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A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES

Jean Ingelow's Mopsa, the Fairy and The Ouphe in the Wood, Field's The Story of Claus, Stockton's Old Pipes and the Dryad, Kingsley's Water Babies, Ruskin's King of the Golden River, Collodi's Pinocchio, Maeterlinck's Blue-Bird, Kipling's Just-So Stories and the tales of the Jungle Books, Selma Lagerlöf's Wonderful Adventures of Nils, the Uncle Remus Tales of Harris, etc. But these classics are, with a few exceptions, the richness of the primary and elementary literature. The modern fairy tale suited to the kindergarten child, is at a disadvantage, for most likely it is hidden away in some magazine, waiting for appreciation to bring some attention to it. And in these complex modern days it is difficult to secure a tale whose simplicity suits the little child.

Among the best tales for little people are Miss Harrison's Hans and the Four Giants and Little Beta and the Lame Giant. In Little Beta and the Lame Giant a natural child is placed in unusual surroundings, where the gentleness of the giant and the strength of love in the little girl present strong contrasts that please and satisfy. The Sea Fairy and the Land Fairy in Some Fairies I have Met, by Mrs. Stawell, though possessing much charm and beauty, is too complicated for the little people. It is a quarrel of a Sea Fairy and a Land Fairy. It is marked by good structure, it presents a problem in the introduction, has light fancy suited to its characters, piquant dialogue, good description, visualized expressions, and it presents distinct pictures. Its method is direct and it gets immediately