, +often is rewarded with bits of philosophy which are the essence of its +personal wisdom. Even the Woman Suffragists of our day might be amused +to find, in _The Cat and Mouse in Partnership_, this side-light on one +of their claims. The Mouse said she did not know what to think of the +curious names, Top-off, Half-Out, and All-Out, which the Cat had +chosen. To which the Cat replied, "That is because you always stay at +home. You sit here in your soft gray coat and long tail, and these +foolish whims get into your head. It is always the way when one does +not go out in the daytime." Sometimes the philosophy of the tale is +expressed not at all directly. This is the case in Andersen's _The +Emperor's New Suit_, a gem in story-telling art--more suited to the +second grade--where the purpose of the story is veiled, and the satire +or humor is conveyed through a very telling word or two.--"'I will +send my _old, honest_ minister to the weavers,' thought the Emperor. +And the old, honest minister went to the room where the two swindlers +sat working at empty looms. 'Heaven preserve me!' thought the old +minister, opening his eyes wide. 'Why, I cannot see anything!'--But he +did not say so." The entire tale is a concrete representation of one +point; and the concreteness is so explicit that at the close of the +story its philosophy easily forms itself into the implied message of +worldly wisdom: People are afraid to speak truth concerning much +through cowardice or through fear of acting otherwise than all the +world. The philosophy underlying _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ is even +finer as a bit of truth than the perfect art of the literary story: +That what happens in life does not matter so much as the way you take +it. The Tin Soldier always remained steadfast, no matter what +happened. Kipling's _Elephant's Child_ is more charming than ever when +looked at from the standpoint of its philosophy. It might be +interpreted as an allegory answering the question, "How should one get +experience?" a theme which cannot be said to lack universal appeal. +_The Ugly Duckling_ is full of sayings of philosophy that contribute +to its complete message. The Cat and the Hen to whom the duckling +crept for refuge said, "We and the world," and could not bear a +difference of opinion. "You may believe me," said the Hen, "because I +tell you the truth. That is the way to tell your friends." Their +treatment of the Duckling expressed the philosophy: "If you can't do +what I can you're no good." The Hen said to him, "You have nothing to +do, that's why you have such strange ideas." The Duckling expressed +his philosophy by saying quietly, "You don't understand me." + +These bits of philosophy often become compressed into expressions +which to-day we recognize as proverbs. The words of the Mother Duck, +"Into the water he goes if I have to kick him in," became a +Scandinavian proverb. "A little bird told it," a common saying of +to-day, appears in Andersen's _Nightingale_ and in _Thumbelina_. But +this saying is traceable at least to the third story of the fourth +night in Straparola, translated by Keightley, _The Dancing Water, the +Singing Apple, and the Beautiful Green Bird_, in which the bird tells +the King that his three guests are his own children. "Even a cat may +look at a king," is probably traceable to some fairy tale if not to +_Puss-in-Boots_. The philosophy in the fairy tales and the proverbs +that have arisen in them, are subjects which offer to the adult much +pleasure and fruitfulness. + +But one must ask, "Does this philosophy appeal to the child? Is it not +adult wisdom foreign to his immaturity?" The old folk-tales are the +products of adult minds; but the adults were grown-ups that looked +upon the world with the eyes of children, and their philosophy often +was the philosophy of childhood. For childhood has its philosophy; but +because it meets with repression on so many sides it usually keeps it +to itself. When given freedom and self-activity and self-expression, +the child's philosophy appears also. And it is the inner truth of the +tale rather than the outer forms of sense and shapes of beauty which, +when suited to the little child, appeals to this child-philosophy and +makes the deepest impression upon him. + +In the literary fairy tale there often appears a philosophy which is +didactic and above and beyond the child's knowledge of the world. It +remains a question how much this adult philosophy appeals to him. +Although his tales were written for his grandchildren, so finished a +telling of the tale as we find in Laboulaye, with its delightful hits +of satire, appeals more to the grown-up versed in the ways of the +world. But the sage remarks of worldly wisdom of Uncle Remus could not +fail to impress a little boy: "Go where you will and when you may, and +stay long ez you choosen ter stay, en right dar en den you'll sholy +fin' dat folks what git full er consate en proudness is gwine ter git +it tuck out 'm um."--Uncle Remus treated the little boy as if he was +"pestered with sense, like grown-ups," and surely the little boy +gained much amusement from sayings such as these: "If you know the man +thab would refuse to take care of himself, I'd like mighty well if +you'd point him out."--"Well, well," said Uncle Remus soothingly, "in +deze low groun's er sorrer, you des got to lean back en make +allowances fer all sorts er folks. You got ter low fer dem dat knows +too much same ez dem what knows too little. A heap er sayin's en a +heap er doin's in dis roun' worl' got ter be tuck on trus'."--The +child does not get the full force of the philosophy but he gets what +he can and that much sinks in. + +It is through the contemplative imagination that the child realizes +the meaning of particular tales. He learns: that _Cinderella_ means +that goodness brings its own reward; that _Three Pigs_ means that the +wise build with care and caution, with foresight; that _Star Dollars_ +means compassion for others and kindness to them; and that _Red Riding +Hood_ means obedience. + +The power of the contemplative imagination is based on the +indistinctness of the image. It suggests, too, the relation between +cause and effect, which reason afterwards proves; and therefore it is +a direct aid to science. In the tales there are expressed facts of +truth symbolically clothed which science since then has discovered. +And now that folk-lore is being studied seriously to unfold all it +gives of an earlier life, perhaps this new study may reveal some new +truths of science hidden in its depths. The marvels of modern shoe +manufacture were prophesied in _The Little Elves_, and the power of +electricity to hold fast was foretold in _Dummling and his Golden +Goose_. The wonders of modern machinery appeared in the magic axe of +Espen that hit at every stroke; and the miracle of modern canals sees +a counterpart in the spring which Espen brought to the giant's +boiling-pot in the wood. The magic sleep from which there was an +awakening, even after a hundred years, may have typified hypnotism and +its strange power upon man. These are realizations of some of the +wonders of fairyland. But there may be found lurking in its depths +many truths as yet undiscovered by science. Perhaps the dreams of +primitive man may suggest to the present-day scientist new +possibilities.--What primitive man has done in fancy present-day man +can do in reality. + +(3) A basis of truth. All fine emotional effects arise from truth. The +tale must hold the mirror and show an image of life. It must select +and combine facts which will suggest emotion but the facts must be a +true expression of human nature. The tale, whether it is realistic in +emphasizing the familiar, the commonplace, and the present, or +romantic in emphasizing the strange, the heroic, and the remote, must +be idealistic to interpret truly the facts of life by high ideals. If +the tale has this basis of truth the child will gain, through his +handling of it, a body of facts. This increases his knowledge and +strengthens his intellect. And it is to be remembered that, for the +child's all-round development, the appeal of literature to the +intellect is a value to be emphasized equally with the appeal to the +emotions and to the imagination. Speaking of the nature of the +intellect in his essay on _Intellect_, Emerson has said: "We do not +determine what we will think. We only open our senses, clear away as +we can all obstruction from the fact, and suffer the intellect to +see." Attention to the intellectual element in literature gives a +power of thought. The consideration of the truth of the fairy tale +aids the child to clear, definite thinking because the experience of +the tale is ordered from a beginning, through a development, to a +climax, and to a conclusion. It assists him to form conclusions +because it presents results of circumstances and consequences of +conduct. Continued attention to the facts, knowledge, and truth +presented in the tales, helps the child to grow a sincerity of spirit. +This leads to that love of actual truth, which is one of the armors of +middle life, against which false opinion falls harmless. + +(4) A form, more or less perfect. Form is the union of all the means +which the writer employs to convey his thought and emotion to the +reader. Flaubert has said, "Among all the expressions of the world +there is but _one_, one form, one mode, to express what I want to +say."--"Say what you have to say, what you have a will to say, in the +simplest, the most direct and exact manner possible, with no +surplusage," Walter Pater has spoken. Then the form and the matter +will fit each other so perfectly there will be no unnecessary +adornment. + +In regard to form it is to be remembered that feeling is best awakened +incidentally by suggestion. Words are the instruments, the medium of +the writer. Words have two powers: the power to name what they mean, +or denotation; and the power to suggest what they imply, or +connotation. Words have the power of connotation in two ways: They may +mean more than they say or they may produce emotional effect not only +from meaning but also from sound. To make these two suggestive powers +of words work together is the perfect art of Milton. Pope describes +for us the relation of sound to sense in a few lines which themselves +illustrate the point:-- + + Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows, + And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows. + But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, + The hoarse, rough verse, should like the torrent roar. + When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw. + The line too labors, and the words move slow: + Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, + Flies o'er the unbending corn and skims along the main. + +When a kindergarten child, the most timid one of a group, on listening +to the telling of _The Bremen Town Musicians_, at the description of +the Donkey and the Dog coming to the Cat, sitting in the road with a +face "dismal as three rainy Sundays," chuckled with humor at the word +"dismal," it was not because she knew the meaning of the word or the +significance of "three rainy Sundays," but because the sounds of the +words and the facial expression of the story-teller conveyed the +emotional effect, which she sensed. + +The connection between sound and action appears in _Little Spider's +First Web_: The Fly said, "Then I will _buzz_"; the Bee said, "Then I +will _hum_"; the Cricket said, "Then I will _chirp_"; the Ant said, +"Then I will _run_ to and fro"; the Butterfly said, "Then I will +_fly_"; and the Bird said, "Then I will _sing_." The effect is +produced here because the words selected are concrete ones which +visualize. Repetitive passages in the tales often contribute this +effect of sound upon meaning, as we find in _The Three Billy-Goats +Gruff_: "Trip, trap; trip, trap! went the bridge as the youngest +Billy-Goat Gruff came to cross the bridge." The sound of the words in +this entire tale contributes largely to the meaning. The Troll roared +and said, "Now I'm coming to gobble you up!" Usually the bits of rhyme +interspersed throughout the tales, illustrate this contribution of +sound to meaning; as in the _Three Pigs_:-- + + Then I'll huff, + And I'll puff, + And I'll blow your house in! + +Especially is this the case in tales dignified by the cante-fable +form; such as Grimm's _Cinderella_:-- + + Rustle and shake yourself, dear tree, + And silver and gold throw down to me! + +Or in _Little Two-Eyes_:-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + +Or in _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_:-- + + Ah, my brother, in the wood + A Iamb, now I must search for food! + +The suggestive power of words to convey more than they mean, is +produced, not only by the sounds contained in the words themselves, +but also largely by the arrangement of the words and by the +speech-tunes of the voice in speaking them. Kipling's _Elephant's +Child_ is a living example of the suggestive power of words. The "new, +fine question" suggests that the Elephant's Child had a habit of +asking questions which had not been received as if they were fine. +"Wait-a-bit thorn-bush," suggests the Kolokolo Bird sitting alone on +the bush in placid quiet. "And _still_ I want to know what the +crocodile has for dinner" implies that there had been enough spankings +to have killed the curiosity, but contrary to what one would expect, +it was living and active. When Kolokolo Bird said with a _mournful_ +cry, "Go to the banks of the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo River," +etc., the implication of _mournful_ is, that there the Elephant's +Child would have a sorry time of it. The expression, "dear families," +which occurs so often, is full of delightful irony and suggests the +vigorous treatment, anything but dear, which had come to the +Elephant's Child from them. + +Perfect form consists in the "ability to convey thought and emotion +with perfect fidelity." The general qualities characteristic of +perfect form, which have been outlined by Professor Winchester, in his +_Principles of Literary Criticism_, are: (1) precision or clearness; +(2) energy or force; (3) delicacy or emotional harmony; and (4) +personality. Precision or clearness demands the precise value and +meaning of words. It requires that words have the power of denotation. +It appeals to the intellect of the reader or listener and demands that +language be neither vague nor ambiguous nor obscure. Energy or force +demands that perfect form have the quality of emotion. It requires +that words have especially the power of connotation. It appeals to the +emotions of the reader or listener and has the power to hold the +attention. It demands of language that sympathy which will imply what +it would suggest. Delicacy or emotional harmony demands that perfect +form please the taste. It requires that an emotional harmony be +secured by a selection and arrangement of the melody of words and of +the emotional associations which, together with the meanings, are tied +up in words. It demands that words have the power of perfect +adaptation to the thought and feeling they express, that words have +both the power of denotation and of connotation. It appeals to the +aesthetic sense of the reader or listener, it gives to form beauty and +charm. Personality is the influence of the author, the charm of +individuality, and suggests the character of the writer. + +At the same time that perfect form is characterized by the general +qualities of precision, energy, delicacy, and personality, as +composition consisting of words, sentences, paragraphs, or large +wholes, its elements must be controlled by certain main principles, +which have been presented by Professor Barrett Wendell in _English +Composition_. Perfect form cannot possess the four general qualities +above mentioned unless its elements are controlled by these main +principles. These are: (1) the principle of sincerity; (2) the +principle of unity; (3) the principle of mass; and (4) the principle +of coherence. Sincerity demands of perfect form that it be a just +expression. Unity demands that every composition should group itself +about a central idea. There must be one story, all incidents +subordinated, one main course of action, one main group of characters, +and one tone of feeling to produce an emotional effect. Variety of +action must lead to one definite result and variety of feeling to one +total impression. Unity demands that the tale must have a plan that is +complete, with no irrelevant material, and that there must be a +logical order and a climax. Mass demands that the chief parts of every +composition should readily catch the eye. It maintains a harmonious +proportion of all the parts. Coherence demands of any composition that +the relation of each part to its neighbors should be unmistakable, and +that the order, forms, and connections of the parts preserve this +relation. + +When form secures a perfect adaptation of the language to the thought +and feeling expressed, it may be said to possess style, in a broad +sense of the word. In a more detailed sense, when form is +characterized by precision, energy, delicacy, and personality, and at +the same time has the elements of its composition controlled by the +principles of sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence, it is said to +possess style. The fairy tale which is a classic characterized by that +perfect form called style, will possess the general qualities of +precision, energy, delicacy, and personality; and the elements of its +structure, its words, its sentences, its paragraphs, will display a +control of the principles of sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence. + +A tale which well illustrates the literary form possible to the +child's tale, which may be said to possess that perfection of form we +call style, and which may be used with the distinct aim to improve the +child's English and perfect his language expression, is the modern +realistic fairy tale, _Oeyvind and Marit_. + +_Oeyvind and Marit_ is so entirely realistic as to be excluded here, +but the talking rhymes which the Mother sings to Oeyvind bring in the +fairy element of the talking animals. In the form of this tale, the +perfect fidelity with which the words fit the meaning is +apparent--nothing seems superfluous. When Oeyvind asked Marit who she +was, she replied:-- + +"I am Marit, mother's little one, father's fiddle, the elf in the +house, granddaughter of Ole Nordistuen of the Heidi farms, four years +old in the autumn, two days after the frost nights, I!" + +And Oeyvind replied:-- + + "Are you really?"--and drew a long breath which he had not + dared to do so long as she was speaking. + +The story is full of instances illustrating precision, energy, and +delicacy. In fact, almost any passage exemplifies the general +qualities of form and the qualities of composition. The personality of +the writer has given to the tale a poetic and dramatic charm of +simplicity. Note the precision and delicacy displayed in the opening +paragraph:-- + + Oeyvind was his name. A low barren cliff overhung the house + in which he was born; fir and birch looked down on the roof, + and wild cherry strewed flowers over it. Upon this roof + there walked about a little goat, which belonged to Oeyvind. + He was kept there that he might not go astray; and Oeyvind + carried leaves and grass up to him. One fine day the goat + leaped down, and away to the cliff; he went straight up and + came where he never had been before. + +Energy is apparent in the following passage:-- + + "Is it yours, this goat?" asked the girl again. + + "Yes," he said, and looked up. + + "I have taken such a fancy to the goat. You will not give it + to me?" + + "No, that I won't." + + She lay kicking her legs and looking down at him, and then + she said, "But if I give you a butter-cake for the goat, can + I have him then?" + +The justness of expression, the sincerity, is especially impressive +when Oeyvind's Mother came out and sat down by his side when the goat +no longer satisfied him and he wanted to hear stories of what was far +away. There is emotional harmony too, because the words suggest the +free freshness of the mountain air and the landscape which rose round +about the Boy and his Mother. + + So she told him how once everything could talk: "The + mountain talked to the stream, and the stream to the river, + the river to the sea, and the sea to the sky."--But then he + asked if the sky did not talk to any one: "And the sky + talked to the clouds, the clouds to the trees, the trees to + the grass, the grass to the flies, the flies to the animals, + the animals to the children, the children to the grown-up + people...." Oeyvind looked at the mountain, the trees, and + the sky and had never seen them before. + +There is delicacy or emotional harmony also in the Mother's song. When +Oeyvind asked, "What does the Cat say?" his Mother sang:-- + + At evening softly shines the sun. + The cat lies lazy on the stone. + Two small mice, + Cream, thick and nice, + Four bits of fish, + 1 stole behind a dish, + And am so lazy and tired, + Because so well I have fared. + +The unity is maintained through the central interest of the two +Children and the goat. + +The tale is characterized by fairly good mass. As the story aims to +portray a natural picture of child life, obviously it could not +maintain a style of too great solidity and force, but rather would +seek one of ease and naturalness. Mass, as shown in _Oeyvind and +Marit_, appears in the following description of Oeyvind's play with +the goat, after he first realized its return:-- + + He jumped up, took it by the two fore-legs, and danced with + it as if it were a brother; he pulled its beard, and he was + just going in to his mother with it, when he heard someone + behind him; and looking, saw the girl sitting on the + greensward by his side. Now he understood it all, and let go + the goat. + +The story of child-friendship is told in distinct little episodes +which naturally connect. That unmistakable relation of the parts which +is essential to coherence, appears in the following outline of the +story:-- + + 1. A new acquaintance; Oeyvind and Marit meet. The exchange of a + goat for a cake. The departure of the goat. Marit sings to the + goat. The return of the goat. Marit accompanies the goat. + + 2. New interests. The stories of what the animals say, told to + Oeyvind by his Mother. The first day of school. + + 3. An old acquaintance renewed: Oeyvind again meets Marit at + School. + +The Children's love of the goat, the comradeship of Oeyvind and Marit, +of Oeyvind and his Mother, and of Marit and her Grandfather, are +elements which assist in producing coherence. The songs of Marit, and +the songs and stories of Oeyvind's Mother, especially preserve the +relation of parts. In the following paragraphs, which give distinct +pictures, note the coherence secured internally largely by the +succession of verbs denoting action and also by the denotation of the +words. + + When he came in, there sat as many children round a table as + he had ever seen at church; others were sitting on their + luncheon-boxes, which were ranged round the walls; some + stood in small groups round a large printed card; the + school-master, an old gray-haired man, was sitting on a + stool by the chimney-corner, filling his pipe. They all + looked up as Oeyvind and his mother entered, and the + mill-hum ceased as if the water had suddenly been turned + off.... + + As he was going to find his seat, they all wanted to make + room for him. He looked round a long time, while they + whispered and pointed; he turned round on all sides, with + his cap in his hand and his book under his arm.... + + Just as the boy is going to turn round to the school-master, + he sees close beside him, sitting down by the hearthstone on + a little red painted tub, Marit, of the many names; she had + covered her face with both hands, and sat peeping at him + through her fingers. + +The imagination is appealed to continually through the simple concrete +expressions which present an image; as, "He grew hot all over, looked +around about, and called, 'Killy-killy-killy-goat!'" + +The emotional element is distinct and pleasing and contributes to the +total impression of admiration for the characters. We admire Oeyvind +for his fondness for the goat and for his pain at losing it; for his +dissatisfaction in keeping it after Marit returned it, though she +wanted it; for his delight in his Mother's stories; and for his +pleasure in Marit's friendship at school. We admire Marit for her +appreciation of the beautiful goat; for her obedience to her +Grandfather; for her sorrow at giving up the goat; for her generosity +in giving the neck-chain with it; and for the childish comradeship she +gave to Oeyvind. We admire the goat for his loyalty to his little +master. We trust the Grandfather who trained Marit to be fair and +courteous; who guarded her from the cliff; and who bought for her +another goat. We have faith in the Mother who had feeling for the +little goat her son bartered for a cake; and who had the wisdom to +sing for her little boy and tell him stories when he was sorrowful and +needed new interests. + +Undoubtedly _Oeyvind and Marit_ is a tale which conveys its thought +clearly and makes you feel its feeling, and therefore may be said to +possess style in a broad sense. In a particular sense, because its +form is marked by the four general qualities: precision, energy, +delicacy, and personality; and its elements are controlled by the +principles of composition: sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence, it +therefore may be said to possess style. + +An old tale which has a literary form unusual in its approach to the +perfect literary form, is the Norse, _The Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, +told by Dasent in _Tales from the Norse_. Indeed after looking +carefully at this tale one is tempted to say that, for perfection of +style, some of the old folk-tales are not to be equaled. Note the +simple precision shown in the very first paragraph:-- + + Once on a time there were three Billy-Goats, who were to go + up to the hill-side to make themselves fat, and the name of + all three was "Gruff." + +Energy or force appeals to the emotions in the words of the tiny +Billy-Goat Gruff to the Troll:-- + + "Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," + said the Billy-Goat; "wait a bit till the second Billy-Goat + Gruff comes, he's much bigger." + +There is emotional harmony displayed in the second paragraph; the +words used fit the ideas:-- + + On the way up was a bridge over a burn they had to cross; + and under the bridge lived a great ugly Troll, with eyes as + big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker. + +The quality of personality is best described, perhaps, by saying that +the tale seems to have impersonality. Any charm of the story-tellers +of the ages has entered into the body of the tale, which has become an +objective presentment of a reality that concentrates on itself and +keeps personality out of sight. The character of the tellers is shown +however in the qualities of the tale. The charm of the primitive +story-tellers has given the tale inimitable morning-dew freshness. +This seems to result from a fine simplicity, a sprightly +visualization, a quaint picturesqueness, a pleasing terseness, and an +Anglo-Saxon vigor. + +Sincerity is displayed in the words of the Troll and of the three +Billy-Goats. Note the sincerity of little Billy-Goat Gruff:-- + + "Oh! it is only I, the tiniest Billy-Goat Gruff; and I'm + going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the + Billy-Goat, with such a small voice. + +The unity in this tale is unusually good. The central idea which +groups all the happenings in the tale is: Three Billy-Goats are +crossing a bridge to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat. +There are four characters, three Goats and the Troll. All that happens +in the tale contributes to the one effect of a bridge going trip, +trap! as a Goat crossed it on his way up the hillside; of a Troll +roaring: "Who's that tripping over my bridge?" of the explanation of +the Billy-Goat; of the answer of the Troll, "Now I'm coming to gobble +you up"; and of the Billy-Goat's final petition. Unity is emphasized +by the repetition in the tale, as the three Billy-Goats successively +cross the bridge and reply to the Troll. The climax is the big +Billy-Goat Gruff's tramp across the bridge. + +This tale is characterized by perfect mass, the paragraphs always end +with words that deserve distinction, and the sentences have their +strongest words at the points where the eye would most readily see +them; as, "But just then up came the big Billy-Goat Gruff." The +coherence is fine, and is secured largely by the cumulative plan in a +threefold sense. The relation of the parts is unmistakable. The +similarity and contrast evident in the episodes of the three +Billy-Goats makes this relation very clearly defined. To make doubly +sure the end has been reached the tale concludes:-- + + Snip, snap, snout, + This tale's told out. + +Let us examine the folk-tale generally as to its literary form. The +folk-tale originally did not come from the people in literary form. +The tale was first told by some nameless primitive man, who, returning +from some adventure of everyday life, would narrate it to a group of +his comrades. First told to astonish and interest, or to give a +warning of the penalty of breaking Nature's laws, or to teach a moral +lesson, or to raise a laugh, later it became worked up into the +fabulous stories of gods and heroes. These fabulous stories developed +into myth-systems, and these again into household tales. By constant +repetition from one generation to another, incidents likely to happen +in everyday life, which represented universal experiences and +satisfied common needs of childhood, were selected and combined. These +gradually assumed a form of simplicity and literary charm, partly +because, just as a child insists on accuracy, savage people adhered +strictly to form in repeating the tale, and because it is a law of +permanence that what meets the universal need will survive. The great +old folk-tales have acquired in their form a clearness and precision; +for in the process of telling and re-telling through the ages all the +episodes became clearly defined. And as irrelevant details dropped +out, there developed that unity produced by one dominant theme and one +dominant mood. The great old folk-tales, then, naturally acquired a +good classic literary form through social selection and survival. But +many of the tales as we know them have suffered either through +translation or through careless modern retelling. Many of the +folk-tales take on real literary form only through the re-treatment of +a literary artist. Mrs. Steel, who has collected the _Tales of the +Punjab_, tells how the little boys of India who seek to hold their +listening groups will vary the incidents in a tale in different +tellings, proving that the complete tale was not the original unit, +but that single incidents are much more apt to retain their stock +forms than plots. The combination we now have in a given tale was +probably a good form once hit upon and thereafter transmitted. + +Jacob (1785-1863) and William (1786-1859) Grimm, both fine scholars, +incapable of any but good work, did not undertake to put the tale into +literary form suited to children. They were interested in preserving +folk-lore records for scientific purposes. And we must distinguish +between the tale as a means of reflecting the ideals of social and +religious life, of displaying all the genius of primitive man for +science to interpret, and the tale as a means of pleasing and +educating the child. The Grimms obtained most of their tales from the +lips of people in Hesse and Hanau, Germany. They were very fortunate +in securing many of the tales they were thirteen years in collecting, +from an old nurse, Frau Vichmannin, the wife of a cowherd, who lived +at Niederzwehrn, near Cassel, who told her story with exactness and +never changed anything in repeating. Grimm himself said, "Our first +care was faithfulness to the truth. We strove to penetrate into the +wild forests of our ancestors, listening to their noble language, +watching their pure customs, recognizing their ancient freedom and +hearty faith." The Grimms sought the purity of a straightforward +narration. They were against reconstruction to beautify and poetize +the legends. They were not opposed to a free appropriation for modern +and individual purposes. They kept close to the original, adding +nothing of circumstance or trait, but rendering the stories in a style +and language and development of detail which was their own literary +German. + +Perrault (1628-1703) had taken the old tales as his son, Charles, a +lad of ten or twelve, told them. The father had told them to the son +as he had gathered them up, intending to put them into verse after the +manner of La Fontaine. The lad loved the stories and re-wrote them +from memory for his father with such charming naivete that the father +chose the son's version in preference to his own, and published it. +But the tales of Perrault, nevertheless, show the embellishment of the +mature master-Academician's touch in subduing the too marvelous tone, +or adding a bit of court manners, or a satirical hit at the vanity and +failings of man. + +Dasent (1820-96) has translated the Norse tales from the original +collection of Asbjoernsen and Moe. Comrades from boyhood to manhood, +scholar and naturalist, these two together had taken long walks into +the secluded peasant districts and had secured the tales from the +people of the dales and fells, careful to retain the folk-expressions. +Dasent, with the instinct, taste, and skill of a true scholar, has +preserved these tales of an honest manly race, a race of simple men +and women, free and unsubdued. He has preserved them in their +folk-language and in their true Norse setting. Harris (1848-1908) has +given his tales in the dialect of Uncle Remus. Jacobs (1854-) has +aimed to give the folk-tales in the language of the folk, retaining +nurses' expressions, giving a colloquial and romantic tone which often +contains what is archaic and crude. He has displayed freedom with the +text, invented whole incidents, or completed incidents, or changed +them. His object has been to fill children's imaginations with bright +images. Andrew Lang (1844-1912) has given the tale mainly to entertain +children. He has accepted translations from many sources and has given +a straightforward narration. He has collected fairy tales +indefatigably in his rainbow _Fairy Books_, but they are not always to +be recommended for children. + +Andersen (1805-75), like Perrault, made his tale for the child as an +audience, and he too has put the tale into literary form. Andersen's +tale is not the old tale, but an original creation, a number of which +are based on old folk-material. Preserving the child's point of view, +Andersen has enriched his language with a mastery of perfection and +literary style. And the "mantle of Andersen" has, so far, fallen on no +one. + +To-day it is to be questioned if the child should be given the tale in +nurses' talk. To-day children are best cared for by mothers who feel +ignorant if they cannot tell their children stories, and who, having +an appreciation of their mother English, want their children to hear +stories, not only told by themselves rather than by their servants, +but also told in the best literary form possible. They recognize that +these earliest years, when the child is first learning his language, +are the years for a perfection of form to become indelibly impressed. +The fairy tale, like every piece of literature, is an organism and +"should be put before the youngest child with its head on, and +standing on both feet." The wholesale re-telling of every tale is to +be deplored. And stories which have proved themselves genuine +classics, which have a right to live, which have been handed down by +tradition, which have been preserved by folk-lore records, and which +have been rescued from oblivion,--in this age of books should have a +literary form, which is part of their message, settled upon them. The +Grimm tales await their literary master. + + + +III. THE FAIRY TALE AS A SHORT-STORY + + +The fairy tale, then, which in an objective sense, from the standpoint +of literature, has proved itself subject-matter of real worth, must be +a classic, must have the qualities of mind and soul, must possess the +power to appeal to the emotions, a power to appeal to the imagination, +and it must have a basis of truth and a perfection of form. But in +addition to possessing these characteristics, because the fairy tale +is a special literary form,--the short-story,--as literature it must +stand the test of the short-story. + +The three main characteristics of the short-story, as given by +Professor Brander Matthews in his _Philosophy of the Short-Story_, are +originality of theme, ingenuity of invention, and brevity, or +compression. A single effect must be conceived, and no more written +than contributes to that effect. The story depends for its power and +charm on (1) characters; (2) plot; and (3) setting. In _The Life and +Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson_, by Graham Balfour, Stevenson has +said, concerning the short-story:-- + + "There are, so far as I know, three ways, and three ways + only, of writing a story. You may take a plot and fit + characters to it, or you may take a character and choose + incidents and situations to develop it, or lastly--you must + bear with me while I try to make this clear.... You may take + a certain atmosphere and get action and persons to express + and realize it. I'll give you an example--_The Merry Men_. + There I began with the feeling of one of those islands on + the west coast of Scotland, and I gradually developed the + story to express the sentiment with which the coast affected + me." + +According to the method by which the story was made, the emphasis will +be on character, plot, or setting. Sometimes you may have a perfect +blending of all three. + +(1) Characters. The characters must be unique and original, so that +they catch the eye at once. They dare not be colorless, they must have +striking experiences. The Elephant's Child, Henny Penny, Medio +Pollito, Jack of the Beanstalk, the Three Pigs, the Three Bears, and +Drakesbill--the characters of the fairy tales have no equal in +literature for freshness and vivacity. The very mention of the thought +brings a smile of recognition; and it is for this reason, no doubt, +that leading men in large universities turn aside from their high +scholarly labors, to work or play with fairy tales. Besides the +interesting chief characters, moreover, there are many more +subordinate characters that are especially unique: the fairies, the +fairy godmothers and wise women, the elves of the trees, the dwarfs of +the ground, the trolls of the rocks and hills, and the giants and +witches. Then that great company of toilers in every occupation of +life bring the child in touch with many novel phases of life. At best +we are all limited by circumstances to a somewhat narrow sphere and +like to enter into all that we are not. The child, meeting in his tale +the shoemaker, the woodcutter, the soldier, the fisherman, the hunter, +the poor traveler, the carpenter, the prince, the princess, and a host +of others, gets a view of the industrial and social conditions that +man in simple life had to face. This could not fail to interest; and +it not only broadens his experience and deepens his sympathy, but is +the best means for acquiring a foundation upon which to build his own +vocational training. This acquisition is one contribution of +literature to industrial work. Those characters will appeal to the +child which present what the child has noticed or can notice. They +should appear as they do in life, by what they say and by what they +do. This, in harmony with the needs of the young child, makes the +tales which answer to the test of suitability, largely dramatic. + +(2) Plot. The characters of the tales can be observed only in action. +Plot is the synthesis of the actions, all the incidents which happen +to the characters. The plot gives the picture of experience and allows +us to see others through the events which come to them. According to +Professor Bliss Perry, the plot should be entertaining, comical, +novel, or thrilling. It should present images that are clear-cut and +not of too great variety. It should easily separate itself into large, +leading episodes that stand out distinctly. The sequence of events +should be orderly and proceed without interruption. The general +structure should easily be discerned into the beginning, the middle, +and the end. Various writers of tales have their particular ways of +beginning. Andersen loses no time in getting started, while Kipling +begins by stating his theme. The old tales frequently began with the +words, "Once upon a time," which Kipling modified to "In the High and +Far-Off times, O Best Beloved," etc. Hawthorne begins variously with +"Once upon a time", or, "Long, long ago"; or, "Did you ever hear of +the golden apples?" etc.--Hawthorne has been omitted in this book +because, so far as I can discover, he furnishes no tale for the +kindergarten or first grade. His simplest tale, _Midas and the Golden_ +_Touch_, properly belongs in the second grade when told; when read, in +the fourth grade.--The introduction, in whatever form, should be +simple and to the point. It should give the time and place and present +the characters; and if good art it will be impatient of much +preliminary delay. The great stories all show a rise of interest +culminating in one central climax; and after that, sometimes following +on its very heels, the conclusion where poetic justice is meted out. +This climax is a very important feature in the tale, so important that +it has been said, "The climax is the tale." It is the point where +interest focuses. It makes the story because it is where the point of +the story is made. In a good story this point always is made +impressive and often is made so by means of surprise. The conclusion +must show that the tale has arrived at a stopping place and in a moral +tale it must leave one satisfied, at rest. + +If the folk-tale is good narration, in answer to the question, "What?" +it will tell what happened; in answer to the question, "Who?" it will +tell to whom it happened; in answer to the question, "Where?" it will +tell the place where, and the time when, it happened; and in answer to +the question, "Why?" it will give the reason for telling the story, it +will give the message, and the truth embodied in its form. As +narration the tale must have truth, interest, and consistency. Its +typical mood must be action and its language the language of +suggestion. This language of suggestion appears when it shows an +object by indicating how it is like something else; by telling what we +feel when we see the object; and by telling what actions of the person +or object make it hateful or charming. We learn to know Andersen's +Snow Man through what the Dog says of him. + +Description, in the sense of a static, detailed delineation of various +qualities of objects, has no place in the child's story, for it bores +the child, who is very persistent in wanting the main theme +uninterrupted. But description that has touches of movement and action +or that lays emphasis on a single effect and has point, distinctly +aids visualization, and produces a pleasing result, as we have seen in +Kipling's _Elephant's Child_. The young child of to-day, trained in +nature study to look upon bird, tree, and flower with vital interest, +to observe the color and the form of these, gains a love of the +beautiful that makes him exclaim over the plumage of a bird or tint of +a flower. To him beauty in the tale must make a direct appeal which +the child unfamiliar with these things might not feel. _The Wonderful +Adventures of Nils_ makes an appeal to the modern child which could +not possibly have been felt by the child living before 1850. The +modern child brought up on phonics is sensitive to sound also, and +open to an appreciation of the beauty of the individual word used in +description. This description, when it occurs, should be characterized +mainly by aptness and concreteness. + +Having observed the general characteristics of the narrative contained +in the plot, let us examine the structure of a few tales to see: What +is the main theme of the plot and how it works itself out; what are +the large, leading episodes, and how they culminate in the climax; and +what is the conclusion, and how closely it follows the climax. + +_The Story of Three Pigs_ + + I. _Introduction_. Time. Place. Characters: Mother and + Three Pigs. Mother gone. + + II. _Rise_. + + 1. First Pig's venture with a man with a load of straw. + Builds a straw house. (Wolf enters.) + Wolf comes and destroys him. + + 2. Second Pig's venture with a man with a load of furze. + Builds a furze house. + Wolf comes and destroys him. + + 3. Third Pig's venture with a man with a load of bricks. + Builds a brick house. + Wolf comes. (Climax.) + + III. _Conclusion_. Third Pig outwits the Wolf. + At the turnip-field in Mr. Smith's home-field. + At the apple tree in Merry-Garden. + At the fair at Shanklin. + At his own brick house. + +Evidently the climax here is when the Wolf comes to the third Pig's +brick house. After that things take a turn; and the final test of +strength and cleverness comes at the very end of the tale, at Little +Pig's brick house. + +Grimm's _Briar Rose_ is a model of structure and easily separates +itself into ten large episodes. + +_Briar Rose_ + + 1. _The Introduction_. + + 2. The Christening Feast. + (a) The Fairies and their gifts. + (b) The wicked Fairy and her curse. + + 3. The King's decree. + + 4. Princess Rose's birthday. + (a) Princess Rose's visit to the old tower. + (b) Princess Rose and the wicked Fairy spinning. + (c) The magic sleep. + + 5. The hedge of briars. + + 6. The Prince and the old Man. + + 7. The Prince and the opening hedge. + + 8. The Prince in the castle. (Climax.) + + 9. The awakening. + + 10. The wedding. (Conclusion.) + +The climax here is the Prince's awakening kiss. The blossoming of the +hedge into roses prepares for the climax; and the conclusion--the +awakening of all the life of the castle and the wedding--follow +immediately after. + +(3) Setting. The third element of the short-story that is essential to +its power and charm is setting. The setting is the circumstances or +events which surround the characters and action. The setting occupies +a much more important place in the tale than we realize, for it is the +source of a variety of sensations and feelings which it may arouse. It +gives the poetic or artistic touch to a tale. In the old tale the +setting is given often in a word or two which act like magic, to open +to our eyes a whole vision of associations. The road in the _Three +Pigs_, the wood in _Red Riding Hood_, the castle in the _Sleeping +Beauty_--these add charm. Often the transformation in setting aids +greatly in producing effect. In _Cinderella_ the scene shifts from the +hearth to the palace ballroom; in the _Princess and the Pea_, from the +comfortable castle of the Queen to the raging storm, and then back +again to the castle, to the breakfast-room on the following morning. +In _Snow White and Rose Red_ the scene changes from the cheery, +beautiful interior of the cottage, to the snowstorm from which the +Bear emerged. In accumulative tales, such as _The Old Woman and her +Pig_, _Medio Pollito_, and _The Robin's Christmas Song_, the sequence +of the story itself is preserved mainly by the change of setting. This +appears in the following outline of _The Robin's Christmas Song_, an +English tale which is the same as the Scotch _Robin's Yule-Song_, +which has been attributed to Robert Burns. This tale illustrates one +main line of sequence:-- + +_The Robin's Christmas Song_ + + 1. _Introduction_. A sunny morning. Waterside. A Gray Pussy. + A Robin came along. + + 2. _Rise_. + + Pussy said, ... "See my white fur." + + Robin replied, ... "You ate the wee mousie." + + _Change in setting_. Stone wall on border of the wood. A + greedy Hawk, sitting. + + Hawk said, ... "See the speckled feather in my wing." + + Robin replied, ... "You pecked the sparrow," etc. + + _Change in setting_. Great rock. A sly Fox. + + Fox said, "See the spot on my tail." + + Robin replied, "You bit the wee lambie." + + _Change in setting_. Banks of a rivulet. A small Boy. + + Boy said, "See the crumbs in my pocket." + + Robin replied, "You caught the goldfinch." + + _Change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill. The + King at the window. + + Robin sang, "A song for the King." + + King replied, "What shall we give Robin?" + + 3. _Conclusion_. + + _No change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill. + The King at the window. + + King Filled a plate and set it on the window sill. + + Robin Ate, sang a song again, and flew away. + +Here, not only the sequence of the tale is held largely by the change +in setting, but also the pleasure in the tale is due largely to the +setting, the pictures of landscape beauty it presents, and the +feelings arising from these images. + +A Japanese tale, in which the setting is a large part of the tale, and +a large element of beauty, is _Mezumi, the Beautiful_, or _The Rat +Princess_. + +A Grimm tale in which the setting is a very large element of pleasure +and in which it preserves the sequence of the tale, is _The Spider and +the Flea_, a lively accumulative tale that deserves attention for +several reasons.--A Spider and a Flea dwelt together. One day a number +of unusual occurrences happened, so that finally a little Girl with a +water-pitcher broke it, and then the Streamlet from which she drew the +water asked, "Why do you break your pitcher, little Girl?" And she +replied:-- + + The little Spider's burned herself. + And the Flea weeps; + The little Door creaks with the pain, + And the Broom sweeps; + The little Cart runs on so fast, + And the Ashes burn; + The little Tree shakes down its leaves. + Now it is my turn! + +And then the Streamlet said, "Now I must flow." + +And it flowed on and on, getting bigger and bigger, until it swallowed +up the little Girl, the little Tree, the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom, +the Door, the Flea, and at last, the Spider--all together. + +Here we have a tale, which, in its language, well illustrates +Stevenson's "pattern of style," especially as regards the harmony +produced by the arrangement of letters. From the standpoint of style, +this tale might be named, _The Adventure of the Letter E_; it +illustrates the part the phonics of the tale may contribute to the +effect of the setting. Follow the letter _e_ in the opening of the +tale, both as to the eye and the ear:-- + + A Spid_e_r and a Fl_e_a dw_e_lt tog_e_th_e_r in on_e_ + hous_e_ and br_e_w_e_d th_e_ir b_ee_r in an _e_gg-shell. + On_e_ day wh_e_n th_e_ Spid_e_r was stirring it up sh_e_ + f_e_ll in and burn_e_d h_e_rs_e_lf. Th_e_r_e_upon th_e_ + Fl_e_a b_e_gan to scr_e_am. And th_e_n th_e_ Door ask_e_d, + "Why ar_e_ you scr_e_aming, littl_e_ Fl_e_a?" + +If we follow the _e_ sound through the tale, we find it in _Flea, +beer, scream, creak, weeps, sweep, reason, heap_, _Tree, leaves_, and +_Streamlet_. This repetition of the one sound puts music into the tale +and creates a center of the harmony of sound. But if we examine the +next part of the tale we find a variety of sounds of _o_ in +_thereupon, Door, Broom, stood_, and _corner_. Later, in connection +with _Cart_, we have _began, fast, past_, and _Ashes_. Other phonic +effects are crowded into the tale; such as the sound of _l_ in +_violently, till, all, leaves_, and _fell_; the sound of _i_ in +_little_ and _Girl_; of _p_ in _pitcher_ and _passing_; of _t_ in +_little_ and _pitcher_; and of _ew_ in _threw_ and _drew_. Altogether +this very effective use of sound is a fine employment of concrete +language, words which present images that are clear-cut as a cameo. It +also gives to the tale a poetical touch. + +_Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_, an English tale, and a parallel of _The +Spider and the Flea_, preserves the same beauty and sequence by means +of its setting and illustrates the same very unusual contribution of +the sounds of particular letters combined in the harmony of the whole. +_The Phonics of the Fairy Tales_ is a subject which yields much +interest and, as yet, has been almost untouched. + +In _The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet_, in part I, _The Trip +to the Nut-Hill_, taken from Arthur Rackham's _Grimm Tales_, the +setting contributes largely to the attractiveness of the tale, as is +shown in Rackham's beautiful illustration. The setting is given +throughout the tale often in a telling word or two. Chanticleer and +Partlet went up the _nut-hill_ to gather nuts before the _squirrel_ +carried them all away. The _day_ was _bright_ and they stayed till +_evening_. The _carriage_ of _nut-shells_; the _Duck_ they met; the +_dirty road_ they traveled in the _pitch dark_; the _Inn_ they arrived +at; the _night_ at the Inn; the early _dawn_; the _hearth_ where they +threw the egg-shells; the Landlord's _chair_ whose _cushion_ received +the Needle; the _towel_ which received the Pin; the _heath_ over which +they hurried away; the _yard_ of the Inn where the Duck slept and the +_stream_ he escaped by; the Landlord's _room_ where he gained +experience with his towel; the _kitchen_ where the egg-shells from the +_hearth_ flew into his face; and the _arm-chair_ which received him +with a Needle--these are all elements of setting which contribute +largely to the humor and the beauty of the tale. + +A blending of the three elements, characters, plot, and setting, +appears in the following outline of _The Elves and the Shoemaker_:-- + +_The Elves and the Shoemaker_ + + 1. _Introduction_. A poor Shoemaker. A poor room containing + a bed and a shoemaker's board. Leather for one pair of + shoes. + + 2. _Development_. + + First night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes ready + next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for two pairs. + + Second night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes + ready next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for four + pairs. + + One night ... Conversation of Shoemaker and his wife: + "I should like to sit up to-night to see who it is that + makes the shoes." They sat up. Two Elves ran in, sewed, + rapped, and tapped, and ran away when the shoes were + made. + + Day after ... Conversation. "These Elves made us rich. + I should like to do something for them. You make each + of them a little pair of shoes, and I will make them + each a little shirt, a coat, a waistcoat, trousers, and + a pair of stockings." + + Christmas Eve ... Finished shoes and clothes put on the + table. Shoemaker and Wife hid in the corner of the room + behind clothes, and watched. (Climax.) + + Elves came in and put on clothes. + + 3. _Conclusion_. + + Happy end. Elves danced and sang,-- + + "Smart and natty boys are we, + Cobblers we'll no longer be." + + Shoemaker and Wife became happy and prosperous. + +The characters of this tale are usual, a poor Shoemaker and his Wife; +and unusual, the dainty Elves who made shoes in a twinkling. But the +commonplace peasants become interesting through their generosity, +kindness, and service to the Elves; and the Elves become human in +their joy at receiving gifts. The structure of the tale is so distinct +as to be seen a thing itself, apart from the story. The framework is +built on what happens on two nights and following nights, the +conversation of the next day, and what happens on Christmas Eve. The +climax evidently is what the Shoemaker and his Wife hid in the corner +to see--the entrance of the Elves on Christmas Eve--which episode has +been interpreted charmingly by the English illustrator, Cruikshank. +The joy of the Elves and of the two aged people, the gifts received by +the one and the riches won by the other, form the conclusion, which +follows very closely upon the climax. The commonplace setting, the +poor room with its simple bed and table, becomes transformed by the +unusual happenings in the place. If we should take away this setting, +we see how much the tale would suffer. Also without the characters the +tale would be empty. And without the interesting, human, humorous, and +pleasing plot, characters and setting would be insufficient. Each +element of the short-story contributes its fair share to the tale, and +blends harmoniously in the whole. + +Various standards for testing the folk-tale have been given by +writers. One might refer to the standards given by Wilman in his +_Pedagogische Vortraege_ and those mentioned by William Rein in _Das +Erste Schuljahr_. We have seen here that the fairy tale must contain +the child's interests and it must be able to stand the test of a true +classic. It must stand the test of literature in its appeal to emotion +and to imagination, in its appeal to the intellect through its basis +of truth, and to the language-sense through its perfection of form; it +must stand the test of the short-story and of good narration and of +description. Let us now examine a few of the old tales to see how they +stand the complete test:-- + +_How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner_ + + _This story of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went out to + Dinner_ appeals to the children's interest in a family + dinner--they went to dine with their Uncle and Aunt, Thunder + and Lightning. The characters are interesting to the child, + for they are the inhabitants of his sky that cause him much + wonder: the star, the sun, the moon, the thunder, and the + lightning. To the little child, who as she watched a + grown-up drying her hands, remarked, "I wouldn't like to be + a towel, would you?" the idea of the moon, sun, and wind + possessing personality and going to a dinner-party will + amuse and please. The theme of the story finds a place in + the experience of children who go to a party; and secretly + they will enjoy making comparisons. When they go to a party + they too like to bring something home; but they wouldn't + think of hiding goodies in their hands. They are fortunate + enough to have their hostess give them a toy animal or a box + of sweetmeats, a tiny dolly or a gay balloon, as a souvenir. + The greediness and selfishness of the Sun and Wind impress + little children, for these are perhaps the two sins possible + to childhood; and all children will fully appreciate why the + Sun and the Wind received so swiftly the punishment they + deserved. The thoughtfulness of the loving gentle Moon to + remember her Mother the Star, appeals to them. The rapid + punishment, well-deserved, and the simplicity of the story + with its one point, make it a very good tale for little + children. The whole effect is pleasing. What children recall + is the motherly Star; and the beautiful Moon, who was cool + and calm and bright as a reward for being good. + + The structure of the tale is neat and orderly, dominated by + a single theme. The form of the tale, as given in Jacobs's + _Indian Tales_, shows a good use of telling expressions; + such as, "the Mother waited _alone_ for her children's + return," "Kept watch with her _little bright eye_," "the + Moon, _shaking_ her hands _showered_ down such a _choice_ + dinner," etc. Here we have too, the use of concrete, + visualized expressions and direct language. There is also a + good use of repetition, which aids the child in following + the plot and which clarifies the meaning. The Mother Star, + when pronouncing a punishment upon Sun, repeated his own + words as he had spoken when returning from the dinner: "I + went out to enjoy myself with my friends." In her speech to + Wind she included his own remark: "I merely went for my own + pleasure."--The examination of this tale shows that it + stands well the complete test applied here to the fairy + tale. + +_The Straw Ox_ + + _The Straw Ox_ is an accumulative tale which has sufficient + plot to illustrate the fine points of the old tale + completely. A poor woman who could barely earn a living had + an idea and carried it out successfully.--Her need + immediately wins sympathy in her behalf.--She asked her + husband to make her a straw ox and smear it with tar. Then + placing it in the field where she spun, she called out, + "Graze away, little Ox, graze away, while I spin my flax!" + First a Bear came out of the Wood and got caught by the tar + so that the Straw Ox dragged him home. The old Man then put + the Bear in the cellar. Then a Wolf, a Fox, and a Hare got + caught in the same way and also were consigned to the + cellar.--The plot has so far built itself up by an orderly + succession of incidents.--But just when the Man is preparing + to kill the animals, they save their lives by promising + vicarious offerings: The Bear promises honey; the Wolf a + flock of sheep; the Fox a flock of geese; and the Hare kale + and cauliflower.--Then the plot, having tied itself into a + knot, unties itself as the animals return, each with the + gift he promised. + + The setting is the field where the old Woman placed the Ox + and where she spun, the wood from which the animals came, + and the peasant home. The characters are two poor people who + need food and clothing and seek to secure both; and the + animals of the forest. The peasants need the Bear for a + coat, the Wolf for a fur cap, the Fox for a fur collar, and + the Hare for mittens. This human need produces an emotional + appeal so that we wish to see the animals caught. But when + the plot unties itself, the plight of the animals appeals to + us equally and we want just as much to see them win their + freedom. Each animal works out his own salvation by offering + the old people a worthy substitute. Each animal is true to + his nature in the substitute he offers, he promises what is + only natural for him to procure, and what he himself likes + best. The conclusion is satisfying because in the end + everybody is happy: the old people who have all they need; + and the animals who have life and freedom. The distinct + pictures offered to the imagination are the capture of the + four animals and their return with their life-substitutes. + The form of the tale is a good example of folk-story style, + with its vivid words, direct language, and repetition. This + is one of the tales which is finer than at first appears + because it has a strong sense of life. It touches the + present-day problem: "How can the inhuman slaughter of + animals for man's use be avoided?" Its underlying message + is: Self-help is a good way out of a difficulty.--_The Straw + Ox_ also answers the complete test of the tale with much + satisfaction. + + + +REFERENCES: + + +The Child: + + Barnes, Earl: _Study of Children's Stories_. ("Children's + Interests.") + + Dewey, John: _Interest and Effort in Education_. Houghton. + + King, Irving: _Psychology of Child Development_. University of + Chicago Press. + + Lawrence, Isabel: "Children's Interests in Literature." _N.E.A. + Report_, 1899, p. 1044. + + McCracken, Elizabeth: "What Children Like to Read." _Outlook_, + Dec, 1904, vol. 78. + + Tyler, John M.: _Growth in Education_. Houghton. + + Vostrovsky, Clara: "A Study of Children's Own Stories." _Studies + in Education_, vol. i, pp. 15-17. + + +Literature: + + Baldwin, Charles S.: _Specimens of Prose Description_. Holt. + + Brewster, William T.: _English Composition and Style_. Century. + + _Ibid.: Specimens of Prose Narration_. Holt. + + Gardiner, John H.: _Forms of Prose Literature_. Scribner. + + Matthews, Brander: _The Philosophy of the Short-Story_. Longmans. + Pater, Walter: _Appreciations. (Essay on Style_). Macmillan. + + Perry, Bliss: _A Study of Prose Fiction_. ("The Short Story.") + Houghton. + + Sainte-Beuve, Charles A.: _Essays_. ("What is a Classic?") + Dutton. + + Santayana, George: _The Sense of Beauty_. Scribner. + + Wendell, Barrett: _English Composition_. Scribner. + + Winchester, Caleb T.: _Principles of Literary Criticism_. + Macmillan. + + +Emotion: + + Bain, Alexander: _The Emotions and the Will_. Appleton. + + Darwin, Charles: _Expression of the Emotions in Man and + Animals_. Appleton. + + +Imagination: + + Colvin, Stephen: _The Learning Process_. Macmillan. + + Curry, S.S.: _Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct_. Expression + Co. + + Ruskin, John: _Modern Painters_, vol. r. ("Of the Imagination.") + + + +Children's Literature: + + Baker, Franklin T.: _Bibliography of Children's Reading. + (Introduction.)_ Teachers College, Columbia University. + + Day, Mary B., and Wilson, Elisabeth: _Suggestive Outlines on + Children's Literature_. S. Illinois Normal, Carbondale. + + Dodd, C.F.: "Fairy Tales in the Schoolroom." _Living Age_, Nov. + 8, 1902, vol. 235, pp. 369-75. + + Fay, Lucy, and Eaton, Anne: _Instruction in the Use of Books and + Libraries_. (Chap, xv, "Fairy Tales.") Boston Book Co. + + Field, Mrs. E.M.: _The Child and His Book_. Wells Gardner, Darton + & Co. + + Field, Walter T.: _Finger-Posts to Children's Reading_. A.C. + McClurg. + + Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, J.C.: _A Course of Study + on Literature for Children_. Newark Public Library. + + Hosic, James F.: "The Conduct of a Course in Literature for + Children." _N.E.A. Report_, 1913. + + _Ibid.: The Elementary Course in English_. University of + Chicago. + + Hunt, Clara: _What shall we Read to the Children?_ Houghton. + + Kready, Laura F.: "Picture-Books for Little Children." + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914. + + Lowe, Orton: _Literature for Children_. Macmillan. + + MacClintock, Porter L.: _Literature in the Elementary School_. + University of Chicago. + + Moore, Annie E.: "Principles in the Selection of Stories for the + Kindergarten." _I.K.U. Report_, 1913. + Moses, Montrose: _Children's Books and Reading_. M. Kennerley. + + Olcott, Frances J.: _The Children's Reading_. Houghton. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + + +THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES + + + The telling of stories refreshes the mind as a bath + refreshes the body. It gives exercise to the intellect and + its powers. It tests the judgments and feelings. The + story-teller must wholly take into himself the life of which + he speaks, must let it live and operate in himself freely. + He must reproduce it whole and undiminished, yet stand + superior to life as it actually is.--FROEBEL. + + The purpose of the story.--To look out with new eyes upon + the many-featured, habitable world; to be thrilled by the + pity and the beauty of this life of ours, itself brief as a + tale that is told; to learn to know men and women better, + and to love them more.--BLISS PERRY. + + Expertness in teaching consists in a scholarly command of + subject-matter, in a better organization of character, in a + larger and more versatile command of conscious modes of + transmitting facts and ideals, and in a more potent and + winsome, forceful and sympathetic manner of personal contact + with other human beings.--HENRY SUZZALLO. + +Story-telling as an art. No matter how perfectly the tale, in a +subjective sense, may contain the interests of the child, or how +carefully it may avoid what repels him; though in an objective sense +it may stand the test of a true classic in offering a permanent +enrichment of the mind and the test of literature in appealing to the +emotions and the imagination, in giving a contribution of truth and an +embodiment of good form; though it may stand the test of the +short-story--furnishing interesting characters, definite plot, and +effective setting; though its sequence be orderly and its climax +pointed, its narration consistent and its description apt--the tale +yet remains to be told. The telling of the tale is a distinct art +governed by distinct principles because the life of the story must be +transmitted and rendered into voice. + +Story-telling is one of the most ancient and universal of arts. +Concerning this art Thackeray has said:-- + + Stories exist everywhere: there is no calculating the + distance through which stories have come to us, the number + of languages through which they have been filtered, or the + centuries during which they have been told. Many of them + have been narrated almost in their present shape for + thousands of years to the little copper-colored Sanskrit + children, listening to their mothers under the palm-trees by + the banks of the yellow Jumna--their Brahmin mother, who + softly narrated them through the ring in her nose. The very + same tale has been heard by the northern Vikings as they lay + on their shields on deck; and the Arabs couched under the + stars on the Syrian plains when their flocks were gathered + in, and their mares were picketed by the tents. + +In his _Roundabout Papers_, Thackeray gives a picture of a score of +white-bearded, white-robed warriors or grave seniors of the city, +seated at the gate of Jaffa or Beyrout, listening to the story-teller +reciting his marvels out of _Arabian Nights_. "A Reading from Homer," +by Alma Tadema, is a well-known picture which portrays the Greeks +listening to the _Tales of Homer_. In the _Lysistrata_ of +Aristophanes, the chorus of old men begins with, "I will tell ye a +story!" Plutarch, in his _Theseus_ says, "All kinds of stories were +told at the festival Oschophoria, as the mothers related such things +to their children before their departure, to give them courage." In +his _Symposium_ he mentions a child's story containing the proverb, +"No man can make a gown for the moon."-- + + The Moon begged her Mother to weave her a little frock which + would fit her. + + The Mother said, "How can I make it fit thee, when thou art + sometimes a Full Moon, and then a Half Moon, and then a New + Moon?"-- + +In the works of the German, Schuppius (1677), appeared this:-- + + Your old folks can remember how, in the olden times, it was + customary at vespers on Easter day, to tell some Easter + tidings from the pulpit. These were foolish fables and + stories such as are told to children in the spinning-room. + They were intended to make people merry. + +In England, _Chaucer's Tales_ reflect the common custom of the times +for the pilgrim, the traveler, the lawyer, the doctor, the monk, and +the nun, to relate a tale. _The Wife of Bathes Tale_ is evidently a +fairy tale. In Peele's _Old Wives' Tale_ we learn how the smith's +goodwife related some nursery tales of Old England to the two +travelers her husband brought to the cottage for the night. In +Akenside's _Pleasures of Imagination_ we find:-- + + Hence, finally by night, + The village matres, round the blazing hearth + Suspend the infant audience with their tales, + Breathing astonishment. + +The custom of Florentine mothers has been described by the poet, +Dante, when he says:-- + + Another, drawing tresses from her distaff. + Told o'er among her family the tales + Of Trojans, and of Fesole and Rome. + +The French troubadours and the Italian counts of Boccaccio's time told +tales. It is recorded of the French Galland, the first translator of +_The Arabian Nights_, how the young men of his day would gather under +his windows at night and shout for him until he showed himself and +told them stories. The German Luther paid a high tribute to stories; +and Goethe's mother, in giving her experience in telling stories to +her children, has shown how the German mother valued the story in the +home. To-day, savage children, when the day of toil is ended with the +setting sun, gather in groups to listen to the never-dying charm of +the tale; and the most learned of men, meeting in the great centers of +civilization to work out weighty problems, find relief and pleasure +when wit and culture tell the tale. + +In the home the tale is the mother's power to build in her little +children ideals of life which will tower as a fortress when there come +critical moments of decision for which no amount of reasoning will be +a sufficient guide, but for which true feeling, a kind of unconscious +higher reasoning, will be the safest guide. In the library the story +is the greatest social asset of the librarian, it is her best means of +reaching the obscure child who seeks there some food for his spirit, +it is her best opportunity to lead and direct his tastes. In the +school it is the teacher's strongest personal ally. It is her +wishing-ring, with which she may play fairy to herself in +accomplishing a great variety of aims, and incidentally be a fairy +godmother to the child. + +Story-telling is an art handling an art and therefore must be pursued +in accordance with certain principles. These principles govern: (1) +the teacher's preparation; (2) the presentation of the tale; and (3) +the return from the child. + + + +I. THE TEACHER'S PREPARATION + + +1. The teacher's preparation must be concerned with a variety of +subjects. The first rule to be observed is: _Select the tale for some +purpose, to meet a situation_. This purpose may be any one of the +elements of value which have been presented here under "The Worth of +Fairy Tales." The teacher must consider, not only the possibilities of +her subject-matter and what she wishes to accomplish through the +telling of the tale, but also what the child's purpose will be in +listening. She may select her tale specifically, not just because it +contains certain interests, but because through those interests she +can direct the child's activity toward higher interests. She must +consider what problems the tale can suggest to the child. She may +select her tale to develop habits in the child, to clarify his +thinking, to give a habit of memory or to develop emotion or +imagination. She may select her tale "just for fun," to give pure joy, +or to teach a definite moral lesson, to make a selfish child see the +beauty of unselfishness or to impress an idea. The _Story of Lazy +Jack_, like the realistic _Epaminondas_, will impress more deeply than +any word of exhortation, the necessity for a little child to use "the +sense he was born with." + +In the selection of the tale the teacher is up against the problem of +whether she shall choose her tale psychologically or logically. As +this is the day of the psychologic point of view in education, the +teacher realizing this feels that she must select a tale for a +particular purpose, according to the child's interests, his needs, and +the possibilities it offers for his self-activity and self-expression. +Looking freely over the field she may choose any tale which satisfies +her purposes. This is psychologic. But in a year's work this choice of +a tale for a particular purpose is followed by successive choices +until she has selected a wide variety of tales giving exercise to many +forms of activity, establishing various habits of growth. This method +of choice is the psychologic built up until, in the hands of the +teacher who knows the subject, it becomes somewhat logical. It is the +method which uses the ability of the individual teacher, alone and +unaided. There is another method. The teacher may be furnished with a +course of tales arranged by expert study of the full subject outlined +in large units of a year's work, offering the literary heritage +possible to the child of a given age. This is logical. From this +logical course of tales she may select one which answers to the +momentary need, she may use it according to its nature, to develop +habits, to give opportunity for self-activity and self-expression, and +to enter into the child's daily life. This method of choice is the +logical, which through use and adaptation has become psychologized. It +uses the ability of the individual teacher in adaptation, not unaided +and alone, but assisted by the concentrated knowledge and practice of +the expert. Such a logical course, seeking uniformity only by what it +requires at the close of a year's work, would give to the individual +teacher a large freedom of choice and would bring into kindergarten +and elementary literature a basis of content demanding as much respect +as high school or college literature. It is in no way opposed to +maintaining the child as the center of interest. The teacher's problem +is to see that she uses the logical course psychologically. + +2. Having selected the tale then, from a logical course, and +psychologically for a present particular purpose, the next step is: +_Know the tale_. Know the tale historically, if possible. Know it +first as folk-lore and then as literature. Read several versions of +the tale, the original if possible, selecting that version which seems +most perfectly fitted to express what there is in the tale. As +folk-lore, study its variants and note its individual motifs. Note +what glimpses it gives of the social life and customs of a primitive +people. The best way to dwell on the life of the story, to realize it, +is to compare these motifs with similar motifs in other tales. It has +been said that we do not see anything clearly until we compare it with +another; and associating individual motifs of the tales makes the +incidents stand out most clearly. Henny Penny's walk appears more +distinctly in association with that of Medio Pollito or that of +Drakesbill or of the Foolish Timid Rabbit; the fairy words in +_Sleeping Beauty_ and the good things they bestowed upon Briar Rose in +association with the fairy wand in _Cinderella_ and the good things it +brought her; the visit of the Wolf in _The Wolf and Seven Kids_ with +the visit of the Wolf in _Three Pigs_ and of the Fox in _The Little +Rid Hin_. It is interesting to note that a clog motif, similar to the +motif of shoes in _The Elves and the Shoemaker_, occurs in the Hindu +_Panch-Rhul Ranee_, told in _Old Deccan Days_. + +All the common motifs which occur in the fairy tales have been +classified by Andrew Lang under these heads:-- + + (1) Bride or bridegroom who transgresses a mystic command. + + (2) Penelope formula; one leaves the other and returns later. + + (3) Attempt to avoid Fate. + + (4) Slaughter of monster. + + (5) Flight, by aid of animal. + + (6) Flight from giant or wizard. + + (7) Success of youngest. + + (8) Marriage test, to perform tasks. + + (9) Grateful beasts. + + (10) Strong man and his comrades. + + (11) Adventure with Ogre, and trick. + + (12) Descent to Hades. + + (13) False bride. + + (14) Bride with animal children. + +From a less scientific view some of the common motifs noticeable in +the fairy tales, which however would generally fall under one of the +heads given by Lang, might be listed:-- + + (1) Child wandering into a home; as in _Three Bears_ and + _Snow White_. + + (2) Transformation; simple, as in _Puss-in-Boots_; by + love, as in _Beauty and the Beast_, by sprinkling with + water, as in _Beauty and the Beast_ or by bathing, as in + _Catskin_; by violence, as in _Frog Prince_ and _White + Cat_. + + (3) Tasks as marriage tests; as in _Cinderella_. + + (4) Riddle test; as in _Peter, Paul, and Espen_; questions + asked, as in _Red Riding Hood_. + + (5) Magic sleep; as in _Sleeping Beauty_. + + (6) Magic touch; as in _Golden Goose_. + + (7) Stupid person causing royalty to laugh; as in _Lazy Jack_. + + (8) Exchange; as in _Jack and the Beanstalk_. + + (9) Curiosity punished; as in _Bluebeard_ and _Three Bears_. + + (10) Kindness to persons rewarded; as in _Cinderella, Little + Two-Eyes_, and _The House in the Wood_. + + (11) Kindness to animals repaid; as in _Thumbelina, Cinderella_, + and _White Cat_. + + (12) Industry rewarded; as in _Elves and the Shoemaker_. + + (13) Hospitality rewarded; as in _Tom Thumb_. + + (14) Success of a venture; as in _Dick Whittington_. + +After studying the tale as folk-lore, know it as literature. Master it +as a classic, test it as literature, to see wherein lies its appeal to +the emotions, its power of imagination, its basis of truth, and its +quality of form; study it as a short-story and view it as a piece of +narration. It is rather interesting to note that you can get all there +is in a tale from any one point of view. If you follow the sequence as +setting, through association you get the whole, as may be seen by +referring to _Chanticleer and Partlet_ under the heading, "Setting," +in the chapter on the "Short-Story." Or, if you follow the successive +doings of the characters you get the whole, as may be observed in the +story of _Medio Pollito_, described later in the "Animal Tale" in the +chapter, "Classes of Tales." Or if you follow the successive +happenings to the characters, the plot, you get the whole, as may +appear in the outline of _Three Pigs_ given in the chapter which +handles "Plot." Note the beauty of detail and the quality of +atmosphere with which the setting surrounds the tale; note the +individual traits of the characters and their contrasts; observe how +what each one does causes what happens to him. Realize your story from +the three points of view to enter into the author's fullness. Get a +good general notion of the story first. + +3. The next step is: _Master the complete structure of the tale_. This +is the most important step in the particular study of the tale, for it +is the unity about which any perfection in the art of telling must +center. To discern that repose of centrality which the main theme of +the tale gives, to follow it to its climax and to its conclusion, +where poetic justice leaves the listener satisfied--this is the most +fundamental work of the story-teller. The teacher must analyze the +structure of her tale into its leading episodes, as has been +illustrated in the handling of structure, under the subject, "Plot," +in the chapter on the "Short-Story." + +4. The next step is: _Secure the message of the tale_. The message is +what we wish to transmit, it is the explicit reason for telling the +tale. And one evidently must possess a message before one can give it. +As the message is the chief worth of the tale, the message should +dominate the telling and pervade its life. A complete realization of +the message of the tale will affect the minutest details giving color +and tone to the telling, and resulting so that what the child does +with the story will deepen the impression of the message he receives. + +5. The next step is: _Master the tale as form_. This means that if the +tale is in classic form, not only the message and the structure must +be transmitted, but the actual words. Words are the artist's medium, +Stevenson includes them in his pattern of style, and how can we +exclude them if we wish to express what they have expressed? A tale +like Kipling's _The Elephant's Child_ would be ruined without those +clinging epithets, such as "the wait-a-bit thorn-bush," "mere-smear +nose," "slushy squshy mud-cap," "Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake," and +"satiable curtiosity." No one could substitute other words in this +tale; for contrasts of feeling and humor are so tied up with the words +that other words would fail to tell the real story. If an interjection +has seemed an insignificant part of speech, note the vision of +tropical setting opened up by the exclamation, "O Bananas! Where did +you learn that trick?" This is indeed a tale where the form is the +matter, the form and the message are one complete whole that cannot be +separated. But it is a proof that where any form is of sufficient +perfection to be a classic form, you may give a modified tale by +changing it, but you do not give the real complete tale. You cannot +tell Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ in your own words; for its sentences, +its phrases, its sounds, its suggestive language, its humor, its +imagination, its emotion, and its message, are so intricately woven +together that you could not duplicate them. + +When the fairy tale does not possess a settled classic form, select, +as was mentioned, that version in which the language best conveys the +life of the story, improving it yourself, if you can, in harmony with +the standards of literature, until the day in the future when the tale +may be fortunate enough to receive a settled form at the hands of a +literary artist. Sometimes a slight change may improve greatly an old +tale. In Grimm's _Briar Rose_[1] the episode of the Prince and the old +Man contains irrelevant material. The two paragraphs following, "after +the lapse of many years there came a king's son into the country," +easily may be re-written to preserve the same unity and simplicity +which mark the rest of the tale. This individual retelling of an old +tale demands a careful distinction between what is essential and +internal and what may have been added, what is accidental and +external. The clock-case in _The Wolf and Seven Kids_ evidently is not +a part of the original story, which arose before clocks were in use, +and is a feature added in some German telling of the tale. It may be +retained but it is not essential to the tale that it should be. Exact +conversations and bits of dialogue, repetitive phrases, rhymes, +concrete words which visualize, brief expressions, and Anglo-Saxon +words--these are all bits of detail which need to be mastered in a +complete acquirement of the story's form, because these are +characteristics of the form which time has settled upon the old tales. +Any literary form bestowed upon the tales worthy of the name +literature, will have to preserve these essentials. + + + +II. THE PRESENTATION OF THE TALE + + +In the oral presentation of the tale new elements of the teacher's +preparation enter, for here the voice is the medium and the teacher +must use the voice as the organist his keys. The aim of the oral +presentation is to give the spiritual effect. This requires certain +conditions of effectiveness--to speak with distinctness, to give the +sense, and to cause to understand; and certain intellectual +requirements--to articulate with perfection, to present successive +thoughts in clear outline, and to preserve relative values of +importance. + +The production of the proper effect necessitates placing in the +foreground, with full expression, what needs emphasis, and throwing +back with monotony or acceleration parts that do not need emphasis. It +requires slighting subordinate, unimportant parts, so that one point +is made and one total impression given. This results in that +flexibility and lightsomeness of the voice, which is one of the most +important features in the telling of the tale. The study of technique, +when controlled by these principles of vocal expression, is not +opposed to the art of story-telling any more than the painter's +knowledge of color is opposed to his art of painting. To obtain +complete control of the voice as an instrument of the mind, there is +necessary: (1) training of the voice; (2) exercises in breathing; (3) +a knowledge of gesture; and (4) a power of personality. + +(1) Training of the voice. This training aims to secure freedom of +tone, purity of tone, fullness of tone, variety of volume, and +tone-color. It will include a study of phonetics to give correct +pronunciation of sounds and a knowledge of their formation; freeing +exercises to produce a jaw which is not set, an open throat, a mobile +lip, and nimble tongue; and exercises to get rid of nasality or +throatiness. The art of articulation adds to the richness of meaning, +it is the connection between sound and sense. Open sounds are in +harmony with joy, and very distinct emotional effects are produced by +arrangements of consonants. The effect created by the use of the +vowels and consonants in _The Spider and the Flea_ has already been +referred to under "Setting." The open vowels of "On, little Drumikin! +Tum-pae, tum-t[=oo]!" help to convey the impression of lightsome gaiety +in _Lambikin_. The effect of power displayed by "Then I'll huff and +I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in," is made largely by the sound +of the consonants _ff_ and the _n_ in the concluding _in_, the force +of the rough _u_ of _huff_ and _puff_, and the prolonged _o_ in +_blow_. The effect of walking is produced by the _p_ of "_Trip, +trap_," and of varied walking by the change of vowel from _[ui]_ to +_[ua]_. The action of "I have come to gobble you up," is emphasized +and made realistic by the _bb_ of _gobble_ and the _p_ of _up_. +Attention to the power of phonics to contribute to the emotional force +and to the strength of meaning in the tale, will reveal to the +story-teller many new beauties. + +(2) Exercises in breathing. Training in breathing includes exercises +to secure the regulation of proper breathing during speech and to +point out the relation between breathing and voice expression. The +correct use of the voice includes also ability to place tone.--Find out +your natural tone and tell the story in that tone.--Many of the +effects of the voice need to be dealt with from the inside, not +externally. The use of the pause in story-telling is one of the +subtlest and most important elements that contribute to the final +effect. The proper placing of the pause will follow unconsciously as a +consequence when the structure of the story is realized in distinct +episodes and the proper emphasis given mentally to the most important +details of action, while less emphasis in thought is given to +subordinate parts. Therefore, the study of the pause must be made, not +artificially and externally, but internally through the elements of +the story which produce the pause. Tone-color, which is to ordinary +speech what melody is to music--those varied effects of intonation, +inflection, and modulation--is to be sought, not as a result from an +isolated study of technique, but from attention to those elements in +association with the complete realization of the life of the story. +Genuine feeling is worth more than mere isolated exercises to secure +modulation, and complete realization eliminates the necessity of +"pretending to be." The study of the fairy tale as literature, as has +been indicated in the chapter on "Principles of Selection," will +therefore be fundamental to the presentation of the tale. Entering +into the motives of the story gives action, entering into the thought +gives form, and entering into the feeling gives tone-color to the +voice. The sincere desire to share the thought will be the best aid to +bring expression. + +(3) A knowledge of gesture. The teacher must understand the laws of +gesture. The body is one means of the mind's expression. There is the +eloquence of gesture and of pose. The simplest laws of gesture may be +stated:-- + + (a) All gesture precedes speech in proportion to the + intense realization of emotion. + + (b) All expression begins in the face and passes to some + other agent of the body in proportion to the quality + Of the emotion. The eye leads in pointing. + + (c) Hands and arms remain close to the body in gesture + when intensity of emotion is controlled. + +In regard to gesture, a Children's Library pamphlet, dealing with the +purpose of story-telling, has said, "The object of the story-teller is +to present the story, not in the way advocated usually in the schools, +but to present it with as little dramatic excitement and foreign +gesture as possible, keeping one's personality in the background and +giving all prominence to the story itself, relying for interest in the +story alone." The schools have perhaps been misinterpreted. It is +clear that only that personality is allowable which interprets truly +the story's life. The listening child must be interested in the life +of the story, not in the story-teller; and therefore gesture, tone, or +sentiment that is individual variation and addition to the story +itself, detracts from the story, is foreign to its thought, and +occupies a wrong place of prominence. It is possible to tell a story, +however, just as the author tells it, and yet give it naturally by +realizing it imaginatively and by using the voice and the body +artistically, as means of expression. + +(4) A power of personality. What rules shall be given for the making +of that personality which is to bring with it force in the telling of +the tale and which must override phonetics, inflection, and gesture? + +The very best help towards acquiring that personality which is the +power of story-telling, is to have a power of life gained through the +experience of having lived; to have a power of emotion acquired +through the exercise of daily affairs; a power of imagination won from +having dwelt upon the things of life with intentness, a power of +sympathy obtained from seeing the things of others as you meet them +day by day; and a first-hand knowledge of the sights and sounds and +beauties of Nature, a knowledge of bird and flower, tree and rock, +their names and some of their secrets--knowledge accumulated from +actual contact with the real physical world. This power of life will +enable the story-teller to enter, at the same time, into the life of +the story she tells, and the life of those listening, to see the gift +of the one and the need of the other. + +The ideal position for the story-teller is to be seated opposite the +center of the semicircle of listeners, facing them. The extreme +nearness of the group, when the teller seeks the fingers of the +listeners to add force to the telling, seems an infringement upon the +child's personal rights. A strong personality will make the story go +home without too great nearness and will want to give the children a +little room so that their thoughts may meet hers out in the story. + +Suggestions for telling. Now that the teacher is ready to speak, her +first step in the art of story-telling, which is the first step in the +art of any teaching, which lies at the very foundation of teaching, +which is the most important step, and which is the step that often is +neglected, is the _establishing of the personal relation between +herself and the listener_. This is one of those subtleties which +evades measuring, but its influence is most lasting. It is the setting +to the whole story of teaching. It must play so important a part +because, as teacher and listener are both human beings, there must be +between them a common bond of humanity. How do you wish to appear to +this group of listeners? As a friend to be trusted, a brother or +sister to give help, or as a good comrade to be played with; as +"master, expert, leader, or servant"? If you wish to be as real and +forceful as the characters in your story, you must do something which +will cause the personal relation you desire, to be established; and +moreover, having established it, you must live up to it, and prove no +friend without faith. You must do this before you presume to teach or +to tell a story. You need not do it before each individual story you +present to a group you meet often; you may do it so effectively, with +a master-stroke, at the beginning when you first meet your class, that +all you need do at successive meetings will be but to add point to +your first establishment. + +A student-teacher, in telling a story to a group of kindergarten +children who were complete strangers, and telling it to them as they +sat in a semicircle in front of her comrades, adult students, +established this personal relation by beginning to tell the little +children her experience with the first telling of _Three Bears_ to a +little girl of four:--Seated before a sand-box in the yard, after +hearing the story of _Three Bears_, M---- had been asked, "Wouldn't +this be a good time for you to tell me the story?" In reply, she +paused, and while the story-teller was expecting her to begin, +suddenly said, "Do you think M----'s big enough for all that?" and +refused to tell a word. Then turning to the group before her, the +student-teacher made the direct appeal. "But you are the biggest +little people in the kindergarten, and you wouldn't treat a story like +that, would you?" The children, through the personal picture of +friendly story-telling with a little child, that paralleled their own +situation somewhat, immediately felt at home with the teller; it was +just as if they were the same intimate friends with her that the +little girl portrayed to them was. The human bond of good comradeship +and intimacy was established. In the direct appeal at the end, the +children were held up to an ideal they dare not disappoint, they must +live up to their size, be able to get the story, and be the biggest +little people in the kindergarten by showing what they could do with +it. Again there was an undefined problem thrown at them, as it +were--an element of wonder. They did not know just what was coming and +they were mentally alert, waiting, on the lookout. The way for the +story was open.--This is what you want, for no matter how perfect a +gem of folk-lore you tell, it will fall heedless if the children do +not listen to it. + +The second step in the art of story-telling is one which grows +naturally out of this first step. This second step, _to put the story +in a concrete situation for the child_, to make the connection between +the child and the literature you present, is the one which displays +your unique power as an artist. It is the step which often is omitted +and is the one which exercises all your individual ability and +cleverness. It is the step which should speak comfort to the eager +teacher of to-day, who is compelled to stand by, Montessori fashion, +while many changing conceptions say to her: "Hands off! It is not what +you do that helps the child develop; it is what he himself does!" Here +at least is one of the teacher's chances to act. This step is the +opening of the gateway so that the story you are about to tell may +enter into the thoughts of your listeners. It is your means to +organize the tale in the child's life. If in the school program you +permit nature study, representing the central interest, to occupy the +place of main emphasis, and if the game, occupation, and song work is +related to the child's life, this organization of the child's tale in +his life will be accomplished naturally. + +In the example cited above, both the establishment of the personal +relation and the placing of the story in a concrete situation, were +managed partly at the one stroke. Your best help to furnish a concrete +situation will be to preserve at the one end a sympathy for the life +of your story and at the other to perceive the experience of the +children in the listening group. Seeing both at once will result in a +knowledge of what the children need most to make the story go home. If +your children are good enough, and you and they sufficiently good +friends to bear the fun of pantomime and the gaiety of hilarity, +asking several boys, as they walk across the room before the children, +to imitate some animals they had seen at a circus, and getting the +children to guess the animal represented until they hit upon the +elephant, would put certain children in a spirit of fun that would be +exactly the wide-awake brightness and good humor needed to receive the +story of _The Elephant's Child_. You can get children best into the +story-telling mood by calling up ideas in line with the story. In the +case of the story cited above, under the establishment of the personal +relation, the story, _The Bremen Town Musicians_, was related to the +child's experience by a few questions concerning kinds of music he +knew, and what musician and kind of music the kindergarten had. In +telling Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ you must call up experience +concerning a soldier, not only because of the relation of the toy to +the real soldier, but because the underlying meaning of the tale is +courage, and the emotional theme is steadfastness. And to preserve the +proper unity between the tale and the telling of it, the telling must +center itself in harmony with the message of the tale, its one +dominant impression and its one dominant mood. + +Every story told results in some return from the child. The teacher, +in her presentation, must _conceive the child's aim in listening_. +This does not mean that she forces her aim upon him. But it does mean +that she makes a mental list of the child's own possible problems that +the tale is best suited to originate, one of which the child himself +will suggest. For the return should originate, not in imitation of +what the teller plans, but spontaneously, as the child's own plan, +answering to some felt need of his. But that does not prevent the +story-teller from using her own imagination, and through it, from +realizing what opportunities for growth the story presents, and what +possible activities ought to be stimulated. A good guide will keep +ahead of the children, know the possibilities of the material, and by +knowledge and suggestion lead them to realize and accomplish the plans +they crudely conceive. A consideration of these plans will modify the +telling of the tale, and should be definitely thought about before the +telling of the tale. A story told definitely to stimulate in the +children dramatization, will emphasize action and dialogue; while one +told to stimulate the painting of a water-color sketch, will emphasize +the setting of the tale. + +The telling of the tale. With this preparation, directions seem +futile. The tale should tell itself naturally. You must begin at the +beginning, as your tale will if you have selected a good one. You must +tell it simply, as your tale will have simplicity if it is a good one, +and your telling must be in harmony with the tale you tell. You will +tell it with joy; of course, if there is joy in it, or beauty, which +is a "joy forever," or if you are giving joy to your listeners. Tell +it, if possible, with a sense of bestowing a blessing, and a delicate +perception of the reception it meets in the group before you, and the +pleasure and interest it arouses in them, so that in the telling there +is that human setting which is a quickening of the spirit and a union +of ideas, which is something quite new and different from the story, +yet born of the story. + +The re-creative method of story-telling. This preparation for telling +here described will result in a fundamental imitation of the author of +the story. By participating in the life of the story; by realizing it +as folklore; by realizing it as literature--its emotion, its +imagination, its basis of truth, its message, its form; by paying +conscious attention to the large units of the structure, the exact +sequence of the plot, the characters, and the setting, the particular +details of description, and the unique word--the story-teller +reproduces the author's mode of thinking. She does with her mind what +she wishes the child to do with his. With the very little child in the +kindergarten and early first grade, who analyzes but slightly, this +results consciously in a clear notion of the story, which shows itself +in the child's free re-telling of the story as a whole. He may want to +tell the story or he may not. Usually he enjoys re-telling it after +some lapse of time; perhaps he tells it to himself, meanwhile. With +the older child, who analyzes more definitely, this results in a +retelling which actually reproduces the teller's mode of thinking. If +persisted in, it gives to one's mode of thinking, the _story-mode_, +just as nature study gives to life the nature point of view. This mode +of thinking is the _mode of re-creation_, of realization. It +re-experiences the life, it reaches the processes of the mind, and +develops free mind movement. It is a habit of thinking, and is at the +basis of reading, which is thinking through symbols; at the basis of +the memorization of poetry, which must first see the pictures the poet +has portrayed; it is the best help toward the adult study of +literature, and the narration of history and geography. It is the +power to conceive a situation, which is most useful in science, +mathematics, and the reasoning of logic. "For," says Professor John +Dewey, "the mind which can make independent judgments, look at facts +with fresh vision, and reach conclusions with simplicity, is the +perennial power in the world." + +This re-creative method of fundamental imitation was illustrated in the +telling of Andersen's _Princess and the Pea_, in a student-teacher's +class: + + The story was told by the Professor. After the telling of + the story it was decided to have the story told again, but + this time in parts and by those who had listened, in such a + way that it would seem as if one person were telling the + whole story. + + The Professor named the first part of the story. A student + was asked to tell the story from _the beginning_ to the end + of _the Prince's coming home again, sad at heart_. Another + student told the second part, beginning with _the storm_ and + ending with _what the old Queen thought_. A third student + told the third part, beginning with _the next morning_ and + ending with the close of the story, _Now this is a true + story_. + + The Professor next asked students to think over the entire + story, to see if each student could find any weak places in + the remembering of the story. Several students reported + difficulty--one failed to remember the exact description of + the storm. A number of details were thus filled in, in the + exact words of the author. After this intimate handling of + the separate parts of the story, a final re-telling by one + student--omitted in this case because of lack of time--would + bring together what had been contributed by individual + students, and would represent the final re-creation of the + entire story. + +The simplicity of this selection, the simplicity of the plot, the few +characters, the literary art of the story, the skillful use of the +unique word, the art of presenting distinct pictures by means of vivid +words, through suggestion rather than through illustration, together +with the delicate humor that hovered about the tale, and the art of +the Professor's telling--all combined in the final effect. The +re-telling of the story in parts accomplished the analysis of the +story into three big heads: + + (1) From _The Prince who wanted a real Princess_ ... to _his + return home_. + + (2) From _The storm, one dark evening_ ... to _what the old Queen + thought_. + + (3) From _What the Queen did next morning_ ... to _the end of the + story_. + +In the analysis of the story into parts, telling exactly what happened +gave the framework of the story, gave its basis of meaning. Telling it +in three steps gave a strong sense of sequence and a vivid conception +of climax.--If the division into parts for re-telling corresponds with +the natural divisions of the plot into its main episodes, this telling +in steps impresses the structure of the tale and is in harmony with +the real literary mastery of the story.--The re-telling of each part +drew attention to the visualization of that part. Each hesitation on +behalf of a student telling a part, led the class to fill in the +details for themselves, and impressed the remembrance of the exact +words of the author. This resulted in the mastery of each part through +a visualization of it. Hand in hand with the visualization came the +feeling aroused by the realization. This was more easily mastered +because changes of feeling were noticeable in passing from one part of +the story to another. + +After a mastery of the structure of the story through analysis, after +a mastery of the thought, imagination, and feeling of the story, after +a mastery of the form, and the exact words of the author in the +description of details embodied in that form, the story is possessed +as the teller's own, ready to be given, not only to bestow pleasure, +as in this case, but often to transmit a message of worth and to +preserve a classic form. + +_The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, a Jataka tale, might be prepared for +telling by this same re-creative method of story-telling. It +must be remembered--and because of its importance it will bear +repetition,--that the separation of the story-structure into parts for +separate telling should always be in harmony with the divisions of the +plot so that there may be no departure from the author's original mode +of thinking, and no break in the natural movement of sequence. A +separation of the tale into parts for re-telling would result in the +following analysis:-- + + (1) _Rabbit asleep under a palm tree_ ... to _his meeting + hundreds of Rabbits_. + + (2) _Rabbits met a Deer_ ... to _when the Elephant joined them_. + + (3) _Lion saw the animals running_ ... to _when he came to + the Rabbit who first had said the earth was all breaking up_. + + (4) _Lion asked the Foolish Rabbit, 'Is it true the earth is + all breaking up_,' ... to _end of the story, 'And they all + stopped running_.' + +After the re-telling of these parts, each part should be filled in +with the exact details so that in the final re-telling practically the +whole tale is reproduced. This is a very good tale to tell by this +method because the theme is attractive, the plot is simple, the +sequence a very evident movement, the characters distinctive, the +setting pleasing and rather prominent, and the details sufficiently +few and separate to be grasped completely. The final re-telling +therefore may be accomplished readily as a perfected result of this +method of telling a tale. + +During the telling, the charm here is in preserving the typical bits +of dialogue, giving to the Lion's words that force and strength and +sagacity which rank him the King of the Beasts. One must feel clearly +the message and make this message enter into every part of the +telling: That the Lion showed his superior wisdom by making a stand +and asking for facts, by accepting only what he tested; while the +Rabbit showed his credulity by foolishly accepting what he heard +without testing it. + +Adaptation of the fairy tale. Sometimes, in telling a story one cannot +tell it exactly as it is. This may be the case when the story is too +long for a purpose, or if it contains matter which had better be +omitted, or if it needs to be amplified. In any case one must follow +these general rules:-- + + (1) Preserve the essential story from a single point of view. + + (2) Preserve a clear sequence with a distinct climax. + + (3) Preserve a simplicity of plot and simple language. + +In shortening a long story one may: + + (1) Eliminate secondary themes. + + (2) Eliminate extra personages. + + (3) Eliminate passages of description. + + (4) Eliminate irrelevant events. + +It has been the practice to adapt such stories as Andersen's _Ugly +Duckling_ and Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_. In the _King of the +Golden River_ the description of Treasure Valley could be condensed +into a few sentences and the character of South West Wind omitted; and +in _The Ugly Duckling_, passages of description and bits of philosophy +might be left out. But there is no reason why literature in the +elementary school should be treated with mutilation. These stories are +not suited to the kindergarten or first grade and may be reserved for +the third and fourth grades where they may be used and enjoyed by the +children as they are. Andersen's _Thumbelina_ might be adapted for +kindergarten children because it is suitable for them yet it is very +long. It could easily be analyzed into its leading episodes, each +episode making a complete tale, and one or more episodes be told at +one time. This would have the added attraction for the child of having +one day's story follow naturally the preceding story. Adapted thus, +the episodes would be:-- + + (1) Thumbelina in her Cradle. + + (2) Thumbelina and the Toad. + + (3) Thumbelina and the Fishes. + + (4) Thumbelina and the Cockchafer in the tree. + + (5) Thumbelina and the Field-Mouse. + + (6) Thumbelina and the Mole. + + (7) Thumbelina and the Swallow. + + (8) Thumbelina as Queen of the Flowers. + +Andersen's _Snow Man_ as adapted for the kindergarten would require +the episode of the lover omitted. It is irrelevant, not essential to +the story, and is an illustration of the sentimental, which must be +omitted when we use Andersen. To omit this episode one would cut out +from "'That is wonderfully beautiful,' said a young girl," to the end +of "'Why, they belong to the Master,' retorted the Yard Dog." + + + + +III. THE RETURN FROM THE CHILD[2] + + +The telling of the fairy tale is one phase of the teacher's art. And +it is maintained that fairy tales are one portion of subject-matter +suited to accomplish the highest greatness of the teaching art. For +teaching is an art, an art of giving suggestions, of bearing +influences, of securing adjustments, an art of knowing the best and of +making it known. The material the artist works upon is the living +child. The medium the artist uses is subject-matter. In the process +the artist must ask, "What new connections or associations am I +establishing in the child?" "To what power of curiosity and of +problem-solving do these connections and associations lead?" The ideal +which guides the teacher is the child's best self as she can interpret +him. This ideal will be higher and larger than the child himself can +know. In the manipulation of subject-matter, through the practical +application of principles, the artist aims to have the child awake, +inquire, plan, and act, so that under her influences he grows by what +he thinks, by what he feels, by what he chooses, and by what he +achieves. + +Teaching will be good art when the child's growth is a perfect fit to +the uses of his life, when subject-matter brings to him influences he +needs and can use. Teaching will be good art when it breaks up old +habits, starts new ones, strengthens good traits, and weakens bad +ones; when it gives a new attitude of cheerfulness in life or of +thoughtfulness for others or of reason in all things. It will be good +art when under it the child wants to do something and learns _how_ to +do it. Teaching will be great art when under it the child continually +attains self-activity, self-development, and self-consciousness, when +he continually grows so that he may finally contribute his utmost +portion to the highest evolution of the race. Teaching will be great +art when it touches the emotions of the child,--when history calls +forth a warm indignation against wrong, when mathematics strengthens a +noble love of truth or literature creates a strong satisfaction in +justice. This is the poetry of teaching, because mere subject-matter +becomes a criticism of life. Teaching will be great art when you, the +teacher, through the humble means of your presentation of +subject-matter, furnish the child at the same time with ideas, +perceptions, and opinions which are your personal criticism of life. +Teaching will be great art when you, the teacher, have worked up into +your own character a portion of life which is of value, so that the +child coming in touch with you knows an influence more powerful than +anything you can do or say. Teaching will then awaken in the child a +social relation of abiding confidence, of secure trust, of faith +unshakable. And this relation will then create for the teacher the +obligation to keep this trust inviolable, to practice daily, _noblesse +oblige_. Teaching will be great art when with the subject-matter the +artist gives love, a great universal kindness that thinks not of +itself but, being no respecter of persons, looks upon each child in +the light of that child's own best realization. This penetrating +sympathy, this great understanding, will call forth from the child an +answering love, which grows daily into a larger humanity of soul until +the child, in time too, comes to have a universal sympathy. This is +the true greatness of teaching. This it is which brings the child into +harmony with the Divine love which speaks in all God's handiwork and +brings him into that unity with God which is the mystery of Froebel's +teaching. + +During the story-telling one must ask, "In all this what is the part +the child has to play?" In the telling the teacher has aimed to give +what there is in the tale. The child's part is to receive what there +is in the tale, the emotion, the imagination, the truth, and the form +embodied in the tale. The content of feeling, of portrayal, of truth, +and of language he receives, he will in some way transmit before the +school day is ended, even if in forms obscure and hidden. Long years +afterwards, he may exhibit this same emotion, imagination, truth and +form, in deeds that proclaim loudly the return from his fairy tales. +However, if the child is being surrounded by pragmatic influences +through his teachers he will soon become aware that his feelings are +useless unless he does something because of them; that what he sees is +worthless unless he sees to some purpose; that it is somewhat +fruitless to know the truth and not use it; and if words have in their +form expressed the life of the tale, he is more dead than words not to +express the life that teems within his own soul. The little child +grows gradually into the responsibility for action, for expression, +into a consciousness of purpose and a knowledge of his own problems. +But each opportunity he is given to announce his own initiative breaks +down the inhibition of inaction and aids him to become a free +achieving spirit. As the child listens to the tale he is a thinking +human creature; but in the return which he makes to his tale he +becomes a quickened creator. The use which he makes of the ideas he +has gained through his fairy tales, will be the work of his creative +imagination. + +Fairy tales, though perfectly ordinary subject-matter, may become the +means of the greatest end in education, the development in the child +of the power of consciousness. The special appeal to the various +powers and capacities of the child mind, such as emotion, imagination, +memory, and reason, here have been viewed separately. But in life +action the mind is a unit. Thinking is therefore best developed +through subject-matter which focuses the various powers of the child. +The one element which makes the child manipulate his emotion, +imagination, memory, and reason, is the presence of a problem. The +problem is the best chance for the child to secure the adjustment of +means to ends. This adjustment of means to ends in a problem +situation, is real thinking and is the use of the highest power of +which man is capable, that of functional consciousness. The real need +of doing things is the best element essential to the problem. Through +a problem which expresses such a genuine need, to learn to know +himself, to realize his capacities and his limitations, and to secure +for himself the evolution of his own character until it adapts, not +itself to its environment, but its environment to its own uses and +masters circumstances for its own purposes--this is the high hill to +which education must look, "from which cometh its strength." The +little child, in listening to a fairy tale, in seeing in it a problem +of real need, and in working it out, may win some of this strength. We +have previously seen that fairy tales, because of their universal +elements, are subject-matter rich in possible problems. + +During the story-telling what is the part the child has to play? The +part of the child in all this may be to listen to the story because he +has some problem of his own to work out through the literature, +because he has some purpose of his own in listening, because he enjoys +the story and wishes to find out what there is in it, or because he +expects it to show him what he may afterwards wish to do with it. In +any case the child's part is to see the characters and what they do, +to follow the sequence of the tale, and to realize the life of the +story through the telling. He may have something to say about the +story at the close of the telling, he may wish to compare its motifs +with similar motifs in other tales, or he may wish to talk about the +life exhibited by the story. The various studies of the curriculum +every day are following more closely the Greek ideal and giving the +child daily exercise to keep the channels of expression free and open. +And when the well-selected fairy tale which is art is told, through +imitation and invention it awakens in the child the art-impulse and +tends to carry him from appreciation to expression. If before the +telling the story-teller has asked herself, "What variety of creative +reaction will this tale arouse in the child?" and if she has told the +story in the way to bring forward the best possibility for creative +reaction the nature of the tale affords, she will help to make clear +to the child what he himself will want to do with the story. She will +help him to see a way to use the story to enter into his everyday +life. The return of creative reaction possible to the child will be +that in harmony with his natural instincts or large general interests. +These instincts, as indicated by Professor John Dewey, in _The School +and Society_, are:-- + + (1) the instinct of conversation or communication; + + (2) the instinct of inquiry or finding out things; + + (3) the instinct of construction or making things; and + + (4) the instinct of artistic expression or [of imitating and + combining things]. + +(1) The instinct of conversation. The little child likes to talk. If +you have ever listened to a little girl of five artlessly proceeding +to tell a story, such as _Little Black Sambo_, which she had gathered +from looking at a neighbor's book, but which she had not yet mastered +sufficiently to grasp its central theme, reiterating the particular +incidents with the enthusiasm and joy and narrative tone of the +story-teller, you realized how the child likes to talk. For there +appeared the charm of the story-telling mode distinct from the story +it told. + +Because of this instinct of conversation one form of creative reaction +may be _language expression_. The oral reproduction of the story +re-experiences the story anew. The teacher may help here by creating a +situation for the re-telling. A teacher might put a little foreign boy +through rapid paces in learning English by selecting a story like _The +Sparrow and the Crow_ and by managing that in the re-telling the +little foreigner would be the Crow who makes the repetitive speeches, +who must go to the Pond and say:-- + + Your name, sir, is Pond + And my name is Crow, + Please give me some water, + For if you do so + I can wash and be neat, + And the nice soup can eat, + Though I really don't know + What the sparrow can mean, + I'm quite sure, as crows go, + I'm remarkably clean. + +As the Crow must go to the Deer, the Cow, the Grass, and the +Blacksmith, and each time varies the beginning of his speech, four +other children could represent the Crow successively, thus bringing in +a social element which would relieve any one child's timidity. By that +time any group of children would realize the fun they could get by +playing out the simple tale; and there would be petitions to be the +Deer, the Cow, etc. If the teacher sees that the characters place +themselves as they should, carry out the parts naturally, and that the +Crow begs with the correct rhyme, she is performing her legitimate +task of suggestion and criticism that works toward developing from the +first attempts of children, a good form in harmony with the story. +Here, while there is free play, the emphasis is on the speeches of +rhyme, so that the reaction is largely a language expression. The +language expression is intimately related to all varieties of +expression of which the child is capable, and may be made to dominate +and use any of them, or be subordinated to them. + +A most delightful form of creative reaction possible to the child in +language expression, is the _formation of original little stories_ +similar to the "Toy Stories" written by Carolyn Bailey for the +_Kindergarten Review_ during 1915. A story similar to "The Little +Woolly Dog" might be originated by the little child about any one of +his toys. This would be related to his work with fairy tales because +in such a story the child would be imitating his accumulative tales; +and the adventures given the toy would be patterned after the familiar +adventures of his tales. + +A form of creative reaction, which will be a part of the language +return given by the first-grade child from the telling of the tale, +will be his _reading of the tale_. When the child re-experiences the +life of the story as has been described, his mental realization of it +will be re-creative, and his reading the tale aloud afterwards will be +just as much a form of re-creative activity as his re-telling of the +tale. The only difference is, that in one case the re-creative +activity is exercised by thinking through symbols, while in the other +case it is employed without the use of a book. This concentration on +the reality brings about the proper relation of reading to literature. +It frees literature from the slavery to reading which it has been made +to serve, yet it makes literature contribute more effectively toward +good reading than it has done in the past. + +(2) The instinct of inquiry. No more predominating trait proclaims +itself in the child than the instinct of inquiry. Every grown-up +realizes his habit of asking questions, which trait Kipling has +idealized delightfully in _The Elephant's Child_. We know also that +the folk-tale in its earliest beginnings was the result of primitive +man's curiosity toward the actual physical world about him, its sun +and sky, its mountain and its sea. The folk-tale therefore is the +living embodiment of the child's instinct of inquiry permanently +recorded in the adventures and surprises of the folk-tale characters. +And because the folk-tale is so pervaded with this quest of the ages +in search of truth, and because the child by nature is so deeply +imitative, the folk-tale inherently possesses an educational value to +stir and feed original impulses of investigation and experiment. This +is a value which is above and beyond its more apparent uses. + +In the creative reaction to be expected from the child's use of fairy +tales the expression of this instinct of investigation unites with the +instinct of conversation, the instinct of construction, and the +instinct of artistic expression. In fact, it is the essence of +creative reaction in any form, whether in the domain of the Industrial +Shop, the Domestic Science Kitchen, the Household Arts' Sewing-Room, +or the Fine Arts' Studio. To do things and then see what happens, is +both the expression of this instinct and the basis of any creative +return the child makes through his handling of the fairy tale. In the +formation of a little play such as is given on page 149, the instinct +of conversation is expressed in the talk of the Trees to the little +Bird. But this talk of the Trees also expresses _doing things to see +what happens_; each happening to the Bird, each reply of a Tree to the +Bird, influences each successive doing of the Bird. After the Story of +_Medio Pollito_ all the child's efforts of making Little Half-Chick +into a weathervane and of fixing the directions to his upright shaft, +will be expressions of the search for the unknown, of the instinct of +experiment. After the story of _The Little Elves_, the dance of the +Elves to the accompaniment of music will represent an expression of +the artistic instinct; but it also represents expression of the +instinct for the new and the untried. After the dance is finished the +child has seen himself do something he had not done before. This union +of the instinct of inquiry with that of artistic expression shows +itself most completely in the entire dramatization of a fairy tale. + +(3) The instinct of construction. In his industrial work the very +youngest child is daily exercising his active tendency to make +things. In the kindergarten he may make the toy with which he plays, +the doll-house and its furnishings, small clay dishes, etc. In +the first grade he may make small toy animals, baskets, paper hats, +card-board doll-furniture, little houses, book-covers, toys, etc. +Self-expression, self-activity, and constructive activity would all +be utilized, and the work would have more meaning to the child, if it +_expressed some idea_, if after the story of _Three Bears_ the child +would make the Bears' kitchen, the table of wood, and the three +porridge bowls of clay, or the Bears' hall with the three chairs. In +the Grimm tale, _Sweet Rice Porridge_, after the story has been told +and before the re-telling, children would like to make a clay +porridge-pot, which could be there before them in the re-telling. +Perhaps they would make the rice porridge also, and put some in the +pot, for little children are very fond of making things to eat, and +domestic science has descended even into the kindergarten. After the +story of _Chanticleer and Partlet_, children would enjoy making a +little wagon and harnessing to it a Duck, and putting in it the Cock +and the Hen, little animals they have made. In the first grade, after +the story of _Sleeping Beauty_, children would naturally take great +pleasure in making things needed to play the story: the paper silver +and gold crowns of the maids and Princess and the Prince's sword. +After the story of _Medio Pollito_, we have noted with what special +interest children might make a weathervane, with Little Half-Chick +upon it! + +(4) The instinct of artistic expression. This is the instinct of +drawing, painting, paper-cutting, and crayon-sketching, the instinct +of song, rhythm, dance, and game, of free play and dramatization. + +(a) One form of artistic creative reaction will be _the cutting of +free silhouette pictures_. The child should attempt this with the +simplest of the stories which are suited for drawing, painting, or +crayon-sketching. He loves to represent the animals he sees every day; +and the art work should direct this impulse and show him how to do it +so that he may draw or cut out a dog, a cat, a sheep, or a goat; or +simple objects, as a broom, a barrel, a box, a table, and a chair. +_The Bremen Town_ _Musicians_, while offering a fine opportunity for +dramatization, also might stimulate the child to cut out the +silhouettes of the Donkey, the Dog, the Cat, and the Cock, to draw the +window of the cottage and to place the animals one on top of another, +looking in the window. The beautiful picture-books illustrating his +fairy tales, which the child may see, will give him many ideas of +drawing and sketching, and help him to arrange his silhouettes. A +recent primer, _The Pantomime Primer_, will give the child new ideas +in silhouettes. Recent articles in the _Kindergarten Review_ will give +the teacher many helpful suggestions along the line of expression. In +the May number, 1915, in _Illustrated Stories_, the story of "Ludwig +and Marleen," by Jane Hoxie, is shown as a child might illustrate it +with paper-cutting.--A class of children were seen very pleasantly +intent on cutting out of paper a basket filled with lovely tinted +flowers. But how attractive that same work would have become if the +basket had been Red Riding Hood's basket and they were being helped by +an art-teacher to show peeping out of her basket the cake and pot of +butter, with the nosegay tucked in one end. A very practical problem +in paper-cutting would arise in any room when children desire to make +a frieze to decorate the front wall. _The Old Woman and her Pig, The +Country Mouse and the City Mouse, The Little Red Hen, The Story of +Three Pigs, The Story of Three Bears_, and _Little Top-Knot_, would be +admirably adapted for simple work. + +(b) _The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean_ is most likely to stir the +child's impulse to _draw_. Leslie Brooke's illustration in _The House +in the Wood_ might aid a child who wanted to put some fun into his +representation. _Birdie and Lena_ or _Fundevogel_, is a story that +naturally would seek illustration. Three _crayon-sketches_, one of a +rosebush and a rose, a second of a church and a steeple, and a third +of a pond and a duck, would be enough to suggest the tale. + +(c) The Story of _The Wolf and Seven Kids_, if told with the proper +emphasis on the climax of triumph and conclusion of joy, would lead +the child to react with a _water-color sketch_ of the dance of the +Goat and her Kids about the well. For here you have all the elements +needed for a simple picture--the sky, the full moon, the hill-top, the +well, and the animals dancing in a ring. After finishing their +sketches the children would enjoy comparing them with the illustration +of _Der Wolf und die Sieben Geislein_ in _Das Deutsche Bilderbuech_, +and perhaps they might try making a second sketch. This same tale +would afford the children a chance to compose a simple tune and a +simple song, such as the well-taught kindergarten child to-day knows. +Such are songs which express a single theme and a single mood; as, +_The Muffin Man_ and _To the Great Brown House_; or _There was a Small +Boy with a Toot_ and _Dapple Gray_ in _St. Nicholas Songs_. In this +tale of _The Wolf and Seven Kids_, the conclusion impresses a single +mood of joy and the single theme of freedom because the Wolf is dead. +The child could produce a very simple song of perhaps two lines, such +as,-- + + Let's sing and dance! Hurrah, hurrah! + The Wolf is dead! Hurrah! + +(d) It is a little difficult to get down to the simplicity of the +little girl who will play her own tune upon the piano and sing to it +just the number of the house in which she lives, repeating it again +and again. But the child can _compose little songs_ that will please +him, and he can use, too, in connection with the tales, some of the +songs that he knows. The first-grade child could work into _Snow White +and Rose Red_, "Good morrow, little rosebush," and into _Little +Two-Eyes_ a lullaby such as "Sleep, baby, sleep." Later in _Hansel and +Grethel_ he may learn some of the simple songs that have been written +for Hansel and Grethel to sing to the birds when they spend the night +in the wood. In _Snow White_ he may learn some of the songs written +for the children's play, _Snow White_. In connection with music, the +kindergarten child learns to imitate the sounds of animals, the sound +of bells, whistles, the wind, etc. All this will cause him to react, +so that when these occur in his stories he will want to make them. + +(e) One of the forms of creative reaction possible to the child as a +variety of expression, which has received attention most recently, has +been handled by Miss Caroline Crawford in _Rhythm Plays of Childhood_; +and by Miss Carol Oppenheimer in "Suggestions Concerning Rhythm +Plays," in the _Kindergarten Review_, April and May, 1915. Here again +the fairy tales cannot be excelled in abundant situations for rhythm +plays. The sea, the wind, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the +stars--all nature is rich in suggestion of rhythms. The social +situations furnish the rhythm of simple housekeeping tasks. In _Snow +White and Rose Red_ there are the rhythms of fishing and of chasing +animals. In _The Elves_ we have the rhythm of shoe-making and in _The +Straw Ox_, the rhythm of spinning. The story of _Thumbelina_, after +its eight episodes have been re-told by the children, might very +attractively be re-told in eight rhythms, each rhythm expressing a +single episode. And for the oldest children, a union of the oral +re-telling by individual children with the retelling in rhythms by all +the children, would give much pleasure and social exhilaration. +Thumbelina in her Cradle, Thumbelina and the Toad, Thumbelina and the +Swallow and Thumbelina as Queen of the Flowers--these at once suggest +a cradle rhythm, a toad rhythm, the flight of birds, and a butterfly +dance. Because the rhythm is a lyric form it must be remembered that +the part of a story suited to a rhythm play is always a part +characterized by a distinct emotional element. In the performance of +rhythm plays the point is to secure the adjustment of music, motion, +and idea. + +(f) Many of the fairy tales might arouse in the child a desire _to +originate a game_, especially if he were accustomed to originate games +in the regular game work. A modification of the game of tag might grow +from _Red Riding Hood_ and a pleasant ring game easily might develop +from _Sleeping Beauty_. In fact there is a traditional English game +called "Sleeping Beauty." An informal ring game which would be +somewhat of a joke, and would have the virtue of developing attention, +might grow from _The Tin Soldier_. The Tin Soldier stands in the +center while the circle is formed of Jack-in-the-boxes, with lids +closed. The Tin Soldier turns round and round slowly, and when he +stops looks steadily at a certain Jack-in-the-box, whereupon the Jack +must bob up and retort, "Keep your eyes to yourself, Tin Soldier!" The +Jack and Soldier then change places. Any Jack failing to open when +looked at forfeits his place in the ring. Some games derived from +folk-tales were given in the _Delineator_, November, 1914. These could +not be used by the youngest without adaptation; they suggest a form of +fun that so far as I know has been undeveloped. + +(g) The artistic creative return of the child may sometimes take the +form of _objectification or representation_. _The Steadfast Tin +Soldier_ is a model of the literary fairy tale which gives a stimulus +to the child to represent his fairy tale objectively. As +straightforward narrative it ranks high. Its very first clause is the +child's point of view: "There were five and twenty tin soldiers"; for +the child counts his soldiers. Certainly the theme is unique and the +images clear-cut. + +It makes one total impression and it has one emotional tone to which +everything is made to contribute. Its message of courage and its +philosophy of life, which have been mentioned previously, are not so +insignificant even if the story does savor of the sentimental. Its +structure is one single line of sequence, from the time this marvelous +soldier was stood up on the table, until he, like many another toy, +was thrown into the fire. The vivid language used gives vitality to +the story, the words suit the ideas, and often the words recall a +picture or suggestion; as, "The Soldier _fell headlong,"_ "_trod_," +"came down in _torrents_," "boat _bobbed_," "_spun_ round," "_clasped_ +his gun," "boat _shot_ along," "_blinked_ his eyes," etc. The method +of suggestion by which an object is described through its effect on +some one else, produces a very pleasing result here. You see the +steadfast look of the Tin Soldier's eyes when the Jack-in-the-box +says, "Keep your eyes to yourself, Tin Soldier!" The position of the +Soldier in the street is given through the exclamation of the little +boys who see him--"Look! there lies a Tin Soldier, let us give him a +sail in the gutter!" + +The setting in this story is a table in a sitting-room and the +playthings on the table. The characters are two playthings. After the +first telling of this story the child naturally would like to +represent it. The story has made his playthings come alive and so he +would like to make them appear also. This is a tale in which +representation, after the first telling, will give to the child much +pleasure and will give him a chance to do something with it +cooperatively. He can reproduce the setting of this tale upon a table +in a schoolroom. Each child could decide what is needed to represent +the story and offer what he can. One child could make the yard outside +the castle of green blotting-paper. Another child could furnish a +mirror for the lake, another two toy green trees, one two wax swans, +one a box of tin soldiers, another a jack-in-the-box, while the girls +might dress a paper doll for a tinsel maid. The teacher, instructed by +the class, might make a castle of heavy gray cardboard, fastening it +together with heavy brass paper-fasteners and cutting out the door, +windows, and tower. It is natural for children to handle playthings; +and when a story like this is furnished the teacher should not be too +work-a-day to enter into its play-spirit. After the representation +objectively, the re-telling of the tale might be enjoyed. The child +who likes to draw might tell this story also in a number of little +sketches: _The Jack-in-the-box, The Window, The Boat, The Rat, The +Fish_, and _The Fire_. Or a very simple little dramatic dance and song +might be invented, characterized by a single mood and a single form of +motion, something like this, sung to the tune of "Here we go round the +mulberry bush, etc":-- + + Here we come marching, soldiers tin, soldiers tin, soldiers tin, + Here we come marching, soldiers tin, + On one leg steady we stand. + (Circle march on one leg). + +This could easily be concluded with a game if the child who first was +compelled to march on two legs had to pay some penalty, stand in the +center of the ring, or march at the end of the line. + +(h) Creative reaction as a result of listening to the telling of fairy +tales, appears in its most varied form of artistic expression in _free +play and dramatization_. It is here that the child finds a need for +the expression of all his skill in song and dance, construction, +language, and art, for here he finds a use for these things. + +In free play the child represents the characters and acts out the +story. His desire to play will lead to a keenness of attention to the +story-telling, which is the best aid to re-experiencing, and the play +will react upon his mind and give greater power to visualize. Nothing +is better for the child than the freedom and initiative used in +dramatization, and nothing gives more self-reliance and poise than to +act, to do something.--We must remember that in the history of the +child's literature it was education that freed his spirit from the +deadening weight of didacticism in the days of the _New England +Primer_. And we must now have a care that education never may become +guilty of crushing the spirit of his freedom, spontaneity, and +imagination, by a dead formalism in its teaching method.--The play +develops the voice, and it gives freedom and grace to bodily +movements. It fixes in the child mind the details of the story and +impresses effectively many a good piece of literature; it combines +intellectual, emotional, artistic, and physical action. The simplest +kindergarten plays, such as _The Farmer, The Blacksmith_, and _Little +Travelers_, naturally lead into playing a story such as _The Sheep and +the Pig_ or _The Gingerbread Man_. _The Mouse that Lost Her Tail_ and +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_ are delightful simple plays given in +_Chain Stories and Playlets_ by Mara Chadwick and E. Gray Freeman, +suited to the kindergarten to play or the first grade to read and +play. Working out a complete dramatization of a folk-tale such as +_Sleeping Beauty_, in the first grade, and having the children come +into the kindergarten and there play it for them, will be a great +incentive toward catching the spirit of imaginatively entering into a +situation which you are not. This is the essential for dramatization. +_Johnny Cake_ is a good tale to be played in the kindergarten because +it uses a great number of children. As the kindergarten room generally +is large, it enables the children who represent the man, the woman, +the little boy, etc., to station themselves at some distance. + +There are some dangers in dramatization which are to be avoided:-- + +(1) _Dramatization often is in very poor form_. The result is not the +important thing, but the process. And sometimes teachers have +understood this to mean, "Hands off!" and left the children to their +crude impulses, unaided and unimproved. When the child shows _what_ he +is trying to do the teacher may show him _how_ he can do what he wants +to do. By suggestion and criticism she may get him to improve his +first effort, provided she permits him to be absolutely free when he +acts.--The place of this absolute freedom in the child's growth has +been emblazoned to the kindergarten by the Montessori System.--Also by +participating in the play as one of the characters, the teacher may +help to a better form. Literature will be less distorted by +dramatization when teachers are better trained to see the +possibilities of the material, when through training they appreciate +the tale as one of the higher forms of literature, and respect it +accordingly. Also it will be less distorted by dramatization when the +tales selected for use are those containing the little child's +interests, when he will have something to express which he really +knows about. Moreover, as children gain greater skill in expression in +construction, in the game, in song, in dance, and in speech, the parts +these contribute to the play will show a more perfected form. Each +expression by the child grows new impressions, gives him new sensory +experiences. Perhaps if the high school would realize the +possibilities in a fairy tale such as _Beauty and the Beast_, work it +up into really good artistic form, and play it for the little +children, much would be gained not only towards good form in +dramatics, in both the elementary school and the high school, but +towards unifying the entire course of literature from the kindergarten +to the university. Using Crane's picture-book as a help, they might +bring into the play the beauty of costume and scenery, the +court-jester, and Beauty's pages. Into the Rose-Garden they might +bring a dance of Moon Fairies, Dawn Fairies, Noon, and Night who, in +their symbolic gauzy attire, dance to persuade Beauty to remain in the +Beast's castle. There might be singing fairies who decorate the bushes +with fairy roses, and others who set the table with fairy dishes, +singing as they work:-- + + See the trees with roses gay. + Fairy roses, fairy roses, etc. + +Elves and Goblins might surround the Beast when dying. The change of +scene from the simple home of Beauty to the rich castle of the Beast, +and the change of costume, would furnish ample opportunity for +original artistic work from older students. For the little child it is +good to see the familiar dignified with art and beauty; and for the +older student the imagination works more freely when dealing with +rather simple and familiar elements such as the folk-tale offers. +_Cinderella_, like _Beauty and the Beast_, offers abundant opportunity +to the high school student for a play or pantomime which it would be +good for the little people to see. The stately minuet and folk-dances +of different peoples may be worked into the ball-scene. And here, too, +the beautiful picture-books will suggest features of costume and +scenery. + +(2) _Dramatization may develop boldness in a child_. The tendency is to +use children with good dramatic ability continually for leading parts, +even when the children choose the parts. This fault may be +counteracted by distinguishing between work for growth and one or two +rather carefully prepared plays to be given on special occasions. It +is also counteracted by looking well to the social aspect of the play, +by introducing features such as the song, dance, or game, where all +have a part, or by adding attractive touches to less important parts, +so that while a character may still be leading it will have no reason +to feel over-important. This danger is not prominent until after the +first grade. + +(3) _Dramatization may spoil some selections_. Beautiful descriptions +which make a tale poetic are not to be represented, and without them a +tale is cheapened. Such is the case with _The King of the Golden +River_ and _The Ugly Duckling_. Care should be exercised to choose for +dramatization only what is essentially dramatic and what is of a grade +suited to the child. Tales suited to the little child are largely +suited for dramatization. + +(4) _Dramatization has omitted to preserve a sequence in the +selections used from year to year_. A sequence in dramatization will +follow naturally as the tales offered from year to year show a +sequence in the variety of interests they present and the +opportunities for growth and activity they offer. Plays most suited to +the kindergarten are those which do not require a complete re-telling +of the story in the acting, so that the child need not say so much. +Such are stories like _The Old Woman and Her Pig, Henny Penny, The +Foolish Timid Rabbit, Little Tuppen, Three Billy-Goats_, _Johnny +Cake_, and _Billy Bobtail_. When the course of literature in the +elementary school gets its content organized, the sequence of +dramatization will take care of itself. + +Dramatization has one rather unusual virtue:-- + +(1) _Dramatization may be used to establish a good habit_. An indolent +child may be given the part of the industrious child in the play. At +first the incongruity will amuse him, then it will support his +self-respect or please his vanity, then it will prove to him the +pleasure of being industrious, and finally stimulate the desire to be +that which before he was not. It may build a habit and, if repeated, +fortify one. This is the true "Direct Moral Method." The so-called +"Direct Moral Method," advocated by Dr. Gould, an English educator, +which in telling a story separates the moral from the tale to +emphasize it and talk about it, leaves the child a passive listener +with only a chance to say "Yes" or "No" or a single word in answer to +the moral questions. It is unnatural because it directs the child's +attention away from the situation, action, and people which interest +him. It does not parallel life in which morals are tied up with +conduct. One must ask, "According to this method what will the child +recall if his mind reverts to the story--courage, or the variety of +images from the number of short-stories told to impress the abstract +moral idea of courage?" Dramatization like life represents character +in the making and therefore helps to make character. + +Illustrations of creative return. Let us look now at a few tales +illustrating the creative return possible to the child. _The Country +Mouse and the City Mouse_ is an animal tale that offers to the +kindergarten child a chance to prove how intensely he enters into the +situation by the number of details he will improvise and put into his +dramatization in representing life in the country and life in the +city. The good feast atmosphere in this tale pleases little children +and suits it to their powers. It is a fine tale to _unite the language +expression and dramatization_. It is especially suited to call forth +reaction from the child also in the form of _drawing or crayon +sketching_. Here it is best for the child to attempt typical bits. +Complete representation tires him and it is not the method of art, +which is selective. The field of corn and two mice may be shown in the +country scene; and a table with cheese, some plates filled with +dainties, and two mice in the city scene. Here again this return +relates itself to the presentation of the tale as literature. For if +the story has been presented so as to make the characters, the plot, +and the setting stand out, the child naturally will select these to +portray in a sketch. In his expression the child will represent what +he chooses, but the teacher by selecting from among the results the +one which is of most value, leads him to a better result in a +following attempt. It is the _teacher's selection among the results of +activity_ that brings about development. Freedom with guidance is no +less free, but it is freedom under that stimulation which helps the +child to make more of himself than he knew was possible.--The +kindergarten would proclaim to the Montessori System the place of +_guidance of freedom_ in the child's growth. + +_The Elves and the Shoemaker_ offers to a first grade a pleasing +opportunity for the _fairy tale to unite with the dramatic game_. One +child may act as narrator, standing to tell the story from the +beginning to the end of the evening's conversation, "I should like to +sit up tonight and see who it is that makes the shoes." At this point, +noiselessly a dozen or more Elves may troop in, and seating themselves +sing and act the first part of the _Dramatic Game of Little Elves_, +one form of which is given by Miss Crawford. After they have stitched, +rapped, and tapped quickly, and the shoes are made, they depart +hurriedly. The narrator now continues the story, telling how the +Shoemaker and his wife made little clothes for the Elves, ending with +what happened on Christmas Eve, when they put the gay jackets and caps +on the table and hid in the corner to watch. At this point the Elves +come in a second time, donning their new clothes; and sing and dance +the second part of the dramatic game. As they dance out of sight the +narrator concludes the story. If the primary children made these +clothes or if the kindergarten children bought them at Christmas time +to give to the poor, the play[3] would take on a real human value. + +_Sleeping Beauty_, another tale suited to the first grade, is +admirably adapted for dramatization.--In all this work the children do +the planning but the teacher directs their impulses, criticizes their +plans, and shows them what they have done. She leads them to see the +tale in the correct acts and scenes, to put together what belongs +together. _Sleeping Beauty_ naturally outlines itself into the ten +main incidents we have noted before. If the story has been presented +according to the standards given here, the children will see the story +in those main incidents. In the dramatization they might work together +narration of the story and the dramatic game, _Dornroeschen_. A wide +circle of children might be the chorus while the players take their +places in the center of the circle. The narrator, one of the circle, +stands apart from it as he narrates. The version here used is the +McLoughlin one, illustrated by Johann and Leinweber. + +_Sleeping Beauty_ + + _Place: Castle_. King, Queen, and courtiers take their places + within the circle. The circle moves to waltz step, singing + stanza I, of the dramatic game:-- + + The Princess was so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, etc. + + At the conclusion of stanza I, the circle stops, the + narrator steps forth and tells the story to the end of the + words, "one had to stay at home." + + _Scene i. The Feast_. Twelve fairies enter, each presenting + her gift and making a speech. The wicked thirteenth comes in + and pronounces her curse, and the twelfth fairy softens it + to sleep. The King proclaims his decree, that all spindles + in the land be destroyed. + + _Scene ii. The Attic_. Princess goes to the attic. Old lady + sits spinning. Princess pricks herself and falls asleep. + Narration begins with "The King and Queen who had just come + in fell asleep," and ends with "not a leaf rustled on the + trees around the castle." At the close of the narration, the + circle moves, singing stanza _5_ of the dramatic game:-- + + A great hedge grew up giant high, giant high, giant high, + etc. + + _Scene ii. The Castle Grounds_. The Prince talks to an old + Man outside the castle. The Prince comes to the hedge, which + parts, and he enters. The Prince wakens the Princess and the + rest of the castle. The narrator then closes with "By and by + the wedding of the Prince ... to the end of their lives they + lived happy and contented." The courtiers then form into + couples, and the circle, in couples, follow the courtiers. + The Prince and Princess lead in a slow waltz while all sing + stanza 10 of the dramatic game: + + And all the people made merry then, merry then, merry then, + etc. + +Here we do not have complete dramatization, narration, or dramatic +game. Only three short parts are narrated, only three leading scenes +are represented, and only three high points of narrative are depicted +in the dramatic game. The music, which the specialist in physical +education can furnish, might be:-- + + Galloping...................... Wild Horseman. + Fairy Run...................... Chalef Book, p. 18. + Climbing to Tower.............. Chaly, p. 10. + Guy Walk Music. + Phyllis........................ Seymour Smith. + Bleking........................ Folk-Dance Book. + + +In connection with the _dramatic game_, there is only one tale in +Grimm which contains a folk-game. This tale is somewhat incomplete as +it stands in Grimm. It could become a tale suited for dramatization in +the first grade, beginning the play with the folk-game. An original, +amplified version of this tale, _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_ +is given in the _Appendix_. + +An original little play similar to one which the kindergarten children +could work out is given below. This play is based on the _pourquois_ +tale, _Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves_.[4] It affords +much play of originality because familiar trees may be used; and the +talk of the Trees to the Bird may have some relation to the +characteristics of the Trees. It could be used by children of six, +seven, or eight years of age. It could serve as a Christmas play +because of its spirit of kindness. North Wind might wear a wig and the +Frost King wear a crown and carry a wand. Little Bird could have +wings, one of which is broken, or simply carry one arm sleeveless. + +The play might open with a rhythmic flight of the birds to the music +of "The Swallow's Plight," in _Kindergarten Review_, May, 1915. The +rhythm play of the birds would be especially pleasing because +different birds would be represented by different children. The play +would furnish a fine opportunity also for a rhythmic dance of the +wind, which could form a distinct interlude later on in the play. In +connection with the wind the beautiful picture-book, _Windschen_, by +Elsa Beskow, might be referred to. Here the wind is personified as the +playmate of Hans Georg. Its refined art, lovely color, and imaginative +illustration, would stimulate the child's artistic representation of +the wind. + +_The Bird and the Trees: A Play_ + + _Time_ . . . . Daytime, in late autumn. + _Place_ . . . The Forest. + _Characters_: Poplar, Oak, Maple, Willow, Spruce, Pine, + Juniper, the Bird, North Wind, and the Frost King. + + _Trees of the forest_. "See that great crowd of birds flying + away! They must be going South where the air is warm, and + where they can find berries to eat. There is one left + behind. Why, he is coming this way. What can he want?" + + _The Bird_. "Oh, I can fly no farther! My wing hurts and I + cannot hold it up. I am tired and cold and hungry. I must + rest in this forest. Maybe some good kind tree will help me. + Dear friend Poplar, my wing is broken and my friends have + all gone South. Will you let me live in your branches until + they come back again?" + + _Poplar_. "I am sorry but do you not see how my leaves are + all a-tremble at the thought of taking in a strange bird? + Ask some other tree!" + + _The Bird_. "It might not be very warm there at any rate. + And the wind might blow me off the branches. I will try the + Oak, he is so big and mighty. Dear old Oak-tree, you are so + big and strong, will you let me rest in your branches + to-night among your thick warm leaves? I am a poor little + Bird with a broken wing and I cannot fly!" + + _Oak_. "Oh, you must not ask me, little Bird, for all day + long my little friends, the squirrels, have been jumping + across my branches, gathering nuts and seeking holes to + store their acorns in. I have no room for a stranger." + + _The Bird_. "Ah! I did not think the Oak could be so cruel. + Perhaps Maple will help me, she always seemed kind like a + Mother. Dear, beautiful Maple, I am tired. May I rest among + your lovely red leaves until my broken wing is mended and my + friends come back to me?" + + _Maple_. "Oh, no, I could not think of it! I have just + dressed my leaves all in red and you might spoil their + lovely clothes. Do go away. There are other trees in the + forest not so gay as I." + + _The Bird_. "What should I do? No one wants to help me. Can + I not find one kind tree? Dear kind Willow, your branches + bend almost to the ground. Could I live in them until the + spring-time?" + + _Willow_. "Really, little Bird with the broken wing, you are + a stranger. You should have gone with the other birds. Maybe + some other tree can help you but we willows are particular." + + _The Bird_. "I do not know where to go and I'm so cold! I + wonder if the other birds have reached the beautiful warm + South." + + _Spruce_. "Little Bird, little Bird, where are you going?" + + _The Bird_. "I do not know. I am very cold." + + _Spruce_. "Come, make a big hop and rest in this snug corner + of my branches. You can stay with me all winter if you + like." + + _The Bird_. "You are so good, dear Spruce-tree. Will you + really let me?" + + _Spruce_. "If your friends the birds have left you, your + other friends, the trees, will surely help you. Ho, + Pine-tree, you would help a little Bird with a broken wing, + wouldn't you?" + + _Pine_. "Oh, yes, dear Bird! My branches are not wide but I + am tall and thick, and I will keep the cold North Wind from + you." + + _Juniper_. "And maybe I can help. Are you hungry, little + Bird? You can eat my nice little berries whenever you like." + + _The Bird_. "Thank you, kind friends! I will go to sleep now + on this nice branch of the Spruce-tree, Good-night, dear + Trees." + + _Spruce, Pine, and Juniper_. "Good-night, little Bird." + + _North Wind. "Oo_,--_Oo_!--Now I must run in and out among + all the trees of the forest.--But who comes here?" + + _Frost King_. "Stop, North Wind! I have just gone before + you, as King Winter said, and touched the trees of the + forest. But the trees that have been kind to the Bird with + the broken wing, those I did not touch. They shall keep + their leaves. Do not you harm them!" + + _North Wind_. "Very well, King Frost. Good-bye! + _Oo_!--Oo!--" (The Wind frolics among the Trees, bending + branches, careering wildly, shaking leaves.) "Little + Spruce-tree, you have been kind to the Bird, I will not blow + on you! Dear Pine-tree, you are tall and keep the Bird warm, + I will not blow on you! Little Juniper, you gave the Bird + your berries, I will not blow on you!" + + _(The following morning_.) + + _The Bird_. "Good-morning, dear Spruce-tree, your branch was + warm and safe.--Why, what has happened to the other Trees? + Look at the big Oak and the lovely Maple and all the rest! + See how bare their branches are; and on the ground their + shining leaves lie in red and yellow and brown heaps! O, how + glad I am that your leaves have not fallen; they are bright + and green! And so are Pine-tree's and Juniper's. I will call + you my Evergreen Trees, and I will stay with you until the + Spring!" + +The English fairy tale, _The Magpie's Nest_, told by Joseph Jacobs, +might be dramatized by first-grade children. This tale might offer the +problem of observing how different birds make their nests and how they +vary their calls. It also might offer the language problem of making +suitable rhymes. An original dramatization of the _pourquois_ tale is +given in the _Appendix_. + +Andersen's _Fir Tree_ would offer a fine opportunity for a first grade +at Christmas time. The fir tree has become vitally interesting through +nature study at this time of the year. The children love to make +things to decorate a tree. They have a short list of stories they can +tell by this time. All this can be utilized in a Christmas tree +play.--For the play use the original story, not a weakened version.--A +pleasant Christmas play could end most happily with the story-telling +under the tree. For the play an actual small fir tree may be in the +room placed so that it may be moved easily. A child standing closely +behind it may represent it and speak for it through its branches. The +air and the sun, ordinarily not to be represented, in this case may +be, as they come up to the Tree and talk to it. Much freedom of +originality may be displayed through the children's entering into the +character of the Fir Tree and improvising speeches. + +_The Fir Tree_ + + _Time_.......Spring. + _Place_.......Forest. + _Characters_: Sun, Air, Hare, Woodmen, Swallow, Stork, Sparrows, + Children, Servants, and Fir Tree. + + _Act I, Scene i_. + A Fir Tree in the forest. + Sun and Air talk to it. + Children sit under its branches. + A Hare comes and jumps over it. + Woodcutters come. + A Swallow comes and talks to it. + A Stork comes and talks to it. + Sparrows talk to it. + + (Have the Tree removed. Apparently from a cart + outside the door, a larger Christmas Tree may be + brought in and planted in a sand-box by two + servants, students from grammar grades. The same + child now grown older, represents the Tree.) + + + _Act II, Scene i_. The Fir Tree brought into the room. + The decorating of the Tree by the Children and Teacher. + Talk of the Children about the Tree when decorating it. + Singing of Christmas carols; dancing of + folk-dances; or recitation of Christmas + poems, after the decoration of the Tree. + + The distribution of gifts by the Children. An + audience to whom the Children wanted to give + presents, could be invited. + + The Story-telling under the Tree. + +The presence of visiting children would create an audience for the +story-telling. The selection of the story-teller and the story or +stories might be the result of a previous story contest. The contest +and the story-telling under the Tree would be ideal drill situations. +The entire play would serve as a fine unification of the child's work +in nature, in construction, in physical education, in music, in +composition, and in literature. Everything he does in the play will be +full of vital interest to him; and his daily tasks will seem of more +worth to him when he sees how he can use them with so much pleasure to +himself and to others. This play is an example of the organizing of +ideas which a good tale may exercise in the mind of the child and the +part the tale as an organized experience may play in his development. + +The creative return desired by the teacher, as well as the choice of +tales for particular purposes, will depend largely on the controlling +ideas in the program. It must be remembered that the child of to-day +is not bookish nor especially literary; and he has increasing life +interests. In the ordinary school year, work naturally divides itself +into the main season festivals. While story work is here presented in +its separate elements, any teacher realizes the possibility of making +the story work lead up to and culminate in the Thanksgiving, +Christmas, Easter, or May Festival. Because the good story bears a +close relation to nature and to human life, any good course of stories +will offer to the teacher ample freedom of choice for any natural +school purpose. The good tale always gains by being placed in a +situation where it assists in carrying out a larger idea. When the +tale is one unit of a festival program it appeals to the child as a +unit in his everyday life, it becomes socially organized for him. + + + +REFERENCES: + + +English: + + Baker, F.T.; Carpenter, G.; and Scott, F.N.: _The Teaching of + English_. Longmans. + + Chubb, Percival: _The Teaching of English_. Macmillan. + +Story-Telling: + + Bailey, Carolyn: _For the Story Teller_. Bradley. + + Bryant, Sara C.: _How to Tell Stories to Children_. Houghton. + + _Ibid.: Stories to Tell_. Houghton. + + Buckland, Anna: _Use of Stories in the Kindergarten_. Steiger. + + Coe, F.E.: _First Book of Stories for the Story-teller_. + Houghton. + + Hotchkiss, Mary T.: "Story-telling in the Kindergarten." _N.E.A. + Report_, 1893. + + Keyes, Angela: _Stories and Story-Telling_. Appleton. + + Lyman, Edna: _Story-Telling_. McClurg. + + McMurry, Charles: _Special Method in Primary Reading_. Macmillan. + + O'Grady, Alice (Moulton), and Throop, Frances: _The + Story-Teller's Book_. Rand. + + Olcott, F.J.: "Story-Telling as a Means of Teaching Literature." + _N.Y. Libraries_; vol. 4, pp. 38-43. Feb., 1914. + + Olcott, Frances, and Pendleton, Amena: _The Jolly Book for Boys + and Girls_. Houghton. + + Partridge, E.N., and Partridge, G.E.: _Story-Telling in School + and Home_. Sturgis. + + St. John, Edward: _Stories and Story-Telling_. Westminster Press, + Phila. + + Shedlock, Marie: _Art of the Story Teller_. Appleton. + + Speare, Georgina: "Story-Telling as an Art." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1913, to May, 1914. + + The Storyteller's Company: _The Storyteller's Magazine_. New + York. + + +The Voice: + + Corson, Hiram: _Voice and Spiritual Education_. Macmillan. + + Curry, Samuel S.: _Foundations of Expression_. Expression Co. + + _Ibid._: _Province of Expression_: Expression Co. + + Rush, James: _The Philosophy of the Human Voice_. Lippincott. + + Quintilian, Marcus F.: _Institutes of Oratory_. Macmillan. + + +Gesture and Phonetics: + + Chamberlain, W.B., and Clark, S.H.: _Principles of Vocal + Expression_. Scott. + + Jespersen, Otto: _Growth and Structure of the English Language_. + Stechert. + + Jones, Daniel: _Pronunciation of English; Phonetics and Phonetic + Transcriptions_. Putnam. + + _Ibid._: _Chart of English Speech Sounds_. Oxford. + + Rippman, Walter: _Elements of Phonetics, English, French, and + German_. Dent. + + _Ibid._: _The Sounds of Spoken English_. Dent. + + Sweet, Henry: _Primer of Phonetics_. Oxford. + + +The Kindergarten: + + Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: _The + Kindergarten_. Houghton. + + Blow, Susan: "The Kindergarten and the Primary Grade." + _Kindergarten Review_, June, 1915. + + Crawford, Caroline: "The Teaching of Dramatic Arts in the + Kindergarten and the Elementary School." _Teachers College + Record_, Sept., 1915. + + McMurry, Frank M.: "Principles Underlying the Making of School + Curricula." _Teachers College Record_, Sept., 1915. + + Palmer, Luella: "Montessori Suggestions for Kindergartners." + _Kindergarten Review_, Feb. 1915. + + _Ibid_.: "Problems vs. Subject Matter as a Basis for + Kindergarten Curriculum." _Kindergarten Review_, Nov., 1914. + + Teachers College Record: "Experimental Studies in Kindergarten + Education." _Teachers College Record_, Jan., 1914. + + Thorndike, Edward L.: "Foundations of Educational Achievement." + _N.E.A. Report_, 1914. + + +The Return: + + Archer, William: _Play-Making_. Small. + + Bailey, Carolyn: "Toy Stories." "The Story of the Woolly Dog." + _Kindergarten Review_, Feb., 1915. + + Baker, Franklin T., and Thorndike, Ashley H.: _Everyday English. + Book One_. Macmillan. + + Barnes, Earl: _Studies in Education_. Drawing. Barnes. + + Buffum, Katherine: _Silhouettes to Cut in School_. Bradley. + + Crawford, Caroline: _Dramatic Games and Dances_. Barnes. + _Folk Dances and Games_. Barnes. + _The Rhythms of Childhood_. Barnes. + + Curry, S.S.: _Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct_. Expression + Co. + + Dewey, John: _The Child and the Curriculum_. University of + Chicago. + + _Ibid_.: "Imagination and Expression." _Kindergarten + Magazine_, Sept., 1896. + + Dow, Arthur: "Color in the Kindergarten." _Kindergarten Review_, + June, 1914. + + _Ibid.: Composition_. Doubleday. + + Harvey, Nellie: "Japanese Art in the Kindergarten." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1914. + + Hervey, Walter: _Picture Work_. Revell. + + Laurie, S.S.: _Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method in the + School_. Macmillan. + + Macintosh, C.: "Toys Made by Little Children." _Kindergarten + Review_, Jan., and Feb., 1914. + + Maxwell, W.H.; Johnston, E.L.; and Barnum, M.: _Speaking and + Writing_. American Book Co. + + Oppenheimer, Carol: Drawing. _Kindergarten Review_, March, 1914. + + _Ibid_.: "Scissors and Paper." _Kindergarten Review_, Jan., + 1914. + + _Ibid_.: "Suggestions Concerning Rhythm Plays." _Kindergarten + Review_, April and May, 1915. + + _Ibid_.: "The Use of the Song Exercise." _Kindergarten Review_, + May, 1914. + + Parker School: _Francis W. Parker Year-Book_, vol. III, June, + 1914. ("Expression as a Means of Developing Motives.") Francis + Parker School, Chicago. + + Psychological Review: Monograph--"Development of Imagination in + School Children." _Suppl. Psych. Review_, vol. XI, no. 1, 1909. + + Wagner, Carrie: "Furniture for the Doll House." _Kindergarten + Review_, Dec., 1914. + + Worst, E.F.; Barber, H.; and Seymour, M.: _Constructive Work_. + Mumford. + + Zook, Mabel; and Maloy, Regina: "Illustrated Stories." + _Kindergarten Review_, May, 1915. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + + +THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES + + The gods of ancient mythology were changed into the + demi-gods and heroes of ancient poetry, and these demi-gods + again became, at a later age, the principal characters of + our nursery tales.--MAX MUELLER + + Stories originally told about the characters of savage + tales, were finally attracted into the legends of the gods + of ancient mythology, or were attributed to demi-gods and + heroes.--ANDREW LANG. + + +I. THE ORIGIN OF FAIRY TALES + +Now that we have indicated the worth of fairy tales, have observed +those principles which should guide the teacher in choosing and in +interpreting a tale, and have stated those rules which should govern +the story-teller in the telling of the tale, we may well ask a few +further questions concerning the nature of these fairy tales. What is +a fairy tale and whence did it come, and how are we to find its +beginning? Having found it, how are we to follow it down through the +ages? How shall it be classed, what are the available types which seek +to include it and show its nature? And lastly, what are the books +which are to be the main practical sources of fairy tales for the +teacher of little children? The remaining pages attempt to give some +help to the teacher who wishes to increase her resources with an +intelligent knowledge of the material she is handling. + +Many times the question, "What is a fairy tale?" has been asked. One +has said: "The fairy tale is a poetic presentation of a spiritual +truth." George MacDonald has answered: "_Undine_ is a fairy tale." Mr. +G.K. Chesterton has said: "A fairy tale is a tale told in a morbid age +to the only remaining sane person, a child. A legend is a fairy tale +told to men when men were sane." Some, scorning to reply, have treated +the question as one similar to, "What poem do you consider best in the +English language?" As there are many tales included here which do not +contain a fairy, fairy tales here are taken to include tales which +contain something fairy or extraordinary, the magic or the +marvelous--fairies, elves, or trolls, speaking animals, trees, or a +talkative Tin Soldier. The Myth proper and the Fable are both excluded +here, while the _pourquois_ tale, a myth development, and the Beast +tale, a short-story fable development, are both included. + +The origin of the word "fairy," as given by Thomas Keightley in his +_Fairy Mythology_, and later in the Appendix of his _Tales and Popular +Fictions_, is the Latin _fatum_, "to enchant." The word was derived +directly from the French form of the root. The various forms of the +root were:-- + + Latin _fatum_, "to enchant." + French _fee, feerie_, "illusion." + Italian _fata_. + Provencal _fada_. + +In old French romance, _fee_ was a "woman skilled in magic." "All +those women were called Fays who had to do with enchantment and charms +and knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs, by +which they were kept in youth and in great beauty and in great +riches." This was true also of the Italian _fata_. + +The word "fairy" was used in four senses. _Fairy_ represented:-- + + (1) Illusion, or enchantment. + + (2) Abode of the Faes, the country of the Fays. + + (3) Inhabitants collectively, the people of Fairyland. + + (4) The individual in Fairyland, the fairy Knight, or Elf. + +The word was used in the fourth sense before the time of Chaucer. +After the appearance of Spenser's _Faerie Queene_ distinctions became +confused, and the name of the real fairies was transferred to "the +little beings who made the green, sour ringlets whereof the ewe not +bites." The change adopted by the poets gained currency among the +people. Fairies were identified with nymphs and elves. Shakespeare was +the principal means of effecting this revolution, and in his +_Midsummer Night's Dream_ he has incorporated most of the fairy lore +known in England at his time. But the tales are older than their name. + +The origin of fairy tales is a question which has kept many very able +scholars busy and which has not yet been settled to the satisfaction +of many. What has been discovered resolves itself mainly into four +different origins of fairy tales:-- + +I. Fairy tales are detritus of myth, surviving echoes of gods and +heroes. Against this theory it may be said that, when popular tales +have incidents similar to Greek heroic myths, the tales are not +detritus of myth, but both have a more ancient tale as their original +source. There was:-- + + (1) A popular tale which reflected the condition of a rude + people, a tale full of the monstrous and the miraculous. + + (2) The same tale, a series of incidents and plot, with the + monstrous element modified, which survived in the oral + traditions of illiterate peasantry. + + (3) The same plot and incidents, as they existed in heroic + epics of cultivated people. A local and historical character + was given by the introduction of known places and native + heroes. Tone and manners were refined by literary + workmanship, in the _Rig Veda_, the Persian _King-book_, the + _Homeric Epics_, etc. + +The Grimms noted that the evolution of the tale was from a strongly +marked, even ugly, but highly expressive form of its earlier stages, +to that which possessed external beauty of mold. The origin is in the +fancy of a primitive people, the survival is through _Maerchen_ of +peasantry, and the transfiguration into epics is by literary artists. +Therefore, one and the same tale may be the source of Perrault's +_Sleeping Beauty_, also of a _Greek myth_, and also of an _old tale of +illiterate peasantry_. This was the opinion held by Lang, who said, +"For the roots of stories, we must look, not in the clouds but upon +the earth, not in the various aspects of nature but in the daily +occurrences and surroundings, in the current opinions and ideas of +savage life." + +In the savage _Maerchen_ of to-day, the ideas and incidents are the +inevitable result of the mental habits and beliefs of savages. We gain +an idea of the savage mind through Leviticus, in the Bible, through +Herodotus, Greek and Roman geographers, Aristotle, Plutarch, Pliny, +etc., through voyagers, missionaries, and travelers, and through +present savage peoples. Savage existence is based on two great +institutions:-- + +(a) The division of society into clans.--Marriage laws depend on the +conception that these clans descend from certain plants, animals, or +inorganic objects. There was the belief in human descent from animals +and kinship and personal intercourse with them. + +(b) Belief in magic and medicine-men, which resulted in powers of +metamorphosis, the effect of incantation, and communion with the +dead.--To the savage all nature was animated, all things were persons. +The leading ideas of savage peoples have already been referred to in +the list of motifs which appear in the different fairy tales, as given +by Lang, mentioned under the "Preparation of the Teacher," in _The +Telling of the Tale_. + + + +II. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Dawn, Thunder, Rain, etc. + + +This is sometimes called the Sun-Myth Theory or the Aryan Theory, and +it is the one advocated by Max Mueller and by Grimm. + +The fairy tales were primitive man's experience with nature in days +when he could not distinguish between nature and his own personality, +when there was no supernatural because everything was endowed with a +personal life. They were the poetic fancies of light and dark, cloud +and rain, day and night; and underneath them were the same fanciful +meanings. These became changed by time, circumstances in different +countries, and the fancy of the tellers, so that they became sunny and +many-colored in the South, sterner and wilder in the North, and more +home-like in the Middle and West. To the Bushmen the wind was a bird, +and to the Egyptian fire was a living beast. Even _The Song of +Six-Pence_ has been explained as a nature-myth, the pie being the +earth and sky, the birds the twenty-four hours, the king the sun, the +queen the moon, and the opening of the pie, day-break. + +Every word or phrase became a new story as soon as the first meaning +of the original name was lost. Andrew Lang tells how Kephalos the sun +loved Prokris the dew, and slew her by his arrows. Then when the first +meaning of the names for sun, dew, and rays was lost, Kephalos, a +shepherd, loved Prokris, a nymph, and we have a second tale which, by +a folk-etymology, became the _Story of Apollo, the Wolf_. Tales were +told of the sun under his frog name; later people forgot that _frog_ +meant "sun," and the result was the popular tale, _A Frog, He Would +A-Wooing Go_. + +In regard to this theory, "It is well to remember," says Tylor in his +_Primitive Culture_, "that rash inferences which, on the strength of +mere resemblances, derive episodes of myth from episodes of nature, +must be regarded with utter distrust; for the student who has no more +stringent criterion than this for his myths of sun and sky and dawn +will find them wherever it pleases him to seek them." There is a +danger of being carried away by false analogies. But all scholars +agree that some tales are evidently myths of sun and dawn. If we +examine the natural history of savages, we do find summer feasts, +winter feasts, rituals of sorrow for the going of summer and of +rejoicing for its return, anxious interest in the sun, interest in the +motion of the heavenly bodies, the custom of naming men and women from +the phenomena of nature, and interest in making love, making war, +making fun, and making dinner. + + + +III. Fairy tales all arose in India, they are part of the common Aryan +heritage and are to be traced by the remains of their language. + + +They were first written in the _Vedas_, the sacred Sanskrit books of +Buddhism. This theory is somewhat allied to the Sun-Myth Theory. This +theory was followed by Max Mueller and by Sir George Cox. + +The theory of a common source in India will not answer entirely for +the origin of tales because many similar tales have existed in +non-Aryan countries. Old tales were current in Egypt, 2000 B.C., and +were brought from there by Crusaders, Mongol missionaries, the +Hebrews, and Gypsies. + +The idea of connecting a number of disconnected stories, as we find in +_Arabian Nights_, _The Canterbury Tales_, and the _Decameron_, is +traced to the idea of making Buddha the central figure in the +folk-literature of India. And Jacobs says that at least one-third of +all the stories common to the children of Europe are derived from +India, and by far the majority of the drolls. He also says that +generally, so far as incidents are marvelous and of true fairy-like +character, India is the probable source, because of the vitality of +animism and transformation in India in all time. Moreover, as a +people, the Hindus had spread among their numbers enough literary +training and mental grip to invent plots. + +And again, there is an accepted connection in myth and language +between all Aryan languages and Sanskrit. According to Sir George +Dasent, "The whole human race has sprung from one stock planted in the +East, which has stretched its boughs and branches laden with the fruit +of language and bright with the bloom of song and story, by successive +offshoots to the utmost parts of the earth." Dasent tells how the +Aryans who went west, who went out to _do_, were distinguished from +the nations of the world by their common sense, by their power of +adapting themselves to circumstances, by making the best of their +position, by being ready to receive impressions, and by being able to +develop impressions. They became the Greeks, the Latins, the Teutons, +the Celts, and the Slavonians. The Aryans who stayed at home, remained +to _reflect_, and were distinguished by their power of thought. They +became a nation of philosophers and gave to the world the Sanskrit +language as the basis of comparative philology. Dasent shows how +legends, such as the _Story of William Tell_ and _Dog Gellert_, which +have appeared in many Aryan peoples were common in germ to the Aryan +tribes before migration. Joseph Jacobs has more recently settled the +travels of _Gellert_, tracing its literary route from the Indian +_Vinaya Pitaka_, through the _Fables of Bidpai, Sindibad, Seven Sages +of Rome, Gesta Romanorum_, and the Welsh _Fables of Cottwg_, until the +legend became localized in Wales. + + + +IV. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity of early fancy. + + +Just as an individual, after thinking along certain lines, is +surprised to come upon the exact sequence of his thought in a book he +had never seen, so primitive peoples in remote parts of the world, up +against similar situations, would express experience in tales +containing similar motifs. A limited set of experiences was presented +to the inventive faculty, and the limited combinations possible would +result in similar combinations. The Aryan Jackal, the Mediaeval +Reynard, the Southern Brer Rabbit, and the Weasel of Africa, are near +relations. Dasent said, "In all mythology and tradition there are +natural resemblances, parallelisms, suggested to the senses of each +race by natural objects and everyday events; and these might spring up +spontaneously all over the earth as home-growths, neither derived by +imitation from other tribes, nor from the tradition of a common +stock." + +It is probable that all four theories of the origin of fairy tales are +correct and that fairy tales owe their origin not to any one cause but +to all four. + + + +II. THE TRANSMISSION OF FAIRY TALES + + +Oral transmission. The tale, having originated, may have been +transmitted in many ways: by women compelled to marry into alien +tribes; by slaves from Africa to America; by soldiers returning from +the Crusades; by pilgrims returning from the Holy Land or from Mecca; +by knights gathering at tournaments; by sailors and travelers; and by +commercial exchange between southern Europe and the East--Venice +trading with Egypt and Spain with Syria. Ancient tales of Persia +spread along the Mediterranean shores. In this way the Moors of Spain +learned many a tale which they transmitted to the French. _Jack the +Giant-Killer_ and _Thomas Thumb_, according to Sir Walter Scott, +landed in England from the very same keels and warships which conveyed +Hengist and Horsa and Ebba the Saxon. A recent report of the Bureau of +Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution of the United States +expressed the opinion that the _Uncle Remus Tales_ have an Indian +origin. Slaves had associated with Indian tribes such as the +Cherokees, and had heard the story of the Rabbit who was so clever +that no one could fool him. Gradually the Southern negroes had adopted +the Indian tales and changed them. Joseph Jacobs claims to have found +the original of the "Tar Baby" in the _Jataka Tales_. A tale, once +having originated, could travel as easily as the wind. Certainly a +good type when once hit upon was diffused widely. Sir Walter Scott has +said: "A work of great interest might be compiled from the origin of +popular fiction and the transmission of similar tales from age to age +and from country to country. The mythology of one period would then +appear to pass into the romance of the next century, and that into the +nursery tales of subsequent ages. Such an investigation would show +that these fictions, however wild and childish, possess such charms +for the populace as to enable them to penetrate into countries +unconnected by manners and language, and having no apparent +intercourse to afford the means of transmission." + +Thomas Keightley, in _Tales and Popular Fictions_, has given +interesting examples of the transmission of tales. Selecting _Jack the +Giant-Killer_, he has shown that it is the same tale as Grimm's _The +Brave Tailor_, and _Thor's Journey to Utgard_ in the Scandinavian +_Edda_. Similar motifs occur also in a Persian tale, _Ameen of Isfahan +and the Ghool_, and in the _Goat and the Lion_, a tale from the +_Panchatantra_. Selecting the _Story of Dick Whittington_ he has shown +that in England it was current in the reign of Elizabeth; that two +similar tales, Danish legends, were told by Thiele; that a similar +Italian tale existed at the time of Amerigo Vespucci, which was a +legend told by Arlotto in 1396-1483; that another similar Italian tale +was connected with the origin of Venice, in 1175; and that a similar +tale existed in Persia in 1300, before 1360, when Whittington of +England was born. He also pointed out that the _Odyssey_ must have +traveled east as well as west, from Greece, for Sindbad's adventure +with the Black Giant is similar to that of Ulysses with the Cyclops. + +Another interesting set of parallels shown by him is connected with +the _Pentamerone_ tale, _Peruonto_. This is the Straparola _Peter the +Fool_, the Russian _Emelyan the Fool_, the Esthonian tale by +Laboulaye, _The Fairy Craw-Fish_, and the Grimm _The Fisherman and his +Wife_. The theme of a peasant being rewarded by the fish he had thrown +back into the water takes on a delightful varied form in the tale of +different countries. The magic words of Emelyan, "Up and away! At the +pike's command, and at my request, go home, sledge!" in each variant +take an interesting new form. + +Literary transmission. The travels of a tale through oral tradition +are to be attempted with great difficulty and by only the most careful +scholarship. One may follow the transmission of tales through literary +collections with somewhat greater ease and exactness. Popular tales +have a literature of their own. The following list seeks to mention +the most noteworthy collections:-- + + No date. _Vedas_. Sanskrit. + + No date. _Zend Avesta_. Persian. + + Fifth century, B.C. _Jatakas_. Probably the oldest + literature. It was written at Ceylon and has been translated + into 38 languages, in 112 editions. Recently the Cambridge + edition has been translated from the Pali, edited by E.B. + Cowell, published by Putnam, New York, 1895-1907. + + 4000 B.C. _Tales of Ancient Egypt_. These were the tales of + magicians, recorded on papyrus. + + 600 B.C. (about). _Homeric Legends_. + + 200 B.C. (about). _Book of Esther_. + + Second century, A.D. _The Golden Ass, Metamorphoses of Apuleius_. + + 550 A.D. _Panchatantra_, the _Five Books_. This was a + Sanskrit collection of fables, the probable source of the + _Fables of Bidpai_. + + Second century, A.D. _The Hitopadesa_, or _Wholesome + Instruction_. A selection from the _Panchatantra_, first + edited by Carey, in 1804; by Max Mueller, in 1844. + + 550 A.D. _Panchatantra_. Pehlevi version. + + Tenth century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Arabic version. + + Eleventh century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Greek version. + + Twelfth century, A.D. _Panchatantra_. Persian version. + + 1200 A.D. _Sanskrit Tales_. These tales were collected by + Somadeva Bhatta, of Cashmere, and were published to amuse + the Queen of Cashmere. They have been translated by + Brockhaus, 1844. Somadeva's _Ocean of the Streams of Story_ + has been translated by Mr. Tawney, of Calcutta, 1880. + +Tales of the West came from the East in two sources:-- + + 1262-78. (1) _Directorium Humanae Vitae_, of John of Capua. + This was translated from the _Hebrew_, from the _Arabic_ of + the eighth century, from the _Pehlevi_ of Persia of the + sixth century, from the _Panchatantra_, from the _Sanskrit + original_. This is the same as the famous Persian version, + _The Book of Calila and Dimna_, attributed to Bidpai, of + India. There was a late Persian version, in 1494, and one in + Paris in 1644, which was the source of La Fontaine. + + Thirteenth century. (2) _The Story of the Seven Sages of + Rome_, or _The Book of Sindibad_. This appeared in Europe as + the Latin _History of the Seven Sages of Rome_, by Dame + Jehans, a monk in the Abbey of Haute Selve. There is a + Hebrew, an Arabic, and a Persian version. It is believed the + Persian version came from Sanskrit but the Sanskrit original + has not yet been found. + + Tenth century. _Reynard the Fox_. This was first found as a + Latin product of the monks, in a cloister by the banks of + the Mosel and Mass. _Reynard the Fox_ shares with _AEsop's + Fables_ the distinction of being folk-lore raised into + literature. It is a series of short stories of adventure + forming a romance. These versions are known:-- + + 1180. German-_Reinhart_, an epic of twelve + adventures by Heinrich Glichesaere. + + 1230. French-_Roman de Renard_, with its + twenty-seven branches. + + 1250. Flemish-_Reinaert_, part of which was + composed by Willem, near Ghent. + + 1148. _Ysengrimus_, a Latin poem written at Ghent. + + Thirteenth century. _Of the Vox and of the Wolf_, + an English poem. + + Later date. _Rainardo_, Italian. + + Later date. Greek _mediaeval version_. + + _Reynard the Fox_[5] was first printed in England + by Caxton in 1481, translated from a Dutch copy. A + copy of Caxton's book is in the British Museum. + Caxton's edition was adapted by "Felix Summerley"; + and Felix Summerley's edition, with slight + changes, was used by Joseph Jacobs in his Cranford + edition. + + A Dutch prose romance, _Historie von Reynaert de + Vos_ was published in 1485. A German copy, written + in Lower Saxony was published in 1498. A + chap-book, somewhat condensed, but giving a very + good account of the romance, was published in + London in 1780, printed and sold in Aldermary + Churchyard, Bow Lane. This chap-book is very much + finer in language than many of the others in + Ashton's collection. Its structure is good, + arranged in nine chapters. It shows itself a real + classic and would be read with pleasure to-day. + Goethe's poem, _Reineke Fuchs_, was published in + 1794. This version was more refined than previous + ones but it lost in simplicity. Monographs have + been written on _Reynard_ by Grimm, Voigt, Martin, + and Sudre. + + Raginhard was a man's name, meaning "strong in + counsel," and was common in Germany which bordered + on France. This name naturally was given to the + beast who lived by his wits. Grimm considered + _Reynard_ the result of a Teutonic Beast Epic of + primitive origin. Later research has exploded this + theory and has decided that all versions are + descended from an original French one existing + between 1150 and 1170. Modern editions have come + from the Flemish version. The literary artist who + compiled _Reynard_ took a nucleus of fables and + added to it folk-tales which are known to have + existed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and + which exist to-day as tradition among some folk. + The folk-tales included in _Reynard_ are: _Reynard + and Dame Wolf_; _The Iced Wolf's Tail_; _The + Fishes in the Car_; _The Bear in the Cleft_; _The + Wolf as Bell-Ringer_; and _The Dyed Fox_. The + method of giving individual names to the animals + such as Reynard, Bruin, and Tibert, was current + among the Folk before a literary form was given to + _Reynard_. As this was the custom in the province + of Lorraine it is supposed that the origin of + these names was in Lorraine. Other names, such as + Chanticleer, the Cock, and Noble, the Lion, were + given because of a quality, and indicate a + tendency to allegory. These names increase in the + later development of the romance. In the beginning + when the beasts had only personal adventures, + these were told by the Folk to raise a laugh. + Later there was a meaning underneath the laugh and + the Beast Epic Comedy of the Folk grew into the + world Beast Satire of the literary artist. + + _Reynard_ exhibits the bare struggle for existence + which was generally characteristic of Feudal life. + Cunning opposes force and triumphs over it. The + adventurous hero appeals because of his faculty of + _adjustment_, his power to adapt himself to + circumstances and to master them. He also appeals + because of his small size when compared with the + other animals. In the Middle Ages _Reynard_ + appealed because it was a satire upon the monks. + Of _Reynard_ Carlyle has said, "It comes before us + with a character such as can belong only to very + few; that of being a true World's Book which + through centuries was everywhere at home, the + spirit of which diffused itself into all languages + and all minds." + + * * * * * + + About one tenth of European folk-lore is traced to + collections used in the Middle Ages: _Fables of Bidpai_, + _Seven Wise Masters_, _Gesta Romanorum_, and _Barlaam and + Josophat_. These tales became diffused through the _Exempla_ + of the monks, used in their sermons, through the _Novelle_ + of Italy, the _Decameron_ of Boccaccio, the _Tales of + Chaucer_, Painter's _Palace of Pleasure_, and the + _Elizabethan Drama_ of England. One half of La Fontaine's + _Fables_ are of Indian sources. + + 1326. The _Gesta Romanorum_, written in Latin. This was a + compilation, by the monks, of stories with a moral appended + to each. It was the most popular story-book before the + invention of printing. In England it was printed by Wynkyn + de Worde, of which edition the only known copy is at St. + John's College, Cambridge. The earliest manuscript of the + collection is dated 1326. Between 1600 and 1703 fifteen + editions of the book prove its popularity. One English + version is by Sir Frederick Madden, who lived 1801-73. The + author of the _Gesta Romanorum_ is unknown, but was likely a + German. The stories included are miscellaneous and vary in + different editions. Among its stories are Oriental tales, + tales of the deeds of Roman Emperors, an early form of _Guy + of Warwick_, the casket episode of _The Merchant of Venice_, + a story of the Jew's bond, a tale of the Emperor Theodosius, + being a version of _King Lear_, the story of the Hermit, and + a tale of Aglas, the daughter of the Roman Emperor Pompey, + being a version of _Atalanta and her Race_. + + 1000 A.D. (about). _Shah-Nameh_, or _King-book of Persia_, + by Ferdousee, born about 940 A.D. This book is the pride and + glory of Persian literature. It was written by the Persian + poet at the command of the king, who wished to have + preserved the old traditions and heroic glories of Persians + before the Arabian conquest. Ferdousee declared that he + invented none of his material, but took it from the + _Bostan-Nameh_ or _Old-Book_. + + The _King-Book_ is very ancient, it is the Persian Homer. It + was the labor of thirty years. It consisted of 56,000 + distichs or couplets, for every thousand of which the Sultan + had promised the poet one thousand pieces of gold. Instead + of the elephant-load of gold promised, the Sultan sent in + payment 60,000 small silver coins. This so enraged the poet + that he gave away one third to the man who brought them, one + third to a seller of refreshments, and one third to the + keeper of the bath where the messenger found him. After the + poet's death the insult was retrieved by proper payment. + This was refused by his one daughter, but accepted by the + other and used to erect a public dike the poet had always + desired to build to protect his native town from the river. + The fine character of the tales of the _King-Book_ is shown + in the tale of _Roostem and Soohrab_, taken from this book, + which Keightley has translated in _Tales and Popular + Fictions_. Keightley considered it superior to any Greek or + Latin tale. Modern literature knows this tale through + Matthew Arnold's poem. + + 1548 (not later than). _The Thousand and One Nights_, + Arabian. 12 volumes. Galland's French translation appeared + in 1704. This was supplemented by Chavis and Cazotte, and by + Caussin de Percival. Monsieur Galland was Professor of + Arabic in the Royal College of Paris. He was a master of + French and a fairly good scholar of Arabic. He brought his + manuscript, dated 1548, to Paris from Constantinople. He + severely abbreviated the original, cutting out poetical + extracts and improving the somewhat slovenly style. In his + translation he gave to English the new words, _genie, ogre_, + and _vizier_. His work was very popular. + + Boulak and Calcutta texts are better than the Galland. They + contain about two hundred and fifty stories. The Cairo + edition has been admirably translated by Edward W. Lane, in + 3 volumes (1839-41) published in London. This is probably + the best edition. It also omits many poetical quotations. A + recent edition using Lane's translation is by Frances + Olcott, published by Holt in 1913. Editions which attempt to + be complete versions are by John Payne (13 volumes, + 1882-84), and by Sir Richard Burton (16 volumes, 1885-88). + Lane and Burton give copious notes of value. The recent + edition by Wiggin and Smith used the editions of Scott and + Lane. + + The stories in _Arabian Nights_ are Indian, Egyptian, + Arabian, and Persian. Scenes are laid principally in Bagdad + and Cairo. Lane considered that the one hundred and fifteen + stories, which are common to all manuscripts, are based on + the Pehlevi original. The idea of the frame of the story + came from India. This was the birth of the serial story. + There is authority for considering the final collection to + have been made in Egypt. Cairo is described most minutely + and the customs are of Egypt of the thirteenth century and + later. The stories must have been popular in Egypt as they + were mentioned by an historian, 1400-70. Lane considered + that the final Arabic collection bears to Persian tales the + same relation that the _AEneid_ does to the _Odyssey_. Life + depicted is Arabic, and there is an absence of the great + Persian heroes. Internal evidence assists in dating the + work. Coffee is mentioned only three times. As its use + became popular in the East in the fourteenth century this + indicates the date of the work to be earlier than the very + common use of coffee. Cannon, which are mentioned, were + known in Egypt in 1383. Additions to the original were + probably made as late as the sixteenth century. _The Arabian + Nights_ has been the model for many literary attempts to + produce the Oriental tale, of which the tales of George + Meredith are notable examples. + + Thomas Keightley, in _Tales and Popular Fictions_, + considered Persia the original country of _The Thousand and + One Nights_, and _The Voyages of Sinbad_, originally a + separate work. He showed how some of these tales bear marks + of Persian extraction and how some had made their way to + Europe through oral transmission before the time of + Galland's translation. He selected the tale, "Cleomedes and + Claremond," and proved that it must have been learned by a + certain Princess Blanche, of Castile, and transmitted by her + to France about 1275. This romance must have traveled to + Spain from the East. It is the same as "The Enchanted Horse" + in _The Thousand and One Nights_, and through Keightley's + proof, is originally Persian. Keightley also selected the + Straparola tale, _The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and + the Beautiful Green Bird_, and proved it to be the same as + Grimm's _Three Little Birds_, as a Persian _Arabian Night's_ + tale, and also as _La Princesse Belle Etoile_, of D'Aulnoy. + But as Galland's translation appeared only the year after + Madame D'Aulnoy's death, Madame D'Aulnoy must have obtained + the tale elsewhere than from the first printed version of + _Arabian Nights_. + + No date. _The Thousand and One Days_. This is a Persian + collection containing the "History of Calaf." + + 1550. _Straparola's Nights_, by Straparola. This collection + of jests, riddles, and twenty-one stories was published in + Venice. The stories were taken from oral tradition, from the + lips of ten young women. Some were agreeable, some unfit, so + that the book was forbidden in Rome, in 1605, and an + abridged edition prepared. There was a complete Venetian + edition in 1573, a German translation in 1679, a French one + in 1611, and a good German one with valuable notes, by + Schmidt, in 1817. Straparola's _Nights_ contained stories + similar to the German _The Master Thief, The Little Peasant, + Hans and the Hedge-Hog, Iron Hans, The Four Brothers, The + Two Brothers_, and _Dr. Know-all_. + + 1637. _The Pentamerone_, by Basile. Basile spent his early + youth in Candia or Crete, which was owned by Venice. He + traveled much in Italy, following his sister, who was a + noted singer, to Mantua. He probably died in 1637. There may + have been an earlier edition of _The Pentamerone_, which + sold out. It was republished in Naples in 1645, 1674, 1714, + 1722, 1728, 1749, 1788, and in Rome in 1679. This was the + best collection of tales formed by a nation for a long time. + The traditions were complete, and the author had a special + talent for collecting them, and an intimate knowledge of + dialect. This collection of fifty stories may be looked upon + as the basis of many others. Basile wrote independently of + Straparola, though a few tales are common to both. He was + very careful not to alter the tale as he took it down from + the people. He told his stories with allusions to manners + and customs, to old stories and mythology. He abounds in + picturesque, proverbial expressions, with turns and many + similes, and displays a delightful exuberance of fancy. A + valuable translation, with notes, was written by Felix + Liebrecht, in 1842, and an English one by John Edward + Taylor, in 1848. Keightley, in _Fairy Mythology_, has + translated three of these tales and in _Tales and Popular + Fictions_, two tales. Keightley's were the first + translations of these tales into any language other than + Italian. Among the stories of Basile are the German + _Cinderella, How Six got on in the World, Rapunzel, Snow + White, Dame Holle, Briar Rose_, and _Hansel and Grethel_. + + 1697. _The Tales of Mother Goose_, by Charles Perrault. In + France the collecting of fairy tales began in the + seventeenth century. French, German, and Italian tales were + all derived independently by oral tradition. In 1696, in + _Recueil_, a magazine published by Moetjens, at The Hague, + appeared _The Story of Sleeping Beauty_, by Perrault. In + 1697 appeared seven other tales by Perrault. Eight stories + were published in 12mo, under a title borrowed from a + _fabliau_, _Contes de ma Mere l'Oye_. In a later edition + three stories were added, _The Ass's Skin_, _The Clever + Princess_, and _The Foolish Wishes_. The tales of Perrault + were:-- + + 1. The Fairies. + 2. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. + 3. Bluebeard. + 4. Little Red Riding Hood. + 5. Puss-in-Boots. + 6. Cinderella. + 7. Rique with the Tuft. + 8. Little Thumb. + 9. The Ass's Skin. + 10. The Clever Princess. + 11. The Foolish Wishes. + + Immediately afterwards the tales appeared published at Paris + in a volume entitled, _Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passe, + avec des Moralites--Contes de ma Mere l'Oye_. The earliest + translation into English was in a book containing French and + English, _Tales of Passed Times, by Mother Goose, with + Morals. Written in French by M. Charles Perrault and + Englished by R.S., Gent_. An English translation by Mr. + Samber was advertised in the English _Monthly Chronicle_, + March, 1729. Andrew Lang, with an introduction, has edited + these tales from the original edition, published by the + Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1888. These tales made their way + slowly in England, but gradually eclipsed the native English + tales and legends which had been discouraged by Puritan + influence. In Perrault's time, when this influence was + beginning to decline, they superseded the English tales, + crowding out all but _Jack the Giant-Killer, Tom + Hickathrift, Jack and the Beanstalk, Tom Thumb_, and _Childe + Rowland_. + + 1650-1705. _Fairy Tales_, by Madame D'Aulnoy. In France + there were many followers of Perrault. The most important of + these was Madame D'Aulnoy. She did not copy Perrault. She + was a brilliant, witty countess, and brought into her tales, + entitled _Contes de Fees_, the graces of the court. She + adhered less strictly to tradition than Perrault, and + handled her material freely, making additions, + amplifications, and moral reflections, to the original tale. + Her weaving together of incidents is artistic and her style + graceful and not unpleasing. It is marked by ornamentation, + sumptuousness, and French sentimentality. It shows a lack of + naivete resulting from the palace setting given to her + tales, making them adapted only to children of high rank. + Often her tale is founded on a beautiful tradition. _The + Blue-Bird_, one of the finest of her tales, was found in the + poems of Marie de France, in the thirteenth century. Three + of her tales were borrowed from Straparola. Among her tales + the most important are:-- + + _Graciosa and Percinet_. (Basile.) + + _The Blue-Bird_. (Contains a motif similar to one + in _The Singing, Soaring Lark_.) + + _The White Cat_. (Similar to _Three Feathers_ and + _The Miller's Boy and the Cat_.) + + _The Hind in the Wood_. (Similar to _Rumpelstiltskin_.) + + _The Good Little Mouse_. (Basile.) + + _The Fair One with the Golden Locks. (Ferdinand + the Faithful.)_ + + _The Yellow Dwarf_. + + _Princess Belle Etoile_. (Straparola.) + + The careful translation of Madame D'Aulnoy's tales by Mr. + Planche faithfully preserves the spirit of the original. + + There were many imitators of Countess D'Aulnoy, in France, + in the eighteenth century. Their work was on a much lower + level and became published in the _Cabinet des Fees_, a + collection of stories including in its forty volumes the + work of many authors, of which the greater part is of little + value. Of those following D'Aulnoy three deserve mention:-- + + 1711-1780. _Moral Tales_, by Madame de Beaumont. + These were collected while the author was in + England. Of these we use _Prince Cherry_. Madame + de Beaumont wrote a children's book in which is + found a tale similar to _The Singing, Soaring + Lark_, entitled _The Maiden and the Beast_. She + also wrote 69 volumes of romance. + + 1765. _Tales_, by Madame Villeneuve. Of these we + use _Beauty and the Beast_. + + 1692-1765. _Tales_, by Comte de Caylus. The author + was an antiquarian and scholar. Of his tales we + use _Sylvain and Yocosa_. + + Very little attempt has been made in modern times to include + in our children's literature the best of foreign literature + for children, for there has been very little study of + foreign books for children. Certainly the field of + children's literature would be enriched to receive + translations of any books worthy of the name classic. A + partial list of French fairy tales is here given, indicating + to children's librarians how little has been done to open up + this field, and inviting their labor:-- + + _Bibliotheque Rose_, a collection. (What should be + included?) + + _Bibliotheque des Petits Enfants_, a collection. + (What should be included?) + + 1799-1874. _Fairy Tales from the French_, by + Madame de Segur. These tales are published by + Winston. We also use her _Story of a Donkey_, + written in 1860 and published by Heath in 1901. + + 1866. _Fairy Tales of all Nations_, by Edouard + Laboulaye. + + 1902. _Last Fairy Tales_, also by Laboulaye. + + _Tales_, by Zenaide Fleuriot. (What should be + included?) + + 1910. _Chantecler_, by Edmund Rostand. Translated + by Gertrude Hall, published by Duffield. + + 1911. _The Honey Bee_, by Anatole France; + translated by Mrs. Lane; published by Lane. + + 1911. _The Blue-Bird_, by Maurice Maeterlinck; + published by Dodd. + +In Great Britain many old tales taken from tradition were included in +the Welsh Mabinogion, Irish sagas, and Cornish Mabinogion. Legends of +Brittany were made known by the poems of Marie de France, who lived in +the thirteenth century. These were published in Paris, in 1820. In +fact, most of the early publications of fairy tales were taken from +the French. + +Celtic tales have been collected in modern times in a greater number +than those of any nation. This has been due largely to the work of +J.F. Campbell. Celtic tales are unusual in that they have been +collected while the custom of story-telling is yet flourishing among +the Folk. They are therefore of great literary and imaginative +interest. They are especially valuable as the oldest of the European +tales. The Irish tale of _Connla and the Fairy Maiden_ has been traced +to a date earlier than the fifth century and therefore ranks as the +oldest tale of modern Europe. The principal Celtic collections are:-- + + _Iolo M. S_., published by the Welsh M. S. Society. + + _Mabinogion_, translated by Lady Guest. (Contains tales + that trace back to the twelfth century.) + + _Y Cymrodor_, by Professor Rhys. + + 1825. _Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of + Ireland_, by T. Crofton Croker. + + 1842. _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_. Chambers. + + 1860-62. _Popular Tales of the West Highlands_, by J.F. + Campbell. + + _Tales_, collected and published with notes, by Mr. Alfred + Nutt. + + 1866. By Patrick Kennedy, the Irish Grimm. _Legendary + Fictions of the Irish Celts; Fireside Stories of Ireland_ + (1870); and _Bardic Stories of Ireland_ (1871). + +In England the publication of fairy tales may be followed more readily +because the language proves no hindrance and the literature gives +assistance. In England the principal publications of fairy tales +were:-- + + 1604. _Pasquil's Jests_. Contained a tale similar to one of + Grimm's. + + 1635. _A Tract, A Descryption of the Kynge and Quene of + Fairies, their habit, fare, abode, pomp, and state_. + + Eighteenth century (early). _Madame D'Aulnoy's Tales_, a + translation. + + 1667-1745. _Gulliver's Travels_, by Dean Swift. (One modern + edition, with introduction by W.D. Howells, and more than + one hundred illustrations by Louis Rhead, is published by + Harpers. Another edition, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, is + published by Dutton.) + + 1700-1800. _Chap-Books_. Very many of these books, + especially the best ones, were published by William and + Cluer Dicey, in Aldermary Church Yard, Bow Lane, London. + Rival publishers, whose editions were rougher in engraving, + type, and paper, labored in Newcastle. + + The chap-books were little paper books hawked by chap-men, + or traveling peddlers, who went from village to village with + "Almanacks, Bookes of Newes, or other trifling wares." These + little books were usually from sixteen to twenty-four pages + in bulk and in size from two and one half inches by three + and one half inches to five and one half inches by four and + one quarter inches. They sold for a penny or six-pence and + became the very popular literature of the middle and lower + classes of their time. After the nineteenth century they + became widely published, deteriorated, and gradually were + crowded out by the _Penny Magazine_ and _Chambers's Penny + Tracts and Miscellanies_. For many years before the + Victorian period, folk-lore was left to the peasants and + kept out of reach of the children of the higher classes. + This was the reign of the moral tale, of Thomas Bewick's + _Looking Glass of the Mind_ and Mrs. Sherwood's _Henry and + His Bearer_. Among the chap-books published by William and + Cluer Dicey, may be mentioned: _The Pleasant and Delightful + History of Jack and the Giants_ (part second was printed and + sold by J. White); _Guy, Earl of Warwick; Bevis of Hampton; + The History of Reynard the Fox_, dated 1780; _The History of + Fortunatus_, condensed from an edition of 1682; _The Fryer + and the Boy; A True Tale of Robin Hood_ (Robin Hood Garland + Blocks, from 1680, were used in the London Bridge Chap-Book + edition); _The Famous History of Thomas Thumb; The History + of Sir Richard Whittington_; and _The Life and Death of St. + George. Tom Hickathrift_ was printed by and for M. Angus and + Son, at Newcastle-in-the-Side: _Valentine and Orson_ was + printed at Lyons, France, in 1489; and in England by Wynkyn + de Worde. Among the chap-books many tales not fairy tales + were included. With the popularity of _Goody Two Shoes_ and + the fifty little books issued by Newbery, the realistic tale + of modern times made a sturdy beginning. Of these realistic + chap-books one of the most popular was _The History of + Little Tom Trip_, probably by Goldsmith, engraved by the + famous Thomas Bewick, published by T. Saint, of Newcastle. + This was reprinted by Ed. Pearson in 1867. + + Of _Jack the Giant-Killer_, in Skinner's _Folk-Lore_, David + Masson has said: "Our _Jack the Giant-Killer_ is clearly the + last modern transmutation of the old British legend, told in + Geoffrey of Monmouth, of Corineues the Trojan, the companion + of the Trojan Brutus when he first settled in Britain; which + Corineues, being a very strong man, and particularly + good-humored, is satisfied with being King of Cornwall, and + killing out all the aboriginal giants there, leaving to + Brutus all the rest of the island, and only stipulating + that, whenever there is a peculiarly difficult giant in any + part of Brutus' dominions, he shall be sent for to finish + the fellow." + + _Tom Hickathrift_, whose history is given in an old number + of _Fraser's Magazine_, is described by Thackeray as one of + the publisher Cundall's books, bound in blue and gold, + illustrated by Frederick Taylor in 1847. According to + Thackeray this chap-book tale was written by Fielding. + Speaking of the passage, "The giant roared hideously but Tom + had no more mercy on him than a bear upon a dog," he said: + "No one but Fielding could have described battle so." Of the + passage, "Having increased his strength by good living and + improved his courage by drinking strong ale," he remarked: + "No one but Fielding could have given such an expression." + The quality of the English of this chap-book is apparent in + the following sentence, taken from Ashton's version: "So Tom + stepped to a gate and took a rail for a staff." + + In regard to their literary merit the chap-books vary + greatly. Some evidently are works of scholars who omitted to + sign their names. In the collection by Ashton those + deserving mention for their literary merit are: _Patient + Grissel_, by Boccaccio; _Fortunatus_; _Valentine and Orson_; + _Joseph and His Brethren_; _The Friar and the Boy_; _Reynard + the Fox_, from Caxton's translation; _Tom Hickathrift_, + probably by Fielding; and _The Foreign Travels of Sir John + Mandeville_. + + 1708-90. Chap-Books. Printed by J. White, of York, + established at Newcastle, 1708. These included: _Tom + Hickathrift; Jack the Giant-Killer_; and _Cock Robin_. + + 1750. _A New Collection of Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. + + 1760. _Mother Goose's Melodies_. A collection of many + nursery rhymes, songs, and a few old ballads and tales, + published by John Newbery. The editor is unknown, but most + likely was Oliver Goldsmith. The title of the collection may + have been borrowed from Perrault's _Contes de ma Mere + l'Oye_, of which an English version appeared in 1729. The + title itself has an interesting history dating hundreds of + years before Perrault's time. By 1777 _Mother Goose's + Melodies_ had passed the seventh edition. In 1780 they were + published by Carnan, Newbery's stepson, under the title + _Sonnets for the Cradle_. In 1810 _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, + a collection, was edited by Joseph Ritson, an English + scholar. In 1842 J.O. Halliwell issued, for the Percy + Society, _The Nursery Rhymes of England_. The standard + modern text should consist of Newbery's book with such + additions from Ritson and Halliwell as bear internal + evidence of antiquity and are true nursery rhymes. + + 1770. _Queen Mab, A Collection of Entertaining Tales of + Fairies_. + + 1783. _The Lilliputian Magazine_. Illustrated by Thomas + Bewick, published by Carnan. + + 1788. _The Pleasing Companion, A Collection of Fairy Tales_. + + 1788. _Fairy Tales Selected from the Best Authors_, 2 vols. + + 1770-91. Books published by John Evans, of Long Lane. + Printed on coarse sugar paper. They included: _Cock Robin_, + 1791; _Mother Hubbard; Cinderella_; and _The Tragical Death + of an Apple Pye_. + + 1809. _A Collection of Popular Stories for the Nursery_, + translated from French, Italian, and Old English, by + Benjamin Tabart, in 4 volumes. + + 1810 (about). _Lilliputian Library_, by J.G. Rusher, of + Bridge St., Banbury. The Halfpenny Series included: + + _Mother Hubbard and Her Dog; Jack The + Giant-Killer; Dick Whittington and His Cat; The + History of Tom Thumb_ (Middlesex); _Death and + Burial of Cock Robin; and Cinderella and Her Glass + Slipper_. + + The Penny Series included:-- + + _History of a Banbury Cake, and Jack the + Giant-Killer_, designed by Craig, engraved by Lee. + + Of Rusher's books those engraved by the Bewick School were: + + _Cock Robin; The History of Tom Thumb_; and + _Children in the Wood_. + + Rusher's books also included: + + _Mother Hubbard and Her Dog, Cinderella and Her + Glass Slipper_, and _Dick Whittington and His + Cat_, all designed by Cruikshank, engraved by + Branstone. + + 1818. _Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet_, collected + by Benj. Tabart, London. This was a new edition of the + collection of 1809, and contained twenty-four stories. A + full review of it may be seen in the _Quarterly Review_, + 1819, No. 41, pp. 91-112. The tales included translations + from Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, Madame de Beaumont, tales + from _The Thousand and One Nights_, and from _Robin Hood_; + and the single tales of _Jack the Giant-Killer, Tom Thumb_, + and _Jack and the Bean-Stalk_. + + 1824, 1826. _German Popular Stories_, translated by Edgar + Taylor, with illustrations by Cruikshank, published by + Charles Tilt, London. A new edition, introduction by Ruskin, + was published by Chatto & Windus, 1880. + +The above are the main collections of fairy tales in England. Many +individual publications show the gradual development of fairy tale +illustration in England:[6]-- + + 1713-1767. John Newbery's _Books for Children_. Among these + were _Beauty and the Beast_, by Charles Lamb, 1765, and + _Sinbad the Sailor_, 1798. + + 1778. _Fabulous Histories of the Robins_. Mrs. Sarah + Trimmer. Cuts designed by Thomas Bewick, engraved by John + Thompson, Whittingham's Chiswick Press. + + 1755-1886. _Life and Perambulations of a Mouse_; and + _Adventures of a Pin-Cushion_. Dorothy Kilner. + + 1785. Baron Munchausen's _Narratives of His Famous Travels + and Campaigns in Russia_. Rudolf Raspe. + + 1788. _Little Thumb and the Ogre_. Illustrated by William + Blake; published by Dutton. + + 1790. _The Death and Burial of Cock Robin_. Illustrated by Thomas + Bewick. Catnach. + + 1807. _Tales from Shakespeare_. Charles and Mary Lamb. W.J. + Godwin and Co. William Blake illustrated an edition of these + tales, probably the original edition. + + 1813. Reprints of forgotten books, by Andrew Tuer: _Dame + Wiggins of Lee; The Gaping Wide-Mouthed Waddling Frog: The + House that Jack Built. Dame Wiggins of Lee_ was first + printed by A.K. Newman and Co., Minerva Press. Original cuts + by Stennet or Sinnet. Reprinted by Allen, 1885, with + illustrations added by Kate Greenaway. + + 1841. _King of the Golden River_. John Ruskin. Illustrated + by Richard Doyle, 1884. + + 1844. _Home Treasury_, by "Felix Summerley" (Sir Henry + Cole). "Felix Summerley" was a reformer in children's books. + He secured the assistance of many of the first artists of + his time: Mulready, Cope, Horsley, Redgrave, Webster, all of + the Royal Academy, Linnell and his three sons, Townsend, and + others. These little books were published by Joseph Cundall + and have become celebrated through Thackeray's mention of + them. They aimed to cultivate the affections, fancy, + imagination, and taste of children, they were a distinct + contrast to the Peter Parley books. + They were new books, new combinations of old materials, and + reprints, purified but not weakened. Their literature + possessed brightness. The books were printed in the best + style of the Chiswick Press, with bindings and end papers + especially designed. They included these tales: _Puck's + Reports to Oberon; Four New Fairy Tales; The Sisters; Golden + Locks; Grumble and Cherry; Little Red Riding Hood_, with + four colored illustrations by Webster; _Beauty and the + Beast_, with four colored illustrations by Horsley; _Jack + and the Bean-Stalk_, with four colored illustrations by + Cope; _Jack the Giant-Killer_, also illustrated by Cope; and + _The Pleasant History of Reynard, the Fox_, with forty of + the fifty-seven etchings made by Everdingen, in 1752. + + 1824-1883. Publications by Richard Doyle. These included + _The Fairy Ring_, 1845; _Snow White and Rosy Red_, 1871; + _Jack the Giant-Killer_, 1888, etc. + + 1846. _Undine_, by De La Motte Fouque, illustrated by John + Tenniel, published by James Burns. + + 1846. _The Good-Natured Bear_, by Richard Hengist Home, the + English critic. This was illustrated by Frederick Taylor, + published probably by Cundall. The book is now out of print, + but deserves to be reprinted. + + 1847-1864. _Cruikshank Fairy Library_. A series of small + books in paper wrappers. Not equal to the German popular + stories in illustration. It included _Tom Thumb_, 1830; + _John Gilpin_, 1828 (realistic); and _The Brownies_, 1870. + + 1847. _Bob and Dog Quiz_. Author unknown. Revived by E.V. + Lucas in _Old-fashioned Tales_. Illustrated by F.D. Bedford; + published by Stokes, 1905. + + 1850. _The Child's Own Book_. Published in London. There was + an earlier edition, not before 1830. The introduction, which + in the 1850 edition was copied from the original, indicates + by its style that the book was written early in the + nineteenth century. The book was the delight of generations + of children. It was a collection containing tales from + _Arabian Nights_, Perrault's tales of _Cinderella, + Puss-in-Boots, Hop-o'-my-Thumb, Bluebeard_, etc., D'Aulnoy's + _Valentine and Orson_, chap-book stories of _Dick + Whittinqton, Fortunatus, Griselda, Robinson Crusoe, The + Children in the Wood, Little Jack_, and others. A recent + edition of this book is in the _Young Folks' library_, vol. + 1, published by Hall & Locke, Boston, 1901. + + 1850 (about). _The Three Bears_. Illustrated by Absalon and + Harrison Weir. Addy and Co. + + 1824-1889. Work by Mrs. Mary Whateley. She had a Moslem + school in Cairo and exerted a fairy tale influence. + + 1826-1887. _The Little Lame Prince; Adventures of a_ + _Brownie_; and _The Fairy Book_. Produced by Mrs. Dinah + Muloch Craik. + + 1854. _The Rose and the Ring_, by William M. Thackeray. A + modern edition contains the original illustrations with + additions by Monsell. Crowell. + + 1855. _Granny's Story Box_. A collection. Illustrated by J. + Knight; published by Piper, Stephenson, and Spence. + + 1856. _Granny's Wonderful Chair_, containing _Prince + Fairy-foot_. Written by Frances Browne, a blind Irish + poetess. + + 1863. _Water Babies_. Charles Kingsley. Sir Noel Patton. The + Macmillan Company. + + 1865. _Stories Told to a Child, including Fairy Tales; Mopsa + the Fairy_, 1869. By Jean Ingelow. + + 1865. _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, by Lewis Carroll + (Charles Dodgson), with 42 illustrations by John Tenniel, + published by Macmillan Company, Oxford. First edition + recalled. Later editions were published by Richard Clay, + London. + + 1869. _At the Back of the North Wind_; _The Princess and the + Goblin_, 1871. By George MacDonald. Arthur Hughes. Strahan. + Reprinted by Blackie. + + 1870. _The Brownies_; 1882, _Old-fashioned Fairy Tales_. By + Juliana Ewing. + + 1873. _A Series of Toy-Books for Children_, by Walter Crane + (1845-1914). Published by Routledge and printed in colors by + Edmund Evans. Twenty-seven of these stories in nine volumes + are published by John Lane, Bodley Head. _Princess + Fioromonde_, 1880, _Grimm's Household Stories_, 1882, and + _The Cuckoo Clock_, 1887, all by Mrs. Molesworth, were also + illustrated by Crane. + + 1878-. _Picture-Books_, by Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886). + These were sixteen in number. They are published by F. + Warne. + + 1875-. _Stories from the Eddas; Dame Wiggins of Lee + (Allen)_; and _The Pied Piper of Hamelin_. These delightful + books by Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) were published by + Routledge and engraved by Edmund Evans. They are now + published by F. Warne. + +This brings the English side of the subject down to +the present time. Present editions of fairy tales are +given in Chapter VI. + +In Germany there were also many translations from the French of +Perrault and D'Aulnoy. There were editions in 1764, 1770, etc. Most of +those before the _Grimms' Tales_ were not important. One might +mention:-- + + 1782. _Popular German Stories_, by Musaeus. + + 1818. _Fables, Stories, and Tales for Children_, by Caroline + Stahl. + + 1819. _Bohemian Folk-Tales_, by Wolfgang Gerle. + + 1812-1814. _Kinder und Haus-Maerchen_, by Jacob and William + Grimm. The second edition was published in 3 volumes in + Berlin, by Reiner, in 1822. This latter work formed an era + in popular literature and has been adopted as a model by all + true collectors since. + +Concerning the modern German fairy tale, the Germans have paid such +special attention to the selection and grading of children's +literature that their library lists are to be recommended. Wolgast, +the author of _Vom Kinderbuch_, is an authority on the child's book. +The fairy tale received a high estimate in Germany and no nation has +attained a higher achievement in the art of the fairy tale book. The +partial list simply indicates the slight knowledge of available +material and would suggest an inviting field to librarians. A great +stimulus to children's literature would be given by a knowledge of +what the Germans have already accomplished in this particular. In +Germany a child's book, before it enters the market, must first be +accepted by a committee who test the book according to a standard of +excellence. Any book not coming up to the standard is rejected. A few +of the German editions in use are given:-- + + _Bilderbuecher_, by Loewensohn. + + _Bilderbuecher_, by Scholz. + + _Liebe Maerchen_. One form of the above, giving three tales + in one volume. + + _Maerchen_, by W. Hauff, published by Lowe. One edition, + illustrated by Arthur Rackham, is published by Dutton. _The + Caravan Tales_ is an edition published by Stokes. + + _Maerchen_, by Musaus, published by Von K.A. Mueller. + + 1777-1843. _Undine_, by La Motte Fouque. A recent edition, + illustrated by Rackham, is published by Doubleday. + + 1817-77. _Books_ by Otillie Wildermuth. (What of hers should + be translated and included?) + + _Hanschen im Blaubeerenwald; Hanschens Skifart Maerchen_, + both by Elsa Beskow, published by Carl. + + _Windchen_; and _Wurzelkindern_, both by Sybille von Olfers, + published by Schreiber. + + _Das Maerchen von den Sandmannlein_, by Riemann, published by + Schreiber. + + _Der Froschkoenig_, by Liebermann, published by Scholz. + + _Weisst du weviel Sternlein stehen_, by Lewinski, published + by Schreiber. + +In Sweden there appeared translations of Perrault and D'Aulnoy. _The +Blue-Bird_ was oftenest printed as a chap-book. Folk-tales were +collected in:-- + + _Swedish Tales_, a collection. H. Von Schroter. + + 1844. _Folk-Tales_. George Stevens and Hylten Cavallius. + +Sweden has given us the modern fairy tale, _The Wonderful Adventures +of Nils_ (2 volumes). This delightful tale by Selma Lagerloef, born +1858, and a winner of the Nobel prize, has established itself as a +child's classic. It has been translated by V.S. Howard, published by +Doubleday, 1907. + +In Norway we have:-- + + 1851. _Norske Folkeeventyr_, collected by Asbjoernsen and Moe. + + 1862. _Norse Tales_. The above tales translated by Sir + George W. Dasent. + +In Denmark we have:-- + + _Sagas of Bodvar Biarke_. + + _Danske Folkeeventyr_, by M. Winther, Copenhagen, 1823. + + 1843-60. _Danmarks Folkesagn_, 3 vols., by J.M. Thiele. + + 1805-1875. _Fairy Tales_, by Hans Christian Andersen. These + tales are important as marking the beginning of the modern + fairy tale. They are important also as literary fairy tales + and have not been equaled in modern times. + +In Slavonia we have:-- + + _Wochentliche Nachrichten_, by Busching, published by Schottky. + +In Hungary we have:-- + + 1822. _Marchen der Magyaren_, by George von Gaal. + +In Greece and Russia no popular tales were collected before the time +of the Grimms. + +In Italy the two great collections of the world of fairy tales have +been mentioned. Italy has also given the modern fairy tale which has +been accepted as a classic: _Pinocchio_, by C. Collodi (Carlo +Lorenzini). This has been illustrated by Copeland, published by Ginn; +and illustrated by Folkhard, published by Dutton. + +In America the publication of fairy tales was at first a reprinting of +English editions. In colonial times, previous to the revolution, +booksellers imported largely from England. After the revolution a new +home-growth in literature gradually developed. At first this was +largely in imitation of literature in England. After the time of +Washington Irving a distinct American adult literature established +itself. The little child's toy-book followed in the wake of the +grown-up's fiction. The following list[7] shows the growth of the +American fairy tale, previous to 1870. Recent editions are given in +Chapter VI. + + 1747-1840. _Forgotten Books of the American Nursery, A + History of the Development of the American Story-Book_. + Halsey, Rosalie V. Boston, C.E. Goodspeed & Co., 1911. 244 + pp. + + 1785-1788. _Isaiah Thomas, Printer, Writer, and Collector. + Nichols, Charles L_. A paper read April 12, 1911, before the + Club of Odd Volumes.... Boston. Printed for the Club of Odd + Volumes, 1912. 144 pp. List of juveniles 1787-88: pp. + 132-33. + + 1785. _Mother Goose_. The original Mother Goose's melody, as + first issued by John Newbery, of London, about A.D. 1760. + Reproduced in facsimile from the edition as reprinted by + Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, Mass., A.D. 1785 (about) ... + Albany, J. Munsell's Sons, 1889. 28 pp. + + 1787. _Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book Literature_ + (of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) ... + Pearson, Edwin. With very much that is interesting and + valuable appertaining to the early typography of children's + books relating to Great Britain and America.... London, A. + Reader, 1890: 116 pp. Impressions from wood-cut blocks by T. + and J. Bewick, Cruikshank, Craig, Lee, Austin, and others. + + 1789. _The Olden Time Series_. Gleanings chiefly from old + newspapers of Boston and Salem, Mass. Brooks, Henry M., + _comp_. Boston, Ticknor & Co., 1886. 6 vols. _The Books that + Children Read in 1798_ ... by T.C. Cushing: vol. 6, pp. + 62-63. + + 1800-1825. Goodrich, S.G. _Recollections of a Lifetime_. + New York, Miller, Orton, and Mulligan, 1856. 2 vols. Children's + books (1800-1825): vol. 1, pp. 164-74. + + 1686. _The History of Tom Thumb_. John Dunton, Boston. + + 1728. _Chap-Books_. Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia. + + 1730. _Small Histories_. Andrew Bradford, Philadelphia. + These included _Tom Thumb_, _Tom Hickathrift_, and _Dick + Whittington_. + + 1744. _The Child's New Plaything_. Draper & Edwards, Boston. + Reprint. Contained alphabet in rhyme, proverbs, fables, and + stories: _St. George and the Dragon_; _Fortunatus_; _Guy of + Warwick_; _Brother and Sister_; _Reynard the Fox_; and _The + Wolf and the Kids_. + + 1750. John Newbery's books. Advertised in Philadelphia + _Gazette_. The _Pretty Book for Children_ probably included + _Cinderella_, _Tom Thumb_, etc. + + 1760. All juvenile publications for sale in England. + Imported and sold by Hugh Gaine, New York. + + 1766. _Children's books_. Imported and sold by John Mein, a + London bookseller who had a shop in Boston. Included _The + Famous Tommy Thumb's Story Book_; _Leo the Great Giant_; + _Urax, or the Fair Wanderer_; and _The Cruel Giant, + Barbarico_. + + 1787. All Newbery's publications. Reprinted by Isaiah + Thomas, Worcester, Mass. + + 1794. _Arabian Nights. The Arabian Nights Entertainments_ + .... The first American edition.... Philadelphia, H. & P. + Rice; Baltimore, J. Rice & Co., 1794. 2 vols. + + 1804. _Blue Beard. A New History of Blue Beard, written by + Gaffer Black Beard, for the Amusement of Little Jack Black + and his Pretty Sisters_. Philadelphia, J. Adams, 1804. 31 + pp. + + 1819. _Rip Van Winkle_. A legend included in the works of + Washington Irving, published in London, 1819. + + 1823. _A Visit from St. Nicholas_. Clement Clark Moore, in + Troy _Sentinel_, Dec. 23, 1823. Written the year before for + his own family. The first really good American juvenile + story, though in verse. + + 1825. _Babes in the Wood_. The history of the children of + the wood.... To which is added an interesting account of the + Captive Boy. New York, N.B. Holmes. 36 pp. Plates. + + 1833. _Mother Goose_. The only true Mother Goose Melodies; + an exact reproduction of the text and illustrations of the + original edition, published and copyrighted in Boston in + 1833 by Munroe & Francis.... Boston, Lee & Shepard, 1905. + 103 pp. + + 1836. _The Fairy Book_. With eighty-one engravings on wood, + by Joseph A. Adams. New York, Harper & Bros. 1836. 301 pp. + Introduction by "John Smith." Edited by C.G. Verplanck, + probably. + + 1844. _Fairy Land, and Other Sketches for Youths_, by the + author of _Peter Parley's Tales_ (Samuel G. Goodrich). + Boston, J. Munroe & Co. 167 pp. Plates, Cromo. Lith. of + Bouve & Sharp, Boston. + + 1848. _Rainbows for Children_, by L. Maria Child, _ed_. New + York, C.S. Francis & Co. 170 pp. 28 original sketches ... by + S. Wallin.... B.F. Childs, wood engraver: p. 8. Advertising + pages: New books published by C.S. Francis & Co., N.Y.... + _The Fairy Gift and the Fairy Gem_. Four volumes of choice + fairy tales. Each illustrated with 200 fine engravings by + French artists: p. 2. + + 1851. _Wonder Book_, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Illustrated by + W. Crane, 60 designs, published by Houghton, 1910. + + 1852. _Legends of the Flowers_, by Susan Pindar. New York, + D. Appleton & Co., 178 pp. + + 1853. _Fairy Tales and Legends of Many Nations_, by Charles + B. Burkhardt. New York, Chas. Scribner. 277 pp. Illustrated + by W. Walcutt and J.H. Cafferty. + + 1854. _The Little Glass Shoe, and Other Stories for + Children_. Philadelphia, Charles H. Davis. 128 pp. + Advertising pages: A description of illustrated juvenile + books, published by Charles H. Davis: 16 pp. _A Book of + Fairy Stories_: p. 9. + + 1854. _The History of Whittington and His Cat_. Miss Corner + and Alfred Crowquill. _Dick Whittington_ is said to have + been the best seller among juvenile publications for five + hundred years. + + 1855. _Flower Fables_, by Louisa May Alcott. Boston, G.W. + Briggs & Co. 182 pp. + + 1855. _The Song of Hiawatha_, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + Published now by Houghton, illustrated by Frederick + Remington. + + 1864. _Seaside and Fireside Fairies_, by George Blum. + Translated from the German of Georg Blum and Louis Wahl. By + A.L. Wister. Philadelphia, Ashmead & Evans, 292 pp. + + 1867. _Grimm's Goblins_, selected from the _Household + Stories_ of the Brothers Grimm. Jacob L.K. Grimm. Boston, + Ticknor & Fields. 111 pp. + + 1867. _Fairy Book. Fairy Tales of All Nations_, by Edouard + Laboulaye. Translated by Mary Booth. New York, Harper & + Bros., 363 pp. Engravings. + + 1867. _The Wonderful Stories of Fuz-buz the Fly and Mother + Grabem the Spider_. By S. Weir Mitchell. Philadelphia, J.B. + Lippincott & Co. 79 pp. + + 1868. _Folks and Fairies_. Stories for little children. Lucy + Comfort. New York, Harpers, 259 pp. Engravings. Advertising + pages: Six fairy tales published by Harper & Bros. + + 1870. _Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper_. Boston, + Fields, Osgood & Co. 1871. 8 pp. Colored plates by Alfred + Fredericks. + + 1873. _Mother Goose_. Illustrations of Mother Goose's + Melodies. By Alexander Anderson. New York. Privately printed + by C.L. Moreau (Analectic Press), 1873, 36 1. 10 numb. 1. + (Designed and engraved on wood.) + + 1870. _Beauty and the Beast_, by Albert Smith. New York, + Manhattan Pub. Co., 1870. 64 pp. With illustrations by + Alfred Crowquill. + +This brings the American child's fairy tale up to recent publications +of the present day which are given in the chapter, "Sources of +Material." An attempt has been made here to give a glimpse of folk and +fairy tales up to the time of the Grimms, and a view of modern +publications in France, Germany, England, and America. The Grimms +started a revolution in folk-lore and in their lifetime took part in +the collection of many tales of tradition and influenced many others +in the same line of work. An enumeration of what was accomplished in +their lifetime appears in the notes of _Grimm's Household Tales_, +edited by Margaret Hunt, published by Bonn's Libraries, vol. II, pp. +531. etc. + +In modern times the Folk-Lore Society of England and America has been +established. Now almost every nation has its folk-lore society and +folk-tales are being collected all over the world. Altogether probably +Russia has collected fifteen hundred such tales, Germany twelve +hundred, Italy and France each one thousand, and India seven hundred. +The work of the Grimms, ended in 1859, was continued by Emanuel +Cosquin, who, in his _Popular Tales of Lorraine_, has made the most +important recent contribution to folklore,--important for the European +tale and important as showing the relation of the European tale to +that of India. + +The principal recent collections of folk-lore are:-- + + _Legends and Fairy Tales of Ireland_. Croker. 1825. + _Welsh and Manx Tales_. Sir John Rhys. 1840-. + _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_. Chambers. 1847. + _Tales of the West Highlands_. Campbell. 1860. + _Popular Tales from the Norse_. Dasent. 1862. + _Zulu Nursery Tales_. Callaway. 1866. + _Old Deccan Days_. Frere. 1868. + _Fireside Tales of Ireland_. Kennedy. 1870. + _Indian Fairy Tales_. Miss Stokes. 1880. + _Buddhist Birth Stories_. Rhys Davids. 1880. + _Kaffir Folk-Lore_. Theal. 1882. + _Folk-Tales of Bengal_. Day. 1883. + _Wide Awake Stories_. Steel and Temple. 1884. + _Italian Popular Tales_. Crane. 1885. + _Popular Tales of Lorraine_. Cosquin. 1886. + _Popular Tales and Fictions_. Clouston. 1887. + _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_. Knowles. 1887. + _Tales of Ancient Egypt_. Maspero. 1889. + _Tales of the Sun_. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. + _Tales of the Punjab_. Steel. 1894. + _Jataka Tales_. Cowell. 1895. + _Russian Folk-Tales_. Bain. 1895. + _Cossack Fairy Tales_. Bain. 1899. + _New World Fairy Book_. Kennedy. 1906. + _Fairy Tales, English, Celtic, and Indian_. Joseph Jacobs. + 1910-11. + +This brings the subject down to the present time. The present-day +contributions to folk-lore are found best in the records of the +Folk-lore Society, published since its founding in London, in 1878; +and daily additions, in the folk-lore journals of the various +countries. + + + + +REFERENCES + + + Adams, Oscar Fay: _The Dear Old Story-Tellers_. Lothrop. + + Ashton, John: _Chap-Books of the 18th Century_. Chatto & + Windus. London, 1882. + + Bunce, John T.: _Fairy Tales, Origin and Meaning_. Macmillan, + 1878. + + Chamberlain, A.F.: _The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought_. + Macmillan. + + Clouston, W.A.: _Popular Tales and Fictions_. Edinburgh, + Blackwoods, 1887. + + Cyclopaedia: "Mythology." _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. + + Cox, Miss Roalfe: _Cinderella_. Introduction by Lang. Nutt, 1892. + + Dasent, George W.: _Popular Tales from the Norse_. Introduction. + Routledge. + + Fiske, John: _Myth and Myth-Makers_. Houghton. + + Field, Mrs. E.M.: _The Child and His Book_. Gardner, Darton & Co. + + Frazer, J.G.: _The Golden Bough_. (Spring ceremonies and + primitive view of the soul.) Macmillan. + + Frere, Miss: _Old Deccan Days_. Introduction. McDonough. + + Godfrey, Elizabeth: _English Children in the Olden Time_. Dutton, + 1907. + + Grimm, William and Jacob: _Household Tales_. Edited with + valuable notes, by Margaret Hunt. Introduction by Lang. Bell & + Sons, Bohn's Libraries. + + Guerber, Helene A.: _Legends of the Middle Ages_. (Reynard the + Fox) American Book Co. + + Halliwell, J.O.: _Nursery Rhymes of England_. + + _Ibid.: Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales_. Smith, 1849. + + Halsey, Rosalie: _Forgotten Books of the American Nursery_. + Goodspeed, Boston, 1911. + + Hartland, E.S.: _Science of Fairy Tales_. Preface. Scribner, + 1891. + + _Ibid.: English Folk and Fairy Tales_. Camelot series, Scott, + London. + + Hartland, Sidney: _Legend of Perseus_ (origin of a tale). + + Hewins, Caroline M.: _The History of Children's Books_. + _Atlantic_, 61: 112 (Jan., 1888). + + Jacobs, Joseph: _Reynard the Fox_. Cranford Series. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Introduction, Notes and Appendix. Putnam. + + Keightley, Thomas: _Fairy Mythology_. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Tales and Popular Fictions_. Whittaker & Co., London, + 1834. + + Lang, Andrew: _Custom and Myth_. Longmans, London, 1893. + + Mabie, Hamilton: _Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know_. + Introduction. Doubleday. + + MacDonald, George: _The Light Princess_. Introduction. Putnam. + + Magazine: "Myths and Fairy Tales." _Fortnightly Review_, May, + 1872. + + Mitchell, Donald G.: _About Old Story-Tellers_. Scribners. 1877. + + Moses, Montrose: _Children's Books and Reading_. Kennerley. + + Mulock, Miss: _Fairy Book_. Preface. Crowell. + + Pearson, Edwin. _Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book + Literature_ (18th and early 19th centuries). London. A. + Reader, 1890. + + Perrault, Charles: _Popular Tales_. Edited by A. Lang. + Introduction. Oxford, 1888. + + Ritson, J.: _Fairy Tales_. Pearson, London, 1831. + + Scott, Sir Walter: _Minstrelsy of Scottish Border_. Preface to + Tamlane, "Dissertation on Fairies," p. 108. + + Skinner, H.M.: _Readings in Folk-Lore_. American Book Co. + + Steel, Flora A.: _Tales of the Punjab_. Introduction and + Appendix. Macmillan. + + Tabart, Benj.: _Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet_. London, + 1818. Review: _The Quarterly Review_, 1819, No. 41, pp. 91-112. + + Tappan, Eva M.: _The Children's Hour_. Introduction to + "Folk-Stories and Fables." Houghton. + + Taylor, Edgar: _German Popular Stories_. Introduction by Ruskin. + Chatto & Windus. + + Tylor, E.B.: _Primitive Culture_. Holt, 1889. + + Warner: _Fairy Tales. Library of the World's Best Literature_, + vol. 30. + + Welsh, Charles: _Fairy Tales Children Love_. Introduction. Dodge. + + _Ibid.:_ "The Early History of Children's Books in New + England." _New England Magazine_, n.s. 20: 147-60 (April, + 1899). + + _Ibid.: A Chap-Book_. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World Book Co. + + _Ibid.: Mother Goose_. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World Book Co. + + White, Gleeson: "Children's Books and Their Illustrators." + _International Studio_, Special Winter Number, 1897-98. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + + + +CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES + + + But the fact that after having been repeated for two + thousand years, a story still possesses a perfectly fresh + attraction for a child of to-day, does indeed prove that + there is in it something of imperishable worth.--Felix + Adler. + + Whatever has, at any time, appealed to the best emotions and + moved the heart of a people, must have for their children's + children, political, historical, and cultural value. This is + especially true of folk-tales and folk-songs.--P.P. Claxton, + _United States Commissioner of Education_. + + +I. AVAILABLE TYPES OF TALES + +From all this wealth of accumulated folk-material which has come down +to us through the ages, we must select, for we cannot crowd the child +with all the folk-stuff that folk-lore scientists are striving to +preserve for scientific purposes. Moreover, naturally much of it +contains the crudities, the coarseness, and the cruelties of primitive +civilization; and it is not necessary that the child be burdened with +this natural history of a past society. We must select from the past. +In this selection of what shall be presented to the child we must be +guided by two standards: First, we owe it to the child to hand on to +him his literary heritage; and secondly, we must help him to make of +himself the ideal man of the future. Therefore the tales we offer must +contribute to these two standards. The tales selected will be those +which the ages have found interesting; for the fact that they have +lived proves their fitness, they have lived because there was +something in them that appealed to the universal heart. And because of +this fact they will be those which in the frequent re-tellings of ages +have acquired a classic form and therefore have within themselves the +possibility of taking upon them a perfect literary form. The tales +selected will be those tales which, as we have pointed out, contain +the interests of children; for only through his interests does the +child rise to higher interests and finally develop to the ideal man. +They will be those tales which stand also the test of a classic, the +test of literature, the test of the short-story, and the test of +narration and of description. The child would be handicapped in life +to be ignorant of these tales. + +Tales suitable for the little child may be viewed under these seven +classes of available types: (1) the accumulative, or clock story; (2) +the animal tale; (3) the humorous tale; (4) the realistic tale; (5) +the romantic tale; (6) the old tale; and (7) the modern tale. + + +I. The Accumulative Tale. + +The accumulative tale is the simplest form of the tale. It may be:-- + + (1) A tale of simple repetition. + + (2) A tale of repetition with an addition, incremental iteration. + + (3) A tale of repetition, with variation. + +Repetition and rhythm have grown out of communal conditions. The old +stories are measured utterances. At first there was the spontaneous +expression of a little community, with its gesture, action, sound, and +dance, and the word, the shout, to help out. There was the group which +repeated, which acted as a chorus, and the leader who added his +individual variation. From these developed the folk-tale with the +dialogue in place of the chorus. + +Of the accumulative tales, _The House that Jack Built_ illustrates the +first class of tales of simple repetition. This tale takes on a new +interest as a remarkable study of phonics. If any one were so happy as +to discover the phonic law which governs the euphony produced by the +succession of vowels in the lines of Milton's poetry, he would enjoy +the same law worked out in _The House that Jack Built_. The original, +as given by Halliwell in his _Nursery Rhymes of England_, is said to +be a Hebrew hymn, at first written in Chaldaic. To the Hebrews of the +Middle Ages it was called the _Haggadah_, and was sung to a rude chant +as part of the Passover service. It first appeared in print in 1590, +at Prague. Later, in Leipzig, it was published by the German scholar, +Liebrecht. It begins:-- + + A kid, a kid, my father bought + For two pieces of money: + A kid, a kid, + Then came the cat and ate the kid, etc. + +Then follow the various repetitive stanzas, the last one turning back +and reacting on all the others:-- + + Then came the Holy One, blessed be He, + And killed the angel of death, + That killed the butcher, + That slew the ox, + That drank the water, + That quenched the fire, + That burned the staff, + That beat the dog, + That bit the cat, + That ate the kid, + That my father bought + For two pieces of money: + A kid, a kid. + +The remarkable similarity to _The Old Woman, and Her Pig_[8] at once +proclaims the origin of that tale also. The interpretation of this +tale is as follows: The kid is the Hebrews; the father by whom it was +purchased, is Jehovah; the two pieces of money are Aaron and Moses; +the cat is the Assyrians; the dog is the Babylonians; the staff is the +Persians; the fire is the Greek Empire and Alexander; the water is the +Romans; the ox is the Saracens; the butcher is the Crusaders; and the +angel of death is the Turkish Power. The message of this tale is that +God will take vengeance over the Turks and the Hebrews will be +restored to their own land. + +Another tale of simple repetition, whose fairy element is the magic +key, is _The Key of the Kingdom_, also found in Halliwell's _Nursery +Rhymes of England_:-- + + This is the key of the kingdom. + In that kingdom there is a city, + In that city there is a town, + In that town there is a street, + In that street there is a lane, + In that lane there is a yard, + In that yard there is a house, + In that house there is a room, + In that room there is a bed, + On that bed there is a basket, + In that basket there are some flowers. + Flowers in the basket, basket on the bed, + bed in the room, etc. + +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_ illustrates the second class of +accumulative tale, where there is an addition, and like _Titty Mouse +and Tatty Mouse_, where the end turns back on the beginning and +changes all that precedes. Here there is a more marked plot. This same +tale occurs in Shropshire Folk-Lore, in the _Scotch Wife and Her Bush +of Berries_, in _Club-Fist_, an American folk-game described by +Newell, in Cossack fairy tales, and in the Danish, Spanish, and +Italian. In the Scandinavian, it is _Nanny, Who Wouldn't Go Home to +Supper_, and in the Punjab, _The Grain of Corn_, also given in _Tales +of Laughter_. I have never seen a child who did not like it or who was +not pleased with himself for accomplishing its telling. It lends +itself most happily to illustration. _Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_ +pleases because of the liveliness of its images, and because of the +catastrophe at the end, which affects the child just as the tumble of +his huge pile of blocks--the crash and general upheaval delight him. +This tale has so many variants that it illustrates well the diffusion +of fairy tales. It is Grimm's _The Spider and the Flea_, which as we +have seen, is appealing in its simplicity; the Norse _The Cock Who +Fell into the Brewing Vat_; and the Indian _The Death and Burial of +Poor Hen_. The curious succession of incidents may have been invented +once for all at some definite time, and from thence spread to all the +world. + +_Johnny Cake_ and _The Gingerbread Man_ also represent the second +class of accumulative tale, but show a more definite plot; there is +more story-stuff and a more decided introduction and conclusion. _How +Jack Went to Seek His Fortune_ also shows more plot. It contains a +theme similar to that of _The Bremen Town Musicians_, which is +distinctly a beast tale where the element of repetition remains to +sustain the interest and to preserve unity, but where a full-fledged +short-story which is structurally complete, has developed. A fine +accumulative tale belonging to this second class is the Cossack _Straw +Ox_, which has been described under "The Short-Story." Here we have a +single line of sequence which gets wound up to a climax and then +unwinds itself to the conclusion, giving the child, in the plot, +something of that pleasure which he feels in winding up his toy +animals to watch them perform in the unwinding. + +_The Three Bears_ illustrates the third class of repetitive story, +where there is repetition and variation. Here the iteration and +parallelism have interest like the refrain of a song, and the +technique of the story is like that of _The Merchant of Venice_. This +is the ideal fairy story for the little child. It is unique in that it +is the only instance in which a tale written by an author has become a +folk-tale. It was written by Southey, and appeared in _The Doctor_, in +London, in 1837. Southey may have used as his source, _Scrapefoot_, +which Joseph Jacobs has discovered for us, or he may have used _Snow +White_, which contains the episode of the chairs. Southey has given to +the world a nursery classic which should be retained in its purity of +form. The manner of the Folk, in substituting for the little old woman +of Southey's tale, Goldilocks, and the difference that it effects in +the tale, proves the greater interest children naturally feel in the +tale with a child. Similarly, in telling _The Story of Midas_ to an +audience of eager little people, one naturally takes the fine old myth +from Ovid as Bulfinch gives it, and puts into it the Marigold of +Hawthorne's creation. And after knowing Marigold, no child likes the +story without her. Silver hair is another substitute for the little +Old Woman in _The Three Bears_. The very little child's reception to +_Three Bears_ will depend largely on the previous experience with +bears and on the attitude of the person telling the story. A little +girl who was listening to _The Three Bears_ for the first time, as she +heard how the Three Bears stood looking out of their upstairs window +after Goldilocks running across the wood, said, "Why didn't Goldilocks +lie down beside the Baby Bear?" To her the Bear was associated with +the friendly Teddy Bear she took with her to bed at night, and the +story had absolutely no thrill of fear because it had been told with +an emphasis on the comical rather than on the fearful. Similar in +structure to _The Three Bears_ is the Norse _Three Billy-Goats_, which +belongs to the same class of delightful repetitive tales and in which +the sequence of the tale is in the same three distinct steps. + + +II. The Animal Tale + +The animal tale includes many of the most pleasing children's tales. +Indeed some authorities would go so far as to trace all fairy tales +back to some ancestor of an animal tale; and in many cases this +certainly can be done just as we trace _Three Bears_ back to +_Scrapefoot_. The animal tale is either an old beast tale, such as +_Scrapefoot_ or _Old Sultan_; or a fairy tale which is an elaborated +development of a fable, such as _The Country Mouse and the City Mouse_ +or the tales of _Reynard the Fox_ or Grimm's _The King of the Birds_, +and _The Sparrow and His Four Children_; or it is a purely imaginary +creation, such as Kipling's _The Elephant's Child_ or Andersen's _The +Bronze Pig_. + +The beast tale is a very old form which was a story of some successful +primitive hunt or of some primitive man's experience with animals in +which he looked up to the beast as a brother superior to himself in +strength, courage, endurance, swiftness, keen scent, vision, or +cunning. Later, in more civilized society, when men became interested +in problems of conduct, animals were introduced to point the moral of +the tale, and we have the fable. The fable resulted when a truth was +stated in concrete story form. When this truth was in gnomic form, +stated in general terms, it became compressed into the proverb. The +fable was brief, intense, and concerned with the distinguishing +characteristics of the animal characters, who were endowed with human +traits. Such were the _Fables of AEsop_. Then followed the beast epic, +such as _Reynard the Fox_, in which the personality of the animals +became less prominent and the animal characters became types of +humanity. Later, the beast tale took the form of narratives of +hunters, where the interest centered in the excitement of the hunt and +in the victory of the hunter. With the thirst for universal knowledge +in the days following Bacon there gradually grew a desire to learn +also about animals. Then followed animal anecdotes, the result of +observation and imagination, often regarding the mental processes of +animals. With the growth of the scientific spirit the interest in +natural history developed. The modern animal story since 1850 has a +basis of natural science, but it also seeks to search the motive back +of the action, it is a psychological romance. The early modern animal +tales such as _Black Beauty_ show sympathy with animals, but their +psychology is human. In Seton Thompson's _Krag_, which is a +masterpiece, the interest centers about the personality and the +mentality of the animal and his purely physical characteristics. +Perhaps it is true that these physical characteristics are somewhat +imaginary and over-drawn and that overmuch freedom has been used in +interpreting these physical signs. In Kipling's tales we have a later +evolution of the animal tale. His animals possess personality in +emotion and thought. In the forest-friends of Mowgli we have humanized +animals possessing human power of thinking and of expressing. In real +life animal motives seem simple, one dominant motive crowds out all +others. But Kipling's animals show very complex motives, they reason +and judge more than our knowledge of animal life justifies. In the +_Just-So Stories_ Kipling has given us the animal _pourquois_ tale +with a basis of scientific truth. Of these delightful fairy tales, +_The Elephant's Child_ and _How the Camel Got His Hump_ may be used in +the kindergarten. Perhaps the latest evolution of the animal tale is +by Charles G.D. Roberts. The animal characters in his _Kindred of the +Wild_ are given animal characteristics. They have become interesting +as exhibiting these traits and not as typifying human motives; they +show an animal psychology. The tales have a scientific basis, and the +interest is centered in this and not in an exaggeration of it. + +Having viewed the animal tale as a growth let us look now at a few +individual tales:-- + +One of the most pleasing animal tales is _Henny_ _Penny_, or _Chicken +Lichen_, as it is sometimes called, told by Jacobs in _English Fairy +Tales_. Here the enterprising little hen, new to the ways of the +world, ventures to take a walk. Because a grain of corn falls on her +top-knot, she believes the sky is falling, her walk takes direction, +and thereafter she proceeds to tell the king. She takes with her all +she meets, who, like her, are credulous,--Cocky Locky, Ducky Daddies, +Goosey Poosey, and Turky Lurky,--until they meet Foxy Woxy, who leads +them into his cave, never to come out again. This is similar to the +delightful Jataka tale of _The Foolish Timid Rabbit_, which before has +been outlined for telling, which has been re-told by Ellen C. Babbit. +In this tale a Rabbit, asleep under a palm tree, heard a noise, and +thought "the earth was all breaking up." So he ran until he met +another Rabbit, and then a hundred other Rabbits, a Deer, a Fox, an +Elephant, and at last a Lion. All the animals except the Lion accepted +the Rabbit's news and followed. But the Lion made a stand and asked +for facts. He ran to the hill in front of the animals and roared three +times. He traced the tale back to the first Rabbit, and taking him on +his back, ran with him to the foot of the hill where the palm tree +grew. There, under the tree, lay a cocoanut. The Lion explained the +sound the Rabbit had heard, then ran back and told the other animals, +and they all stopped running. _Brother Rabbit Takes Some Exercise_, a +tale from _Nights with Uncle Remus_ is very similar to _Henny_ _Penny_ +and could be used at the same time. It is also similar to Grimm's +_Wolf and Seven Kids_, the English _Story of Three Pigs_, the Irish +_The End of the World_, and an Italian popular tale. + +_The Sheep and the Pig_, adapted from the Scandinavian by Miss Bailey +in _For the Children's Hour_, given also in Dasent's _Tales from the +Field_, is a delightfully vivacious and humorous tale which reminds +one of _Henny Penny_. A Sheep and Pig started out to find a home, to +live together. They traveled until they met a Rabbit and then followed +this dialogue: + + _R_. "Where are you going?" + + _S. and P_. "We are going to build us a house." + + _R_. "May I live with you?" + + _S. and P_. "What can you do to help?" + +The Rabbit scratched his leg with his left hind foot for a minute and +said, "I can gnaw pegs with my sharp teeth and I can put them in with +my paws." "Good," said the Sheep and the Pig, "you may come with us!" +Then they met a gray Goose who could pull moss and stuff it in cracks, +and a Cock who could crow early and waken all. So they all found a +house and lived in it happily. + +The Spanish _Media Pollito_, or _Little Half-Chick_, is another +accumulative animal tale similar to _Henny Penny_, and one which is +worthy of university study. The disobedient but energetic hero who +went off to Madrid is very appealing and constantly amusing, and the +tale possesses unusual beauty. The interest centers in the character. +The beauty lies in the setting of the adventures, as Medio Pollito +came to a stream, to a large chestnut tree, to the wind, to the +soldiers outside the city gates, to the King's Palace at Madrid, and +to the King's cook, until in the end he reached the high point of +immortalization as the weather-vane of a church steeple. + +_The Story of Three Pigs_ could contend with _The Three Bears_ for the +position of ideal story for little people. It suits them even better +than _The Three Bears_, perhaps because they can identify themselves +more easily with the hero, who is a most winning, clever individual, +though a Pig. The children know nothing of the standards of the Greek +drama, but they recognize a good thing; and when the actors in their +story are great in interest and in liveliness, they respond with a +corresponding appreciation. The dramatic element in _The Three Pigs_ +is strong and all children love to dramatize it. The story is the +Italian _Three Goslings_, the Negro _Tiny Pig_, the Indian _Lambikin_, +and the German _The Wolf and Seven Kids_. This tale is given by Andrew +Lang in his _Green Fairy Book_. The most satisfactory presentation of +the story is given by Leslie Brooke in his _Golden Goose Book_. The +German version occurred in an old poem, _Reinhart Fuchs_, in which the +Kid sees the Wolf through a chink. Originally the characters must have +been Kids, for little pigs do not have hair on their "chinny chin +chins." + +One of the earliest modern animal tales is _The Good-Natured Bear_,[9] +by Richard Hengist Horne, the English critic. This tale was written in +1846, just when men were beginning to gain a greater knowledge of +animal life. It is both psychological and imaginative. It was brought +to the attention of the English public in a criticism, _On Some +Illustrated Christmas Books_,[10] by Thackeray, who considered it one +of the "wittiest, pleasantest, and kindest of books, and an admirable +story." It is now out of print, but it seems to be worthy of being +preserved and reprinted. The story is the autobiography of a Bear, who +first tells about his interesting experiences as a Baby Bear. He first +gives to Gretchen and the children gathered about him an account of +his experience when his Mother first taught him to walk alone. + + +III. The Humorous Tale + +The humorous tale is one of the most pleasing to the little child. It +pleases everybody, but it suits him especially because the essence of +humor is a mixture of love and surprise, and both appeal to the child +completely. Humor brings joy into the world, so does the little child, +their very existence is a harmony. Humor sees contrasts, shows good +sense, and feels compassion. It stimulates curiosity. Its laughter is +impersonal and has a social and spiritual effect. It acts like fresh +air, it clarifies the atmosphere of the mind and it enables one to see +things in a sharply defined light. It reveals character; it breaks up +a situation, reconstructs it, and so views life, interprets it. It +plays with life, it frees the spirit, and it invigorates the soul. + +Speaking of humor, Thackeray, in "A Grumble About Christmas Books," +1847, considered that the motto for humor should be the same as the +talisman worn by the Prioress in Chaucer:-- + + About hire arm a broche of gold ful shene, + On which was first ywritten a crowned _A_, + And after, _Amor vincit omnia_. + +He continued: "The works of the real humorist always have this sacred +press-mark, I think. Try Shakespeare, first of all, Cervantes, +Addison, poor Dick Steele, and dear Harry Fielding, the tender and +delightful Jean Paul, Sterne, and Scott,--and Love is the humorist's +best characteristic and gives that charming ring to their laughter in +which all the good-natured world joins in chorus." + +The humorous element for children appears in the repetition of phrases +such as we find in _Three Bears_, _Three Pigs_, and _Three +Billy-Goats_; in the contrast in the change of voice so noticeable +also in these three tales; in the contrast of ideas so conspicuous in +Kipling's _Elephant's Child_; and in the element of surprise so +evident when Johnny Cake is eaten by the Fox, or when Little Hen eats +the bread, or when Little Pig outwits the Wolf. The humorous element +for children also lies in the incongruous, the exaggerated, or in the +grotesque, so well displayed in Lear's _Nonsense Rhymes_, and much of +the charm of _Alice in Wonderland_. The humorous element must change +accordingly for older children, who become surprised less easily, and +whose tales therefore, in order to surprise, must have more clever +ideas and more subtle fancy. + +_The Musicians of Bremen_ is a good type of humorous tale. It shows +all the elements of true humor. Its philosophy is healthy; it views +life as a whole and escapes tragedy by seeing the comic situation in +the midst of trouble. It is full of the social good-comradeship which +is a condition of humor. It possesses a suspense that is unusual, and +is a series of surprises with one grand surprise to the robbers at +their feast as its climax. The Donkey is a noble hero who breathes a +spirit of courage like that of the fine Homeric heroes. His +achievement of a home is a mastery that pleases children. And the +message of the tale, which after all, is its chief worth--that there +ought to be room in the world for the aged and the worn out, and that +"The guilty flee when no man pursueth"--appeals to their compassion +and their good sense. The variety of noises furnished by the different +characters is a pleasing repetition with variation that is a special +element of humor; and the grand chorus of music leaves no doubt as to +the climax. We must view life with these four who are up against the +facts of life, and whose lot presents a variety of contrast. The +Donkey, incapacitated because of old age, had the courage to set out +on a quest. He met the Dog who could hunt no longer, stopping in the +middle of the road, panting for breath; the Cat who had only stumps +for teeth, sitting in the middle of the road, wearing an unhappy heart +behind a face dismal as three rainy Sundays; and the Rooster who just +overheard the cook say he was to be made into soup next Sunday, +sitting on the top of the gate crowing his last as loud as he could +crow. The Donkey, to these musicians he collected, spoke as a leader +and as a true humorist. + +In a simple tale like _The Bremen Town Musicians_ it is surprising how +much of interest can develop: the adventure in the wood; the motif of +some one going to a tree-top and seeing from there a light afar off, +which appears in _Hop-o'-my-Thumb_ and in many other tales; the +example of cooeperation, where all had a unity of purpose; an example +of a good complete short-story form which illustrates introduction, +setting, characters and dialogue--all these proclaim this one of the +fine old stories. In its most dramatic form, and to Jacobs its most +impressive one, it appears in the Celtic tales as _Jack and His +Comrades_. It may have been derived from _Old Sultan_, a Grimm tale +which is somewhat similar to _The Wolf and the Hungry Dog_, in +Steinhowel, 1487. _How Jack Sought His Fortune_ is an English tale of +cooeperation which is similar but not nearly so pleasing. A Danish tale +of cooperation, _Pleiades_, is found in Lansing's _Fairy Tales_. _How +Six Traveled Through the World_ is a Grimm tale which, though suited +to older children, contains the same general theme. + +Very many of the tales suited to kindergarten children which have been +mentioned in various chapters, contain a large element of humor. The +nonsense drolls are a type distinct from the humorous tale proper, yet +distinctly humorous. Such are the realistic _Lazy Jack_, _Henny +Penny_, and _Billy Bobtail_. Then since repetition is an element of +humor, many accumulative tales rank as humorous: such as _Lambikin_, +_The Old Woman and Her Pig_, _Medio Pollito_, _The Straw Ox_, _Johnny +Cake_, and _Three Billy-Goats_. Among the humorous tales proper are +Andersen's _Snow Man_; _The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_; _The +Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings_; _The Elephant's Child_; and very many of +the Uncle Remus Tales, such as _Why the Hawk Catches Chickens_, +_Brother Rabbit and Brother Tiger_, and _Heyo, House_! all in _Uncle +Remus and the Little Boy_. _The Story of Little Black Mingo_ in _Tales +of Laughter_, is a very attractive humorous tale, but it is more +suited to the child of the second grade. + +_Drakesbill_ is a French humorous accumulative tale with a plot +constructed similarly to that of the Cossack _Straw Ox_. Drakesbill, +who was so tiny they called him Bill Drake, was a great worker and +soon saved a hundred dollars in gold which he lent to the King. But as +the King never offered to pay, one morning Drakesbill set out, singing +as he went, "Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?" To +all the objects he met and to their questions he replied, "I am going +to the King to ask him to pay me what he owes me." When they begged, +"Take me with you!" he was willing, but he said, "You must make +yourself small, get into my mouth, and creep under my tongue!" He +arrived at the palace with his companions concealed in his mouth: a +Fox, a Ladder, Laughing River, and Wasp-Nest. On asking to see the +King, he was not escorted with dignity but sent to the poultry-yard, +to the turkeys and chickens who fought him. Then he surprised them by +calling forth the Fox who killed the fowls. When he was thrown into a +well, he called out the Ladder to help him. When about to be thrown +into the fire, he called out the River who overwhelmed the rest and +left him serenely swimming. When surrounded by the King's men and +their swords he called out the Wasp-Nest who drove away all but +Drakesbill, leaving him free to look for his money. But he found none +as the King had spent all. So he seated himself upon the throne and +became King. The element of humor here, as has been mentioned +previously, is that Drakesbill, after every rebuff of fortune +maintained his happy, fresh vivacity, and triumphantly repeated his +one cry, "Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?" There +is humor, too, in the repetition of dialogue, as on his way to the +King he met the various characters and talked to them. Humor lies also +in the real lively surprises which Drakesbill so effectively gave +during his visit to the King. One can see how this tale might have +been a satire reflecting upon a spendthrift King. + + +IV. The Realistic Tale + +The realistic fairy tale has a great sympathy with humble life and +desires to reproduce faithfully all life worth while. The spirit of it +has been expressed by Kipling-- + + each in his separate star, + Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They + are. + +Sometimes the realistic story has a scientific spirit and interest. A +realistic tale that is good will present not only what is true but +what is possible, probable, or inevitable, making its truth +impressive. Very often it does not reach this ideal. A transcript of +actual life may be selected, but that is a photograph and not a +picture with a strong purpose to make one point, and with artistic +design. The characters, though true to life, may be lifeless and +colorless, and their doings and what happens to them uninteresting. +For this reason, many modern writers of tales for children, respecting +the worth of the realistic, neglect to comply with what the realistic +demands, and produce insipid, unconvincing tales. The realistic tale +should deal with the simple and the ordinary rather than with the +exceptional; and the test is not how much, but how little, credulity +it arouses. + +Grimm's _Hans in Luck_ is a perfect realistic tale, as are Grimm's +_Clever Elsa_ and the Norse _Three Sillies_, although these tales are +suited to slightly older children. The drolls often appear among the +realistic tales, as if genuine humor were more fresh when related to +the things of actual life. The English _Lazy Jack_ is a delightful +realistic droll which contains motifs that appear frequently among the +tales. The Touchstone motif of a humble individual causing nobility to +laugh appears in Grimm's _Dummling and His Golden Goose_. It appears +also in _Zerbino the Savage_, a most elaborated Neapolitan tale retold +by Laboulaye in his _Last Fairy Tales_; a tale full of humor, wit, and +satire that would delight the cultured man of the world. + +In _Lazy Jack_ the setting is in humble life. A poor mother lived on +the common with her indolent son and managed to earn a livelihood by +spinning. One day the mother lost patience and threatened to send from +home this idle son if he did not get work. So he set out. Each day he +returned to his mother with his day's earnings. The humor lies in what +he brought, in how he brought it, and in what happened to it; in the +admonition of his mother, "You should have done so and so," and Jack's +one reply, "I'll do so another time"; in Jack's literal use of his +mother's admonition, and the catastrophe it brought him on the +following day, and on each successive day, as he brought home a piece +of money, a jar of milk, a cream cheese, a tom-cat, a shoulder of +mutton, and at last a donkey. The humor lies in the contrast between +what Jack did and what anybody "with sense" knows he ought to have +done, until when royalty beheld him carrying the donkey on his +shoulders, with legs sticking up in the air, it could bear no more, +and burst into laughter. This is a good realistic droll to use because +it impresses the truth, that even a little child must reason and judge +and use his own common sense. + +_The Story of the Little Red Hen_ is a realistic tale which presents a +simple picture of humble thrift. Andersen's _Tin Soldier_ is a +realistic tale which gives an adventure that might happen to a real +tin soldier. _The Old Woman and her Pig_, whose history has been given +under _The Accumulative Tale_, is realistic. Its theme is the simple +experience of an aged peasant who swept her house, who had the unusual +much-coveted pleasure of finding a dime, who went to market and bought +a Pig for so small a sum. But on the way home, as the Pig became +contrary when reaching a stile, and refused to go, the Old Woman had +to seek aid. So she asked the Dog, the Stick, the Fire, etc. She asked +aid first from the nearest at hand; and each object asked, in its turn +sought help from the next higher power. One great source of pleasure +in this tale is that each object whose aid is sought is asked to do +the thing its nature would compel it to do--the Dog to bite, the Stick +to beat, etc.; and each successive object chosen is the one which, by +the law of its nature, is a master to the preceding one. The Dog, by +virtue of ability to bite, has power over the Pig; the Stick has +ability to master the Dog; and Water in its power to quench is master +over Fire. Because of this intimate connection of cause and effect, +this tale contributes in an unusual degree to the development of the +child's reason and memory. He may remember the sequence of the plot or +remake the tale if he forgets, by reasoning out the association +between the successive objects from whom aid was asked. It is through +this association that the memory is exercised. + +_How Two Beetles Took Lodgings_, in _Tales of Laughter_, is a +realistic story which has a scientific spirit and interest. Its basis +of truth belongs to the realm of nature study. Its narration of how +two Beetles set up housekeeping by visiting an ant-hill and helping +themselves to the home and furnishings of the Ants, would be very well +suited either to precede or to follow the actual study of an ant-hill +by the children. The story gives a good glimpse of the home of the +Ants, of their manner of living, and of the characteristics of the +Ants and Beetles. It is not science mollified, but a good story full +of life and humor, with a basis of scientific truth. + +Many tales not realistic contain a large realistic element. The fine +old romantic tales, such as _Cinderella_, _Sleeping Beauty_, and +_Bremen Town Musicians_, have a large realistic element. In _The +Little Elves_ we have the realistic picture of a simple German home. +In _Beauty and the Beast_ we have a realistic glimpse of the three +various ways the wealthy merchant's daughters accommodated themselves +to their father's loss of fortune, which reminds us of a parallel +theme in Shakespeare's _King Lear_. In _Red Riding Hood_ we have the +realistic starting out of a little girl to visit her grandmother. This +realistic element appeals to the child because, as we have noted, it +accords with his experience, and it therefore seems less strange. + +In _Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_ the setting is realistic but becomes +transformed into the romantic when natural doings of everyday life +take on meaning from the unusual happening in the tale. It is +realistic for Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse to live in a little house, +to get some corn, to make a pudding, and to put it on to boil. But +when the pot tumbled over and scalded Titty, the romantic began. The +stool which was real and common and stood by the door became +transformed with animation, it talked: "Titty's dead, and so I weep"; +and it hopped! Then a broom caught the same animation from the same +theme, and swept; a door jarred; a window creaked; an old form ran +round the house; a walnut tree shed its leaves; a little bird moulted +his pretty feathers; a little girl spilled her milk; a man tumbled off +his ladder; and the walnut tree fell with a crash, upsetting +everything and burying Titty in the ruins. They all learned to convey +the same message. The common and customary became uncommon and unusual +with extraordinary life, feeling, and lively movement. + +Other romantic tales with a large realistic element are _The Three +Bears_, _The Three Pigs_, and _The Three Billy-Goats_, animal tales +which of necessity must be largely realistic, for their foundation is +in the facts of the nature, habits, and traits of the animal +characters they portray. + + +V. The Romantic Tale + +The romantic tale reflects emotion and it contains adventure and the +picturesque; it deals with dreams, distant places, the sea, the sky, +and objects of wonder touched with beauty and strangeness. The purpose +of the romantic is to arouse emotion, pity, or the sense of the +heroic; and it often exaggerates character and incidents beyond the +normal. The test of the romantic tale as well as of the realistic tale +is in the reality it possesses. This reality it will possess, not only +because it is true, but because it is also true to life. And it is to +be remembered that because of the unusual setting in a romantic tale +the truth it presents stands out very clearly with much +impressiveness. _Red Riding Hood_ is a more impressive tale than _The +Three Bears_. + +_Cinderella_ is a good type of the old romantic tale. It has a +never-ending attraction for children just as it has had for all +peoples of the world; for this tale has as many as three hundred and +forty-five variants, which have been examined by Miss Cox. In these +variants there are many common incidents, such as the hearth abode, +the helpful animal, the heroine disguise, the ill-treated heroine, the +lost shoe, the love-sick prince, magic dresses, the magic tree, the +threefold flight, the false bride, and many others. But the one +incident which claims the tale as a Cinderella tale proper, is the +recognition of the heroine by means of her shoe. In the Greek +_Rhodope_, the slipper is carried off by an eagle and dropped into the +lap of the King of Egypt, who seeks and marries the owner. In the +Hindu tale the Rajah's daughter loses her slipper in the forest where +it is found by the Prince. The interpretation of _Cinderella_ is that +the Maiden, the Dawn, is dull and gray away from the brightness of the +sun. The Sisters are the Clouds that shadow the Dawn, and the +Stepmother is Night. The Dawn hurries away from the pursuing Prince, +the Sun, who, after a long search, overtakes her in her glorious robes +of sunset. + +This tale is the Hindu _Sodewa Bai_, the Zuni _Poor Turkey Girl_, and +the English _Rushen Coatie, Cap-o'-Rushes_, and _Catskin_. _Catskin_, +which Mr. Burchell told to the children of the Vicar of Wakefield, is +considered by Newell as the oldest of the Cinderella types, appearing +in Straparola in 1550, while _Cinderella_ appeared first in Basile in +1637. _Catskin_, in ballad form as given by Halliwell, was printed in +Aldermary Churchyard, England, in 1720; and the form as given by +Jacobs well illustrates how the prose tale developed from the old +ballad. The two most common forms of _Cinderella_ are Perrault's and +Grimm's, either of which is suited to the very little child. +Perrault's _Cinderella_ shows about twenty distinct differences from +the Grimm tale:-- + + (1) It omits the Mother's death-bed injunction to Cinderella. + + (2) It omits the wooden shoes and the cloak. + + (3) The Stepmother assigns more modern tasks. It omits the + pease-and-beans task. + + (4) It shows Cinderella sleeping in a garret instead of on + the hearth. + + (5) It omits the Father. + + (6) It omits the hazel bough. + + (7) It omits the three wishes. + + (8) It substitutes the fairy Godmother for the hazel tree + and the friendly doves. + + (9) It substitutes transformation for tree-shaking. + + (10) It omits the episode of the pear tree and of the + pigeon-house. + + (11) It omits the use of pitch and axe-cutting. + + (12) It omits the false bride and the two doves. + + (13) It substitutes two nights at the ball for three nights. + + (14) It makes C. forgiving and generous at the end. The Sisters + are not punished. + + (15) It contains slippers of glass instead of slippers of gold. + + (16) It simplifies the narrative, improves the structure, and puts + in the condition, which is a keystone to the structure. + + (17) It has no poetical refrain. + + (18) It is more direct and dramatic. + + (19) It draws the characters more clearly. + + (20) Is it not more artificial and conventional? + +This contrast shows the Grimm tale to be the more poetical, while it +is the more complex, and contains more barbarous and gruesome elements +unsuited to the child of to-day. Of the two forms, the Grimm tale +seems the superior tale, however, and if rewritten in a literary form +suited to the child, might become even preferable. + +_Sleeping Beauty_, which is another romantic tale that might claim to +be the most popular fairy tale, has for its theme the long sleep of +winter and the awakening of spring. The Earth goddess, pricked by +winter's dart, falls into a deep sleep from which she is awakened by +the Sun who searches far for her. This tale is similar to the Norse +_Balder_ and the Greek _Persephone_. Some of its incidents appear also +in _The Two Brothers_, an Egyptian tale of the Nineteenth Dynasty of +Seti II, in which the Hathors who pronounce the fate of the Prince +correspond to the wicked old Fairy. The spindle whose prick caused +slumber is the arrow that wounded Achilles, the thorn which pricked +Siegfried, the mistle-toe which wounded Balder, and the poisoned nail +of the demon in _Surya Bai_. In the northern form of the story we find +the ivy, which is the one plant that can endure winter's touch. The +theme of the long sleep occurs in the mediaeval legend of _The Seven +Sleepers of Ephesus_, in the English _The King of England and His +Three Sons_, poetically as Tennyson has given it in his _Day-Dream_, +and in the _Story of Brunhilde_, in _Siegfried_. Here a hedge of +flames encircles Brunhilde who is awakened at the touch of Siegfried's +magic sword, just as Sleeping Beauty is awakened by the Prince's kiss. +The kiss may be a survival of an ancient form of worship of some local +goddess. In the Hindu _Panch-Rhul Ranee_, seven ditches surmounted by +seven hedges of spears, surround the heroine. Of the Perrault and +Grimm versions of _Sleeping Beauty_, the Perrault version is long and +complex because it contains the minor tale of the cruel stepmother +added to the main tale, while the Grimm _Briar Rose_ is a model of +structure easily separated into ten leading episodes. _Sleeping +Beauty_ appeared in Basile's _Pentamerone_ where there is given the +beautiful incident of the baby sucking the spike of flax out of its +sleeping mother's fingers. The Perrault version agrees with that of +Basile in naming the twins, who are Sun and Moon in the _Pentamerone_, +Day and Dawn. + +_Red Riding Hood_ is another romantic tale[11] that could claim to be +the one most popular fairy tale of all fairy tales. Similar tales +occur in the story of the Greek Kronos swallowing his children, in the +Algonquin legend repeated in _Hiawatha_, and in an Aryan story of a +Dragon swallowing the sun and being killed by the sun-god, Indra. _Red +Riding Hood_ appeals to a child's sense of fear, it gives a thrill +which if not too intense, is distinctly pleasing. But it pleases less +noticeably perhaps because of its atmosphere of love and service, and +because it presents a picture of a dear little maid. The Grandmother's +gift of love to the child, the bright red hood, the mother's parting +injunction, the Wolf's change of aspect and voice to suit the +child--all these directly and indirectly emphasize love, tenderness, +and appreciation of simple childhood. The child's errand of gratitude +and love, the play in the wood, the faith in the woodcutter's +presence--all are characteristic of a typical little maid and one to +be loved. There is in the tale too, the beauty of the wood--flowers, +birds, and the freshness of the open air. The ending of the tale is +varied. In Perrault the Wolf ate Grandmother and then ate Red Riding +Hood. In Grimm one version gives it that the Hunter, hearing snoring, +went to see what the old lady needed. He cut open the Wolf, and +Grandmother and Red Riding Hood became alive. He filled the Wolf with +stones. When the Wolf awoke, he tried to run, and died. All three were +happy; the Hunter took the skin, Grandmother had her cake and wine, +and Red Riding Hood was safe and had her little girl's lesson of +obedience. Another Grimm ending is that Little Red-Cap reached the +Grandmother before the Wolf, and after telling her that she had met +him, they both locked the door. Then they filled a trough with water +in which the sausages had been boiled. When the Wolf tried to get in +and got up on the roof, he was enticed by the odor, and fell into the +trough. A great deal of freedom has been used in re-telling the ending +of this tale, usually with the purpose of preventing the Wolf from +eating Red Riding Hood. In regard to the conclusion of _Red Riding +Hood_, Thackeray said: "I am reconciled to the Wolf eating Red Riding +Hood because I have given up believing this is a moral tale altogether +and am content to receive it as a wild, odd, surprising, and not +unkindly fairy story." + +The interpretation of _Red Riding Hood_--which the children need not +know--is that the evening Sun goes to see her Grandmother, the Earth, +who is the first to be swallowed up by the Wolf of Night and Darkness. +The red cloak is the twilight glow. The Hunter may be the rising Sun +that rescues all from Night. _Red Riding Hood_ has been charmingly +elaborated in Tieck's _Romantic Poems_, and a similar story appears in +a Swedish popular song, _Jungfrun i'Blaskagen_, in _Folkviser_ 3; 68, +69. + + + + +VI, VII. The Old Tale and the Modern Tale. + + +The old fairy tale is to be distinguished from the modern fairy tale. +Most of the tales selected have been old tales because they possess +the characteristics suited to the little child. The modern fairy tale +may be said to begin with Andersen's _Fairy Tales_.--Since Andersen +has been referred to frequently and as a study of _The Tin Soldier_ +has already been given, Andersen's work can receive no more detailed +treatment here.--The modern fairy tale, since the time of Andersen, +has yet to learn simplicity and sincerity. It often is long and +involved and presents a multiplicity of images that is confusing. It +lacks the great art qualities of the old tale, the central unity and +harmony of character and plot. The _idea_ must be the soul of the +narrative, and the problem is to make happen to the characters things +that are expressive of the idea. The story must hold by its interest, +and must be sincere and inevitable to be convincing. It must +understand that the method of expression must be the method of +suggestion and not that of detail. The old tale set no boundaries to +its suggestion. It used concrete artistry; but because the symbol +expressed less it implied more. The modern tale is more definitely +intentional and it often sets boundaries to its suggestion because the +symbol expresses so much. Frequently it emphasizes the satiric and +critical element, and its humor often is heavy and clumsy. To be +literature, as has been pointed out, besides characters, plot, +setting, and dialogue, a classic must present truth; it must have +emotion and imagination molded with beauty into the form of language; +and it must have the power of a classic to bestow upon the mind a +permanent enrichment. Any examination of the modern fairy tale very +frequently shows a failure to meet these requirements. + +The modern tale is not so poor, however, when we mention such tales as +Lewis Carroll's _Alice in Wonderland_, Oscar Wilde's _Happy Prince_, +Alice Brown's _Gradual Fairy_, Frances Browne's _Prince Fairyfoot_, +Miss Mulock's _Little Lame Prince_, Barrie's _Peter Pan_, Jean +Ingelow's _Mopsa, the Fairy_ and _The Ouphe in the Wood_, Field's _The +Story of Claus_, Stockton's _Old Pipes and the Dryad_, Kingsley's +_Water Babies_, Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_, Collodi's +_Pinocchio_, Maeterlinck's _Blue-Bird_, Kipling's _Just-So Stories_ +and the tales of the _Jungle Books_, Selma Lagerloef's _Wonderful +Adventures of Nils_, the _Uncle Remus Tales_ of Harris, etc. But these +classics are, with a few exceptions, the richness of the primary and +elementary literature. The modern fairy tale suited to the +kindergarten child, is at a disadvantage, for most likely it is hidden +away in some magazine, waiting for appreciation to bring some +attention to it. And in these complex modern days it is difficult to +secure a tale whose simplicity suits the little child. + +Among the best tales for little people are Miss Harrison's _Hans and +the Four Giants_ and _Little Beta and the Lame Giant_. In _Little Beta +and the Lame Giant_ a natural child is placed in unusual surroundings, +where the gentleness of the giant and the strength of love in the +little girl present strong contrasts that please and satisfy. _The Sea +Fairy and the Land Fairy_ in _Some Fairies I have Met_, by Mrs. +Stawell, though possessing much charm and beauty, is too complicated +for the little people. It is a quarrel of a Sea Fairy and a Land +Fairy. It is marked by good structure, it presents a problem in the +introduction, has light fancy suited to its characters, piquant +dialogue, good description, visualized expressions, and it presents +distinct pictures. Its method is direct and it gets immediately into +the story. Its method of personification, which in this, perhaps the +best story of the collection, is rather delightful, in some of the +others is less happy and is open to question. _How Double Darling's +Old Shoes Became Lady Slippers_, by Candace Wheeler, in _St. +Nicholas_, is a really delightful modern fairy story suited to be read +to the little child. It is the experience of a little girl with new +shoes and her dream about her old shoes. But the story lacks in +structure, there is not the steady rise to one great action, the +episode of the Santa Claus tree is somewhat foreign and unnecessary, +and the conclusion falls flat because the end seems to continue after +the problem has been worked out. + +In _The Dwarf's Tailor_, by Underhill, there is much conversation +about things and an indirect use of language, such as "arouse them to +reply" and "continued to question," which is tedious. The humor is at +times heavy, quoting proverbs, such as "The pitcher that goes too +often to the well is broken at last." The climax is without interest. +The scene of the Dwarfs around the fire--in which the chief element of +humor seems to be that the Tailor gives the Dwarf a slap--is rather +foolish than funny. The details are trite and the transformation +misses being pleasing. Again there is not much plot and the story does +not hold by its interest. In _The Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold_, by +Scudder, the conversation is not always to the point, is somewhat on +the gossipy order, is trite, and the suspense is not held because the +climax is told beforehand. Mrs. Burton Harrison's _Old Fashioned Fairy +Book_ is very pleasing, but it was written for her two sons, who were +older children. It has the fault of presenting too great a variety of +images and it lacks simplicity of structure. Its _Juliet_, or _The +Little White Mouse_, which seems to be a re-telling of D'Aulnoy's +_Good Little Mouse_, contains a good description of the old-time fairy +dress. _Deep Sea Violets_, perhaps the best-written story in the book, +gives a good picture of a maiden taken to a Merman's realm. _Rosy's +Stay-at-Home Parties_ has delightful imagination similar to that of +Andersen. + +_Five Little Pigs_, by Katherine Pyle, is a delightful little modern +story, which could be used with interest by the child who knows _The +Story of Three Little Pigs_. _The Little Rooster_, by Southey, is a +very pleasing realistic tale of utmost simplicity which, because of +its talking animals, might be included here. A criticism of this tale, +together with a list of realistic stories containing some realistic +fairy tales suited to the kindergarten, may be read in _Educational +Foundations_, October, 1914. _The Hen That Hatched Ducks_, by Harriet +Beecher Stowe, is a pleasing and sprightly humorous tale of Madam +Feathertop and her surprising family of eight ducks, and of Master +Gray Cock, Dame Scratchard and Dr. Peppercorn. A modern tale that is +very acceptable to the children is _The Cock, the Mouse, and the +Little Red Hen_, by Felicite Lefevre, which is a re-telling of the +_Story of the Little Red Hen_ combined with the story of _The Little +Rid Hin_. In this tale the two old classic stories are preserved but +re-experienced, with such details improvised as a clever child would +himself naturally make. These additional details appeal to his +imagination and give life-likeness and freshness to the tale, but they +do not detract from the impression of the original or confuse the +identity of the characters in the old tales. + +One must not forget _Peter Rabbit_--that captivating, realistic fairy +tale by Beatrix Potter--and his companions, _Benjamin Bunny, Pigling +Bland, Tom Kitten_, and the rest, of which children never tire. _Peter +Rabbit_ undoubtedly holds a place as a kindergarten classic. In +somewhat the same class of merry animal tales is _Tommy and the +Wishing Stone_, a series of tales by Thornton Burgess, in _St. +Nicholas_, 1915. Here the child enjoys the novel transformation of +becoming a Musk-rat, a Ruffed Grouse, a Toad, Honker the Goose, and +other interesting personages. A modern fairy tale which is received +gladly by children is _Ludwig and Marleen_, by Jane Hoxie. Here we +have the friendly Fox who grants to Ludwig the wishes he asks for +Marleen. The theme parallels for the little people the charm of _The +Fisherman and His Wife_, a Grimm tale suited to the second grade. +Among modern animal tales _The Elephant's Child_[12], one of the +_Just-So Stories_ by Rudyard Kipling, ranks high as a fairy tale +produced for little children by one of the great literary masters of +the short-story. + +A modern tale that is a bit of pure imagination and seems an attempt +to follow Grimm and Andersen, is _A Quick-Running Squash_, in +Aspinwall's _Short Stories for Short People_. It uses the little boy's +interest in a garden--his garden.--Interest centers about the fairy, +the magic seed, the wonderful ride, and the happy ending. It uses the +simple, everyday life and puts into it the unusual and the wonderful +where nothing is impossible. It blends the realistic and the romantic +in a way that is most pleasing. _The Rich Goose_, by Leora Robinson, +in the _Outlook_, is an accumulative tale with an interesting ending +and surprise. _Why the Morning Glory Climbs_, by Elizabeth McCracken, +in Miss Bryant's _How to Tell Stories_, is a simple fanciful tale. +_The Discontented Pendulum_, by Jane Taylor, in Poulssen's _In the +Child's World_, is a good illustration of the modern purely fanciful +tale. _What Bunch and Joker saw in the Moon_, in _Wide-Awake +Chatterbox_, about 1887, is a most delightful modern fanciful tale, +although it is best suited to the child of nine or ten. _Greencap_, by +Ruth Hays, in _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915, appeals to the child through +the experience of Sarah Jane, whose Mother and Father traveled to +India. Sarah went to live with Aunt Jane and there met Greencap who +granted the proverbial "three wishes." _Alice in Wonderland_ ranks in +a class by itself among modern fanciful tales but it is better suited +to the child of the third and fourth grades. + +A modern fairy tale which is suited to the child's simplicity and +which will stimulate his own desire to make a tale, is _The Doll Who +Was Sister to a Princess_, one of the _Toy Stories_ by Carolyn Bailey +which have been published by the _Kindergarten Review_ during 1914-15. +Among modern tales selected from _Fairy Stories Re-told from St. +Nicholas_, appear some interesting ones which might be read to the +little child, or told in the primary grades. Among these might be +mentioned:-- + + _The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons_, a modern tale in verse by + Mary E. Wilkins. + + _Casperl_, by H.C. Bunner, a modern Sleeping Beauty tale. This + tale has the virtue of not being complex and elaborate. It has + the underlying idea that "People who are helping others have a + strength beyond their own." + + _Ten Little Dwarfs_, by Sophie Dorsey, from the French of Emile + Souvestre. It tells of the ten little Dwarfs who lived in the + Good-wife's fingers. + + _Wondering Tom_, by Mary Mapes Dodge. This is a bright story of a + boy who Hamlet-like, hesitated to act. Tom was always + wondering. The story contains a fairy, Kumtoo-thepoynt, who sat + on a toadstool and looked profound. It is realistic and + romantic and has fine touches of humor. It tells how Wondering + Tom became transformed into a Royal Ship-Builder. + + _How An Elf Set Up Housekeeping_, by Anne Cleve. This is a good + tale of fancy. An Elf set up housekeeping in a lily and obtained + a curtain from a spider, down from a thistle, a stool from a toad + who lived in a green house in the wood, etc. + + _The Wish-Ring_, translated from the German by Anne Eichberg. + This is a tale with the implied message that "The best way to + secure one's best wish is to work for it." + + _The Hop-About Man_, by Agnes Herbertson, in _Little Folks + Magazine_, is a very pleasing modern romantic fairy tale for + little children. Wee Wun was a gnome who lived in the + Bye-Bye meadow in a fine new house which he loved. As he + flew across the Meadow he had his pockets full of blue + blow-away seeds. In the Meadow he found a pair of shoes, of + blue and silver, and of course he took them home to his new + house. But first he scattered the blue blow-away seeds over + the garden wall in the Stir-About-Wife's garden where golden + dandelions grew. And the seeds grew and crowded out the + dandelions. Next day Wee Wun found a large blue seed which + he planted outside his house; and on the following morning a + great blue blow-away which had grown in a night, made his + house dark. So he went to the Green Ogre to get him to take + it away. When he came home he found, sitting in his chair, + the Hop-About-Man, who had come to live with him. He had + been forewarned of this coming by the little blue shoes when + they hopped round the room singing:-- + + Ring-a-ding-dill, ring-a-ding-dill, + The Hop-About-Man comes over the hill. + Why is he coming, and what will he see? + Rickety, rackety,--one, two, three. + +The story then describes Wee Wun's troubles with the Hop-About-Man, +who remained an unwelcome inhabitant of the house where Wee Wun liked +to sit all alone. The Hop-About-Man made everything keep hopping about +until Wee Wun would put all careless things straight, and until he +would give back to him his blue-and-silver shoes. One day, Wee Wun +became a careful housekeeper and weeded out of the dandelion garden +all the blue blow-away plants that grew from the seeds he had +scattered there in the Stir-About-Wife's garden, and when he came home +his troubles were over, and the Hop-About-Man was gone. + +Perhaps one reason for the frequent failure of the modern fairy tale +is that it fails to keep in harmony with the times. Just as the modern +novel has progressed from the romanticism of Hawthorne, the realism of +Thackeray, through the psychology of George Eliot, and the philosophy +of George Meredith, so the little child's story--which like the adult +story is an expression of the spirit of the times--must recognize +these modern tendencies. It must learn, from _Alice in Wonderland_ and +from _A Child's Garden of Verses_, that the modern fairy tale is not a +_Cinderella_ or _Sleeping Beauty_, but the modern fairy tale is the +child's mind. The real fairy world is the strangeness and beauty of +the child mind's point of view. It is the duty and privilege of the +modern fairy tale to interpret the child's psychology and to present +the child's philosophy of life. + + + +REFERENCES + + Century Co.: _St. Nicholas Magazine_, 1915; _St. Nicholas Fairy + Stories Re-told_. + + Gates, Josephine: "And Piped Those Children Back Again," (Pied + Piper) _St. Nicholas_, Nov., 1914. + + Hays, Ruth: "Greencap," _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915. + + Hazlitt, William; _Essays_. ("Wit and Humor.") Camelot Series. + Scott. + + Hooker, B.: "Narrative and the Fairy Tale," _Bookman_, 33: June + and July, 1911, pp. 389-93, pp. 501-05. + + _Ibid_: "Types of Fairy Tales," _Forum_, 40: Oct., 1908, pp. + 375-84. + + Martin, John: _John Martin's Book_ (Magazine), 1915 + + Meredith, George: _The Comic Spirit_. Scribners. + + Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Committee: "Humorous + Tales" _Kindergarten Review_, Dec, 1914. + + Perry, Bliss: _A Study of Prose Fiction_. ("The Romantic" and + "The Realistic") Houghton. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST OF FAIRY TALES, PICTURES, +PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS + + Shall we permit our children, without scruple, to hear any + fables composed by any authors indifferently, and so to + receive into their minds opinions generally the reverse of + those which, when they are grown to manhood, we shall think + they ought to entertain?--PLATO, in _The Republic_. + +Any list of fairy tales for little children must be selected from +those books which, as we have noted, contain the best collections of +folk-lore, and from books which contain tales that rank as classics. +An examination of the tales of Perrault, of Grimm, of Dasent, of +Andersen, of Jacobs, of Harris, and of miscellaneous tales, to see +what are suited to the little child, would result in the following +lists of tales. Those most worthy of study for the kindergarten are +marked with an asterisk and those suited to the first grade are marked +"1." No attempt has been made to mention all the varied sources of a +tale or its best version. The Boston Public Library issues a _Finding +List of Fairy Tales and Folk Stories_, which may be procured easily, +and the Carnegie Library at Pittsburg issues in its monthly bulletin +for December, 1913, vol. 18, no. 10, a _List of Folk-Tales_, and other +stories which may be dramatized. The Baker, Taylor Company, in 1914, +issued a _Graded Guide to Supplementary Reading_, which contains a +list of many of the best editions of folk and fairy tales suited to +primary grades. A list of school editions is included in this book. +But one cannot fail to be impressed with the general low literary +standard of many school editions of fairy tales when judged by the +standards here applied to the tales themselves.-- + + I. A List of Fairy Tales and Folk Tales + + Tales of Perrault: + + * CINDERELLA. + 1 LITTLE THUMB. + 1 PUSS-IN BOOTS. + * RED RIDING HOOD. + 1 SLEEPING BEAUTY. + 1 THE THREE WISHES. + + + Tales of the Grimms: + + 1 BIRDIE AND LENA. + 1 BRIAR ROSE. + * THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP. + 1 CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET. + 1. HOW THEY WENT TO THE HILLS TO EAT NUTS. + 2. THE VISIT TO M KORBES. + 3. THE DEATH OF PARTLETT. + * CINDERELLA. + * THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER. + THE FOX AND THE GEESE. + 1 THE HARE AND THE HEDGEHOG. + 1 THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD. + * THE KING OF THE BIRDS. + 1 LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER + 1 THE LITTLE LAMB AND THE LITTLE FISH. + * LITTLE RED-CAP. + 1 LITTLE SNOW WHITE. + 1 LITTLE TWO-EYES. + MOTHER HOLLE. + 1 THE NOSE. + 1 SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED. + * THE SPARROW AND HIS FOUR CHILDREN. + STAR DOLLARS. + * THE SPIDER AND THE FLEA. + * THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN. + * THE TOWN MUSICIANS OF BREMEN. + THE WILLOW WREN AND THE BEAR. + * THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN KIDS. + * THE WONDERFUL PORRIDGE POT. + + Norse Tales: + + COCK AND HEN. + THE COCK AND HEN A-NUTTING. + THE COCK AND HEN THAT WENT TO THE DOVREFELL. + COCK, CUCKOO, AND BLACK COCK. + * DOLL I' THE GRASS. + 1 GERTRUDE'S BIRD. + 1 KATIE WOODENCLOAK (read). + 1 THE LAD WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND. + 1 LORD PETER (read). + ONE'S OWN CHILDREN ABE ALWAYS PRETTIEST. + * THREE BILLY GOATS. + 1 THUMBIKIN (read). + * WHY THE BEAR IS STUMPY-TAILED (pourquois). + + + English Tales, by Jacobs: + + * THE CAT AND THE MOUSE. + * HENNY PENNY. + 1 THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB. + * HOW JACK WENT TO SEEK HIS FORTUNE. + 1 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK. + * JOHNNY CAKE. + * LAZY JACK. + * THE MAGPIE'S NEST. + 1 MASTER OF ALL MASTERS. + * M MIACCA. + 1 M VINEGAR. + * THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG. + * PUDDOCK, MOUSIE, AND RATTON. + 1 SCRAPEFOOT. + * THE STORY OF THREE BEARS. + * THE STORY OF THREE LITTLE PIGS. + * TEENY TINY. + * TITTY MOUSE AND TATTY MOUSE. + + + Modern Fairy Tales, by Andersen: + + * THE FIR TREE. + * FIVE PEAS IN A POD. + 1 THE HAPPY FAMILY (retold in _Tales of Laughter_). + LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS (read). + * OLE-LUK-OLE (read to end of Thursday). + THURSDAY, WEDDING OF A MOUSE. + * THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA. + * THE SNOW MAN. + 1 THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER. + THE TOP AND THE BALL. + * THUMBELINA. + WHAT THE MOON SAW: + * LITTLE GIRL AND CHICKENS. + * THE NEW FROCK (realistic). + * LITTLE CHIMNEY SWEEP. + * BEAR WHO PLAYED "SOLDIERS." + * BREAD AND BUTTER. + + + Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in _Nights with Uncle Remus_: + + * BRER RABBIT AND THE LITTLE TAR BABY. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND THE LITTLE GIRL. + * BROTHER RABBIT TAKES A WALK. + * BROTHER RABBIT TAKES SOME EXERCISE. + * CUTTA CORD-LA (similar to Wolf and Seven Kids). + * How BROTHER RABBIT BROKE UP A PARTY. + * How BROTHER RABBIT FRIGHTENS HIS NEIGHBORS. + * How M ROOSTER LOST HIS DINNER (read). + * IN SOME LADY'S GARDEN. + * M BENJAMIN RAM (Brother Rabbit's Riddle). + * THE MOON IN THE MILL-POND (pourquois). + * WHY BROTHER BEAK HAS NO TAIL (pourquois). + * WHY M DOG RUNS AFTER BROTHER RABBIT. + * WHY GUINEA FOWLS ARE SPECKLED (pourquois). + + + Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in _Uncle Remus and the Little + Boy_: + + * BROTHER BILLY GOAT'S DINNER. + BROTHER FOX SMELLS SMOKE. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER TIGER. + * BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER LION (similar to _The Dog and His + Shadow_). + * BROTHER MUD-TURTLE'S TRICKERY. + * BROTHER RABBIT'S MONEY MINT. + 1 BROTHER WOLF SAYS GRACE. + 1 THE FIRE TEST (Use with _Three Pigs_). + FUN AT THE FERRY. + * HEYO, HOUSE. + THE LITTLE RABBITS. + MRS. PARTRIDGE HAS A FIT. + WHY BROTHER FOX'S LEGS ARE BLACK. + * WHY THE HAWK CATCHES CHICKENS. + + Tale, by Harris, in _Little Mr. Thimblefinger_: + + * WHY BILLY-GOAT'S TAIL IS SHORT. + + Miscellaneous Tales: + + * THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FIELD MOUSE, _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * BETA AND THE LAME GIANT, Miss Harrison, _In Storyland_. + * BILLY BOBTAIL, Jane Hoxie, _Kindergarten Stories; Child-Lore + Dramatic Reader_, Scribners. + * BLUNDER AND THE WISHING GATE, Louise Chollet, in _Child Life + in Prose_, Whittier. + * THE BOY AND THE GOAT, OR THE GOAT IN THE TURNIP FIELD + (Norwegian), _Primer_, Free and Treadwell; _Child-Lore + Dramatic Reader_, Scribners. + * THE CAP THAT MOTHER MADE OR ANDER'S NEW CAP (Swedish), + _Swedish Fairy Tales_, McClurg; _For the Story-Teller_, + Bailey. + 1 THE CAT AND THE PARROT OR THE GREEDY CAT, _HOW to Tell + Stories_, Bryant; _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin and Smith. + 1 THE CAT THAT WAITED, _Classics in Dramatic Form_, vol. I, + Stevenson. + * THE CAT, THE COCK, AND THE FOX, _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin + and Smith. + 1 CLYTIE, _Nature Myths_, Flora Cooke. + 1 THE COCK, THE MOUSE, AND THE LITTLE RED HEN, Felicite + Lefevre, Jacobs. + * THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE, _AEsop's Fables_, Joseph + Jacobs. + * DAME WIGGINS AND HER CATS, Mrs. Sharp, in _Six Nursery + Classics_, Heath. + * THE DISCONTENTED PENDULUM, Jane Taylor, in _In the Child's + World_, Poulsson. + * THE DOLL WHO WAS SISTER TO A PRINCESS, THE TOY STORIES, + Carolyn Bailey, _Kindergarten Review_, Dec., 1914. + * DRAKESBILL, _The Story-Teller's Book_, O'Grady and Throop; + _The Fairy Ring_, Wiggin and Smith; _Firelight Stories_, + Bailey. + * THE ELEPHANT'S CHILD, _Just-So Stories_, Kipling. + 1 THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE, _A Little Book of Profitable + Tales_, Eugene Field. + 1 THE FIVE LITTLE PIGS, Katherine Pyle, in _Wide Awake Second + Reader_, Little. + * THE FOOLISH TIMID RABBIT, _Jataka Tales Retold_, Babbit. + THE GOLDEN COCK, _That's Why Stories_, Bryce. + 1 GOLDEN ROD AND ASTER, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + THE GRAIN OF CORN _(Old Woman and Her Pig), Tales of the + Punjab_, Steel. + 1 GREENCAP, Ruth Hays, in _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915. + 1 HANS AND THE FOUR BIG GIANTS, Miss Harrison, _In Storyland_. + 1 THE HEN THAT HATCHED DUCKS, Harriet Beecher Stowe, in _Child + Life in Prose_, Whittier. + * THE HOP-ABOUT-MAN, Agnes Herbertson, in _The Story-Teller's + Book_, O'Grady and Throop; in _Little Folks' Magazine_. + * THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT, _Six Nursery Classics_, D.C. + Heath. + 1 HOW BROTHER RABBIT FOOLED THE WHALE, _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * HOW THE CAMEL GOT HIS HUMP, _Just-So Stories_, Kipling. + 1 HOW THE CHIPMUNK GOT THE STRIPES ON ITS BACK, _Nature Myths_, + Cooke. + * HOW DOUBLE DARLING'S OLD SHOES BECAME LADY SLIPPERS, Candace + Wheeler, in _St. Nicholas_, March, 1887; vol. 14, pp. + 342-47. + * HOW FIRE WAS BROUGHT TO THE INDIANS, _The Book of Nature + Myths_, Holbrook. + * HOW SUN, MOON, AND WEST WIND WENT OUT TO DINNER, _Old Deccan + Days_, Frere. + 1 THE JACKAL AND THE ALLIGATOR, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + 1 THE JACKALS AND THE LION, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + 1 KING SOLOMON AND THE ANTS, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + * THE LAMBIKIN, _Tales of the Punjab_, Steel; _Indian Tales_, + Jacobs. + * LITTLE JACK ROLLAROUND, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + * THE LITTLE RABBIT WHO WANTED RED WINGS, _For the + Story-Teller_, Bailey. + * THE LITTLE RED HEN, _Stories to Tell_, Bryant. + * THE LITTLE RED HIN (Irish dialect verse), _Stories to Tell_, + Bryant. + * THE LITTLE ROOSTER, Robert Southey, in _Boston Collection of + Kindergarten Stories_, Hammett & Co. + * LITTLE SPIDER'S FIRST WEB, _Primer_, Free and Treadwell. + * LITTLE TOP-KNOT (Swedish), _First Reader_, Free and + Treadwell. + * LITTLE TUPPEN, _Fairy Stories and Fables_, Baldwin; _Primer_, + Free and Treadwell. + * LUDWIG AND MARLEEN, Jane Hoxie, in _Kindergarten Review_, + vol. xi, no. 5. + * MEDIO POLLITO, THE LITTLE HALF-CHICK (Spanish), _The Green + Fairy Book_, Lang. + * MEZUMI, THE BEAUTIFUL, OR THE RAT PRINCESS (Japanese), + _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson; _Tales of Laughter_, + Wiggin and Smith. + 1 M ELEPHANT AND M FROG, _Firelight Stories_, Bailey. + 1 THE MOON'S SILVER CLOAK, _Classics in Dramatic Form_, + Stevenson, vol. i. + 1 THE MOUSE AND THE SAUSAGE, _Stories and Story-Telling_, + Angela Keyes. + * OEYVIND AND MARIT, from _The Happy Boy_, Bjoernstjerne + Bjoernson, in _The Story-Teller's Book_, O'Grady and + Throop; in _Child-Life in Prose_, Whittier. + * PETER RABBIT, _Peter Rabbit_, Beatrix Potter. + 1 THE PIGS AND THE GIANT, Pyle, in _Child-Lore Dramatic + Reader_, Scribners. + * THE QUICK-RUNNING SQUASH, _Short Stories for Short People_, + Aspinwall. + 1 THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, _Nature Myths_, Cooke. + * THE RICH GOOSE, Leora Robinson, in _The Outlook_. + * THE ROBIN'S CHRISTMAS SONG, _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, + Johnson. + * (WEE) ROBIN'S YULE SONG. _Tales of Laughter_, Wiggin and + Smith. + * THE SHEEP AND THE PIG (Scandinavian), _For the Children's + Hour_, Bailey. + * THE SPARROW AND THE CROW, _Tales of the Punjab_, Steel; + _Birch-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + * THE STRAW OX, _Cossack Fairy Tales_, Bain. + * STORY OF THE MORNING-GLORY SEED, M. Eytinge, _Boston + Kindergarten Stories_. + 1 THE TALE OF A BLACK CAT, _Oak-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + 1 TOMMY AND THE WISHING-STONE, a series, by T. Burgess, in _St. + Nicholas_, 1915. + 1 TRAVELS OF A FOX, _Oak-Tree Fairy Book_, Johnson. + 1 THE TURTLE WHO COULDN'T STOP TALKING, _Jataka Tales Retold_, + Babbit. + * THE UNHAPPY PINE TREE, _Classic Stories_, McMurry. + 1 What Bunch And Joker Saw In The Moon, _Wide Awake + Chatterbox_, about 1887. + 1 The White Cat, _Fairy Tales_, D'Aulnoy; _Fairy Tales_, Vol. + II, Lansing. + * Why The Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves, _The Book + Of Nature Myths_, Holbrook. + * Why The Juniper Has Berries, _The Book Of Nature Myths_, + Holbrook. + + * Why The Morning Glory Climbs, _How to Tell Stories_, Bryant. + + 1 The Wish Bird, _Classics In Dramatic Form_, Vol. II, + Stevenson. + + II. Bibliography Of Fairy Tales + + Baker, Franklin T.: _Bibliography Of Children's Reading_. + Introduction and lists. Teachers College, Columbia University. + + Baker Taylor Company, The: _Graded Guide to Supplementary + Reading_. 1914. + + Boston Public Library: _Finding List of Fairy Tales_. + + Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh. _List of Folk Tales_. Bulletin, + Dec, 1913, Vol. 18, No. 10. + + _Ibid_.: _Illustrated Editions of Children's Books_. 1915. + + Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, John: _American Library + Economy_. Newark Free Library, Newark, New Jersey. + + Haight, Rachel Webb: "Fairy Tales." _Bulletin of Bibliography_, + 1912. Boston Book Co. + + Hewins, Caroline: _A.L.A. List. Books for Boys and Girls_. Third + Edition, 1913. A.L.A. Pub. Board, Chicago. + + Kready, Laura F.: "Picture-Books For Little Children." + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914. + + Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Com. of I.K.U.: "Humorous + Stories for Children." _Kindergarten Review_, Dec, 1914. + + Salisbury, G.E., and Beckwith, M.E.: _Index to Short Stories_. + St. Louis Public Library. _Lists of Stories and Programs for + Story Hours_. Give best versions. + + Widdemer, Margaret: "A Bibliography of Books and Articles + Relating to Children's Reading. Part I, Children's Reading in + general. Part II, History of Children's Literature, etc. Part + III, Guidance of Children's Reading." _Bulletin of + Bibliography_, July, 1911, Oct., 1911, and Jan., 1912. Boston + Book Co. + + +III. A List of Picture-Books[13] + + Beskow, Elsa: _Hanschen im Blaubeerenwald_. Stuttgart. + + Brooke, Leslie: _The Golden Goose Book_. F. Warne. + + _Ibid._: The _House in the Wood_. F. Warne. + + _Ibid._: _The Truth About Old King Cole_. F. Warne. + + Browning, Robert: _The Pied Piper_, Kate Greenaway, F. Warne; + Hope Dunlap, Rand; T. Butler Stoney, Dutton. + + Caldecott, Randolph: _Picture-Books:_ + 2. _The House that Jack Built_. F. Warne. + 3. _Hey Diddle Diddle Book_. F. Warne. + + Coussens, P.W.: _A Child's Book of Stories_. Jessie W. Smith. + Duffield. + + Crane, Walter: _Picture-Books:_ + _Cinderella_. John Lane. + _Mother Hubbard_. John Lane. + _Red Riding Hood_. John Lane. + _This Little Pig_. John Lane. + + Grimm, Jacob and William: _Cruikshank Fairy Book_. Cruikshank, + Putnam. + + _Ibid._: _Das Deutsche Bilderbuch_. Jos. Scholz. + 1. _Doernroschen_. + 2. _Aschenputtel_. + 7. _Frau Holle_. + 10. _Der Wolf und Sieben Geislein_. + + _Ibid._: _Liebe Maerchen_. 10, 11, 12. Jos. Scholz. + + _Ibid._: _Cherry Blossom_. Helen Stratton. Blackie and Sons. + + Jerrold, Walter: _The Big Book of Fairy Tales_. Robinson. + Blackie. + + Olfers, Sibylle: _Windschen_. J.F. Schreiber. + + _Ibid.: Wurzelkindern_. J.F. Schreiber. + + Sharp, Mrs.: _Dame Wiggins of Lee_. Introduction by Ruskin. + Kate Greenaway. George Allen. + + + + IV. A LIST OF PICTURES + + + Cinderella. 227, Meinhold. Dresden. 724, Meinhold. Dresden. 366, + Teubner. Leipzig. + + _Canadian Magazine_, Dec., 1911, by Val Prinsep, A. + Elves. Arthur Rackham. _St. Nicholas_, Nov., 1914. + + _Ibid.: Book of Pictures_. Century. + + Hop-o'-my-Thumb. _A Child's Own Book of Fairy Tales_. Dore. H. + Pisan, engraver. Elizabeth S. Forbes. _Canadian Magazine_, + Dec., 1911. + + Little Brother and Sister. Tempera Painting, Marianna Stokes. + _Illustrated London News_, Dec., 1907. + + Perrault's Tales. Kay Nielsen. _Illustrated London News_, Dec., + 1913. + + Red Riding Hood. Poster, Mary Stokes. _Ladies' Home Journal_. + 230, Meinhold. Dresden. 77, Teubner. Leipzig and Berlin. G. + Ferrier. Engraved for _St. Nicholas_, Braun, Clement, & Co. + Supplement to _American Primary Teacher_, May, 1908. Picture, 2 + ft. by 1 ft., New Specialty Shop, Phila., Pa. + + Sleeping Beauty. Mouat, London. _Canadian Magazine_, Dec., 1911. + _Illustrated London News_, Dec., 1907. + + Snow White. A series. Maxfield Parrish. Picture by Elizabeth + Shippen Green. + + Two Series. Five pictures in each. Jessie Willcox Smith. P.F. + Collier & Sons. + + + V. A LIST OF FAIRY POEMS + + + Allingham, William: _The Fairy Folk_. The Posy Ring. Bangs, John + Kendrick: _The Little Elf_. The Posy Ring. + + Bird, Robert: _The Fairy Folk_. A Child's Book of Old Verses. + + Dodsley, R.: _Red Caps of Fairies. Fuimus Troes_, Old Plays. + + Drayton, Michael: _Nymphal III_, Poets' Elysium. + + Herford, Oliver: _The Elf and the Dormouse_. The Posy Ring. + + Hood, Thomas: _A Plain Direction_. Heart of Oak Books, III. + + _Ibid._: _Queen Mab_. A Child's Book of Old Verses. + + Howitt, Mary: _The Fairies of the Caldon-Low_. The Posy Ring. + + _Ibid._: _Mabel on Midsummer Day_. The Story-Teller's Book, + O'Grady and Throop. + + Lyly, John: _The Urchin's Dance and Song. Song of the First + Fairy_. _Song of the Second Fairy_. Maydes Metamorphosis. + + McDermot, Jessie: _A Fairy Tale_. Fairy Tales. Rolfe. Amer. Book + Co. + + Noyes, Alfred: _The Magic Casement_. An anthology of fairy + poetry, with an introduction. Dutton. + + Percy, Bishop: _The Fairy Queen_. Reliques of Ancient Poetry; + from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, London, 1658. + + Shakespeare, William: _Ariel's Song_; _A Fairy Song_; "_I know a + bank_"; _The Song of the Fairies_. Shakespeare's Dramas. + + Stevenson, Robert L. _Fairy Bread_; _The Little Land_. A Child's + Garden of Verses. + + Unknown Author: _The Fairy_. "_Oh, who is so merry_." A Child's + Book of Old Verses. Duffield. + + Wilkins, Mary E.: _The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons_. Fairy + Stories Retold from _St. Nicholas_. Century. + + + + VI. MAIN STANDARD FAIRY TALE BOOKS + + + Andersen, Hans Christian: _Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Pedersen & + Stone. Houghton. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Edited by W.A. and J.K. Craigie. Oxford + University Press. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Stories for Youngest Children_. Lucas. + Stratton. Blackie. (English edition.) + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Mrs. Lucas. T.C. and W. Robinson. + Dutton. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Mrs. Lucas. Helen Stratton. Dodge. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. Maria L. Kirk. Lippincott. + + Andersen, Hans Christian: _Fairy Tales_. Edmund Dulac. Hodder & + Stoughton. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. W.H. Robinson. Holt. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Braekstad. Tegner. Introd. by Gosse. + Century. + + Asbjoernsen, P.C.: _Fairy Tales from the Far North_. Burt. + + _Ibid.: Round the Yule Log_. Introd. by Gosse. Braekstad. + Lippincott. + + Dasent, Sir George W.: _Popular Tales from the North_. Routledge. + Dutton. + + _Ibid.: Popular Tales from the North_. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Tales from the Field_. Putnam. + + Grimm, Jacob and William: _Household Tales_. Margaret Hunt. + Bonn's Libraries, Bell & Co. + + _Ibid.: Household Tales_. Lucy Crane. Walter Crane. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Helen Stratton. Dodge. + + _Ibid.: German Popular Stories_. Tr. Edgar Taylor. Introd. by + Ruskin. 22 illustrations by Cruikshank. Chatto & Windus. + + _Ibid_.: _Fairy Tales_. Johann & Leinweber. McLoughlin. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Arthur Rackham. Doubleday. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Hope Dunlap. Rand. + + Harris, Joel Chandler: _Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings_. + Appleton. + + _Ibid.: Nights With Uncle Remus_. Church. Houghton. + + _Ibid_.: _Uncle Remus and His Friends_. Frost. Houghton. + + _Ibid.: Uncle Remus and the Little Boy_. J.M. Comte. Small. + + Jacobs, Joseph: _English Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Celtic Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Indian Fairy Tales_. Batten. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox_. + + Frank Calderon. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Europa's Fairy Tales_. Batten. Putnam. + + O'Shea, M.V.: _Old World Wonder Stories_. Heath. + + Perrault, Charles: _Tales of Mother Goose_. Welsh. Heath. + + _Ibid_.: _Fairy Tales_. Appleton. Estes. + + Perrault, Charles: _Tales of Passed Times_. Temple Classics. C. + Robinson. Dutton. + + _Ibid.: Popular Tales_. Edited by Andrew Lang. French; and + English translation of original edition. Oxford, Clarendon + Press. + + +VII. FAIRY TALES OF ALL NATIONS + + Celtic. Jacobs. 1911. Putnam. + + Chinese. Pitnam. 1910. Crowell. + + Cossack. Bain. 1899. Burt. + + Danish. Bay. 1899. Harper. + + Donegal. McManus. 1900. Doubleday. + + English. Jacobs. 1904. Putnam. + + _Ibid_.: Folk and Fairy Stories. Hartland, born 1848. Camelot + series. + + French. DeSegur. 1799-1874. Winston. + + German. Grimm. 1812, 1822. Bonn's Libraries. + + Hungarian. Pogany. 1914. Stokes. + + Indian. _Old Deccan Days_. Frere. 1868. McDonough. + + _Ibid.: Tales of the Sun_. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. W.H. Allen. + + _Ibid.: Buddhist Birth Stories_. Rhys Davids. 1880. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Stokes. 1880. Ellis & White. + + _Ibid.: Folk Tales of Bengal_. Day. 1883. Macmillan. + + _Ibid.: Wide Awake Stories_. Steel and Temple. 1884. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Folk-Tales of Kashmir_. Knowles. 1887. Trubner. + + _Ibid.: Tales of the Punjab_. Steel. 1894. Macmillan. + + Irish. Yeats. 1902. Burt. + + Italian. Macdonell. 1911. Stokes. + + _Ibid_.: Crane. 1885. Macmillan. + + Japanese. Ozaki. 1909. Dutton. + + Manx. Morrison. 1899. Nutt. + + New World. Kennedy. 1904. Dutton. + + Norse. Dasent. 1820-1896. Lippincott. + + _Ibid_.: Mabie. 1846-. Dodd. + + Papuan. Kerr. 1910. Macmillan. + + Persian. Stephen. 1892. Dutton. + + _Ibid_.: Clouston. 1907. Stokes. + + Russian. Dole. 1907. Crowell. + + _Ibid_.: Bain. Bilibin. 1914. Century. + + Scottish. Grierson. 1910. Stokes. + + South African. Honey. 1910. Baker & Taylor. + + Welsh. Thomas. 1908. Stokes. + + +VIII. MISCELLANEOUS EDITIONS OF FAIRY TALES + + D'Aulnoy, Madame: _Fairy Tales_. Trans, by Planche. Gordon + Browne. McKay. + + _Ibid.: Fairy Tales_. Introd. by Anne T. Ritchie. Scribners. + + Austin, M.H.: _Basket Woman_. Houghton. + + Babbit, Ellen: _Jataka Tales Retold_. Century. + + Bailey, Carolyn: _Firelight Stories_. Bradley. + + Bailey and Lewis: _For the Children's Hour_. Bradley. + + Baldwin, James: _Fairy Stories and Fables_. Amer. Book Co. + + Barrie, J.M.: _Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens_. Rackham. + Scribners. + + Baumbach, Rudolf: _Tales from Wonderland_. Simmons. + + Bertelli, Luigi: _The Prince and His Ants_. Holt. + + Bryant, Sara C.: _Best Stories to Tell to Children_. Houghton. + + Burgess, Thornton: _Old Mother West Wind_. Little. + + _Ibid.: The Adventures of Reddy Fox_. Little. + + _Ibid.: The Adventures of Johnny Chuck_. Little. + + _Ibid.: Tommy and the Wishing-stone_. Animal Tales. _St. + Nicholas_, 1915. + + Chapin, Anna: _The Now-a-Days Fairy Book_. Jessie W. Smith. Dodd. + + Chisholm, Louey: _In Fairyland_. Katherine Cameron. Putnam. + + _Ibid.: Little Red Riding Hood; Cinderella_; (I Read Them + Myself series). Dodge. + + Collection: _Half a Hundred Stories for Little People_. Bradley. + + Cooke, Flora J.: _Nature Myths and Stories_. Flanagan. + + Cowell, E.B.: _The Jatakas or Stories of the Buddha's Former + Births_. Tr. from the Pali. 6 vols. Cambridge University + Press. Putnam. 1895-1907. + + Crothers, Samuel McChord: _Miss Muffet's Christmas Party_. + Houghton. + + Emerson, Ellen: _Indian Myths_. Houghton. + + Everyman Series: _157; 365; and 541_. Dutton. + + France, Anatole: _The Honey Bee_. John Lane. + + Grover, Eulalie O., editor: _Mother Goose_. F. Richardson. + Volland. + + Harris, Joel C.: _Little Mr. Thimblefinger_. Houghton. + + Harrison, Miss: In Storyland. Central Pub. Co., Chicago. + Holbrook, Florence: _The Book of Nature Myths_. Houghton. + + James, Grace: _The Green Willow_: Japanese. Goble. Macmillan. + + Jerrold, Walter: _The Reign of King Oberon_. Robinson. Dent. + Little. + + Johnson, Clifton: _Fairy Books: Oak-Tree; Birch-Tree; and + Elm-Tree_. Little. + + _Ibid._: _Book of Fairy Tale Bears_. Houghton. + + _Ibid._: _Book of Fairy Tale Foxes_. Houghton. + + Kingsley, Charles: _Water-Babies_. Warwick Goble. Macmillan. + + _Ibid_.: _Water-Babies_. Introd, by Rose Kingsley. Margaret + Tarrant. Dutton. + + Kipling, Rudyard: _Jungle Books_. 2 vols. Original edition. + Century. + + _Ibid._: _Jungle Books_. M. and E. Detmold. Century. + + _Ibid._: _Jungle Books_. A. Rackham. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Just-So Stories_. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Puck of Pook's Hill_. Doubleday. + + _Ibid._: _Rewards and Fairies_. Doubleday. + + Laboulaye, Edouard: _Fairy Book_. Harper. + + _Ibid._: _Last Fairy Tales_. Harper. + + Lang, Andrew: _Fairy Books: Red; Orange; Yellow; Green_; _Blue; + Violet; Gray; Crimson; Brown; Pink_. Longmans. + + Lansing, Marion: _Rhymes and Stories_. Ginn. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Tales_. 2 vols. Ginn. + + Leamy, Edward: Golden Spears. FitzGerald. + + Lefevre, Felicite: _The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen_. + Tony Sarg. Jacobs, Phila. + + Lindsay, Maud: _Mother Stories; More Mother Stories_. Bradley. + + Maeterlinck, Madam: _The Children's Bluebird_. Dodd. + + Molesworth, Mary Louise: _The Cuckoo Clock_. Maria Kirk. + Lippincott. + + Mulock, Miss: _The Fairy Book_. Boyd Smith. Crowell. + + _Ibid._: _Fairy Book_. 32 illus. by W. Goble. Macmillan. + + _Ibid._: _Little Lame Prince_. Hope Dunlap. Rand. + + Musset, Paul de: _Mr. Wind and Madam Rain_. Bennett. Putnam. + + Nyblom, Helena: _Jolly Cable and other Swedish Fairy Tales_. + Folknin. Dutton. + + Olcott, Frances J.: _Arabian Nights_. Tr. by Lane. Cairo text. + Selections. Holt. + + Perrault, Charles: _The Story of Bluebeard_. Stone & Kimball, + Chicago. + + Poulsson, E.: _In the Child's World_. Bradley. + + Pyle, Howard: _The Garden Behind the Moon_. Scribners. + + _Ibid._: _Wonder-Clock_. Harper. + + Pyle, Katherine: _Fairy Tales from Many Lands_. Dutton. + + Rackham, Arthur: _Mother Goose_. Century. + + Rame, Louise de la (Ouida): _Nuernberg Stove: Bimbi Stories for + Children_. Page. + + Rhys, Ernest: _Fairy Gold_. Herbert Cole. Dutton. + + Rolfe, William: _Fairy Tales in Prose and Verse_. Amer. Book Co. + + Shakespeare, William: _Midsummer Night's Dream_. With forty + illustrations in color by Arthur Rackham. Doubleday. + + Shedlock, Marie: _A Collection of Eastern Stories and Legends_. + Foreword by T. Rhys Davids. Dutton. + + Smith, Jessie Willcox: _Mother Goose_. Dodd. + + Stephen, A.: _Fairy Tales of a Parrot_. Ellis. Nister. Dutton. + + Stockton, F.: _The Queen's Museum_. F. Richardson. Scribners. + + Tappan, Eva March: _The Children's Hour: Folk Stories and + Fables_. Houghton. + + Thorne-Thomson: _East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon_. Row. + + Underhill, Zoe D.: _The Dwarf's Tailor_. Harper. + + Valentine, Mrs. Laura: _Old, Old Fairy Tales_. F. Warne. + + Welsh, Charles: _Fairy Tales Children Love_. Dodge. + + Wheeler, W.A.: _Mother Goose Melodies_. Houghton. + + Wiggin, Kate; and Smith, Nora: _The Fairy Ring: Tales of + Laughter: Magic Casements_: and _Tales of Wonder_. Doubleday. + + + +IX. SCHOOL EDITIONS OF FAIRY TALES + + + Alderman, E.A.: _Classics Old and New_. Amer. Book Co. + + Alexander, G.: _Child Classics_. Bobbs. + + Baker, F.T., and Carpenter, G.: _Language Readers_. Macmillan. + + Baldwin, James: _The Fairy Reader_, I and II. Amer. Book Co. + + Blaisdell, Etta (MacDonald): _Child Life in Tale and Fable_. + Macmillan. + + Blumenthal, Verra: _Fairy Tales from the Russian_. Rand. + + Brooks, Dorothy: _Stories of Red Children_. Educational. + + Bryce, Catherine: _Child-Lore Dramatic Reader_. Scribners. + + Burchill, Ettinger: _Progressive Road to Reading_, Readers. + Silver. + + Chadwick, Mara P.: _Three Bears Story Primer_. Educational. + + Chadwick, M.P. and Freeman, E.G.: _Chain Stories and Playlets: + The Cat That Was Lonesome: The Mouse That Lost Her Tail_; and + _The Woman and Her Pig_. World Book Co. + + Coe and Christie: _Story Hour Readers_. Amer. Book Co. + + Craik, Georgiana: _So Fat and Mew Mew_. Heath. + + Davis, M.H. and Leung, Chow: _Chinese Fables and Folk Stories_. + Amer. Book. Co. + + Dole, C.F.: _Crib and Fly_. Heath. + + Free and Treadwell: _Reading Literature Series_. Row, Peterson. + + Grover, Eulalie O.: _Folk Lore Primer_. Atkinson. + + Hale, E.E.: _Arabian Nights_. Selections. Ginn. + + Heath, D.C.: _Dramatic Reader_. Heath. + + Henderson, Alice: _Andersen's Best Fairy Tales_. Rand. + + Hix, Melvin: _Once Upon a Time Stories_. Longmans. + + Holbrook, Florence: _Dramatic Reader for the Lower Grades_. Amer. + Book Co. + + Howard, F.W.: _The Banbury Cross Stories: The Fairy Gift and Tom + Hickathrift_. Merrill. + + Johnston, E.; and Barnum, M.: _Book of Plays for Little Actors_. + Amer. Book. Co. + + Kennerley: _The Kipling Reader_. 2 vols. Appleton. + + Ketchum and Rice: _Our First Story Reader_. Scribners. + + Lang, Andrew: _Fairy Readers_. Longmans. + + Lansing, M.: _Tales of Old England_. Ginn. + + Mabie, H.: _Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know_. Doubleday. + + McMahon, H., M., and A.: _Rhyme and Story Primer_. Heath. + + McMurry, Mrs. Lida B.: _Classic Stories_. Public School Pub. Co. + + Norton, Charles E.: _Heart of Oak Books_. Heath. + + Norvell, F.T., and Haliburton, M.W.: _Graded Classics_. Johnson. + + Perkins, F.O.: _The Bluebird Arranged for Schools_. Silver. + + Pratt, Mara L.: _Legends of Red Children_. Amer. Book Co. + + Roulet, Mary Nixon: _Japanese Folk-Stories and Fairy Tales_. + Amer. Book Co. + + Scudder, H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales: Grimm's Fairy Tales; + Fables and Folk Stories; The Children's Book_. Houghton. + + Smythe, Louise: _Reynard the Fox_. Amer. Book Co. + + Spaulding and Bryce: _Aldine Readers_. Newson. + + Stevenson, Augusta: _Children's Classics in Dramatic Form_. 5 + vols. Houghton. + + Stickney, J.H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales_. 2 series. Ginn. + + Summers, Maud: _The Summers Readers_. Beattys. + + Turpin, E.H.: _Andersen's Fairy Tales_. Merrill. + + Underwood, Kate: _Fairy Tale Plays_ (For Infants and Juniors). + Macmillan. + + University Pub. Co.: _Fairy Tales_. Standard Literature Series; + Hans Andersen's Best Stories; Grimm's Best Stories. Newson and + Co. + + Van Sickle, J.H., etc.: _The Riverside Readers_. Houghton. + + Varney, Alice: _Story Plays Old and New_. Amer. Book Co. + + Villee: _Little Folk Dialog Reader_. Sower. + + Wade, Mary H.: _Indian Fairy Tales_. Wilde. + + Washburne, Mrs. M.: _Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales_ (Retold from + poetic versions of Thomas Hood). Rand. + + White, Emma G.: _Pantomime Primer_. Amer. Book Co. + + Williston, P.: _Japanese Fairy Tales_. 2 series. Rand. + + Wiltse, Sara E.: _Folk Lore Stories and Proverbs_. Ginn. + + Wohlfarth, J., and McMurry, Frank: _Little Folk-Tales_. 2 vols. + + Zitkala-sa: _Old Indian Legends_. Ginn. + + + + + + +APPENDIX + +ILLUSTRATIONS OF CREATIVE RETURN[14] + +Tales suited for dramatization + +_Little Two-Eyes_ + + +_Little Two-Eyes_, which is suited to the first-grade child, is one of +the most attractive of folk-tales and contains blended within itself +the varied beauties of the tales. It is in _cante-fable_ form, which +gives it the poetic touch so appealing to children. It contains the +magic rhymes,-- + + Little kid, bleat, + I wish to eat! + + Little kid, bleat, + Clear it off, neat! + +the fairy wise woman, and the friendly goat. It contains the fairy +housekeeping in the forest which combines tea-party, picnic, and magic +food--all of which could not fail to delight children. The lullaby to +put Two-Eyes to sleep suits little children who know all there is to +know about "going to sleep." The magic tree, the silver leaves, the +golden fruit, the knight and his fine steed, and the climax of the +tale when the golden apple rolls from under the cask--all possess +unusual interest. There is exceptional beauty in the setting of this +tale; and its message of the worth of goodness places it in line with +_Cinderella_. It should be dramatized as two complete episodes, each +of three acts:-- + +_The Goat Episode_ + + _Place_ The home and the forest. + + _Time_ Summer. + + _Act I, Scene i_. A home scene showing how the Mother and + Sisters despised Two-Eyes. + + _Scene ii_. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. + + _Scene iii_. Two-Eyes and the Goat. Evening of the first day. + + _Act II, Scene i_. One-Eye went with Two-Eyes. Third morning. + Song ... Feast ... Return home. + + _Act III, Scene i_. Three-Eyes went with Two-Eyes. Fourth + morning. Song ... Feast ... Return home. + +_The Story of Two-Eyes_ + + _Place_ The forest; and the magic tree before the house. + + _Time_ Summer. + + _Act I, Scene i_. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. + + _Act II, Scene i_. The magic tree. Mother and Sisters attempt to + pluck the fruit. + + _Act III, Scene i_. The Knight. Second attempt to pluck fruit. + Conclusion. The happy marriage. + +_Snow White_ + +_The Story of Snow White_ is one of the romantic fairy tales which has +been re-written and staged as a play for children, and now may be +procured in book form. It was produced by Winthrop Ames at the Little +Theatre in New York City. The dramatization by Jessie Braham White +followed closely the original tale. The entire music was composed by +Edmond Rickett, who wrote melodies for a number of London Christmas +pantomimes. The scenery, by Maxfield Parrish, was composed of six +stage pictures, simple, harmonious, and beautiful, with tense blue +skies, a dim suggestion of the forest, and the quaint architecture of +the House of the Seven Dwarfs. Pictures in old nursery books were the +models for the scenes. Because of the simplicity of the plot and the +few characters, _Snow White_ could be played very simply in four +scenes, by the children of the second and third grades for the +kindergarten and first grade. + +_Snow White_ + + _Scene i_. A Festival on the occasion of Snow White's sixteenth + birthday. + + _Scene ii_. In the Forest. + + _Scene iii_. A Room in the House of the Seven Dwarfs. + + _Scene iv_. The Reception to Snow White as Queen, on the grounds + near the young King's Palace. + +The beautiful character of Snow White; the glimpse of Dwarf life--the +kindly little men with their unique tasks and their novel way of +living; the beauty and cheer of Snow White which her housekeeping +brought into their home; their devotion to her; the adventure in the +wood; the faithful Huntsman; the magic mirror; the wicked Queen; and +the Prince seeking the Princess--all contribute to the charm of the +tale. The songs written for the play may be learned by the children, +who will love to work them into their simple play: _Snow White, as +fair as a lily, as sweet as a rose_; the song of the forest fairies, +_Welcome, Snow White_; and their second song which they sing as they +troop about Snow White lying asleep on the Dwarf's bed, _Here you'll +find a happy home, softly sleep!_ or the song of Snow White to the +Dwarfs, _I can brew, I can bake_. + +_The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_ + +Once upon a time there lived a sister and a brother who loved each +other very much. They were named Gretchen and Peterkin. One day their +father who was King of the country, left them and brought home with +him a new Queen who was not kind to the children. She banished them +from the castle and told the King bad tales about them. So they made +friends with the Cook and ate in the kitchen. Peterkin would bring +water and Gretchen could carry plates and cups and saucers. + +One beautiful spring day when all the children were out-of-doors +playing games, Gretchen and Peterkin went to play with them, by the +pond, on the meadow, beyond the castle wall. Around this pond the +children would run, joining hands and singing:-- + + "Eneke, Beneke, let me live, + And I to you my bird will give; + The bird shall fetch of straw a bunch, + And that the cow shall have to munch; + The cow shall give me milk so sweet, + And that I'll to the baker take, + Who with it shall a small cake bake; + The cake the cat shall have to eat, + And for it catch a mouse for me, + * * * * * + "And this is the end of the tale." + +Round and round the pond the children ran singing; and as the word +"tale" fell on Peterkin he had to run away over the meadow and all the +rest ran after to catch him. + +But just then the wicked Queen from her window in the castle spied the +happy children. She did not look pleased and she muttered words which +you may be sure were not very pleasant words. + +The children had been racing across the meadow after Peterkin. Now one +called, "Where is Peterkin? I saw him near that tree, but now I cannot +see him. Gretchen, can you see Peterkin?--Why, where's Gretchen?" + +Peterkin and Gretchen were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a little boy +said, "Where did that lamb come from over there? It must have been +behind the linden tree!" + +The children drew near the lamb, when what was their surprise to hear +it call out to them, "Run children, run quick or the Queen will harm +you! I am Gretchen! Run, and never come near the pond again!" And at +the little Lamb's words the children fled. + +But the little Lamb ran all about the meadow, calling, "Peterkin, +Peterkin!" and would not touch a blade of grass. Sadly she walked to +the edge of the pond and slowly walked round and round it calling, +"Peterkin, where are you?" + +Suddenly the water bubbled and a weak voice cried, "Here, Gretchen, in +the pond,-- + + "Here Gretchen, here swim I in the pond, + Nor may I ever come near castle ground." + +And the Lamb replied:-- + + "Ah, my brother! In the wood, + A lamb, now I must search for food." + +Then Peterkin comforted Gretchen and promised early every morning to +come up to the water to talk with her; and Gretchen promised to come +early from the wood, before the sun was up, to be with Peterkin. And +Peterkin said, "I will never forsake you, Gretchen, if you will never +forsake me!" And Gretchen said, "I will never forsake you, Peterkin, +if you will never forsake me!" + +Then the little Lamb fled sadly to the wood to look for food and the +little Fish swam round the pond. But the children did not forget their +playmates. Every day they saved their goodies and secretly laid them +at the edge of the wood where the Lamb could get them. And the Lamb +always saved some to throw the crumbs to the little Fish in the +morning. + +Many days passed by. One day visitors were coming to the castle. "Now +is my chance," thought the wicked Queen. So she said to the Cook, "Go, +fetch me the lamb out of the meadow, for there is nothing else for the +strangers!" + +Now the Lamb had lingered by the pond longer than usual that morning +so that the Cook easily caught her; and taking her with him tied her +to the tree just outside the kitchen. But when the Cook was gone to +the kitchen, the little Fish swam up from the pond into the little +brook that ran by the tree and said-- + + "Ah, my sister, sad am I, + That so great harm to you is nigh! + And far from you I love must be, + A-swimming in the deep, deep sea!" + +And the Lamb replied:-- + + "Ah, my brother in the pond, + Sad must I leave you, though I'm fond; + The cook has come to take my life, + Swim off to sea,--Beware!" + +Just then the Cook came back and hearing the Lamb speak became +frightened. Thinking it could not be a real lamb, he said, "Be still, +I will not harm you. Run, hide in the wood, and when it is evening, +come to the edge of the wood and I will help you!" + +Then the Cook caught another lamb and dressed it for the guests. And +before evening he went to a wise woman who happened to be the old +Nurse who had taken care of Peterkin and Gretchen. She loved the +children and she soon saw what the wicked Queen had done. She told the +Cook what the Lamb and Fish must do to regain their natural forms. + +As soon as it was dark the little Lamb came to the edge of the wood +and the Cook said, "Little Lamb, I will tell you what you must do to +be a maid again!" So the Cook whispered what the wise Woman had said. +The little Lamb thanked the Cook and promised to do as he said. + +Next morning very early before the break of day, the little Lamb +hurried from the wood across the meadow. Not taking time to go near +the pond she hastily pushed against the castle gate which the kind +Cook had left unfastened for her. She ran up the path, and there under +the Queen's window stood the beautiful rose-tree with only two red +roses on it--just as the Cook had said. Not even glancing at the +Queen's window, the little Lamb began nibbling the lowest one. And +behold, there in the path stood Gretchen again! Then hastening to +seize the other rose before the sun's first ray might touch it, she +ran lightly down the path, away from castle ground, across the meadow +to the pond. Calling little Fish to the water's edge--for he had +lingered in the pond--she sprinkled over him the drops of dew in the +heart of the rose. And there stood little Peterkin beside Gretchen! + +Then hand in hand, Gretchen and Peterkin hurried from the pond and +fled into the wood just as the sun began to show beyond the trees. +There they built themselves a cottage and lived in it happily ever +afterwards. The kind Cook and the wise Nurse found them and visited +them. But Gretchen and Peterkin never went near castle ground until +the Cook told them the Queen was no more.--_Laura F. Kready_. + + +_How the Birds came to Have Different Nests Time..._. + +_Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme, +And monkeys chewed tobacco. +And hens took snuff to make them tough, +And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!_ + +_Place_. ... Madge Magpie's Nest up in a Tree-top. + +_Characters_: Madge Magpie, the Teacher; Thrush, Blackbird, Owl, +Sparrow, Starling, and Turtle-Dove. + +_All the Birds_. "We have come to you, Madge Magpie, to ask you to +teach us how to build nests. All the Birds tell how clever you are at +building nests." + +_Magpie_. "Make a circle round about the foot of this old pear-tree. I +will sit upon this limb near my nest and show you how to do it. First +I take some mud and make a fine round cake with it." + +_Thrush_. "Oh, that's how it's done, is it? I'll hurry home! Goodbye, +Birds, I can't stay another minute! + + "Mud in a cake, mud in a cake, + To-whit, to-whee, a nest I'll make!" + +_Magpie_. "Next I take some twigs and arrange them about the mud." + +_Blackbird_. "Now I know all about it. Here I go, I'm off to make my +nest in the cherry-tree in Mr. Smith's cornfield! + + "Sticks upon mud, mud upon sticks, + Caw, caw! I'll make a nest for six!" + +_Magpie_. "See, here I put another layer of mud over the twigs." + +_Wise Owl_. "Oh! That's quite obvious. Strange I never thought of that +before. Farewell, come to see me at the old elm-tree beside the gray +church! + + "Mud over twigs! To-whit, to-whoo! + No better nest than that ever grew!" + +_Magpie_. "See these long twigs. I just twine them round the outside." + +_Sparrow_. "The very thing. I'll do it this very day. I can pick some +up on my way home. I'll choose the spout that looks down over the +school-yard; then I can see the children at play. They must like me +for they never chase me away or hit me. + + "A nest with twigs twined round and round, + Chip, chip! No fear that would fall to the ground!" + +_Magpie_. "And see these little feathers and soft stuff. What a +comfortable, cosy lining for the nest they make!" + +_Starling_. "That suits me! Off I go, I like a cosy warm nest. It +shall be in that old plum-tree in the orchard, on the side of the hill. + + "Feathers and down to make cosy and warm, + That's the nest to keep us from harm!" + +_Magpie_. "Well, Birds, have you seen how I made my nest? Do you think +you know how?--Why, where are all the Birds? They couldn't wait until +I'd finished. Only you, Turtle-Dove, left!" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "Here I put a twig across. But not two--one's +enough!" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "One's enough I tell you, do you not see how I +lay it across?" + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Magpie_. "Here I fly away from my nest for awhile! I will teach no +more Birds to build nests. I cannot teach a silly Turtle-Dove who will +not learn. I heard him sing just now as I turned around," + +_Turtle-Dove_. "Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o, + Take two, Taffy, take two--o--o--o!" + +_Laura F. Kready_. + + + + +TYPES OF TALES + + +An Animal Tale[15] + +_The Good-Natured Bear_ + + +"I shall never forget the patience, the gentleness, the skill, and the +firmness with which she first taught me to walk alone. I mean to walk +on all fours, of course; the upright manner of my present walking was +only learned afterwards. As this infant effort, however, is one of my +earliest recollections, I have mentioned it before all the rest, and +if you please, I will give you a little account of it." + +"Oh! do, Mr. Bear," cried Gretchen; and no sooner had she uttered the +words than all the children cried out at the same time, "Oh, please +do, sir!" + +The Bear took several long whiffs at his pipe, and thus continued,-- + +"My Mother took me to a retired part of the forest (of Towskipowski, +Poland) where few animals ever came; and telling me that I must now +stand alone, extended both paws, and slowly lowered me towards the +earth. The height as I looked down, seemed terrible, and I felt my +legs kick in the air, with fear of I did not know what, till suddenly +I felt four hard things and no motion. It was the fixed earth beneath +my four infant legs. 'Now,' said my Mother, 'you are what is called +standing alone!' But what she said I heard as in a dream. With my back +in the air as though it rested on a wooden trussel, with my nose +poking out straight snuffing the fresh breeze and the many secrets of +the woods, my ears pricking and shooting with all sorts of new sounds +to wonder at, to want to have, to love, or to tumble down at,--and my +eyes staring before me full of light and confused gold and dancing +things, I seemed to be in a condition over which I had no power to +effect the least change, and in which I must remain fixed till some +wonderful thing happened. But the firm voice of my Mother came to my +assistance and I heard her tell me to look upon the earth beneath me +and see where I was. First I looked up among the boughs, then +side-ways at my shoulder, then I squinted at the tip of my nose--all +by mistake and innocence--at last I bent my nose in despair and saw my +forepaws standing, and this of course was right. The first thing that +caught my attention, being the first thing I saw distinctly, was a +little blue flower with a bright jewel in the middle, which I +afterwards found was a drop of dew. Sometimes I thought this little +blue darling was so close that it almost touched my eyes and certainly +the color of it was up in my head; sometimes I thought it was deep +down, a long way off. When I bent my face towards it to give it a kiss +it seemed just where it was though I had not done what I had thought +to do. + +"The next thing I saw upon the ground was a soft-looking little +creature that crawled along with a round ball upon the middle of its +back, of a beautiful white color, with brown and red curling stripes. +The creature moved very, very slowly, and appeared always to follow +the opinion and advice of two long horns on its head, that went +feeling about on all sides. Presently it slowly approached my right +forepaw and I wondered how I should feel or smell or hear it as it +went over my toes; but the instant one of the horns touched the hair +of my paw, both horns shrunk into nothing and presently came out +again, and the creature slowly moved away in another direction. While +I was wondering at this strange proceeding--for I never thought of +hurting the creature, not knowing how to hurt anything, and what +should have made the horns think otherwise?--while then I was +wondering at this, my attention was suddenly drawn to a tuft of moss +on my right near a hollow tree trunk. Out of this green tuft looked a +pair of very bright round small eyes, which were staring up at me. + +"If I had known how to walk I should have stepped back a few steps +when I saw those bright little eyes, but I never ventured to lift a +paw from the earth since my Mother had first set me down, nor did I +know how to do so, or what were the proper thoughts or motions to +begin with. So I stood looking at the eyes and presently I saw that +the head was yellow and that it had a large mouth. 'What you have just +seen,' said my Mother, 'we call a snail; and what you now see is a +frog.' The names however did not help me at all to understand. Why the +first should have turned from my paw so suddenly and why this creature +should continue to stare up at me in such a manner I could not +conceive. I expected however that it would soon come slowly crawling +forth and then I should see whether it would also avoid me in the same +manner. I now observed that its body and breast were double some-how, +and that its paws were very large for its size, but had no hair upon +them, which I thought was probably occasioned by its slow crawling +having rubbed it all off. I had scarcely made these observations and +reflections, when a beam of bright light breaking through the trees, +the creature suddenly gave a great hop right up under my nose; and I, +thinking the world was at an end, instantly fell flat down on one side +and lay there waiting!"-- + +With this glimpse of an old-time modern animal tale we shall have to +say with "Mr. Titmarsh," "Those who wish to know more about him must +buy the book for themselves,"--and add: Or they must get some +enterprising publisher to reprint it. + + +A Few Romantic Tales[16] + +_Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter_ + +_Puss-in-Boots_, a romantic tale suited to the first grade, delights +with its strong sense of adventure and of the heroic. Puss is a +Master-Cat, a hero clever and quick, and with fine imagination to see +what would happen and prepare for it. He is successful, combining +initiative and motivation delightfully. His devotion to his master +seems like disinterested loyalty, love, and sacrifice. While it is +true the plot is based on a lie, the moral effect is not bad because +we recognize Puss as a match-making character similar to the +matchmaking Jackal of India; and in love "all is fair." Moreover +Puss-in-Boots was only true to his cat-nature in playing a trick, and +we admire the cleverness of his trick in behalf of a master really +deserving. The underlying philosophy of the tale, "That there is a +power in making the best with what you possess," appeals to all, and +has the ability to lend dignity and force to the light intrigue of the +tale. + +The setting in _Puss-in-Boots_ gives a touch of nature beauty. First +we have the Miller's poor home, and from there we are led in +succession to the brambles through which Puss scampered; the rabbits' +warren where he lay in waiting to bag the heedless rabbits; the palace +to which he took the rabbits caught by the Marquis of Carabas; the +cornfield where he bagged the partridges; the river-side where the +Marquis bathed; the meadow where the countrymen were mowing; the +cornfields where the good people were reaping; until at last we are +escorted to the stately castle where the Ogre dwelt. + +The plot of the tale is very pleasing as it easily arranges itself +into a simple drama of three acts:-- + + Act I, + Scene i. Revery of the Master. The Cat's promise to help. + Scene ii. Puss in the rabbits' warren with his bag. + Scene iii. Puss takes the rabbits to the King in his + palace. + + Act II, + Scene i. Puss with his bag in the cornfield. + Scene ii. Puss takes partridges to the King. + Scene iii. Puss and his Master. Puss gives advice. + + Act III, + Scene i. The Marquis bathing and Puss by the river-side. + Scene ii. The Drive. Puss runs before and meets the mowers. + Scene iii. The Ogre's Castle. Puss's reception of the coach. + Marriage of the Marquis of Carabas. Puss + becomes a Lord. + +The tale possesses an appeal to the emotions, we want Puss-in-Boots to +accomplish whatever scheme he invents, and we want the Miller's son to +win the Princess. Its appeal to the imagination is an orderly +succession of images, varied and pleasing. The invention of Puss and +his successful adventures make the tale one of unusual interest, +vivacity, and force. The transformation of the Ogre into a Lion and +again into a Mouse, and the consequent climax of Puss's management of +the Mouse, bring in the touch of the miraculous. A similar +transformation occurs in Hesiod, where the transformed Metis is +swallowed by Zeus. This transformation may be produced by a witch, +when the help of another is needed, as in _Beauty and the Beast_ and +in _Hansel and Grethel_; or the transformation may come from within, +as in this case when the Ogre changes himself into a Mouse, or when a +man changes himself into a Wolf. A situation which parallels the theme +of Puss-in-Boots occurs in _The Golden Goose_ where Dummling gets as +his share only a goose, but having the best disposition makes his +fortune out of his goose. Grimm's _Three Feathers_ also contains a +similar motif. D'Aulnoy's _White Cat_, the feminine counterpart of +_Puss-in-Boots_, is a tale of pleasing fancy in which the hero wins +the White Cat, a transformed Princess, who managed to secure for him, +the youngest son, the performance of all the tasks his father had set +for him. + +But the most interesting parallel of _Puss-in-Boots_ is the Norse +_Lord Peter_ told by Dasent in _Norse Tales_. Here the helpful Cat +does not use a bag, but in true Norse fashion catches game in the wood +by sitting on the head of the reindeer and threatening, "If you don't +go straight to the King's palace, I'll claw your eyes out!" The Norse +tale omits the bathing episode. The King wants to visit Lord Peter but +the Cat manages that Lord Peter shall visit the King. The Cat promises +to supply coach, horses and clothes, not by craft--their source is not +given--but they are furnished on the condition that Peter must obey to +say always, when he sees fine things in the Castle, that he has far +finer things of his own. In the Norse tale Peter and the Cat work +together, Peter is in the secret; while in the Perrault tale Puss does +all the managing, Carabas is simply being entertained by the King. In +the Norse tale, on the way home the coach meets a flock of sheep, a +herd of fine kine, and a drove of horses. The Cat does not threaten +that the caretakers shall be "chopped as fine as herbs for the pot," +if they do not say all belongs to Lord Peter, but he cunningly bribes +the shepherd with a silver spoon, the neat-herd with a silver ladle, +and the drover with a silver stoop. In place of the Ogre's Castle, +there is a Troll's Castle with three gates--one of tin, one of silver, +and one of gold. The Norse Cat wins the victory by craftily playing +upon the troll-nature. He gains the Troll's attention by meeting him +at the gate and telling him about the secrets of agriculture, one of +the secrets of men the trolls wanted to learn. Then at the height of +interest, he plays upon his curiosity by getting him to look round. +Whereupon, the Troll, meeting the glare of the full sun, burst; for +trolls cannot bear the sight of the sun, and live. In the Norse tale, +the Cat, after Lord Peter at her request cuts off her head, becomes +the Princess and marries Lord Peter. In Perrault's tale, the King, +with French etiquette and diplomacy, invites the Marquis to be his +son-in-law. + +The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ appeared in _Straparola_, 11, 1, and in +_Basile_, 2, 4. Laboulaye, in his _Last Fairy Tales_, has retold the +Pentamerone tale, _Gagliuso_, in which the Cat is a crafty advocate of +his Master's interests, but the Master is ungrateful and forgets the +Cat. The effect of the tale is not pleasing, it is a satire on +gratitude. + +The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ is also told by Ludwig Tieck, with twelve +etchings by Otto Speckter, published in Leipzig, in 1843. A critic, +writing for the Quarterly Review in 1844, "An Article on Children's +Books,"[17] recommended this edition of _Puss-in-Boots_ as the beau +ideal of nursery books. _Puss-in-Boots_ appeared also in the Swedish +of Cavallius. A monograph on the Carabas tale has been written by +Andrew Lang. + + +_Tom Thumb and Little Thumb_ + +_Tom Thumb_, another romantic tale suited to the first grade, is one +of the most entertaining of tales. The germ of _Tom Thumb_ exists in +various forms in the books of the far East, among American Indians, +and among the Zulus of South Africa. Tom Thumb is one of the oldest +characters in English nursery literature. In 1611, the ancient tales +of Tom Thumb were said to have been "in the olde time the only +survivors of drouzy age at midnight. Old and young, with his tales +chim'd mattens till the cock's crow in the morning. Batchelors and +maids have with his tales compassed the Christmas fireblocke till the +curfew bell rings candle out. The old shepheard and the young plowboy, +after a days' labour, have carol'ed out a _Tale of Tom Thumb_ to make +them merry with, and who but little Tom hath made long nights seem +short and heavy toyles easie." + +_Tom Thumb_, as has been previously mentioned, most probably was +transmitted to England by the early Norsemen. _The Tale of Tom Thumb_, +as told by Jacobs, was taken from the chap-book version in +_Halliwell_. The first mention of Tom is in Scot's _Discoverie of +Witchcraft_, in 1584. Tradition says that Tom died at Lincoln, which +was one of the five Danish towns of England. A little blue flagstone +in the cathedral, said to be his tombstone, was lost and has never +been replaced during recent repairs early in the nineteenth century. +_Tom Thumb_ was first written in prose by Richard Johnson, in 1621. In +Ashton's _Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century_ we have a facsimile of +the chap-book, _The Famous History of Tom Thumb_. The tale is in three +parts. The first part, which is much superior to the rest of the tale, +was taken from a copy printed for John Wright, in 1630. The second and +third parts were written about 1700. The first part closes with the +death of Tom from knightly feats. He was buried in great pomp, but the +fairies carried him to Fairy Land. The first part closed with a +promise of the second:-- + + The Fairy Queen, she lov'd him so + As you shall understand, + That once again she let him go + Down to the Fairy Land. + + The very time that he return'd + Unto the court again, + It was as we are well inform'd + In good King Arthur's reign. + + When in the presence of the King, + He many wonders wrought, + Recited in the Second Part + Which now is to be bought + + In Bow Church Yard, where is sold + Diverting Histories many; + And pleasant tales as e'er was told + For purchase of One Penny. + +The second part opens with Tom's return to Fairy Land. His second +death is caused by a combat with a cat. Again he is taken to Fairy +Land. In the third part the Fairy Queen sends Tom to earth in King +Thunston's reign. His final death occurred from the bite of a spider. + +_The Life and Adventures of Tom Thumb_ appeared in the _Tabart +Collection of Fairy Tales_, noted before, and a version entirely in +verse was included in _Halliwell_. A monograph on _Tom Thumb_ was +written by M. Gaston Paris. _Little Thumb_ as it appeared in +_Perrault_ and in _Basile_, was a tale similar to the German _Hansel +and Grethel_. _Thumbling_, and _Thumbling as Journeyman_ are German +variants. Andersen's _Thumbelina_ is a feminine counterpart to _Tom +Thumb_, and in Laboulaye's _Poucinet_ we have a tale of the successful +younger brother, similarly diminutive. + +There were current many old stories of characters similar to Tom +Thumb. A certain man was so thin that he could jump through the eye of +a needle. Another crept nimbly to a spider's web which was hanging in +the air, and danced skillfully upon it until a spider came, which spun +a thread round his neck and throttled him. A third was able to pierce +a sunmote with his head and pass his whole body through it. A fourth +was in the habit of riding an ant, but the ant threw him off and +trampled him. In a work written in 1601, referred to in Grimm's +_Household Tales_ a spider relates:-- + + Once did I catch a tailor proud + Heavy he was as elder wood, + From Heaven above he'd run a race, + With an old straw hat to this place, + In Heaven he might have stayed no doubt, + For no one wished to turn him out. + He fell in my web, hung in a knot, + Could not get out, I liked it not, + That e'en the straw hat, safe and sound, + Nine days ere him came to the ground. + +A delightful little rhyme, _Tom Thumb_, is among Halliwell's _Nursery +Rhymes_. It may refer to the Danish _History of Tom Thumb_: + + I had a little husband + No bigger than my thumb; + I put him in a pint pot + And there I bade him drum: + I bridled him and saddled him, + And sent him out of town; + I gave him a pair of garters + To tie up his little hose; + And a little handkerchief + To wipe his little nose. + +The English version of _Tom Thumb_ as we know it today, opens with a +visit of the magician Merlin at the cottage of an honest and +hospitable ploughman. Merlin rewarded the Goodman and his Wife for +their hospitality by calling on the Queen of the fairies, who brought +to the home, Tom Thumb, a boy no bigger than a man's thumb. + +The time of the tale is in the days of Merlin and King Arthur's court. +The tale is marked by a number of distinct English elements. The +introduction of the Queen of the Fairies, of Fairy Land and the visit +there, and of the fairy clothes they make for Tom, are all decidedly +English. The sly ways of Tom, his tricks and his cleverness are +distinctly English humor. He played with the boys for cherry-stones, +and took theirs. He had so much curiosity that he fell into his +mother's pudding. He was so light that on a windy day he had to be +tied to a thistle when his mother went to milk the cow; and so, with +his oak-leaf hat, he got caught in the cow's one mouthful. After other +strange adventures he arrived at King Arthur's court where he became +the favorite. His feats at tilts and tournaments give a glimpse of +English court life, with its pastime of hunting; and fighting with the +sword brings in the knight element. The story has little plot, being a +succession of many episodes and a repetition of some. It shows little +constructive ability, promises to be a perpetual tale, and is ended +only by sudden death at the poisonous breath of the spider. _Tom +Thumb_ is one of the tales of pure fancy, with no underlying meaning, +created for pure entertainment, to please children and grown-ups by +its little people and little things. The moral is in the effect of +Tom's character. + +Perrault's _Little Thumb_ tells how a poor Fagot-maker and his Wife +sat by the hearth, sad with famine, and Little Thumb overheard their +words. When they started to the wood to gather fagots, Little Thumb, +like Hansel, scattered pebbles. The parents left the seven children in +the wood but little Thumb guided them home by his pebbles. They set +out a second time, when Little Thumb scattered bread-crumbs; and as +the birds ate them, the children were lost. Little Thumb climbed a +tree and saw the light of the Ogre's cottage afar off. The children +reached the Ogre's cottage where Little Thumb changed the golden +crowns of the seven little Ogresses, and putting them on his brothers, +saved their lives. Then they all fled through the wood and hid in a +rock, while the Ogre in his seven-league boots, pursued them and lay +down to rest at the rock in which they were hidden. Little Thumb sent +his brothers home, stole the fairy boots, and through craft, persuaded +the Ogre's Wife to give him all the Ogre's gold. So, rich and happy, +he returned to his father's home. + +This tale shows a number of common motifs that appear in other tales: + + (1) The design of distressed parents to expose children to the + forest. + + (2) The discovery and prevention of the scheme by a child. + + (3) The repetition of incident; the clew spoiled by the birds. + The trail motif, similar to the one in _Hansel and Grethel_. + + (4) The arrival of children at the home of the Ogre. + + (5) The shifting of crowns to the heads of his brothers. + + (6) The flight of the brothers pursued by the Ogre in + seven-league boots. + + (7) Little Thumb, stealing the boots and winning court favor, or + the Ogre's treasure. + +Some say that in this tale, symbolically, the forest represents night; +the crumbs and pebbles, stars; and the Ogre, the sun. Little Thumb, +because of his cunning and invention, has been called the Ulysses of +the fairy tales. His adventure with the Ogre at the rock, while not a +parallel one, reminds one of Ulysses and Polyphemus. Both succeeded in +getting the better of the giant. An English edition of this tale was +illustrated by William Blake. + +_Snow White and Rose Red_ + +_Snow White and Rose Red_, besides blending the romantic and the +realistic, illustrates rather completely how the old tale may stand +the tests which have been emphasized here. As a romantic type, it +contains adventure and the picturesque. It arouses emotion. It +contains objects of beauty; and the strange Bear and the stranger +Dwarf, about both of whom there is a sense of mystery. It exaggerates +character and incidents beyond the normal,--the Mother and Daughters +were more lovely than mortals usually are,--and the harmony between +man and beast may belong to the millennium rather than to this common +earth. This is one of the most romantic of fairy tales in that it is a +highly idealized type. + +The story was current in Germany before the time of the Grimms, and +appeared in the collection of Caroline Stahl. The rhyme,-- + + Snowy-white, rosy-red, + Will ye strike your lover dead? + +was taken from a popular song, and is found in a child's story in +_Taschenbuch Minerva_ for 1813. + +_Snow White and Rose Red_ is full of many beauties; the characters are +beautiful, the setting is beautiful, and the spirit of the whole is +full of beauty. There is sister-love; and mother-love--not the selfish +kind that loves but its own, but that similar to the rich growth of +our modern times, when mother-love seeks to include those without the +home. There is genuine kindness that pours its sweetness on the Bear +or on the Dwarf, that falls like the rain on the deserving and on the +ungrateful; there is devotion to animals and a lack of enmity between +man and beast; and there is a portrayal of the beauty of domestic life +and of the charms of childhood in simple life--its play, its pleasure, +and its tasks. This is all set as in two pictures whose sky is the +golden glow of passion for the sun and the spring-time and summer it +brings. In the first picture, on the edge of the forest stands a +little cottage before whose gate grow two rose-trees, a red rose-tree +and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the beauty of the +spring-time and of the rich fruitage of summer, but also symbols +typifying the more wondrous beauty of the character of the two +children, Snow White and Rose Red. In the second picture, a tall +palace rears itself, before whose gate grow two rose-trees also, a red +rose-tree and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the same beauty +of spring-time and fruitage of summer, but also symbols typifying the +beauty of loveliness and the fairness of happiness and prosperity that +guarded from harm the lives of the deserving Snow White and Rose Red, +and continued to bless them to the close. + +First, looking at the characters in this tale, we see a Mother who +illustrates the richness of womanhood. She managed her own home and +kept it a place of beauty and cheer. She had two daughters, both +lovely, but very different. She recognized this difference and +respected it, and permitted each child to enjoy a delightful freedom +to grow as was her nature. She permitted the children to play but she +also commanded willing obedience. She arranged their work with +fairness so that each had her share and each seemed free in doing that +work to use her individual taste and judgment. She taught her children +to spin and to sew, and she read to them. She told them about the +guardian Angel who watched over them to keep them from harm. She was +not anxious when they were out of sight, for even when Snow White and +Rose Red stayed in the wood all night and slept on the leaves, she had +no fear, for no accident ever happened to them. As a strong, noble +woman, without fear, and full of love, pity, and fairness,--George +Eliot's ideal of highest character,--the Mother of Snow White and Rose +Red has no equal in the fairy tales. + +The two Children, beautiful as the roses that grew outside the +cottage, were both industrious, good, amiable little girls, who in +their natural sweetness showed the spirit of the Golden Age when peace +and good-will dwelt among men. They were natural children and they +loved to play. They gathered berries in the forest, they played +hide-and-seek among the trees, they waded in the river, went fishing, +made wreaths of flowers, and played with their animal friends. They +fed the hares cauliflower, or watched the fawns grazing and the goats +frisking; and even the birds loved them and did not fly away when they +were near. In the home they kept things not only clean but beautiful; +they not only did work but took pleasure in doing that work. Now at a +time when domestic life in the home is being threatened, _Snow White +and Rose Red_ gives a realistic picture of the beauty of domestic +life, its simple joys and charm. In summer there was always a nose-gay +for the Mother, and in winter there was a cheery fire with a copper +kettle over it, shining like gold. And in the evening when the snow +fell fast outside, inside was warmth and comfort. The Children sat +sewing and the Mother reading, while a lamb and a white dove beside +them enjoyed their protection and care. + +The entrance of the Bear gave the Children a natural thrill of fear. +But the Mother, with beautiful hospitality, gave the Bear protection +and kindness and led them to overcome that fear. To the Bear they +showed that good nature which willingly serves; and in the tricks they +played with their comrade they showed a great strength of vitality and +that freedom which grows where there is no repression. + +The Bear departed at spring-time; and as he left Snow White thought +she saw glittering gold under his coat. This seems to hint that the +tale is symbolic, typifying the change of seasons. Spring, the Bear, +took refuge in the cottage during the cold winter months; but in the +spring he had to go abroad into the forest, to guard his treasures +from the evil Dwarf of winter. + +The Children again showed their sweetness and good nature when, while +gathering sticks, they came upon the Dwarf, with his wrinkled face and +snow-white beard, the end of which was caught in a split of a tree. +The contrast is delightful, between the cross and impatient Dwarf and +Rose Red who offered to fetch help, and Snow White who politely tried +to soothe his impatience by cutting off the end of his beard with her +scissors. This time the Dwarf snatched a sack of gold which lay at the +foot of the tree, and fled, most ungrateful, not even thanking the +Children. The Children had two other adventures with the Dwarf; and +these, together with their adventure with the Bear, make up the plot +of the story. They met the Dwarf a second time, one day when they went +fishing. Then Rose Red told him to be careful or he'd fall into the +water, because a great fish was pulling on the bait and his beard +became entangled in the fishing-line. Snow White again cut off the end +of his beard to free him and again he snatched his bag--this time of +pearls, lying among the rushes--and fled. One day, on going to town to +buy thread, needles, laces, and ribbons, they met the Dwarf a third +time. This time an eagle had caught him and was about to carry him +off. The Children, with compassion, held on and freed him; but again +he scolded, seized his bag of precious stones, and slipped away to his +cave. On their return from town, the Children again met the Dwarf, in +the wood, counting his treasure. Again he was very angry, but just +then the Bear arrived out of the forest and demanded the life of the +Dwarf. The Dwarf offered up in his stead, Snow White and Rose Red. But +the Bear, faithful to his old comrades, slew the Dwarf, and then +becoming a beautiful Prince, went home with the Sisters. Snow White +married the Prince and Rose Red his Brother, and they all lived with +their Mother happily in the beautiful palace. + +When the Bear slew the Dwarf spring returned to the land. The Dwarf +with his snow-white beard seems to typify winter. Each time the +Dwarf's beard was cut the beard of winter became shorter, another +winter month was gone, and there remained a shorter season. The bag of +gold which the Dwarf first took might signify the golden fruit of +autumn, and the pearls and diamonds which he next took, the ice and +snow of winter. The Dwarf's beard became entangled in the fishing-line +when the icy winds of winter began to give the pond its frozen coat; +and then the animals of the wood were compelled to seek a refuge. When +the Bear came out of the wood to meet the Dwarf and slew him, the time +for the departure of winter was at hand, and spring returned to the +land. + +This fairy tale evidently shows a good, interesting plot, with +something happening all the time. The climax is very distinctly +marked, everything leads up to the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf +in the forest. The characters present interesting variety and strong +contrasts. The setting is unusually beautiful: the cottage, the wood, +the lake, the town, the hillside, the palace, and the two symbolic +rose-trees. The tale appeals to the emotions of love, kindness, +compassion, and gratitude. It presents to the imagination distinct +episodes: the home-life of the Children in the cottage, their life in +the wood, their adventure with the Bear, their three adventures with +the Dwarf, and the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf. The conclusion +follows closely upon the climax,--the Bear, grateful to the kind +Children, saved their lives and re-transformed, became a Prince. The +happy marriage brings the tale to a close, with the palace home +guarded by the two rose-trees. The message of the tale is the possible +beauty of woman's love and character, and the loveliness of spring and +of summer. + +A Modern Tale[18] + +_The Elephant's Child_ + + +_The Elephant's Child_ might be examined here more particularly +because it is unusually interesting as an example of the complete test +applied to the child's fairy tale. One need not test it as to interest +for it was written especially for children by one who could play with +them. As to literature it certainly has mind and soul; there is no +doubt about its structure or its appeal to the sympathies. The +quantity of good humor and fun it bestows upon childhood is a +permanent enrichment; for even a child's world has need of all the +good cheer and fun that can be given to it. + +This tale is especially interesting also because it might be classed +as almost any one of the types of tales. It is not accumulative though +it possesses to a marked degree three characteristics of the +accumulative tale, repetition, alliteration, and all sorts of phonic +effects. And it is not an old tale. But it is not only one of the most +pleasing animal tales we possess but one of the best humorous tales +having the rare quality of freshness. It is realistic in its portrayal +of animal life; and it is highly romantic in its sense of adventure, +the heroic, the strange, and the remote. + +As a short-story it shows the essentials, originality, ingenuity, and +compression. The single interest is how the Elephant got his trunk, +and everything points to the climax of his getting it. The plot is +"entertaining, novel, comical and thrilling." The structure is very +easily seen in these ten episodes:-- + + 1. The introduction; the family; the Child; his home; his + questions; the new, fine question. + 2. The Elephant's Child set out to answer his own question. + 3. The Elephant's Child met Kolokolo Bird. + 4. The Elephant's Child journeyed to the Limpopo. + 5. The Elephant's Child met the Python. + 6. The Elephant's Child met the Crocodile. He got his trunk. + (Climax.) + 7. The Elephant's Child gained experience from the Python. + 8. The Elephant's Child's journey home. + 9. The Elephant's Child's return home. + 10. Conclusion. How all elephants got trunks. Peace. + +The characters are unique and interesting. They are usual animals but +unusual in what they say. They exhibit animal traits and motives but +they also show us a hidden meaning in their actions and words. They +seem living, they speak directly; yet they preserve the idea of the +fable for they are symbolic. The Elephant's Child typifies human +innocence, the inexperience of youth; the Kolokolo Bird, a friend; the +Python, experience or wisdom; and the Crocodile, guile or evil. All +the animals become very interesting because we are concerned to know +their particular reason for spanking the "'satiable Elephant's Child." +What they say is so humorous and what they do is consistent, in +harmony with their natural animal traits. The Child is the hero. He is +a very attractive character because he has that rare charm we call +temperament. He is curious, polite, and sweet, and follows his own +nose in spite of everything. He wins out with strength, experience, +and a new nose; and we are rejoiced at his triumphs. His questions are +so funny and yet they seem quite what any elephant with a bump of +curiosity might ask. To the Giraffe--"What made his skin spotty?" To +the Hippopotamus--"Why her eyes were red?" To the Baboon--"Why melons +tasted just so?" And at last, "What does the Crocodile have for +dinner?" + +The setting of the tale is suggested continually in expressions which +show visual imagination of a high order: such as, "And he lived in +Africa"; "dragged him through a thorn bush"; "blew bubbles into her +ear"; "hove him into a hornet's nest"; and "from Graham's Town to +Kimberley and from Kimberley to Khama's Country, and from Khama's +Country east by north to the Limpopo." + +The tale possesses most delightful humor. A verbal magic which fairly +scintillates with the comic spirit, and clinging epithets of which +Kipling is a master, suggest the exact picture needed. Humor is +secured largely through the use of the unique word; as, "_spanked_," +"_precisely_ as Kolokolo Bird had said," and "for he was a _Tidy_ +Pachyderm." Often it is increased by the use of newly coined words; +as, "hijjus," "curtiosity," "scalesome, flailsome, tail," +"fever-trees," "self-propelling man-of-war," and "schloop of mud." +Another element of humor in the tale is the artistic use of +repetition, which has been previously referred to as one of the +child's interests. Sometimes one meaning is expressed in several +different ways; as, "immediately and directly, without stopping, for a +long time." Or we are given contrasted terms; as, "a little warm but +not at all astonished," and then later, "very warm and greatly +astonished." One main element of humor is this way in which +expressions reflect back on preceding ones. Sometimes we are given +very surprising, startling, expressions; as, "wait-a-bit-thorn-bush +"--which reminds us of the "all-alone-stone" in _Water Babies_--and +"he sang to himself down his trunk." + +As to imagination, _The Elephant's Child_ is a delightful illustration +of the appeal to the associative, the penetrative, and the +contemplative imagination. While its philosophy may be understood in +part by the child it has a deeper meaning for the adult. It seems to +imply that it is the way of life to spank somebody else. It is the +stronger who spank the weaker until they become strong enough to stand +up for themselves. Then nobody spanks anybody any more and there is +peace. When the Child asked a question that no one would answer he set +out to find his own answer just as in life it often is best to work to +answer one's own questions. When the Elephant trusted the Crocodile he +got something to keep just as in life the innocent may bear the marks +of a contest though in no sense responsible for the contest. +Experience in the guise of the Python helped the Child in his contest +for life with the advice his own common sense would have offered. As +an allegory of Experience _The Elephant's Child_ does not view life as +a whole; it gives but a glimpse of life. It would say: Experience +teaches us to make the best with what we have. The way to get +experience is to try a new power, just as the Child with his trunk +tried to kill the fly and eat grass. As soon as he had received his +new power he tested it on the Hippopotamous. He won the respect of his +kind by beating them at their own game. + +The emotional appeal in _The Elephant's Child_ would repay study. The +dominant emotional tone is that of the adventurous hero with his +"'satiable curtiosity." There is vividness of emotion, steadiness of +emotion, and a rich variety in the contrasts of feeling. Emotion of a +moral quality is characteristic of its implied message of worldly +wisdom but it does not leave one exactly satisfied. + +The form of the story is a splendid example of a literary classic +style. A pleasing humorous touch is given to the unity of the tale by +making the Elephant's Child pick up with his new trunk, on his way +home, the melon-rinds he had scattered on his journey to the Limpopo. +The coherence in the tale is unusually fine and is secured largely by +expressions which look backward or forwards; as, "By and by when that +was finished," or "One fine morning," or "That very next morning." Any +study will show that the tale possesses the general qualities of form +and has its parts controlled by the principles of composition. + + + + +OUTLINE + + + I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES + + I. Two public tributes 1 + + II. The value of fairy tales in education 3 + + 1. They bring joy into child-life 3 + + 2. They satisfy the play-spirit of childhood 4 + + 3. They give a power of accurate observation 6 + + 4. They strengthen the power of emotion, develop the + power of imagination, train the memory and + exercise the reason 6 + + 5. They extend and intensify the child's social + relations 7 + + 6. In school they unify the child's work or play 8 + + 7. In the home they employ leisure time profitably 9 + + 8. They afford a vital basis for language-training 10 + + III. References 12 + +II. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES + + I. The interests of children 13 + + 1. Fairy tales must follow the law of composition + and must contain the interests of children 13 + + a. A sense of life 14 + + b. The familiar 14 + + c. The surprise 15 + + d. Sense impression 17 + + e. The beautiful 18 + + f. Wonder, mystery, magic 19 + + g. Adventure 19 + + h. Success 20 + + i. Action 20 + + j. Humor 21 + + k. Poetic justice 22 + + l. The imaginative 23 + + m. Animals 24 + + n. A portrayal of human relations, especially + with children 24 + + o. The diminutive 25 + + p. Rhythm and repetition 26 + + q. The simple and sincere 28 + + r. Unity of effect 29 + + 2. Fairy tales must follow the law of the emotions + and avoid elements opposed to the interests of + the very young child 30 + + a. The tale of the witch 31 + + b. The tale of the dragon 31 + + c. Giant tales 31 + + d. Some tales of transformation 32 + + e. The tale of strange animal relations and + strange creatures 33 + + f. Unhappy tales 34 + + g. The tale of capture 34 + + h. The very long tale 35 + + i. The complicated or the insincere tale 36 + + II. The fairy tale as literature 37 + + 1. The fairy tale must be a true classic 38 + + 2. The fairy tale must have mind and soul 39 + + 3. The fairy tale must have the distinguishing + marks of literature 40 + + a. A power to appeal to the emotions 41 + + 1) Literary emotion is not personal 41 + + 2) Literary emotion must have justness 41 + + 3) Literary emotion must have vividness 41 + + 4) Literary emotion must have steadiness 41 + + 5) Literary emotion must have variety 41 + + 6) Literary emotion must have moral quality 41 + + 7) Application of the test of emotion to the + Fairy tales 41 + + 8) The value of fairy tales in the development + of emotion 44 + + b. A power to appeal to the imagination 45 + + 1) Appeal to the creative imagination 45 + + 2) Appeal to the associative imagination 46 + + a) Appeal to fancy 46 + + 3) Appeal to the penetrative imagination 47 + + 4) Appeal to the contemplative imagination 47 + + a) Philosophy in the fairy tales 48 + + b) Proverbs in the fairy tales 50 + + c) Relation of the contemplative + imagination to science 52 + + c. A basis of truth, or appeal to the intellect 53 + + 1) The truth must be idealistic 53 + + a) It may be realistic 53 + + b) It may be romantic 53 + + 2) Value of the appeal of literature to the + intellect 53 + + d. A form more or less perfect 54 + + 1) The elements of form: words, sentences, + paragraphs, and wholes 58 + + a) Words, the medium of language must + have two powers 54 + + (1) Denotation, to name what they + mean 54 + + (2) Connotation, to suggest what they + imply 54 + + b) Suggestive power of words illustrated 55 + + 2) General qualities characteristic of perfect + form 57 + + a) Precision or clearness 57 + + (1) Precision demands that words have + denotation 57 + + (2) Precision appeals to the intellect 57 + + b) Energy or force 57 + + (1) Energy demands that words have + connotation 58 + + (2) Energy appeals to the emotions and + holds the attention 58 + + c) Delicacy or emotional harmony 58 + + (1) Delicacy demands that words have + the power of adaptation 58 + + (2) Delicacy demands that form appeal + to the aesthetic sense 58 + + (3) Delicacy is secured by selection and + arrangement of words according to + emotional associations 58 + + d) Personality 58 + + (1) Personality gives the charm of + individuality 58 + + (2) Personality suggests the character + of the writer 58 + + 3) Principles controlling the elements + of form, principles of composition 58 + + a) The principle of sincerity 58 + + (1) Sincerity demands a just expression 58 + + b) The principle of unity 59 + + (1) Unity demands a central idea 59 + + (2) Unity demands completeness 59 + + (3) Unity demands no irrelevant material 59 + + (4) Unity demands method, sequence + and climax 59 + + c) The principle of mass 59 + + (1) Mass demands that the chief parts + readily catch the eye 59 + + (2) Mass demands harmonious proportion + of parts 59 + + d) The principle of coherence 59 + + (1) Coherence demands unmistakable + relation of parts 59 + + (2) Coherence demands this unmistakable + relation be preserved by the + order, forms and connections 59 + + 4) Form characterized by perfect adaptation + of words to thought and feeling is called + style 59 + + a) Style demands that form possess the + four general qualities of form in + perfection: precision, energy, delicacy, + and personality 59 + + b) Style demands that form have its + elements controlled by the four general + principles: sincerity, unity, mass, and + coherence 59 + + c) _Oeyvind and Marit_, a modern tale + illustrating style 60 + + d) _Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, a folk-tale + illustrating style 64 + + e) The folk-tale generally considered as to + literary form 65 + + f) The tale by Grimm, Perrault, Dasent, + Harris, Jacobs, Lang, and Andersen + considered as to literary form 67 + + g) The tale of to-day considered as to + literary form 69 + + III. The fairy tale as a short-story 70 + + 1. Characters 71 + + a. Characters must be unique, original, and + striking 72 + + b. Characters of the fairy tales 72 + + 2. Plot 73 + + a. Plot must be entertaining, comical, novel, or + thrilling 73 + + b. Plot must show a beginning, a middle, and + an end 73 + + c. Plot must have a distinct climax 74 + + d. Introduction must be simple 74 + + e. Conclusion must show poetic justice 74 + + f. Plot must be good narration and description 74 + + 1) Narration must have truth, interest, and + consistency 74 + + 2) Description must have aptness and + concreteness 75 + + g. Structure illustrated by _Three Pigs_ and + _Briar Rose_ 76 + + 3. Setting 77 + + a. Setting must give the time and place, the + background of the tale 77 + + b. Setting must arouse sensation and feeling 77 + + c. Effect of transformation of setting 77 + + 1) Story sequence preserved by setting + illustrated by _Robin's Christmas Song_ 78 + + d. Setting and phonics, illustrated. _The + Spider and the Flea_ 79 + + e. Setting illustrated. _Chanticleer and + Partlet_ 81 + + 4. A blending of characters, plot, and setting + illustrated by _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ 82 + + 5. Tests to be applied to fairy tales 84 + + 6. Tales examined and tested by the complete test + of interests, classic, literature, short-story, + narration, and description 84 + + a. _How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went to + Dinner_ (Indian) 84 + + b. The Straw Ox (Cossack) 86 + + IV. References 87 + + +III. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES + + Story-telling as an Art. Introductory 90 + + 1. Story-telling as an ancient art 90 + + 2. The place of the story in the home, library, and + the school 93 + + 3. Principles of story-telling 94 + + I. The teacher's preparation. Rules 94 + + 1. Select the tale for some purpose 94 + + a. The teacher's problem of selecting the tale + psychologically or logically 95 + + 2. Know the tale historically as folk-lore, as + literature, and as a short-story 96 + + a. The various motives contained in the fairy + tales listed 97 + + 3. Master the structure of the tale 99 + + 4. Dwell upon the life of the story 99 + + 5. Secure the message 100 + + 6. Master the form 100 + + II. The presentation of the tale 102 + + 1. Training of the voice 103 + + a. Study of phonetics 103 + + 2. Exercises in breathing 104 + + 3. A knowledge of gesture 105 + + a. Gesture precedes speech 106 + + b. Gesture begins in the face 106 + + c. Hands and arms lie close to the body in + controlled emotion 106 + + 4. A power of personality 106 + + 5. Suggestions for telling 107 + + a. The establishment of the personal relation + between the teacher and the listener 108 + + b. The placing of the story in a concrete + situation for the child 110 + + c. The consideration of the child's aim in + listening, by the teacher in her preparation 112 + + 6. The telling of the tale 112 + + a. The re-creative method of story-telling. + Illustrated by a criticism of the telling of + _The Princess and the Pea_ 114 + + b. The re-creative method illustrated by _The + Foolish, Timid Rabbit_ 116 + + 7. Adaptation of the fairy tale. Illustrated by + _Thumbelina_ and by _The Snow Man_ 118 + + III. The return from the child 119 + + Story-telling as one phase of the art of teaching. + Introductory 119 + + 1. Teaching as good art and as great art; and + fairy tales as subject-matter suited to + accomplish high purposes in teaching 120 + + 2. The part the child has to play in story-telling 121 + + 3. The child's return, the expression of his + natural instincts or general interests 125 + + 1. The instinct of conversation 125 + + a. Language expression, oral re-telling 125 + + b. The formation of original little stories 126 + + c. Reading of the tale a form of creative + reaction 127 + + 2. The instinct of inquiry 127 + + a. Appeal of the folk-tale to this instinct 128 + + b. The instinct of inquiry united to the instinct + of conversation, of construction, and of + artistic expression, illustrated 128 + + 3. The instinct of construction 129 + + a. Clay-modelling 129 + + b. Construction of objects 129 + + 4. The instinct of artistic expression 130 + + a. Cutting of free silhouette pictures. + Illustrated 130 + + b. Drawing and crayon-sketching. Illustrated 132 + + c. Painting. Illustrated 132 + + d. Song. Illustrated 133 + + e. Dance, rhythm plays. Illustrated 134 + + f. Game. Illustrated 135 + + g. Representation of the fairy tale. Illustrated + by _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ 135 + + h. Free play and dramatization 138 + + 1) Virtues of dramatization 138 + + a) It develops voice 138 + + b) It gives grace of movement 138 + + c) It develops control and poise 138 + + d) It strengthens attention and power of + visualization 138 + + e) It combines intellectual, emotional, + artistic, and physical action 138 + + f) It impresses many pieces of literature + effectively 138 + + g) It is the true Direct Moral Method and + may establish a habit 143 + + 2) Dangers of dramatization 139 + + a) Dramatization often is in very poor + form 139 + + b) Dramatization may develop boldness + in a child 141 + + c) Dramatization may spoil some + literature 142 + + d) Dramatization has lacked sequence in + tales used from year to year 142 + + i. Illustrations of creative return 144 + + 1) _The Country Mouse and the City Mouse_ as + expression in language, dramatization, + drawing, and crayon-sketching 144 + + 2) _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ as + expression in the dramatic game 145 + + 3) _Little Two-Eyes_ as expression in + dramatization. A fairy-play outline. + (See _Appendix_) 145 + + 4) _Snow White_ as expression in + dramatization. (See _Appendix_) 145 + + 5) _Sleeping Beauty_ as expression of partial + narration, dramatic game, and + dramatization combined 146 + + 6) _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_, an + original tale developed from a Grimm + fragmentary tale, illustrating expression + in folk-game and dramatization. (See + _Appendix_) 147 + + 7) _The Bird and the Trees_, an original play + illustrating expression in rhythm play and + dramatization 149 + + 8) _How the Birds came to Have Different + Nests_, an original play illustrating + language expression and dramatization. + (See _Appendix_) 151 + + 9) Andersen's _Fir Tree_ as expression in + dramatization, illustrating organization + of ideas through a play 152 + + IV. References 154 + + + IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES + + I. The origin of fairy tales 158 + + 1. The fairy tale defined 159 + + 2. The derivation and history of the name, _fairy_ 159 + + a. Four senses in which _fairy_ has been used 160 + + 3. The theories concerning the origin of fairy + tales 161 + + a. Fairy tales are detritus of myth 161 + + 1) The evolution of the tale 161 + + b. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Rain, Dawn, + Thunder, etc., the Aryan Theory 162 + + c. Fairy tales all arose in India, the + Philological theory 165 + + d. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity + of early fancy 167 + + e. Fairy tales owe their origin to a combination + of all these theories 167 + + II. The transmission of fairy tales 167 + + 1. The oral transmission of fairy tales 167 + + a. Examples of transmission of fairy tales: _Jack + the Giant-Killer_, _Dick Whittington_, etc. 168 + + 2. Literary transmission of fairy tales 170 + + a. An enumeration of the literary collections and + books that have handed down the tales; as + _Reynard the Fox_, the _Persian King-book, The + Thousand and One Nights_, Straparola's + _Nights_, Basile's _Pentamerone_, and Perrault's + _Tales of Mother Goose_ 170 + + b. French publications of fairy tales 179 + + 1) The tales of Perrault 179 + + 2) Tales by followers of Perrault 181 + + 3) A list of tales from the time of Perrault to + the present time 183 + + c. English and Celtic publications of fairy tales 183 + + 1) Tales of Scotland and Ireland 184 + + 2) English tales and books 184 + + 3) A list illustrating the history of the English + fairy tale, including chap-books: _Jack the + Giant-Killer_, _Tom Hickathrift_; + old collections; etc. 184 + + 4) A list illustrating the development of + fairy-tale illustration in England 188 + + d. German publications of fairy tales 192 + + 1) A list of tales from the time of the Grimms + to the present 193 + + e. Fairy-tale publications of other nations 193 + + f. American publications of fairy tales 195 + + 1) A list of tales from the earliest times to + 1870 196 + + g. Recent collections of folk-lore 200 + + III. References 201 + + + V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES + + I. Available types of tales 204 + + 1. The accumulative or clock story 205 + + a. Tales of simple repetition 206 + + 1) The House that Jack Built 206 + + 2) The Key of the Kingdom 207 + + b. Tales of repetition with an addition 208 + + 1) The Old Woman and Her Pig 208 + + 2) Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse 208 + + 3) Johnny Cake 209 + + 4) The Gingerbread Man 209 + + 5) The Straw Ox 209 + + c. Tales of repetition and variation 209 + + 1) The Three Bears 209 + + 2) The Three Billy Goats 211 + + 2. The animal tale 211 + + a. The evolution of the animal tale 211 + + b. The animal tale may be an old beast tale 211 + + 1) Henny Penny 213 + + 2) The Foolish Timid Rabbit 214 + + 3) The Sheep and the Pig 215 + + 4) Medio Pollito 215 + + 5) The Three Pigs 216 + + c. The animal tale may be an elaborated fable, + illustrated 211 + + d. The animal tale may be an imaginary creation, + illustrated 211 + + e. The Good-Natured Bear, a modern type. (See + _Appendix_) 217 + + 3. The humorous tale 217 + + a. The humorous element for children 218 + + b. The Musicians of Bremen, a humorous type 219 + + c. Humorous tales mentioned previously 221 + + d. Drakesbill, a humorous type 221 + + 4. The realistic tale 223 + + a. Lazy Jack, a realistic type of common life 224 + + b. The Old Woman and Her Pig, a realistic type 225 + + c. How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, a realistic + tale of scientific interest 226 + + d. Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, a realistic + theme transformed into a romantic tale 227 + + 5. The romantic tale 228 + + a. Cinderella 228 + + b. Sleeping Beauty 231 + + c. Red Riding Hood 232 + + d. Puss-in-Boots. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 1) The Norse Lord Peter (See _Appendix_) 232 + + e. Tom Thumb, a romantic tale of fancy. (See + _Appendix_) 232 + + 1) The French Little Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 2) The English Tom Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + f. Snow White and Rose Red, a highly idealized + romantic type tested by the standards + included here. (See _Appendix_) 232 + + 6. The old tale and the modern tale 234 + + a. The modern tale often lacks the great art + qualities of the old tale, unity and harmony, + sincerity and simplicity 235 + + b. The modern tale often fails to use the + method of suggestion 235 + + c. The modern tale often does not stand the + test of literature 235 + + d. The modern tale gives richly to the primary + and elementary field 235 + + e. Criticism of a few modern tales 236 + + 1) Little Beta and the Lame Giant, a good + modern tale 236 + + 2) The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red + Hen, a good modern tale 238 + + 3) Peter Rabbit, a classic; other animal + tales 239 + + 4) The Elephant's Child, a modern animal + tale. (See _Appendix_) 239 + + 5) A Quick-Running Squash, a good modern + tale 240 + + 6) A few St. Nicholas fairy stories 241 + + 7) The Hop-About-Man, a romantic modern + fairy tale 241 + + f. What the modern fairy tale is 243 + + VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST OF FAIRY TALES, + FOLK-TALES, PICTURES, PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS. + + Basis on which lists are made. Introductory 245 + + I. A list of fairy tales and folk-tales suited to the + kindergarten and first grade 246 + + 1. Tales of Perrault 246 + + 2. Tales of the Grimms 246 + + 3. Norse tales 247 + + 4. English tales, by Jacobs 247 + + 5. Modern fairy tales, by Andersen 248 + + 6. Uncle Remus tales, by Harris 248 + + 7. Miscellaneous tales 249 + + II. Bibliography of fairy tales 253 + + III. A list of picture-books 254 + + IV. A list of pictures 255 + + V. A list of fairy poems 256 + + VI. Main standard fairy-tale books 256 + + VII. Fairy tales of all nations 258 + + VIII. Miscellaneous editions of fairy tales 259 + + IX. School editions of fairy tales 262 + +APPENDIX + + Illustrations of creative return 265 + + Tales suited for dramatization 265 + + Little Two-Eyes 265 + + Snow White 266 + + The Little Lamb and the Little Fish 267 + + How the Birds came to Have Different Nests 270 + + Types of tales 272 + + An animal tale 272 + + The Good-Natured Bear 272 + + A few romantic tales 275 + + Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter 275 + + Tom Thumb and Little Thumb 278 + + Snow White and Rose Red 282 + + A modern tale 287 + + The Elephant's Child 287 + +NOTES: + + +[1: McLoughlin edition.] + +[2: What if we could give the child that which is called education + through his voluntary activities, and have him always as eager as + he is at play! (_Froebel_.) + + What if we could let the child be free and happy, and yet bring + to him those things which he ought to have so that he will choose + them freely! + + What would be the possibilities for a future race if we would + give the child mind a chance to come out and express itself, if + we would remove adult repression, offer a stimulus, and closely + watch the product, untouched by adult skill. (_Unknown_.) + + The means by which the higher selective interest is aroused, is + the exercise of selected forms of activity. (_Susan Blow_.)] + +[3: _Little Two-Eyes_ and _Snow White_ are tales also suited to the + first grade for dramatization. See _Appendix_.] + +[4: A similar tale is told by Miss Holbrook in _The Book of Nature + Myths_. Also by Mary McDowell as "The Three Little Christmas + Trees." A simple version of this tale, "The Three Little + Christmas Trees that Grew on the Hill," is given in _The + Story-Teller's Book_ by Alice O'Grady and Frances Throop.] + +[5: Joseph Jacobs, in his Introduction to the Cranford edition, and + Ashton, in _Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century_, furnish most + of the facts mentioned here.] + +[6: This list has been compiled largely from "Children's Books and + Their Illustrators," by Gleeson White, in _The International + Studio_. Special Winter Number, 1897-98.] + +[7: The following list, compiled by Mr. H.H.B. Meyer, the chief + bibliographer of the Library of Congress, has been furnished + through the courtesy of the United States Bureau of Education. A + few additional books were inserted by the author. The books at + the head of the list give information on the subject.] + +[8: _The Woman and Her Kid_, a version of this tale adapted from an + ancient Jewish Sacred Book, is given in _Boston Kindergarten + Stories_, p. 171.] + +[9: See Appendix.] + +[10: William M. Thackeray, _Miscellanies_, v. Boston: James Osgood + & Co., 1873. "Titmarsh among Pictures and Books"; "On Some + Illustrated Christmas Books," 1846.] + +[11: A few romantic tales for the first grade are treated in the + Appendix: _Puss-in-Boots_, _Lord Peter_, _Tom Thumb_, _Little + Thumb_, and _Snow White and Rose Red_.] + +[12: See _Appendix_.] + +[13: Laura F. Kready, "Picture-Books for Little Children," + _Kindergarten Review_, Sept., 1914.] + +[14: For _Little Two-Eyes_ and _Snow White, see_ note on p. 145; for + _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish, see_ pp. 147-48; and for + _How the Birds came to have Different Nests, see_ p. 151.] + +[15: _See_ note, p. 217.] + +[16: _See_ note, p. 232] + +[17: Reprinted in _Living Age_, Aug. 13, 1844, vol. 2, p. 1.] + +[18: _See_ p. 239] + + + +INDEX + +Accumulative or clock story, 205-11. + +Action, 20-21. + +Adaptation of fairy tales, 117-19. + +Adventure, 19-20. + +Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet, 81-82. + +American fairy tales, 195-99. + +Andersen, Hans C.: + tales by, tested as literary form, 69; + Steadfast Tin Soldier, 46, 49, 135-38; + Fir Tree, 151-53; + list of tales by, 248; + editions, 256-57. + +Animal tale: + class, 211-17; + evolution of, 211-13; + types of, 213-17, 272-75, 287-90. + +Animals: + an interest, 24; + tale of strange, 33-34. + +Appendix, 265-90: + Little Two-Eyes, 265-66; + Snow White, 266-67; + The Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 267-70; + How the Birds came to Have Different Nests, 270-72; + The Good-Natured Bear, 272-75; + Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter, 275-78; + Tom Thumb and Little Thumb, 278-82; + Snow White and Rose Red, 282-86; + The Elephant's Child, 287-90. + +Arabian Nights, Thousand and One Nights, 176-78, 190, 196. + +Art: + of teaching, 119-20; + in teaching, good, 120; + in teaching, great, 120-21; + in literature, good, 39-40; + in literature, fine, 39-40; + of story-telling, 90-91, 93-94; + ancient, of story-telling, 91-93. + +Artistic expression, instinct of, 130-54. + +Aulnoy, Comtesse d', tales of, 181-82. + +Basile, 178-79. + +Beaumont, Madam de, 182. + +Beautiful, the, 18-19. + +Beauty and the Beast, + dramatization of, 140-41; + editions of, 189, 198. + +Bibliography of fairy tales, 253-54. + +Bird and the Trees, 148-51. + +Books, main standard fairy tale, a list, 256-58. _See_ Sources of +material. + +Breathing, exercises in, 104-05. + +Briar Rose, 77. _See also_ Sleeping Beauty. + +Capture, tales of, 34-35. + +Celtic fairy tales, 183-84. + +Chap-books, 185-87, 188, 196, 198. + +Characters, 71-73. + +Child: + his part in story-telling, 121-25; + interests, 13-37; + instincts, 125-54; + growth: + in observation, 6, 47-48; + in reason, 6-7, 53-54; + in language, 10; + in emotion, 44-45; + in imagination, 45-53; + in experience, 54; + in intellect, 53-54; + in self-activity, 121-22; + in consciousness, 122-23; + in initiative, 122; + in purpose, 123-25; + in creative return possible to him, 123-54; + in self-expression, 124-54; + in organization of ideas, 153. + +Child's Own Book, The, 190. + +Cinderella, + a chap-book, 187,188, 198; + a romantic type, 228-31. + +Classes of tales, 204-44: + accumulative, 205-11; + animal, 211-17; + humorous, 217-23; + realistic, 223-28; + romantic, 228-34; + old and modern, compared, 234-43; + references, 243-44. + +Classic, fairy tale as a, 38-39. + +Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen, 238-39. + +Coherence, + principle of, 58-59; + illustrated, 62, 65. + +Complicated or insincere, the, 36. + +Composition: + general qualities of, 57-58; + precision, 57; + energy, 57-58; + delicacy, 58; + personality, 58; + principles of, 58-59; + sincerity, 58-59; + unity, 59; + mass, 59; + coherence, 59; + style in, 59-60. + +Comte de Caylus, 182. + +Concrete situation, placing of story in, 94-95, 110-11. + +Connotation, 54-57. + +Consciousness, development of, 122-23. + +Construction, expression of instinct of, 129-30. + +Conversation, expression of instinct of, 125-27. + +Country Mouse and City Mouse, 144-45. + +Crayon-sketching, as expression, 132. + +Creative return, illustrated, 144-54. _See_ Return. + +Criticism: + of life, teaching, a, 120-21; + of Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64; + of Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65; + of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner, 84-86; + of Straw Ox, 86-87; + of Steadfast Tin Soldier, 135-38; + of Musicians of Bremen, 219-20; + of Drakesbill, 221-23; + of Puss-in-Boots and Norse Lord Peter, 275-78; + of Tom Thumb and Little Thumb, 278-82; + of Snow White and Rose Red, 282-86; + and of Elephant's Child, 287-90. + +Danish tales, 194. + +Dasent, Sir George W., + tales by, as literary form, 68-69; + Norse tales by, 194, 247, 257. + +Delicacy, + or emotional harmony, quality of, 57-58; + illustrated, 60, 61, 64. + +Denotation, 54. + +Description, 75. + +Dick Whittington, + illustrating oral transmission of tales, 169; + a chap-book, 185, 188, 196, 198. + +Diminutive, the, 25-26. + +Dragon tales, 31. + +Drakesbill, 221-23. + +Dramatic game: Elves and the Shoemaker, 145; Sleeping Beauty, 146-47. + +Dramatization, + as expression, 138-54; + virtues of, 138, 143; + dangers of, 139-43; + of Sleeping Beauty, 146-47; + of Bird and the Trees, 149-51; + of Fir Tree, 152-53; + of Little Two Eyes, 265-66; + of Snow White, 266-67; + of How the Birds came to have Different Nests, 270-72; + and of Puss-in-Boots, 276. + +Drawing, as expression, 132. + +Dwarf's Tailor, 237. + +Editions, + main fairy tale, 256-58; + fairy tale, of all nations, 258-59; + illustrated, 254-55; + miscellaneous, of fairy tales, 259-62; + school, of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Elements to be avoided, 30-36. + +Elephant's Child, illustrating: + repetition, 27-28; + suggestion, 56-57; + form, 100-01; + modern animal tale, 239, 287-90. + +Elves and the Shoemaker, + illustrating: structure and short-story, 82-84; + story, 82-84; creative return, 145. + +Emelyan the Fool, 170. + +Emotion, + appeal to, distinguishing literary trait, 40-41; + qualities of literary, 41; + literary, in fairy tales, 41-44; + growth of, 44-45; + comparison of, in fairy tales and Shakespeare's dramas, 7, 43-44. + +Energy or force, quality of, 57-58; + illustrated, 61, 64. + +English fairy tales, 184-92; + collections of, 184-88; + illustrating development of illustration, 188-92; + by Jacobs, list, 247-48; + editions, 257. + +Expression in: + language, 125-27; + reading, 127; + inquiry, 127-29; + construction, 129-30; + art, 130-54; + paper-cutting, 130-31; + drawing, 132; + painting, 132; + rhythm play, 133-34; + song, 132-33; + game, 134-35; + representation, 135-38; + dramatization, 138-54, 265-72. + +Fairy, + derivation of, 159-60; + history of the name, 160. + +Fairy tales: worth of, 1-12; + principles of selection for, 13-89; + telling of, 90-157; + history of, 158-203; + classes of, 204-44; + sources of material for, 245-64; + tributes to, 1-3; + interests in, 13-37; + as literature, 37-70; + as classics, 38-39; + possessing mind and soul, 39-40; + distinguished by marks of literature, 40; + as emotion, 41-45; + as imagination, 45-53; + philosophy in, 48-52; + proverbs in, 50; + as truth, 53-54; + as form, 54-70; + powers of words in, 54-57; + general qualities of form in, 57-58; + general principles controlling form in, 58-59; + style in, defined, 59-60; + tested as literary form, 60-70; + as a form of short-story, 70-87; + characters, 71-73; + plot, 73-77; + narration, 74-75; + description, 75; + structure, 76-77; + setting, 77-82; + three elements blended, 82-84; + tested by complete standards, 84-87; + teacher's preparation for telling, 94-102; + presentation of, by teacher, 102-19; + return of child from, 119-54; + rules for preparation of, 94-102; + selection of, 95-96; + motifs in, 96-98; + re-telling of, 101-02; + training of voice in telling, 103-04; + breathing in telling, 104-05; + gesture in telling, 105-06; + power of personality, in telling, 106-07; + suggestions for telling, 107-12; + establishment of personal relation in telling, 107-10; + placing of, in a concrete situation, 110-11; + conception of child's aim in listening to, 112; + re-creative method of telling, 112-17; + adaptation of, 117-19; + art of teaching, in telling, 119-25; + as expression of conversation, 125-27; + as expression of inquiry, 127-29; + as expression of construction, 129-30; + as expression of art, 130-54; + origin of, 158-67; + transmission of, 167-200; + French, 179-83; + Celtic, 183-84; + English, 184-92; + German, 192-93; + tales of other nations, 193-95; + American, 195-99; + collections of folklore, 200; + accumulative, 205-11; + animal, 211-17; + humorous, 217-23; + realistic, 223-28; + romantic, 228-34, 275-86; + old and modern, 234-43; + of Perrault, 246; + of the Grimms, 246-47; + Norse, 247; + English, by Jacobs, 247-48; + modern, by Andersen, 248; + Uncle Remus, by Harris, 248-49; + miscellaneous, 249-53; + bibliography of, 253-54; + in picture-books, 254-55; + in pictures, 255; + in poems, 255-56; + in standard books, 256-58; + of all nations, 258-59; + in miscellaneous editions, 259-62; + in school editions, 262-64; + in Appendix, 265-90. + +Familiar, the, 14-15. + +Fancy, 46, 47. + +Fir Tree, 151-53. + +First-grade fairy tales, 231-34, 265-86. + +Folk-game, illustrated by Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 147-48, + 267-70. + +Folk-tales, + generally, as literary form, 65-67; + tested as literary form, 60-70; + characters of, compared with those of Shakespeare, 7, 43-44; + recent collections of, 200. + +Foolish, Timid Rabbit, + illustrating method in story-telling, 116-17; + an animal type, 214. + +Form, + a distinguishing literary trait, 40, 54; + perfect, 57-60; + general qualities of, 57-58; + precision, a quality, 57; + energy, a quality, 57-58; + delicacy, a quality, 58; + personality, a quality, 58; + principles controlling, 58-60: + sincerity, 58-59; + unity, 59; + mass, 59; + coherence, 59; + style in, 59-60; + illustrated: by Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64; + by Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65; + folk-tales as literary, 65-70; + mastery of tale as, 100-02. + +French fairy tales, 179-83. + +Game, as expression, 134-35. + +Gardens of the Tuileries, 1. + +German fairy tales, 192-93. + +Gesta Romanorum, 174-75. + +Gesture, + knowledge of, 105-06; + library pamphlet relating to, 106. + +Giant tales, 31-32. + +Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold, 237-38. + +Good-Natured Bear, + a modern animal type, 217, 272-75; + a book, 190. + +Grimm, William and Jacob, 67-68; + list of tales by, 246-47; + editions by, 257; + tales by, as literary form, 67. + +Harris, J.C., + list of Uncle Remus tales by, 248-49; + tales by, as literary form, 69; + editions by, 257. + +Henny Penny, 214. + +History of fairy tales, 158-203; + origin of fairy tales, 158-67; + transmission of fairytales, 167-200; + oral transmission, 167-70; + literary transmission, 170-200; + references, 201-03. + +Hop-About-Man, 241-43. + +House that Jack Built, 206-07. + +How the Birds came to Have Different Nests, 151; 270-72. + +How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner, 84-86. + +How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, 226. + +Humor in fairy tales: an interest, 21-22; 217-19. + +Humorous tales, 217-23; types of, 219-23. + +Imagination, + a distinguishing literary mark of fairy tales, 40, 45-53; + creative, 45; + associative, 46; + penetrative, 47; + contemplative, 47-53; + fancy, 46, 47; + exhibited in child's return, 122, 125-54. + +Imaginative, the, 23. + +Initiative, development of, 122, 123-25. + +Instincts of child, expression of: + conversation, 125-27; + inquiry, 127-29; + construction, 129-30; + artistic expression, 130-54. + +Intellect, appeal of fairy tales to, 53-54. + +Interests of children, 13-37; + sense of life, 14; + the familiar, 14-15; + surprise, 15-17; + sense impression, 17-18; + the beautiful, 18-19; + wonder, mystery, magic, 19; + adventure, 19-20; + success, 20; + action, 20-21; + humor, 21-22; + poetic justice, 22-23; + the imaginative, 23; + animals, 24; + portrayal of human relations, 24-25; + the diminutive, 25-26; + rhythm and repetition, 26-28; + the simple and the sincere, 28-29; + unity of effect, 29-30; + opposed to, 30-36; + witch tales, 31; + dragon tales, 31; + giant tales, 31-32; + some tales of transformation, 32-33; + tales of strange creatures, 33-34; + unhappy tales, 34; + tales of capture, 34-35; + very long tales, 35-36; + complicated or insincere tales, 36. + +Introduction, i-iii. + +Inquiry, instinct of, 127-29. + +Jack the Giant-Killer, 185, 186, 188, 190. + +Jacobs, Joseph, + list of tales by, 247-48; + tales by, as literary form, 69; + editions by, 257. + +Jatakas, 170. + +Key of the Kingdom, 207-08. + +Kindergarten: + play in, 5-6; + work in, unified by the fairy tale, 8-9; + language-training in, 10-11; + interests of child in, 13-37; + standards for literature in, 37-87; + standards for composition in, 54-60; + story-telling in, 94-119; + return to be expected from child in, 119-54; + standards of teaching for teacher in, 119-25; + instincts of child in, 125-54; + history of fairy tales to be used in, 158-203; + classes of tales used in, 204-44; + sources of material for fairy tales to be used in, 245-64. + +King-book, Persian, The, 175-76. + +Lang, Andrew, tales by, as literary form, 69. + +Lambikin, 21. + +Language, expression in, 125-27. + +Lazy Jack, 224-25. + +Life, + a sense of, 14; + criticism of, 120-21; + fairy tale a counterpart to, 8-9. + +Lists: of tales, 246-53; _See_ Sources of material. + +Literature, + mind and soul in, 39-40; + qualities of, 40; + fairy tale as, 37-87. + +Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 147-48, 267-70. + +Little Two-Eyes, 145, 265-66. + +Little Thumb, + editions, 189; + tale, 232, 281-82. + +Literary collections of tales, 170-200. + +Logical method of selecting tales, 95-96. + +Long tales, opposed to child's interests, 35-36. + +Lord Peter, 232, 277. + +Magpie's Nest, 151, 270-72. + +Maerchen Brunnen or Fairy-tale Fountain, 2-3. + +Mass, + principle of, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 61-62; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 65. + +Medio Pollito, 215-16. + +Memory, development of, 226. + +Message, of the tale, 100; of this book. _See_ Summaries. + +Method of story-telling, + the recreative, 113-17; + criticism of, 114-16; + illustration of, 116-17; + direct moral, 143. + +Mind, in literature, 40. + +Miscellaneous, + tales, a list, 249-53; + editions, 259-62. + +Modern tale, + compared with old tale, 234-43; + types of, 235-43; + what it is, 243; + tales, by Andersen, 28-29, 234, 248, 256-57. + +Motifs in folk-tales, classified, 97-98. + +Mother Goose, + tales of, 179-81; + her Melodies, 187, 195, 197, 198. + +Musicians of Bremen, 130-31, 219-20. + +Narration, + in fairy tales, 74-75; + illustrated by Sleeping Beauty, 146-47. + +Norse tales, 194; a list of, 247; editions, 257. + +Objectification in fairy tales, 135-38. + +Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64. + +Old Woman and Her Pig, + accumulative type, 207, 208; + realistic type, 225-26; + an exercise of memory, 226. + +Organization of ideas, + accomplished through Fir Tree, 152-53; + social, of tale, 153-54. + +Origin of fairy tales, 158-67. + +Outline, 291-303. + +Paper-cutting, 130-31. + +Painting, as expression, 132. + +Panchatantra, the Five Books, 171. + +Pause, in story-telling, 104-05. + +Pentamerone, The, 178-79. + +Perrault, Charles, + statue of, 1; + list of tales by, 180; + tales by, tested as literary form, 68; + editions by, 257-58. + +Personality, + quality of, 57-58; + in Oeyvind and Marit, 60; + in Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64; + power of, 106-07. + +Personal relation, establishment of, 107-10. + +Peter Rabbit, 239. + +Philosophy, + in fairy tales, 48-52; + of Uncle Remus Tales, 51-52; + of Laboulaye's Tales, 51; + of Cat and Mouse in Partnership, 48; + of Emperor's New Suit, 48-49; + of Ugly Duckling, 49-50; + of Elephant's Child, 49; + child's, 50-51. + +Phonics in fairy tales, 79-81. + +Pictures, list, 255. + +Picture-Books, list, 254-55. + +Plot, + element of fairy tale as short-story, 73-77; + structure illustrated, 76-77. + +Poems, fairy, list, 255-56. + +Poetic justice, 22-23. + +Poetry, of teaching, 120. + +Portrayal of human relations, especially with children, 24-25. + +Position, of story-teller, 107. + +Precision, + quality of, 57; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 60; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64. + +Preparation, teacher's, + in story-telling, 94-102; + rules for telling, 94-102. + +Presentation, teacher's, + of tale, 102-19; + training of voice, 103-04; + exercises in breathing, 104-05; + gesture, 105-06; + power of personality, 106-07; + suggestions for telling, 107-12; + establishment of personal relation, 108-10; + placing of story in concrete situation, 94-95, 110-11; + conception of child's aim, 112; + telling of tale, 112-19; + re-creative method of story-telling, 113-17; + adaptation of fairy tales, 117-19. + +Princess and Pea, 114-16. + +Principles, + of selection for fairy tales, 13-89; + interests of children, 13-37; + fairy tale as literature, 37-70; + fairy tale as short-story, 70-87; + references, 87-89. + +Principles, + of composition, 58-60; + of story-telling, 94; + of teaching, 119-25; + concerning instincts of children, 124-25. + +Problem, a means of developing consciousness, 122-25. + +Proverbs in fairy tales, 50. + +Purpose, growth in child's, 123-25. + +Puss-in-Boots, 232, 275-78. + +Psychological method of selecting tales, 95-96. + +Quick-Running Squash, 240. + +Realistic, tale, 223-28; types of, 224-28. + +Reading, as expression, 127; relation of, to literature, 10-11, 127. + +Reason, growth in, 6-7, 10; development of, 53-54. + +Re-creative method of story-telling, 113-17. + +Red Riding Hood, chap-book, 189; a romantic type, 232-34. + +References; + chapter I, 12; + chapter II, 87-89; + chapter III, 154-57; + chapter IV, 201-03; + chapter V, 243-44. + +Relation, + of contemplative imagination to language-training, 47-48; + of contemplative imagination to power of observation, 47-48; + of contemplative imagination to science, 52-53; + of literature to intellect, 53-54; + of sound to sense or meaning, 55; + of sound to action, 55-56; + of phonics and emotional effect, 55; + of gesture to story-telling, 105-06; + personal, between the story-teller and listener, 107-10; + of reading to story-telling, 127; + of reading to literature, 10, 11, 38, 127; + of rhyme to meaning, 56; + of fairy tales to nature study, 6, 47-48; + of fairy tales to industrial education, 71-73; + of fairy tales to child, 3-11; + of dramatization to story-telling, 138-54; + of fairy tales to literature, 37-70; + of fairy tales to composition, 54-70; + of fairy tales to story-telling, 90-91. + +Repetition, 26-28, 205-11. + +Representation, 135-38. + +Re-telling of fairy tales, 101-02. + +Return, creative, from child, + in telling of fairy tales, 119-54: + in language, 125-27; + in inquiry, 127-29; + in construction, 129-30; + in artistic expression, 130-54; + in paper-cutting, 130-31; + in drawing, 132; + in painting, 132; + in song, 132-33; + in rhythm, 133-34; + in game, 134-35; + in dance, 137, 145, 147; + in dramatization, 138-54; + illustrated, 145-54, 265-72. + +Reynard the Fox, + place in the animal tale, 212; + history, 172-74; + chap-book, 185, 186, 190, 196. + +Rhyme, 56. + +Rhythm, in fairy tales, 26-28; + plays, 133-34. + +Robin's Christmas song, 78-79. + +Romantic tale, 228-34; types of, 228-34, 275-86. + +St. Nicholas, Stories retold from, 241. + +Sanskrit Tales, 171. + +School editions of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Science, relation of contemplative imagination to, 52-53. + +Sea Fairy and the Land Fairy, 236-37. + +Selection of fairy tales by teacher, psychological or logical, 95-96. + +Sense impression, 17-18. + +Setting, + element of fairy tale as short-story, 77-82; + sequence in, 78-79; + story told by, 81-82; + and phonics, 79-81. + +Sheep and Pig, 215. + +Short-story, + fairy tale as, 70-87: + elements of, 70-71; + ways of writing, 71; + characters, 71-73; + plot, 73-77; + narration in, 74-75; + description in, 75; + setting, 77-82; + elements of, blended, 82-84; + tales tested as, 84-87; + telling of, 90-154. + +Silhouette pictures, cutting of, 130-31. + +Simple and sincere, 28-29. + +Sincerity, principle of, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 60, 61; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65. + +Sindibad, The Book of, 172. + +Sleeping Beauty, + romantic type, 231-32; + uniting partial narration, dramatization, and dramatic game, 146-47. + +Snow White, 145, 266-67. + +Snow White and Rose Red, 232, 282-86. + +Song, as expression, 132-33. + +Soul, in literature, 39-40. + +Sources of material for fairy tales, 245-64: + list of fairy tales and folk-tales, 246-53; + bibliography of fairy tales, 253-54; + list of picture-books, 254-55; + list of pictures, 255; + list of fairy poems, 255-56; + main standard fairy-tale books, 256-58; + fairy tales of all nations, 258-59; + miscellaneous editions of fairy tales, 259-62; + school editions of fairy tales, 262-64. + +Sparrow and the Crow, as expression, 125-26. + +Spider and the Flea, 79-81. + +Standards, + for testing fairy tales, 84; + for selecting tales, 204-05; + for making lists, 245-46. _See_ Summaries. + +Standard fairy-tale books, a list, 256-58. + +Story, place of, + in home, library, and school, 93-94; + formation of original stories, 126-27. + +Story-telling, + an ancient art, 91-93; + principles governing, 94; + teacher's preparation for, 94-102; + rules for, 94-102; + presentation in, 102-119; + voice in, 103-04; + breathing in, 104-05; + gesture in, 105-06; + re-creative method of, 113-17; + return from child, in, 119-54; + child's part in, 121-25. + +Straparola, 178. + +Straparola's Nights, 178. + +Straw Ox, 86-87. + +Structure, illustrated, 76-77; + study of, in story-telling, 99-100. + +Study of tale as folk-lore and as literature, 96-99. + +Style, + defined, 59-60; + illustrated, 60-65; + qualities of, 59-60; + principles controlling, 59-60. + +Success, 20. + +Suggestion, + illustrated by Pope, 55; + by Andersen, 136; + by Kipling, 56-57; + through gesture and sound, 55; + through arrangement of words and speech-tunes of voice, 56-57. + +Summaries: giving message of book, 13, 37-38, 40, 70-71, 84, 158, + 204-05, 235. + +Surprise, 15-17. + +Swedish tales, 193. + +Tales: + of Mother Goose, 179-81; + of Perrault, 246; + of the Grimms, 246-47; + Norse, 247; + English, by Jacobs, 247-48; + modern fairy, by Andersen, 248; + Uncle Remus, 248-49; + miscellaneous, 249-53; + fairy, of all nations, 258-59; + literary collections of, 170-200. _See_ Fairy tales. + +Teaching, + story-telling, a part of the art of, 119-25; + poetry of, 120; + good art in, 120; + great art in, 120-21; + a criticism of life, 120-21. + +Telling, of fairy tales, 90-154; + art of story-telling, 90-94; + principles controlling, 94; + preparation by teacher for, 94-102; + presentation by teacher, in, 102-19; + suggestions for, 107-12; + return by child, from, 119-54; + re-creative method of, 113-17; + adaptation of tales for, 117-19; + references, 154-57. + +Theories of origin of fairy tales: + detritus of myth, 161-63; + sun-myth theory, 163-64; + common Indian heritage, 165-67; + identity of early fancy, 167. + +Three Bears, + illustrating surprise, 16-17; + a chap-book, 190; + accumulative, 209-11. + +Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65. + +Three Pigs, + illustrating structure, 76; + animal type, 216. + +Thumbelina, + illustrating adaptation, 118; + illustrating rhythm play, 134. + +Tin Soldier, + Steadfast, as emotion, 42; + tale of imagination, 46; + as representation, 135-38; + as a game, 135, 138. + +Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, 81, 208-09, 227-28. + +Tom Hickathrift, 185, 186, 187, 196. + +Tom Thumb, + chap-book tale, 185, 188, 190, 196; + romantic type, 278-81. + +Tone-color, in story-telling, 105. + +Training of voice, 103-04. + +Transformation, tales of, 32-33; kinds of, 276. + +Transmission, of tales: + oral, 167-170; + literary, 170; + illustrated by: Dog Gellert, 166; + Dick Whittington, 169; + Peruonto, 169-70. + +Tributes, two public, 1-3. + +Truth, basis of, in fairy tales, a distinguishing literary mark, 40, + 53-54. + +Tuileries, gardens of. _See_ Gardens. + +Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, 248-49; editions, 257. + +Unhappy tales, 34. + +Unity, + of effect, 29-30; + principle of composition, 58-59; + illustrated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 61; + Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 65. + +Value, + of fairy tales in education, 3-12, 119-25; + to give joy, 3-4; + to satisfy the play-spirit, 4-6; + to develop observation, 6; + to give habits of mind, 6-7; + to strengthen emotion, 6-7, 44-45; + to extend social relations, 7-8 + in home, library, and school, 8-9; + to give language-training, 10-11; + to develop imagination, 45-53; + to develop reason, 53-54; + to develop power of creative return, 119-54; + to develop self-activity, 121-22; + to develop consciousness, through problems, 122-23; + to develop initiative, 122; + to develop purpose, 123-25; + to develop self-expression, 124-54; + to strengthen originality, 127-29; + to develop organization of ideas, 153; + and to exercise memory, 226. + +Version, of tale, 101-02. + +Villeneuve, Madam, 182. + +Voice, training of, 103-04. + +Witch tales, 31. + +Wolf and the Seven Kids, + expression in painting, 132; + in song, 132-33. + +Words, + powers of, 54-55; + denotation, 54; + connotation, 54-55; + suggestion, 54-57. + +Wonder, mystery, magic, an interest, 19. + +Worth of fairy tales, 1-12: + two public tributes, 1-3; + value of fairy tales in education, 3-12; + references, 12. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES*** + + +******* This file should be named 13666.txt or 13666.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/6/6/13666 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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