diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/61340-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/61340-0.txt | 9458 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 9458 deletions
diff --git a/old/61340-0.txt b/old/61340-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4df4d90..0000000 --- a/old/61340-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9458 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Art of Story-Telling, by Marie L. Shedlock - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Art of Story-Telling - -Author: Marie L. Shedlock - -Commentator: Professor John Adams - -Release Date: February 8, 2020 [EBook #61340] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ART OF STORY-TELLING *** - - - - -Produced by MFR, Eleni Christofaki and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note. - -A list of the changes made can be found at the end of the book. -Formatting and special characters are indicated as follows: - - _italic_ - =bold= - - - - -THE ART OF STORY-TELLING - - - - - THE ART - OF STORY-TELLING - - BY MARIE L. SHEDLOCK - - WITH A PREFACE BY - PROFESSOR JOHN ADAMS - CHAIR OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON - - LONDON - JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. - 1915 - - - - -ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - PREFACE vii - - INTRODUCTION 1 - - Chapter I. THE DIFFICULTIES OF STORY-TELLING CONNECTED WITH LIBRARIES - AND CLUBS 6 - - ” II. THE ESSENTIALS OF STORY-TELLING 25 - - ” III. THE ARTIFICES OF STORY-TELLING 32 - - ” IV. ELEMENTS TO AVOID 42 - - ” V. ELEMENTS TO SEEK 61 - - ” VI. HOW TO OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN THE EFFECT 89 - - ” VII. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 117 - - ” VIII. LIST OF STORIES TOLD IN FULL 138 - - LIST OF TITLES OF INDIVIDUAL STORIES AND OF COLLECTIONS OF STORIES 210 - - INDEX 235 - - - - -PREFACE. - -By PROFESSOR JOHN ADAMS, - -_Chair of Education, University of London_. - - -THOSE who do not love schoolmasters tell us that the man who can do -something supremely well contents himself with doing it, while the man -who cannot do it very well must needs set about showing other people -how it should be done. The masters in any craft are prone to magnify -their gifts by maintaining that the poet--or the stove-pipe maker--is -born, not made. Teachers will accordingly be gratified to find in the -following pages the work of a lady who is at the same time a brilliant -executant and an admirable expositor. Miss Shedlock stands in the very -first rank of story-tellers. No one can claim with greater justice that -the gift of Scheherazade is hers by birthright. Yet she has recognised -that even the highest natural gifts may be well or ill manipulated: -that in short the poet, not to speak of the stove-pipe maker, must take -a little more trouble than to be merely born. - -It is well when the master of a craft begins to take thought and to -discover what underlies his method. It does not, of course, happen -that every master is able to analyse the processes that secure him -success in his art. For after all the expositor has to be born as well -as the executant; and it is perhaps one of the main causes of the -popularity of the born-not-made theory that so few people are born both -good artists and good expositors. Miss Shedlock has had this rare -good fortune, as all those who have both read her book and heard her -exemplify her principles on the platform will readily admit. - -Let no one who lacks the gift of story-telling hope that the following -pages will confer it. Like Comenius and like the schoolmaster in -Shakespeare, Miss Shedlock is entitled to claim a certain capacity or -ingenuity in her pupils, before she can promise effective help. But -on the other hand let no successful story-teller form the impression -that he has nothing to learn from the exposition here given. The best -craftsmen are those who are not only most able but most willing to -learn from a fellow master. The most inexperienced story-teller who has -the love of the art in his soul will gather a full harvest from Miss -Shedlock's teaching, while the most experienced and skilful will not go -empty away. - -The reader will discover that the authoress is first and last an -artist. “Dramatic joy” is put in the forefront when she is enumerating -the aims of the story-teller. But her innate gifts as a teacher will -not be suppressed. She objects to “didactic emphasis” and yet cannot -say too much in favour of the moral effect that may be produced by the -use of the story. She raises here the whole problem of direct _versus_ -indirect moral instruction, and decides in no uncertain sound in -favour of the indirect form. There is a great deal to be said on the -other side, but this is not the place to say it. On the wide question -Miss Shedlock has on her side the great body of public opinion among -professional teachers. The orthodox master proclaims that he is, of -course, a moral instructor, but adds that in the schoolroom the less -_said_ about the matter the better. Like the authoress, the orthodox -teacher has much greater faith in example than in precept: so much -faith indeed that in many schools precept does not get the place it -deserves. But in the matter of story-telling the artistic element -introduces something that is not necessarily involved in ordinary -school work. For better or for worse modern opinion is against the -explicitly stated lesson to be drawn from any tale that is told. Most -people agree with Mark Twain's condemnation of “the moral that wags its -crippled tail at the end of most school-girls' essays.” - -The justification of the old-fashioned “moral” was not artistic but -didactic. It embodied the determination of the story-teller to see -that his pupils got the full benefit of the lesson involved. If the -moral is to be cut out, the story-teller must be sure that the lesson -is so clearly conveyed in the text that any further elaboration would -be felt as an impertinent addition. Whately assures us that men -prefer metaphors to similes because in the simile the point is baldly -stated, whereas in the metaphor the reader or hearer has to be his own -interpreter. All education is in the last resort self-education, and -Miss Shedlock sees to it that her stories compel her hearers to make -the application she desires. - -In two other points modern opinion is prepared to give our authoress -rein where our forefathers would have been inclined to restrain -her. The sense of humour has come to its proper place in our -schoolrooms--pupils' humour, be it understood, for there always was -scope enough claimed for the humour of the teacher. So with the -imagination. The time is past when this “mode of being conscious” was -looked at askance in school. Parents and teachers no longer speak -contemptuously about “the busy faculty,” and quote Genesis in its -condemnation. - -Miss Shedlock has been well advised to keep to her legitimate subject -instead of wandering afield in a Teutonic excursion into the realms of -folk-lore. What parents and teachers want is the story as here and now -existing and an account of how best to manipulate it. This want the -book now before us admirably meets. - - JOHN ADAMS. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -STORY-TELLING is almost the oldest Art in the world--the first -conscious form of literary communication. In the East it still -survives, and it is not an uncommon thing to see a crowd at a -street-corner held by the simple narration of a story. There are signs -in the West of a growing interest in this ancient art, and we may yet -live to see the renaissance of the troubadours and the minstrels whose -appeal will then rival that of the mob orator or itinerant politician. -One of the surest signs of a belief in the educational power of the -story is its introduction into the curriculum of the Training-College -and the classes of the Elementary and Secondary Schools. It is just at -the time when the imagination is most keen--the mind being unhampered -by accumulation of facts--that stories appeal most vividly and are -retained for all time. - -It is to be hoped that some day stories will only be told to school -groups by experts who have devoted special time and preparation -to the art of telling them. It is a great fallacy to suppose that -the systematic study of story-telling destroys the spontaneity of -narrative. After a long experience, I find the exact converse to be -true, namely, that it is only when one has overcome the mechanical -difficulties that one can “let oneself go” in the dramatic interest of -the story. - -By the expert story-teller I do not mean the professional elocutionist. -The name--wrongly enough--has become associated in the mind of the -public with persons who beat their breast, tear their hair, and -declaim blood-curdling episodes. A decade or more ago, the drawing-room -reciter was of this type, and was rapidly becoming the bugbear of -social gatherings. The difference between the stilted reciter and -the simple story-teller is perhaps best illustrated by an episode in -Hans C. Andersen's immortal story of the Nightingale.[1] The real -Nightingale and the artificial Nightingale have been bidden by the -Emperor to unite their forces and to sing a duet at a Court function. -The duet turns out most disastrously, and whilst the artificial -Nightingale is singing his one solo for the thirty-third time, the -real Nightingale flies out of the window back to the green wood--a -true artist, instinctively choosing his right atmosphere. But the -bandmaster--symbol of the pompous pedagogue--in trying to soothe -the outraged feelings of the courtiers, says, “Because, you see, -Ladies and Gentlemen, and, above all, Your Imperial Majesty, with the -real nightingale you never can tell what you will hear, but in the -artificial nightingale everything is decided beforehand. So it is, and -so it must remain. It cannot be otherwise.” - -And as in the case of the two nightingales, so it is with the stilted -reciter and the simple narrator: one is busy displaying the machinery, -showing “how the tunes go”--the other is anxious to conceal the art. -Simplicity should be the keynote of story-telling, but (and here the -comparison with the Nightingale breaks down) it is a simplicity which -comes after much training in self-control, and much hard work in -overcoming the difficulties which beset the presentation. - -I do not mean that there are not born story-tellers who _could_ hold -an audience without preparation, but they are so rare in number that -we can afford to neglect them in our general consideration; for this -work is dedicated to the average story-tellers anxious to make the -best use of their dramatic ability, and it is to them that I present -my plea for special study and preparation before telling a story to a -group of children--that is, if they wish for the far-reaching effects -I shall speak of later on. Only the preparation must be of a much less -stereotyped nature than that by which the ordinary reciters are trained -for their career. - -Some years ago, when I was in the States, I was asked to put into -the form of lectures my views upon the educational value of telling -stories. A sudden inspiration seized me. I began to cherish a dream of -long hours to be spent in the British Museum, the Congressional Library -in Washington and the Public Library at Boston--and this is the only -portion of the dream which has been realized. I planned an elaborate -scheme of research work which was to result in a magnificent (if musty) -philological treatise. I thought of trying to discover by long and -patient researches what species of lullaby were crooned by Egyptian -mothers to their babes, and what were the elementary dramatic poems in -vogue among Assyrian nursemaids which were the prototypes of “Little -Jack Horner,” “Dickory, Dickory Dock,” and other nursery classics. I -intended to follow up the study of these ancient documents by making -an appendix of modern variants, showing what progress we had made--if -any--among modern nations. - -But there came to me suddenly one day the remembrance of a scene from -Racine's “Plaideurs” in which the counsel for the defence, eager to -show how fundamental is his knowledge, begins his speech:-- - -“Before the Creation of the World”--And the Judge (with a touch of -weariness tempered by humour) suggests:-- - -“Let us pass on to the Deluge.” - -And thus I, too, have “passed on to the Deluge.” I have abandoned an -account of the origin and past of stories which at the best would -only have displayed a little recently-acquired book-knowledge. When -I thought of the number of scholars who could treat this part of the -question so infinitely better than myself, I realized how much wiser -it would be--though the task is much more humdrum--to deal with the -present possibilities of story-telling for our generation of parents -and teachers, and, leaving out the folk-lore side, devote myself to the -story itself. - -My objects in urging the use of stories in the education of children -are at least five-fold: - -_First_, to give them dramatic joy, for which they have a natural -craving. _Secondly_, to develop a sense of humour, which is really -a sense of proportion. _Thirdly_, to correct certain tendencies by -showing the consequences in the career of the hero in the story. (Of -this motive the children must be quite unconscious, and there must be -no didactic emphasis.) _Fourthly_, by means of example, not precept, -to present such ideals as will sooner or later (I care not which) be -translated into action. _Fifthly_, to develop the imagination, which -really takes in all the other points. - -So much for the purely educational side of the book. But the art of -story-telling, quite apart from the subject, appeals not only to the -educational world or to parents as parents, but also to a wider outside -public, who may be interested in the purely human point of view. - -In great contrast to the lofty scheme I had originally proposed to -myself, I now simply place before all those who are interested in -the Art of Story-telling in any form the practical experience I have -had in my travels across the United States and through England; and, -because I am confining myself to personal experience which must of -necessity be limited, I am very anxious not to appear dogmatic or to -give the impression that I wish to lay down the law on the subject. But -I hope my readers may profit by my errors, improve on my methods, and -thus help to bring about the revival of an almost lost art--one which -appeals more directly and more stirringly than any other method to the -majority of listeners. - -In Sir Philip Sidney's “Defence of Poesy” we find these words: - - “Forsooth he cometh to you with a tale, which holdeth children from - play, and old men from the chimney-corner, and pretending no more, - doth intend the winning of the mind from wickedness to virtue even - as the child is often brought to take most wholesome things by - hiding them in such other as have a pleasant taste.” - - MARIE L. SHEDLOCK. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See p. 138. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE STORY. - - -I PROPOSE to deal in this chapter with the difficulties or dangers -which beset the path of the Story-teller, because, until we have -overcome these, we cannot hope for the finished and artistic -presentation which is to bring out the full value of the story. - -The difficulties are many, and yet they ought not to discourage the -would-be narrators, but only show them how all-important is the -preparation for the story, if it is to have the desired effect. - -I propose to illustrate by concrete examples, thereby hoping to achieve -a two-fold result: one to fix the subject more clearly in the mind -of the student--the other to use the Art of Story-telling to explain -itself. - -I have chosen one or two instances from my own personal experience. The -grave mistakes made in my own case may serve as a warning to others, -who will find, however, that experience is the best teacher. For -positive work, in the long run, we generally find out our own method. -On the negative side, however, it is useful to have certain pitfalls -pointed out to us, in order that we may save time by avoiding them: it -is for this reason that I sound a note of warning. These are:-- - -I.--_The danger of side issues._ An inexperienced story-teller is -exposed to the temptation of breaking off from the main dramatic -interest in a short exciting story, in order to introduce a side issue, -which is often interesting and helpful, but should be reserved for a -longer and less dramatic story. If the interest turns on some dramatic -moment, the action must be quick and uninterrupted, or it will lose -half its effect. - -I had been telling a class of young children the story of Polyphemus -and Ulysses, and, just at the most dramatic moment in it, some impulse -prompted me to go off on a side issue to describe the personal -appearance of Ulysses. - -The children were visibly bored, but with polite indifference they -listened to my elaborate description of the hero. If I had given them -an actual description from Homer, I believe that the strength of -the language would have appealed to their imagination (all the more -strongly because they might not have understood the individual words) -and have lessened their disappointment at the dramatic issue being -postponed; but I trusted to my own lame verbal efforts, and signally -failed. Attention flagged, fidgeting began, the atmosphere was rapidly -becoming spoiled, in spite of the patience and toleration still shown -by the children. At last, however, one little girl in the front row, as -spokeswoman for the class, suddenly said: “If you please, before you go -any further, do you mind telling us whether, after all, that Poly ... -(slight pause) that (final attempt) _Polyanthus_ died?” - -Now, the remembrance of this question has been of extreme use to me in -my career as a story-teller. I have realized that in a short dramatic -story the mind of the listeners must be set at ease with regard to the -ultimate fate of the special “Polyanthus” who takes the centre of the -stage. - -I remember too the despair of a little boy at a dramatic representation -of “Little Red Riding-Hood,” when that little person delayed the -thrilling catastrophe with the Wolf, by singing a pleasant song on her -way through the wood. “Oh, why,” said the little boy, “does she not -get on?” And I quite shared his impatience. - -This warning is only necessary in connection with the short dramatic -narrative. There are occasions when we can well afford to offer short -descriptions for the sake of literary style, and for the purpose of -enlarging the vocabulary of the child. I have found, however, in these -cases, it is well to take the children into your confidence--warning -them that they are to expect nothing particularly exciting in the way -of dramatic event: they will then settle down with a freer mind (though -the mood may include a touch of resignation) to the description you are -about to offer them.[2] - -II.--_The danger of altering the story to suit special occasions._ -This is done sometimes from extreme conscientiousness, sometimes from -sheer ignorance of the ways of children; it is the desire to protect -them from knowledge which they already possess and with which they -(equally conscientious) are apt to “turn and rend” the narrator. I -remember once when I was telling the story of the siege of Troy to -very young children, I suddenly felt anxious lest there should be -anything in the story of the Rape of Helen not altogether suitable for -the average age of the class--namely, nine years. I threw therefore, a -domestic colouring over the whole subject, and presented an imaginary -conversation between Paris and Helen, in which Paris tried to persuade -Helen that she was a strong-minded woman, thrown away on a limited -society in Sparta, and that she should come away and visit some of -the institutions of the world with him, which would doubtless prove -a mutually instructive journey.[3] I then gave the children the view -taken by Herodotus that Helen never went to Troy, but was detained in -Egypt. The children were much thrilled by the story, and responded most -eagerly when, in my inexperience, I invited them to reproduce for the -next day the tale I had just told them. - -A small child in the class presented me, as you will see, with the -ethical problem from which I had so laboriously protected _her_. The -essay ran: - - “Once upon a time the King of Troy's son was called Paris. And he - went over to _Greace_ to see what it was like. And here he saw the - beautiful Helen_er_, and likewise her husband Menela_yus_. And - one day, Menelayus went out hunting, and left Paris and Helener - alone, and Paris said: ‘Do you not feel _dul_ in this _palis_?’ And - Helener said: ‘I feel very dull in this _pallice_,[4] and Paris - said: 'Come away and see the world with me.’ So they _sliped_ off - together, and they came to the King of Egypt, and _he_ said: ‘Who - _is_ the young lady?’ So Paris told him. ‘But,’ said the King, ‘it - is not _propper_ for you to go off with other people's _wifes_. So - _Helener_ shall stop here.’ Paris stamped his foot. When Menelayus - got home, _he_ stamped his foot. And he called round him all his - soldiers, and they stood round Troy for eleven years. At last they - thought it was no use _standing_ any longer, so they built a wooden - horse in memory of Helener and the Trojans and it was taken into - the town.” - -Now the mistake I made in my presentation was to lay particular stress -on the reason for elopement by my careful readjustment, which really -called more attention to the episode than was necessary for the age of -my audience; and evidently caused confusion in the minds of some of the -children who knew the story in its more accurate original form. - -Whilst travelling in the States, I was provided with a delightful -appendix to this story. I had been telling Miss Longfellow and her -sister the little girl's version of the Siege of Troy, and Mrs. Thorpe -made the following comment, with the American humour whose dryness adds -so much to its value: - -“I never realised before,” she said, “how glad the Greeks must have -been to sit down even inside a horse, when they had been _standing_ for -eleven years.” - -III.--_The danger of introducing unfamiliar words._ This is the very -opposite danger of the one to which I have just alluded; it is the -taking for granted that children are acquainted with the meaning of -certain words upon which turns some important point in the story. We -must not introduce (without at least a passing explanation) words -which, if not rightly understood, would entirely alter the picture we -wish to present. - -I had once promised to tell stories to an audience of Irish peasants, -and I should like to state here that, though my travels have brought -me into touch with almost every kind of audience, I have never found -one where the atmosphere is so “self-prepared” as in that of a group -of Irish peasants. To speak to them (especially on the subject of -Fairy-tales) is like playing on a delicate harp: the response is so -quick and the sympathy is so keen. Of course the subject of Fairy-tales -is one which is completely familiar to them and comes into their -every-day life. They have a feeling of awe with regard to fairies, -which in some parts of Ireland is very deep.[5] - -On this particular occasion I had been warned by an artist friend -who had kindly promised to sing songs between the stories, that my -audience would be of varying age and almost entirely illiterate. Many -of the older men and women, who could neither read nor write, had -never been beyond their native village. I was warned to be very simple -in my language and to explain any difficult words which might occur -in the particular Indian story I had chosen for that night, namely, -“The Tiger, The Jackal and the Brahman.”[6] It happened that the older -portion of the audience had scarcely ever seen even the picture of wild -animals. I profited by the advice, and offered a word of explanation -with regard to the Tiger and the Jackal. I also explained the meaning -of the word Brahman--at a proper distance, however, lest the audience -should class him with wild animals. I then went on with my story, in -the course of which I mentioned the Buffalo. In spite of the warning -I had received, I found it impossible not to believe that the name of -this animal would be familiar to any audience. I therefore went on with -the sentence containing this word, and ended it thus: “And then the -Brahman went a little further and met an old Buffalo turning a wheel.” - -The next day, whilst walking down the village street, I entered into -conversation with a thirteen-year-old girl who had been in my audience -the night before, and who began at once to repeat in her own words the -Indian story in question. When she came to the particular sentence I -have just quoted, I was greatly startled to hear _her_ version, which -ran thus: “And the priest went on a little further, and he met another -old gentleman pushing a wheelbarrow.” I stopped her at once, and not -being able to identify the sentence as part of the story I had told, I -questioned her a little more closely. I found that the word Buffalo had -evidently conveyed to her mind an old “_buffer_” whose name was “Lo” -(probably taken to be an Indian form of appellation, to be treated with -tolerance though it might not be Irish in sound). Then, not knowing of -any wheel more familiarly than that attached to a barrow, the young -narrator completed the picture in her own mind--which, doubtless, was a -vivid one--but one must admit that it had lost something of the Indian -atmosphere which I had intended to gather about it. - -IV.--_The danger of claiming the co-operation of the class by means of -questions._ The danger in this case is more serious for the teacher -than the child, who rather enjoys the process and displays a fatal -readiness to give any sort of answer if only he can play a part in the -conversation. If we could depend on the children giving the kind of -answer we expect, all might go well, and the danger would be lessened; -but children have a perpetual way of frustrating our hopes in this -direction, and of landing us in unexpected bypaths from which it is not -always easy to return to the main road without a very violent reaction. -As illustrative of this, I quote from “The Madness of Philip,” by -Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon, a truly delightful essay on Child -Psychology, in the guise of the lightest of stories. - -The scene takes place in a Kindergarten--where a bold and fearless -visitor has undertaken to tell a story on the spur of the moment to a -group of restless children. - -She opens thus: “Yesterday, children, as I came out of my yard, what do -you think I saw?” - -The elaborately concealed surprise in store was so obvious that -Marantha rose to the occasion and suggested “an el'phunt.” - -“Why, no. Why should I see an elephant in my yard? It was not _nearly_ -so big as that--it was a little thing.” - -“A fish,” ventured Eddy Brown, whose eye fell upon the aquarium in the -corner. The raconteuse smiled patiently. - -“Now, how could a fish, a live fish, get into my front yard?” - -“A dead fish,” says Eddy. He had never been known to relinquish -voluntarily an idea. - -“No; it was a little kitten,” said the story-teller decidedly. “A -little white kitten. She was standing right near a big puddle of water. -Now, what else do you think I saw?” - -“Another kitten,” suggests Marantha, conservatively. - -“No; it was a big Newfoundland dog. He saw the little kitten near the -water. Now, cats don't like water, do they? What do they like?” - -“Mice,” said Joseph Zukoffsky abruptly. - -“Well, yes, they do; but there were no mice in my yard. I'm sure you -know what I mean. If they don't like _water_, _what_ do they like?” - -“Milk,” cried Sarah Fuller confidently. - -“They like a dry place,” said Mrs. R. B. Smith. “Now, what do you -suppose the dog did?” - -It may be that successive failures had disheartened the listeners. It -may be that the very range of choice presented to them and the dog -alike dazzled their imagination. At all events, they made no answer. - -“Nobody knows what the dog did?” repeated the story-teller -encouragingly. “What would you do if you saw a little kitten like that?” - -And Philip remarked gloomily: - -“I'd pull its tail.” - -“And what do the rest of you think? I hope you are not as cruel as that -little boy.” - -A jealous desire to share Philip's success prompted the quick response: - -“I'd pull it too.” - -Now, the reason of the total failure of this story was the inability -to draw any real response from the children, partly because of the -hopeless vagueness of the questions, partly because, there being no -time for reflection, the children said the first thing that comes into -their head without any reference to their real thoughts on the subject. - -I cannot imagine anything less like the enlightened methods of the best -Kindergarten teaching. Had Mrs. R. B. Smith been a real, and not a -fictional, person, it would certainly have been her last appearance as -a _raconteuse_ in this educational institution. - -V.--_The difficulty of gauging the effect of a story upon the -audience._ This rises from lack of observation and experience; it -is the want of these qualities which leads to the adoption of such -a method as I have just presented. We learn in time that want of -expression on the faces of the audience and want of any kind of -external response does not always mean either lack of interest or -attention. There is often real interest deep down, but no power, or -perhaps no wish, to display that interest, which is deliberately -concealed at times so as to protect oneself from questions which may be -put. - -I was speaking on one occasion in Davenport in the State of Iowa. I had -been engaged to deliver a lecture to adults on the “Fun and Philosophy” -of Hans C. Andersen's Fairy Tales. When I arrived at the Hall, I was -surprised and somewhat annoyed to find four small boys sitting in -the front row. They seemed to be about ten years old, and, knowing -pretty well from experience what boys of that age usually like, I felt -rather anxious as to what would happen, and I must confess that for -once I wished children had the useful faculty, developed in adults, -of successfully concealing their feelings. Any hopes I had conceived -on this point were speedily shattered. After listening to the first -few sentences, two of the boys evidently recognised the futility of -bestowing any further attention on the subject, and consoled themselves -for the dulness of the occasion by starting a “scrap.” I watched this -proceeding for a minute with great interest, but soon recalled the -fact that I had not been engaged in the capacity of spectator, so, -addressing the antagonists in as severe a manner as I could assume, I -said: “Boys, I shall have to ask you to go to the back of the hall.” -They responded with much alacrity, and evident gratitude, and even -exceeded my instructions by leaving the hall altogether. - -My sympathy was now transferred to the two remaining boys, who sat -motionless, and one of them never took his eyes off me during the whole -lecture. I feared lest they might be simply cowed by the treatment -meted out to their companions, whose joy in their release had been -somewhat tempered by the disgrace of ejection. I felt sorry that I -could not provide these model boys with a less ignominious retreat, -and I cast about in my mind how I could make it up to them. At the end -of the lecture, I addressed them personally and, congratulating them -on their quiet behaviour, said that, as I feared the main part of the -lecture could scarcely have interested them, I should conclude, not -with the story I had intended for the adults, but with a special story -for them, as a reward for their good behaviour. I then told Hans C. -Andersen's “Jack the Dullard,” which I have always found to be a great -favourite with boys. These particular youths smiled very faintly, and -left any expression of enthusiasm to the adult portion of the audience. -My hostess, who was eager to know what the boys thought, enquired of -them how they liked the lecture. The elder one said guardedly: “I liked -it very well, but I was _piqued_ at her underrating my appreciation of -Hans Andersen.” - -I was struck with the entirely erroneous impression I had received of -the effect I was producing upon the boys. I was thankful at least that -a passing allusion to Schopenhauer in my lecture possibly provided some -interest for this “young old” child. - -I felt somewhat in the position of a Doctor of Divinity in Canada to -whom a small child confided the fact that she had written a parody on -“The Three Fishers,” but that it had dropped into the fire. The Doctor -made some facetious rejoinder about the impertinence of the flames in -consuming her manuscript. The child reproved him in these grave words: -“Nature, you know, _is_ Nature, and her laws are inviolable.” - -VI.--_The danger of over illustration._ After long experience, and -after considering the effect produced on children when pictures are -shown to them during the narration, I have come to the conclusion -that the appeal to the eye and the ear at the same time is of -doubtful value, and has, generally speaking, a distracting effect; -the concentration on one channel of communication attracts and holds -the attention more completely. I was confirmed in this theory when I -addressed an audience of blind people for the first time, and noticed -how closely they attended, and how much easier it seemed to them, -because they were so completely “undistracted by the sights around -them.”[7] - -I have often suggested to young teachers two experiments in support -of this theory. They are not practical experiments, nor could they -be repeated often with the same audience, but they are intensely -interesting and they serve to show the _actual_ effect of appealing to -one sense at a time. The first of these experiments is to take a small -group of children and suggest that they should close their eyes whilst -you tell them a story. You will then notice how much more attention -is given to the intonation and inflection of the voice. The reason -is obvious: because there is nothing to distract the attention, it -is concentrated on the only thing offered to the listeners (that is, -sound), to enable them to seize the dramatic interest of the story. - -We find an example of the dramatic power of the voice in its appeal -to the imagination, in one of the tributes brought by an old pupil to -Thomas Edward Brown (Master at Clifton College): - - “My earliest recollection is that his was the most vivid teaching I - ever received: great width of view and poetical, almost passionate, - power of presentment. We were reading Froude's History, and I shall - never forget how it was Brown's words, Brown's voice, not the - historian's, that made me feel the great democratic function which - the monasteries performed in England: the view became alive in his - mouth.” - -And in another passage: - - “All set forth with such dramatic force and aided by such a - splendid voice, left an indelible impression on my mind.” (_Letters - of T. E. Brown_, p. 55.) - -A second experiment, and a much more subtle and difficult one, is to -take the same group of children on another occasion, telling them a -story in pantomime form, giving them first the briefest outline of -it. In this case this must be of the simplest construction, until -the children are able (if you continue the experiment) to look for -something more subtle. - -I have never forgotten the marvellous performance of a play given -in London, many years ago, entirely in pantomime form. The play was -called _L'Enfant Prodigue_, and was presented by a company of French -artists. It would be almost impossible to exaggerate the strength of -that “silent appeal” to the public. One was so unaccustomed to reading -meaning and development of character into gesture and facial expression -that it was really a revelation to most present--certainly to all -Anglo-Saxons. - -I cannot touch on this subject without admitting the enormous dramatic -value connected with the kinematograph. Though it can never take -the place of an actual performance, whether in story form or on -the stage, it has a real educational value in its possibilities of -representation which it is difficult to over-estimate, and I believe -that its introduction into the school curriculum, under the strictest -supervision, will be of extraordinary benefit. The movement, in its -present chaotic condition, and in the hands of a commercial management, -is more likely to stifle than to awaken or stimulate the imagination, -but the educational world is fully alive to the danger, and I am -convinced that in the future of the movement good will predominate. - -The real value of the cinematograph in connection with stories is that -it provides the background that is wanting to the inner vision of the -average child, and does not prevent its imagination from filling in -the details later. For instance, it would be quite impossible for the -average child to get an idea from mere word-painting of the atmosphere -of the Polar regions, as represented lately on the film in connection -with Captain Scott's expedition; but any stories told later on about -these regions would have an infinitely greater interest. - -There is, however, a real danger in using pictures to illustrate the -story--especially if it be one which contains a direct appeal to the -imagination of the child (as quite distinct from the stories which deal -with facts)--which is that you force the whole audience of children -to see the same picture, instead of giving each individual child the -chance of making his own mental picture, which is of far greater joy, -and of much greater educational value, since by this process the child -co-operates with you instead of having all the work done for it. - -Queyrat, in his work on “La Logique chez l'Enfant” quotes Madame -Necker de Saussure:[8] “To children and animals actual objects present -themselves, not the terms of their manifestations. For them thinking -is seeing over again, it is going through the sensations that the real -object would have produced. Everything which goes on within them is -in the form of pictures, or rather, inanimate scenes in which Life is -partially reproduced.... Since the child has, as yet, no capacity for -abstraction, he finds a stimulating power in words and a suggestive -inspiration which holds him enchanted. They awaken vividly-coloured -images, pictures far more brilliant than would be called into being by -the objects themselves.” - -Surely, if this be true, we are taking from children that rare power of -mental visualisation by offering to their outward vision an _actual_ -picture. - -I was struck with the following note by a critic of the “Outlook,” -referring to a Japanese play but bearing directly on the subject in -hand. - -“First, we should be inclined to put insistence upon appeal by -_imagination_. Nothing is built up by lath and canvas; everything has -to be created by the poet's speech.” - -He alludes to the decoration of one of the scenes, which consists -of three pines, showing what can be conjured up in the mind of the -spectator. - - Ah, yes. Unfolding now before my eyes - The views I know: the Forest, River, Sea - And Mist--the scenes of Ono now expand. - -I have often heard objections raised to this theory by teachers dealing -with children whose knowledge of objects outside their own little -limited circle is so scanty that words we use without a suspicion that -they are unfamiliar are really foreign expressions to them. Such words -as sea, woods, fields, mountains would mean nothing to them, unless -some explanation were offered. To these objections I have replied that -where we are dealing with objects that can actually be seen with the -bodily eyes, then it is quite legitimate to show pictures of those -objects before you begin the story, so that the distraction between the -actual and mental presentation may not cause confusion; but, as the -foregoing example shows, we should endeavour to accustom the children -to seeing much more than the mere objects themselves, and in dealing -with abstract qualities we must rely solely on the power and choice of -words and dramatic qualities of presentation, nor need we feel anxious -if the response is not immediate, or even if it is not quick and -eager.[9] - -VII.--_The danger of obscuring the point of the story with too many -details._ This is not peculiar to teachers, nor is it only shown in -the narrative form. I have often heard really brilliant after-dinner -stories marred by this defect. One remembers the attempt made by Sancho -Panza to tell a story to Don Quixote, and I have always felt a keen -sympathy with the latter in his impatience over the recital. - - “‘In a village of Estramadura there was a shepherd--no, I mean - a goatherd--which shepherd--or goatherd--as my story says, was - called Lope Ruiz--and this Lope Ruiz was in love with a shepherdess - called Torralva, who was daughter to a rich herdsman, and this rich - herdsman----’ - - ‘If this be thy story, Sancho,’ said Don Quixote, ‘thou wilt not - have done these two days. Tell it concisely like a man of sense, or - else say no more.’ - - ‘I tell it in the manner they tell all stories in my country,’ - answered Sancho, ‘and I cannot tell it otherwise, nor ought your - Worship to require me to make new customs.’ - - ‘Tell it as thou wilt, then,’ said Don Quixote; ‘since it is the - will of fate that I should hear it, go on.’ - - Sancho continued: - - ‘He looked about him until he espied a fisherman with a boat - near him, but so small that it could only hold one person and - one goat. The fisherman got into the boat and carried over one - goat; he returned and carried another; he came back again and - carried another. Pray, sir, keep an account of the goats which the - fisherman is carrying over, for if you lose count of a single one, - the story ends, and it will be impossible to tell a word more.... - I go on, then.... He returned for another goat, and another, and - another and another----’ - - ‘_Suppose_ them all carried over,’ said Don Quixote, ‘or thou wilt - not have finished carrying them this twelve months.’ - - ‘Tell me, how many have passed already?’ said Sancho. - - ‘How should I know?’ answered Don Quixote. - - ‘See there, now! Did I not tell thee to keep an exact account? - There is an end of the story. I can go no further.’ - - ‘How can this be?’ said Don Quixote. ‘Is it so essential to the - story to know the exact number of goats that passed over, that if - one error be made the story can proceed no further?’ - - ‘Even so,’ said Sancho Panza.” - -VIII.--_The danger of over-explanation._ Again, another danger lurks in -the temptation to offer over much explanation of the story, which is -common to most story-tellers. This is fatal to the artistic success of -any story, but it is even more serious in connection with stories told -from an educational point of view, because it hampers the imagination -of the listener; and since the development of that faculty is one of -our chief aims in telling these stories, we must let it have free play, -nor must we test the effect, as I have said before, by the material -method of asking questions. My own experience is that the fewer -explanations you offer (provided you have been careful with the choice -of your material and artistic in the presentation) the more readily the -child will supplement by his own thinking power what is necessary for -the understanding of the story. - -Queyrat says: “A child has no need of seizing on the exact meaning of -words; on the contrary, a certain lack of precision seems to stimulate -his imagination only the more vigorously, since it gives it a broader -liberty and firmer independence.”[10] - -IX.--One special danger lies in the _lowering of the standard of the -story_ in order to cater to the undeveloped taste of the child. I am -alluding here only to the story which is presented from the educational -point of view. There are moments of relaxation in a child's life, as in -that of an adult, when a lighter taste can be gratified. I am alluding -now to the standard of story for school purposes. - -There is one development of the subject which seems to have been very -little considered either in the United States or in our own country, -namely, the telling of stories to _old_ people, and that not only in -institutions or in quiet country villages, but in the heart of the -busy cities and in the homes of these old people. How often, when the -young people are able to enjoy outside amusements, the old people, -necessarily confined to the chimney-corner and many unable to read -much for themselves, might return to the joy of their childhood by -hearing some of the old stories told them in dramatic form. Here is -a delightful occupation for those of the leisured class who have the -gift, and a much more effective way of capturing attention than the -more usual form of reading aloud. - -Lady Gregory, in talking to the workhouse folk in Ireland, was moved -by the strange contrast between the poverty of the tellers and the -splendours of the tale. - -She says: “The stories they love are of quite visionary things; of -swans that turn into kings' daughters, and of castles with crowns -over the doors, and of lovers' flight on the backs of eagles, and -music-loving witches, and journeys to the other world, and sleeps that -last for 700 years.” - -I fear it is only the Celtic imagination that will glory in such -romantic material; but I am sure the men and women of the poorhouse are -much more interested than we are apt to think in stories outside the -small circle of their lives. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] With regard to the right moment for choosing this kind of story, I -shall return to the subject in a later chapter. - -[3] I venture to hope (at this long distance of years) that my language -in telling the story was more simple than appears from this account. - -[4] This difference of spelling in the same essay will be much -appreciated by those who know how gladly children offer an -orthographical alternative, in hopes that one if not the other may -satisfy the exigency of the situation. - -[5] I refer, of course, to the Irish in their native atmosphere. - -[6] See List of Stories. - -[7] This was at the Congressional Library at Washington. - -[8] Page 55. - -[9] In further illustration of this point see “When Burbage played” -(Austin Dobson) and “In the Nursery” (Hans C. Andersen). - -[10] From “Les Jeux des Enfants,” page 16. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE ESSENTIALS OF THE STORY. - - -IT would be a truism to suggest that dramatic instinct and dramatic -power of expression are naturally the first essentials for success in -the Art of Story-telling, and that, without these, no story-teller -would go very far; but I maintain that, even with these gifts, no -high standard of performance will be reached without certain other -qualities--among the first of which I place _apparent_ simplicity, -which is really the _art_ of _concealing_ the art. - -I am speaking here of the public story-teller, or of the teachers with -a group of children--not the spontaneous (and most rare) power of -telling stories at the fireside by some gifted village grandmother, -such as Béranger gives us in his poem, _Souvenirs du Peuple_: - - Mes enfants, dans ce village, - Suivi de rois, il passa; - Voilà bien longtemps de ça; - Je venais d'entrer en ménage. - A pied grimpant le côteau, - Où pour voir je m'étais mise. - Il avait petit chapeau - Avec redingote grise. - Près de lui je me troublai! - Il me dit: Bonjour, ma chère, - Bonjour, ma chère. - Il vous a parlé, grand'mère? - Il vous a parlé? - -I am sceptical enough to think that it is not the spontaneity of the -grandmother but the art of Béranger which enhances the effect of the -story told in the poem. - -This intimate form of narration, which is delightful in its special -surroundings, would fail to _reach_, much less _hold_, a large -audience, _not_ because of its simplicity but often because of the want -of skill in arranging material and of the artistic sense of selection -which brings the interest to a focus and arranges the sidelights. In -short, the simplicity we need for the ordinary purpose is that which -comes from ease and produces a sense of being able to let ourselves go, -because we have thought out our effects: it is when we translate our -instinct into art that the story becomes finished and complete. - -I find it necessary to emphasise this point because people are apt -to confuse simplicity of delivery with carelessness of utterance, -loose stringing of sentences of which the only connections seem to be -the ever-recurring use of “and” and “so,” and “er ...”--this latter -inarticulate sound has done more to ruin a story and distract the -audience than many more glaring errors of dramatic form. - -The real simplicity holds the audience because the lack of apparent -effort in the artist has the most comforting effect upon the listener. -It is like turning from the whirring machinery of process to the -finished article, bearing no trace of manufacture except in the harmony -and beauty of the whole, from which we realise that the individual -parts have received all proper attention. - -And what really brings about this apparent simplicity which ensures the -success of the story? It has been admirably expressed in a passage from -Henry James's lecture on Balzac: - -“The fault in the Artist which amounts most completely to a failure of -dignity is the absence of _saturation with his idea_. When saturation -fails, no other real presence avails, as when, on the other hand, it -operates, no failure of method fatally interferes.” - -I now offer two illustrations of the effect of this saturation, one to -show that the failure of method does not prevent successful effect, the -other to show that when it is combined with the necessary secondary -qualities the perfection of art is reached. - -In illustration of the first point, I recall an experience in the North -of England when the Head Mistress of an elementary school asked me to -hear a young, inexperienced girl tell a story to a group of very small -children. - -When she began, I felt somewhat hopeless, because of the complete -failure of method. She seemed to have all the faults most damaging to -the success of a speaker. Her voice was harsh, her gestures awkward, -her manner was restless and melodramatic; but as she went on, I soon -began to discount all these faults and, in truth, I soon forgot -about them, for so absorbed was she in her story, so saturated with -her subject, that she quickly communicated her own interest to her -audience, and the children were absolutely spellbound. - -The other illustration is connected with a memorable peep behind the -stage, when the late M. Coquelin had invited me to see him in the -green-room between the first and second Acts of “L'Abbé Constantin,” -one of the plays given during his last season in London, the year -before his death. The last time I had met M. Coquelin was at a -dinner-party, where I had been dazzled by the brilliant conversation -of this great artist in the rôle of a man of the world. But on this -occasion, I met the simple, kindly priest, so absorbed in his rôle -that he inspired me with the wish to offer a donation for his poor, -and on taking leave to ask for his blessing for myself. Whilst -talking to him, I had felt puzzled: it was only when I had left him -that I realised what had happened--namely, that he was too thoroughly -saturated with his subject to be able to drop his rôle during the -interval, in order to assume the more ordinary one of host and man of -the world. - -Now, it is this spirit I would wish to inculcate into the would-be -story-tellers. If they would apply themselves in this manner to their -work, it would bring about a revolution in the art of presentation, -that is, in the art of teaching. The difficulty of the practical -application of this theory is the constant plea, on the part of the -teachers, that there is not the time to work for such a standard in an -art which is so apparently simple that the work expended on it would -never be appreciated. - -My answer to this objection is that, though the counsel of perfection -would be to devote a great deal of time to the story, so as to prepare -the atmosphere quite as much as the mere action of the little drama -(just as photographers use time exposure to obtain sky effects, as well -as the more definite objects in the picture), yet it is not so much a -question of time as concentration on the subject which is one of the -chief factors in the preparation of the story. - -So many story-tellers are satisfied with cheap results, and most -audiences are not critical enough to encourage a high standard.[11] The -method of “showing the machinery” has more immediate results, and it is -easy to become discouraged over the drudgery which is not necessary to -secure the approbation of the largest number. But, since I am dealing -with the essentials of really good story-telling, I may be pardoned for -suggesting the highest standard and the means for reaching it. - -Therefore I maintain that capacity for work, and even drudgery, is -among the essentials of story work. Personally I know of nothing more -interesting than to watch the story grow gradually from mere outline -into a dramatic whole. It is the same pleasure, I imagine, which is -felt over the gradual development of a beautiful design on a loom. -I do not mean machine-made work, which has to be done under adverse -conditions, in a certain time, and is similar to thousands of other -pieces of work; but that work upon which we can bestow unlimited time -and concentrated thought. - -The special joy in the slowly-prepared story comes in the exciting -moment when the persons, or even the inanimate objects, become alive -and move as of themselves. - -I remember spending two or three discouraging weeks with Andersen's -story of the “Adventures of a Beetle.” I passed through times of -great depression, because all the little creatures--beetles, earwigs, -frogs, etc.--behaved in such a conventional, stilted way (instead of -displaying the strong individuality which Andersen had bestowed upon -them) that I began to despair of presenting a live company at all. - -But one day the Beetle, so to speak, “took the stage,” and at once -there was life and animation among the minor characters. Then the main -work was done, and there remained only the comparatively easy task of -guiding the movement of the little drama, suggesting side issues and -polishing the details, always keeping a careful eye on the Beetle, -that he might “gang his ain gait” and preserve to the full his own -individuality. - -There is a tendency in preparing stories to begin with detail work -(often a gesture or side issue which one has remembered from hearing -a story told), but if this is done before the contemplative period, -only scrappy, jerky and ineffective results are obtained, on which one -cannot count for dramatic effects. This kind of preparation reminds one -of a young peasant woman who was taken to see a performance of _Wilhelm -Tell_, and when questioned as to the plot, could only sum it up by -saying, “I know some fruit was shot at.”[12] - -I realise the extreme difficulty for teachers to devote the necessary -time to the perfecting of the stories they tell in school, because -this is only one of the subjects they have to take in an already -over-crowded curriculum. To them I would offer this practical advice: -_Do not be afraid to repeat your stories_.[13] If you did not undertake -more than seven stories a year (chosen with infinite care), and if you -repeated these stories six times during the year of forty-two weeks, -you would be able to do artistic (and therefore lasting) work; you -would give a very great deal of pleasure to the children, who delight -in hearing a story many times. You would be able to avoid the direct -moral application (to which subject I shall return later on); for -each time a child hears a story artistically told, a little more of -the meaning underlying the simple story will come to him without any -explanation on your part. The habit of doing one's best, instead of -one's second-best, means, in the long run, that one has no interest -except in the preparation of the best, and the stories, few in number, -polished and finished in style, will have an effect of which one can -scarcely over-state the importance. - -In the story of the Swineherd,[14] Hans Andersen says: - -“On the grave of the Prince's father there grew a rose-tree. It only -bloomed once in five years, and only bore one rose. But what a rose! -Its perfume was so exquisite that whoever smelt it forgot at once all -his cares and sorrows.” - -Lafcadio Hearn says: “Time weeds out the errors and stupidities of -cheap success, and presents the Truth. It takes, like the aloe, a -long time to flower, but the blossom is all the more precious when it -appears.” - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[11] A noted Greek gymnast struck his pupil, though he was applauded -by the whole assembly. “You did it clumsily, and not as you ought, for -these people would never have praised you for anything really artistic.” - -[12] For further details on the question of preparation of the story, -see chapter on “Questions asked by Teachers.” - -[13] Sully says that children love exact repetition because of the -intense enjoyment bound up with the process of imaginative realisation. - -[14] See p. 150. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE ARTIFICES OF STORY-TELLING. - - -BY this term I do not mean anything against the gospel of simplicity -which I am so constantly preaching, but, for want of a better term, -I use the word “artifice” to express the mechanical devices by which -we endeavour to attract and hold the attention of the audience. The -art of telling stories is, in truth, much more difficult than acting -a part on the stage: first, because the narrator is responsible for -the whole drama and the whole atmosphere which surrounds it. He has to -live the life of each character and understand the relation which each -bears to the whole. Secondly, because the stage is a miniature one, -gestures and movements must all be so adjusted as not to destroy the -sense of proportion. I have often noticed that actors, accustomed to -the more roomy public stage, are apt to be too broad in their gestures -and movements when they tell a story. The special training for the -Story-teller should consist not only in the training of the voice and -in choice of language, but above all in power of _delicate_ suggestion, -which cannot always be used on the stage because this is hampered by -the presence of _actual things_. The Story-teller has to present these -things to the more delicate organism of the “inward eye.” - -So deeply convinced am I of the miniature character of the -Story-telling Art that I do not believe you can ever get a perfectly -artistic presentation of this kind in a very large hall or before a -very large audience. - -I have made experiments along this line, having twice told a story to -an audience exceeding five thousand, in the States,[15] but on both -occasions, though the dramatic reaction upon oneself from the response -of so large an audience was both gratifying and stimulating, I was -forced to sacrifice the delicacy of the story and to take from its -artistic value by the necessity of emphasis, in order to be heard by -all present. - -Emphasis is the bane of all story-telling, for it destroys the -delicacy, and the whole performance suggests a struggle in conveying -the message; the indecision of the victory leaves the audience restless -and unsatisfied. - -Then, again, as compared with acting on the stage, in telling a story -you miss the help of effective entrances and exits, the footlights, the -costume, the facial expression of your fellow-actor which interprets -so much of what you yourself say without further elaboration on your -part; for, in the story, in case of a dialogue which necessitates great -subtlety and quickness in facial expression and gesture, you have to be -both speaker and listener. - -Now, of what artifices can we make use to take the place of all the -extraneous help offered to actors on the stage? - -First and foremost, as a means of suddenly pulling up the attention of -the audience, is the judicious Art of Pausing. - -For those who have not actually had experience in the matter, this -advice will seem trite and unnecessary, but those who have even a -little experience will realise with me the extraordinary efficacy of -this very simple means. It is really what Coquelin spoke of as a “high -light,” where the interest is focussed, as it were, to a point. - -I have tried this simple art of _pausing_ with every kind of audience, -and I have very rarely known it to fail. It is very difficult to -offer a concrete example of this, unless one is giving a “live” -representation; but I shall make an attempt, and at least I shall hope -to make myself understood by those who have heard me tell stories. - -In Hans C. Andersen's “Princess and the Pea,”[16] the King goes down to -open the door himself. Now, you may make this point in two ways. You -may either say: “And then the King went to the door, and at the door -there stood a real Princess,” or, “And then the King went to the door, -and at the door there stood--(pause)--a real Princess.” - -It is difficult to exaggerate the difference of effect produced -by so slight a cause.[17] With children it means an unconscious -curiosity which expresses itself in a sudden muscular tension--there -is just time, during that instant's pause, to _feel_, though not -to _formulate_, the question: “What is standing at the door?” By -this means half your work of holding the attention is accomplished. -It is not necessary for me to enter into the psychological reason -of this, but I strongly recommend those who are interested in the -question to read the chapter in Ribot's work on this subject, _Essai -sur l'Imagination créatrice_, as well as Mr. Keatinge's work on -“Suggestion.” - -I would advise all teachers to revise their stories with a view to -introducing the judicious Pause, and to vary its use according to the -age, the number and, above all, the mood of the audience. Experience -alone can ensure success in this matter. It has taken me many years to -realise the importance of this artifice. - -Among other means of holding the attention of the audience and helping -to bring out the points of the story is the use of gesture. I consider, -however, it must be a sparing use, and not of a broad or definite -character. We shall never improve on the advice given by Hamlet to -the actors on this subject: “See that ye o'erstep not the modesty of -Nature.” - -And yet, perhaps, it is not necessary to warn Story-tellers against -_abuse_ of gesture: it is more helpful to encourage them in the use -of it, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, where we are fearful of -expressing ourselves in this way, and, when we do, the gesture often -lacks subtlety. The Anglo-Saxon, when he does move at all, moves in -solid blocks--a whole arm, a whole leg, the whole body--but if you -watch a Frenchman or an Italian in conversation, you suddenly realise -how varied and subtle are the things which can be suggested by the mere -turn of the wrist or the movement of a finger. The power of the hand -has been so wonderfully summed up in a passage from Quintilian that I -am justified in offering it to all those who wish to realise what can -be done by gesture: - -“As to the hands, without the aid of which all delivery would be -deficient and weak, it can scarcely be told of what a variety of -motions they are susceptible, since they almost equal in expression -the power of language itself. For other parts of the body assist the -speaker, but these, I may almost say, speak themselves. With our hands -we ask, promise, call persons to us and send them away, threaten, -supplicate, intimate dislike or fear; with our hands we signify -joy, grief, doubt, acknowledgment, penitence, and indicate measure, -quantity, number and time. Have not our hands the power of inciting, -of restraining, or beseeching, of testifying approbation.... So that -amidst the great diversity of tongues pervading all nations and -peoples, the language of the hands appears to be a language common to -all men.” (From “Education of an Orator,” Book II, Chap. 3.) - -One of the most effective artifices in telling stories to young -children is the use of mimicry--the imitation of animals' voices and -sounds in general is of never-ending joy to the listeners. Only, I -should wish to introduce a note of grave warning in connection with -this subject. This special artifice can only be used by such narrators -as have special aptitude and gifts in this direction. There are many -people with good imaginative power but wholly lacking in the power of -mimicry, whose efforts in this direction, however painstaking, would -remain grotesque and therefore ineffective. When listening to such -performances (of which children are strangely critical) one is reminded -of the French story in which the amateur animal painter is showing her -picture to an undiscriminating friend: - -“Ah!” says the friend, “this is surely meant for a lion?” - -“No,” says the artist, with some slight show of temper; “it is my -little lap-dog.” - -Another artifice which is particularly successful with very small -children is to ensure their attention by inviting their co-operation -before you actually begin the story. The following has proved quite -effective as a short introduction to my stories when I was addressing -large audiences of children: - -“Do you know that last night I had a very strange dream, which I am -going to tell you before I begin the stories. I dreamed that I was -walking along the streets of---- (here would follow the town in which -I happened to be speaking), with a large bundle on my shoulders, and -this bundle was full of stories which I had been collecting all over -the world in different countries; and I was shouting at the top of my -voice: ‘Stories! Stories! Stories! Who will listen to my stories?’ -And the children came flocking round me in my dream, saying: ‘Tell -_us_ your stories. _We_ will listen to your stories.’ So I pulled out -a story from my big bundle and I began in a most excited way, ‘Once -upon a time there lived a King and a Queen who had no children, and -they----’ Here a little boy, _very_ much like that little boy I see -sitting in the front row, stopped me, saying: ‘Oh! I know _that_ old -story; it's Sleeping Beauty.’ - -“So I pulled out a second story, and began: ‘Once upon a time there was -a little girl who was sent by her mother to visit her grandmother----’ -Then a little girl, so much like the one sitting at the end of the -second row, said: 'Oh! everybody knows that story! It's----’” - -Here I would make a judicious pause, and then the children in the -audience would shout in chorus, with joyful superiority: “Little Red -Riding-Hood!” (before I had time to explain that the children in my -dream had done the same). - -This method I repeated two or three times, being careful to choose very -well-known stories. By this time the children were all encouraged and -stimulated. I usually finished with congratulations on the number of -stories they knew, expressing a hope that some of those I was going to -tell that afternoon would be new to them. - -I have rarely found this plan fail for establishing a friendly relation -between oneself and the juvenile audience. - -It is often a matter of great difficulty, not to _win_ the attention of -an audience but to _keep_ it, and one of the most subtle artifices is -to let the audience down (without their perceiving it) after a dramatic -situation, so that the reaction may prepare them for the interest of -the next situation. - -An excellent instance of this is to be found in Rudyard Kipling's story -of “The Cat that walked ...” where the repetition of words acts as a -sort of sedative until you realise the beginning of a fresh situation. - -The great point is never to let the audience quite down, that is, in -stories which depend on dramatic situations. It is just a question -of shade and colour in the language. If you are telling a story in -sections, and spread over two or three occasions, you should always -stop at an exciting moment. It encourages speculation between whiles in -the children's minds, which increases their interest when the story is -taken up again. - -Another very necessary quality in the mere artifice of story-telling is -to watch your audience, so as to be able to know whether its mood is -for action or reaction, and to alter your story accordingly. The moods -of reaction are rarer, and you must use them for presenting a different -kind of material. Here is your opportunity for introducing a piece of -poetic description, given in beautiful language, to which the children -cannot listen when they are eager for action and dramatic excitement. - -Perhaps one of the greatest artifices is to take a quick hold of your -audience by a striking beginning which will enlist their attention from -the start; you can then relax somewhat, but you must be careful also -of the end, because that is what remains most vivid for the children. -If you question them as to which story they like best in a programme, -you will constantly find it to be the last one you have told, which has -for the moment blurred out the others. - -Here are a few specimens of beginnings which seldom fail to arrest the -attention of the child: - - “There was once a giant ogre, and he lived in a cave by himself.” - --_From_ “_The Giant and the Jackstraws_,” Starr Jordan. - - “There were once twenty-five tin soldiers, who were all brothers, - for they had been made out of the same old tin spoon.” - --_From_ “_The Tin Soldier_,” Hans C. Andersen. - - “There was once an Emperor who had a horse shod with gold.” - --_From_ “_The Beetle_,” Hans C. Andersen. - - “There was once a merchant who was so rich that he could have paved - the whole street with gold, and even then he would have had enough - for a small alley.” - --_From_ “_The Flying Trunk_,” Hans C. Andersen. - - “There was once a shilling which came forth from the mint springing - and shouting, 'Hurrah! Now I am going out into the wide world.'” - --_From_ “_The Silver Shilling_,” Hans C. Andersen. - - “In the High and Far Off Times the Elephant, O Best Beloved, had no - trunk.” - --_From_ “_The Elephant's Child_”: _Just So Stories_, Rudyard - Kipling. - - “Not always was the Kangaroo as now we behold him, but a Different - Animal with four short legs.” - --_From_ “_Old Man Kangaroo_”: _Just So Stories_, Rudyard Kipling. - - “Whichever way I turn,” said the weather-cock on a high steeple, - “no one is satisfied.” - --_From_ “_Fireside Fables_,” Edwin Barrow. - - “A set of chessmen, left standing on their board, resolved to alter - the rules of the game.” - --_From the same source._ - - “The Pink Parasol had tender whalebone ribs and a slender stick of - cherry-wood.” - --_From_ “_Very Short Stories_,” Mrs. W. K. Clifford. - - “There was once a poor little Donkey on Wheels; it had never wagged - its tail, or tossed its head, or said ‘Hee-haw,’ or tasted a tender - thistle.” - --_From the same source._ - -Now, some of these beginnings are, of course, for very young children, -but they all have the same advantage, that of plunging _in medias res_, -and therefore are able to arrest attention at once, as distinct from -the stories which open on a leisurely note of description. - -In the same way we must be careful about the endings of the stories; -in some way or other they must impress themselves either in a very -dramatic climax to which the whole story has worked up, such as we have -in the following: - - “Then he goes out to the Wet Wild Woods, or up the Wet Wild Trees, - or on the Wet Wild Roofs, waving his Wild Tail, and walking by his - Wild Lone.” - --_From_ “_Just So Stories_,” Rudyard Kipling. - -Or by an anti-climax for effect: - - “We have all this straight out of the alderman's newspaper, but it - is not to be depended on.” - --_From_ “_Jack the Dullard_,” Hans C. Andersen. - -Or by evading the point: - - “Whoever does not believe this must buy shares in the Tanner's - yard.” - --_From_ “_A Great Grief_,” Hans C. Andersen. - -Or by some striking general comment: - - “He has never caught up with the three days he missed at the - beginning of the world, and he has never learnt how to behave.” - --_From_ “_How the Camel got his Hump_”: _Just So Stories_, - Rudyard Kipling. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[15] Once at the Summer School at Chatauqua, New York, and once in -Lincoln Park, Chicago. - -[16] See p. 156. - -[17] There must be no more emphasis in the second manner than the first. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -ELEMENTS TO AVOID IN SELECTION OF MATERIAL. - - -I AM confronted, in this portion of my work, with a great difficulty, -because I cannot afford to be as catholic as I could wish (this -rejection or selection of material being primarily intended for those -story-tellers dealing with normal children); but I wish from the outset -to distinguish between a story told to an individual child in the -home circle or by a personal friend, and a story told to a group of -children as part of the school curriculum. And if I seem to reiterate -this difference, it is because I wish to show very clearly that the -recital of parents and friends may be quite separate in content and -manner from that offered by the teaching world. In the former case, -almost any subject can be treated, because, knowing the individual -temperament of the child, a wise parent or friend knows also what can -be presented or _not_ presented to the child; but in dealing with a -group of normal children in school, much has to be eliminated that -could be given fearlessly to the abnormal child: I mean the child who, -by circumstances or temperament, is developed beyond its years. - -I shall now mention some of the elements which experience has shown me -to be unsuitable for class stories. - -I.--_Stories dealing with analysis of motive and feeling._ - -This warning is specially necessary to-day, because this is above all -an age of introspection and analysis. We have only to glance at the -principal novels and plays during the last quarter of a century--most -especially during the last ten years--to see how this spirit has crept -into our literature and life. - -Now, this tendency to analyse is obviously more dangerous for children -than for adults, because, from lack of experience and knowledge of -psychology, the child's analysis is incomplete. He cannot see all the -causes of the action, nor can he make that philosophical allowance for -mood which brings the adult to truer conclusions. - -Therefore we should discourage children who show a tendency to analyse -too closely the motives of their actions, and refrain from presenting -in our stories any example which might encourage them to persist in -this course. - -I remember, on one occasion, when I went to say good-night to a little -girl of my acquaintance, I found her sitting up in bed, very wide -awake. Her eyes were shining, her cheeks were flushed, and when I asked -her what had excited her so much, she said: - -“I _know_ I have done something wrong to-day, but I cannot quite -remember what it was.” - -I said: “But Phyllis, if you put your hand, which is really quite -small, in front of your eyes, you could not see the shape of anything -else, however large it might be. Now, what you have done to-day appears -very large because it is so close, but when it is a little further off, -you will be able to see better and know more about it. So let us wait -till to-morrow morning.” - -I am happy to say that she took my advice. She was soon fast asleep, -and the next morning she had forgotten the wrong over which she had -been unhealthily brooding the night before.[18] - -II.--_Stories dealing too much with sarcasm and satire._ These are -weapons which are too sharply polished, and therefore too dangerous, -to place in the hands of children. For here again, as in the case -of analysis, they can only have a very incomplete conception of the -case. They do not know the real cause which produces the apparently -ridiculous situation: it is experience and knowledge which lead to the -discovery of the pathos and sadness which often underlie the ridiculous -appearance, and it is only the abnormally gifted child or grown-up -person who discovers this by instinct. It takes a lifetime to arrive at -the position described in Sterne's words: “I would not have let fallen -an unseasonable pleasantry in the venerable presence of misery to be -entitled to all the Wit which Rabelais has ever scattered.” - -I will hasten to add that I should not wish children to have their -sympathy too much drawn out, or their emotions kindled too much to -pity, because this would be neither healthy nor helpful to themselves -or others. I only want to protect the children from the dangerous -critical attitude induced by the use of satire: it sacrifices too much -of the atmosphere of trust and belief in human beings which ought to -be an essential of child-life. If we indulge in satire, the sense of -kindness in children tends to become perverted, their sympathy cramped, -and they themselves to become old before their time. We have an -excellent example of this in Hans C. Andersen's “Snow Queen.” - -When Kay gets the piece of broken mirror into his eye, he no longer -sees the world from the normal child's point of view: he can no longer -see anything but the foibles of those about him--a condition usually -only reached by a course of pessimistic experience. - -Andersen sums up the unnatural point of view in these words: - -“When Kay tried to repeat the Lord's Prayer, he could only remember the -multiplication table.” Now, without taking these words in any literal -sense, we can admit that they represent the development of the head at -the expense of the heart. - -An example of this kind of story to avoid is Andersen's “Story of the -Butterfly.” The bitterness of the Anemones, the sentimentality of the -Violets, the schoolgirlishness of the Snowdrops, the domesticity of -the Sweet-peas--all this tickles the palate of the adult, but does -not belong to the plane of the normal child. Again I repeat that -the unusual child may take all this in and even preserve its kindly -attitude towards the world, but it is a dangerous atmosphere for the -ordinary child. - -III.--_Stories of a sentimental kind._ Strange to say, this element of -sentimentality often appeals more to the young teachers than to the -children themselves. It is difficult to define the difference between -sentiment and sentimentality, but the healthy normal boy or girl -of--let us say ten or eleven years old seems to feel it unconsciously, -though the distinction is not so clear a few years later. - -Mrs. Elizabeth McKracken contributed an excellent article some years -ago to the American _Outlook_ on the subject of literature for -the young, in which we find a good illustration of this power of -discrimination on the part of a child. - -A young teacher was telling her pupils the story of the emotional lady -who, to put her lover to the test, bade him pick up the glove which -she had thrown down into the arena between the tiger and the lion. The -lover does her bidding, in order to vindicate his character as a brave -knight. One boy, after hearing the story, at once states his contempt -for the knight's acquiescence, which he declares to be unworthy. - -“But,” says the teacher, “you see he really did it to show the lady how -foolish she was.” The answer of the boy sums up what I have been trying -to show: “There was no sense in _his_ being sillier than _she_ was, to -show her _she_ was silly.” - -If the boy had stopped there, we might have concluded that he was -lacking in imagination or romance, but his next remark proves what a -balanced and discriminating person he was, for he added: “Now, if _she_ -had fallen in, and he had leapt after her to rescue her, that would -have been splendid and of some use.” Given the character of the lady, -we might, as adults, question the last part of the boy's statement, but -this is pure cynicism and fortunately does not enter into the child's -calculations. - -In my own personal experience (and I have told this story often in the -German ballad form to girls of ten and twelve in the High Schools in -England) I have never found one girl who sympathised with the lady or -who failed to appreciate the poetic justice meted out to her in the end -by the dignified renunciation of the knight. - -Chesterton defines sentimentality as “a tame, cold, or small and -inadequate manner of speaking about certain matters which demand very -large and beautiful expression.” - -I would strongly urge upon young teachers to revise, by this -definition, some of the stories they have included in their repertory, -and see whether they would stand the test or not. - -IV.--_Stories containing strong sensational episodes._ The danger is -all the greater because many children delight in it, and some crave for -it in the abstract, but fear it in the concrete.[19] - -An affectionate aunt, on one occasion, anxious to curry favour with -a four-year-old nephew, was taxing her imagination to find a story -suitable for his tender years. She was greatly startled when he -suddenly said, in a most imperative tone: “Tell me the story of a -_bear_ eating a small boy.” This was so remote from her own choice -of subject that she hesitated at first, but coming to the conclusion -that as the child had chosen the situation he would feel no terror -in the working up of its details, she began a most thrilling and -blood-curdling story, leading up to the final catastrophe. But just as -she had reached the great dramatic moment, the child raised his hands -in terror and said: “Oh! Auntie, don't let the bear _really_ eat the -boy!” - -“Don't you know,” said an impatient boy who had been listening to a -mild adventure story considered suitable to his years, “that I don't -take any interest in the story until the decks are dripping with gore?” -Here we have no opportunity of deciding whether or not the actual -description demanded would be more alarming than the listener had -realised. - -Here is a poem of James Stephens, showing a child's taste for -sensational things:-- - - A man was sitting underneath a tree - Outside the village, and he asked me - What name was upon this place, and said he - Was never here before. He told a - Lot of stories to me too. His nose was flat. - I asked him how it happened, and he said, - The first mate of the “Mary Ann” done that, - With a marling-spike one day, but he was dead, - And a jolly job too, but he'd have gone a long way to have - killed him. - A gold ring in one ear, and the other was bit off by a crocodile, - bedad, - That's what he said: He taught me how to chew. - He was a real nice man. He liked me too. - -The taste that is fed by the sensational contents of the newspapers -and the dramatic excitement of street life, and some of the lurid -representations of the Kinematograph, is so much stimulated that the -interest in normal stories is difficult to rouse. I will not here dwell -on the deleterious effects of over dramatic stimulation, which has been -known to lead to crime, since I am keener to prevent the telling of too -many sensational stories than to suggest a cure when the mischief is -done. Kate Douglas Wiggin has said: - -“Let us be realistic, by all means, but beware, O Story-teller, of -being too realistic. Avoid the shuddering tale of ‘the wicked boy who -stoned the birds,’ lest some hearer should be inspired to try the -dreadful experiment and see if it really does kill.” - -I must emphasise the fact, however, that it is only the excess of -this dramatic element which I deplore. A certain amount of excitement -is necessary; but this question belongs to the positive side of the -subject, and I shall deal with it later on. - -V.--_Stories presenting matters quite outside the plane of the child_ -(unless they are wrapped in mystery, which is of great educational -value). - -The element I wish to eliminate is the one which would make children -world-wise and old before their time. - -A small American child who had entertained a guest in her mother's -absence, when questioned as to whether she had shown all the -hospitality the mother would have considered necessary, said: “Oh! yes. -And I talked to her in the kind of ‘dressy’ tone _you_ use on your ‘At -Home’ days.” - -On one occasion I was lecturing in the town of Cleveland, and was to -stay in the house of a lady whom I had met only once, in New York, but -with true American hospitality she had begged me to make her house my -home during the whole of my stay in Cleveland. In writing to invite -me, she mentioned the pleasure it would afford her little ten-year-old -daughter to make my acquaintance, and added this somewhat enigmatic -sentence: “Mignon has asked permission to dedicate her _last_ work to -you.” I was alarmed at the word _last_, given the age of the author, -and felt sorry that the literary faculty had developed quite so early, -lest the unfettered and irresponsible years of childhood should have -been sacrificed. I was still more troubled when, upon my arrival, -I learned that the title of the book which was to be dedicated to -me was “The Two Army Girls,” and contained the elaborate history of -a double courtship. But, as the story was read to me, I was soon -disarmed. A more innocent recital I never heard--and it was all the -quainter because of certain little grown-up sentences gathered from the -conversation of elders in unguarded moments, which evidently conveyed -but slight meaning to the youthful authoress. The final scene between -two of the lovers is so characteristic that I cannot refrain from -quoting the actual words. Said John: “I love you, and I wish you to be -my wife.” “That I will,” said Mary, without any hesitation. “That's all -right,” said John. “And now let us _get back to the Golf Links_.” - -Oh, that modern writers of fiction would “get back to the Golf Links” -sooner than they do, realising with this little unconscious philosopher -that there are some reactions from love-making which show a healthy and -balanced constitution. - -Experience with children ought to teach us to avoid stories which -contain too much _allusion_ to matters of which the hearers are -entirely ignorant; but, judging from the written stories of to-day, -supposed to be for children, it is still a matter of difficulty to -realise that this form of allusion to “foreign” matters, or making a -joke the appreciation of which depends solely on a special and “inside” -knowledge, is always bewildering and fatal to sustained dramatic -interest. - -It is a matter of intense regret that so very few people have -sufficiently clear remembrance of their own childhood to help them to -understand the taste and point of view of the _normal_ child. There -is a passage in the “Brownies” (by Mrs. Ewing) which illustrates the -confusion created in the child mind by a facetious allusion in a -dramatic moment which needed a more direct treatment. - -When the nursery toys have all gone astray, one little child exclaims -joyfully: - -“Why, the old Rocking-Horse's nose has turned up in the oven!” - -“It couldn't” remarks a tiresome, facetious doctor, far more anxious -to be funny than to sympathise with the joy of the child; “it was the -purest Grecian, modelled from the Elgin marbles.” - -Now, for grown-up people this is an excellent joke, but for a child -who has not yet become acquainted with these Grecian masterpieces, the -whole remark is pointless and hampering.[20] - -VI.--_Stories which appeal to fear or priggishness._ This is a class of -story to be avoided which scarcely counts to-day and against which the -teacher does not need a warning; but I wish to make a passing allusion -to it, partly to round off my subject and partly to show that we have -made some improvement in choice of subject. - -When I study the evolution of the story from the crude recitals -offered to our children within the last hundred years, I feel that, -though our progress in intelligent mental catering may be slow, it -is real and sure. One has only to take some examples from the Chap -Books of the beginning of last century to realise the difference of -appeal. Everything offered then was either an appeal to fear or to -priggishness, and one wonders how it is that our grandparents and their -parents ever recovered from the effects of such stories as were offered -to them. But there is the consoling thought that no lasting impression -was made upon them, such as I believe _may_ be possible by the right -kind of story. - -I offer a few examples of the old type of story: - -Here is an encouraging address offered by a certain Mr. Janeway to -children about the year 1828: - -“Dare you do anything which your parents forbid you, and neglect to -do what they command? Dare you to run up and down on the Lord's Day, -or do you keep in to read your book, and learn what your good parents -command?” - -Such an address would have almost tempted children to envy the lot of -orphans, except that the guardians and less close relations might have -been equally, if not more, severe. - -From “The Curious Girl,” published about 1809: “Oh! papa, I hope you -will have no reason to be dissatisfied with me, for I love my studies -very much, and I am never so happy at my play as when I have been -assiduous at my lessons all day.” - -“Adolphus: How strange it is, papa, you should believe it possible for -me to act so like a child, now that I am twelve years old!” - -Here is a specimen taken from a Chap-book about 1825: - -Edward refuses hot bread at breakfast. His hostess asks whether he -likes it. “Yes, I am extremely fond of it.” “Why did you refuse it?” -“Because I know that my papa does not approve of my eating it. Am I to -disobey a Father and Mother I love so well, and forget my duty, because -they are a long way off? I would not touch the cake, were I sure nobody -could see me. I myself should know it, and that would be sufficient.” - -“Nobly replied!” exclaimed Mrs. C. “Act always thus, and you must be -happy, for although the whole world should refuse the praise that is -due, you must enjoy the approbation of your conscience, which is beyond -anything else.” - -Here is a quotation of the same kind from Mrs. Sherwood: - -“Tender-souled little creatures, desolated by a sense of sin, if -they did but eat a spoonful of cupboard jam without Mamma's express -permission.... Would a modern Lucy, jealous of her sister Emily's doll, -break out thus easily into tearful apology for her guilt?--‘I know -it is wicked in me to be sorry that Emily is happy, but I feel that -I cannot help it.’ And would a modern mother retort with heartfelt -joy?--'My dear child, I am glad you have confessed. Now I shall tell -you why you feel this wicked sorrow'--proceeding to an account of the -depravity of human nature so unredeemed by comfort for a childish mind -of common intelligence that one can scarcely imagine the interview -ending in anything less tragic than a fit of juvenile hysteria.” - -Description of a Good Boy. “A good boy is dutiful to his Father and -Mother, obedient to his master and loving to his playfellows. He is -diligent in learning his book, and takes a pleasure in improving -himself in everything that is worthy of praise. He rises early in -the morning, makes himself clean and decent, and says his prayers. -He loves to hear good advice, is thankful to those who give it and -always follows it. He never swears[21] or calls names or uses ill words -to companions. He is never peevish and fretful, always cheerful and -good-tempered.” - -VII.--_Stories of exaggerated and coarse fun._ In the chapter on the -positive side of this subject I shall speak more in detail of the -educational value of robust and virile representation of fun and of -sheer nonsense, but as a representation to these statements, I should -like to strike a note of warning about the element of exaggerated and -coarse fun being encouraged in our school stories, partly because of -the lack of humour in such presentations--a natural product of stifling -imagination--and partly because the train of the abnormal has the same -effect as the too frequent use of the melodramatic. - -You have only to read the adventures of Buster Brown, which for years -formed the Sunday reading of millions of children in the United States, -to realise what would be the effect of coarse fun and entire absence -of humour upon the normal child in its everyday experience, an effect -all the greater because of the real skill with which the illustrations -are drawn. It is only fair to state that this series was not originally -prepared or intended for the young, but it is a matter of regret -(shared by most educationists in the States) that they should ever have -been given to children at all. - -In an article in _Macmillan's Magazine_, Dec. 1869, Miss Yonge writes: -“A taste for buffoonery is much to be discouraged, an exclusive taste -for extravagance most unwholesome and even perverting. It becomes -destructive of reverence and soon degenerates into coarseness. It -permits nothing poetical or imaginative, nothing sweet or pathetic to -exist, and there is a certain self-satisfaction and superiority in -making game of what others regard with enthusiasm and sentiment which -absolutely bars the way against a higher or softer tone.” - -Although these words were written nearly half a century ago, they are -so specially applicable to-day that they seem quite “up-to-date”: -indeed, I think they will hold equally good fifty years hence. - -In spite of a strong taste on the part of children for what is ugly -and brutal, I am sure that we ought to eliminate this element as far -as possible from the school stories--especially among poor children. -Not because I think children should be protected from all knowledge -of evil, but because so much of this knowledge comes into their life -outside school that we can well afford to ignore it during school -hours. At the same time, however, as I shall show by example when I -come to the positive side, it would be well to show children by story -illustration the difference between brute ugliness without anything -to redeem it and surface ugliness, which may be only a veil over the -beauty that lies underneath. It might be possible, for instance, to -show children the difference between the real ugliness of a brutal -story of crime and an illustration of it in the sensational papers, -and the apparent ugliness in the priest's face of the “Laocoon” group, -because of the motive of courage and endurance behind the suffering. -Many stories in everyday life could be found to illustrate this. - -VIII.--_Stories of infant piety and death-bed scenes._ The stories -for children forty years ago contained much of this element, and the -following examples will illustrate this point: - -Notes from poems written by a child between six and eight years of age, -by name Philip Freeman, afterwards Archdeacon of Exeter: - - Poor Robin, thou canst fly no more, - Thy joys and sorrows all are o'er. - Through Life's tempestuous storms thou'st trod, - But now art sunk beneath the sod. - Here lost and gone poor Robin lies, - He trembles, lingers, falls and dies. - He's gone, he's gone, forever lost, - No more of him they now can boast. - Poor Robin's dangers all are past, - He struggled to the very last. - Perhaps he spent a happy Life, - Without much struggle and much strife. - - _Published by John Loder, bookseller, Woodbridge, in 1829._ - -The prolonged gloom of the main theme is somewhat lightened by the -speculative optimism of the last verse. - - Life, transient Life, is but a dream, - Like Sleep which short doth lengthened seem - Till dawn of day, when the bird's lay - Doth charm the soul's first peeping gleam. - - Then farewell to the parting year, - Another's come to Nature dear. - In every place, thy brightening face - Does welcome winter's snowy drear. - - Alas! our time is much mis-spent. - Then we must haste and now repent. - We have a book in which to look, - For we on Wisdom should be bent. - - Should God, the Almighty, King of all, - Before His judgment-seat now call - Us to that place of Joy and Grace - Prepared for us since Adam's fall. - -I think there is no doubt that we have made considerable progress in -this matter. Not only do we refrain from telling these highly moral -(_sic_) stories but we have reached the point of parodying them, -in sign of ridicule, as, for instance, in such writing as Belloc's -“Cautionary Tales.” These would be a trifle too grim for a timid child, -but excellent fun for adults. - -It should be our study to-day to prove to children that the immediate -importance to them is not to think of dying and going to Heaven, but -of living and--shall we say?--going to College, which is a far better -preparation for a life to come than the morbid dwelling upon the -possibility of an early death. - -In an article signed “Muriel Harris,” I think, from a copy of the -_Tribune_, appeared a delightful article on Sunday Books, from which I -quote the following: - -“All very good little children died young in the story-books, so that -unusual goodness must have been the source of considerable anxiety to -affectionate parents. I came across a little old book the other day -called ‘Examples for Youth.’ On the yellow fly-leaf was written in -childish, carefully sloping hand: ‘Presented to Mary Palmer Junior, by -her sister, to be read on Sundays,’ and was dated 1828. The accounts -are taken from a work on _Piety Promoted_, and all of them begin with -unusual piety in early youth and end with the death-bed of the little -paragon, and his or her dying words.” - -IX.--_Stories containing a mixture of Fairy Tale and Science._ By this -combination you lose what is essential to each, namely, the fantastic -on the one side, and accuracy on the other. The true Fairy Tale should -be unhampered by any compromise of probability even--the scientific -representation should be sufficiently marvellous along its own lines to -need no supernatural aid. Both appeal to the imagination in different -ways. - -As an exception to this kind of mixture, I should quote “The Honey Bee, -and Other Stories,” translated from the Danish of Evald by C. G. Moore -Smith. There is a certain robustness in these stories dealing with the -inexorable laws of Nature, though some of them will appear hard to the -child; but they will be of interest to all teachers. - -Perhaps the worst element in choice of stories is that which insists -upon the moral detaching itself and explaining the story. In “Alice in -Wonderland” the Duchess says, “‘And the moral of _that_ is: Take care -of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves.’ ‘How fond -she is of finding morals in things,’ thought Alice to herself.” (This -gives the point of view of the child.) - -The following is a case in point, found in a rare old print in the -British Museum: - -“Jane S. came home with her clothes soiled and hands badly torn. ‘Where -have you been?’ asked her mother. ‘I fell down the bank near the mill,’ -said Jane, ‘and I should have been drowned if Mr. M. had not seen me -and pulled me out.’ 'Why did you go so near the edge of the brink?‘ -'There was a pretty flower there that I wanted, and I only meant to -take one step, but I slipped and fell down.’ Moral: Young people often -take but one step in sinful indulgence (Poor Jane!), but they fall -into soul-destroying sins. There is a sinful pleasure which they wish -to enjoy. They can do it by a single act of sin (the heinous act of -picking a flower!). They do it; but that act leads to another, and they -fall into the Gulf of Perdition, unless God interposes.” - -Now, apart from the folly of this story, we must condemn it on moral -grounds. Could we imagine a lower standard of a Deity than that -presented here to the child? - -To-day the teacher would commend Jane for a laudable interest in -botany, but might add a word of caution about choosing inclined planes -as a hunting-ground for specimens and a popular, lucid explanation of -the inexorable law of gravity. - -Here we have an instance of applying a moral when we have finished our -story, but there are many stories where nothing is left to chance in -this matter, and where there is no means for the child to use ingenuity -or imagination in making out the meaning for himself. - -Henry Morley has condemned the use of this method as applied to Fairy -Stories. He says: “Moralising in a Fairy Story is like the snoring of -Bottom in Titania's lap.” - -But I think this applies to all stories, and most especially to those -by which we do wish to teach something. - -John Burroughs says in his article,[22] “Thou shalt not preach”: - -“Didactic fiction can never rank high. Thou shalt not preach or teach; -though shalt pourtray and create, and have ends as universal as -nature.... What Art demands is that the Artist's personal convictions -and notions, his likes and dislikes, do not obtrude themselves at all; -that good and evil stand judged in his work by the logic of events, -as they do in nature, and not by any special pleading on his part. He -does not hold a brief for either side; he exemplifies the working of -the creative energy.... The great artist works _in_ and _through_ and -_from_ moral ideas; his works are indirectly a criticism of life. He -is moral without having a moral. The moment a moral obtrudes itself, -that moment he begins to fall from grace as an artist.... The great -distinction of Art is that it aims to see life steadily and to see it -whole.... It affords the one point of view whence the world appears -harmonious and complete.” - -It would seem, then, from this passage, that it is of _moral_ -importance to put things dramatically. - -In Froebel's “Mother Play” he demonstrates the educational value of -stories, emphasising that their highest use consists in their ability -to enable the child, through _suggestion_, to form a pure and noble -idea of what a man may be or do. The sensitiveness of a child's mind -is offended if the moral is forced upon him, but if he absorbs it -unconsciously, he has received its influence for all time. - -To me the idea of pointing out the moral of the story has always seemed -as futile as tying a flower on to a stalk instead of letting the flower -_grow out_ of the stalk, as Nature intended. In the first case, the -flower, showy and bright for the moment, soon fades away. In the second -instance, it develops slowly, coming to perfection in fulness of time -because of the life within. - -X.--Lastly, the element to avoid is _that which rouses emotions which -cannot be translated into action_. - -Mr. Earl Barnes, to whom all teachers owe a debt of gratitude for the -inspiration of his education views, insists strongly on this point. -The sole effect of such stories is to produce a form of hysteria, -fortunately short-lived, but a waste of force which might be directed -into a better channel.[23] Such stories are so easy to recognise that -it would be useless to make a formal list, but I shall make further -allusion to this in dealing with stories from the lives of the saints. - -These, then, are the main elements to avoid in the selection of -material suitable for normal children. Much might be added in the way -of detail, and the special tendency of the day may make it necessary to -avoid one class of story more than another; but this care belongs to -another generation of teachers and parents. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[18] Such works as “Ministering Children,” “The Wide, Wide World,” -“The Fairchild Family,” are instances of the kind of story I mean, as -containing too much analysis of emotion. - -[19] One child's favourite book bore the exciting title of “Birth, Life -and Death of Crazy Jane.” - -[20] This does not imply that the child would not appreciate in the -right context the thrilling and romantic story in connection with the -finding of the Elgin marbles. - -[21] One is almost inclined to prefer Marjorie Fleming's little -innocent oaths. “But she was more than usual calm. She did not give a -single dam.” - -[22] From “Literary Values.” - -[23] A story is told of Confucius, that having attended a funeral he -presented his horse to the chief mourner. When asked why he bestowed -this gift, he replied: “I wept with the man, so I feel I ought to _do_ -something for him.” - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -ELEMENTS TO SEEK IN CHOICE OF MATERIAL. - - -IN “The Choice of Books” Frederic Harrison has said: “The most useful -help to reading is to know what we shall _not_ read, ... what we -shall keep from that small cleared spot in the overgrown jungle of -information which we can call our ordered patch of fruit-bearing -knowledge.”[24] - -Now, the same statement applies to our stories, and, having busied -myself, during the last chapter, with “clearing my small spot” by -cutting away a mass of unfruitful growth, I am now going to suggest -what would be the best kind of seed to sow in the patch which I have -“reclaimed from the Jungle.” - -Again I repeat that I have no wish to be dogmatic, and that in offering -suggestions as to the stories to be told, I am only catering for a -group of normal school-children. My list of subjects does not pretend -to cover the whole ground of children's needs, and just as I exclude -the abnormal or unusual child from the scope of my warning in subjects -to avoid, so do I also exclude that child from the limitation in choice -of subjects to be sought, because you can offer almost any subject to -the unusual child, especially if you stand in close relation to him and -know his powers of apprehension. In this matter, _age_ has very little -to say: it is a question of the stage of development. - -Experience has taught me that for the group of normal children, almost -irrespective of age, the first kind of story suitable will contain an -appeal to conditions to which they are accustomed. The reason of this -is obvious: the child, having limited experience, can only be reached -by this experience, until his imagination is awakened and he is enabled -to grasp through this faculty what he has not actually passed through. -Before this awakening has taken place he enters the realm of fiction -(represented in the story) by comparison with his personal experience. -Every story and every point in the story mean more as that experience -widens, and the interest varies, of course, with temperament, quickness -of perception, power of visualising and of concentration. - -In “The Marsh King's Daughter,” H. C. Andersen says: - -“The Storks have a great many stories which they tell their little -ones, all about the bogs and marshes. They suit them to their age and -capacity. The young ones are quite satisfied with Kribble, Krabble, -or some such nonsense, and find it charming; but the elder ones want -something with more meaning.” - -One of the most interesting experiments to be made in connection with -this subject is to tell the same story at intervals of a year or six -months to some individual child.[25] The different incidents in the -story which appeal to it (and you must watch it closely, to be sure the -interest is real, and not artificially stimulated by any suggestion on -your part) will mark its mental development and the gradual awakening -of its imagination. This experiment is a very delicate one, and will -not be infallible, because children are secretive and the appreciation -is often (unconsciously) simulated, or concealed through shyness or -want of articulation. But it is, in spite of this, a deeply interesting -and helpful experiment. - -To take a concrete example: let us suppose the story of Andersen's Tin -Soldier told to a child of five or six years. At the first recital, the -point which will interest the child most will be the setting up of the -tin soldiers on the table, because he can understand this by means of -his own experience, in his own nursery: it is an appeal to conditions -to which he is accustomed and for which no exercise of the imagination -is needed, unless we take the effect of memory to be, according to -Queyrat, retrospective imagination. - -The next incident that appeals is the unfamiliar behaviour of the toys, -but still in familiar surroundings; that is to say, the _unusual_ -activities are carried on in the safe precincts of the nursery--in the -_usual_ atmosphere of the child. - -I quote from the text: - -“Late in the evening the other soldiers were put in their box, and the -people of the house went to bed. Now was the time for the toys to play; -they amused themselves with paying visits, fighting battles and giving -balls. The tin soldiers rustled about in their box, for they wanted to -join the games, but they could not get the lid off. The nut-crackers -turned somersaults, and the pencil scribbled nonsense on the slate.” - -Now, from this point onwards in the story, the events will be quite -outside the personal experience of the child, and there will have -to be a real stretch of imagination to appreciate the thrilling and -blood-curdling adventures of the little tin soldier, namely, the -terrible sailing down the gutter under the bridge, the meeting with -the fierce rat who demands the soldier's passport, the horrible -sensation in the fish's body, etc. Last of all, perhaps, will come -the appreciation of the best qualities of the hero: his modesty, his -dignity, his reticence, his courage and his constancy: he seems to -combine all the qualities of the best soldier with those of the best -civilian, without the more obvious qualities which generally attract -first. As for the love-story, we must not _expect_ any child to see -its tenderness and beauty, though the individual child may intuitively -appreciate these qualities, but it is not what we wish for or work for -at this period of child-life. - -This method could be applied to various stories. I have chosen the _Tin -Soldier_ because of its dramatic qualities and because it is marked off -(probably quite unconsciously on the part of Andersen) into periods -which correspond to the child's development. - -In Eugene Field's exquisite little poem of “The Dinkey Bird” we find -the objects familiar to the child in _unusual_ places, so that some -imagination is needed to realise that “big red sugar-plums are clinging -to the cliffs beside that sea”; but the introduction of the fantastic -bird and the soothing sound of the Amfalula Tree are new and delightful -sensations, quite out of the child's personal experience. - -Another such instance is to be found in Mrs. W. K. Clifford's story of -Master Willie. The abnormal behaviour of familiar objects, such as a -doll, leads from the ordinary routine to the paths of adventure. This -story is to be found in a little book called “Very Short Stories,” a -most interesting collection for teachers and children. - -We now come to the second element we should seek in material--namely, -the element of the unusual, which we have already anticipated in the -story of the Tin Soldier. - -This element is necessary in response to the demand of the child who -expressed the needs of his fellow-playmates when he said: “I want to go -to the place where the shadows are real.” This is the true definition -of “Faerie” lands, and is the first sign of real mental development -in the child when he is no longer content with the stories of his own -little deeds and experiences, when his ear begins to appreciate sounds -different from the words in his own everyday language, and when he -begins to separate his own personality from the action of the story. - -George Goschen says[26]: - -“What I want for the young are books and stories which do not simply -deal with our daily life. I like the fancy (even) of little children -to have some larger food than images of their own little lives, and -I confess I am sorry for the children whose imaginations are not -sometimes stimulated by beautiful Fairy Tales which carry them to -worlds different from those in which their future will be passed.... -I hold that what removes them more or less from their daily life is -better than what reminds them of it at every step.” - -It is because of the great value of leading children to something -beyond the limited circle of their own lives that I deplore the -twaddling boarding-school stories written for girls and the -artificially-prepared Public School stories for boys. Why not give them -the dramatic interest of a larger stage? No account of a cricket match, -or a football triumph, could present a finer appeal to boys and girls -than the description of the Peacestead in the “Heroes of Asgaard”: - -“This was the playground of the Æsir, where they practised trials of -skill one with another and held tournaments and sham fights. These last -were always conducted in the gentlest and most honourable manner; for -the strongest law of the Peacestead was, that no angry blow should be -struck, or spiteful word spoken upon the sacred field.” - -For my part, I would unhesitatingly give to boys and girls an element -of strong romance in the stories which are told them even before they -are twelve. Miss Sewell says: - -“The system that keeps girls in the schoolroom reading simple stories, -without reading Scott and Shakespeare and Spenser, and then hands them -over to the unexplored recesses of the Circulating Library, has been -shown to be the most frivolizing that can be devised.” She sets forward -the result of her experience that a good novel, especially a romantic -one, read at twelve or fourteen, is really a beneficial thing. - -At present many of the children from the elementary schools get their -first idea of love (if one can give it such a name) from vulgar -pictures displayed in the shop windows, or jokes on marriage culled -from the lowest type of paper, or the proceedings of a divorce-court. - -What an antidote to such representation might be found in the story of - - Hector and Andromache, - Siegfreid and Brunhild, - Dido and Æneas, - Orpheus and Eurydice, - St. Francis and St. Clare. - -One of the strongest elements we should introduce into our stories for -children of all ages is that which calls forth love of beauty. And the -beauty should stand out, not necessarily only in delineation of noble -qualities in our heroes and heroines, but in beauty and strength of -language and form. - -In this latter respect the Bible stories are of such inestimable -value--all the greater because a child is familiar with the subject, -and the stories gain fresh significance from the spoken or winged word -as compared with the mere reading. Whether we should keep to the actual -text is a matter of individual experience. Professor R. G. Moulton, -whose interpretations of the Bible Stories are so well known both in -England and the States, does not always confine himself to the actual -text, but draws the dramatic elements together, rejecting what seems to -him to break the narrative, but introducing the actual language where -it is the most effective. Those who have heard him will realise the -success of his method. - -There is one Bible story which can be told with scarcely any deviation, -and that is the story of Nebuchadnezzar and the Golden Image. Thus, I -think it wise, if the children are to succeed in partially visualizing -the story, that they should have some idea of the dimensions of the -Golden Image as it would stand out in a vast plain. It might be well -to compare those dimensions with some building with which the child is -familiar. In London the matter is easy, as the height will compare, -roughly speaking, with that of Westminster Abbey. The only change in -the text I should adopt is to avoid the constant enumeration of the -list of rulers and the musical instruments. In doing this, I am aware -that I am sacrificing something of beauty in the rhythm,--on the other -hand, for narrative purpose, the interest is not broken. The first time -the announcement is made, that is, by the Herald, it should be in a -perfectly loud, clear and toneless voice, such as you would naturally -use when shouting through a trumpet to a vast concourse of people -scattered over a wide plain; reserving all the dramatic tone of voice -for the passage where Nebuchadnezzar is making the announcement to the -three men by themselves. I can remember Professor Moulton saying that -all the dramatic interest of the story is summed up in the words “But -if Not....” This suggestion is a very helpful one, for it enables us to -work up gradually to this point, and then, as it were, _unwind_, until -we reach the words of Nebuchadnezzar's dramatic recantation. - -In this connection, it is a good plan occasionally during the story -hour to introduce really good poetry which, delivered in a dramatic -manner (far removed, of course, from the melodramatic), might give -children their first love of beautiful form in verse. And I do not -think it necessary to wait for this. Even the normal child of seven -(though there is nothing arbitrary in the suggestion of this age) will -appreciate the effect--if only on the ear--of beautiful lines well -spoken. Mahomet has said, in his teaching advice: “Teach your children -poetry: it opens the mind, lends grace to wisdom and makes heroic -virtues hereditary.” - -To begin with the youngest children of all, here is a poem which -contains a thread of story, just enough to give a human interest: - -MILKING-TIME. - - When the cows come home, the milk is coming, - Honey's made when the bees are humming. - Duck, Drake on the rushy lake, - And the deer live safe in the breezy brake, - And timid, funny, pert little bunny - Winks his nose, and sits all sunny. - _Christina Rossetti._ - -Now, in comparing this poem with some of the doggerel verse offered -to small children, one is struck with the literary superiority in the -choice of words. Here, in spite of the simplicity of the poem, there -is not the ordinary limited vocabulary, nor the forced rhyme, nor the -application of a moral, by which the artist falls from grace. - -Again, in Eugene Field's “Hushaby Lady,” the language of which is most -simple, the child is carried away by the beauty of the sound. - -I remember hearing some poetry repeated by the children in one of -the elementary schools in Sheffield which made me feel that they had -realised romantic possibilities which would prevent their lives from -ever becoming quite prosaic again, and I wish that this practice -were more usual. There is little difficulty with the children. I can -remember, in my own experience as a teacher in London, making the -experiment of reading or repeating passages from Milton and Shakespeare -to children from nine to eleven years of age, and the enthusiastic -way they responded by learning those passages by heart. I have taken, -with several sets of children, such passages from Milton as “Echo -Song,” “Sabrina,” “By the rushy fringed Bank,” “Back, shepherds, back,” -from _Comus_, “May Morning,” “Ode to Shakespeare,” “Samson on his -blindness,” etc. I even ventured on several passages from _Paradise -Lost_, and found “Now came still evening on” a particular favourite -with the children. - -It seemed even easier to interest them in Shakespeare, and they learned -quite readily and easily many passages from “As You Like It,” “Merchant -of Venice,” “Julius Cæsar”; from “Richard II,” “Henry IV,” and “Henry -V.” - -The method I should recommend in the introduction of both poets -occasionally into the Story-hour would be threefold. - -First, to choose passages which appeal for beauty of sound or beauty -of mental vision called up by those sounds: such as, “Tell me where is -Fancy bred,” Titania's Lullaby, “How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon -this bank.” - -Secondly, passages for sheer interest of content, such as the Trial -Scene from “The Merchant of Venice,” or the Forest Scene in “As You -Like It.” - -Thirdly, for dramatic and historical interest, such as, “Men at some -time are masters of their fates,” the whole of Mark Antony's speech, -and the scene with Imogen and her foster-brothers in the Forest. - -It may not be wholly out of place to add here that the children learned -and repeated these passages themselves, and that I offered them the -same advice as I do to all Story-tellers. I discussed quite openly -with them the method I considered best, trying to make them see that -simplicity of delivery was not only the most beautiful but the most -effective means to use; and, by the end of a few months, when they -had been allowed to experiment and express themselves, they began -to see that mere ranting was not force, and that a sense of reserve -power is infinitely more impressive and inspiring than mere external -presentation. - -I encouraged them to criticise each other for the common good, and -sometimes I read a few lines with over-emphasis and too much gesture, -which they were at liberty to point out, so that they might avoid the -same error. - -A very good collection of poems for this purpose of narrative is to be -found in: - - Mrs. P. A. Barnett's series of _Song and Story_, - Published by A. and C. Black. - -And for older children: - - _The Call of the Homeland_, Anthology. - Edited by Dr. Scott and Miss Katharine Wallas, Published by - Blackie and Son. - -Also in a collection published (I believe) in Boston by Miss Agnes -Repplier. - - _Golden Numbers_. - (K. D. Wiggin and N. A. Smith). - -It will be realised from the scanty number of examples offered in -this section that it is only a side issue, a mere suggestion of an -occasional alternative for the Story-hour, as likely to develop the -imagination. - -I think it is well to have a good number of stories illustrating the -importance of common sense and resourcefulness. For this reason I -consider that stories treating of the ultimate success of the youngest -son are very admirable for the purpose, because the youngest child, -who begins by being considered inferior to the elder ones, triumphs in -the end, either from resourcefulness, or from common sense, or from -some high quality, such as kindness to animals, courage in overcoming -difficulties, etc.[27] - -Thus we have the story of Cinderella. The cynic might imagine that it -was the diminutive size of her foot that ensured her success: the child -does not realise any advantage in this, but, though the matter need not -be pressed, the story leaves us with the impression that Cinderella had -been patient and industrious, forbearing with her sisters. We know that -she was strictly obedient to her godmother, and in order to be this -she makes her dramatic exit from the ball which is the beginning of -her triumph. There are many who might say that these qualities do not -meet with reward in life and that they end in establishing a habit of -drudgery, but, after all, we must have poetic justice in a Fairy Story, -occasionally, at any rate. - -Another such story is “Jesper and the Hares.” Here, however, it is -not at first resourcefulness that helps the hero, but sheer kindness -of heart, which prompts him first to help the ants, and then to -show civility to the old woman, without for a moment expecting any -material benefit from such actions. At the end, he does win by his own -ingenuity and resourcefulness, and if we regret that his _trickery_ -has such wonderful results, we must remember that the aim was to win -the princess for herself, and that there was little choice left him. I -consider the end of this story to be one of the most remarkable I have -found in my long years of browsing among Fairy Tales. I should suggest -stopping at the words: “The Tub is full,” as any addition seems to -destroy the subtlety of the story.[28] - -Another story of this kind, admirable for children from six years and -upwards, is “What the Old Man does is always Right.” Here, perhaps, -the entire lack of common sense on the part of the hero would serve -rather as a warning than a stimulating example, but the conduct of -the wife in excusing the errors of her foolish husband is a model of -resourcefulness. - -In the story of “Hereafter--this”[29] we have just the converse: a -perfectly foolish wife shielded by a most patient and forbearing -husband, whose tolerance and common sense save the situation. - -One of the most important elements to seek in our choice of stories is -that which tends to develop, eventually, a fine sense of humour in a -child. I purposely use the word “eventually,” because I realise first -that humour has various stages, and that seldom, if ever, can you -expect an appreciation of fine humour from a normal child, that is, -from an elemental mind. It seems as if the rough-and-tumble element -were almost a necessary stage through which children must pass--a -stage, moreover, which is normal and healthy; but up to now we have -quite unnecessarily extended the period of elephantine fun, and though -we cannot control the manner in which children are catered for along -this line in their homes, we can restrict the folly of appealing too -strongly or too long to this elemental faculty in our schools. Of -course, the temptation is strong, because the appeal is so easy. But -there is a tacit recognition that horse-play and practical jokes are -no longer considered an essential part of a child's education. We note -this in the changed attitude in the schools, taken by more advanced -educationists, towards bullying, fagging, hazing, etc. As a reaction, -then, from more obvious fun, there should be a certain number of -stories which make appeal to a more subtle element, and in the chapter -on the questions put to me by teachers on various occasions, I speak -more in detail about the educational value of a finer humour in our -stories. - -At some period there ought to be presented in our stories the -superstitions connected with the primitive history of the race, dealing -with the Fairy (proper), giants, dwarfs, gnomes, nixies, brownies -and other elemental beings. Andrew Lang says: “Without our savage -ancestors we should have had no poetry. Conceive the human race born -into the world in its present advanced condition, weighing, analysing, -examining everything. Such a race would have been destitute of poetry -and flattened by common sense. Barbarians did the _dreaming_ of the -world.” - -But it is a question of much debate among educationists what should -be the period of the child's life in which these stories are to be -presented. I myself was formerly of opinion that they belonged to -the very primitive age of the individual, just as they belong to the -primitive age of the race, but experience in telling stories has taught -me to compromise. - -Some people maintain that little children, who take things with brutal -logic, ought not to be allowed the Fairy Tale in its more limited -form of the Supernatural; whereas, if presented to older children, -this material can be criticised, catalogued and (alas!) rejected as -worthless, or retained with flippant toleration. - -Now, whilst recognising a certain value in this point of view, I am -bound to admit that if we regulate our stories entirely on this basis, -we lose the real value of the Fairy Tale element--it is the one element -which causes little children to _wonder_, simply because no scientific -analysis of the story can be presented to them. It is somewhat -heartrending to feel that Jack and the Bean-Stalk and stories of that -ilk are to be handed over to the critical youth who will condemn the -quick growth of the tree as being contrary to the order of nature, and -wonder why Jack was not playing football in the school team instead of -climbing trees in search of imaginary adventures. - -A wonderful plea for the telling of early superstitions to children is -to be found in an old Indian Allegory called “The Blazing Mansion.” - - “An old man owned a large, rambling mansion--the pillars - were rotten, the galleries tumbling down, the thatch dry and - combustible, and there was only one door. Suddenly, one day, there - was a smell of fire: the old man rushed out. To his horror he - saw that the thatch was aflame, the rotten pillars were catching - fire one by one, and the rafters were burning like tinder. But - inside, the children went on amusing themselves quite happily. The - distracted father said: ‘I will run in and save my children. I will - seize them in my strong arms, I will bear them harmless through the - falling rafters and the blazing beams.’ Then the sad thought came - to him that the children were romping and ignorant. ‘If I say the - house is on fire, they will not understand me. If I try to seize - them, they will romp about and try to escape. Alas! not a moment to - be lost!’ Suddenly a bright thought flashed across the old man's - mind. ‘My children are ignorant,’ he said; ‘they love toys and - glittering playthings. I will promise them playthings of unheard-of - beauty. Then they will listen.’ - - So the old man shouted: ‘Children, come out of the house and see - these beautiful toys! Chariots with white oxen, all gold and - tinsel. See these exquisite little antelopes. Whoever saw such - goats as these? Children, children, come quickly, or they will all - be gone!’ - - Forth from the blazing ruin the children came in hot haste. The - word ‘plaything’ was almost the only word they could understand. - - Then the Father, rejoiced that his offspring was freed from peril, - procured for them one of the most beautiful chariots ever seen: - the chariot had a canopy like a pagoda: it had tiny rails and - balustrades and rows of jingling bells. Milk-white oxen drew the - chariot. The children were astonished when they were placed inside.” - (_From the “Thabagata.”_) - -Perhaps, as a compromise, one might give the gentler superstitions to -very small children, and leave such a blood-curdling story as Bluebeard -to a more robust age. - -There is one modern method which has always seemed to me much to be -condemned, and that is the habit of changing the end of a story, for -fear of alarming the child. This is quite indefensible. In doing this -we are tampering with folk-lore and confusing stages of development. - -Now, I know that there are individual children that, at a tender -age, might be alarmed at such a story, for instance, as Little Red -Riding-Hood; in which case, it is better to sacrifice the “wonder -stage” and present the story later on. - -I live in dread of finding one day a bowdlerized form of “Bluebeard” -(prepared for a junior standard), in which, to produce a satisfactory -finale, all the wives come to life again, and “live happily for ever -after” with Bluebeard and each other! - -And from this point it seems an easy transition to the subject of -legends of different kinds. Some of the old country legends in -connection with flowers are very charming for children, and as long as -we do not tread on the sacred ground of the Nature Students, we may -indulge in a moderate use of such stories, of which a few will be found -in the Story Lists. - -With regard to the introduction of legends connected with saints into -the school curriculum, my chief plea is the element of the unusual -which they contain, and an appeal to a sense of mysticism and wonder -which is a wise antidote to the prosaic and commercial tendencies of -to-day. Though many of the actions of the saints may be the result of -a morbid strain of self-sacrifice, at least none of them were engaged -in the sole occupation of becoming rich: their ideals were often lofty -and unselfish; their courage high, and their deeds noble. We must be -careful, in the choice of our legends, to show up the virile qualities -rather than to dwell on the elements of horror in details of martyrdom, -or on the too-constantly recurring miracles, lest we should defeat our -own ends. For the children might think lightly of the dangers to which -the saints were exposed if they find them too often preserved at the -last moment from the punishment they were brave enough to undergo. For -one or other of these reasons, I should avoid the detailed history of -St. Juliana, St. Vincent, St. Quintin, St. Eustace, St. Winifred, St. -Theodore, St. James the More, St. Katharine, St. Cuthbert, St. Alphage, -St. Peter of Milan, St. Quirine and Juliet, St. Alban and others. - -The danger of telling children stories connected with sudden -conversions is that they are apt to place too much emphasis on the -process, rather than the goal to be reached. We should always insist on -the splendid deeds performed after a real conversion--not the details -of the conversion itself; as, for instance, the beautiful and poetical -work done by St. Christopher when he realised what work he could do -most effectively. - -On the other hand, there are many stories of the saints dealing with -actions and motives which would appeal to the imagination and are not -only worthy of imitation, but are not wholly outside the life and -experience even of the child.[30] - -Having protested against the elephantine joke and the too-frequent -use of exaggerated fun, I now endeavour to restore the balance by -suggesting the introduction into the school curriculum of a few purely -grotesque stories which serve as an antidote to sentimentality or -utilitarianism. But they must be presented as nonsense, so that the -children may use them for what they are intended, as pure relaxation. -Such a story is that of “The Wolf and the Kids.” I have had serious -objections offered to this story by several educational people, because -of the revenge taken by the goat on the wolf, but I am inclined to -think that if the story is to be taken as anything but sheer nonsense, -it is surely sentimental to extend our sympathy towards a caller who -has devoured six of his hostess' children. With regard to the wolf -being cut open, there is not the slightest need to accentuate the -physical side. Children accept the deed as they accept the cutting -off of a giant's head, because they do not associate it with pain, -especially if the deed is presented half-humorously. The moment in the -story where their sympathy is aroused is the swallowing of the kids, -because the children do realise the possibility of being disposed of -in the mother's absence. (Needless to say, I never point out the moral -of the kids' disobedience to the mother in opening the door.) I have -always noticed a moment of breathlessness even in a grown-up audience -when the wolf swallows the kids, and that the recovery of them “all -safe and sound, all huddled together” is quite as much appreciated by -the adult audience as by the children, and is worth the tremor caused -by the wolf's summary action. - -I have not always been able to impress upon the teachers that this -story _must_ be taken lightly. A very earnest young student came to -me once after I had told it, and said in an awestruck voice: “Do you -Correlate?” Having recovered from the effect of this word, which she -carefully explained, I said that as a rule I preferred to keep the -story apart from the other lessons, just an undivided whole, because -it had effects of its own which were best brought about by not being -connected with other lessons.[31] She frowned her disapproval and said: -“I am sorry, because I thought I would take The Goat for my Nature -Study lesson, and then tell your story at the end.” I thought of the -terrible struggle in the child's mind between his conscientious wish to -be accurate and his dramatic enjoyment of the abnormal habits of a goat -who went out with scissors, needle and thread; but I have been most -careful since to repudiate any connection with Nature Study in this and -a few other stories in my répertoire. - -One might occasionally introduce one of Edward Lear's “Book of -Nonsense.” For instance: - - There was an Old Man of Cape Horn, - Who wished he had never been born; - So he sat in a chair till he died of despair, - That dolorous Man of Cape Horn. - -Now, except in case of very young children, this could not possibly be -taken seriously. The least observant normal boy or girl would recognise -the hollowness of the pessimism that prevents a man from at least an -attempt to rise from his chair. - -The following I have chosen as repeated with intense appreciation and -much dramatic vigour by a little boy just five years old: - - There was an Old Man who said, “Hush! - I perceive a young bird in this bush!” - When they said, “Is it small?” he replied, “Not at all! - It is four times as big as the bush!”[32] - -One of the most desirable of all elements to introduce into our stories -is that which encourages kinship with animals. With very young children -this is easy, because in those early years when the mind is not clogged -with knowledge, the sympathetic imagination enables them to enter into -the feelings of animals. Andersen has an illustration of this point in -his “Ice Maiden”: - -“Children who cannot talk yet can understand the language of fowls and -ducks quite well, and cats and dogs speak to them quite as plainly as -Father and Mother; but that is only when the children are very small, -and then even Grandpapa's stick will become a perfect horse to them -that can neigh and, in their eyes, is furnished with legs and a tail. -With some children this period ends later than with others, and of such -we are accustomed to say that they are very backward, and that they -have remained children for a long time. People are in the habit of -saying strange things.” - -Felix Adler says: “Perhaps the chief attraction of Fairy Tales is due -to their representing the child as living in brotherly friendship with -nature and all creatures. Trees, flowers, animals, wild and tame, even -the stars are represented as comrades of children. That animals are -only human beings in disguise is an axiom in the Fairy Tales. Animals -are humanised, that is, the kinship between animal and human life -is still keenly felt; and this reminds us of those early animistic -interpretations of nature which subsequently led to doctrines of -metempsychosis.”[33] - -I think that beyond question the finest animal stories are to be found -in the Indian Collections, of which I furnish a list in the Appendix. - -With regard to the development of the love of nature through the -telling of the stories, we are confronted with a great difficult in the -elementary schools, because so many of the children have never been out -of the towns, have never seen a daisy, a blade of grass and scarcely a -tree, so that in giving, in form of a story, a beautiful description -of scenery, you can make no appeal to the retrospective imagination, -and only the rarely gifted child will be able to make pictures whilst -listening to a style which is beyond his everyday use. Nevertheless, -once in a way, when the children are in a quiet mood, not eager for -action but able to give themselves up to the pure joy of sound, then -it is possible to give them a beautiful piece of writing in praise of -Nature, such as the following, taken from _The Divine Adventure_, by -Fiona Macleod: - -“Then he remembered the ancient wisdom of the Gael and came out of the -Forest Chapel and went into the woods. He put his lip to the earth, -and lifted a green leaf to his brow, and held a branch to his ear, -and because he was no longer heavy with the sweet clay of mortality, -though yet of human clan he heard that which we do not hear, and saw -that which we do not see, and knew that which we do not know. All the -green life was his. In that new world, he saw the lives of trees, now -pale green, now of woodsmoke blue, now of amethyst; the gray lives of -stone; breaths of the grass and reed, creatures of the air, delicate -and wild as fawns, or swift and fierce and terrible, tigers, of that -undiscovered wilderness, with birds almost invisible but for their -luminous wings, and opalescent crests.” - -The value of this particular passage is the mystery pervading the whole -picture, which forms so beautiful an antidote to the eternal explaining -of things. I think it of the highest importance for children to realise -that the best and most beautiful things cannot be expressed in everyday -language and that they must content themselves with a flash here and -there of the beauty which may come later. One does not enhance the -beauty of the mountain by pulling to pieces some of the earthy clogs: -one does not increase the impression of a vast ocean by analysing the -single drops of water. But at a reverent distance one gets a clear -impression of the whole, and can afford to leave the details in the -shadow. - -In presenting such passages (and it must be done very sparingly) -experience has taught me that we should take the children into our -confidence by telling them frankly that nothing exciting is going -to happen, so that they will be free to listen to the mere words. A -very interesting experiment might occasionally be made by asking the -children some weeks afterwards to tell you in their own words what -pictures were made on their minds. This is a very different thing from -allowing the children to reproduce the passage at once, the danger of -which proceeding I speak of later in detail. (See Chapter on Questions.) - -We now come to the question as to what proportion of _Dramatic -Excitement_ we should present in the stories for a normal group of -children. Personally, I should like, while the child is very young -(I mean in mind, not in years) to exclude the element of dramatic -excitement, but though this may be possible for the individual child, -it is quite Utopian to hope we can keep the average child free from -what is in the atmosphere. Children crave for excitement, and unless we -give it to them in legitimate form, they will take it in any riotous -form it presents itself, and if from our experience we can control -their mental digestion by a moderate supply of what they demand, we -may save them from devouring too eagerly the raw material they can so -easily find for themselves. - -There is a humorous passage bearing on this question in the story of -the small Scotch boy, when he asks leave of his parents to present the -pious little book--a gift to himself from his Aunt--to a little sick -friend, hoping probably that the friend's chastened condition will make -him more lenient towards this mawkish form of literature. The parents -expostulate, pointing out to their son how ungrateful he is, and how -ungracious it would be to part with his Aunt's gift. Then the boy can -contain himself no longer. He bursts out, unconsciously expressing the -normal attitude of children at a certain stage of development: “It's -a _daft_ book ony way; there's naebody gets kilt en't. I like stories -about folk getting their heids cut off, or stabbit through and through, -wi' swords an' spears. An' there's nae wile beasts. I like Stories -about black men gettin' ate up, an' white men killin' lions and tigers -an' bears an'----” - -Then, again, we have the passage from George Eliot's “Mill on the -Floss”: - -“Oh, dear! I wish they would not fight at your school, Tom. Didn't it -hurt you?” - -“Hurt me? No,” said Tom, putting up the hooks again, taking out a large -pocket-knife, and slowly opening the largest blade, which he looked at -meditatively as he rubbed his finger along it. Then he added: - -“I gave Spooner a black eye--that's what he got for wanting to leather -me. I wasn't going to go halves because anybody leathered me.” - -“Oh! how brave you are, Tom. I think you are like Samson. If there came -a lion roaring at me, I think you'd fight him, wouldn't you, Tom?” - -“How can a lion come roaring at you, you silly thing? There's no lions -only in the shows.” - -“No, but if we were in the lion countries--I mean in Africa where it's -very hot, the lions eat people there. I can show it you in the book -where I read it.” - -“Well, I should get a gun and shoot him.” - -“But if you hadn't got a gun?--we might have gone out, you know, not -thinking, just as we go out fishing, and then a great lion might come -towards us roaring, and we could not get away from him. What should you -do, Tom?” - -Tom paused, and at last turned away contemptuously, saying: “But the -lion _isn't_ coming. What's the use of talking?” - -This passage illustrates also the difference between the -highly-developed imagination of the one and the stodgy prosaical -temperament of the other. Tom could enter into the elementary question -of giving his school-fellow a black eye, but could not possibly enter -into the drama of the imaginary arrival of a lion. He was sorely in -need of Fairy Stories. - -It is for this element we have to cater, and we cannot shirk our -responsibilities. - -William James says: “Living things, moving things or things that -savour of danger or blood, that have a dramatic quality, these are -the things natively interesting to childhood, to the exclusion of -almost everything else, and the teacher of young children (until more -artificial interests have grown up) will keep in touch with his pupils -by constant appeal to such matters as those.”[34] - -Of course the savour of danger and blood is only _one_ of the things to -which we should appeal, but I give the whole passage to make the point -clearer. - -This is one of the most difficult parts of our selection, namely, how -to present enough excitement for the child and yet include enough -constructive element which will satisfy him when the thirst for -“blugginess” is slaked. - -And here I should like to say that, whilst wishing to encourage in -children great admiration and reverence for the courage and other fine -qualities which have been displayed in times of war, and which have -mitigated its horrors, I think we should show that some of the finest -moments in these heroes' lives had nothing to do with their profession -as soldiers. Thus we have the well-known story of Sir Philip Sidney and -the soldier; the wonderful scene where Roland drags the bodies of his -dead friends to receive the blessing of the archbishop after the battle -of Roncevalles[35]; and of Napoleon sending the sailor back to England. -There is a moment in the story of Gunnar when he pauses in the midst of -the slaughter of his enemies, and says, “I wonder if I am less brave -than others, because I kill men less willingly than they.” - -And in the “Njal's Burning” from Andrew Lang's “Book of Romance” we -have the words of the boy Thord when his grandmother, Bergthora, urges -him to go out of the burning house. - -“You promised me when I was little, grandmother, that I never should go -from you till I wished it of myself. And I would rather die with you -than live after you.” - -Here the moral courage is so splendidly shown; none of these heroes -feared to die in battle or in open single fight, but to face a death by -fire for higher considerations is a point of view worth presenting to -the child. - -In spite of all the dramatic excitement roused by the conduct of our -soldiers and sailors,[36] should we not try to offer also in our -stories the romance and excitement of saving as well as _taking_ life? - -I would have quite a collection dealing with the thrilling adventures -of the Life-Boat and the Fire Brigade, of which I hope to present -examples in the final Story List. - -Finally, we ought to include a certain number of stories dealing with -Death, especially with children who are of an age to realise that it -must come to all, and that this is not a calamity but a perfectly -natural and simple thing. At present the child in the street invariably -connects death with sordid accidents. I think they should have stories -of Death coming in heroic form, as when a man or woman dies for a great -cause, in which he has opportunity of admiring courage, devotion and -unselfishness; or of Death coming as a result of treachery, such as -we find in the death of Baldur, of Siegfried, and of others, so that -children may learn to abhor such deeds; but also a fair proportion of -stories dealing with death that comes naturally, when our work is done -and our strength gone, which has no more tragedy than the falling of -a leaf from the tree. In this way we can give children the first idea -that the individual is so much less than the whole. - -Quite small children often take Death very naturally. A boy of five -met two of his older companions at the school door. They said sadly -and solemnly: “We have just seen a dead man!” “Well,” said the little -philosopher, “that's all right. We've _all_ got to die when our work's -done.” - -In one of the Buddha stories which I reproduce at the end of this book, -the little Hare (who is, I think, a symbol of nervous Individualism) -constantly says: “Suppose the Earth were to fall in, what would become -of me?” - -As an antidote to the ordinary attitude towards death, I commend an -episode from a German folk-lore story called “Unlucky John,” which is -included in the list of stories recommended at the end of this book. - -The following sums up in poetic form some of the material necessary for -the wants of a child: - - -THE CHILD. - - The little new soul has come to Earth, - He has taken his staff for the Pilgrim's way. - His sandals are girt on his tender feet, - And he carries his scrip for what gifts he may. - - What will you give to him, Fate Divine? - What for his scrip on the winding road? - A crown for his head, or a laurel wreath? - A sword to wield, or is gold his load? - - What will you give him for weal or woe? - What for the journey through day and night? - Give or withhold from him power and fame, - But give to him love of the earth's delight. - - Let him be lover of wind and sun - And of falling rain; and the friend of trees; - With a singing heart for the pride of noon, - And a tender heart for what twilight sees. - - Let him be lover of you and yours-- - The Child and Mary; but also Pan, - And the sylvan gods of the woods and hills, - And the god that is hid in his fellow-man. - - Love and a song and the joy of earth, - These be the gifts for his scrip to keep - Till, the journey ended, he stands at last - In the gathering dark, at the gate of sleep. - _Ethel Clifford._ - -And so our stories should contain all the essentials for the child's -scrip on the road of life, providing the essentials and holding or -withholding the non-essentials. But, above all, let us fill the scrip -with gifts that the child need never reject, even when he passes -through “the gate of sleep.” - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[24] Chapter I, page 3. - -[25] This experiment cannot be made with a group of children, for -obvious reasons. - -[26] From an address on the “Cultivation of the Imagination.” - -[27] “The House in the Wood” (Grimm) is a good instance of triumph for -the youngest child. - -[28] To be found in Andrew Lang's Collection. See list of Stories. - -[29] To be found in Jacob's “More English Tales.” - -[30] For selection of suitable stories among legends of the Saints, see -Story Lists. - -[31] I believe that I am quite in a minority among Educationists in -this matter. Possibly my constantly specialising in the stories may -have formed my opinion. - -[32] These words have been set most effectively to music by Miss -Margaret Ruthven Lang. (Boston.) - -[33] From “Moral Instruction of Children,” page 66. “The Use of Fairy -Tales.” - -[34] From “Talks to Teachers,” page 93. - -[35] An excellent account of this is to be found in “The Song of -Roland,” by Arthur Way and Frederic Spender. - -[36] This passage was written before the Great War. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -HOW TO OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN THE EFFECT OF THE STORY. - - -WE are now coming to the most important part of the question of -Story-Telling, to which all the foregoing remarks have been gradually -leading, and that is the Effects of these stories upon the child, apart -from the dramatic joy he experiences in listening to them, which would -in itself be quite enough to justify us in the telling. But, since I -have urged upon teachers the extreme importance of giving so much time -to the manner of telling and of bestowing so much care on the selection -of the material, it is right that they should expect some permanent -results, or else those who are not satisfied with the mere enjoyment of -the children will seek other methods of appeal--and it is to them that -I most specially dedicate this chapter. - -I think we are on the threshold of the re-discovery of an old truth, -that the Dramatic Presentation is the quickest and surest, because -it is the only one with which memory plays no tricks. If a thing has -appeared before us in a vital form, nothing can really destroy it; it -is because things are often given in a blurred, faint light that they -gradually fade out of our memory. A very keen scientist was deploring -to me, on one occasion, the fact that stories were told so much in the -schools, to the detriment of science, for which she claimed the same -indestructible element that I recognise in the best-told stories. -Being very much interested in her point of view, I asked her to tell -me, looking back on her school days, what she could remember as -standing out from other less clear information. After thinking some -little time over the matter, she said with some embarrassment, but with -a candour that did her much honour: - -“Well, now I come to think of it, it was the story of Cinderella.” - -Now, I am not holding any brief for this story in particular. I think -the reason it was remembered was because of the dramatic form in which -it was presented to her, which fired her imagination and kept the -memory alight. I quite realise that a scientific fact might also have -been easily remembered if it was presented in the form of a successful -chemical experiment: but this also has something of the dramatic appeal -and will be remembered on that account. - -Sully says: “We cannot understand the fascination of a story for -children save in remembering that for their young minds, quick to -imagine, and unversed in abstract reflection, words are not dead things -but _winged_, as the old Greeks called them.”[37] - -The Red Queen (in “Through the Looking-Glass”) was more psychological -than she knew when she made the memorable statement: “When once you've -_said_ a thing that _fixes_ it, and you must take the consequences.” - -In Curtin's Introduction to “Myths and Folk Tales of the Russians,” he -says: - -“I remember well the feeling roused in my mind at the mention or sight -of the name _Lucifer_ during the early years of my life. It stood for -me as the name of a being stupendous, dreadful in moral deformity, -lurid, hideous and mighty. I remember the surprise which, when I had -grown somewhat older and began to study Latin, I came upon the name in -Virgil where it means _light-bringer_--the herald of the Sun.” - -Plato has said: “That the End of Education should be the training by -suitable habits of the Instincts of Virtue in the Child.” - -About two thousand years later, Sir Philip Sidney, in his “Defence of -Poesy,” says: “The final end of learning is to draw and lead us to so -high a perfection as our degenerate souls, made worse by their clay -lodgings, can be capable of.” - -And yet it is neither the Greek philosopher nor the Elizabethan poet -that makes the every-day application of these principles; but we have -a hint of this application from the Pueblo tribe of Indians, of whom -Lummis tells us the following: - -“There is no duty to which a Pueblo child is trained in which he has -to be content with a bare command: Do this. For each he learns a -fairy-tale designed to explain how children first came to know that -it was right to ‘do this,’ and detailing the sad results that befell -those who did otherwise. Some tribes have regular story-tellers, men -who have devoted a great deal of time to learning the myths and stories -of their people and who possess, in addition to a good memory, a vivid -imagination. The mother sends for one of these, and having prepared a -feast for him, she and her little brood, who are curled up near her, -await the Fairy Stories of the dreamer, who after his feast and smoke -entertains the company for hours.” - -In modern times, the nurse, who is now receiving such complete -training for her duties with the children, should be ready to -imitate the “dreamer” of the Indian tribe. I rejoice to find that -regular instruction in Story-telling is being given in many of the -institutions where the nurses are trained. - -Some years ago there appeared a book by Dion Calthrop called “King -Peter,” which illustrates very fully the effect of story-telling. It -is the account of the education of a young prince which is carried on -at first by means of stories, and later he is taken out into the arena -of Life to be shown what is happening there--the dramatic appeal being -always the means used to awaken his imagination. The fact that only -_one_ story a year is told him prevents our seeing the effect from day -to day, but the time matters little. We only need faith to believe that -the growth, though slow, was very sure. - -There is something of the same idea in the “Adventures of Telemachus,” -written by Fénélon for his royal pupil, the young Duke of Burgundy; but -whereas Calthrop trusts to the results of indirect teaching by means of -dramatic stories, Fénélon, on the contrary, makes use of the somewhat -heavy, didactic method, so that one would think the attention of the -young prince must have wandered at times; and I imagine Telemachus was -in the same condition when he was addressed at some length by Mentor, -who, being Minerva (though in disguise), should occasionally have -displayed that sense of humour which must always temper true wisdom: - -Take, for instance, the heavy reproof conveyed in the following -passage: - -“Death and shipwreck are less dreadful than the pleasures that attack -Virtue.... Youth is full of presumption and arrogance, though nothing -in the world is so frail: it fears nothing, and vainly relies on its -own strength, believing everything with the utmost levity and without -any precaution.” - -And on another occasion, when Calypso hospitably provides clothes for -the shipwrecked men, and Telemachus is handling a tunic of the finest -wool and white as snow, with a vest of purple embroidered with gold, -and displaying much pleasure in the magnificence of the clothes, Mentor -addresses him in a severe voice, saying: “Are these, O Telemachus, the -thoughts that ought to occupy the heart of the son of Ulysses? A young -man who loves to dress vainly, as a woman does, is unworthy of wisdom -or glory.” - -I remember, as a schoolgirl of thirteen, having to commit to memory -several books of these adventures, so as to become familiar with the -style. Far from being impressed by the wisdom of Mentor, I was simply -bored, and wondered why Telemachus did not escape from him. The only -part in the book that really interested me was Calypso's unrequited -love for Telemachus, but this was always the point where we ceased to -learn by heart, which surprised me greatly, for it was here that the -real human interest seemed to begin. - -Of all the effects which I hope for from the telling of stories in the -schools, personally I place first the dramatic joy we bring to the -children and to ourselves. But there are many who would consider this -result as fantastic, if not frivolous, and not to be classed among the -educational values concocted with the introduction of stories into the -school curriculum. I therefore propose to speak of other effects of -story-telling which may seem of more practical value. - -The first, which is of a purely negative character, is that through -means of a dramatic story we can counteract some of the sights and -sounds of the streets which appeal to the melodramatic instinct in -children. I am sure that all teachers whose work lies in the crowded -cities must have realised the effect produced on children by what they -see and hear on their way to and from school. If we merely consider -the hoardings, with their realistic representations, quite apart from -the actual dramatic happenings in the street, we at once perceive -that the ordinary school interests pale before such lurid appeals as -these. How can we expect the child who has stood open-mouthed before -a poster representing a woman chloroformed by a burglar, whilst that -hero escapes in safety with her jewels, to display any interest in the -arid monotony of the multiplication-table? The illegitimate excitement -created by the sight of the depraved burglar can only be counteracted -by something equally exciting along the realistic but legitimate side; -and this is where the story of the right kind becomes so valuable, and -why the teacher who is artistic enough to undertake the task can find -the short path to results which theorists seek for so long in vain. It -is not even necessary to have an exceedingly exciting story; sometimes -one which will bring about pure reaction may be just as suitable. - -I remember in my personal experience an instance of this kind. I had -been reading with some children of about ten years old the story from -Cymbeline, of Imogen in the forest scene, when the brothers strew -flowers upon her, and sing the funeral dirge, - - “Fear no more the heat of the sun.” - -Just as we had all taken on this tender, gentle mood, the door opened -and one of the prefects announced in a loud voice the news of the -relief of Mafeking. The children were on their feet at once, cheering -lustily, and for the moment the joy over the relief of the brave -garrison was the predominant feeling. Then, before the Jingo spirit -had time to assert itself, I took advantage of a momentary reaction and -said: “Now, children, don't you think we can pay England the tribute -of going back to England's greatest poet?” In a few minutes we were -back in the heart of the Forest, and I can still hear the delightful -intonation of those subdued voices repeating: - - Golden lads and girls all must - Like chimney-sweepers come to dust. - -It is interesting to note that the same problem that is exercising -us to-day was a source of difficulty to people in remote times. The -following is taken from an old Chinese document, and has particular -interest for us to-day. - -“The Philosopher Mentius (born 371 B.C.) was left fatherless at a very -tender age and brought up by his mother Changsi. The care of this -prudent and attentive mother has been cited as a model for all virtuous -parents. The house she occupied was near that of a butcher: she -observed at the first cry of the animals that were being slaughtered, -the little Mentius ran to be present at the sight, and that, on his -return, he sought to imitate what he had seen. Fearful lest his heart -might become hardened, and accustomed to the sights of blood, she -removed to another house which was in the neighbourhood of a cemetery. -The relations of those who were buried there came often to weep upon -their graves, and make their customary libations. The lad soon took -pleasure in their ceremonies and amused himself by imitating them. -This was a new subject of uneasiness to his mother: she feared her -son might come to consider as a jest what is of all things the most -serious, and that he might acquire a habit of performing with levity, -and as a matter of routine merely, ceremonies which demand the most -exact attention and respect. Again therefore she anxiously changed the -dwelling, and went to live in the city, opposite to a school, where her -son found examples the most worthy of imitation, and began to profit -by them. This anecdote has become incorporated by the Chinese into a -proverb, which they constantly quote: The Mother of Mentius seeks a -neighbourhood.” - -Another influence we have to counteract is that of newspaper headings -which catch the eye of children in the streets and appeal so powerfully -to their imagination. - -Shakespeare has said: - - Tell me where is Fancy bred, - Or in the heart, or in the head? - How begot, how nourished? - Reply, reply. - It is engendered in the eyes - With gazing fed: and Fancy dies - In the cradle where it lies. - Let us all ring Fancy's knell. - I'll begin it--ding, dong, bell. - “_Merchant of Venice._” - -If this be true, it is of importance to decide what our children shall -look upon as far as we can control the vision, so that we can form some -idea of the effect upon their imagination. - -Having alluded to the dangerous influence of the street, I should -hasten to say that this influence is very far from being altogether -bad. There are possibilities of romance in street life which may have -just the same kind of effect on children as the telling of exciting -stories. I am indebted to Mrs. Arnold Glover (Hon. Sec. of the National -Organisation of Girls' Clubs), one of the most widely informed people -on this subject, for the two following experiences gathered from the -streets which bear indirectly on the subject of story-telling: - -Mrs. Glover was visiting a sick woman in a very poor neighbourhood, -and found, sitting on the doorstep of the house, two children, holding -something tightly grasped in their little hands, and gazing with much -expectancy towards the top of the street. She longed to know what they -were doing, but not being one of those unimaginative and tactless -folk who rush headlong into the mysteries of children's doings, she -passed them at first in silence. It was only when she found them still -in the same silent and expectant posture half-an-hour later that -she said tentatively: “I wonder whether you would tell me what you -are doing here?” After some hesitation, one of them said, in a shy -voice: “We're waitin' for the barrer.” It then transpired that, once a -week, a vegetable-and flower-cart was driven through this particular -street, on its way to a more prosperous neighbourhood, and on a few -red-letter days, a flower, or a sprig, or even a root sometimes fell -out of the back of the cart; and those two little children were waiting -there in hope, with their hands full of soil, ready to plant anything -which might by golden chance fall that way, in their secret garden of -oyster-shells. - -This seems to me as charming a fairy-tale as any that our books can -supply. - -Another time Mrs. Glover was collecting the pennies for the Holiday -Fund Savings Bank from the children who came weekly to her house. She -noticed on three consecutive Mondays that one little lad deliberately -helped himself to a new envelope from her table. Not wishing to -frighten or startle him, she allowed this to continue for some weeks, -and then one day, having dismissed the other children, she asked him -quite quietly why he was taking the envelopes. At first he was very -sulky, and said: “I need them better than you do.” She quite agreed -this might be, but reminded him that, after all, they belonged to her. -She promised, however, that if he would tell her for what purpose he -wanted the envelopes, she would endeavour to help him in the matter. -Then came the astonishing announcement: “I am building a navy.” After -a little more gradual questioning, Mrs. Glover drew from the boy the -information that the Borough Water Carts passed through the side -street once a week, flushing the gutter; that then the Envelope Ships -were made to sail on the water and pass under the covered ways which -formed bridges for wayfarers and tunnels for the “navy.” Great was the -excitement when the ships passed out of sight and were recognised as -they arrived safely at the other end. Of course the expenses in raw -material were greatly diminished by the illicit acquisition of Mrs. -Glover's property, and in this way she had unconsciously provided the -neighbourhood with a navy and a Commander. Her first instinct, after -becoming acquainted with the whole story, was to present the boy with a -real boat, but on second thought she collected and gave him a number of -old envelopes with names and addresses upon them, which added greatly -to the excitement of the sailing, because they could be more easily -identified as they came out of the other side of the tunnel, and had -their respective reputations as to speed. - -Here is indeed food for romance, and I give both instances to prove -that the advantages of street life are to be taken into consideration -as well as the disadvantages; though I think we are bound to admit that -the latter outweigh the former. - -One of the immediate results of dramatic stories is the escape from -the commonplace, to which I have already alluded in quoting Mr. -Goschen's words. The desire for this escape is a healthy one, common to -adults and children. When we wish to get away from our own surroundings -and interests, we do for ourselves what I maintain we ought to do for -children; we step into the land of fiction. It has always been a source -of astonishment to me that, in trying to escape from our own every-day -surroundings, we do not step more boldly into the land of pure romance, -which would form a real contrast to our every-day life, but in nine -cases out of ten the fiction which is sought after deals with the -subjects of our ordinary existence--namely, frenzied finance, sordid -poverty, political corruption, fast society, and religious doubts. - -There is the same danger in the selection of fiction for children: -namely, a tendency to choose very utilitarian stories, both in form and -substance, so that we do not lift the children out of the commonplace. -I remember once seeing the titles of two little books, the contents of -which were being read or told to small children of the poorer class: -one was called “Tom the Boot-black,” the other, “Dan the News-boy.” -My chief objection to these stories was the fact that neither of -the heroes rejoiced in their work for the work's sake. Had Tom even -invented a new kind of blacking, or if Dan had started a splendid -newspaper, it might have been encouraging for those among the listeners -who were thinking of engaging in similar professions. It is true, both -gentlemen amassed large fortunes, but surely the school age is not to -be limited to such dreams and aspirations as these! One wearies of the -tales of boys who arrive in a town with one cent in their pockets, and -leave it as millionaires, with the added importance of a Mayoralty, not -to speak of a Knighthood. It is true that the romantic prototype of -these boys is Dick Whittington, for whom we unconsciously cherish the -affection which we often bestow on a far-off personage. Perhaps--who -knows?--it is the picturesque adjunct of the cat--lacking to modern -millionaires.[38] - -I do not think it Utopian to present to children a fair share of -stories which deal with the importance of things “untouched by hand.” -They too can learn at an early age that “the things which are seen are -temporal, but the things which are unseen are spiritual.” To those who -wish to try the effect of such stories on children, I present for their -encouragement the following lines from Whitcomb Riley: - - -THE TREASURE OF THE WISE MAN.[39] - - Oh, the night was dark and the night was late, - When the robbers came to rob him; - And they picked the lock of his palace-gate, - The robbers who came to rob him-- - They picked the lock of the palace-gate, - Seized his jewels and gems of State - His coffers of gold and his priceless plate,-- - The robbers that came to rob him. - - But loud laughed he in the morning red!-- - For of what had the robbers robbed him? - Ho! hidden safe, as he slept in bed, - When the robbers came to rob him,-- - They robbed him not of a golden shred - Of the childish dreams in his wise old head-- - “And they're welcome to all things else,” he said, - When the robbers came to rob him. - -There is a great deal of this romantic spirit, combined with a -delightful sense of irresponsibility, which I claim above all things -for small children, to be found in our old Nursery Rhymes. I quote from -the following article written by the Rev. R. L. Gales for the _Nation_. - -After speaking on the subject of Fairy Stories being eliminated from -the school curriculum, the writer adds: - -“This would be lessening the joy of the world and taking from -generations yet unborn the capacity for wonder, the power to take a -large unselfish interest in the spectacle of things, and putting them -forever at the mercy of small private cares. - -A Nursery Rhyme is the most sane, the most unselfish thing in the -world. It calls up some delightful image,--a little nut-tree with a -silver walnut and a golden pear; some romantic adventure only for the -child's delight and liberation from the bondage of unseeing dulness: it -brings before the mind the quintessence of some good thing: - -'The little dog laughed to see such sport'--there is the soul of -good humour, of sanity, of health in the laughter of that innocently -wicked little dog. It is the laughter of pure frolic without -unkindness. To have laughed with the little dog as a child is the best -preservative against mirthless laughter in later years--the horse -laughter of brutality, the ugly laughter of spite, the acrid laughter -of fanaticism. The world of Nursery Rhymes, the old world of Mrs. -Slipper-Slopper, is the world of natural things, of quick, healthy -motion, of the joy of living. - -In Nursery Rhymes the child is entertained with all the pageant of -the world. It walks in Fairy Gardens, and for it the singing birds -pass. All the King's horses and all the King's men pass before it in -their glorious array. Craftsmen of all sorts, bakers, confectioners, -silversmiths, blacksmiths are busy for it with all their arts and -mysteries, as at the court of an Eastern King.” - -In insisting on the value of this escape from the commonplace, I cannot -prove the importance of it more clearly than by showing what may happen -to a child who is deprived of his birthright by having none of the -Fairy Tale element presented to him. In “Father and Son,” Mr. Edmund -Gosse says: - -“Meanwhile, capable as I was of reading, I found my greatest pleasure -in the pages of books. The range of these was limited, for story-books -of every description were sternly excluded. No fiction of any kind, -religious or secular, was admitted into the house. In this it was to -my Mother, not to my Father, that the prohibition was due. She had a -remarkable, I confess, to me somewhat unaccountable impression that to -‘tell a story,’ that is, to compose fictitious narrative of any kind, -was a sin.... Nor would she read the chivalrous tales in the verse of -Sir Walter Scott, obstinately alleging that they were not true. She -would read nothing but lyrical and subjective poetry.... As a child, -however, she had possessed a passion for making up stories, and so -considerable a skill in it, that she was constantly being begged to -indulge others with its exercise.... ‘When I was a very little child,’ -she says, ‘I used to amuse myself and my brothers with inventing -stories such as I had read. Having, as I suppose, naturally a restless -mind and busy imagination, this soon became the chief pleasure of -my life. Unfortunately, my brothers were always fond of encouraging -this propensity, and I found in Taylor, my maid, a still greater -tempter. I had not known there was any harm in it, until Miss Shore (a -Calvinistic governess), finding it out, lectured me severely and told -me it was wicked. From that time forth I considered that to invent -a story of any kind was a sin.... But the longing to invent stories -grew with violence. The simplicity of Truth was not enough for me. I -must needs embroider imagination upon it, and the folly and wickedness -which disgraced my heart are more than I am able to express....’ This -(the Author, her son, adds) is surely a very painful instance of the -repression of an instinct.” - -In contrast to the stifling of the imagination, it is good to recall -the story of the great Hermits who, having listened to the discussion -of the Monday sitting at the Académie des Sciences (Institut de France) -as to the best way to teach the young how to shoot in the direction -of mathematical genius, said: “_Cultivez l'imagination, messieurs. -Tout est là. Si vous voulez des mathématiciens, donnez à vos enfants à -lire--des Contes de Fées._” - -Another important effect of the story is to develop at an early -age sympathy for children of other countries where conditions are -different from our own. There is a book used in American schools -called “Little Citizens of other Lands,” dealing with the clothes, -the games and occupations of those little citizens. Stories of this -kind are particularly necessary to prevent the development of insular -notions, and are a check on that robust form of Philistinism, only -too prevalent, alas! among grown-ups, which looks askance at new -suggestions and makes the withering remark: “How un-English! How -queer!”--the second comment being, it would seem, a natural corollary -to the first.[40] - -I have so constantly to deal with the question of confusion between -Truth and Fiction in the mind of children that it might be useful -to offer here an example of the way they make the distinction for -themselves. - -Mrs. Ewing says on this subject: - -“If there are young intellects so imperfect as to be incapable of -distinguishing between Fancy and Falsehood, it is most desirable to -develop in them the power to do so, but, as a rule, in childhood, -we appreciate the distinction with a vivacity which as elders our -care-clogged memories fail to recall.” - -Mr. P. A. Barnett, in his book on the “Commonsense of Education,” says, -alluding to Fairy Tales: - -“Children will _act_ them but not act _upon_ them, and they will -not accept the incidents as part of their effectual belief. They -will imagine, to be sure, grotesque worlds, full of admirable and -interesting personages to whom strange things might have happened. -So much the better; this largeness of imagination is one of the -possessions that distinguish the better nurtured child from others less -fortunate.” - -The following passage from Stevenson's essay on _Child Play_[41] will -furnish an instance of children's aptitude for creating their own -dramatic atmosphere: - -“When my cousin and I took our porridge of a morning, we had a device -to enliven the course of a meal. He ate his with sugar, and explained -it to be a country continually buried under snow. I took mine with -milk, and explained it to be a country suffering gradual inundation. -You can imagine us exchanging bulletins; how here was an island still -unsubmerged, here a valley not yet covered with snow; what inventions -were made; how his population lived in cabins on perches and travelled -on stilts, and how mine was always in boats; how the interest grew -furious as the last corner of safe ground was cut off on all sides and -grew smaller every moment; and how, in fine, the food was of altogether -secondary importance, and might even have been nauseous, so long as we -seasoned it with these dreams. But perhaps the most exciting moments I -ever had over a meal, were in the case of calves' feet jelly. It was -hardly possible not to believe, and you may be quite sure, so far from -trying it, I did all I could to favour the illusion--that some part of -it was hollow, and that sooner or later my spoon would lay open the -secret tabernacle of that golden rock. There, might some Red-Beard -await this hour; there might one find the treasures of the Forty -Thieves. And so I quarried on slowly, with bated breath, savouring -the interest. Believe me, I had little palate left for the jelly; and -though I preferred the taste when I took cream with it, I used often to -go without because the cream dimmed the transparent fractures.” - -In his work on Imagination, Ribot says: “The free initiative of -children is always superior to the imitations we pretend to make for -them.” - -The passage from Robert Stevenson becomes more clear from a scientific -point of view when taken in connection with one from Karl Groos' book -on the “Psychology of Animal Play”: - -“The Child is wholly absorbed in his play, and yet under the ebb and -flow of thought and feeling like still water under wind-swept waves, he -has the knowledge that it is pretence after all. Behind the sham ‘I’ -that takes part in the game, stands the unchanged ‘I’ which regards the -sham ‘I’ with quiet superiority.” - -Queyrat speaks of play as one of the distinct phases of a child's -imagination; it is “essentially a metamorphosis of reality, a -transformation of places and things.” - -Now to return to the point which Mrs. Ewing makes, namely, that we -should develop in normal children the power of distinguishing between -Truth and Falsehood. - -I should suggest including two or three stories which would test that -power in children, and if they fail to realise the difference between -romancing and telling lies then it is evident that they need special -attention and help along this line. I give the titles of two stories of -this kind in the collection at the end of the book.[42] - -So far we have dealt only with the negative results of stories, but -there are more important effects, and I am persuaded that if we are -careful in our choice of stories, and artistic in our presentation -(so that the truth is framed, so to speak, in the memory), we can -unconsciously correct evil tendencies in children which they only -recognise in themselves when they have already criticised them in -the characters of the story. I have sometimes been misunderstood on -this point, therefore I should like to make it quite clear. I do -_not_ mean that stories should take the place entirely of moral or -direct teaching, but that on many occasions they could supplement -and strengthen moral teaching, because the dramatic appeal to the -imagination is quicker than the moral appeal to the conscience. A child -will often resist the latter lest it should make him uncomfortable -or appeal to his personal sense of responsibility: it is often not in -his power to resist the former, because it has taken possession of him -before he is aware of it. - -As a concrete example, I offer three verses from a poem entitled “A -Ballad for a Boy,” written some twelve years ago by W. Cory, an Eton -master. The whole poem is to be found in a book of poems known as -“Ionica” (published by George Allen and Co.). - -The poem describes a fight between two ships, the French ship -_Téméraire_ and the English ship _Quebec_. The English ship was -destroyed by fire. Farmer, the captain, was killed, and the officers -taken prisoners: - - “They dealt with us as brethren, they mourned for Farmer dead; - And as the wounded captives passed, each Breton bowed the head. - Then spoke the French lieutenant, 'Twas the fire that won, not we: - You never struck your flag to _us_; you'll go to England free.'[43] - - 'Twas the sixth day of October, Seventeen-hundred-seventy-nine, - A year when nations ventured against us to combine, - _Quebec_ was burned and Farmer slain, by us remembered not; - But thanks be to the French book wherein they're not forgot. - - And you, if you've to fight the French, my youngster, bear in mind - Those seamen of King Louis so chivalrous and kind; - Think of the Breton gentlemen who took our lads to Brest, - And treat some rescued Breton as a comrade and a guest.” - -This poem is specially to be commended because it is another example of -the finer qualities which are developed in war.[44] - -Now, such a ballad as this, which, being pure narrative, could -easily be introduced into the story-hour, would do as much to foster -“_L'entente cordiale_” as any processions or civic demonstrations, -or lavish international exchange of hospitality. It has also a great -practical application now that we are encouraging visits between -English and foreign children. Let us hope the _entente cordiale_ will -not stop at France. There must be many such instances of magnanimity -and generosity displayed to us by other nations, and it might be -well to collect them and include them among stories for the school -curriculum. - -But in all our stories, in order to produce desired effects we must -refrain from holding, as Burroughs says, “a brief for either side,” and -we must leave the decision of the children free in this matter.[45] - -In a review of Ladd's _Psychology_ in the “Academy,” we find a passage -which refers as much to the story as to the novel: - - “The psychological novelist girds up his loins and sets himself - to write little essays on each of his characters. If he have the - gift of the thing he may analyse motives with a subtlety which is - more than their desert, and exhibit simple folk passing through the - most dazzling rotations. If he be a novice, he is reduced to mere - crude invention--the result in both cases is quite beyond the true - purpose of Art. Art--when all is said and done--is a suggestion, - and it refuses to be explained. Make it obvious, unfold it in - detail, and you reduce it to a dead letter.” - -Again there is a sentence by Schopenhauer applied to novels which would -apply equally well to stories: - -“Skill consists in setting the inner life in motion with the smallest -possible array of circumstances, for it is this inner life that excites -our interest.” - -Now, in order to produce an encouraging and lasting effect by means -of our stories, we should be careful to introduce a certain number -from fiction where virtue is rewarded and vice punished, because -to appreciate the fact that “virtue is its own reward” calls for a -developed and philosophic mind, or a born saint, of whom there will -not, I think, be many among normal children: a comforting fact, on the -whole, as the normal teacher is apt to confuse them with prigs. - -A _grande dame_ visiting an elementary school listened to the telling -of an exciting story from fiction, and was impressed by the thrill -of delight which passed through the children. But when the story was -finished, she said: “But _oh!_ what a pity the story was not taken from -actual history!” - -Now, not only was this comment quite beside the mark, but the lady -in question did not realise that pure fiction has one quality which -history cannot have. The historian, bound by fact and accuracy, must -often let his hero come to grief. The poet (or, in this case, we may -call him, in the Greek sense, the “maker” of stories) strives to show -_ideal_ justice. - -What encouragement to virtue (except for the abnormal child) can be -offered by the stories of good men coming to grief, such as we find in -Miltiades, Phocion, Socrates, Severus, Cicero, Cato and Cæsar? - -Sir Philip Sidney says in his “Defence of Poesy”: - -“Only the Poet declining to be held by the limitations of the lawyer, -the _historian_, the grammarian, the rhetorician, the logician, the -physician, the metaphysician, if lifted up with the vigour of his own -imagination; doth grow in effect into another nature in making things -either better than Nature bringeth forth or quite anew, as the Heroes, -Demi-gods, Cyclops, Furies and such like, so as he goeth hand in hand -with Nature not enclosed in the narrow range of her gifts but freely -ranging within the Zodiac of his own art--_her_ world is brazen; the -poet only delivers a golden one.” - -The effect of the story need not stop at the negative task of -correcting evil tendencies. There is the positive effect of translating -the abstract ideal of the story into concrete action. - -I was told by Lady Henry Somerset that when the first set of slum -children came down for a fortnight's holiday in the country, she was -much startled and shocked by the obscenity of the games they played -amongst themselves. Being a sound psychologist, Lady Henry wisely -refrained from appearing surprised or from attempting any direct method -of reproof. “I saw,” she said, “that the ‘goody’ element would have no -effect, so I changed the whole atmosphere by reading to them or telling -them the most thrilling mediæval tales without any commentary. By the -end of the fortnight the activities had all changed. The boys were -performing astonishing deeds of prowess, and the girls were allowing -themselves to be rescued from burning towers and fetid dungeons.” -Now, if these deeds of chivalry appear somewhat stilted to us, we can -at least realise that, having changed the whole atmosphere of the -filthy games, it is easier to translate the deeds into something a -little more in accordance with the spirit of the age, and boys will -more readily wish later on to save their sisters from dangers more -sordid and commonplace than fiery towers and dark dungeons, if they -have once performed the deeds in which they had to court danger and -self-sacrifice for themselves. - -And now we come to the question as to how these effects are to be -maintained. In what has already been stated about the danger of -introducing the dogmatic and direct appeal into the story, it is -evident that the avoidance of this element is the first means of -preserving the story in all its artistic force in the memory of the -child, and we must be careful, as I point out in the chapter on -Questions, not to interfere by comment or question with the atmosphere -we have made round the story, or else, in the future, that story will -become blurred and overlaid with the remembrance, not of the artistic -whole, as presented by the teller of the story, but by some unimportant -small side issue raised by an irrelevant question or a superfluous -comment. - -Many people think that the dramatisation of the story by the children -themselves helps to maintain the effect produced. Personally, I fear -there is the same danger as in the immediate reproduction of the story, -namely, that the general dramatic effect may be weakened. - -If, however, there is to be dramatisation (and I do not wish to -dogmatise on the subject), I think it should be confined to facts -and not fancies, and this is why I realise the futility of the -dramatisation of Fairy Tales. - -Horace Scudder says on this subject: - -“Nothing has done more to vulgarise the Fairy than its introduction -on the stage. The charm of the Fairy Tale is its divorce from human -experience; the charm of the stage is its realisation in miniature of -Human Life. If a frog is heard to speak, if a dog is changed before -our eyes into a prince by having cold water dashed over it, the charm -of the Fairy Tale has fled, and, in its place, we have the perplexing -pleasure of _leger de main_. Since the real life of a Fairy is in the -imagination, a wrong is committed when it is dragged from its shadowy -hiding-place and made to turn into ashes under the calcium light of the -understanding.”[46] - -I am bound to confess that the teachers have a case when they plead for -this re-producing of the story, and there are three arguments they use -whose validity I admit, but which have nevertheless not converted me, -because the loss, to my mind, would exceed the gain. - -The first argument they put forward is that the reproduction of the -story enables the child to enlarge and improve his vocabulary. Now -I greatly sympathise with this point of view, only, as I regard the -story-hour as a very precious and special one, which I think may have a -lasting effect on the character of a child, I do not think it important -that, during this hour, a child should be called upon to improve his -vocabulary at the expense of the dramatic whole, and at the expense -of the literary form in which the story has been presented. It would -be like using the Bible for parsing or paraphrase or pronunciation. -So far, I believe, the line has been drawn here, though there are -blasphemers who have laid impious hands on Milton or Shakespeare for -this purpose. - -There are surely other lessons (as I have already said in dealing with -the reproduction of the story quite apart from the dramatisation), -lessons more utilitarian in character, which can be used for this -purpose: the facts of history (I mean the mere facts as compared with -the deep truths) and those of geography, above all, the grammar lessons -are those in which the vocabulary can be enlarged and improved. But -I am anxious to keep the story-hour apart as dedicated to something -higher than these excellent but utilitarian considerations. - -The second argument used by the teachers is the joy felt by the -children in being allowed to dramatise the stories. This, too, appeals -very strongly to me, but there is a means of satisfying their desire -and yet protecting the dramatic whole, and that is occasionally to -allow children to act out their own dramatic inventions; this, to my -mind, has great educational significance: it is original and creative -work and, apart from the joy of the immediate performance, there is -the interesting process of comparison which can be presented to the -children, showing them the difference between their elementary attempts -and the finished product of the experienced artist, which they can be -led to recognise by their own powers of observation if the teachers are -not in too great a hurry to point it out themselves. - -Here is a short original story (quoted by the French psychologist, -Queyrat, in his “Jeux de l'enfance”) written by a child of five: - -“One day I went to sea in a life-boat--all at once I saw an enormous -whale, and I jumped out of the boat to catch him, but he was so big -that I climbed on his back and rode astride, and all the little fishes -laughed to see.” - -Here is a complete and exciting drama, making a wonderful picture -and teeming with adventure. We could scarcely offer anything to so -small a child for reproduction that would be a greater stimulus to the -imagination. - -Here is another, offered by Loti, but the age of the child is not given: - -“Once upon a time, a little girl out in the Colonies cut open a huge -melon, and out popped a green beast and stung her, and the little child -died.” - -Loti adds: “The phrases ‘out in the Colonies’ and ‘a huge melon’ -were enough to plunge me suddenly into a dream. As by an apparition, -I beheld tropical trees, forests alive with marvellous birds. Oh! -the simple magic of the words 'the Colonies'! In my childhood they -stood for a multitude of distant sun-scorched countries, with their -palm-trees, their enormous flowers, their black natives, their wild -beasts, their endless possibilities of adventure.” - -I quote this in full because it shows so clearly the magic force of -words to evoke pictures, without any material representation. It is -just the opposite effect of the pictures presented to the bodily eye -without the splendid educational opportunity for the child to form his -own mental image. - -I am more and more convinced that the rare power of visualization is -accounted for by the lack of mental practice afforded along these lines. - -The third argument used by the teachers in favour of the dramatisation -of the stories is that it is a means of discovering how much the child -has really learnt from the story. Now this argument makes absolutely no -appeal to me. - -My experience, in the first place, has taught me that a child very -seldom gives out any account of a deep impression made upon him: it -is too sacred and personal. But he very soon learns to know what is -expected of him, and he keeps a set of stock sentences which he has -found out are acceptable to the teacher. How can we possibly gauge the -deep effects of a story in this way, or how can a child, by acting -out a story, describe the subtle elements which you have tried to -introduce? You might as well try to show with a pint measure how the -sun and rain have affected a plant, instead of rejoicing in the beauty -of the sure, if slow, growth. - -Then, again, why are we in such a hurry to find out what effects have -been produced by our stories? Does it matter whether we know to-day or -to-morrow how much a child has understood? For my part, so sure do I -feel of the effect that I am willing to wait indefinitely. Only I must -make sure that the first presentation is truly dramatic and artistic. - -The teachers of general subjects have a much easier and more simple -task. Those who teach science, mathematics, even, to a certain extent, -history and literature, are able to gauge with a fair amount of -accuracy, by means of examination, what their pupils have learnt. The -teaching carried on by means of stories can never be gauged in the -same manner. We must be content, though we have nothing to place in -our “shop window,” content to know of the possessions behind, and make -up our mind that we can show the education authorities little or no -results from our teaching, but that the real fruit will be seen by the -next generation; and we can take courage, for, if our story be “a thing -of beauty,” it will never “pass into nothingness.” - -Carlyle has said:[47] - -“Of this thing be certain: wouldst thou plant for Eternity, then plant -into the deep infinite faculties of man, his Fantasy and Heart. Wouldst -thou plant for Year and Day, then plant into his shallow superficial -faculties, his self-love and arithmetical understanding, what will grow -there.” - -If we use this marvellous Art of Story-Telling in the way I have tried -to show, then the children who have been confided to our care will one -day be able to bring to us the tribute which Björnson brought to Hans -C. Andersen: - - Wings you give to my Imagination, - Me uplifting to the strange and great; - Gave my heart the poet's revelation, - Glorifying things of low estate. - - When my child-soul hungered all-unknowing, - With great truths its needs you satisfied: - Now, a world-worn man, to you is owing - That the child in me has never died. - (_Translated from the Danish by Emilie Poulson._) - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[37] From “Studies of Childhood,” page 55. - -[38] I always remember the witty jibe of a chairman at my expense on -this subject, who, when proposing a vote of thanks to me, asked whether -I seriously approved of the idea of providing “wild-cat schemes” in -order to bring romance into the lives of millionaires. - -[39] From The Lockerbie Book, by James Whitcomb Riley. Copyright 1911. -Used by special permission of the publishers, the Bobbs-Merrill Company. - -[40] See Little Cousin Series in American collection of tales at the -end of book. - -[41] From “Virginibus Puerisque and other Essays.” - -[42] See Longbow story, “John and the Pig.” - -[43] This is even a higher spirit than that shown in the advice given -in the _Agamemnon_ (speaking of the victor's attitude after the taking -of Troy): - - “Yea, let no craving for forbidden gain - Bid conquerors yield before the darts of greed.” - -[44] The great war in which we have become involved since this book was -written has furnished brilliant examples of these finer qualities. - -[45] It is curious to find that the story of “Puss-in-Boots” in its -variants is sometimes presented with a moral, sometimes without. In the -valley of the Ganges it has _none_. In Cashmere it has one moral, in -Zanzibar another. - -[46] From “Childhood in Literature and Art.” Study of Hans C. Andersen, -page 201. - -[47] “Sartor Resartus,” Book III, page 218. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ON QUESTIONS ASKED BY TEACHERS. - - -THE following questions have been put to me so often by teachers, in my -own country and the States, that I have thought it might be useful to -give in my book some of the attempts I have made to answer them; and -I wish to record here an expression of gratitude to the teachers who -have asked these questions at the close of my lectures. It has enabled -me to formulate my views on the subject and to clear up, by means of -research and thought, the reason for certain things which I had more or -less taken for granted. It has also constantly modified my own point of -view, and has prevented me from becoming too dogmatic in dealing with -other people's methods. - - _Question I._ Why do I consider it necessary to spend so many years - on the Art of Story-Telling, which takes in, after all, such a - restricted portion of literature? - -Just in the same way that an actor thinks it worth while to go through -so many years' training to fit him for the stage, although dramatic -literature is also only one branch of general literature. The region of -Storyland is the legitimate stage for children. They crave for drama -as we do, and because there are comparatively few good story-tellers, -children do not have their dramatic needs satisfied. What is the -result? We either take them to dramatic performances for grown-up -people, or we have children's theatres where the pieces, charming as -they may be, are of necessity deprived of the essential elements which -constitute a drama--or they are shrivelled up to suit the capacity of -the child. Therefore it would seem wiser, whilst the children are quite -young, to keep them to the simple presentation of stories, because, -their imagination being keener at that period, they have the delight -of the inner vision and they do not need, as we do, the artificial -stimulus provided by the machinery of the stage.[48] - - _Question II._ What is to be done if a child asks you: Is a story - true? - -I hope I shall not be considered Utopian in my ideas if I say that it -is quite easy, even with small children, to teach them that the seeing -of truth is a relative matter which depends on the eyes of the seer. -If we were not afraid to tell our children that all through life there -are grown-up people who do not see things that others see, their own -difficulties would be helped. - -In his _Imagination Créatrice_, Queyrat says: “To get down into the -recesses of a child's mind, one would have to become even as he is; we -are reduced to interpreting that child in the terms of an adult. The -children we observe live and grow in a civilised community, and the -result of this is that the development of their imagination is rarely -free or complete, for as soon as it rises beyond the average level, the -rationalistic education of parents and schoolmasters at once endeavours -to curb it. It is restrained in its flight by an antagonistic power -which treats it as a kind of incipient madness.” - -It is quite easy to show children that if you keep things where they -belong they are true with regard to each other, but that if you drag -these things out of the shadowy atmosphere of the “make-believe,” and -force them into the land of actual facts, the whole thing is out of -gear. - -To take a concrete example: The arrival of the coach made from a -pumpkin and driven by mice is entirely in harmony with the Cinderella -surroundings, and I have never heard one child raise any question of -the difficulty of travelling in such a coach or of the uncertainty -of mice in drawing it. But suggest to the child that this diminutive -vehicle could be driven among the cars of Broadway, or amongst the -motor omnibuses in the Strand, and you would bring confusion at once -into his mind. - -Having once grasped this, the children will lose the idea that Fairy -Stories are just for them, and not for their elders, and from this they -will go on to see that it is the child-like mind of the Poet and Seer -that continues to appreciate these things: that it is the dull, heavy -person whose eyes so soon become dim and unable to see any more the -visions which were once his own. - -In his essay on _Poetry and Life_ (Glasgow, 1889), Professor Bradley -says: - -“It is the effect of poetry, not only by expressing emotion but in -other ways also, to bring life into the dead mass of our experience, -and to make the world significant.” - -This applies to children as well as to adults. There may come to the -child in the story-hour, by some stirring poem or dramatic narration, -a sudden flash of the possibilities of Life which he had not hitherto -realised in the even course of school experience. - -“Poetry,” says Professor Bradley, “is a way of representing truth; -but there is in it, as its detractors have always insisted, a certain -untruth or illusion. We need not deny this, so long as we remember -that the illusion is conscious, that no one wishes to deceive, and -that no one is deceived. But it would be better to say that poetry is -false to literal fact for the sake of obtaining a higher truth. First, -in order to represent the connection between a more significant part -of experience and a less significant, poetry, instead of linking them -together by a chain which touches one by one the intermediate objects -that connect them, leaps from one to the other. It thus falls at once -into conflict with commonsense.” - -Now, the whole of this passage bears as much on the question of the -truth embodied in a Fairy Tale as a poem, and it would be interesting -to take some of these tales and try to discover where they are false to -actual fact for the sake of a higher truth. - -Let us take, for instance, the story of Cinderella: The coach and -pumpkins to which we have alluded, and all the magic part of the story, -are false to actual facts as we meet them in our every-day life; but -is it not a higher truth that Cinderella could escape from her chimney -corner by thinking of the brightness outside? In this sense we all -travel in pumpkin coaches. - -Take the story of Psyche, in any one of the many forms it is presented -to us in folk-story. The magic transformation of the lover is false -to actual fact; but is it not a higher truth that we are often -transformed by Circumstance, and that love and courage can overcome -most difficulties? - -Take the story of the Three Bears. It is not in accordance with -established fact that bears should extend hospitality to children -who invade their territory. Is it not true, in a higher sense, that -fearlessness often lessens or averts danger? - -Take the story of Jack and the Bean-Stalk. The rapid growth of the -bean-stalk and the encounter with the Giant are false to literal fact; -but is it not a higher truth that the spirit of courage and high -adventure leads us straight out of the commonplace and often sordid -facts of Life? - -Now, all these considerations are too subtle for the child, and, if -offered in explanation, would destroy the excitement and interest -of the story; but they are good for those of us who are presenting -such stories: they not only provide an argument against the objection -raised by unimaginative people as to the futility, if not immorality, -of presenting these primitive tales, but clear up our own doubt and -justify us in the use of them, if we need such justification. - -For myself, I am perfectly satisfied that, being part of the history -of primitive people, it would be foolish to ignore them from an -evolutionary point of view, which constitutes their chief importance; -and it is only from the point of view of expediency that I mention the -potential truths they contain. - - _Question III._ What are you to do if a child says he does not like - Fairy Tales? - -This is not an uncommon case. What we have first to determine, under -these circumstances, is whether this dislike springs from a stolid, -prosaic nature, whether it springs from a real inability to visualize -such pictures as the Fairy, or marvellous element in the story, -presents, or whether (and this is often the real reason) it is from a -fear of being asked to believe what his judgment resents as untrue, or -whether he thinks it is “grown-up” to reject such pleasure as unworthy -of his years. - -In the first case, it is wise to persevere, in hopes of developing the -dormant imagination. If the child resents the apparent want of truth, -we can teach him how many-sided truth is, as I suggested in my answer -to the first question. In the other cases, we must try to make it -clear that the delight he may venture to take now will increase, not -decrease, with years; that the more you bring _to_ a thing (in the way -of experience and knowledge) the more you will draw _out_ of it. - -Let us take as a concrete example the question of Santa Claus. This -joy has almost disappeared, for we have torn away the last shred of -mystery about that personage by allowing him to be materialised in the -Christmas shops and bazaars. - -But the original myth need never have disappeared; the link could -easily have been kept by gradually telling the child that the Santa -Claus they worshipped as a mysterious and invisible power is nothing -but the Spirit of Charity and Kindness that makes us remember others, -and that this spirit often takes the form of material gifts. We can -also lead them a step higher and show them that this spirit of kindness -can do more than provide material things; so that the old nursery tale -has laid a beautiful foundation which need never be pulled up: we can -build upon it and add to it all through our lives. - -Is not _one_ of the reasons that children reject Fairy Tales because -such very _poor_ material is offered them? There is a dreary flatness -about all except the very best which revolts the child of literary -appreciation and would fail to strike a spark in the more prosaic. - - _Question IV._ Do I recommend learning a story by heart, or telling - it in one's own words? - -This would largely depend on the kind of story. If the style is classic -or if the interest of the story is closely connected with the style, -as in Andersen, Kipling or Stevenson, then it is better to commit it -absolutely to memory. But if this process should take too long (I mean -for those who cannot afford the time to specialise), or if it produces -a stilted effect, then it is wiser to read the story many times over, -let it soak in, taking notes of certain passages which would add to the -dramatic interest of the story, and not trouble about the word accuracy -of the whole. - -For instance, for very young children the story of Pandora, as told -in the Wonder-Book, could be shortened so as to leave principally the -dramatic dialogue between the two children, which would be easily -committed to memory by the narrator and would appeal most directly -to the children. Again, for older children: in taking a beautiful -mediæval story such as “Our Lady's Tumbler,” the original text could -hardly be presented so as to hold an audience; but whilst giving up a -great deal of the elaborate material, we should try to present many of -the characteristic passages which seem to sum up the situation. For -instance, before his performance, the Tumbler cries: “What am I doing? -For there is none here so caitiff but who vies with all the rest in -serving God after his trade.” And after his act of devotion: “Lady, -this is a choice performance. I do it for no other but for you; so aid -me God, I do not--for you and for your Son. And this I dare avouch and -boast, that for me it is no play-work. But I am serving you, and that -pays me.” - -On the other hand, there are some very gifted narrators who can only -tell the story in their own words. I consider that both methods are -necessary to the all-round story-teller. - - _Question V._ How do I set about preparing a story? - -Here again the preparation depends a great deal on the kind of story: -whether it has to be committed to memory or re-arranged to suit a -certain age of child, or told entirely in one's own words. But there -is one kind of preparation which is the same for any story, that is, -living with it for a long time, until you have really obtained the -right atmosphere, and then bringing the characters actually to life -in this atmosphere, most especially in the case of inanimate objects. -This is where Hans C. Andersen reigns supreme. Horace Scudder says of -him: “By some transmigration, souls have passed into tin soldiers, -balls, tops, money-pigs, coins, shoes and even such attenuated things -as darning-needles, and when, in forming these apparent dead and stupid -bodies, they begin to make manifestations, it is always in perfect -consistency with the ordinary conditions of the bodies they occupy, -though the several objects become, by the endowment of souls, suddenly -expanded in their capacity.”[49] - -Now, my test of being ready with such stories is whether I have ceased -to look upon such objects _as_ inanimate. Let us take some of those -quoted from Andersen. First, the Tin Soldier. To me, since I have lived -in the story, he is a real live hero, holding his own with some of the -bravest fighting heroes in history or fiction. As for his being merely -of tin, I entirely forget it, except when I realise against what odds -he fights, or when I stop to admire the wonderful way Andersen carries -out his simile of the old tin spoon--the stiffness of the musket, and -the tears of tin. - -Take the Top and the Ball, and, except for the delightful way they -discuss the respective merits of _cork_ and _mahogany_ in their -ancestors, you would completely forget that they are not real human -beings with the live passions and frailties common to youth. - -As for the Beetle--who ever thinks of him as a mere entomological -specimen? Is he not the symbol of the self-satisfied traveller who -learns nothing _en route_ but the importance of his own personality? -And the Darning-Needle? It is impossible to divorce human interest from -the ambition of this little piece of steel. - -And this same method applied to the preparation of any story shows that -you can sometimes rise from the rôle of mere interpreter to that of -creator--that is to say, the objects live afresh for you in response to -the appeal you make in recognising their possibilities of vitality. - -As a mere practical suggestion, I would advise that, as soon as you -have overcome the difficulties of the text (if actually learning by -heart, there is nothing but the drudgery of constant repetition), and -as you begin to work the story into true dramatic form, always say the -words aloud, and many times aloud, before you try them even on one -person. More suggestions come to one in the way of effects from hearing -the sounds of the words, and more complete mental pictures, in this -way than any other ... it is a sort of testing period, the results of -which may or may not have to be modified when produced in public.... -In case of committing to memory, I advise word perfection first, not -trying dramatic effects before this is reached; but, on the other hand, -if you are using your own words, you can think out the effects as you -go along--I mean, during the preparation. Gestures, pauses, facial -expression often help to fix the choice of words you decide to use, -though here again the public performance will often modify the result. -I should strongly advise that all gestures should be studied before the -glass, because this most faithfully-recording friend, whose sincerity -we dare not question, will prevent glaring errors, and also help by the -correction of these to more satisfactory results along positive lines. -If your gesture does not satisfy (and practice will make you more and -more critical), it is generally because you have not made sufficient -allowance for the power of imagination in your audience. Emphasis in -gesture is just as inartistic--and therefore ineffective--as emphasis -in tone or language. - -Before _deciding_, however, either on the facial expression or gesture, -we must consider the chief characters in the story, and study how we -can best--_not_ present them, but allow them to present themselves, -which is a very different thing. The greatest tribute which can be -paid to a story-teller, as to an actor, is that his own personality is -temporarily forgotten, because he has so completely identified himself -with his rôle. - -When we have decided what the chief characters really mean to do, we -can let ourselves go in the impersonation.... - -I shall now take a story as a concrete example--namely, the Buddhist -legend of the Lion and the Hare,[50] which I give in the final story -list. - -We have here the Lion and the Hare as types--the other animals are -less individual and therefore display less salient qualities. The -little hare's chief characteristics are nervousness, fussiness and -misdirected imagination. We must bear this all in mind when she appears -on the stage--fortunately these characteristics lend themselves easily -to dramatic representation. The lion is not only large-hearted but -broad-minded. It is good to have an opportunity of presenting to -the children a lion who has other qualities than physical beauty or -extraordinary strength. (Here again there will lurk the danger of -alarming the Nature students!) He is even more interesting than the -magnanimous lion whom we have sometimes been privileged to meet in -fiction. - -Of course we grown-up people know that the lion is the Buddha in -disguise. Children will not be able to realise this, nor is it the -least necessary that they should do so; but they will grasp the -idea that he is a very unusual lion, not to be met with in Paul du -Chaillu's adventures, still less in the quasi-domestic atmosphere of -the Zoological Gardens. If our presentation is life-like and sincere, -we shall convey all we intend to the child. This is part of what I call -the atmosphere of the story, which, as in a photograph, can only be -obtained by long exposure, that is to say, in case of the preparation -we must bestow much reflection and sympathy. - -Because these two animals are the chief characters, they must stand -out in sharp outline: the other animals must be painted in fainter -colours--they should be suggested rather than presented in detail. -It might be as well to give a definite gesture to the Elephant--say, -a characteristic movement with his trunk--a scowl to the Tiger, a -supercilious and enigmatic smile to the Camel (suggested by Kipling's -wonderful creation). But if a gesture were given to each of the -animals, the effect would become monotonous, and the minor characters -would crowd the foreground of the picture, impeding the action and -leaving little to the imagination of the audience.... I personally have -found it effective to repeat the gestures of these animals as they are -leaving the stage, less markedly, as it is only a form of reminder. - -Now, what is the impression we wish to leave on the mind of the child, -apart from the dramatic joy and interest we have endeavoured to -provide? Surely it is that he may realise the danger of a panic. One -method of doing this (alas! a favourite one still) is to say at the -end of the story: “Now, children, what do we learn from this?” Of this -method Lord Morley has said: “It is a commonplace to the wise, and an -everlasting puzzle to the foolish, that direct inculcation of morals -should invariably prove so powerless an instrument--so futile a method.” - -If this direct method were really effective, we might as well put the -little drama aside, and say plainly: “It is foolish to be nervous; it -is dangerous to make loose statements. Large-minded people understand -things better than those who are narrow-minded.” - -Now, all these abstract statements would be as true and as tiresome as -the multiplication-table. The child might or might not fix them in his -mind, but he would not act upon them. - -But, put all the artistic warmth of which you are capable into the -presentation of the story, and, without one word of comment from you, -the children will feel the dramatic intensity of that vast concourse of -animals brought together by the feeble utterance of one irresponsible -little hare. Let them feel the dignity and calm of the Lion, which -accounts for his authority; his tender but firm treatment of the -foolish little Hare; and listen to the glorious finale when all -the animals retire convinced of their folly; and you will find that -you have adopted the same method as the Lion (who must have been an -unconscious follower of Froebel), and that there is nothing to add to -the picture. - - _Question VI._ Is it wise to talk over a story with children and to - encourage them in the habit of asking questions about it? - -At the time, no! The effect produced is to be by dramatic means, -and this would be destroyed by any attempts at analysis by means of -questions. - -The medium that has been used in the telling of the story is (or ought -to be) a purely artistic one which will reach the child through the -medium of the emotions: the appeal to the intellect or the reason is -a different method, which must be used at a different time. When you -are enjoying the fragrance of a flower or the beauty of its colour, it -is not the moment to be reminded of its botanical classification. Just -as in the botany lesson it would be somewhat irrelevant to talk of the -part that flowers play in the happiness of life. - -From a practical point of view, it is not wise to encourage questions -on the part of the children, because they are apt to disturb the -atmosphere by bringing in entirely irrelevant matter, so that in -looking back on the telling of the story, the child often remembers the -irrelevant conversation to the exclusion of the dramatic interest of -the story itself.[51] - -I remember once making what I considered at the time a most effective -appeal to some children who had been listening to the story of the -Little Tin Soldier, and, unable to refrain from the cheap method of -questioning, of which I have now recognised the futility, I asked: -“Don't you think it was nice of the little dancer to rush down into the -fire to join the brave little soldier?” “Well,” said a prosaic little -lad of six: “I thought the draught carried her down.” - - _Question VII._ Is it wise to call upon children to repeat the - story as soon as it has been told? - -My answer here is decidedly in the negative. - -Whilst fully appreciating the modern idea of children expressing -themselves, I very much deprecate this so-called self-expression taking -the form of mere reproduction. I have dealt with this matter in detail -in another portion of my book. This is one of the occasions when -children should be taking in, not giving out. (Even the most fanatic of -moderns must agree that there are such moments.) - -When, after much careful preparation, an expert has told a story to the -best of his ability, to encourage the children to reproduce this story -with their imperfect vocabulary and with no special gift of speech (I -am always alluding to the normal group of children) is as futile as -if, after the performance of a musical piece by a great artist, some -individual member of the audience were to be called upon to give his -rendering of the original rendering. The result would be that the -musical joy of the audience would be completely destroyed and the -performer himself would share in the loss.[52] - -I have always maintained that five minutes of complete silence after -the story would do more to fix the impression on the mind of the child -than any amount of attempts at reproducing it. The general statement -made in Dr. Montessori's wonderful chapter on Silence would seem to me -of special application to the moments following on the telling of a -story. - - _Question VIII._ Should children be encouraged to illustrate the - stories which they have heard? - -As a dramatic interest to the teachers and the children, I think it -is a very praiseworthy experiment, if used somewhat sparingly. But I -seriously doubt whether these illustrations in any way indicate the -impression made on the mind of the child. It is the same question -that arises when that child is called upon (or expresses a wish) to -reproduce the story in his own words: the unfamiliar medium in both -instances makes it almost impossible for the child to convey his -meaning, unless he be an artist in the one case or have real literary -power of expression in the other. - -My own impression, which has been confirmed by many teachers who -have made the experiment, is that a certain amount of disappointment -is mixed up with the daring joy in the attempt, simply because the -children can get nowhere near the ideal which has presented itself to -the “inner eye.” - -I remember a Kindergarten mistress saying that on one occasion, when -she had told to the class a thrilling story of a knight, one of the -children immediately asked for permission to draw a picture of him -on the blackboard. So spontaneous a request could not, of course, be -refused, and, full of assurance, the would-be artist began to give his -impression of the knight's appearance. When the picture was finished, -the child stood back for a moment to judge for himself of the result. -He put down the chalk and said sadly: “And I _thought_ he was so -handsome.” - -Nevertheless, except for the drawback of the other children seeing a -picture which might be inferior to their own mental vision, I should -quite approve of such experiments as long as they are not taken as -literal data of what the children have really received. It would, -however, be better not to have the picture drawn on a blackboard but at -the child's private desk, to be seen by the teacher and not, unless the -picture were exceptionally good, to be shown to the other children. - -One of the best effects of such an experiment would be to show a child -how difficult it is to give the impression he wishes to record, and -which would enable him later on to appreciate the beauty of such work -in the hands of a finished artist. - -I can anticipate the jeers with which such remarks would be received by -the Futurist School, but, according to their own theory, I ought to be -allowed to express the matter _as I see it_, however faulty the vision -may appear to them.[53] - - _Question IX._ In what way can the dramatic method of story-telling - be used in ordinary class teaching? - -This is too large a question to answer fully in so general a survey as -this work, but I should like to give one or two concrete examples as to -how the element of story-telling could be introduced. - -I have always thought that the only way in which we could make either a -history or literature lesson live, so that it should take a real hold -on the mind of the pupil at any age, would be that, instead of offering -lists of events, crowded into the fictitious area of one reign, one -should take a single event, say in one lesson out of five, and give -it in the most splendid language and in the most dramatic (not to be -confused with “melodramatic”) manner. - -To come to a concrete example: Supposing that you are talking to the -class of Greece, either in connection with its history, its geography -or its literature, could any mere accumulation of facts give a clearer -idea of the life of the people than a dramatically told story from -Homer, Æschylus, Sophocles or Euripides? - -What in the history of Iceland could give a more graphic idea of the -whole character of the life and customs of the inhabitants than one -of the famous sagas, such as “The Burning of Njal” or “The Death of -Gunnar”? - -In teaching the history of Spain, what could make the pupils understand -better the spirit of knight-errantry, its faults and its qualities, -than a recital from “Don Quixote” or from the tale of “The Cid”? - -In a word, the stories must appeal so vividly to the imagination that -they will light up the whole period of history which we wish them to -illustrate, and keep it in the memory for all time. - -But apart from the dramatic presentation of history, there are great -possibilities for introducing the short story into the portrait of -some great personage: a story which, though it may be insignificant in -itself, throws a sudden sidelight on his character, and reveals the -mind behind the actual deeds; this is what I mean by using the dramatic -method. - -To take a concrete example: Supposing, in giving an account of the -life of Napoleon, after enlarging on his campaigns, his European -policy, his indomitable will, you were suddenly to give an idea of his -many-sidedness by relating how he actually found time to compile a -catechism which was used for some years in the elementary schools in -France! - -What sidelights might be thrown in this way on such characters as Nero, -Cæsar, Henry VIII, Luther, Goethe! - -To take one example from these: Instead of making the whole career -of Henry VIII centre round the fact that he was a much-married man, -could we not present his artistic side and speak of his charming -contributions to music?.... - -So much for the history lessons. But could not the dramatic form and -interest be introduced into our geography lessons? Think of the romance -of the Panama Canal, the position of Constantinople as affecting -the history of Europe, the shape of Greece, England as an Island, -the position of Tibet, the interior of Africa--to what wonderful -story-telling would these themes lend themselves! - - _Question X._ Which should predominate in the story--the dramatic - or the poetic element? - -This is a much debated point. From experience, I have come to the -conclusion that, though both should be found in the whole range of -stories, the dramatic element should prevail from the very nature of -the presentation, and also because it reaches the larger number of -children (at least of normal children). Almost every child is dramatic, -in the sense that he loves action (not necessarily an action in which -he has to bear a part). It is the exceptional child who is reached by -the poetic side, and just as on the stage the action must be quicker -and more concentrated than in a poem--even than a dramatic poem--so -it must be with the story. Children act out in their imagination the -dramatic or actable part of the story--the poetical side, which must -be painted in more delicate colours or presented in less obvious form, -often escapes them. Of course the very reason why we must include the -poetical element is that it is an unexpressed need of most children. -Their need of the dramatic is more loudly proclaimed and more easily -satisfied. - - _Question XI._ What is the educational value of Humour in the - stories told to our children? - -My answer to this is that Humour means much more than is usually -understood by this term. So many people seem to think that to have a -sense of humour is merely to be tickled by a funny element in a story. -It surely means something much more subtle than this. It is Thackeray -who says: “If Humour only meant Laughter ... but the Humourist -professes to awaken and direct your love, your pity, your kindness, -your scorn for untruth and pretention, your tenderness for the weak, -the poor, the oppressed, the unhappy.” So that, in our stories, the -introduction of humour should not merely depend on the doubtful -amusement that follows on a sense of incongruity. It should inculcate -a sense of proportion brought about by an effort of imagination: -it shows a child its real position in the Universe, and prevents -an exaggerated idea of his own importance. It develops the logical -faculty, and prevents hasty conclusions. It shortens the period of joy -in horseplay and practical jokes. It brings about a clearer perception -of all situations, enabling the child to get the point of view of -another person. It is the first instilling of philosophy into the mind -of a child, and prevents much suffering later on when the blows of life -fall upon him; for a sense of humour teaches us at an early age not to -expect too much; and this philosophy can be developed without cynicism -or pessimism, without even destroying the _joie de vivre_.... - -One cannot, however, sufficiently emphasize the fact that these -far-reaching results can only be brought about by humour quite distinct -from the broader fun and hilarity which have also their use in an -educational scheme. - -From my own experience, I have learned that development of Humour -is with most children extremely slow. It is quite natural and quite -right that at first pure fun, obvious situations and elementary jokes -should please them, but we can very gradually appeal to something more -subtle, and if I were asked what story would educate our children most -thoroughly in appreciation of Humour, I should say that “Alice in -Wonderland” was the most effective. - -What better object-lesson could be given in humorous form of taking -somebody else's point of view than that given to Alice by the Mock -Turtle in speaking of the Whiting?: - -“‘You know what they're like?’ - -‘I believe so,’ said Alice. ‘They have their tails in their mouths--and -they're all over crumbs.’ - -‘You're wrong about the crumbs,’ said the Mock Turtle. 'Crumbs would -all wash off in the sea.'” - -Or when Alice is speaking to the Mouse of her Cat, and says: “She is -such a dear quiet thing--and a capital one for catching mice----” -and then suddenly realises the point of view of the Mouse, who was -“trembling down to the end of its tail.” - -Then, as an instance of how a lack of humour leads to illogical -conclusions (a condition common to most children), we have the -conversation between Alice and the Pigeon: - -ALICE: “But little girls eat quite as much as serpents do, you know.” - -PIGEON: “I don't believe it. But if they do, why then they're a kind of -serpent, that's all I can say.” - -Then, as an instance of how a sense of humour would prevent too much -self-importance: - -“‘I have a right to think,’ said Alice sharply. - -‘Just about as much right,’ said the Duchess, 'as pigs have to fly.'” - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[48] I do not deny that there can be charming representations of this -kind. Miss Netta Syrett has given a triplet of plays at the Court -Theatre which were entirely on the plane of the child; but these -performances were somewhat exceptional. - -[49] From “Study of Hans C. Andersen.” - -[50] See “Eastern Stories and Fables,” published by Routledge. - -[51] See Chapter I. - -[52] In this matter I have, in England, the support of Dr. Kimmins, -Chief Inspector of the London County Council, who is strongly opposed -to immediate reproduction of the stories. - -[53] Needless to say that these remarks only refer to the -illustrations of stories told. Whether children should be encouraged to -self-expression in drawing (quite apart from reproducing in one medium -what has been conveyed to them in another), is too large a question to -deal with in this special work on Story-Telling. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -STORIES IN FULL. - - -THE following three stories have for so long formed a part of my -repertory that I have been requested to include them in my book, and, -in order to associate myself more completely with them, I am presenting -a translation of my own from the original Danish version. - - -THE NIGHTINGALE. - -You must know that in China the Emperor is a Chinaman, and all those -around him are also Chinamen. It is many years since all this happened, -and for that very reason it is worth hearing, before it is forgotten. - -There was no palace in the world more beautiful than the Emperor's; -it was very costly, all of fine porcelain, but it was so delicate and -brittle, that it was very difficult to touch, and you had to be very -careful in doing so. The most wonderful flowers could be seen in the -garden, and silver tinkling bells were tied on to the most beautiful -of these, for fear people should pass by without noticing them. How -well everything had been thought out in the Emperor's garden--which was -so big, that even the gardener himself did not know how big. If you -walked on and on you came to the most beautiful wood, with tall trees -and deep lakes. This wood stretched right down to the sea, which was -blue and deep; great ships could pass underneath the branches, and in -these branches a nightingale had made its home, and its singing was so -entrancing that the poor fisherman, though he had so many other things -to do, would lie still and listen when he was out at night drawing in -his nets. - -“Heavens! how lovely that is!” he said: but then he was forced to think -about his own affairs, and the nightingale was forgotten; but the next -day, when it sang again, the fisherman said the same thing: “Heavens! -how lovely that is!” - -Travellers from all the countries of the world came to the Emperor's -town, and expressed their admiration for the palace and the garden, but -when they heard the nightingale, they all said in one breath: “That is -the best of all!” - -Now, when these travellers came home, they told of what they had seen. -The scholars wrote many books about the town, the palace and the -garden, but nobody left the nightingale out: it was always spoken of as -the most wonderful of all they had seen, and those who had the gift of -the Poet wrote the most delightful poems all about the nightingale in -the wood near the deep lake. - -The books went round the world, and in course of time some of them -reached the Emperor. He sat in his golden chair, and read and read, -nodding his head every minute; for it pleased him to read the beautiful -descriptions of the town, the palace and the garden; and then he found -in the book the following words: “But the Nightingale is the best of -all.” - -“What is this?” said the Emperor. “The nightingale! I know nothing -whatever about it. To think of there being such a bird in my -Kingdom--nay, in my very garden--and I have never heard it! And one has -to learn of such a thing for the first time from a book!” - -Then he summoned his Lord-in-Waiting, who was such a grand creature -that if any one inferior in rank ventured to speak to him, or ask him -about anything, he merely uttered the sound “P,” which meant nothing -whatever. - -“There is said to be a most wonderful bird, called the Nightingale,” -said the Emperor; “they say it is the best thing in my great Kingdom. -Why have I been told nothing about it?” - -“I have never heard it mentioned before,” said the Lord-in-Waiting. “It -has certainly never been presented at court.” - -“It is my good pleasure that it shall appear here to-night and sing -before me!” said the Emperor. “The whole world knows what is mine, and -I myself do not know it.” - -“I have never heard it mentioned before,” said the Lord-in-Waiting. “I -will seek it, and I shall find it.” - -But where was it to be found? The Lord-in-Waiting ran up and down all -the stairs, through the halls and the passages, but not one of all -those whom he met had ever heard a word about the Nightingale. The -Lord-in-Waiting ran back to the Emperor and told him that it must -certainly be a fable invented by writers of books. - -“Your Majesty must not believe all that is written in books. It is pure -invention, besides something which is called the Black Art.” - -“But,” said the Emperor, “the book in which I read this was sent to -me by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, and therefore this cannot be -a falsehood. I insist on hearing the Nightingale: it must appear this -evening. It has my gracious favour, and if it fails to appear, the -court shall be trampled upon after the court has supped.” - -“Tsing-pe!” said the Lord-in-Waiting, and again he ran up and down all -the stairs, through all the halls and passages, and half the court ran -with him, for they had no wish to be trampled upon. And many questions -were asked about the wonderful Nightingale of whom all had heard except -those who lived at court. - -At last, they met a poor little girl in the kitchen. She said: -“Heavens! The Nightingale! I know it well! Yes, how it can sing! Every -evening I have permission to take the broken pieces from the table -to my poor sick mother who lives near the seashore, and on my way -back, when I feel tired and rest a while in the wood, then I hear the -Nightingale sing, and my eyes are filled with tears: it is just as if -my mother kissed me.” - -“Little kitchen-girl,” said the Lord-in-Waiting, “I will get a -permanent position for you in the Court Kitchen and permission to see -the Emperor dine, if you can lead us to the Nightingale; for it has -received orders to appear at Court to-night.” - -So they started off all together for the wood where the bird was wont -to sing: half the court went too. They were going along at a good pace -when suddenly they heard a cow lowing. - -“Oh,” said a court-page. “There you have it. That is a wonderful power -for so small a creature! I have certainly heard it before.” - -“No, those are the cows lowing,” said the little kitchen girl. “We are -a long way from the place yet.” - -And then the frogs began to croak in the pond. - -“Beautiful,” said the Court Preacher. “Now, I hear it--it is just like -little church bells.” - -“No, those are the frogs,” said the little Kitchen maid. “But now I -think that we shall soon hear it.” - -And then the Nightingale began to sing. - -“There it is,” said the little girl. “Listen, listen--there it sits.” -And she pointed to a little grey bird in the branches. - -“Is it possible!” said the Lord-in-Waiting. “I had never supposed it -would look like that. How very plain it looks! It has certainly lost -its colour from seeing so many grand folk around it.” - -“Little Nightingale,” called out the little Kitchen girl, “our gracious -Emperor would be so glad if you would sing for him.” - -“With the greatest pleasure,” said the Nightingale. It sang, and it was -a joy to hear it. - -“Just like little glass bells,” said the Lord-in-Waiting; “and just -look at the little throat, how active it is! It is astonishing to think -we have never heard it before! It will have a real _success_ at Court.” - -“Shall I sing for the Emperor again?” said the Nightingale, who thought -that the Emperor was there in person. - -“Mine excellent little Nightingale,” said the Lord-in-Waiting, “I have -the great pleasure of bidding you to a Court-Festival this night, when -you will enchant His Imperial Majesty with your delightful warbling.” - -“My voice sounds better among the green trees,” said the Nightingale. -But it came willingly when it knew that the Emperor wished it. - -There was a great deal of furbishing up at the Palace. The walls and -ceiling, which were of porcelain, shone with a light of a thousand -golden lamps. The most beautiful flowers of the tinkling kind were -placed in the passages. There was running to and fro, and a thorough -draught. But that is just what made the bells ring: one could not -oneself. In the middle of the large hall where the Emperor sat, a -golden rod had been set up on which the Nightingale was to perch. The -whole Court was present, and the little Kitchen-maid was allowed to -stand behind the door, for she had now the actual title of a Court -Kitchen Maid. All were there in their smartest clothes, and they all -looked towards the little grey bird to which the Emperor nodded. - -And the Nightingale sang so delightfully that tears sprang into the -Emperor's eyes and rolled down his cheeks; and then the Nightingale -sang even more beautifully. The song went straight to the heart, and -the Emperor was so delighted that he declared that the Nightingale -should have his golden slipper to hang round its neck. But the -Nightingale declined. It had already had its reward. - -“I have seen tears in the Emperor's eyes. That to me is the richest -tribute. An Emperor's tears have a wonderful power. God knows my reward -is great enough,” and again its sweet, glorious voice was heard. - -“That is the most delightful coquetting I have ever known,” said the -ladies sitting round, and they took water into their mouths, in order -to gurgle when anyone spoke to them, and they really thought they were -like the Nightingale. Even the footmen and the chambermaids sent word -that they, too, were satisfied, and that means a great deal, for these -are the people whom it is most difficult to please. There was no doubt -as to the Nightingale's success. It was sure to stay at Court, and -have its own cage, with liberty to go out twice in the daytime, and -once at night. Twelve servants went out with it, and each held a silk -ribbon which was tied to the bird's leg, and they held it very tightly. -There was not much pleasure in going out under those conditions. The -whole town was talking of the wonderful bird, and when two people met, -one said: “Nightin-” and the other said “gale,” and they sighed and -understood one another. Eleven cheese-mongers' children were called -after the bird, though none of them had a note in his voice. One day -a large parcel came for the Emperor. Outside was written the word: -“Nightingale.” - -“Here we have a new book about our wonderful bird,” said the Emperor. -But it was not a book; it was a little work of art which lay in a -box--an artificial Nightingale, which was supposed to look like the -real one, but it was set in diamonds, rubies and sapphires. As soon as -you wound it up, it could sing one of the pieces which the real bird -sang, and its tail moved up and down and glittered with silver and -gold. Round its neck was a ribbon on which was written: “The Emperor of -Japan's Nightingale is miserable compared with the Emperor of China's.” - -“That is delightful,” they all said, and on the messenger who had -brought the artificial bird they bestowed the title of “Imperial -Nightingale-Bringer-in-Chief.” - -“Let them sing together, and _what_ a duet that will be!” - -And so they had to sing, but the thing would not work, because the -real Nightingale could only sing in its own way, and the artificial -Nightingale could only play by clock-work. - -“That is not its fault,” said the Band Master. “Time is its strong -point, and it has quite my method.” - -Then the artificial Nightingale had to sing alone. It had just as much -success as the real bird, and then it was so much handsomer to look at: -it glittered like bracelets and breast-pins. It sang the same tune -three and thirty times, and it was still not tired: the people would -willingly have listened to the whole performance over again from the -start. But the Emperor suggested that the real Nightingale should sing -for a while. But where was it? Nobody had noticed that it had flown out -of the open window back to its green woods. - -“But what is the meaning of all this?” said the Emperor. All the -courtiers upbraided the Nightingale and said that it was a most -ungrateful creature. - -“We have the better of the two,” they said, and the artificial -Nightingale had to sing again, and this was the thirty-fourth time -they heard the same tune. But they did not know it properly even then, -because it was so difficult, and the bandmaster praised the wonderful -bird in the highest terms, and even asserted that it was superior to -the real bird, not only as regarded the outside, with the many lovely -diamonds, but also the inside as well. - -“You see, ladies and gentlemen, and above all your Imperial Majesty, -that with the real Nightingale, you can never predict what may happen, -but with the artificial bird, everything is settled upon beforehand; so -it remains and it cannot be changed. One can account for it. One can -rip it open and show the human ingenuity, explaining how the cylinders -lie, how they work, and how one thing is the result of another.” - -“That is just what we think,” they all exclaimed, and the Bandmaster -received permission to exhibit the bird to the people on the following -Sunday. The Emperor said they were to hear it sing. They listened, and -were as much delighted as if they had been drunk with tea, which is -a thoroughly Chinese habit, and they all said “Oh!” and stuck their -forefingers in the air, and nodded their heads. But the poor Fisherman -who had heard the real Nightingale, said: “It sounds quite well, and a -little like it, but there is something missing. I do not know what it -is.” - -The real Nightingale was banished from the Kingdom. The artificial bird -had its place on a silken cushion close to the Emperor's bed. All the -presents it had received, the gold and precious stones, lay all round -it, and it had been honoured with the title of High Imperial Bedroom -Singer--in the first rank, on the left side, for even the Emperor -considered that side the grander on which the heart is placed, and -even an Emperor has his heart on the left side. The Bandmaster wrote -twenty-five volumes about the wonderful artificial bird. The book was -very learned and very long, filled with the most difficult words in the -Chinese language, and everybody said that he had read it and understood -it, for otherwise he would have been considered stupid, and would have -been trampled upon. - -And thus a whole year passed away. The Emperor, the Court and all the -other Chinese knew every little gurgle in the artificial bird's song, -and just for this reason, they were all the better pleased with it. -They could sing it themselves--which they did. The boys in the street -sang “zizizi” and “cluck, cluck,” and even the Emperor sang it. Yes, it -was certainly beautiful. But one evening, while the bird was singing, -and the Emperor lay in bed listening to it, there was a whirring sound -inside the bird, and something whizzed; all the wheels ran round, and -the music stopped. The Emperor sprang out of bed and sent for the Court -Physician, but what could he do? Then they sent for the watch-maker, -and after much talk and examination, he patched the bird up, but he -said it must be spared as much as possible, because the hammers were -so worn out and he could not put new ones in so that the music could -be counted on. This was a great grief. The bird could only be allowed -to sing once a year, and even that was risky, but on these occasions -the Bandmaster would make a little speech, introducing difficult words, -saying the bird was as good as it ever had been: and that was true. - -Five years passed away, and a great sorrow had come over the land. The -people all really cared for their Emperor: now he was ill and it was -said he could not live. A new Emperor had been chosen, and the people -stood about the streets, and questioned the Lord-in-Waiting about their -Emperor's condition. - -“P!” he said, and shook his head. - -The Emperor lay pale and cold on his great, gorgeous bed: the whole -Court believed that he was dead, and they all hastened to pay homage to -the new Emperor. The footmen hurried off to discuss matters, and the -chambermaids gave a great coffee party. Cloth had been laid down in -all the rooms and passages, so that not a footstep should be heard and -it was all fearfully quiet. But the Emperor was not yet dead. He lay -stiff and pale in the sumptuous bed, with its long, velvet curtains, -and the heavy gold tassels: just above was an open window, and the moon -shone in upon the Emperor and the artificial bird. The poor Emperor -could hardly breathe: it was as if something were weighing him down: -he opened his eyes and saw it was Death, sitting on his chest, wearing -his golden crown, holding in one hand the golden sword, and in the -other the splendid banner: and from the folds of the velvet curtains -strange faces peered forth, some terrible to look on, others mild and -friendly: these were the Emperor's good and bad deeds, which gazed upon -him now that Death sat upon his heart. - -“Do you remember this?” whispered one after the other. “Do you remember -that?” They told him so much that the sweat poured down his face. - -“I never knew that,” said the Emperor. “Play music! music! Beat the -great Chinese drum!” he called out, “so that I may not hear what they -are saying!” - -But they kept on, and Death nodded his head, like a Chinaman, at -everything they said. - -“Music, music,” cried the Emperor. “You little precious bird! Sing to -me, ah! sing to me! I have given you gold and costly treasures. I have -hung my golden slipper about your neck. Sing to me. Sing to me!” - -But the bird stood still: there was no one to wind him up, and -therefore he could not sing. But Death went on, staring at the Emperor -with his great hollow sockets, and it was terribly still. - -Then, suddenly, close to the window, came the sound of a lovely song. -It was the little live Nightingale which perched on the branches -outside. It had heard of its Emperor's plight, and had therefore flown -hither to bring him comfort and hope, and as he sang, the faces became -paler and the blood coursed more freely through the Emperor's weak -body, and Death himself listened and said: “Go on, little Nightingale. -Go on.” - -“And will you give me the splendid sword, and the rich banner and the -Emperor's crown?” - -And Death gave all these treasures for a song. And still the -Nightingale sang on. He sang of the quiet churchyard, where the white -roses grow, where the Elder flowers bloom, and where the grass is kept -moist by the tears of the survivors, and there came to Death such a -longing to see his garden, that he floated out of the window, in the -form of a white, cold mist. - -“Thank you, thank you,” said the Emperor. “You heavenly little bird, I -know you well! I banished you from the land, and you have charmed away -the evil spirits from my bed, and you have driven Death from my heart. -How shall I reward you?” - -“You have rewarded me,” said the Nightingale. “I received tears from -your eyes the first time I sang, and I never forget that. These are -jewels which touch the heart of the singer. But sleep now, that you -may wake fresh and strong. I will sing to you,” and it sang, and the -Emperor fell into a sweet sleep. The sun shone in upon him through the -window, and he woke feeling strong and healthy. None of his servants -had come back, because they thought he was dead, but the Nightingale -was still singing. - -“You will always stay with me,” said the Emperor. “You shall only sing -when it pleases you, and I will break the artificial Nightingale into a -thousand pieces.” - -“Do not do that,” said the Nightingale. “It has done the best it -could. Keep it with you. I cannot build my nest in a palace, but let -me come just as I please. I will sit on the branch near the window, -and sing to you that you may be joyful and thoughtful too. I will sing -to you of the happy folk, and of those that suffer; I will sing of -the evil and of the good, which is being hidden from you. The little -singing bird flies hither and thither, to the poor fisherman, to the -peasant's hut, to many who live far from you and the Court. Your heart -is dearer to me than your crown, and yet the crown has a breath of -sanctity too. I will come; I will sing to you, but one thing you must -promise.” - -“All that you ask,” said the Emperor and stood there in his imperial -robes which he had put on himself, and held the heavy golden sword on -his heart. - -“I beg you, let no one know that you have a little bird who tells you -everything. It will be far better thus,” and the Nightingale flew away. - -The servants came to look upon their dead Emperor: they stood there and -the Emperor said “Good morning.” - - (_From Hans. C. Andersen, translated from the Danish by Marie L. - Shedlock._) - - -THE SWINEHERD. - -There was once upon a time a needy prince. He owned a Kingdom--a very -small one, but it was large enough to support a wife, and he made up -his mind to marry. Now, it was really very bold on his part to say of -the King's daughter: “Will you marry me?” But he dared to do so, for -his name was known far and wide, and there were hundreds of princesses -who would willingly have said: “Yes, with thanks.” But, whether she -would say so, was another matter. We shall hear what happened. - -On the grave of the Prince's father there grew a rose-tree--such a -wonderful rose-tree! It only bloomed once in five years, and then it -only bore one rose--but what a rose! Its perfume was so sweet that -whoever smelt it forgot all his cares and sorrows. The Prince had also -a Nightingale which could sing as if all the delicious melodies in the -world were contained in its little throat. The rose and the Nightingale -were both to be given to the Princess and were therefore placed in two -silver cases and sent to her. The Emperor had them carried before him -into the great hall where the Princess was playing at “visiting” with -her ladies-in-waiting. This was their chief occupation; and when she -saw the great cases with the presents in them, she clapped her hands -with joy. - -“If it were only a little pussy-cat,” she cried. But out came the -beautiful rose. - -“How elegantly it is made,” said all the ladies of the Court. - -“It is more than elegant,” said the Emperor; “it is nice.” - -“Fie, papa,” she said, “it is not made at all; it is a natural rose.” - -“Fie,” said all the ladies of the court; “it is a natural rose.” - -“Let us see what the other case contains before we lose our temper,” -said the Emperor, and then out came the little Nightingale and sang so -sweetly that nobody right off could think of any bad thing to say of it. - -“Superbe, charmant,” cried the ladies of the Court, for they all -chattered French, one worse than the other. - -“How the bird reminds me of the late Empress' musical-box!” said an old -Lord-in-Waiting. “Ah me! The same tone, the same execution----” - -“The very same,” said the Emperor, and he cried like a little child. - -“I hope it is not a real bird,” said the Princess. - -“Oh yes; it is a real bird,” said those who had brought it. - -“Then let the bird fly away,” she said, and she would on no account -allow the Prince to come in. - -But he was not to be discouraged. He smeared his face with black and -brown, drew his cap over his forehead, and knocked at the Palace door. -The Emperor opened it. - -“Good day, Emperor,” he said. “Could I not get some work at the Palace?” - -“There are so many who apply for positions here!” said the Emperor. -“Now let me see: I am in want of a swineherd. I have a good many pigs -to keep.” - -So the Prince was appointed as Imperial Swineherd. He had a wretched -little room near the pig-sty and here he was obliged to stay. But the -whole day he sat and worked, and by the evening he had made a neat -little pipkin, and round it was a set of bells, and as soon as the pot -began to boil, the bells fell to jingling most sweetly and played the -old melody: - - “Ah, my dear Augustus, - All is lost, all is lost;” - -but the most wonderful thing was that when you held your finger in -the steam of the pipkin, you could immediately smell what dinner was -cooking on every hearth in the town--that was something very different -from a rose. - -The Princess was walking out with her ladies-in-Waiting, and when she -heard the melody, she stopped short, and looked much rejoiced, for she -could play “Ah, my dear Augustus.” That was the only tune she knew, but -she could play it with one finger. “Why, that is what I can play,” she -said. “What a cultivated swineherd he must be. Go down and ask him how -much his instrument costs.” - -So one of the Ladies-in-Waiting was obliged to go down, but she put on -pattens first. - -“What do you charge for your instrument?” asked the Lady-in-Waiting. - -“I will have ten kisses from the Princess,” said the Swineherd. - -“Good gracious!” said the Lady-in-Waiting. - -“I will not take less,” said the Swineherd. - -“Well, what did he say?” asked the Princess. - -“I really cannot tell you,” said the Lady-in-Waiting. “It is too -dreadful.” - -“Then you can whisper it,” said the Princess. - -So she whispered it. - -“He is very rude,” said the Princess, and she walked away. But when she -had walked a few steps the bells sounded so sweetly: - - “Ah, my dear Augustus, - All is lost, all is lost.” - -“Listen,” said the Princess, “ask him whether he will have his kisses -from my Ladies-in-Waiting.” - -“No, thank you,” said the Swineherd. “I will have ten kisses from the -Princess, or I will keep my pipkin.” - -“How tiresome it is,” said the Princess; “but you must stand round me, -so that nobody shall see.” - -So the Ladies-in-Waiting stood round her, and they spread out their -dresses. The Swineherd got the kisses, and she got the pipkin. - -How delighted she was. All the evening, and the whole of the next day -that pot was made to boil. And you might have known what everybody -was cooking on every hearth in the town from the Chamberlain's to the -shoemaker's. The court ladies danced and clapped their hands. - -“We know who is to have fruit, soup and pancakes. We know who is going -to have porridge, and cutlets. How very interesting it is!” - -“Most, interesting, indeed,” said the first Lady-of-Honour. - -“Yes, but hold your tongues, because I am the Emperor's daughter.” - -“Of course we will,” they cried in one breath. - -The Swineherd, or rather the Prince, though they did not know but -that he was a real swineherd, did not let the day pass without doing -something, and he made a rattle which could play all the waltzes and -the polkas and the hop-dances which had been known since the creation -of the world. - -“But this is superb,” said the Princess, who was just passing: “I have -never heard more beautiful composition. Go and ask him the cost of the -instrument. But I will give no more kisses.” - -“He insists on a hundred kisses from the Princess,” said the -Ladies-in-Waiting who had been down to ask. - -“I think he must be quite mad,” said the Princess, and she walked away. -But when she had taken a few steps, she stopped short, and said: “One -must encourage the fine arts, and I am the Emperor's daughter. Tell him -he may have ten kisses, as before, and the rest he can take from my -Ladies-in-Waiting.” - -“Yes, but we object to that,” said the Ladies-in-Waiting. - -“That is nonsense,” said the Princess. “If I can kiss him, surely you -can do the same. Go down at once. Don't I pay you board and wages?” - -So the Ladies-in-Waiting were obliged to go down to the Swineherd again. - -“A hundred kisses from the Princess, or each keeps his own.” - -“Stand round me,” she said. And all the Ladies-in-Waiting stood round -her, and the Swineherd began to kiss her. - -“What can all that crowd be down by the pigsty?” said the Emperor, -stepping out on to the balcony. He rubbed his eyes and put on his -spectacles. “It is the court-ladies up to some of their tricks. I must -go down and look after them.” He pulled up his slippers (for they were -shoes which he had trodden down at the heel). - -Heavens! How he hurried! As soon as he came into the garden he walked -very softly, and the Ladies-in-Waiting had so much to do counting -the kisses, so that everything should be done fairly, and that the -Swineherd should neither get too many nor too few, that they never -noticed the Emperor at all. He stood on tiptoe. - -“What is this all about?” he said, when he saw the kissing that was -going on, and he hit them on the head with his slipper, just as the -Swineherd was getting the eighty-sixth kiss. “Heraus,” said the -Emperor, for he was angry, and both the Princess and the Swineherd were -turned out of his Kingdom. - -The Princess wept, the Swineherd scolded, and the rain streamed down. - -“Ah! wretched creature that I am,” said the Princess. “If I had only -taken the handsome Prince! Ah me, how unhappy I am!” - -Then the Swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black and brown off -his face, threw off his ragged clothes, and stood forth in his royal -apparel, looking so handsome that she was obliged to curtsey. - -“I have learned to despise you,” he said. “You would not have an -honourable Prince. You could not appreciate a rose or a Nightingale, -but to get a toy, you kissed the Swineherd. Now you have your reward.” - -So he went into his Kingdom, shut the door and bolted it, and she had -to stand outside singing: - - “Ah, you dear Augustus, - All, all is lost.” - - (_From the Danish of Hans C. Andersen, translated by Marie L. - Shedlock._) - - -THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA. - -There was once a Prince who wished to marry a Princess, but she must -be a real Princess. He travelled all over the world to find such a -one; but there was always something the matter. There were plenty of -Princesses, but whether they were real or not, he could not be quite -certain. There was always something that was not quite right. So he -came home again, feeling very sad, for he was so anxious to have a real -Princess. - -One evening a terrible storm came on: it lightened, and thundered and -the rain came down in torrents. It was quite terrible. Then there -came a knocking at the town-gate, and the old King went down to open -it. There, outside, stood a Princess. But gracious! the rain and bad -weather had made her look dreadful. The water was running out of her -hair on to her clothes, into the tips of her shoes and out at the -heels, and yet she said she was a real Princess. - -“We shall soon find out about that,” thought the old Queen. But -she said never a word. She went into the bedroom, took off all the -bed-clothes and put a pea on the bedstead. Then she took twenty -mattresses and laid them on the pea and twenty eider-down quilts upon -the mattresses. And the Princess was to sleep there at night. - -In the morning they came to her and asked her how she had slept. - -“Oh! dreadfully,” said the Princess. “I scarcely closed my eyes the -whole night long. Heaven knows what could have been in the bed. I have -lain upon something hard, so that my whole body is black and blue. It -is quite dreadful.” - -So they could see now that she was a real Princess, because she had -felt the pea through twenty mattresses and twenty eider-down quilts. -Nobody but a real Princess could be so sensitive. - -So the Prince married her, for now he knew that he had found a real -Princess, and the pea was sent to an Art Museum, where it can still be -seen, if nobody has taken it away. - -Now, mark you: This is a true story. - -(_Translated from the Danish of Hans C. Andersen by Marie L. Shedlock._) - - -I give the following story, quoted by Professor Ker in his Romanes -Lecture, 1906, as an encouragement to those who develop the art of -story-telling. - - -THE STORY OF STURLA. - -Then Sturla got ready to sail away with the king, and his name was -put on the list. He went on board before many men had come; he had -a sleeping bag and a travelling chest, and took his place on the -fore-deck. A little later the king came on to the quay, and a company -of men with him. Sturla rose and bowed, and bade the king ‘hail,’ -but the king answered nothing, and went aft along the ship to the -quarter-deck. They sailed that day to go south along the coast. But -in the evening when men unpacked their provisions Sturla sat still, -and no one invited him to mess. Then a servant of the king's came and -asked Sturla if he had any meat and drink. Sturla said ‘No.’ Then the -king's servant went to the king and spoke with him, out of hearing: -and then went forward to Sturla and said: “You shall go to mess with -Thorir Mouth and Erlend Maw.” They took him into their mess, but rather -stiffly. When men were turning in to sleep, a sailor of the king's -asked who should tell them stories. There was little answer. Then he -said: “Sturla the Icelander, will you tell stories?” “As you will,” -said Sturla. So he told them the story of Huld, better and fuller than -any one there had ever heard it told before. Then many men pushed -forward to the fore-deck, wanting to hear as clearly as might be, and -there was a great crowd. The queen asked: “What is that crowd on deck -there?” A man answered: “The men are listening to the story that the -Icelander tells.” “What story is that?” said she. He answers: “It is -about a great troll-wife, and it is a good story and well told.” The -king bade her pay no heed to that, and go to sleep. She says: “I think -this Icelander must be a good fellow, and less to blame than he is -reported.” The king was silent. - -So the night passed, and the next morning there was no wind for them, -and the king's ship lay in the same place. Later in the day, when men -sat at their drink, the king sent dishes from his table to Sturla. -Sturla's messmates were pleased with this: “You bring better luck than -we thought, if this sort of thing goes on.” After dinner the queen sent -for Sturla and asked him to come to her and bring the troll-wife story -along with him. So Sturla went aft to the quarter-deck, and greeted -the king and queen. The king answered little, the queen well and -cheerfully. She asked him to tell the same story he had told overnight. -He did so, for a great part of the day. When he had finished, the queen -thanked him, and many others besides, and made him out in their minds -to be a learned man and sensible. But the king said nothing; only he -smiled a little. Sturla thought he saw that the king's whole frame of -mind was brighter than the day before. So he said to the king that -he had made a poem about him, and another about his father: “I would -gladly get a hearing for them.” The queen said: “Let him recite his -poem; I am told that he is the best of poets, and his poem will be -excellent.” The king bade him say on, if he would, and repeat the poem -he professed to have made about him. Sturla chanted it to the end. The -queen said: “To my mind that is a good poem.” The king said to her: -“Can you follow the poem clearly?” “I would be fain to have you think -so, Sir,” said the queen. The king said: “I have learned that Sturla -is good at verses.” Sturla took his leave of the king and queen and -went to his place. There was no sailing for the king all that day. In -the evening before he went to bed he sent for Sturla. And when he came -he greeted the king and said: “What will you have me to do, Sir?” The -king called for a silver goblet full of wine, and drank some and gave -it to Sturla and said: “A health to a friend in wine!” (_Vin skal til -vinar drekka._) Sturla said: “God be praised for it!” “Even so,” says -the king, “and now I wish you to say the poem you have made about my -father.” Sturla repeated it: and when it was finished men praised it -much, and most of all the queen. The king said: “To my thinking, you -are a better reciter than the Pope.” - - _Sturlunga Saga_, vol. ii, pp. 269 _sqq._ - - -A SAGA. - -In the grey beginnings of the world, or ever the flower of justice -had rooted in the heart, there lived among the daughters of men two -children, sisters, of one house. - -In childhood did they leap and climb and swim with the men children of -their race, and were nurtured on the same stories of gods and heroes. - -In maidenhood they could do all that a maiden might and more--delve -could they no less than spin, hunt no less than weave, brew pottage and -helm ships, wake the harp and tell the stars, face all danger and laugh -at all pain. - -Joyous in toil-time and rest-time were they as the days and years -of their youth came and went. Death had spared their house, and -unhappiness knew they none. Yet often as at falling day they sat before -sleep round the hearth of red fire, listening with the household to the -brave songs of gods and heroes, there would surely creep into their -hearts a shadow--the thought that whatever the years of their lives, -and whatever the generous deeds, there would for them, as women, be -no escape at the last from the dire mists of Hela, the fogland beyond -the grave for all such as die not in battle; no escape for them from -Hela, and no place for ever for them or for their kind among the -glory-crowned, sword-shriven heroes of echoing Valhalla. - -That shadow had first fallen in their lusty childhood, had slowly -gathered darkness through the overflowing days of maidenhood, and now, -in the strong tide of full womanhood, often lay upon their future as -the moon in Odin's wrath lies upon the sun. - -But stout were they to face danger and laugh at pain, and for all the -shadow upon their hope they lived brave and songful days--the one a -homekeeper and in her turn a mother of men; the other unhusbanded, -but gentle to ignorance and sickness and sorrow through the width and -length of the land. - -And thus, facing life fearlessly and ever with a smile, those two women -lived even unto extreme old age, unto the one's children's children's -children, labouring truly unto the end and keeping strong hearts -against the dread day of Hela, and the fate-locked gates of Valhalla. - -But at the end a wonder. - -As these sisters looked their last upon the sun, the one in the -ancestral homestead under the eyes of love, the other in a distant land -among strange faces, behold the wind of Thor, and out of the deep of -heaven the white horses of Odin, All-Father, bearing Valkyrie, shining -messengers of Valhalla. And those two world-worn women, faithful in all -their lives, were caught up in death in divine arms and borne far from -the fogs of Hela to golden thrones among the battle heroes, upon which -the Nornir, sitting at the loom of life, had from all eternity graven -their names. - -And from that hour have the gates of Valhalla been thrown wide to all -faithful endeavour whether of man or of women. - - JOHN RUSSELL, - Headmaster of the King Alfred School. - - -THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHER. - -Christopher was of the lineage of the Canaaneans and he was of a right -great stature, and had a terrible and fearful cheer and countenance. -And he was twelve cubits of length. And, as it is read in some -histories, when he served and dwelled with the king of Canaaneans, it -came in his mind that he would seek the greatest prince that was in the -world and him he would serve and obey. - -And so far he went that he came to a right great king, of whom the -renown generally was that he was the greatest of the world. And when -the king saw him he received him into his service and made him to dwell -in his court. - -Upon a time a minstrel sang before him a song in which he named oft -the devil. And the king which was a Christian man, when he heard him -name the devil, made anon the sign of the cross in his visage. And -when Christopher saw that, he had great marvel what sign it was and -wherefore the king made it. And he demanded it of him. And because the -king would not say, he said, “If thou tell me not, I shall no longer -dwell with thee.” And then the king told to him saying, “Alway when I -hear the devil named, I fear that he should have power over me, and -I garnish me with this sign that he grieve not nor annoy me.” Then -Christopher said to him, “Thou doubtest the devil that he hurt thee -not? Then is the devil more mighty and greater than thou art. I am then -deceived of my hope and purpose; for I supposed that I had found the -most mighty and the most greatest lord of the world. But I commend thee -to God, for I will go seek him to be my lord and I his servant.” - -And then he departed from this king and hasted him to seek the devil. -And as he went by a great desert he saw a great company of knights. -Of which a knight cruel and horrible came to him and demanded whither -he went. And Christopher answered to him and said, “I go to seek the -devil for to be my master.” And he said, “I am he that thou seekest.” -And then Christopher was glad and bound himself to be his servant -perpetual, and took him for his master and lord. - -And as they went together by a common way, they found there a cross -erect and standing. And anon as the devil saw the cross, he was afeard -and fled, and left the right way and brought Christopher about by a -sharp desert, and after, when they were past the cross, he brought him -to the highway that they had left. And when Christopher saw that, he -marvelled and demanded whereof he doubted that he had left high and -fair way and had gone so far about by so hard desert. And the devil -would not tell to him in no wise. Then Christopher said to him, “If -thou wilt not tell me I shall anon depart from thee and shall serve -thee no more.” Therefore the devil was constrained to tell him, and -said, “There was a man called Christ which was hanged on the cross, and -when I see his sign, I am sore afeard and flee from it wheresomever -I find it.” To whom Christopher said, “Then he is greater and more -mightier than thou, when thou art afraid of his sign. And I see well -that I have laboured in vain since I have not founden the greatest lord -of all the earth. And I will serve thee no longer. Go thy way then: for -I will go seek Jesus Christ.” - -And when he had long sought and demanded where he should find Christ, -at the last he came into a great desert to an hermit that dwelled -there. And this hermit preached to him of Jesus Christ and informed -him in the faith diligently. And he said to him, “This king whom thou -desirest to serve, requireth this service that thou must oft fast.” And -Christopher said to him, “Require of me some other thing and I shall -do it. For that which thou requirest I may not do.” And the hermit -said, “Thou must then wake and make many prayers.” And Christopher -said to him, “I wot not what it is. I may do no such thing.” And then -the hermit said unto him, “Knowest thou such a river in which many -be perished and lost?” To whom Christopher said, “I know it well.” -Then said the hermit, “Because thou art noble and high of stature and -strong in thy members, thou shalt be resident by that river and shalt -bear over all them that shall pass there. Which shall be a thing right -convenable to Our Lord Jesus Christ, whom thou desirest to serve, and -I hope He shall shew Himself to thee.” Then said Christopher, “Certes, -this service may I well do, and I promise to Him for to do it.” - -Then went Christopher to this river, and made there his habitation -for him. And he bare a great pole in his hand instead of a staff, by -which he sustained him in the water; and bare over all manner of people -without ceasing. And there he abode, thus doing many days. - -And on a time, as he slept in his lodge, he heard the voice of a -child which called him and said, “Christopher, come out and bear me -over.” Then he awoke and went out; but he found no man. And when he -was again in his house, he heard the same voice, and he ran out and -found nobody. The third time he was called, and came thither, and -found a child beside the rivage of the river: which prayed him goodly -to bear him over the water. And then Christopher lift up the child on -his shoulders and took his staff and entered into the river for to -pass. And the water of the river arose and swelled more and more. And -the child was heavy as lead. And always as he went further the water -increased and grew more, and the child more and more waxed heavy: in -so much that Christopher had great anguish and feared to be drowned. -And when he was escaped with great pain and passed the water, and set -the child aground, he said to the child, “Child, thou hast put me in -great peril. Thou weighest almost as I had had all the world upon me. -I might bear no greater burden.” And the child answered, “Christopher, -marvel thou no thing. For thou hast not only borne all the world upon -thee; but thou hast borne Him that created and made all the world upon -thy shoulders. I am Jesus Christ, the King to whom thou servest in this -work. And that thou mayest know that I say to thee truth, set thy staff -in the earth by the house, and thou shalt see to-morrow that it shall -bear flowers and fruit.” And anon he vanished from his eyes. - -And then Christopher set his staff in the earth and when he arose on -the morrow, he found his staff like a palm-tree bearing flowers, leaves -and dates. - - -ARTHUR IN THE CAVE. - -Once upon a time a Welshman was walking on London Bridge, staring -at the traffic and wondering why there were so many kites hovering -about. He had come to London, after many adventures with thieves -and highwaymen, which need not be related here, in charge of a herd -of black Welsh cattle. He had sold them with much profit, and with -jingling gold in his pocket he was going about to see the sights of the -city. - -He was carrying a hazel staff in his hand, for you must know that a -good staff is as necessary to a drover as teeth are to his dogs. He -stood still to gaze at some wares in a shop (for at that time London -Bridge was shops from beginning to end), when he noticed that a man was -looking at his stick with a long fixed look. The man after a while came -to him and asked him where he came from. - -“I come from my own country,” said the Welshman, rather surlily, for he -could not see what business the man had to ask such a question. - -“Do not take it amiss,” said the stranger: “if you will only answer my -questions, and take my advice, it will be greater benefit to you than -you imagine. Do you remember where you cut that stick?” - -The Welshman was still suspicious, and said: “What does it matter where -I cut it?” - -“It matters,” said the questioner, “because there is a treasure hidden -near the spot where you cut that stick. If you can remember the place -and conduct me to it, I will put you in possession of great riches.” - -The Welshman now understood he had to deal with a sorcerer, and he was -greatly perplexed as to what to do. On the one hand, he was tempted by -the prospect of wealth; on the other hand, he knew that the sorcerer -must have derived his knowledge from devils, and he feared to have -anything to do with the powers of darkness. The cunning man strove hard -to persuade him, and at length made him promise to shew the place where -he cut his hazel staff. - -The Welshman and the magician journeyed together to Wales. They went -to Craig y Dinas, the Rock of the Fortress, at the head of the Neath -valley, near Pont Nedd Fechan, and the Welshman, pointing to the stock -or root of an old hazel, said: “This is where I cut my stick.” - -“Let us dig,” said the sorcerer. They digged until they came to a -broad, flat stone. Prising this up, they found some steps leading -downwards. They went down the steps and along a narrow passage until -they came to a door. “Are you brave?” asked the sorcerer, “will you -come in with me?” - -“I will,” said the Welshman, his curiosity getting the better of his -fear. - -They opened the door, and a great cave opened out before them. There -was a faint red light in the cave, and they could see everything. The -first thing they came to was a bell. - -“Do not touch that bell,” said the sorcerer, “or it will be all over -with us both.” - -As they went further in, the Welshman saw that the place was not empty. -There were soldiers lying down asleep, thousands of them, as far as -ever the eye could see. Each one was clad in bright armour, the steel -helmet of each was on his head, the shining shield of each was on his -arm, the sword of each was near his hand, each had his spear stuck in -the ground near him, and each and all were asleep. - -In the midst of the cave was a great round table at which sat warriors -whose noble features and richly-dight armour proclaimed that they were -not as the roll of common men. - -Each of these, too, had his head bent down in sleep. On a golden throne -on the further side of the round table was a king of gigantic stature -and august presence. In his hand, held below the hilt, was a mighty -sword with scabbard and haft of gold studded with gleaming gems; on his -head was a crown set with precious stones which flashed and glinted -like so many points of fire. Sleep had set its seal on his eyelids -also. - -“Are they asleep?” asked the Welshman, hardly believing his own eyes. -“Yes, each and all of them,” answered the sorcerer. “But, if you touch -yonder bell, they will all awake.” - -“How long have they been asleep?” - -“For over a thousand years.” - -“Who are they?” - -“Arthur's warriors, waiting for the time to come when they shall -destroy all the enemy of the Cymry and repossess the strand of Britain, -establishing their own king once more at Caer Lleon.” - -“Who are these sitting at the round table?” - -“These are Arthur's knights--Owain, the son of Urien; Cai, the son -of Cynyr; Gnalchmai, the son of Gwyar; Peredir, the son of Efrawe; -Geraint, the son of Erbin; Trystan, the son of March; Bedwyr, the son -of Bedrawd; Ciernay, the son of Celyddon; Edeyrn, the son of Nudd; -Cymri, the son of Clydno.” - -“And on the golden throne?” broke in the Welshman. - -“Is Arthur himself, with his sword Excalibur in his hand,” replied the -sorcerer. - -Impatient by this time at the Welshman's questions, the sorcerer -hastened to a great heap of yellow gold on the floor of the cave. He -took up as much as he could carry, and bade his companion do the same. -“It is time for us to go,” he then said, and he led the way towards the -door by which they had entered. - -But the Welshman was fascinated by the sight of the countless soldiers -in their glittering arms--all asleep. - -“How I should like to see them all awaking!” he said to himself. “I -will touch the bell--I _must_ see them all arising from their sleep.” - -When they came to the bell, he struck it until it rang through the -whole place. As soon as it rang, lo! the thousands of warriors leapt -to their feet and the ground beneath them shook with the sound of the -steel arms. And a great voice came from their midst: “Who rang the -bell? Has the day come?” - -The sorcerer was so much frightened that he shook like an aspen leaf. -He shouted in answer: “No, the day has not come. Sleep on.” - -The mighty host was all in motion, and the Welshman's eyes were dazzled -as he looked at the bright steel arms which illumined the cave as with -the light of myriad flames of fire. - -“Arthur,” said the voice again, “awake; the bell has rung, the day is -breaking. Awake, Arthur the Great.” - -“No,” shouted the sorcerer, “it is still night. Sleep on, Arthur the -Great.” - -A sound came from the throne. Arthur was standing, and the jewels in -his crown shone like bright stars above the countless throng. His voice -was strong and sweet like the sound of many waters, and he said: “My -warriors, the day has not come when the Black Eagle and the Golden -Eagle shall go to war. It is only a seeker after gold who has rung the -bell. Sleep on, my warriors; the morn of Wales has not yet dawned.” - -A peaceful sound like the distant sigh of the sea came over the cave, -and in a trice the soldiers were all asleep again. The sorcerer hurried -the Welshman out of the cave, moved the stone back to its place and -vanished. - -Many a time did the Welshman try to find his way into the cave again, -but though he dug over every inch of the hill, he has never again found -the entrance to Arthur's Cave. - - From “The Welsh Fairy Book,” by W. Jenkyn Thomas. Fisher Unwin. - - -HAFIZ THE STONE-CUTTER. - -There was once a stone-cutter whose name was Hafiz, and all day long he -chipped, chipped, chipped at his block. And often he grew very weary -of his task and he would say to himself impatiently, “Why should I go -on chip-chip-chipping at my block? Why should I not have pleasure and -amusement as other folk have?” - -One day, when the sun was very hot and when he felt specially weary, he -suddenly heard the sound of many feet, and, looking up from his work, -he saw a great procession coming his way. It was the King, mounted on -a splendid charger, all his soldiers to the right, in their shining -armour, and the servants to the left, dressed in gorgeous clothing, -ready to do his behests. - -And Hafiz said: “How splendid to be a King! If only I could be a King, -if only for ten minutes, so that I might know what it feels like!” And -then, even as he spoke, he seemed to be dreaming, and in his dream he -sang this little song: - - Ah me! Ah me! - If Hafiz only the King could be! - -And then a voice from the air around seemed to answer him and to say: - - Be thou the King.[54] - -And Hafiz became the King, and he it was that sat on the splendid -charger, and they were his soldiers to the right and his servants to -the left. And Hafiz said: “I am King, and there is no one stronger in -the whole world than I.” - -But soon, in spite of the golden canopy over his head, Hafiz began to -feel the terrible heat of the rays of the sun, and soon he noticed that -the soldiers and servants were weary, that his horse drooped, and that -he, Hafiz, was overcome, and he said angrily: “What! Is there something -stronger in the world than a King?” And, almost without knowing it, he -again sang his song--more boldly than the first time: - - Ah me! Ah me! - If Hafiz only the Sun could be! - -And the Voice answered: - - Be thou the Sun. - -And Hafiz became the Sun, and shone down upon the Earth, but, because -he did not know how to shine very wisely, he shone very fiercely, so -that the crops dried up, and folk grew sick and died. And then there -arose from the East a little cloud which slipped between Hafiz and the -Earth, so that he could no longer shine down upon it, and he said: “Is -there something stronger in the world than the Sun?” - - Ah me! Ah me! - If Hafiz only the Cloud could be! - -And the Voice said: - - Be thou the cloud. - -And Hafiz became the Cloud, and rained down water upon the Earth, but, -because he did not know how to do so wisely, there fell so much rain -that all the little rivulets became great rivers, and all the great -rivers overflowed their banks, and carried everything before them in -swift torrent--all except one great rock which stood unmoved. And Hafiz -said: “Is there something stronger than the Cloud?” - - Ah me! Ah me! - If Hafiz only the Rock could be! - -And the Voice said: - - Be thou the Rock. - -And Hafiz became the Rock, and the Cloud disappeared and the waters -went down. - -And Hafiz the Rock saw coming towards him a man--but he could not see -his face. As the man approached he suddenly raised a hammer and struck -Hafiz, so that he felt it through all his stony body. And Hafiz said: -“Is there something stronger in the world than the Rock?” - - Ah me! Ah me! - If Hafiz only that man might be! - -And the Voice said: - - Be thou--Thyself. - -And Hafiz seized the hammer and said: - -“The Sun was stronger than the King, the Cloud was stronger than the -Sun, the Rock was stronger than the Cloud, but I, Hafiz, was stronger -than all.” - - _Adapted and arranged for narration by M. C. S._ - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[54] The melody to be crooned at first and to grow louder at each -incident. - - -TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH. - -(_From the Russian._) - -Long long ago there lived a King who was such a mighty monarch that -whenever he sneezed everyone in the whole country had to say, “To your -good health!” Everyone said it except the Shepherd with the bright blue -eyes, and he would not say it. - -The King heard of this and was very angry, and sent for the Shepherd to -appear before him. - -The Shepherd came and stood before the throne, where the King sat -looking very grand and powerful. But, however grand or powerful he -might be, the Shepherd did not feel a bit afraid of him. - -“Say at once, 'To my good health!'” cried the King. - -“To my good health,” replied the Shepherd. - -“To mine--to _mine_, you rascal, you vagabond!” stormed the King. - -“To mine, to mine, Your Majesty,” was the answer. - -“But to _mine_--to my own!” roared the King, and beat on his breast in -a rage. - -“Well, yes; to mine, of course, to my own,” cried the Shepherd, and -gently tapped his breast. - -The King was beside himself with fury and did not know what to do, when -the Lord Chamberlain interfered: - -“Say at once--say at this very moment, ‘To your health, Your Majesty,’ -for if you don't say it you will lose your life,” he whispered. - -“No, I won't say it till I get the Princess for my wife,” was the -Shepherd's answer. - -Now the Princess was sitting on a little throne beside the King her -father, and she looked as sweet and lovely as a little golden dove. -When she heard what the Shepherd said, she could not help laughing, for -there is no denying the fact that this young shepherd with the blue -eyes pleased her very much; indeed, he pleased her better than any -king's son she had yet seen. - -But the King was not as pleasant as his daughter, and he gave orders to -throw the Shepherd into the white bear's pit. - -The guards led him away and thrust him into the pit with the white -bear, who had had nothing to eat for two days and was very hungry. The -door of the pit was hardly closed when the bear rushed at the Shepherd; -but when it saw his eyes it was so frightened that it was ready to eat -itself. It shrank away into a corner and gazed at him from there, and -in spite of being so famished, did not dare to touch him, but sucked -its own paws from sheer hunger. The Shepherd felt that if he once -removed his eyes off the beast he was a dead man, and in order to keep -himself awake he made songs and sang them, and so the night went by. - -Next morning the Lord Chamberlain came to see the Shepherd's bones, and -was amazed to find him alive and well. He led him to the King, who fell -into a furious passion, and said: - -“Well, you have learned what it is to be very near death, and now will -you say, 'To my very good health'?” - -But the Shepherd answered: - -“I am not afraid of ten deaths! I will only say it if I may have the -Princess for my wife.” - -“Then go to your death,” cried the King, and ordered him to be thrown -into the den with the wild boars. - -The wild boars had not been fed for a week, and when the Shepherd was -thrust into their den they rushed at him to tear him to pieces. But the -Shepherd took a little flute out of the sleeve of his jacket, and began -to play a merry tune, on which the wild boars first of all shrank shyly -away, and then got up on their hind legs and danced gaily. The Shepherd -would have given anything to be able to laugh, they looked so funny; -but he dared not stop playing, for he knew well enough that the moment -he stopped they would fall upon him and tear him to pieces. His eyes -were of no use to him here, for he could not have stared ten wild boars -in the face at once; so he kept on playing, and the wild boars danced -very slowly, as if in a minuet; then by degrees he played faster and -faster, till they could hardly twist and turn quickly enough, and ended -by all falling over each other in a heap, quite exhausted and out of -breath. - -Then the Shepherd ventured to laugh at last; and he laughed so long -and so loud that when the Lord Chamberlain came early in the morning, -expecting to find only his bones, the tears were still running down his -cheeks from laughter. - -As soon as the King was dressed the Shepherd was again brought before -him; but he was more angry than ever to think the wild boars had not -torn the man to bits, and he said: - -“Well, you have learned what it feels to be near ten deaths, _now_ say -'To my good health!'” - -But the Shepherd broke in with: - -“I do not fear a hundred deaths; and I will only say it if I may have -the Princess for my wife.” - -“Then go to a hundred deaths!” roared the King, and ordered the -Shepherd to be thrown down the deep vault of scythes. - -The guards dragged him away to a dark dungeon, in the middle of which -was a deep well with sharp scythes all round it. At the bottom of the -well was a little light by which one could see, if anyone was thrown -in, whether he had fallen to the bottom. - -When the Shepherd was dragged to the dungeon he begged the guards to -leave him alone a little while that he might look down into the pit of -scythes; perhaps he might after all make up his mind to say, “To your -good health” to the King. - -So the guards left him alone, and he stuck up his long stick near the -wall, hung his cloak round the stick and put his hat on the top. He -also hung his knapsack up beside the cloak, so that it might seem to -have some body within it. When this was done, he called out to the -guards and said that he had considered the matter, but after all he -could not make up his mind to say what the King wished. - -The guards came in, threw the hat and cloak, knapsack and stick all -down in the well together, watched to see how they put out the light at -the bottom, and came away, thinking that now there was really an end of -the Shepherd. But he had hidden in a dark corner, and was now laughing -to himself all the time. - -Quite early next morning came the Lord Chamberlain with a lamp, and he -nearly fell backwards with surprise when he saw the Shepherd alive and -well. He brought him to the King, whose fury was greater than ever, but -who cried: - -“Well, now you have been near a hundred deaths; will you say, 'To your -good health'?” - -But the Shepherd only gave the same answer: - -“I won't say it till the Princess is my wife.” - -“Perhaps after all you may do it for less,” said the King, who saw that -there was no chance of making away with the Shepherd; and he ordered -the state coach to be got ready; then he made the Shepherd get in with -him and sit beside him, and ordered the coachman to drive to the silver -wood. - -When they reached it, he said: - -“Do you see this silver wood? Well, if you will say, ‘To your good -health,’ I will give it to you.” - -The Shepherd turned hot and cold by turns, but he still persisted: - -“I will not say it till the Princess is my wife.” - -The King was much vexed; he drove further on till they came to a -splendid castle, all of gold, and then he said: - -“Do you see this golden castle? Well, I will give you that too, the -silver wood and the golden castle, if only you will say that one thing -to me: 'To your good health.'” - -The Shepherd gaped and wondered, and was quite dazzled, but he still -said: - -“No, I will not say it till I have the Princess for my wife.” - -This time the King was overwhelmed with grief, and gave orders to drive -on to the diamond pond, and there he tried once more: - -“You shall have them all--all, if you will but say, 'To your good -health.'” - -The Shepherd had to shut his staring eyes tight not to be dazzled with -the brilliant pond, but still he said: - -“No, no; I will not say it till I have the Princess for my wife.” - -Then the King saw that all his efforts were useless, and that he might -as well give in; so he said: - -“Well, well, it is all the same to me--I will give you my daughter -to wife; but then you really and truly must say to me, 'To your good -health.'” - -“Of course I'll say it; why should I not say it? It stands to reason -that I shall say it then.” - -At this the King was more delighted than anyone could have believed. He -made it known to all through the country that there were going to be -great rejoicings, as the Princess was going to be married. And everyone -rejoiced to think that the Princess who had refused so many royal -suitors, should have ended by falling in love with the staring-eyed -Shepherd. - -There was such a wedding as had never been seen. Everyone ate and -drank and danced. Even the sick were feasted, and quite tiny new-born -children had presents given them. But the greatest merry-making was -in the King's palace; there the best bands played and the best food -was cooked. A crowd of people sat down to table, and all was fun and -merry-making. - -And when the groomsman, according to custom, brought in the great -boar's head on a big dish and placed it before the King, so that he -might carve it and give everyone a share, the savoury smell was so -strong that the King began to sneeze with all his might. - -“To your very good health!” cried the Shepherd before anyone else, and -the King was so delighted that he did not regret having given him his -daughter. - -In time, when the old King died, the Shepherd succeeded him. He made a -very good king, and never expected his people to wish him well against -their wills: but, all the same, everyone did wish him well, because -they loved him. - - -THE PROUD COCK. - -There was once a cock who grew so dreadfully proud that he would have -nothing to say to anybody. He left his house, it being far beneath his -dignity to have any trammel of that sort in his life, and as for his -former acquaintances, he cut them all. - -One day, whilst walking about, he came to a few little sparks of fire -which were nearly dead. - -They cried out to him: “Please fan us with your wings, and we shall -come to the full vigour of life again.” - -But he did not deign to answer, and as he was going away, one of the -sparks said: “Ah well! we shall die, but our big brother the Fire will -pay you out for this one day.” - -On another day he was airing himself in a meadow, showing himself off -in a very superb set of clothes. A voice calling from somewhere said: -“Please be so good as to drop us into the water again.” - -He looked about and saw a few drops of water: they had got separated -from their friends in the river, and were pining away with grief. “Oh! -please be so good as to drop us into the water again,” they said; but, -without any answer, he drank up the drops. He was too proud and a great -deal too big to talk to a poor little puddle of water; but the drops -said: “Our big brother the Water will one day take you in hand, you -proud and senseless creature.” - -Some days afterwards, during a great storm of rain, thunder and -lightning, the cock took shelter in a little empty cottage, and shut -to the door; and he thought: “I am clever; I am in comfort. What fools -people are to stop out in a storm like this! What's that?” thought he. -“I never heard a sound like that before.” - -In a little while it grew much louder, and when a few minutes had -passed, it was a perfect howl. “Oh!” thought he, “this will never do. I -must stop it somehow. But what is it I have to stop?” - -He soon found it was the wind, shouting through the keyhole, so he -plugged up the keyhole with a bit of clay, and then the wind was able -to rest. He was very tired with whistling so long through the keyhole, -and he said: “Now, if ever I have at any time a chance of doing a good -turn to that princely domestic fowl, I will do it.” - -Weeks afterwards, the cock looked in at a house door: he seldom went -there, because the miser to whom the house belonged almost starved -himself, and so, of course, there was nothing over for anybody else. - -To his amazement the cock saw the miser bending over a pot on the fire. -At last the old fellow turned round to get a spoon with which to stir -his pot, and then the cock, walking up, looked in and saw that the -miser was making oyster-soup, for he had found some oyster-shells in an -ash-pit, and to give the mixture a colour he had put in a few halfpence -in the pot. - -The miser chanced to turn quickly round, whilst the cock was peering -into the saucepan, and, chuckling to himself, he said: “I shall have -some chicken broth after all.” - -He tripped up the cock into the pot and shut the lid on. The bird, -feeling warm, said: “Water, water, don't boil!” But the water only -said: “You drank up my young brothers once: don't ask a favour of _me_.” - -Then he called out to the Fire: “Oh! kind Fire, don't boil the water.” -But the Fire replied: “You once let my young sisters die: you cannot -expect any mercy from me.” So he flared up and boiled the water all the -faster. - -At last, when the cock got unpleasantly warm, he thought of the wind, -and called out: “Oh, Wind, come to my help!” and the Wind said: “Why, -there is that noble domestic bird in trouble. I will help him.” So he -came down the chimney, blew out the fire, blew the lid off the pot, -and blew the cock far away into the air, and at last settled him on a -steeple, where the cock has remained ever since. And people say that -the halfpence which were in the pot when it was boiling have given him -the queer brown colour he still wears. - - _From the Spanish._ - - -SNEGOURKA. - -There lived once, in Russia, a peasant and his wife who would have been -as happy as the day is long, if only God had given them a little child. - -One day, as they were watching the children playing in the snow, the -man said to the woman: - -“Wife, shall we go out and help the children to make a snowball?” - -But the wife answered, smiling: - -“Nay, husband, but since God has given us no little child, let us go -and fashion one from the snow.” - -And she put on her long blue cloak, and he put on his long brown coat, -and they went out onto the crisp snow, and began to fashion the little -child. - -First they made the feet and the legs and the little body, and then -they took a ball of snow for the head. And at that moment a stranger in -a long cloak, with his hat well drawn over his face, passed that way, -and said: “Heaven help your undertaking!” - -And the peasants crossed themselves and said: “It is well to ask help -from Heaven in all we do.” - -Then they went on fashioning the little child. And they made two holes -for the eyes and formed the nose and the mouth. And then--wonder of -wonders--the little child came alive, and breath came into its nostrils -and parted lips. - -And the man was afeared, and said to his wife: “What have we done?” - -And the wife said: “This is the little girl child God has sent us.” And -she gathered it into her arms, and the loose snow fell away from the -little creature. Her hair became golden and her eyes were as blue as -forget-me-nots--but there was no colour in her cheeks, because there -was no blood in her veins. - -In a few days she was like a child of three or four, and in a few -weeks she seemed to be the age of nine or ten, and ran about gaily and -prattled with the other children, who loved her so dearly, though she -was so different from them. - -Only, happy as she was, and dearly as her parents loved her, there was -one terror in her life, and that was the sun. And during the day she -would run and hide herself in cool, damp places away from the sunshine, -and this the other children could not understand. - -As the Spring advanced and the days grew longer and warmer, little -Snegourka (for this was the name by which she was known) grew paler -and thinner, and her mother would often ask her: “What ails you, my -darling?” and Snegourka would say: “Nothing Mother, but I wish the sun -were not so bright.” - -One day, on St. John's Day, the children of the village came to fetch -her for a day in the woods, and they gathered flowers for her and did -all they could to make her happy, but it was only when the great red -sun went down that Snegourka drew a deep breath of relief and spread -her little hands out to the cool evening air. And the boys, glad at -her gladness, said: “Let us do something for Snegourka. Let us light a -bonfire.” And Snegourka, not knowing what a bonfire was, she clapped -her hands and was as merry and eager as they. And she helped them -gather the sticks, and then they all stood round the pile and the boys -set fire to the wood. - -Snegourka stood watching the flames and listening to the crackle of -the wood; and then suddenly they heard a tiny sound--and looking at -the place where Snegourka had been standing, they saw nothing but a -little snowdrift fast melting. And they called and called, “Snegourka! -Snegourka!” thinking she had run into the forest. But there was no -answer. Snegourka had disappeared from this life as mysteriously as she -had come into it. - - _From the Russian, adapted for narration by M.T.S._ - - -THE WATER NIXIE. - -The river was so clear because it was the home of a very beautiful -Water Nixie who lived in it, and who sometimes could emerge from her -home and sit in woman's form upon the bank. She had a dark green smock -upon her, the colour of the water-weed that waves as the water wills -it, deep, deep down. And in her long wet hair were the white flowers -of the water-violet, and she held a reed mace in her hand. Her face -was very sad, because she had lived a long life, and known so many -adventures, ever since she was a baby, which was nearly a hundred years -ago. For creatures of the streams and trees live a long, long time, and -when they die they lose themselves in Nature. That means that they are -forever clouds, or trees, or rivers, and never have the form of men and -women again. - -All water creatures would live, if they might choose it, in the sea, -where they are born. It is in the sea they float hand-in-hand upon -the crested billows, and sink deep in the great troughs of the strong -waves, that are green as jade. They follow the foam and lose themselves -in the wide ocean: - - Where great whales come sailing by, - Sail and sail with unshut eye; - And they store in the Sea King's palace - The golden phosphor of the sea. - -But this Water Nixie had lost her happiness through not being good. -She had forgotten many things that had been told her, and she had -done many things that grieved others. She had stolen somebody else's -property--quite a large bundle of happiness--which belonged elsewhere -and not to her. Happiness is generally made to fit the person who owns -it, just as do your shoes, or clothes; so that when you take some one -else's it's very little good to you, for it fits badly, and you can -never forget it isn't yours. - -So what with one thing and another, this Water Nixie had to be -punished, and the Queen of the Sea had banished her from the waves. The -punishment that can most affect merfolk is to restrict their freedom. -And this is how the Queen of the Sea punished the Nixie of our tale. - -“You shall live for a long time in little places, where you will weary -of yourself. You will learn to know yourself so well that everything -you want will seem too good for you, and you will cease to claim it. -And so, in time, you shall get free.” - -Then the Nixie had to rise up and go away, and be shut into the -fastness of a very small space, according to the words of the Queen. -And this small space was--a tear. - -At first she could hardly express her misery, and by thinking so -continuously of the wideness and savour of the sea, she brought a dash -of the brine with her, that makes the saltness of our tears. She became -many times smaller than her own stature; even then, by standing upright -and spreading wide her arms, she touched with her finger-tips the walls -of her tiny crystal home. How she longed that this tear might be wept, -and the walls of her prison shattered. But the owner of this tear was -of a very proud nature, and she was so sad that tears seemed to her in -no wise to express her grief. - -She was a Princess who lived in a country that was not her home. What -were tears to her? If she could have stood on the top of the very -highest hill and with both hands caught the great winds of heaven, -strong as they, and striven with them, perhaps she might have felt -as if she expressed all she knew. Or, if she could have torn down the -stars from the heavens, or cast her mantle over the sun. But tears! -Would they have helped to tell her sorrow? You cry if you soil your -copy-book, don't you? or pinch your hand? So you may imagine the -Nixie's home was a safe one, and she turned round and round in the -captivity of that tear. - -For twenty years she dwelt in that strong heart, till she grew to be -accustomed to her cell. At last, in this wise came her release. - -An old gipsy came one morning to the Castle and begged to see the -Princess. She must see her, she cried. And the Princess came down the -steps to meet her, and the gipsy gave her a small roll of paper in her -hand. And the roll of paper smelt like honey as she took it, and it -adhered to her palm as she opened it. There was little sign of writing -on the paper, but in the midst of the page was a picture, small as the -picture reflected in the iris of an eye. The picture shewed a hill, -with one tree on the sky-line, and a long road wound round the hill. - -And suddenly in the Princess' memory a voice spoke to her. Many sounds -she heard, gathered up into one great silence, like the quiet there is -in forest spaces, when it is Summer and the green is deep: - -Then the Princess gave the gipsy two golden pieces, and went up to her -chamber, and long that night she sat, looking out upon the sky. - -She had no need to look upon the honeyed scroll, though she held it -closely. Clearly before her did she see that small picture: the hill, -and the tree, and the winding road, imaged as if mirrored in the iris -of an eye. And in her memory she was upon that road, and the hill rose -beside her, and the little tree was outlined every twig of it against -the sky. - -And as she saw all this, an overwhelming love of the place arose in -her, a love of that certain bit of country that was so sharp and -strong, that it stung and swayed her, as she leaned on the window-sill. - -And because the love of a country is one of the deepest loves you may -feel, the band of her control was loosened, and the tears came welling -to her eyes. Up they brimmed and over, in salty rush and follow, -dimming her eyes, magnifying everything, speared for a moment on her -eyelashes, then shimmering to their fall. And at last came the tear -that held the disobedient Nixie. - -Splish! it fell. And she was free. - -If you could have seen how pretty she looked standing there, about the -height of a grass-blade, wringing out her long wet hair. Every bit of -moisture she wrung out of it, she was so glad to be quit of that tear. -Then she raised her two arms above her in one delicious stretch, and if -you had been the size of a mustard-seed perhaps you might have heard -her laughing. Then she grew a little, and grew and grew, till she was -about the height of a bluebell, and as slender to see. - -She stood looking at the splash on the window-sill that had been her -prison so long, and then, with three steps of her bare feet, she -reached the jessamine that was growing by the window, and by this she -swung herself to the ground. - -Away she sped over the dew-drenched meadows till she came to the -running brook, and with all her longing in her outstretched hands, -she kneeled down by the crooked willows among all the comfrey and the -loosestrife, and the yellow irises and the reeds. - -Then she slid into the wide, cool stream. - - PAMELA TENNANT (Lady Glenconner). - _From “The Children and the Pictures”_ - - -THE BLUE ROSE. - -There lived once upon a time in China a wise Emperor who had one -daughter. His daughter was remarkable for her perfect beauty. Her -feet were the smallest in the world; her eyes were long and slanting -and bright as brown onyxes, and when you heard her laugh it was like -listening to a tinkling stream or to the chimes of a silver bell. -Moreover, the Emperor's daughter was as wise as she was beautiful, -and she chanted the verse of the great poets better than anyone in -the land. The Emperor was old in years; his son was married and had -begotten a son; he was, therefore, quite happy with regard to the -succession to the throne, but he wished before he died to see his -daughter wedded to someone who should be worthy of her. - -Many suitors presented themselves to the palace as soon as it became -known that the Emperor desired a son-in-law, but when they reached the -palace they were met by the Lord Chamberlain, who told them that the -Emperor had decided that only the man who found and brought back the -blue rose should marry his daughter. The suitors were much puzzled by -this order. What was the blue rose and where was it to be found? In all -a hundred and fifty suitors had presented themselves, and out of these -fifty at once put away from them all thought of winning the hand of the -Emperor's daughter, since they considered the condition imposed to be -absurd. - -The other hundred set about trying to find the blue rose. One of them, -whose name was Ti-Fun-Ti, was a merchant, and immensely rich: he at -once went to the largest shop in the town and said to the shopkeeper, -“I want a blue rose, the best you have.” - -The shopkeeper with many apologies, explained that he did not stock -blue roses. He had red roses in profusion, white, pink, and yellow -roses, but no blue roses. There had hitherto been no demand for the -article. - -“Well,” said Ti-Fun-Ti, “you must get one for me. I do not mind how -much money it costs, but I must have a blue rose.” - -The shopkeeper said he would do his best, but he feared it would be an -expensive article and difficult to procure. Another of the suitors, -whose name I have forgotten, was a warrior, and extremely brave; he -mounted his horse, and taking with him a hundred archers and a thousand -horsemen, he marched into the territory of the King of the Five Rivers, -whom he knew to be the richest king in the world and the possessor of -the rarest treasures, and demanded of him the blue rose, threatening -him with a terrible doom should he be reluctant to give it up. - -The King of the Five Rivers, who disliked soldiers, and had a horror -of noise, physical violence, and every kind of fuss (his bodyguard was -armed solely with fans and sunshades), rose from the cushions on which -he was lying when the demand was made, and, tinkling a small bell, said -to the servant who straightway appeared, “Fetch me the blue rose.” - -The servant retired and returned presently bearing on a silken cushion -a large sapphire which was carved so as to imitate a full-blown rose -with all its petals. - -“This,” said the King of the Five Rivers, “is the blue rose. You are -welcome to it.” - -The warrior took it, and after making brief, soldier-like thanks, he -went straight back to the Emperor's palace, saying that he had lost -no time in finding the blue rose. He was ushered into the presence of -the Emperor, who as soon as he heard the warrior's story and saw the -blue rose which had been brought sent for his daughter and said to her: -“This intrepid warrior has brought you what he claims to be the blue -rose. Has he accomplished the quest?” - -The Princess took the precious object in her hands, and after examining -it for a moment, said: “This is not a rose at all. It is a sapphire; -I have no need of precious stones.” And she returned the stone to the -warrior with many elegantly expressed thanks. And the warrior went away -in discomfiture. - -The merchant, hearing of the warrior's failure, was all the more -anxious to win the prize. He sought the shopkeeper and said to him: -“Have you got me the blue rose? I trust you have; because, if not, I -shall most assuredly be the means of your death. My brother-in-law -is chief magistrate, and I am allied by marriage to all the chief -officials in the kingdom.” - -The shopkeeper turned pale and said: “Sir, give me three days and I -will procure you the rose without fail.” The merchant granted him the -three days and went away. Now the shopkeeper was at his wit's end as to -what to do, for he knew well there was no such thing as a blue rose. -For two days he did nothing but moan and wring his hands, and on the -third day he went to his wife and said: “Wife, we are ruined.” - -But his wife, who was a sensible woman, said: “Nonsense. If there is no -such thing as a blue rose we must make one. Go to the chemist and ask -him for a strong dye which will change a white rose into a blue one.” - -So the shopkeeper went to the chemist and asked him for a dye, and the -chemist gave him a bottle of red liquid, telling him to pick a white -rose and to dip its stalk into the liquid and the rose would turn blue. -The shopkeeper did as he was told; the rose turned into a beautiful -blue and the shopkeeper took it to the merchant, who at once went with -it to the palace saying that he had found the blue rose. - -He was ushered into the presence of the Emperor, who as soon as he saw -the blue rose sent for his daughter and said to her: “This wealthy -merchant has brought you what he claims to be the blue rose. Has he -accomplished the quest?” - -The Princess took the flower in her hands and after examining it for -a moment said: “This is a white rose; its stalk has been dipped in a -poisonous dye and it has turned blue. Were a butterfly to settle upon -it, it would die of the potent fume. Take it back. I have no need of a -dyed rose.” And she returned it to the merchant with many elegantly -expressed thanks. - -The other ninety-eight suitors all sought in various ways for the -blue rose. Some of them travelled all over the world seeking it; some -of them sought the aid of wizards and astrologers, and one did not -hesitate to invoke the help of the dwarfs that live underground; but -all of them, whether they travelled in far countries or took counsel -with wizards and demons or sat pondering in lonely places, failed to -find the blue rose. - -At last they all abandoned the quest except the Lord Chief Justice, -who was the most skilful lawyer and statesman in the country. After -thinking over the matter for several months he sent for the most famous -artist in the country and said to him: “Make me a china cup. Let it be -milk-white in colour and perfect in shape, and paint on it a rose, a -blue rose.” - -The artist made obeisance and withdrew, and worked for two months at -the Lord Chief Justice's cup. In two months' time it was finished, and -the world has never seen such a beautiful cup, so perfect in symmetry, -so delicate in texture, and the rose on it, the blue rose, was a living -flower, picked in fairyland and floating on the rare milky surface -of the porcelain. When the Lord Chief Justice saw it he gasped with -surprise and pleasure, for he was a great lover of porcelain, and never -in his life had he seen such a piece. He said to himself, “Without -doubt the blue rose is here on this cup and nowhere else.” - -So, after handsomely rewarding the artist, he went to the Emperor's -palace and said that he had brought the blue rose. He was ushered into -the Emperor's presence, who as he saw the cup sent for his daughter and -said to her: “This eminent lawyer has brought you what he claims to be -the blue rose. Has he accomplished the quest?” - -The Princess took the bowl in her hands, and after examining it for a -moment said: “This bowl is the most beautiful piece of china I have -ever seen. If you are kind enough to let me keep it I will put it aside -until I receive the blue rose. For so beautiful is it that no other -flower is worthy to be put in it except the blue rose.” - -The Lord Chief Justice thanked the Princess for accepting the bowl with -many elegantly turned phrases, and he went away in discomfiture. - -After this there was no one in the whole country who ventured on the -quest of the blue rose. It happened that not long after the Lord -Chief Justice's attempt a strolling minstrel visited the kingdom of -the Emperor. One evening he was playing his one-stringed instrument -outside a dark wall. It was a summer's evening, and the sun had sunk -in a glory of dusty gold, and in the violet twilight one or two stars -were twinkling like spear-heads. There was an incessant noise made by -the croaking of frogs and the chatter of grasshoppers. The minstrel -was singing a short song over and over again to a monotonous tune. The -sense of it was something like this: - - I watched beside the willow trees - The river, as the evening fell, - The twilight came and brought no breeze, - Nor dew, nor water for the well. - - When from the tangled banks of grass - A bird across the water flew, - And in the river's hard grey glass - I saw a flash of azure blue. - -As he sang he heard a rustle on the wall, and looking up he saw a -slight figure white against the twilight, beckoning to him. He walked -along the wall until he came to a gate, and there someone was waiting -for him, and he was gently led into the shadow of a dark cedar tree. -In the dim twilight he saw two bright eyes looking at him, and he -understood their message. In the twilight a thousand meaningless -nothings were whispered in the light of the stars, and the hours fled -swiftly. When the East began to grow light, the Princess (for it was -she) said it was time to go. - -“But,” said the minstrel, “to-morrow I shall come to the palace and ask -for your hand.” - -“Alas!” said the Princess, “I would that were possible, but my father -has made a foolish condition that only he may wed me who finds the blue -rose.” - -“That is simple,” said the minstrel. “I will find it.” And they said -good-night to each other. - -The next morning the minstrel went to the palace, and on his way he -picked a common white rose from a wayside garden. He was ushered into -the Emperor's presence, who sent for his daughter and said to her: -“This penniless minstrel has brought you what he claims to be the blue -rose. Has he accomplished the quest?” - -The Princess took the rose in her hands and said: “Yes, this is without -doubt the blue rose.” - -But the Lord Chief Justice and all who were present respectfully -pointed out that the rose was a common white rose and not a blue one, -and the objection was with many forms and phrases conveyed to the -Princess. - -“I think the rose is blue,” said the Princess. “Perhaps you are all -colour blind.” - -The Emperor, with whom the decision rested, decided that if the -Princess thought the rose was blue it was blue, for it was well known -that her perception was more acute than that of any one else in the -kingdom. - -So the minstrel married the Princess, and they settled on the sea coast -in a little seen house with a garden full of white roses, and they -lived happily for ever afterwards. And the Emperor, knowing that his -daughter had made a good match, died in peace. - - MAURICE BARING. - - -THE TWO FROGS. - -Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of -whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, -while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the -city of Kioto. At such a great distance apart; they had never even -heard of each other; but, funnily enough, the idea came into both their -heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world, and -the frog who lived at Kioto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who -lived at Osaka wished to go to Kioto, where the great Mikado had his -palace. - -So one fine morning, in the spring, they both set out along the road -that led from Kioto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the -other. - -The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know -much about travelling, and half-way between the two towns there rose -a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a -great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last, and -what was the surprise of each to see another frog before him! They -looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then fell into -conversation, and explained the cause of their meeting so far from -their homes. It was delightful to find that they both felt the same -wish--to learn a little more of their native country--and as there was -no sort of hurry they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place, -and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go -their ways. - -“What a pity we are not bigger,” said the Osaka frog, “and then we -could see both towns from here and tell if it is worth our while going -on.” - -“Oh, that is easily managed,” returned the Kioto frog. “We have only -got to stand up on our hind legs, and hold on to each other, and then -we can each look at the town he is travelling to.” - -This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and -put his front paws on the shoulder of his friend, who had risen also. -There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and -holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kioto -frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose -towards Kioto; but the foolish things forgot that when they stood up -their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their -noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go, their eyes -beheld the places from which they had come. - -“Dear me!” cried the Osaka frog, “Kioto is exactly like Osaka. It is -certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home.” - -“If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kioto I should -never have travelled all this way,” exclaimed the frog from Kioto, and -as he spoke, he took his hands from his friend's shoulders and they -both fell down on the grass. - -Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home -again, and to the end of their lives they believed that Osaka and -Kioto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as -like as two peas. - - -THE WISE OLD SHEPHERD. - -Once upon a time, a Snake went out of his hole to take an airing. He -crawled about, greatly enjoying the scenery and the fresh whiff of the -breeze, until, seeing an open door, he went in. Now this door was the -door of the palace of the King, and inside was the King himself, with -all his courtiers. - -Imagine their horror at seeing a huge Snake crawling in at the door. -They all ran away except the King, who felt that his rank forbade him -to be a coward, and the King's son. The King called out for somebody to -come and kill the Snake; but this horrified them still more, because -in that country the people believed it to be wicked to kill any living -thing, even snakes and scorpions and wasps. So the courtiers did -nothing, but the young Prince obeyed his father, and killed the Snake -with his stick. - -After a while the Snake's wife became anxious and set out in search of -her husband. She too saw the open door of the palace, and in she went. -O horror! there on the floor lay the body of her husband, all covered -with blood and quite dead. No one saw the Snake's Wife crawl in; she -inquired of a white ant what had happened, and when she found that the -young Prince had killed her husband, she made a vow that, as he had -made her a widow, so she would make his wife a widow. - -That night, when all the world was asleep, the Snake crept into the -Prince's bedroom, and coiled round his neck. The Prince slept on, -and when he awoke in the morning, he was surprised to find his neck -encircled with the coils of a snake. He was afraid to stir, so there he -remained, until the Prince's mother became anxious and went to see what -was the matter. When she entered his room, and saw him in this plight, -she gave a loud shriek, and ran off to tell the King. - -“Call the archers,” said the King. - -The archers came, and the King told them to go to the Prince's room, -and shoot the Snake that was coiled about his neck. They were so -clever, that they could easily do this without hurting the Prince at -all. - -In came the archers in a row, fitted the arrows to the bows, the bows -were raised and ready to shoot, when, on a sudden, from the Snake there -issued a voice which spoke as follows: - -“O archers, wait, wait and hear me before you shoot. It is not fair to -carry out the sentence before you have heard the case. Is not this a -good law: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth? Is it not so, O -King?” - -“Yes,” replied the King, “that is our law.” - -“Then,” said the Snake, “I plead the law. Your son has made me a widow, -so it is fair and right that I should make his wife a widow.” - -“That sounds right enough,” said the King, “but right and law are not -always the same thing. We had better ask somebody who knows.” - -They asked all the judges, but none of them could tell the law of the -matter. They shook their heads, and said they would look up all their -law-books, and see whether anything of the sort had ever happened -before, and if so, how it had been decided. That is the way judges used -to decide cases in that country, though I daresay it sounds to you a -very funny way. It looked as if they had not much sense in their own -heads, and perhaps that was true. The upshot of it all was that not a -judge would give an opinion; so the King sent messengers all over the -countryside, to see if they could find somebody who knew something. - -One of these messengers found a party of five shepherds, who were -sitting upon a hill and trying to decide a quarrel of their own. They -gave their opinions so freely, and in language so very strong, that -the King's messenger said to himself, “Here are the men for us. Here -are five men, each with an opinion of his own, and all different.” -Post-haste he scurried back to the King, and told him that he had -found at last some one ready to judge the knotty point. - -So the King and the Queen, and the Prince and Princess, and all the -courtiers, got on horseback, and away they galloped to the hill -whereupon the five shepherds were sitting, and the Snake too went with -them, coiled round the neck of the Prince. - -When they got to the shepherds' hill, the shepherds were dreadfully -frightened. At first they thought that the strangers were a gang of -robbers, and when they saw it was the King their next thought was -that one of their misdeeds had been found out; and each of them began -thinking what was the last thing he had done, and wondering, was it -that? - -But the King and the courtiers got off their horses, and said good day -in the most civil way. So the shepherds felt their minds set at ease -again. Then the King said: - -“Worthy shepherds, we have a question to put to you, which not all the -judges in all the courts of my city have been able to solve. Here is my -son, and here, as you see, is a snake coiled round his neck. Now, the -husband of this Snake came creeping into my palace hall, and my son the -Prince killed him; so this Snake, who is the wife of the other, says -that, as my son has made her a widow, so she has a right to widow my -son's wife. What do you think about it?” - -The first shepherd said: “I think she is quite right, my Lord the King. -If anyone made my wife a widow, I would pretty soon do the same to him.” - -This was brave language, and the other shepherds shook their heads and -looked fierce. But the King was puzzled, and could not quite understand -it. You see, in the first place, if the man's wife were a widow, -the man would be dead; and then it is hard to see that he could do -anything. So, to make sure, the King asked the second shepherd whether -that was his opinion too. - -“Yes,” said the second shepherd; “now the Prince has killed the Snake, -the Snake has a right to kill the Prince if he can.” But that was not -of much use either, as the Snake was as dead as a door-nail. So the -King passed on to the third. - -“I agree with my mates,” said the third shepherd. “Because, you see, a -Prince is a Prince, but then a Snake is a Snake.” That was quite true, -they all admitted, but it did not seem to help the matter much. Then -the King asked the fourth shepherd to say what he thought. - -The fourth shepherd said: “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; -so I think a widow should be a widow, if so be she don't marry again.” - -By this time the poor King was so puzzled that he hardly knew whether -he stood on his head or his heels. But there was still the fifth -shepherd left; the oldest and wisest of them all; and the fifth -shepherd said: - -“King, I should like to ask two questions.” - -“Ask twenty, if you like,” said the King. He did not promise to answer -them, so he could afford to be generous. - -“First, I ask the Princess how many sons she has?” - -“Four,” said the Princess. - -“And how many sons has Mistress Snake here?” - -“Seven,” said the Snake. - -“Then,” said the old shepherd, “it will be quite fair for Mistress -Snake to kill his Highness the Prince when her Highness the Princess -has had three sons more.” - -“I never thought of that,” said the Snake. “Good-bye, King, and all -you good people. Send a message when the Princess has had three more -sons, and you may count upon me--I will not fail you.” - -So saying, she uncoiled from the Prince's neck and slid away among the -grass. - -The King and the Prince and everybody shook hands with the wise old -shepherd, and went home again. And the Princess never had any more sons -at all. She and the Prince lived happily for many years; and if they -are not dead they are living still. - - _From “The Talking Thrush.”_ - - -THE TRUE SPIRIT OF A FESTIVAL DAY. - -And it came to pass that the Buddha was born a Hare and lived in a -wood; on one side was the foot of a mountain, on another a river, on -the third side a border village. - -And with him lived three friends: a Monkey, a Jackal and an Otter; each -of these creatures got food on his own hunting ground. In the evening -they met together, and the Hare taught his companions many wise things: -that the moral laws should be observed, that alms should be given to -the poor, and that holy days should be kept. - -One day the Buddha said: “To-morrow is a fast day. Feed any beggars -that come to you by giving food from your own table.” They all -consented. - -The next day the Otter went down to the bank of the Ganges to seek -his prey. Now a fisherman had landed seven red fish and had buried -them in the sand on the river's bank while he went down the stream -catching more fish. The Otter scented the buried fish, dug up the sand -till he came upon them, and he called aloud: “Does any one own these -fish?” And not seeing the owner, he laid the fish in the jungle where -he dwelt, intending to eat them at a fitting time. Then he lay down, -thinking how virtuous he was. - -The Jackal also went off in search of food, and found in the hut of a -field watcher a lizard, two spits, and a pot of milk-curd. - -And, after thrice crying aloud, “To whom do these belong?” and not -finding an owner, he put on his neck the rope for lifting the pot, and -grasping the spits and lizard with his teeth, he laid them in his own -lair, thinking, “In due season I will devour them,” and then he lay -down, thinking how virtuous he had been. - -The Monkey entered the clump of trees, and gathering a bunch of -mangoes, laid them up in his part of the jungle, meaning to eat them in -due season. He then lay down and thought how virtuous he had been. - -But the Hare (who was the Buddha-to-be) in due time came out, thinking -to lie (in contemplation) on the Kuca grass. “It is impossible for me -to offer grass to any beggars who may chance to come by, and I have no -oil or rice or fish. If any beggar come to me, I will give him (of) my -own flesh to eat.” - -Now when Sakka, the King of the Gods, heard this thing, he determined -to put the Royal Hare to the test. So he came in disguise of a Brahmin -to the Otter and said: “Wise Sir, if I could get something to eat, I -would perform all my priestly duties.” - -The Otter said: “I will give you food. Seven red fish have I safely -brought to land from the sacred river of the Ganges. Eat thy fill, O -Brahmin, and stay in this wood.” - -And the Brahmin said: “Let it be until to-morrow, and I will see to it -then.” - -Then he went to the Jackal, who confessed that he had stolen the food, -but he begged the Brahmin to accept it and remain in the wood; but the -Brahmin said: “Let it be until the morrow, and then I will see to it.” - -And he came to the Monkey, who offered him the mangoes, and the Brahmin -answered in the same way. - -Then the Brahmin went to the wise Hare, and the Hare said: “Behold, I -will give you of my flesh to eat. But you must not take life on this -holy day. When you have piled up the logs I will sacrifice myself by -falling into the midst of the flames, and when my body is roasted you -shall eat my flesh and perform all your priestly duties.” - -Now when Sakka heard these words he caused a heap of burning coals -to appear, and the Wisdom Being, rising from the grass, came to the -place, but before casting himself into the flames he shook himself, -lest perchance there should be any insects in his coat who might suffer -death. Then, offering his body as a free gift, he sprang up, and like -a royal swan, lighting on a bed of lotus in an ecstasy of joy, he -fell on the heap of live coals. But the flame failed even to heat the -pores or the hair on the body of the Wisdom Being, and it was as if he -had entered a region of frost. Then he addressed the Brahmin in these -words: “Brahmin, the fire that you have kindled is icy cold; it fails -to heat the pores or the hair on my body. What is the meaning of this?” - -“O most wise Hare! I am Sakka, and have come to put your virtue to the -test.” - -And the Buddha in a sweet voice said: “No god or man could find in me -an unwillingness to die.” - -Then Sakka said: “O wise Hare, be thy virtue known to all the ages to -come.” - -And seizing the mountain he squeezed out the juice and daubed on the -moon the signs of the young hare. - -Then he placed him back on the grass that he might continue his Sabbath -meditation, and returned to Heaven. - -And the four creatures lived together and kept the moral law. - - -FILIAL PIETY. - -Now it came to pass that the Buddha was re-born in the shape of a -Parrot, and he greatly excelled all other parrots in his strength and -beauty. And when he was full grown his father, who had long been the -leader of the flock in their flights to other climes, said to him: “My -son, behold my strength is spent! Do thou lead the flock, for I am no -longer able.” And the Buddha said: “Behold, thou shalt rest. I will -lead the birds.” And the parrots rejoiced in the strength of their new -leader, and willingly did they follow him. Now from that day on, the -Buddha undertook to feed his parents, and would not consent that they -should do any more work. Each day he led his flock to the Himalaya -Hills, and when he had eaten his fill of the clumps of rice that grew -there, he filled his beak with food for the dear parents who were -waiting his return. - -Now there was a man appointed to watch the rice-fields, and he did his -best to drive the parrots away, but there seemed to be some secret -power in the leader of this flock which the Keeper could not overcome. - -He noticed that the Parrots ate their fill and then flew away, but that -the Parrot-King not only satisfied his hunger, but carried away rice in -his beak. - -Now he feared there would be no rice left, and he went to his master -the Brahmin to tell him what had happened; and even as the master -listened there came to him the thought that the Parrot-King was -something higher than he seemed, and he loved him even before he saw -him. But he said nothing of this, and only warned the Keeper that he -should set a snare and catch the dangerous bird. So the man did as he -was bidden: he made a small cage and set the snare, and sat down in -his hut waiting for the birds to come. And soon he saw the Parrot-King -amidst his flock, who, because he had no greed, sought no richer spot, -but flew down to the same place in which he had fed the day before. - -Now, no sooner had he touched the ground that he felt his feet caught -in the noose. Then fear crept into his bird-heart, but a stronger -feeling was there to crush it down, for he thought: “If I cry out the -Cry of the Captured, my Kinsfolk will be terrified, and they will fly -away foodless. But if I lie still, then their hunger will be satisfied, -and they may safely come to my aid.” Thus was the Parrot both brave and -prudent. - -But alas! he did not know that his Kinsfolk had nought of his brave -spirit. When _they_ had eaten their fill, though they heard the -thrice-uttered cry of the captured, they flew away, nor heeded the sad -plight of their leader. - -Then was the heart of the Parrot-King sore within him, and he said: -“All these my kith and kin, and not one to look back on me. Alas! what -sin have I done?” - -The Watchman now heard the cry of the Parrot-King, and the sound of the -other Parrots flying through the air. “What is that?” he cried, and -leaving his hut he came to the place where he had laid the snare. There -he found the captive Parrot; he tied his feet together and brought him -to the Brahmin, his master. Now, when the Brahmin saw the Parrot-King, -he felt his strong power, and his heart was full of love to him, but he -hid his feelings, and said in a voice of anger: “Is thy greed greater -than that of all other birds? They eat their fill, but thou takest away -each day more food than thou canst eat. Doest thou this out of hatred -for me, or dost thou store up the food in some granary for selfish -greed?” - -And the Great Being made answer in a sweet human voice: “I hate thee -not, O Brahmin. Nor do I store the rice in a granary for selfish greed. -But this thing I do. Each day I pay a debt which is due--each day I -grant a loan, and each day I store up a treasure.” - -Now the Brahmin could not understand the words of the Buddha (because -true wisdom had not entered his heart), and he said: “I pray thee, O -Wondrous Bird, to make these words clear unto me.” - -And then the Parrot-King made answer: “I carry food to my ancient -parents who can no longer seek that food for themselves: thus I pay -my daily debt. I carry food to my callow chicks whose wings are yet -ungrown. When I am old they will care for me--this my loan to them. And -for other birds, weak and helpless of wing, who need the aid of the -strong, for them I lay up a store; to these I give in charity.” - -Then was the Brahmin much moved, and showed the love that was in his -heart. “Eat thy fill, O Righteous Bird, and let thy Kinsfolk eat too, -for thy sake.” And he wished to bestow a thousand acres of land upon -him, but the Great Being would only take a tiny portion round which -were set boundary stones. - -And the Parrot returned with a head of rice, and said: “Arise, dear -Parents, that I may take you to a place of plenty.” And he told them -the story of his deliverance. - - * * * * * - -MY thanks are due to: - -Mrs. Josephine Dodge Darkam Bacon, for permission to use an extract -from “The Madness of Philip,” and to her publishers, Charles Scrivener. - -To Messrs. Houghton Mifflin, for permission to use extract from “Thou -Shalt Not Preach,” by Mr. John Burroughs. - -To Messrs. Macmillan & Co., for permission to use “Milking Time” of -Miss Rossetti. - -To Messrs. William Sharp, for permission to use passage from “The -Divine Adventure,” by “Fiona MacLeod.” - -To Miss Ethel Clifford, for permission to use the poem of “The Child.” - -To Mr. James Whitcomb Riley and the Robbs Merrill Co., for permission -to use “The Treasure of the Wise Man.” - -To Rev. R. L. Gales, for permission to use the article on “Nursery -Rhymes” from the _Nation_. - -To Mr. Edmund Gosse, for permission to use extracts from “Father and -Son.” - -To Messrs. Chatto and Windus, for permission to use “Essay on Child's -Play” (from _Virginibus Puerisque_) and other papers. - -To Mr. George Allen & Co., for permission to use “Ballad for a Boy,” by -W. Cory, from “Ionica.” - -To Professor Bradley, for permission to quote from his essay on “Poetry -and Life.” - -To Mr. P. A. Barnett, for permission to quote from “The Commonsense of -Education.” - -To Professor Ker, for permission to quote from “Sturla the Historian.” - -To Mr. John Russell, for permission to print in full, “A Saga.” - -To Messrs. Longmans Green & Co., for permission to use “The Two Frogs,” -from the Violet Fairy Book, and “To Your Good Health,” from the Crimson -Fairy Book. - -To Mr. Heinemann and Lady Glenconner, for permission to reprint “The -Water Nixie,” by Pamela Tennant, from “The Children and the Pictures.” - -To Mr. Maurice Baring and the Editor of _The Morning Post_, for -permission to reprint “The Blue Rose” from _The Morning Post_. - -To Dr. Walter Rouse and Mr. J. M. Dent, for permission to reprint from -“The Talking Thrush” the story of “The Wise Old Shepherd.” - -To Mr. James Stephens, for permission to reprint “The Man and the Boy.” - -To Mr. Harold Barnes, for permission to use version of “The Proud Cock.” - -To Mrs. Arnold Glover, for permission to print two of her stories. - -To Miss Emilie Poulson, for permission to use her translation of -Björnsen's poem. - -To George Routledge & Son, for permission to use stories from “Eastern -Stories and Fables.” - -To Mrs. W. K. Clifford, for permission to quote from “Very Short -Stories.” - -To Mr. W. Jenkyn Thomas and Mr. Fisher Unwin, for permission to use -“Arthur in the Cave” from the Welsh Fairy Book. - - * * * * * - -The following stories are not a representative list: this I have -endeavoured to give with the story-list preceding. These stories are -mostly taken from my own _répertoire_, and have so constantly been -asked for by teachers that I am glad of an opportunity of presenting -them in full. - -Episode from “Sturla the Historian,” to illustrate the value of the art -of story-telling. - -Saga, by John Russell. - -St. Christopher, in the version taken from the “_Legenda Aurea_.” - -“Arthur in the Cave,” from the “Welsh Fairy Book.” - -“Hafiz the Stone-cutter” (adapted from the Oriental). - -“To Your Good Health,” from The Crimson Fairy Book. - -“The Proud Cock,” from the Spanish. - -“Snegourka,” from the Russian. - -“The Water Nixie,” by Pamela Tennant. - -“The Blue Rose,” by Maurice Baring. - -“The Wise old Shepherd,” from “The Talking Thrush.” - - * * * * * - -I had intended, in this section, to offer an appendix of titles -of stories and books which would cover all the ground of possible -narrative in schools; but I have found, since taking up the question, -so many lists containing standard books and stories, that I have -decided that this original plan would be a work of supererogation, -since it would be almost impossible to prepare such a list without the -certainty of over-lapping. What is really needed is a supplementary -list to those already published--a specialized list which has been -gathered together by private research and personal experience. I have -for many years spent considerable time in the British Museum, and some -of the principal Libraries in the United States, and I now offer the -fruit of that labour in the miscellaneous collection contained in this -chapter. Before giving my own selection, I should like to say that for -general lists one can use with great profit the following: - - - - -LIST OF BOOKS - - -SOURCES OF NORSE STORIES FOR STORY-TELLERS. - - Cycles of Stories from the Norse. Part I: Historical Tales. Part - II: Norse Myths. Part III: Völsunga Saga. Part IV: Frithiof Saga. - Snorro Sturluson. Stories of the Kings of Norway; done into English - by William Morris. Page 83-117. - Snorro Sturluson. A History of the Norse Kings; done into English - by Samuel Laing. Pages 11-35. - Snorro Sturluson. Younger Edda. Pages 72, 73, 114-127, 128-130, - 131-139, 160-164, 184-187, 189-192. - Morris. Story of Sigurd the Volsung. - Völsunga Saga. By Eirikr and William Morris. - -Other sources from modern books can be found in Mabie, Wilmot Buxton, -Keans Tappah, Cartwright Pole, Johonnut Anderson. Some of these are -suitable for children themselves, and contain excellent reading matter. - -NOTE.--I most gratefully acknowledge these sources supplied by the -courtesy of Pittsburg Carnegie Library. - - List of stories in compilation by Anna C. Tyler (Supervisor of - Story-telling in New York). - Heroism. A reading list for boys and girls. - -Both these lists are published by the New York Library, and I have had -permission to quote both, by the courtesy of the Library. - -In that admirable work, “Story-Telling in School and Home,” by Evelyn -Newcomb Partridge and George Everett Partridge, published by William -Heinemann, besides a valuable analysis of the Art of Story-Telling, -there is an excellent list of books and stories. - - -LIST OF BOOKS CONTAINING STORIES OR READING MATTER FOR CHILDREN. - -The following list is not of my own making. I have taken it on the -recommendation of Marion E. Potter, Bertha Tannehill and Emma L. Teich, -who have compiled the list from twenty-three other lists. I again have -made a shorter list of the titles, and acknowledge most gratefully the -kind permission of the H. W. Wilson Company (Minneapolis) to quote from -their book. The original work, which contains 3,000 titles, is well -known in the United States under the title of “Children's Catalogue.” -It is a book which ought to be in every School and Training College -Library, and I hope my fragmentary selection may make it better known -in my own country. I regret that I am unable to give publishers or -reference marks for this American list. - - About Old Story-tellers. Mitchell, D. G. - Boys' Iliad. Perry. - Jack among the Indians, and Other Stories. G. B. Grinnell. - Adventure Stories. Hale, E. - Young Alaskans. Hough, E. - Aztec Treasure House. Janvier. - Last Three Soldiers. Skelton, W. - Under the Lilacs. Alcott, Louisa. - Moral Pirates. Livingstone, A. W. - Classics Old and New. Alderman, E. A. - Boy of a Thousand Years Ago. Comstock, H. R. - All About Japan. Brane, B. M. - All About the Russians. Lockes, E. C. - Children of the Palm Lands. Allen, A. E. - Italian Child Life. Ambrose, Marietta. - American Hero Stories. Tappan, E. M. - Chinese Boy and Girl, Headland, Y. T. - Viking Tales of the North. Anderson, R. B. - Animal Stories Re-told from St. Nicholas. Carter, M. H. - Short Stories of Shy Neighbours. Kelly, M. H. - Hundred Anecdotes of Animals. Billingham, P. T. - Books of Saints and Friendly Beasts. Brown, A. F. - Stories of Animal Life. Holden, C. F. - Story of a Donkey (Abridged). Segur, S. - Children of the Cold. Schnatka, F. - Stories from Plato and other Classic Writers. Burt, M. E. - Tenting on the Plains. Custer, E. - To the Front. King, C. - Stories of Persian Heroes. Firdansi. - Nelson and his Captains. Fitchett, William H. - Danish Fairy and Folk Tales. Bay, J. C. - Evening Tales. Ortoli, F. - Legends of King Arthur and his Court. Greene, F. N. - Story of King Arthur. Pyle, H. - New World Fairy Book. Kenedy, H. A. - Myths of the Red Children. Wilson, G. L. - Old Indian Legends. Zitkala, Sa. - Folk Tales from the Russian. Blumenthal, V. K. - Wagner Opera Stories. Barker, Grace. - Lolanu, the Little Cliff-dweller. Bayliss (Mrs. Clara Kern). - Big People and Little People of Other Lands. Shaw, E. R. - Children's Stories of the Great Scientists. Wright, H. C. - Fairy Tales. Lansing, M. F. - Light Princess, and Other Stories. Macdonald, George. - Classic Stories for the Little Ones. Mace, J., and McClurey, L. B. - Old World Wonder Stories. O'Shea, M. V. - Japanese Fairy Tales Re-told. Williston, T. P. - Famous Indian Chiefs I Have Known. Hovard, O. O. - Fanciful Tales. Stockton, F. R. - Boys' Book of Famous Rulers, from Agamemnon to Napoleon. Farmer, Mrs. - Lydia Hoyt. - Favourite Greek Myths, Hyde, T. S. - Children's Life in the Western Mountains. Foote, Mary (Hallock). - Gods and Heroes. Francillon, Robert Edward. - Sa-Zada Tales. Fraser, William Alexander. - Story of Gretta the Strong. French, Allen. - Lance of Kanana (Story of Arabia). French, Henry Willard. - Home Life in all Lands. Morris, C. - Held Fast for England. Henty. - Plutarch's Lives. Ginn, Edwin. - King's Story Book. Gomme, Lawrence. - Little Journeys to Balkans, European Turkey and Greece. George, M. M. - Herodotus. White, J. S. - Classic Myths in English Literature. Gayley, C. M. - Favourite Greek Myths. Hyde, L. S. - Stories from the East. Church, A. T. - Herodotus. Church, A. T. - Men of Iron. Pyle, H. - Boys' Heroes. Hale, Edward Everett. - Strange Stories from History. Eggleston. - Stories of Other Lands. Johannot, J. - Book of Nature Myths. Holbrook, Florence. - Stories of Great Artists. Home, Olive Brown, and Lois, K. - Russian Grandmother's Wonder Tales. Houghton, Mrs. Louise (Seymour). - Stories of Famous Children. Hunter, Mary van Brunt. - Stories of Indian Chieftains. Husted, Mary Hall. - Stories of Indian Children. Husted, Mary Hall. - Golden Porch: A Book of Greek Fairy Tales. Hutchinson, W. M. L. - Indian Boyhood. Eastman, C. H. - Indian History for Young Folk. Drake, F. S. - Indian Stories Re-told from St Nicholas. Drake, F. S. - One Thousand Poems for Children. Ingpen, Roger. - My Lady Pokahontas. Cooke, J. E. - In the Sargasso Sea. Janvier, T. A. - Childhood of Ji-Shib. Jenks, Albert Ernest. - Stories from Chaucer told to the Children. Kelman, Janet Harvey. - Stories from the Crusades. Kelman, Janet Harvey. - New World Fairy Book. Kenedy, Howard Angus. - Stories of Ancient People. Arnold E. T. - Stories of Art and Artists. Clement, C. - Mabinogion (Legends of Wales). Knightley. - Heroes of Chivalry. Maitland, L. - Cadet Days: Story of West Point. King, Charles. - Household Stories for Little Readers. Klingensmith, Annie. - Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire. Knox, Thomas Wallace. - Boy Travellers on the Congo. Knox, Thomas Wallace. - Fairy Book. Laboulaye, Eduard Réné Lefebre. - Fairy Tales of All Nations. Translated by M. I. Booth. Laboulaye, - Eduard Réné Lefebre. - Middle Five (Life of Five Indian Boys at School). La Flesche, Francis. - Wonderful Adventures of Nils. Lagerlöf, Selma. - Land of Pluck. Dodge, M. M. - Land of the Long Night. Du Chaillu, P. B. - Schoolboy Days in France. Laurie, André. - Schoolboy Days in Japan. Laurie, André. - Schoolboy Days in Russia. Laurie, André. - When I was a Boy in China. Lee, Yan Phon. - Fifty Famous Stories Re-told. Baldwin. - Stories from Famous Ballads. Lippincott. - Wreck of the Golden Fleece. Leighton, Robert. - Children's Letters, Written to Children by Famous Men and Women. - Colson, E., and Chittenden, A. G. - A Story of Abraham Lincoln. Hamilton, M. - - -LITTLE COUSIN SERIES. - - Our Little Swedish Cousin. Coburn, C. M. - Our Little Chinese Cousin. Headland, I. T. - Our Little Arabian Cousin. Mansfield, B. M. - Our Little Dutch Cousin. Mansfield, B. M. - Our Little Egyptian Cousin. Mansfield, B. M. - Our Little English Cousin. Mansfield, B. M. - Our Little French Cousin. Mansfield, B. M. - Our Little Hindu Cousin. Mansfield, B. M. - Our Little Scotch Cousin. Mansfield, B. M. - Our Little Alaskan Cousin. Nixon, Roulet M. F. - Our Little Australian Cousin. Nixon, Roulet M. F. - Our Little Brazilian Cousin. Nixon, Roulet M. F. - Our Little Grecian Cousin. Nixon, Roulet M. F. - Our Little Spanish Cousin. Nixon, Roulet, M. F. - Our Little Korean Cousin. Pike, H. L. - Our Little Panama Cousin. Pike, H. L. - Our Little African Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Armenian Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Brown Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Cuban Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Eskimo Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Hawaiian Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Indian Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Irish Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Italian Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Japanese Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Jewish Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Norwegian Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Philippine Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Porto Rican Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Siamese Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Turkish Cousin. Wade, M. H. - Our Little Canadian Cousin. Macdonald, E. Roberts. - - Little Folk in Brittany. Haines, A. C. - Little Folks of Many Lands. Chance, L. M. - Little Lives of Great Men. Hathaway, E. V. - Little Men. Alcott, L. M. - Little Royalties. McDougall, I. - Little Stories of France. Dutton, M. B. - Little Stories of Germany. Dutton, M. B. - Lives of Girls who Became Famous. Bolton, S. K. - Beasts of the Field. Long, William Joseph. - Wood-Folk at School. Long, William Joseph. - Long Ago in Greece. Carpenter, E. J. - Peasant and Prince. Martineau, H. - Boy Courier of Napoleon. Sprague, W. C. - Wonder Stories from the Mabinogion. Brooks, E. - Old Farm Fairies.[55] McConk, Henry Christopher. - Tenants of an Old Farm.[55] McConk, Henry Christopher. - At the Back of the North Wind. MacDonald, George. - Princess and the Goblin. MacDonald, George. - Cave Boy of the Age of Stone. McIntyre, Margaret A. - Magna Carta Stories. Gilman, A. - Early Cave Men. Dopp, K. E. - Later Cave Men. Dopp, K. E. - Stories of Roland. Marshall, H. E. - Crofton Boys. Martineau, Harriet. - Peats on the Fiord. Martineau, Harriet. - Peasant and Prince. Martineau, Harriet. - Child Stories from the Masters. Menafee, Maud. - Miss Muffet's Christmas Party. Crotchers, S. M. - Historical Tales: Greek. Morris, Charles. - Historical Tales: Russian. Morris, Charles. - Bed-Time Stories. Moulton, Louise Chandler. - New Bed-Time Stories. Moulton, Louise Chandler. - Modern Reader's Bible (Children Series). Moulton, F. R. G. - My Air-Ships. Santos-Dumont. - Old Norse Stories. Bradish, S. P. - Through Russian Snows. Henty, G. - Nine Worlds: Stories from Norse Mythology. Lichfield, M. E. - Fairy Tales, Narratives and Poems. Norton, George Eliot. - Modern Vikings. Boyeson, H. H. - Boyhood in Norway. Boyeson, H. H. - Old Greek Stories Told Anew. Peabody, J. B. - Arabian Nights Re-told. Peary, Mrs. Josephine (Diebitsh). - Heroic Ballads. Montgomery, D. H. - English Ballads. Perkins, Mrs. Lucy Fitch. - Boys' Iliad. Perry, Walter Copland. - Boys' Odyssey. Perry, Walter Copland. - Tale of Peter Rabbit. Potter, B. - Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. Potter, B. - Stories of Old France. Pitman, Leila Webster. - Boys' and Girls' Plutarch. White, J. S. - Greek Lives from Plutarch. Byles, C. E. - My Lady Pokahontas. Cooke, J. E. - Poems for Children. Rossetti, C. G. - Children's Book. Scudder, H. E. - Scottish Chiefs. Porter, Jane. - Legends of the Red Children. Pratt, Mara Louise. - Little Nature Studies for Little Folk. Burroughs, John. - Giant Sun and His Family. Proctor, Mary. - Stories of Starland. Proctor, Mary. - Revolutionary Stories Re-told from St. Nicholas. Pyle, Howard. - Old Tales from Rome. Zimmern, A. - Stories of the Saints. Chenoweth, C. V. D. - Sandman: His Farm Stories. Hopkins, W. T. - Sandman: His Sea Stories. Hopkins, W. T. - Sandman: His Ship Stories. Hopkins, W. T. - Schooldays in France. Laurie, A. - Schooldays in Italy. Laurie, A. - Schooldays in Japan. Laurie, A. - Schooldays in Russia. Laurie, A. - William of Orange (Life Stories for Young People). Schupp, Otto Kar. - Sea Yarns for Boys. Henderson, W. T. - Story of Lord Roberts. Sellar, Edmund Francis. - Story of Nelson. Sellar, Edmund Francis. - Tent Life in Siberia. Kenman, G. - Stories from English History. Skae, Hilda I. - Boys who Became Famous Men (Giotto, Bach, Byron, Gainsborough, Handel, - Coleridge, Canova, Chopin). Skinner, Harriet Pearl. - Eskimo Stories. Smith, Mary Emily Estella. - Some Curious Flyers, Creepers and Swimmers. Johannot, J. Bush Boys. - Reid, M. - New Mexico David, and Other Stories. Lummis, C. F. - Child's History of Spain. Bonner, J. - Historical Tales: Spanish. Morris, C. - Story of the Cid. Wilson, C. D. - Life of Lincoln for Boys. Sparhawk, Frances Campbell. - Pieces for Every Occasion. Le Rou, C. B. - Stories from Dante. Chester, N. - Stories from Old English Poetry. Richardson, A. S. - Stories from Plato and Other Classic Writers. Burt, M. E. - Stories in Stone from the Roman Forum. Lovell, I. - Stories of Brave Days. Carter, M. H. - Stories of Early England. Buxton, E. M. Wilmot. - Stories of Heroic Deeds. Johannot, J. - Stories of Indian Chieftains. Husted, M. H. - Stories of Insect Life. Weed, C. M., and Mustfeldt, M. E. - Stories of the Gorilla Country. Du Chaillu, P. B. - Stories of the Sea told by Sailors. Hale, E. E. - Stories of War. Hale, E. E. - Story of Lewis Caroll. Bowman, I. - Story of Sir Launcelot and his Companions. Pyle, H. - Queer Little People. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. - In Clive's Command. Strang, Herbert. - George Washington Jones (Christmas of a Little Coloured Boy). Stuart, - Ruth McEnery. - Story of Babette. Stuart, Ruth McEnery. - Old Ballads in Prose. Tappan, Eva. - Lion and Tiger Stories. Carter, M. H. - True Tales of Birds and Beasts. Jordan, D. S. - Typical Tales of Fancy, Romance and History from Shakespeare's Plays. - Raymond, E. - Young People's Story of Art. Whitcomb, Ida Prentice. - Young People's Story of Music. Whitcomb, Ida Prentice. - Tales of Laughter. Wiggin, K. Douglas. - -The following miscellaneous list of books and stories is my own. I -do not mean that none of them have appeared in other lists, but the -greater number have been sifted from larger lists which I have made -during the last ten years, more or less. - -For English readers I have given the press-marks in the British Museum, -which will be an economy of time to busy students and teachers. I have -supplied, in every case where it has been possible, the source of -the story and the name of the publisher for American readers, but my -experience as a reader in the libraries of the States brings me to the -conclusion that all the books of educational value will either be found -in the main libraries or procured on application even in the small -towns. - -In many cases the stories would have to be shortened and re-arranged. -The difficulty of finding the sources and obtaining permission has -deterred me from offering for the present these stories in full. - -This being a supplementary list to more general ones, there will -naturally be absent a large number of standard books which I take for -granted are known. Nevertheless, I have included the titles of some -well-known works which ought not to be left out of any list. - - -TITLES OF BOOKS CONTAINING TRANSLATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF CLASSICAL -STORIES. - - The Children of the Dawn. Old Tales of Greece. E. Fennemore - Buckley. 12403 f. 41. Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co. - Kingsley's Heroes. 012208. e. 22/26. Blackie and Son. (See List of - Stories.) - Wonder Stories from Herodotus. (Excellent as a preparation for the - real old stories.) N. Barrington d'Almeida. 9026.66. S. Harper - Brothers. - - -TITLES OF BOOKS CONTAINING CLASSICAL STORIES FROM HISTORY RE-TOLD. - - Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls. Re-told by W. H. Weston. - 10606. d. 4. T. C. and E. C. Jack. - Tales from Plutarch. By Jameson Rawbotham. 10606. bb. 3. Fisher - Unwin. - - -SOURCES OF INDIAN STORIES AND MYTHS. - -For an understanding of the inner meaning of these stories, and as a -preparation for telling them, I should recommend as a useful book of -reference: - - Indian Myths and Legends. By Mackenzie. 04503. f. 26. Gresham - Publishing House. - -The following titles are of books containing stories for narration: - - Jacob's Indian Tales. 12411. h. 9. David Nutt. - Old Deccan Days. Mary Frere. 12411. e.e. 14. John Murray. - The Talking Thrush. W. H. D. Rouse. 12411. e.e.e. 17. J. M. Dent. - Wide Awake Stories. 12411. b.b.b. 2. Steel and Temple. - Indian Nights' Entertainment. Synnerton. 14162. f. 16. Eliot Stock. - Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists. By Sister Nevedita and Amanda - Coomara. K.T.C. Swamy. A. I. George Harrap Company. (This volume is - mainly for reference.) - Buddhist Birth Stories. T. W. Rhys Davids. 14098. d. 23. Trubner Co. - Stories of the Buddha Birth. Cowell, Rouse, Neil, Francis. 14098. dd. - 8. University Press, Cambridge. - -As selections of this extensive work: - - Eastern Stories and Fables. M. I. Shedlock. George Routledge. - The Jatakas, Tales of India. Re-told by Ellen C. Babbitt. 012809. - d. 8. The Century Co. - Folk-Tales of Kashmir. Knowles. 2318. g. 18. Trübner - & Co. - The Jungle-Book. Rudyard Kipling. 012807. ff. 47. Macmillan. - The Second Jungle-Book. Rudyard Kipling. 012807. k. 57. Macmillan. - Tibetian Tales. F. A. Shieffner. 2318. g. 7. Trübner & Co. - - -LEGENDS, MYTHS AND FAIRY-TALES. - - Classic Myths and Legends. A. H. Hope Moncrieff. 12403. ee. 6. The - Gresham Publishing House. - Myths and Folk-Tales of the Russians. Curtin. 2346. e. 6. Sampson Low. - North-West Slav Legends and Fairy Stories. Erben. (Translated by W. W. - Strickland.) 12430. i. 44. - Russian Fairy-Tales. Nisbet Pain. 12431. ee. 18. Lawrence and Bullen. - Sixty Folk-Tales from Slavonic Sources. Wratislau. 12431. dd. 29. - Elliot Stock. - Slavonic Fairy-Tales. F. Naake. 2348. b. 4. Henry S. King. - Slav Tales. Chodsho. (Translated by Emily J. Harding.) 12411. eee. 2. - George Allen. - Chinese Stories. Pitman. 12410. dd. 25. George Harrap & Co. - Chinese Fairy Tales. Professor Giles. 012201. de. 8. Govans - International Library. - Chinese Nights' Entertainment. Adèle Fielde. 12411. h. 4. - G. P. Putnam. - Maori Tales. K. M. Clark. 12411. h. 15. Macmillan & Co. - Papuan Fairy Tales. Annie Ker. 12410. eee. 25. Macmillan & Co. - Cornwall's Wonderland. Mabel Quiller Couch. 12431. r. 13. J. M. Dent. - Perrault's Fairy Tales. 012200. e. 8. “The Temple Classics.” - J. M. Dent. - Gesta Romanorum. 12411. e. 15. Swan Sonnenschein. - Myths and Legends of Japan. F. H. Davis. 1241. de. 8. G. Harrap & Co. - Old World Japan. Frank Rinder. 12411. eee. 3. George Allen. - Legendary Lore of All Nations. Swinton and Cathcart. 1241. f. 13. - Ivison, Taylor & Co. - Popular Tales from the Norse. Sir George Webbe Dasent. 12207. pp. - George Routledge and Son. - Fairy Tales from Finland. Zopelius. 12431. df. 2. J. M. Dent. - Fairy Gold. A Book of Old English Fairy Tales, chosen by Ernest Rhys. - 12411. dd. 22. J. M. Dent. - Contes Populaires du Vallon. Aug. Gittée. 12430. h. 44. (Written in - very simple style and easy of translation.) Wanderpooten Gand. - Tales of Old Lusitania. Coelho. 12431. e. 34. Swan Sonnenschein. - Tales from the Land of Nuts and Grapes. Charles Sellers. 12431. c. 38. - Simpkin, Marshall & Co. - The English Fairy Book. Ernest Rhys. 12410. dd. 29. Fisher Unwin. - Zuni Folk Tales. F. H. Cushing. 12411. g. 30. Putnam. - Manx Fairy Tales. Sophia Morrison. 12410. df. 10. David Nutt. - Legend of the Iroquois. W. V. Canfield. 12410. ff. 23. A Wessels - Company. - The Indian's Book. Natalie Curtis. 2346. i. 2. Harper Brothers. - Hansa Folk Lore. Rattray. 12431. tt. 2. Clarendon Press. - Japanese Folk Stories and Fairy Tales. Mary F. Nixon-Roulet. - 12450. ec. 18. Swan Sonnenschein. - Kaffir Folk Tales. G. M. Theal. 2348. e. 15. Swan Sonnenschein. - Old Hungarian Tales. Baroness Orczy and Montagu Barstow. 12411. f. 33. - Dean and Son. - Evening with the Old Story-tellers. G.B. 1155. e. I (1). James Burns. - Myths and Legends of Flowers. C. Skinner. 07029. h. 50. Lippincott. - The Book of Legends Told Over Again. Horace Scudder. 12430. e. 32. Gay - and Bird. - Indian Folk Tales (American Indian). Mary F. Nixon-Roulet. 12411. cc. - 14. D. Appleton Company. - - -ROMANCE. - - Epic and Romance. Professor W. P. Ker. 2310. c. 20. Macmillan. (As - preparation for the selection of Romance Stories.) - Old Celtic Romances. P. W. Joyce. 12430. cc. 34. David Nutt. - Heroes of Asgard. Keary. 012273. de. 6. Macmillan & Co. - Early British Heroes. Hartley. 12411. d. 5. J. M. Dent & Co. - A Child's Book of Saints. W. Canton. 12206. r. 11. J. M. Dent. - A Child's Book of Warriors. W. Canton. 04413. g. 49. J. M. Dent. - History of Ballads. Professor W. P. Ker. From “Proceedings of British - Academy.” 11852. Vol. 6 (9). - History of English Balladry. Egbert Briant. 011853. aaa. 16. - Richard G. Badger, Gorham Press. - Book of Ballads for Boys and Girls. Selected by Smith and Soutar. - 11622. bbb. 3. 7. The Clarendon Press. - A Book of Ballad Stories. Mary Macleod. 12431. p. 3. Wells, Gardner & - Co. - Captive Royal Children. G. T. Whitham. 10806. eee. 2. Wells, Gardner, - Darton & Co. - Tales and Talks from History. 9007. h. 24. Blackie & Son. - Stories from Froissart. Henry Newbolt. 9510. cc. 9. Wells, Gardner, - Darton & Co. - Pilgrim Tales from Chaucer. F. J. Harvey Darton. 12410. eee. 14. - Wells, Gardner & Darton. - Wonder Book of Romances. F. J. Harvey Darton. 12410. eee. 18. Wells, - Gardner & Darton. - Red Romance Book. Andrew Lang. 12411. bbb. 10. Longmans, Green & Co. - The Garden of Romance. Edited by Ernest Rhys. 12411. h. 17. - Kegan Paul. - The Kiltartan Wonderbook. Lady Gregory. 12450. g. 32. Maunsel & Co. - The Story of Drake. L. Elton. 10601. p. (From “The Children's Heroes” - Series.) - Tales from Arabian Nights. 012201. ff. 7/1. Blackie & Sons. - King Peter. Dion Calthrop, 012632. ccc. 37. Duckworth & Co. - Tales of the Heroic Ages: Siegfried, Beowulf, Frithjof, Roland. - Zenaide Ragozin. 12411. eee. G. P. Putnam. - - -TITLES OF MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS CONTAINING MATERIAL FOR NARRATION. - - Strange Adventures in Dicky Birdland. Kearton. 12809. ff. 45. Cassell - & Co. - Then and Now Stories: Life in England Then and Now; Children Then and - Now; Story-Tellers Then and Now. W.P. 2221. Macmillan & Co. - A Book of Bad Children. Trego Webb. 012808. ee. Methuen & Co. - Land of Play. Ada Wallas. 12813. r. 8. (The story of a Doll-Historian, - much appreciated by children.) Edward Arnold. - Tell It Again Stories (For very young children). Elizabeth Thompson - Dillingham and Adèle Pomers Emerson. 012808. cc. 15. Ginn and Co. - The Basket Woman. Mrs. Mary Austin. Houghton Mifflin Co. - The Queen Bee, and Other Stories. Evald. (Translated by C. C. Moore - Smith.) P.P. 6064 c. Nelson and Sons. - The Children and the Pictures. Pamela Tennant. 12804. tt. 10. William - Heinemann. - Stories from the History of Ceylon for Children. Marie Musaus Higgins. - Capper & Sons. - Nonsense for Somebody by A. Nobody. 12809. n. 82. Wells, Gardner & Co. - Graphic Stories for Boys and Girls. Selected from 3, 4, 5, 6 of the - Graphic Readers. 012866. f. Collins. - Child Lore. 1451. a. 54. Nimmo. - Windlestraw (Legends in Rhyme of Plants and Animals). Pamela - Glenconner. 011651. e. 76. Chiswick Press. - Deccan Nursery Tales. Kinaid. Macmillan. - The Indian's Story Book. Richard Wilson. Macmillan. - Told in Gallant Deeds. A Child's History of the War. Mrs. Belloc - Lowndes. Nisbet. - -I much regret that I have been unable to find a good collection of -stories from history for Narrative purposes. I have made a careful -and lengthy search, but apart from the few I have quoted the stories -are all written from the _reading_ point of view, rather than the -_telling_. There is a large scope for such a book, but the dramatic -presentation is the first and chief essential of such a work. These -stories could be used as supplementary to the readings of the great -historians. It would be much easier to interest boys and girls in the -more leisurely account of the historian when they have once been caught -in the fire of enthusiasm on the dramatic side. - -The following is a list of single stories chosen for the dramatic -qualities which make them suitable for narration. For the Press-marks -and the publishers it will be necessary to refer back to the list -containing the book-titles. - - -CLASSICAL STORIES RE-TOLD. - - The Story of Theseus (To be told in six parts for a series). - How Theseus Lifted the Stone. - How Theseus Slew the Corynetes. - How Theseus Slew Sinis. - How Theseus Slew Kerkyon and Procrustes. - How Theseus Slew Medea and was acknowledged as the Son of Ægeus. - How Theseus Slew the Minotaur. - (From Kingsley's Heroes. 012208. e. 22/26. Blackie & Son.) - The Story of Crœsus. - The Conspiracy of the Magi. - Arion and the Dolphin. - (From Wonder Tales from Herodotus. These are intended for reading, - but could be shortened for effective narration.) - Coriolanus. - Julius Cæsar. - Aristides. - Alexander. - (From Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls. These stories must be - shortened and adapted for narration.) - The God of the Spears: The Story of Romulus. - His Father's Crown: The story of Alcibiades. - (From Tales from Plutarch. F. J. Rowbotham. Both these stories to - be shortened and told in sections.) - - -INDIAN STORIES. - - The Wise Old Shepherd. - (From The Talking Thrush. Rouse.) - The Religious Camel. - (From the same source.) - Less Inequality than Men Deem. - The Brahman, the Tiger and the Six Judges. - Tit for Tat. - (From Old Deccan Days. Mary Frere.) - Pride Goeth Before a Fall. - Harisarman. - (From Jacob's Indian Fairy Tales.) - The Bear's Bad Bargain. - Little Anklebone. - Peasie and Beansie. - (From Wide Awake Stories. Flora Annie Steel.) - The Weaver and the Water Melon. - The Tiger and the Hare. - (From Indian Nights' Entertainment. Synnerton.) - The Virtuous Animals. - (This story should be abridged and somewhat altered for narration.) - The Ass as Singer. - The Wolf and the Sheep. - (From Tibetian Tales. F. A. Schieffur.) - A Story about Robbers. - (From Out of the Far East. Page. 131. Lafcadio Hearn. 10058. de. g. - Houghton and Mifflin.) - Dripping. - (From Indian Fairy Tales. Mark Thornhill. 12431. bbb. 38. Hatchard.) - The Buddha as Tree-Spirit. - The Buddha as Parrot. - The Buddha as King. - (From Eastern Stories and Fables. George Routledge.) - Raksas and Bakshas. - The Bread of Discontent. - (From Legendary Lore of All Nations. Cathcart and Swinton.) - A Germ-Destroyer. - Namgay Doola (A good story for boys, to be given in shortened form). - (From The Kipling Reader. 1227. t. 7. Macmillan.) - A Stupid Boy. - The Clever Jackal (One of the few stories wherein the Jackal shows - skill combined with gratitude). - Why the Fish Laughed. - (From Folk Tales of Kashmir. Knowles.) - - -COMMON SENSE AND RESOURCEFULNESS AND HUMOUR. - - The Thief and the Cocoanut Tree. - The Woman and the Lizard. - Sada Sada. - The Shopkeeper and the Robber. - The Reciter. - Rich Man's Potsherd. - Singer and the Donkey. - Child and Milk. - Rich Man Giving a Feast. - King Solomon and the Mosquitoes. - The King who Promised to Look After Tennel Ranan's Family. - Vikadakavi. - Horse and Complainant. - The Woman and the Stolen Fruit. - (From An Indian Tale or Two. Swinton. 14171. A. 20. Reprinted from - Blackheath Local Guide.) - - -TITLES OF BOOKS CONTAINING STORIES FROM HISTORY. - - British Sailor Heroes. - British Soldier Heroes. - (From the Hero Reader. W.P. 53 ⅓. William Heinemann.) - The Story of Alfred the Great. A. E. McKillan. - Alexander the Great. Ada Russell: W.P. 66/5. - The Story of Jean d'Arc. Wilmot Buxton. W.P. 66/1. - Marie Antoinette. Alice Birkhead. W.P. 66/2. - (All these are published by George Harrap.) - - -STORIES FROM THE LIVES OF SAINTS. - - The Children's Library of the Saints. Edited by Rev. W. Guy Pearse. - Printed by Richard Jackson. - (This is an illustrated penny edition.) - From the Legenda Aurea. 012200. de. - The Story of St. Brandon (The Episode of the Birds). Vol 7, page 52. - The Story of St. Francis. Vol. 6, page 125. - The Story of Santa Clara and the Roses. - Saint Elisabeth of Hungary. Vol. 6, page 213. - St. Martin and the Cloak. Vol. 6, page 142. - The Legend of St. Marjory. - (_Tales Facetiæ._ 12350. b. 39.) - Melangell's Lambs. - (From The Welsh Fairy Book. W. Jenkyn Thomas. Fisher Unwin.) - Our Lady's Tumbler. (Twelfth Century Legend told by Philip Wicksteed. - 012356. e. 59.) - (J. M. Dent. This story could be shortened and adapted without - sacrificing too much of the beauty of the style.) - The Song of the Minster. - (From William Canton's Book of Saints. K.T.C. a/4. J. M. Dent. - This should be shortened and somewhat simplified for narration, - especially in the technical ecclesiastical terms.) - The Story of St. Kenelm the Little King. - (From Old English History for Children.) - The Story of King Alfred and St. Cuthbert. - The Story of Ædburg, the Daughter of Edward. - The Story of King Harold's Sickness and Recovery. - -I commend all those who tell these stories to read the comments made on -them by E. A. Freeman himself. - - (From Old English History for Children. 012206. ppp. 7. J. M. Dent. - Everyman Series.) - - -STORIES DEALING WITH THE SUCCESS OF THE YOUNGEST CHILD. - -(This is sometimes due to a kind action shown to some humble person or -to an animal.) - - The Three Sons. - (From The Kiltartan Wonderbook. By Lady Gregory.) - The Flying Ship. - (From Russian Fairy Tales. Nisbet Pain.) - How Jesper Herded the Hares. - (From The Violet Fairy Book. 12411. ccc. 6.) - Youth, Life and Death. - (From Myths and Folk Tales of Russians and Slavs. By Curtin.) - Jack the Dullard. Hans Christian Andersen. - (See list of Andersen Stories.) - The Enchanted Whistle. - (From The Golden Fairy Book. 12411. c. 36.) - The King's Three Sons. - Hunchback and Brothers. - (From Legends of the French Provinces. 1241. c. 2.) - The Little Humpbacked Horse. (This story is more suitable for reading - than telling.) - (From Russian Wonder Tales. By Post Wheeler. 12410. dd. 30. Adam - and Charles Black.) - The Queen Bee. By Grimm. (See full list.) - The Wonderful Bird. - (From Roumanian Fairy Tales. Adapted by J. M. Percival. 12431. dd. - 23. Henry Holt.) - - -LEGENDS, MYTHS, FAIRY TALES AND MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. - - How the Herring became King. - Joe Moore's Story. - The Mermaid of Gob Ny Ooyl. - King Magnus Barefoot. - (From Manx Tales. By Sophia Morrison.) - The Greedy Man. - (From Contes Populaires Malgaches. By G. Ferrand. 2348. aaa. 19. - Ernest Leroux.) - Arbutus. - Basil. - Briony. - Dandelion. - (From Legends of Myths and Flowers. C. Skinner.) - The Magic Picture. - The Stone Monkey. - Stealing Peaches. - The Country of Gentlemen. - Football on a Lake. - (From Chinese Fairy Tales. Professor Giles.) - The Lime Tree. - Intelligence and Luck. - The Frost, the Sun and Wind. - (From Sixty Folk Tales. Wratislaw.) - The Boy who Slept. - The Gods Know. (This story must be shortened and adapted for - narration.) - (From Chinese Fairy Stories. By Pitman.) - The Imp Tree. - The Pixy Flower. - Tom-Tit Tot. - The Princess of Colchester. - (From Fairy Gold. Ernest Rhys.) - The Origin of the Mole. - (From Cossack Fairy Tales. Selected by Nisbet Bain. 12431. f. 51. - Lawrence and Bullen.) - Dolls and Butterflies. - (From Myths and Legends of Japan. Chapter VI.) - The Child of the Forest. - The Sparrow's Wedding. - The Moon Maiden. - (From Old World Japan. By Frank Binder.) - The Story of Merlin. (For Young People.) - (Told in Early British Heroes. Harkey.) - The Isle of the Mystic Lake. - (From Voyage of Maildun, “Old Celtic Romances.” P. W. Joice.) - The Story of Baldur. (In Three Parts, for Young Children.) - (From Heroes of Asgard. M. R. Earle. Macmillan.) - Adalhero. - (From Evenings with the Old Story-Tellers. See “Titles of Books.”) - Martin, the Peasant's Son. - (This is more suitable for reading. From Russian Wonder Tales. Post - Wheeler.) - - -MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. - - Versions of the Legend of Rip Van Winkle. - Urashima. - (From Myths and Legends of Japan. Hadland Davis.) - The Monk and the Bird. - (From the Book of Legends-Told Over Again. Horace Scudder.) - Carob. (Talmud Legend.) - (From Myths and Legends of Flowers. C. Skinner.) - The Land of Eternal Youth. - (From Child-Lore.) - Catskin. - Guy of Gisborne. - King Henry and the Miller. - (From Stories from Ballads. M. Macleod.) - The Legend of the Black Prince. - Why the Wolves no Longer Devour the Lambs on Xmas Night. - (From Au Pays des Legendes. E. Herpin. 12430. bbb. 30. Hyacinthe - Calliere.) - The Coyote and the Locust. - The Coyote and the Raven. - (From Zuni Folk Tales. Cushing.) - The Peacemaker. - (From Legends of the Iroquois. W. V. Canfield.) - The Story of the Great Chief of the Animals. - The Story of Lion and Little Jackal. - (From Kaffir Folk Tales. G. M. Theal.) - The Legend of the Great St. Nicholas. - The Three Counsels. - (From Bulletin de Folk Lore. Liege. Academies, 987 ½.) - The Tale of the Peasant Demyar. - Monkey and the Pomegranate Tree. - The Ant and the Snow. - The Value of an Egg. - The Padre and the Negro. - Papranka. - (From Tales of Old Lusitania. Coelho.) - Kojata. - The Lost Spear. (To be shortened.) - The Hermit. By Voltaire. - The Blue Cat. (From the French.) - The Silver Penny. - The Three Sisters. - The Slippers of Abou-Karem. - (From The Golden Fairy Book. 12411. e. 36. Hutchinson.) - The Fairy Baby. - (From Uncle Remus in Hansaland. By Mary and Newman Tremearne.) - Why the Sole of a Man's Foot is Uneven. - The Wonderful Hair. - The Emperor Trojan's Goat Ears. - The Language of Animals. - Handicraft above Everything. - Just Earnings are Never Lost. - The Maiden who was Swifter than a Horse. - (From Servian Stories and Legends.) - Le Couple Silencieux. - Le Mort Parlant. - La Sotte Fiancee. - Le Cornacon. - Persin au Pot. - (From Contes Populaires du Vallon. Aug. Gittée. 12430. h. 44.) - The Rat and the Cat. - The Two Thieves. - The Two Rats. - The Dog and the Rat. - (From Contes Populaires Malgaches. 2348. aaa. 19. Gab. Ferrand.) - Rua and Toka. - (From The Maori Tales. Clark.) - John and the Pig. (Old Hungarian Tales.) - (This story is given for the same purpose as “Long Bow Story.” See - Andrew Lang's Books.) - Lady Clare. - The Wolf-Child. - (From Land of Grapes and Nuts.) - The Ungrateful Man. - The Faithful Servant. (In part.) - Jovinian the Proud Emperor. - The Knight and the King of Hungary. - The Wicked Priest. - The Emperor Conrad and the Count's Son. - (From the Gesta Romanorum. 1155. e. I.) - Virgil, the Emperor and the Truffles. - (From Unpublished Legends of Virgil. Collected by C. G. Leland. - 12411. eee. 15. Elliot Stock.) - Seeing that All was Right. (A good story for boys.) - La Fortuna. - The Lanterns of the Strozzi Palace. - (From Legends of Florence. Re-told by C. G. Leland. 12411. c.cc. 2. - David Nutt.) - The Three Kingdoms. - Yelena the Wise. - Seven Simeons. - Ivan, the Bird and the Wolf. - The Pig, the Deer and the Steed. - Waters of Youth. - The Useless Wagoner. - (These stories need shortening and adapting. From Myths and Folk - Tales of the Russian. Curtin.) - - -MISCELLANEOUS STORIES TAKEN FROM THE ANDREW LANG BOOKS. - - The Serpent's Gifts. - Unlucky John. - (From All Sorts of Story Books. 012704. aaa. 35.) - Makoma. (A story for boys.) - (From Orange Fairy Book. 12411. c. 36.) - The Lady of Solace. - How the Ass Became a Man Again. - Amys and Amile. - The Burning of Njal. - Ogier the Dane. - (From Red Book of Romance. 12411. bbb. 10.) - The Heart of a Donkey. - The Wonderful Tune. - A French Puck. - A Fish Story. - (From The Lilac Fairy Book. 12411. de. 17.) - East of the Sun and West of the Moon. (As a preparation for Cupid and - Psyche.) - (From The Blue Fairy Book. 12411. I. 3.) - The Half Chick. - The Story of Hok Lee and the Dwarfs. - (From The Green Fairy Book. 12411.1. 6.) - How to Find a True Friend. (To be given in shorter form.) - (From The Crimson Fairy Book. 12411. c. 20.) - The Long Bow Story. (This story makes children learn to distinguish - between falsehood and romance.) - (From The Olive Fairy Book. 12410. dd. 18.) - Kanny, the Kangaroo. - Story of Tom the Bear. - (From The Animal Story Book.) - The Story of the Fisherman. - Aladdin and the Lamp. (This story should be divided and told in two - sections.) - The Story of Ali Cogia. - (From the Arabian Nights Stories of Andrew Lang. All these stories - are published by Longmans, Green & Co.) - - -The following titles are taken from the “Story-telling Magazine,” -published 27 West 23rd Street, New York. - - March and the Shepherd. - (Folk Lore from Foreign Lands. January, 1914.) - The Two Young Lions. - (From Fénélon's Fables and Fairy Tales. Translated by Marc T. - Valette. March, 1914.) - Why the Cat Spits at the Dog. (November, 1913.) - The Story of Persephone. By R. T. Wyche. (September, 1913.) - The Story of England's First Poet. By G. P. Krapp. - (From In Oldest England, July, 1913.) - The Three Goats. By Jessica Child. (For very young children. July, - 1913.) - The Comical History of the Cobbler and the King. (Chap. Book. 12331. - i. 4.) - (This story should be shortened to add to the dramatic power.) - - -The two following stories, which are great favourites, should be told -one after the other, one to illustrate the patient wife, and the other -the patient husband. - - The Fisherman and his Wife. Hans. C. Andersen. - (See Publishers of Andersen's Stories.) - Hereafter This. - (From More English Fairy Tales. By Jacobs. 12411. h. 23. David - Nutt.) - How a Man Found his Wife in the Land of the Dead. (This is a very - dramatic and pagan story, to be used with discretion.) - The Man without Hands and Feet. - The Cockerel. - (From Papuan Fairy Tales. Annie Ker.) - The Story of Sir Tristram and La Belle Iseult. (To be told in - shortened form.) - (From Cornwall's Wonderland. Mabel Quiller Couch.) - The Cat that Went to the Doctor. The Wood Anemone. Sweeter than Sugar. - The Raspberry Caterpillar. - (From Fairy Tales from Finland. Zopelius.) - Dinevan the Emu. - Goomble Gubbon the Bustard. - (From Australian Legendary Lore. By Mrs. Langloh Parker. 12411. h. - 13.) - The Tulip Bed. - (From English Fairy Book. Ernest Rhys.) - -I have been asked so often for this particular story: I am glad to be -able to provide it in very poetical language. - - The Fisherman and his Wife. - The Wolf and the Kids. - The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet. - The Old Man and his Grandson. - Rumpelstiltskin. - The Queen Bee. - The Wolf and the Man. - The Golden Goose. - (From Grimm's Fairy Tales. By Mrs. Edgar Lucas. 12410. dd. 33. - Constable.) - - -STORIES FROM HANS C. ANDERSEN. - -(For young children.) - - Ole-Luk-Oie. (Series of seven.) - What the Old Man Does is Always Right. - The Princess and the Pea. - Thumbelina. - -(For older children.) - - It's Quite True. - Five Out of One Pod. - Great Claus and Little Claus. - Jack the Dullard. - The Buckwheat. - The Fir-Tree. - The Little Tin Soldier. - The Nightingale. - The Ugly Duckling. - The Swineherd. - The Sea Serpent. - The Little Match-Girl. - The Gardener and the Family. - -The two best editions of Hans C. Andersen's Fairy Tales are the -translation by Mrs. Lucas, published by Dent, and the only complete -English edition, published by W. A. and J. K. Craigie (Humphrey -Milford, 1914). - - -MISCELLANEOUS MODERN STORIES. - - The Summer Princess. - (From The Enchanted Garden. Mrs. Molesworth. 012803. d. f. T. - Fisher Unwin. This could be shortened and arranged for narration.) - Thomas and the Princess. (A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, for pure - relaxation.) By Joseph Conrad. - (From Twenty-six Ideal Stories for Girls. 012809. e. 1. Hutchinson - & Co.) - The Truce of God. - (From All-Fellowes Seven Legends of Lower Redemption. Laurence - Housman. 012630. 1. 25. Kegan Paul.) - The Selfish Giant. By Oscar Wilde. 012356. e. 59. David Nutt. - The Legend of the Tortoise. - (From the Provençal. From Windestraw. Pamela Glenconner.) Chiswick - Press. - Fairy Grumblesnooks. - A Bit of Laughter's Smile. By Maud Symonds. - (From Tales for Little People. Nos. 323 and 318. Aldine Publishing - Company.) - The Fairy who Judged her Neighbours. - (From The Little Wonder Box. By Jean Ingelow. 12806. r. 21. - Griffiths, Farren & Co.) - - -FOR TEACHERS OF YOUNG CHILDREN. - - Le Courage. - L'Ecole. - Le Jour de Catherine. - Jacqueline et Mirant. - (From Nos Enfants. Anatole France. 12810. dd. 72. Hachette.) - The Giant and the Jackstraw. By David Starr Jordan. - (From Una and the Knights. For very small children.) - The Musician. - Legend of the Christmas Rose. - (From The Girl from the Marsh Croft. Selma Lagerlöf. 12581. p. 99.) - Both these should be shortened and adapted for narration. - -I trust that the titles of my stories in this Section may not be -misleading. Under the titles of “Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales,” -I have included many which contain valuable ethical teaching, deep -philosophy and stimulating examples for conduct in life. I regret that -I have not been able to furnish in my own list many of the stories I -consider good for narration, but the difficulty of obtaining permission -has deterred me from further efforts in this direction. I hope, -however, that teachers and students will look up the book containing -these stories. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[55] Both books dealing with insect life. - - - - -INDEX - - -Adler, Felix, on animal stories, 80 - -Adventures of a Beetle, 29 - -Alice in Wonderland, 57, 136 - -Analysis of motive and feeling, to be avoided, 43 - -Andersen, Hans C., 2, 15, 16, 21, 29, 31, 34, 39, 41, 44, 45, 62, 63, -80, 112, 116, 123, 124, 138, 150, 156, 232 - -Animal Play, Psychology of, 105 - -Art, true purpose of, 109 - -Arthur in the Cave, 165-9 - -Artifices of story telling, 32 - - -Bacon, J. D. D., 12 - -Ballad for a boy, 107 - -Baring, M., 193 - -Barnes, Earl, 60 - -Barnett, P. A., 104 - -Barnett, Mrs. P. A., 70 - -Barrow, E., 40 - -Beautiful things need appropriate language, 82 - -Beetle, the, 125 - -Beginning, should be striking, 39 - -Belloc's Cautionary Tales, 56 - -Béranger, 25 - -Bible Stories, 67 - -Björnson's tribute to Andersen, 116 - -Blazing Mansion, the, 74 - -Bluebeard, 76 - -Blue Rose, the, 187 - -‘Blugginess,’ the thirst for, 85 - -Books, choice of, 61 - -Bradley, Professor, 119 - -Brown, T. E., 17 - -Buddha, stories of, 87, 127, 200, 203 - -Buffoonery, to be discouraged, 54 - -Burroughs, John, 58, 108 - -Buster Brown, 53 - -Butterfly, Story of, 45 - - -Call of the Homeland, 71 - -Calypso, 93 - -Calthrop, Dion, 92 - -Carlyle, T., 115 - -Chap books, 51, 52 - -Chesterton, G. K., on sentimentality, 46 - -Child, the, 87 - -Child Play, 104, 105 - -Children's Catalogue, 211 - -Choice of books, 61 - -Christopher, St., legend of, 162-5 - -Cid, the, 133 - -Cinderella, 71, 90, 119, 120 - -Classical Stories, 218, 223 - -Class teaching, use of story-telling in, 132 - -Clifford, Ethel, 88 - -Clifford, Mrs. W. K., 40, 64 - -Commonplace, to be avoided, 99 - -Common sense of Education, 104 - -Common sense, illustrated in stories, 71, 224 - -Concealment of emotion by children, 114 - -Confucius, 60 - -Co-operation of audience, how to enlist, 37 - -Cory, W., 107 - -Coquelin, 27, 34 - -Crazy Jane, 47 - -Creative work, value of, 113 - -Curious Girl, 51 - -Curtin, Russian Myths, 90 - -Cymbeline, 94 - - -Danger of side issues, 6 - -Danger of altering the story for the occasion, 8 - -Darning Needle, 125 - -Death, stories dealing with, 86 - -Death-bed scenes, 55 - -Defence of Poesy, 5, 91, 110 - -Detail, excess of, 21 - -Dick Whittington, 100 - -Didactic fiction, a low type of art, 4, 59 - -Dido and Aeneas, 66 - -Difficulties of the story, 6 - -Dinkey Bird, the, 64 - -Direct appeal, danger of, 111 - -Divine Adventure, the, 81 - -Dobson, Austin, 21 - -Don Quixote, 21, 133 - -Dramatic and poetic elements, 134 - -Dramatic Excitement, 82 - -Dramatic joy, 4, 93 - -Dramatic presentation, of moral value, 59 - ----- indispensable, 89 - -Dramatisation, danger of, 111 - -Drudgery, essential for success, 29 - - -Educational uses of story telling, 4 - -Effect of story, difficult to gauge, 14 - ----- how to obtain and maintain, 89 - -Elements, desirable, 61 - ----- to be avoided, 42 - -Eliot, George, 83 - -Emotions, unable to find expression, 60 - -Emphasis, danger of, 33 - -Endings, dramatic, 40 - -Enfant Prodigue, 18 - -Environment, 95 - -Essentials of the story, 25 - -Ewing, Mrs., 50, 104, 106 - -Examples for Youth, 56 - -Experience, the appeal to, 62 - - -Fact and make-believe, 119 - -Fairchild Family, 44 - -Fairy tales, 58, 72, 73, 74, 75, 102, 104, 112 - ----- do not appeal to some, 121 - ----- mixed with science, to be avoided, 57 - ----- poor material of, 122 - ----- potential truth in, 121 - ----- right age for, 75 - -Father and Son, 102 - -Fear, appeals to, 51 - -Fénélon's Telemachus, 92 - -Festival Day, true spirit of, 200-3 - -Fiction, should be used, 109 - -Field, Eugene, 64, 69 - -Filial Piety, 203-6 - -Fleming, Marjorie, 53 - -Folk lore, tampering with, 76 - -Freeman, P., poems of, 55 - -Froebel, 59 - -Fun, coarse and exaggerated, 53 - - -Gales, R. L., 101 - -Geography, dramatic possibilities of, 134 - -Gesture, use and abuse of, 35, 126 - -Glenconner, Lady, 187 - -Glover, Mrs. Arnold, 96 - -Golden Numbers, 71 - -Goschen, G., 65, 99 - -Gosse, E., 102 - -Gregory, Lady, 24 - -Grimm, 71 - -Groos, Karl, 105 - -Grotesque stories, an antidote to sentimentality, 78 - -Gunnar, Death of, 133 - - -Hafiz the Stone-cutter, 170-2 - -Harris, Muriel, 56 - -Harrison, Frederic, 61 - -Hearn, Lafcadio, 31 - -Hector and Andromache, 66 - -Helen and Paris, 8 - -Heroes of Asgaard, 65 - -History and fiction, 109, 225 - -Honey Bee and other Stories, 57 - -Human interest, 93 - -Humour, development slow, 136 - ----- educational value of, 135 - ----- to encourage the sense of, 4, 73, 224 - -Hushaby Lady, 69 - -Hysteria, how encouraged, 60 - - -Ice Maiden, 80 - -Ideal, translated into action, 4, 110 - -Illustration of stories, 131 - -Imagination, appeal by, 20 - ----- cultivation of, 4, 65, 103 - ----- Queyrat on, 118 - ----- Ribot on, 105 - -Indian Stories, 81, 91, 218 - -Infant piety, tales of, 55 - -Irish peasants as an audience, 10 - - -Jack and the Beanstalk, 74, 121 - -Jacob, More English tales, 72 - -James, Henry, 27 - -James, William, 84 - -Janeway, Mrs., 51 - -Jesper and the Hares, 72 - -John and the Pig, 106 - - -Keatinge, on Suggestion, 34 - -Kimmins, Dr., 130 - -Kinematograph, dramatic value of, 18, 48 - -King Peter, 92 - -Kinship with animals, to be encouraged, 80 - -Ker, Professor, 157 - -Kipling, Rudyard, 38, 39, 40, 41, 123, 127 - - -Ladd's Psychology, 108 - -Lang, Andrew, 72, 73, 85, 230 - -Laocoon group, 55 - -Lear's Book of Nonsense, 79 - -Legends, Myths and Fairy tales, 219, 227 - -Life, stories of saving, 86 - -Little Citizens of other Lands, 103 - -Little Cousin Series, 214 - -Little Red Riding Hood, 76 - -Lion and Hare, 126 - -Loti, 114 - - -Magnanimity, to be encouraged, 107 - -Mahomet, advice to teachers, 68 - -McKracken, Mrs. E., 45 - -Macleod, Fiona, 81 - -Marsh King's Daughter, 62 - -Mechanical devices for attracting attention, 32 - -Memory or improvisation, 123 - -Memory, the effect of, 63 - -Mentius, Chinese philosopher, 95 - -Metempsychosis, 81 - -Milking time, 68 - -Mill on the Floss, 83 - -Milton, 69 - -Mimicry, use of, 36 - -Ministering Children, 44 - -Miscellaneous Stories, 222, 228 - -Modern Stories, List of, 233 - -Montessori, on Silence, 131 - -Moore Smith, C. G., 57 - -Moral Instruction of Children, 81 - -Moral tales, 55 - -Morley, Henry, 58 - -Morley, Lord, on direct moral teaching, 128 - -Mother Play, 59 - -Moulton, Professor, 67 - - -Napoleon, 85, 134 - -Nebuchadnezzar's golden image, 67 - -Necker de Saussure, Mme., 20 - -Nightingale, the, 138-150 - -Njal, Burning of, 85, 133 - -Nonsense, a plea for, 79 - -Norse Stories, 210 - -Nursery Rhymes, 101 - - -Old people, as an audience, 24 - -Openings, vivid, 39, 40 - -Orpheus and Eurydice, 66 - -Our Lady's Tumbler, 123 - -Over dramatic stimulation, 48 - -Over-elaboration, 21 - -Over explanation, danger of, 23 - -Over-illustration, danger of, 17 - - -Pandora, story of, 123 - -Pantomime, stories in, 18 - -Paris and Helen, 8 - -Pausing, the art of, 33 - -Piety Promoted, 57 - -Planting for Eternity, 115 - -Plato, on the End of Education, 91 - -Poetic element, children's unexpressed need, 135 - -Poetry and Life, 119 - -Poetry, effect of, 119 - -Poetry, value of, 69 - -Polish, importance of, 31 - -Poor Robin, 55 - -Priggishness, how to avoid, 51 - -Preparation for a story, 124 - -Princess and the Pea, 34, 156-7 - -Proud Cock, the, 178-180 - -Psyche, 120 - -Psychology, 108 - -Psychological novelist, 108 - -Pueblo tribe of Indians, 91 - -Puss in Boots, 108 - - -Quebec and Téméraire, story of, 107 - -Questions, danger of, 13 - -Questions of teachers, 117 - -Questioning the audience, futility of, 130 - -Queyrat, 19, 23, 63, 106, 113, 118 - -Quintilian, on the use of the hands, 35 - - -Reading matter for children, 211 - -Realism, excessive, 49 - -Repetition of story (by children) inadvisable, 130 - -Repetition of stories (by lecturers) recommended, 30, 62 - -Reproduction of stories, 112, 130 - -Resourcefulness, stories of, 71, 224 - -Ribot, on the imagination, 34, 105 - -Riley, Whitcomb, 100 - -Romance, Books of, 85, 221 - -Romance, good for children, 66 - ----- in the streets, 97 - -Rossetti, Christina, 68 - -Russell, J., 161 - -Russian myths and folk tales, 90 - - -Saga, a, 160, 161 - -Saints, lives of, 225 - -St. Christopher, Legend of, 162-5 - -St. Francis and St. Clare, 66 - -Santa Claus, 122 - -Sarcasm, excess to be avoided, 44 - -Satire, excessive, to be deprecated, 44 - -Saturation, necessity of, 27 - -Scott, Dr., 71 - -Scudder, H., 111, 124 - -Sensationalism, danger of, 47 - -Sentimentality, 45 - -Shakespeare, 69, 96 - -Shepherd, the Obstinate, 172-8 - -Sherwood, Mrs., 52 - -Side issues, danger of, 6 - -Sidney, Sir Philip, 85, 91, 110 - -Siegfried and Brunhild, 66 - -Silence, Montessori on, 131 - -Simplicity, the keynote of story-telling, 2 - -Smith, Mrs. R. B., 14 - -Smith, N. A., 71 - -Snake story, a, 195-200 - -Snegourka, 180-2 - -Snow Child, the, 180-2 - -Somerset, Lady H., 110 - -Song and Story, 70 - -Song of Roland, 85 - -Souvenirs du Peuple, 25 - -Standard, must be high, 23 - -Sterne, 44 - -Stephens, James, 47 - -Stevenson, R. L., 104, 105, 123 - -Stories, in full, 138 - ----- to counteract influence of the streets, 93 - ----- outside children's experience, futility of, 48 - -Story telling in school and home, 210 - -Story Telling Magazine, 231 - -Sturla, story of, 157-160 - -Suggestion, 32, 34, 59 - -Sully, on children, 30, 90 - -Sunday books, 56 - -Swineherd, the, 150-156 - -Sympathy for foreigners, 103 - -Syrett, N., 118 - - -Talking over a story, 129 - -Talking Thrush, the, 200 - -Talks to teachers, 85 - -Teachers of Young Children, books for, 234 - -Telemachus, 92 - -Tell, Wilhelm, 30 - -Tennant, Pamela, 187 - -Thackeray, 135 - -Thomas, W. Jenkyn, 169 - -Three Bears, 121 - -Through the Looking Glass, 90 - -Tiger, Jackal and Brahman, 11 - -Time, spent on story telling, 117 - -Tin Soldier, the, 63, 64, 124, 129 - -Top and Ball, 125 - -To your good health, 172-8 - -Treasure of the Wise Man, 100 - -Troy, tale of, 8 - -Truth, many-sided, 122 - -Truth of Stories, 118 - -Truth and Falsehood, how to distinguish, 106 - -Two Frogs, the, 193-5 - - -Ulysses, 7, 93 - -Unfamiliar words, danger of, 10 - -United States, 31, 33, 49 - -Unsuitable material for stories, 42 - -Unusual element, desirable, 64 - -Unwholesome Extravagance, 53 - -Utilitarian stories, danger of, 99 - - -Very Short Stories, 64 - -Virginibus Puerisque, 104 - -Voice, dramatic power of, 17 - - -Wallas, K., 71 - -Warlike Excitement, not essential, 87 - -Water Nixie, the, 183-7 - -Wide, Wide World, 44 - -Wiggin, Kate Douglas, 48, 71 - -Wise Old Shepherd, the, 195-200 - -Wolf and Kids, 78 - - -Yonge, Miss, 54 - -Youngest Child, success of, 226 - - - - -_Sherratt and Hughes, Printers, London and Manchester._ - - - - -MURRAY'S SHILLING LIBRARY - -_In Red Cloth, crown 8vo., 1/-net each._ - - - =THE SCHOOLMASTER.= A Commentary upon the Aims and Methods of an - Assistant Master in a Public School. By A. C. BENSON, C.V.O., - President of Magdalene College, Cambridge. - -This book is the fruits of the experience of one who has gained -distinction both as a schoolmaster and as a man of letters. It is not a -scientific educational treatise, but an attempt to consider the life of -the schoolmaster from within. - - =GOLDEN STRING.= A Day Book for Busy Men and Women. Arranged by - SUSAN, COUNTESS OF MALMESBURY, and Miss VIOLET BROOKE-HUNT. - -“An admirable selection of noble and inspiring thoughts.”--_Westminster -Gazette_. - -“Delightful little volume, one can find nothing but praise for a happy -idea so admirably carried out.”--_Ladies' Field_. - - =RUNNING THE BLOCKADE.= A Personal Narrative of Adventures, Risks, - and Escapes during the American Civil War. By THOMAS E. TAYLOR. - Frontispiece and Map. - -An absorbing record of personal adventure, and a real contribution to -history, for it presents to us, from the pen of a principal actor, the -most complete account we have of a great blockade in the early days -of steam. As a picture of exciting escapes, of coolness and resource -at moments of danger, of well-calculated risks, boldly accepted and -carried through, it has few rivals in sea story. - - =HISTORICAL MEMORIALS OF CANTERBURY.= By the late DEAN STANLEY. - With Illustrations. - -“No pilgrim to Canterbury need now content himself with the meagre -historical information of the guide-books when he can get Dean -Stanley's fascinating work for one shilling.”--_The Church Times_. - - =LIVINGSTONE'S FIRST EXPEDITION TO AFRICA=. A popular account - of Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa. By DAVID - LIVINGSTONE, M.D. With Map and numerous Illustrations. - -This is the great missionary-explorer's own narrative of his first -travel experiences in Africa, and consists chiefly of a full account of -his wonderful journeys in the years 1849-1856, in the course of which -he discovered the Victoria Falls, and crossed the continent from west -to east. - - =THE GATHERING OF BROTHER HILARIUS.= By MICHAEL FAIRLESS. - -Through this little book runs the road of life, the common road of men, -the white highway that Hilarius watched from the monastery gate and -Brother Ambrose saw nearing its end in the Jerusalem of his heart. The -book is a romance. It may be read as a romance of the Black Death and -a monk with an artist's eye; but for the author it is a romance of the -Image of God. - - =AN ENGLISHWOMAN'S LOVE LETTERS.= By LAURENCE HOUSMAN. - -Mr. T. P. O'Connor in the _Daily Mail_ said:--“I turned over the -leaves rapidly, almost greedily, and had read almost all its story -before I could allow myself to sleep.... It is a loud cry, not merely -of one intoxicated and torn heart, but of the claim of inner and true -emotion to be still the greatest force of life; the one thing worth -having--worth living for, longing for, dying for.” - - =ÆSOP'S FABLES.= A New Version, chiefly from the original sources. - By the Rev. THOMAS JAMES, M.A. With more than 100 Woodcuts - designed by TENNIEL and WOLFE. - -Sir John Tenniel's beautiful illustrations are a notable feature of -this edition of “the most popular moral and political class-book of -more than two thousand years.” - - =THE LION HUNTER IN SOUTH AFRICA.= Five Years' Adventures in the - Far Interior of South Africa, with Notices of the Native Tribes - and Savage Animals. By ROUALEYN GORDON CUMMING, of Altyre. With - Woodcuts. - -This sporting classic is a fascinating first-hand narrative of hunting -expeditions in pursuit of big game and adventures with native tribes. -A special interest now attaches to it by reason of the great changes -which have come over the “scene of the lion hunter's” exploits. - - =UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN.= An Account of Travels in the Interior, - including visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrine of - Nikkô. By Mrs. BISHOP (ISABELLA L. BIRD). With Illustrations. - -This book gives practically Mrs. BISHOP'S day to day experiences during -journeys of over one hundred and four thousand miles in Japan. As a -faithful and realistic description of Old Japan by one of the most -remarkable Englishwomen of her day, this book has an abiding interest. - - =NOTES FROM A DIARY.= First Series. By SIR MOUNTSTUART E. GRANT - DUFF. - -Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff, besides being a distinguished -public-servant, was a popular member of society with a genius for -gathering and recording good stories. In his series of “Notes from a -Diary” he jotted down the best things he heard, and thereby made some -enjoyable volumes. - - =LAVENGRO: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Priest.= By GEORGE BORROW. - With 6 Pen and Ink Sketches by PERCY WADHAM. - -This edition contains the unaltered text of the original issue: with -the addition of some Suppressed Episodes printed only in the Editions -issued by Mr. Murray; MS. Variorum, Vocabulary, and Notes by the late -Professor W. I. KNAPP. - - =OUR ENGLISH BIBLE.= The Story of its Origin and Growth. By H. W. - HAMILTON HOARE, late of Balliol College, Oxford, now an Assistant - Secretary to the Board of Education, Whitehall. With Specimen - Pages of Old Bibles. - -An historical sketch of the lineage of our Authorised Version, which -was published in 1901 under the title of “The Evolution of the English -Bible.” - -The aim of the sketch is to give, in a continuous and narrative form, -a history of our English translations, and to exhibit them in close -connection with the story of the national life. - - =THE LETTERS OF QUEEN VICTORIA. A Selection from her Majesty's - correspondence between the years 1837 and 1861.= Edited by A. C. - BENSON, M.A., C.V.O., and VISCOUNT ESHER, G.C.V.O., K.C.B. With 16 - Portraits. 3 vols. 1_s._ net each volume. - -Published by authority of his Majesty King Edward VII. This edition is -not abridged, but is the complete and revised text of the original. - - =ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION.= By CHARLES - DARWIN. Popular impression of the Corrected Copyright Edition. - Issued with the approval of the author's executors. - -The first edition of Darwin's “Origin of Species” has now passed out of -copyright. - -It should, however, be clearly understood that the edition which thus -loses its legal protection is the imperfect edition which the author -subsequently revised and which was accordingly superseded. This, the -complete and authorised edition of the work, will not lose copyright -for some years. - -The only complete editions authorised by Mr. Darwin and his -representatives are those published by Mr. Murray. - - =ROUND THE HORN BEFORE THE MAST.= An Account of a Voyage from - San Francisco round Cape Horn to Liverpool, in a Fourmasted - “Windjammer,” with experiences of the life of an Ordinary Seaman. - By BASIL LUBBOCK. With Illustrations. - -_The Sheffield Independent_ says:--“If you care to read what life at -sea in a sailing vessel really is like, this is the book that tells the -story.... Mr. Lubbock has a fine power of telling a tale realistically. -I have never read any work about the sea that is as vivid and actual as -this.” - - =ENGLISH BATTLES AND SIEGES IN THE PENINSULA.= By LIEUT.-GEN. SIR - WILLIAM NAPIER, K.C.B. With Portrait. - -In spite of the countless books which have appeared on the Peninsular -War, this great work has preserved its popularity as a standard book on -the subject for over half a century and still holds its own when most -rivals, which have appeared since, have become forgotten. - - =STUDIES IN THE ART OF RAT-CATCHING.= By H. C. BARKLEY. - -“Should the reader know of a schoolboy fond of ratting, the proud -possessor possibly of a sharp terrier, and, maybe, a few ferrets, and -wish to bestow a present upon him, the memory of which would last -throughout his life, we could not do better than advise him to purchase -this most pleasantly-written book and bestow it upon him.”--_Field._ - - =THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.= By the Right Rev. CHARLES GORE, D.D., - LL.D., Bishop of Oxford. - -Cultured and scholarly, and yet simple and luminous, eloquent in tone -and graceful in diction, practical and stimulating, it is far and away -the best exposition of the Sermon on the Mount that has yet appeared. - - =THE HOUSE OF QUIET. An Autobiography.= By A. C. BENSON. - -“The House of Quiet” is an autobiography, and something more--a series -of very charming essays on people and life. The writer has placed -himself in the chair of an invalid, an individual possessed of full -mental vigour and free from bodily pain, but compelled by physical -weakness to shirk the rough and tumble of a careless, unheeding, -work-a-day world. He writes with a pen dipped in the milk of human -kindness, and the result is a book to read time and again. - - =THE THREAD OF GOLD.= By A. C. BENSON. - -_The Guardian_ says:--“The style of the writing is equally simple and -yet dignified; from beginning to end an ease of movement charms the -reader. The book is abundantly suggestive.... The work is that of a -scholar and a thinker, quick to catch a vagrant emotion, and should be -read, as it was evidently written, in leisure and solitude. It covers a -wide range--art, nature, country life, human character, poetry and the -drama, morals and religion.” - - =THE PAINTERS OF FLORENCE. From the 13th to the 16th Centuries.= By - JULIA CARTWRIGHT (Mrs. ADY). With Illustrations. - -Mrs. Ady is a competent and gifted writer on Italian painting, and -presents in these 350 pages an excellent history of the splendid art -and artists of Florence during the golden period from Cimabue and -Giotto to Andrea del Sarto and Michelangelo. - - =A LADY'S LIFE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.= By Mrs. BISHOP (ISABELLA L. - BIRD). With Illustrations. - -_The Irish Times_ says:--“‘A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains’ needs -no introduction to a public who have known and admired Mrs. Bishop -(Isabella L. Bird) as a fearless traveller in the days when it was -something of an achievement for a woman to undertake long and remote -journeys.” - - =THE LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE.= By WILLIAM GARDEN BLAIKIE. With - Portrait. - -This is the standard biography of the great missionary who will for -ever stand pre-eminent among African travellers. - - =DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING; or, Anecdotes of the British Navy.= By - EDWARD GIFFARD. - -This work contains ninety-three anecdotes, told in everyday language, -of such traits of courage and feats of individual daring as may best -serve to illustrate the generally received idea of the British sailor's -character for “courage verging on temerity.” - - =SINAI AND PALESTINE in connection with their History.= By the late - DEAN STANLEY. With Maps. - -“There is no need, at this time of day, to praise the late Dean -Stanley's fascinating story of his travels in Palestine. It is enough -to say that here Mr. Murray has given us, for the sum of one shilling -net, a delightful reprint of that charming book, with maps and plans -and the author's original advertisement and prefaces. We would -especially commend this cheap storehouse of history, tradition, and -observation to Bible students.”--_Dundee Courier._ - - =THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS.= A Record of Adventures, - Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life, and - Aspects of Nature under the Equator, during Eleven Years - of Travel. By H. W. BATES, F.R.S. Numerous Illustrations. - -A most readable record of adventures, sketches of Brazilian and Indian -life, habits of animals, and aspects of nature under the Equator during -eleven years of travel. - - * * * * * - -WORKS OF SAMUEL SMILES. - -Few books in the whole history of literature have had such wide -popularity or such healthy and stimulating effect as the works of -Samuel Smiles during the last half-century. How great men have attained -to greatness and successful men achieved success is the subject of -these enthralling volumes, which are now brought within the reach of -all. - - =SELF-HELP. With Illustrations of Conduct and Perseverance.= With - Portrait. - - =LIFE AND LABOUR; or, Characteristics of Men of Industry, Culture, - and Genius.= - - =CHARACTER. A Book of Noble Characteristics.= With Frontispiece. - - =JAMES NASMYTH, Engineer and Inventor of the Steam Hammer.= An - Autobiography. Portrait and Illustrations. - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - -Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation -inconsistencies have been silently repaired. - -Corrections. - -The first line indicates the original, the second the correction. - -p. 72: - - is “What the Old Man does is alway Right.” - is “What the Old Man does is always Right.” - -p. 91: - - I remember the surprise which which, when I had grown somewhat older - I remember the surprise which, when I had grown somewhat older - -p. 126: - - and practice will make make you more and more critical - and practice will make you more and more critical - -p. 234: - - (From The Girl from the Marsh Croft. Selma Lagelöf. 12581. p. 99.) - (From The Girl from the Marsh Croft. Selma Lagerlöf. 12581. p. 99.) - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Art of Story-Telling, by Marie L. Shedlock - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ART OF STORY-TELLING *** - -***** This file should be named 61340-0.txt or 61340-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/3/4/61340/ - -Produced by MFR, Eleni Christofaki and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. 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: 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. - |