Chapter XV: Act III: ,

Scene i. The Marquis bathing and Puss by the river-side.
Scene ii. The Drive. Puss runs before and meets the mowers.
Scene iii. The Ogre's Castle. Puss's reception of the coach.
Marriage of the Marquis of Carabas. Puss
becomes a Lord.

The tale possesses an appeal to the emotions, we want Puss-in-Boots to accomplish whatever scheme he invents, and we want the Miller's son to win the Princess. Its appeal to the imagination is an orderly succession of images, varied and pleasing. The invention of Puss and his successful adventures make the tale one of unusual interest, vivacity, and force. The transformation of the Ogre into a Lion and again into a Mouse, and the consequent climax of Puss's management of the Mouse, bring in the touch of the miraculous. A similar transformation occurs in Hesiod, where the transformed Metis is swallowed by Zeus. This transformation may be produced by a witch, when the help of another is needed, as in _Beauty and the Beast_ and in _Hansel and Grethel_; or the transformation may come from within, as in this case when the Ogre changes himself into a Mouse, or when a man changes himself into a Wolf. A situation which parallels the theme of Puss-in-Boots occurs in _The Golden Goose_ where Dummling gets as his share only a goose, but having the best disposition makes his fortune out of his goose. Grimm's _Three Feathers_ also contains a similar motif. D'Aulnoy's _White Cat_, the feminine counterpart of _Puss-in-Boots_, is a tale of pleasing fancy in which the hero wins the White Cat, a transformed Princess, who managed to secure for him, the youngest son, the performance of all the tasks his father had set for him.

But the most interesting parallel of _Puss-in-Boots_ is the Norse _Lord Peter_ told by Dasent in _Norse Tales_. Here the helpful Cat does not use a bag, but in true Norse fashion catches game in the wood by sitting on the head of the reindeer and threatening, "If you don't go straight to the King's palace, I'll claw your eyes out!" The Norse tale omits the bathing episode. The King wants to visit Lord Peter but the Cat manages that Lord Peter shall visit the King. The Cat promises to supply coach, horses and clothes, not by craft--their source is not given--but they are furnished on the condition that Peter must obey to say always, when he sees fine things in the Castle, that he has far finer things of his own. In the Norse tale Peter and the Cat work together, Peter is in the secret; while in the Perrault tale Puss does all the managing, Carabas is simply being entertained by the King. In the Norse tale, on the way home the coach meets a flock of sheep, a herd of fine kine, and a drove of horses. The Cat does not threaten that the caretakers shall be "chopped as fine as herbs for the pot," if they do not say all belongs to Lord Peter, but he cunningly bribes the shepherd with a silver spoon, the neat-herd with a silver ladle, and the drover with a silver stoop. In place of the Ogre's Castle, there is a Troll's Castle with three gates--one of tin, one of silver, and one of gold. The Norse Cat wins the victory by craftily playing upon the troll-nature. He gains the Troll's attention by meeting him at the gate and telling him about the secrets of agriculture, one of the secrets of men the trolls wanted to learn. Then at the height of interest, he plays upon his curiosity by getting him to look round. Whereupon, the Troll, meeting the glare of the full sun, burst; for trolls cannot bear the sight of the sun, and live. In the Norse tale, the Cat, after Lord Peter at her request cuts off her head, becomes the Princess and marries Lord Peter. In Perrault's tale, the King, with French etiquette and diplomacy, invites the Marquis to be his son-in-law.

The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ appeared in _Straparola_, 11, 1, and in _Basile_, 2, 4. Laboulaye, in his _Last Fairy Tales_, has retold the Pentamerone tale, _Gagliuso_, in which the Cat is a crafty advocate of his Master's interests, but the Master is ungrateful and forgets the Cat. The effect of the tale is not pleasing, it is a satire on gratitude.

The _Story of Puss-in-Boots_ is also told by Ludwig Tieck, with twelve etchings by Otto Speckter, published in Leipzig, in 1843. A critic, writing for the Quarterly Review in 1844, "An Article on Children's Books,"[17] recommended this edition of _Puss-in-Boots_ as the beau ideal of nursery books. _Puss-in-Boots_ appeared also in the Swedish of Cavallius. A monograph on the Carabas tale has been written by Andrew Lang.

_Tom Thumb and Little Thumb_

_Tom Thumb_, another romantic tale suited to the first grade, is one of the most entertaining of tales. The germ of _Tom Thumb_ exists in various forms in the books of the far East, among American Indians, and among the Zulus of South Africa. Tom Thumb is one of the oldest characters in English nursery literature. In 1611, the ancient tales of Tom Thumb were said to have been "in the olde time the only survivors of drouzy age at midnight. Old and young, with his tales chim'd mattens till the cock's crow in the morning. Batchelors and maids have with his tales compassed the Christmas fireblocke till the curfew bell rings candle out. The old shepheard and the young plowboy, after a days' labour, have carol'ed out a _Tale of Tom Thumb_ to make them merry with, and who but little Tom hath made long nights seem short and heavy toyles easie."

_Tom Thumb_, as has been previously mentioned, most probably was transmitted to England by the early Norsemen. _The Tale of Tom Thumb_, as told by Jacobs, was taken from the chap-book version in _Halliwell_. The first mention of Tom is in Scot's _Discoverie of Witchcraft_, in 1584. Tradition says that Tom died at Lincoln, which was one of the five Danish towns of England. A little blue flagstone in the cathedral, said to be his tombstone, was lost and has never been replaced during recent repairs early in the nineteenth century. _Tom Thumb_ was first written in prose by Richard Johnson, in 1621. In Ashton's _Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century_ we have a facsimile of the chap-book, _The Famous History of Tom Thumb_. The tale is in three parts. The first part, which is much superior to the rest of the tale, was taken from a copy printed for John Wright, in 1630. The second and third parts were written about 1700. The first part closes with the death of Tom from knightly feats. He was buried in great pomp, but the fairies carried him to Fairy Land. The first part closed with a promise of the second:--

The Fairy Queen, she lov'd him so
As you shall understand,
That once again she let him go
Down to the Fairy Land.

The very time that he return'd
Unto the court again,
It was as we are well inform'd
In good King Arthur's reign.

When in the presence of the King,
He many wonders wrought,
Recited in the Second Part
Which now is to be bought

In Bow Church Yard, where is sold
Diverting Histories many;
And pleasant tales as e'er was told
For purchase of One Penny.

The second part opens with Tom's return to Fairy Land. His second death is caused by a combat with a cat. Again he is taken to Fairy Land. In the third part the Fairy Queen sends Tom to earth in King Thunston's reign. His final death occurred from the bite of a spider.

_The Life and Adventures of Tom Thumb_ appeared in the _Tabart Collection of Fairy Tales_, noted before, and a version entirely in verse was included in _Halliwell_. A monograph on _Tom Thumb_ was written by M. Gaston Paris. _Little Thumb_ as it appeared in _Perrault_ and in _Basile_, was a tale similar to the German _Hansel and Grethel_. _Thumbling_, and _Thumbling as Journeyman_ are German variants. Andersen's _Thumbelina_ is a feminine counterpart to _Tom Thumb_, and in Laboulaye's _Poucinet_ we have a tale of the successful younger brother, similarly diminutive.

There were current many old stories of characters similar to Tom Thumb. A certain man was so thin that he could jump through the eye of a needle. Another crept nimbly to a spider's web which was hanging in the air, and danced skillfully upon it until a spider came, which spun a thread round his neck and throttled him. A third was able to pierce a sunmote with his head and pass his whole body through it. A fourth was in the habit of riding an ant, but the ant threw him off and trampled him. In a work written in 1601, referred to in Grimm's _Household Tales_ a spider relates:--

Once did I catch a tailor proud
Heavy he was as elder wood,
From Heaven above he'd run a race,
With an old straw hat to this place,
In Heaven he might have stayed no doubt,
For no one wished to turn him out.
He fell in my web, hung in a knot,
Could not get out, I liked it not,
That e'en the straw hat, safe and sound,
Nine days ere him came to the ground.

A delightful little rhyme, _Tom Thumb_, is among Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_. It may refer to the Danish _History of Tom Thumb_:

I had a little husband
No bigger than my thumb;
I put him in a pint pot
And there I bade him drum:
I bridled him and saddled him,
And sent him out of town;
I gave him a pair of garters
To tie up his little hose;
And a little handkerchief
To wipe his little nose.

The English version of _Tom Thumb_ as we know it today, opens with a visit of the magician Merlin at the cottage of an honest and hospitable ploughman. Merlin rewarded the Goodman and his Wife for their hospitality by calling on the Queen of the fairies, who brought to the home, Tom Thumb, a boy no bigger than a man's thumb.

The time of the tale is in the days of Merlin and King Arthur's court. The tale is marked by a number of distinct English elements. The introduction of the Queen of the Fairies, of Fairy Land and the visit there, and of the fairy clothes they make for Tom, are all decidedly English. The sly ways of Tom, his tricks and his cleverness are distinctly English humor. He played with the boys for cherry-stones, and took theirs. He had so much curiosity that he fell into his mother's pudding. He was so light that on a windy day he had to be tied to a thistle when his mother went to milk the cow; and so, with his oak-leaf hat, he got caught in the cow's one mouthful. After other strange adventures he arrived at King Arthur's court where he became the favorite. His feats at tilts and tournaments give a glimpse of English court life, with its pastime of hunting; and fighting with the sword brings in the knight element. The story has little plot, being a succession of many episodes and a repetition of some. It shows little constructive ability, promises to be a perpetual tale, and is ended only by sudden death at the poisonous breath of the spider. _Tom Thumb_ is one of the tales of pure fancy, with no underlying meaning, created for pure entertainment, to please children and grown-ups by its little people and little things. The moral is in the effect of Tom's character.

Perrault's _Little Thumb_ tells how a poor Fagot-maker and his Wife sat by the hearth, sad with famine, and Little Thumb overheard their words. When they started to the wood to gather fagots, Little Thumb, like Hansel, scattered pebbles. The parents left the seven children in the wood but little Thumb guided them home by his pebbles. They set out a second time, when Little Thumb scattered bread-crumbs; and as the birds ate them, the children were lost. Little Thumb climbed a tree and saw the light of the Ogre's cottage afar off. The children reached the Ogre's cottage where Little Thumb changed the golden crowns of the seven little Ogresses, and putting them on his brothers, saved their lives. Then they all fled through the wood and hid in a rock, while the Ogre in his seven-league boots, pursued them and lay down to rest at the rock in which they were hidden. Little Thumb sent his brothers home, stole the fairy boots, and through craft, persuaded the Ogre's Wife to give him all the Ogre's gold. So, rich and happy, he returned to his father's home.

This tale shows a number of common motifs that appear in other tales:

(1) The design of distressed parents to expose children to the
forest.

(2) The discovery and prevention of the scheme by a child.

(3) The repetition of incident; the clew spoiled by the birds.
The trail motif, similar to the one in _Hansel and Grethel_.

(4) The arrival of children at the home of the Ogre.

(5) The shifting of crowns to the heads of his brothers.

(6) The flight of the brothers pursued by the Ogre in
seven-league boots.

(7) Little Thumb, stealing the boots and winning court favor, or
the Ogre's treasure.

Some say that in this tale, symbolically, the forest represents night; the crumbs and pebbles, stars; and the Ogre, the sun. Little Thumb, because of his cunning and invention, has been called the Ulysses of the fairy tales. His adventure with the Ogre at the rock, while not a parallel one, reminds one of Ulysses and Polyphemus. Both succeeded in getting the better of the giant. An English edition of this tale was illustrated by William Blake.

_Snow White and Rose Red_

_Snow White and Rose Red_, besides blending the romantic and the realistic, illustrates rather completely how the old tale may stand the tests which have been emphasized here. As a romantic type, it contains adventure and the picturesque. It arouses emotion. It contains objects of beauty; and the strange Bear and the stranger Dwarf, about both of whom there is a sense of mystery. It exaggerates character and incidents beyond the normal,--the Mother and Daughters were more lovely than mortals usually are,--and the harmony between man and beast may belong to the millennium rather than to this common earth. This is one of the most romantic of fairy tales in that it is a highly idealized type.

The story was current in Germany before the time of the Grimms, and appeared in the collection of Caroline Stahl. The rhyme,--

Snowy-white, rosy-red,
Will ye strike your lover dead?

was taken from a popular song, and is found in a child's story in _Taschenbuch Minerva_ for 1813.

_Snow White and Rose Red_ is full of many beauties; the characters are beautiful, the setting is beautiful, and the spirit of the whole is full of beauty. There is sister-love; and mother-love--not the selfish kind that loves but its own, but that similar to the rich growth of our modern times, when mother-love seeks to include those without the home. There is genuine kindness that pours its sweetness on the Bear or on the Dwarf, that falls like the rain on the deserving and on the ungrateful; there is devotion to animals and a lack of enmity between man and beast; and there is a portrayal of the beauty of domestic life and of the charms of childhood in simple life--its play, its pleasure, and its tasks. This is all set as in two pictures whose sky is the golden glow of passion for the sun and the spring-time and summer it brings. In the first picture, on the edge of the forest stands a little cottage before whose gate grow two rose-trees, a red rose-tree and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the beauty of the spring-time and of the rich fruitage of summer, but also symbols typifying the more wondrous beauty of the character of the two children, Snow White and Rose Red. In the second picture, a tall palace rears itself, before whose gate grow two rose-trees also, a red rose-tree and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the same beauty of spring-time and fruitage of summer, but also symbols typifying the beauty of loveliness and the fairness of happiness and prosperity that guarded from harm the lives of the deserving Snow White and Rose Red, and continued to bless them to the close.

First, looking at the characters in this tale, we see a Mother who illustrates the richness of womanhood. She managed her own home and kept it a place of beauty and cheer. She had two daughters, both lovely, but very different. She recognized this difference and respected it, and permitted each child to enjoy a delightful freedom to grow as was her nature. She permitted the children to play but she also commanded willing obedience. She arranged their work with fairness so that each had her share and each seemed free in doing that work to use her individual taste and judgment. She taught her children to spin and to sew, and she read to them. She told them about the guardian Angel who watched over them to keep them from harm. She was not anxious when they were out of sight, for even when Snow White and Rose Red stayed in the wood all night and slept on the leaves, she had no fear, for no accident ever happened to them. As a strong, noble woman, without fear, and full of love, pity, and fairness,--George Eliot's ideal of highest character,--the Mother of Snow White and Rose Red has no equal in the fairy tales.

The two Children, beautiful as the roses that grew outside the cottage, were both industrious, good, amiable little girls, who in their natural sweetness showed the spirit of the Golden Age when peace and good-will dwelt among men. They were natural children and they loved to play. They gathered berries in the forest, they played hide-and-seek among the trees, they waded in the river, went fishing, made wreaths of flowers, and played with their animal friends. They fed the hares cauliflower, or watched the fawns grazing and the goats frisking; and even the birds loved them and did not fly away when they were near. In the home they kept things not only clean but beautiful; they not only did work but took pleasure in doing that work. Now at a time when domestic life in the home is being threatened, _Snow White and Rose Red_ gives a realistic picture of the beauty of domestic life, its simple joys and charm. In summer there was always a nose-gay for the Mother, and in winter there was a cheery fire with a copper kettle over it, shining like gold. And in the evening when the snow fell fast outside, inside was warmth and comfort. The Children sat sewing and the Mother reading, while a lamb and a white dove beside them enjoyed their protection and care.

The entrance of the Bear gave the Children a natural thrill of fear. But the Mother, with beautiful hospitality, gave the Bear protection and kindness and led them to overcome that fear. To the Bear they showed that good nature which willingly serves; and in the tricks they played with their comrade they showed a great strength of vitality and that freedom which grows where there is no repression.

The Bear departed at spring-time; and as he left Snow White thought she saw glittering gold under his coat. This seems to hint that the tale is symbolic, typifying the change of seasons. Spring, the Bear, took refuge in the cottage during the cold winter months; but in the spring he had to go abroad into the forest, to guard his treasures from the evil Dwarf of winter.

The Children again showed their sweetness and good nature when, while gathering sticks, they came upon the Dwarf, with his wrinkled face and snow-white beard, the end of which was caught in a split of a tree. The contrast is delightful, between the cross and impatient Dwarf and Rose Red who offered to fetch help, and Snow White who politely tried to soothe his impatience by cutting off the end of his beard with her scissors. This time the Dwarf snatched a sack of gold which lay at the foot of the tree, and fled, most ungrateful, not even thanking the Children. The Children had two other adventures with the Dwarf; and these, together with their adventure with the Bear, make up the plot of the story. They met the Dwarf a second time, one day when they went fishing. Then Rose Red told him to be careful or he'd fall into the water, because a great fish was pulling on the bait and his beard became entangled in the fishing-line. Snow White again cut off the end of his beard to free him and again he snatched his bag--this time of pearls, lying among the rushes--and fled. One day, on going to town to buy thread, needles, laces, and ribbons, they met the Dwarf a third time. This time an eagle had caught him and was about to carry him off. The Children, with compassion, held on and freed him; but again he scolded, seized his bag of precious stones, and slipped away to his cave. On their return from town, the Children again met the Dwarf, in the wood, counting his treasure. Again he was very angry, but just then the Bear arrived out of the forest and demanded the life of the Dwarf. The Dwarf offered up in his stead, Snow White and Rose Red. But the Bear, faithful to his old comrades, slew the Dwarf, and then becoming a beautiful Prince, went home with the Sisters. Snow White married the Prince and Rose Red his Brother, and they all lived with their Mother happily in the beautiful palace.

When the Bear slew the Dwarf spring returned to the land. The Dwarf with his snow-white beard seems to typify winter. Each time the Dwarf's beard was cut the beard of winter became shorter, another winter month was gone, and there remained a shorter season. The bag of gold which the Dwarf first took might signify the golden fruit of autumn, and the pearls and diamonds which he next took, the ice and snow of winter. The Dwarf's beard became entangled in the fishing-line when the icy winds of winter began to give the pond its frozen coat; and then the animals of the wood were compelled to seek a refuge. When the Bear came out of the wood to meet the Dwarf and slew him, the time for the departure of winter was at hand, and spring returned to the land.

This fairy tale evidently shows a good, interesting plot, with something happening all the time. The climax is very distinctly marked, everything leads up to the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf in the forest. The characters present interesting variety and strong contrasts. The setting is unusually beautiful: the cottage, the wood, the lake, the town, the hillside, the palace, and the two symbolic rose-trees. The tale appeals to the emotions of love, kindness, compassion, and gratitude. It presents to the imagination distinct episodes: the home-life of the Children in the cottage, their life in the wood, their adventure with the Bear, their three adventures with the Dwarf, and the meeting of the Bear and the Dwarf. The conclusion follows closely upon the climax,--the Bear, grateful to the kind Children, saved their lives and re-transformed, became a Prince. The happy marriage brings the tale to a close, with the palace home guarded by the two rose-trees. The message of the tale is the possible beauty of woman's love and character, and the loveliness of spring and of summer.

A Modern Tale[18]

_The Elephant's Child_

_The Elephant's Child_ might be examined here more particularly because it is unusually interesting as an example of the complete test applied to the child's fairy tale. One need not test it as to interest for it was written especially for children by one who could play with them. As to literature it certainly has mind and soul; there is no doubt about its structure or its appeal to the sympathies. The quantity of good humor and fun it bestows upon childhood is a permanent enrichment; for even a child's world has need of all the good cheer and fun that can be given to it.

This tale is especially interesting also because it might be classed as almost any one of the types of tales. It is not accumulative though it possesses to a marked degree three characteristics of the accumulative tale, repetition, alliteration, and all sorts of phonic effects. And it is not an old tale. But it is not only one of the most pleasing animal tales we possess but one of the best humorous tales having the rare quality of freshness. It is realistic in its portrayal of animal life; and it is highly romantic in its sense of adventure, the heroic, the strange, and the remote.

As a short-story it shows the essentials, originality, ingenuity, and compression. The single interest is how the Elephant got his trunk, and everything points to the climax of his getting it. The plot is "entertaining, novel, comical and thrilling." The structure is very easily seen in these ten episodes:--

1. The introduction; the family; the Child; his home; his
questions; the new, fine question.
2. The Elephant's Child set out to answer his own question.
3. The Elephant's Child met Kolokolo Bird.
4. The Elephant's Child journeyed to the Limpopo.
5. The Elephant's Child met the Python.
6. The Elephant's Child met the Crocodile. He got his trunk.
(Climax.)
7. The Elephant's Child gained experience from the Python.
8. The Elephant's Child's journey home.
9. The Elephant's Child's return home.
10. Conclusion. How all elephants got trunks. Peace.

The characters are unique and interesting. They are usual animals but unusual in what they say. They exhibit animal traits and motives but they also show us a hidden meaning in their actions and words. They seem living, they speak directly; yet they preserve the idea of the fable for they are symbolic. The Elephant's Child typifies human innocence, the inexperience of youth; the Kolokolo Bird, a friend; the Python, experience or wisdom; and the Crocodile, guile or evil. All the animals become very interesting because we are concerned to know their particular reason for spanking the "'satiable Elephant's Child." What they say is so humorous and what they do is consistent, in harmony with their natural animal traits. The Child is the hero. He is a very attractive character because he has that rare charm we call temperament. He is curious, polite, and sweet, and follows his own nose in spite of everything. He wins out with strength, experience, and a new nose; and we are rejoiced at his triumphs. His questions are so funny and yet they seem quite what any elephant with a bump of curiosity might ask. To the Giraffe--"What made his skin spotty?" To the Hippopotamus--"Why her eyes were red?" To the Baboon--"Why melons tasted just so?" And at last, "What does the Crocodile have for dinner?"

The setting of the tale is suggested continually in expressions which show visual imagination of a high order: such as, "And he lived in Africa"; "dragged him through a thorn bush"; "blew bubbles into her ear"; "hove him into a hornet's nest"; and "from Graham's Town to Kimberley and from Kimberley to Khama's Country, and from Khama's Country east by north to the Limpopo."

The tale possesses most delightful humor. A verbal magic which fairly scintillates with the comic spirit, and clinging epithets of which Kipling is a master, suggest the exact picture needed. Humor is secured largely through the use of the unique word; as, "_spanked_," "_precisely_ as Kolokolo Bird had said," and "for he was a _Tidy_ Pachyderm." Often it is increased by the use of newly coined words; as, "hijjus," "curtiosity," "scalesome, flailsome, tail," "fever-trees," "self-propelling man-of-war," and "schloop of mud." Another element of humor in the tale is the artistic use of repetition, which has been previously referred to as one of the child's interests. Sometimes one meaning is expressed in several different ways; as, "immediately and directly, without stopping, for a long time." Or we are given contrasted terms; as, "a little warm but not at all astonished," and then later, "very warm and greatly astonished." One main element of humor is this way in which expressions reflect back on preceding ones. Sometimes we are given very surprising, startling, expressions; as, "wait-a-bit-thorn-bush "--which reminds us of the "all-alone-stone" in _Water Babies_--and "he sang to himself down his trunk."

As to imagination, _The Elephant's Child_ is a delightful illustration of the appeal to the associative, the penetrative, and the contemplative imagination. While its philosophy may be understood in part by the child it has a deeper meaning for the adult. It seems to imply that it is the way of life to spank somebody else. It is the stronger who spank the weaker until they become strong enough to stand up for themselves. Then nobody spanks anybody any more and there is peace. When the Child asked a question that no one would answer he set out to find his own answer just as in life it often is best to work to answer one's own questions. When the Elephant trusted the Crocodile he got something to keep just as in life the innocent may bear the marks of a contest though in no sense responsible for the contest. Experience in the guise of the Python helped the Child in his contest for life with the advice his own common sense would have offered. As an allegory of Experience _The Elephant's Child_ does not view life as a whole; it gives but a glimpse of life. It would say: Experience teaches us to make the best with what we have. The way to get experience is to try a new power, just as the Child with his trunk tried to kill the fly and eat grass. As soon as he had received his new power he tested it on the Hippopotamous. He won the respect of his kind by beating them at their own game.

The emotional appeal in _The Elephant's Child_ would repay study. The dominant emotional tone is that of the adventurous hero with his "'satiable curtiosity." There is vividness of emotion, steadiness of emotion, and a rich variety in the contrasts of feeling. Emotion of a moral quality is characteristic of its implied message of worldly wisdom but it does not leave one exactly satisfied.

The form of the story is a splendid example of a literary classic style. A pleasing humorous touch is given to the unity of the tale by making the Elephant's Child pick up with his new trunk, on his way home, the melon-rinds he had scattered on his journey to the Limpopo. The coherence in the tale is unusually fine and is secured largely by expressions which look backward or forwards; as, "By and by when that was finished," or "One fine morning," or "That very next morning." Any study will show that the tale possesses the general qualities of form and has its parts controlled by the principles of composition.

OUTLINE

I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES

I. Two public tributes 1

II. The value of fairy tales in education 3

1. They bring joy into child-life 3

2. They satisfy the play-spirit of childhood 4

3. They give a power of accurate observation 6

4. They strengthen the power of emotion, develop the
power of imagination, train the memory and
exercise the reason 6

5. They extend and intensify the child's social
relations 7

6. In school they unify the child's work or play 8

7. In the home they employ leisure time profitably 9

8. They afford a vital basis for language-training 10

III. References 12

II. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES

I. The interests of children 13

1. Fairy tales must follow the law of composition
and must contain the interests of children 13

a. A sense of life 14

b. The familiar 14

c. The surprise 15

d. Sense impression 17

e. The beautiful 18

f. Wonder, mystery, magic 19

g. Adventure 19

h. Success 20

i. Action 20

j. Humor 21

k. Poetic justice 22

l. The imaginative 23

m. Animals 24

n. A portrayal of human relations, especially
with children 24

o. The diminutive 25

p. Rhythm and repetition 26

q. The simple and sincere 28

r. Unity of effect 29

2. Fairy tales must follow the law of the emotions
and avoid elements opposed to the interests of
the very young child 30

a. The tale of the witch 31

b. The tale of the dragon 31

c. Giant tales 31

d. Some tales of transformation 32

e. The tale of strange animal relations and
strange creatures 33

f. Unhappy tales 34

g. The tale of capture 34

h. The very long tale 35

i. The complicated or the insincere tale 36

II. The fairy tale as literature 37

1. The fairy tale must be a true classic 38

2. The fairy tale must have mind and soul 39

3. The fairy tale must have the distinguishing
marks of literature 40

a. A power to appeal to the emotions 41

1) Literary emotion is not personal 41

2) Literary emotion must have justness 41

3) Literary emotion must have vividness 41

4) Literary emotion must have steadiness 41

5) Literary emotion must have variety 41

6) Literary emotion must have moral quality 41

7) Application of the test of emotion to the
Fairy tales 41

8) The value of fairy tales in the development
of emotion 44

b. A power to appeal to the imagination 45

1) Appeal to the creative imagination 45

2) Appeal to the associative imagination 46

a) Appeal to fancy 46

3) Appeal to the penetrative imagination 47

4) Appeal to the contemplative imagination 47

a) Philosophy in the fairy tales 48

b) Proverbs in the fairy tales 50

c) Relation of the contemplative
imagination to science 52

c. A basis of truth, or appeal to the intellect 53

1) The truth must be idealistic 53

a) It may be realistic 53

b) It may be romantic 53

2) Value of the appeal of literature to the
intellect 53

d. A form more or less perfect 54

1) The elements of form: words, sentences,
paragraphs, and wholes 58

a) Words, the medium of language must
have two powers 54

(1) Denotation, to name what they
mean 54

(2) Connotation, to suggest what they
imply 54

b) Suggestive power of words illustrated 55

2) General qualities characteristic of perfect
form 57

a) Precision or clearness 57

(1) Precision demands that words have
denotation 57

(2) Precision appeals to the intellect 57

b) Energy or force 57

(1) Energy demands that words have
connotation 58

(2) Energy appeals to the emotions and
holds the attention 58

c) Delicacy or emotional harmony 58

(1) Delicacy demands that words have
the power of adaptation 58

(2) Delicacy demands that form appeal
to the æsthetic sense 58

(3) Delicacy is secured by selection and
arrangement of words according to
emotional associations 58

d) Personality 58

(1) Personality gives the charm of
individuality 58

(2) Personality suggests the character
of the writer 58

3) Principles controlling the elements
of form, principles of composition 58

a) The principle of sincerity 58

(1) Sincerity demands a just expression 58

b) The principle of unity 59

(1) Unity demands a central idea 59

(2) Unity demands completeness 59

(3) Unity demands no irrelevant material 59

(4) Unity demands method, sequence
and climax 59

c) The principle of mass 59

(1) Mass demands that the chief parts
readily catch the eye 59

(2) Mass demands harmonious proportion
of parts 59

d) The principle of coherence 59

(1) Coherence demands unmistakable
relation of parts 59

(2) Coherence demands this unmistakable
relation be preserved by the
order, forms and connections 59

4) Form characterized by perfect adaptation
of words to thought and feeling is called
style 59

a) Style demands that form possess the
four general qualities of form in
perfection: precision, energy, delicacy,
and personality 59

b) Style demands that form have its
elements controlled by the four general
principles: sincerity, unity, mass, and
coherence 59

c) _Oeyvind and Marit_, a modern tale
illustrating style 60

d) _Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, a folk-tale
illustrating style 64

e) The folk-tale generally considered as to
literary form 65

f) The tale by Grimm, Perrault, Dasent,
Harris, Jacobs, Lang, and Andersen
considered as to literary form 67

g) The tale of to-day considered as to
literary form 69

III. The fairy tale as a short-story 70

1. Characters 71

a. Characters must be unique, original, and
striking 72

b. Characters of the fairy tales 72

2. Plot 73

a. Plot must be entertaining, comical, novel, or
thrilling 73

b. Plot must show a beginning, a middle, and
an end 73

c. Plot must have a distinct climax 74

d. Introduction must be simple 74

e. Conclusion must show poetic justice 74

f. Plot must be good narration and description 74

1) Narration must have truth, interest, and
consistency 74

2) Description must have aptness and
concreteness 75

g. Structure illustrated by _Three Pigs_ and
_Briar Rose_ 76

3. Setting 77

a. Setting must give the time and place, the
background of the tale 77

b. Setting must arouse sensation and feeling 77

c. Effect of transformation of setting 77

1) Story sequence preserved by setting
illustrated by _Robin's Christmas Song_ 78

d. Setting and phonics, illustrated. _The
Spider and the Flea_ 79

e. Setting illustrated. _Chanticleer and
Partlet_ 81

4. A blending of characters, plot, and setting
illustrated by _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ 82

5. Tests to be applied to fairy tales 84

6. Tales examined and tested by the complete test
of interests, classic, literature, short-story,
narration, and description 84

a. _How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went to
Dinner_ (Indian) 84

b. The Straw Ox (Cossack) 86

IV. References 87

III. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES

Story-telling as an Art. Introductory 90

1. Story-telling as an ancient art 90

2. The place of the story in the home, library, and
the school 93

3. Principles of story-telling 94

I. The teacher's preparation. Rules 94

1. Select the tale for some purpose 94

a. The teacher's problem of selecting the tale
psychologically or logically 95

2. Know the tale historically as folk-lore, as
literature, and as a short-story 96

a. The various motives contained in the fairy
tales listed 97

3. Master the structure of the tale 99

4. Dwell upon the life of the story 99

5. Secure the message 100

6. Master the form 100

II. The presentation of the tale 102

1. Training of the voice 103

a. Study of phonetics 103

2. Exercises in breathing 104

3. A knowledge of gesture 105

a. Gesture precedes speech 106

b. Gesture begins in the face 106

c. Hands and arms lie close to the body in
controlled emotion 106

4. A power of personality 106

5. Suggestions for telling 107

a. The establishment of the personal relation
between the teacher and the listener 108

b. The placing of the story in a concrete
situation for the child 110

c. The consideration of the child's aim in
listening, by the teacher in her preparation 112

6. The telling of the tale 112

a. The re-creative method of story-telling.
Illustrated by a criticism of the telling of
_The Princess and the Pea_ 114

b. The re-creative method illustrated by _The
Foolish, Timid Rabbit_ 116

7. Adaptation of the fairy tale. Illustrated by
_Thumbelina_ and by _The Snow Man_ 118

III. The return from the child 119

Story-telling as one phase of the art of teaching.
Introductory 119

1. Teaching as good art and as great art; and
fairy tales as subject-matter suited to
accomplish high purposes in teaching 120

2. The part the child has to play in story-telling 121

3. The child's return, the expression of his
natural instincts or general interests 125

1. The instinct of conversation 125

a. Language expression, oral re-telling 125

b. The formation of original little stories 126

c. Reading of the tale a form of creative
reaction 127

2. The instinct of inquiry 127

a. Appeal of the folk-tale to this instinct 128

b. The instinct of inquiry united to the instinct
of conversation, of construction, and of
artistic expression, illustrated 128

3. The instinct of construction 129

a. Clay-modelling 129

b. Construction of objects 129

4. The instinct of artistic expression 130

a. Cutting of free silhouette pictures.
Illustrated 130

b. Drawing and crayon-sketching. Illustrated 132

c. Painting. Illustrated 132

d. Song. Illustrated 133

e. Dance, rhythm plays. Illustrated 134

f. Game. Illustrated 135

g. Representation of the fairy tale. Illustrated
by _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ 135

h. Free play and dramatization 138

1) Virtues of dramatization 138

a) It develops voice 138

b) It gives grace of movement 138

c) It develops control and poise 138

d) It strengthens attention and power of
visualization 138

e) It combines intellectual, emotional,
artistic, and physical action 138

f) It impresses many pieces of literature
effectively 138

g) It is the true Direct Moral Method and
may establish a habit 143

2) Dangers of dramatization 139

a) Dramatization often is in very poor
form 139

b) Dramatization may develop boldness
in a child 141

c) Dramatization may spoil some
literature 142

d) Dramatization has lacked sequence in
tales used from year to year 142

i. Illustrations of creative return 144

1) _The Country Mouse and the City Mouse_ as
expression in language, dramatization,
drawing, and crayon-sketching 144

2) _The Elves and the Shoemaker_ as
expression in the dramatic game 145

3) _Little Two-Eyes_ as expression in
dramatization. A fairy-play outline.
(See _Appendix_) 145

4) _Snow White_ as expression in
dramatization. (See _Appendix_) 145

5) _Sleeping Beauty_ as expression of partial
narration, dramatic game, and
dramatization combined 146

6) _The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_, an
original tale developed from a Grimm
fragmentary tale, illustrating expression
in folk-game and dramatization. (See
_Appendix_) 147

7) _The Bird and the Trees_, an original play
illustrating expression in rhythm play and
dramatization 149

8) _How the Birds came to Have Different
Nests_, an original play illustrating
language expression and dramatization.
(See _Appendix_) 151

9) Andersen's _Fir Tree_ as expression in
dramatization, illustrating organization
of ideas through a play 152

IV. References 154

IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES

I. The origin of fairy tales 158

1. The fairy tale defined 159

2. The derivation and history of the name, _fairy_ 159

a. Four senses in which _fairy_ has been used 160

3. The theories concerning the origin of fairy
tales 161

a. Fairy tales are detritus of myth 161

1) The evolution of the tale 161

b. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Rain, Dawn,
Thunder, etc., the Aryan Theory 162

c. Fairy tales all arose in India, the
Philological theory 165

d. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity
of early fancy 167

e. Fairy tales owe their origin to a combination
of all these theories 167

II. The transmission of fairy tales 167

1. The oral transmission of fairy tales 167

a. Examples of transmission of fairy tales: _Jack
the Giant-Killer_, _Dick Whittington_, etc. 168

2. Literary transmission of fairy tales 170

a. An enumeration of the literary collections and
books that have handed down the tales; as
_Reynard the Fox_, the _Persian King-book, The
Thousand and One Nights_, Straparola's
_Nights_, Basile's _Pentamerone_, and Perrault's
_Tales of Mother Goose_ 170

b. French publications of fairy tales 179

1) The tales of Perrault 179

2) Tales by followers of Perrault 181

3) A list of tales from the time of Perrault to
the present time 183

c. English and Celtic publications of fairy tales 183

1) Tales of Scotland and Ireland 184

2) English tales and books 184

3) A list illustrating the history of the English
fairy tale, including chap-books: _Jack the
Giant-Killer_, _Tom Hickathrift_;
old collections; etc. 184

4) A list illustrating the development of
fairy-tale illustration in England 188

d. German publications of fairy tales 192

1) A list of tales from the time of the Grimms
to the present 193

e. Fairy-tale publications of other nations 193

f. American publications of fairy tales 195

1) A list of tales from the earliest times to
1870 196

g. Recent collections of folk-lore 200

III. References 201

V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES

I. Available types of tales 204

1. The accumulative or clock story 205

a. Tales of simple repetition 206

1) The House that Jack Built 206

2) The Key of the Kingdom 207

b. Tales of repetition with an addition 208

1) The Old Woman and Her Pig 208

2) Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse 208

3) Johnny Cake 209

4) The Gingerbread Man 209

5) The Straw Ox 209

c. Tales of repetition and variation 209

1) The Three Bears 209

2) The Three Billy Goats 211

2. The animal tale 211

a. The evolution of the animal tale 211

b. The animal tale may be an old beast tale 211

1) Henny Penny 213

2) The Foolish Timid Rabbit 214

3) The Sheep and the Pig 215

4) Medio Pollito 215

5) The Three Pigs 216

c. The animal tale may be an elaborated fable,
illustrated 211

d. The animal tale may be an imaginary creation,
illustrated 211

e. The Good-Natured Bear, a modern type. (See
_Appendix_) 217

3. The humorous tale 217

a. The humorous element for children 218

b. The Musicians of Bremen, a humorous type 219

c. Humorous tales mentioned previously 221

d. Drakesbill, a humorous type 221

4. The realistic tale 223

a. Lazy Jack, a realistic type of common life 224

b. The Old Woman and Her Pig, a realistic type 225

c. How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, a realistic
tale of scientific interest 226

d. Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, a realistic
theme transformed into a romantic tale 227

5. The romantic tale 228

a. Cinderella 228

b. Sleeping Beauty 231

c. Red Riding Hood 232

d. Puss-in-Boots. (See _Appendix_) 232

1) The Norse Lord Peter (See _Appendix_) 232

e. Tom Thumb, a romantic tale of fancy. (See
_Appendix_) 232

1) The French Little Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232

2) The English Tom Thumb. (See _Appendix_) 232

f. Snow White and Rose Red, a highly idealized
romantic type tested by the standards
included here. (See _Appendix_) 232

6. The old tale and the modern tale 234

a. The modern tale often lacks the great art
qualities of the old tale, unity and harmony,
sincerity and simplicity 235

b. The modern tale often fails to use the
method of suggestion 235

c. The modern tale often does not stand the
test of literature 235

d. The modern tale gives richly to the primary
and elementary field 235

e. Criticism of a few modern tales 236

1) Little Beta and the Lame Giant, a good
modern tale 236

2) The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red
Hen, a good modern tale 238

3) Peter Rabbit, a classic; other animal
tales 239

4) The Elephant's Child, a modern animal
tale. (See _Appendix_) 239

5) A Quick-Running Squash, a good modern
tale 240

6) A few St. Nicholas fairy stories 241

7) The Hop-About-Man, a romantic modern
fairy tale 241

f. What the modern fairy tale is 243

VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST OF FAIRY TALES,
FOLK-TALES, PICTURES, PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS.

Basis on which lists are made. Introductory 245

I. A list of fairy tales and folk-tales suited to the
kindergarten and first grade 246

1. Tales of Perrault 246

2. Tales of the Grimms 246

3. Norse tales 247

4. English tales, by Jacobs 247

5. Modern fairy tales, by Andersen 248

6. Uncle Remus tales, by Harris 248

7. Miscellaneous tales 249

II. Bibliography of fairy tales 253

III. A list of picture-books 254

IV. A list of pictures 255

V. A list of fairy poems 256

VI. Main standard fairy-tale books 256

VII. Fairy tales of all nations 258

VIII. Miscellaneous editions of fairy tales 259

IX. School editions of fairy tales 262