Part One

The fame of the “Uncle Remus” stories, according to Joel Chandler Harris, himself, was an accident. But it is quite possible, that the fame has not been quite as much of an accident as his modesty declares it to be.

Mr. Harris was the son of a very poor woman in Georgia. She had very little to give her children, and very early Joel Chandler was put out to work. When, but a mere lad, he went to work as printer boy on the plantation of Mr. Joseph A. Turner. Mr. Turner was a well educated and cultured gentleman, who spent his leisure hours in publishing (on his own plantation) a small paper, voicing the sentiment of the times.

Mr. Turner became very much interested in the Harris boy. He recognized the lad’s ability, for very frequently he found unsigned paragraphs, quite good in quality, in his paper, which had been composed by the printer boy Harris, who inserted them as he set up the type. Mr. Turner gave the boy free access to his very large and splendid library. When Joel Chandler was not seated, during leisure hours, in the chimney corner of a cabin in the negro quarters, listening to negro folk-lore, he was delving deep into the best literature of all ages. He lived so completely with the great masters in the library, that it is said, that this quite largely influenced his charming literary style in years to come.

Here on the plantation, in the negro cabins, he came, through the stories, to feel the emotions of the negro. No one has ever been so capable of putting himself in another’s place as has Joel Chandler Harris. He became possessed of all the curious knowledge of the negro, he learned of dogs and horses, he knew the path of the red stream in the swamp, and the way of the wild folk in the woods. In fact, one writer has gone so far as to say, that had Joel Chandler Harris not spent these boyhood days in the plantation home of Joseph A. Turner, there would have been no “Uncle Remus” with all that he now means to literature.

In 1876, Mr. Harris was invited to take a place on the paper called “The Constitution,” published at Atlanta, Georgia. Samuel Small was then writing humorous sketches for this paper. Small suddenly resigned. His sketches had been very popular, and the editor immediately looked around for some one who could continue the work. Mr. Harris was given the place. He went about his new task with much foreboding. He was steeped in the quaint stories of the plantation, but would the people accept these? He resolved to make the attempt, and then came the Uncle Remus stories for their first appearance.

The stories grew in popularity, and for the same reason that made Æsop’s fables an imperishable classic, these stories have taken their permanent place in literature. They were the simple stories that had been linked with the thoughts and emotions since earliest time, and have now, for the first time, been put in artistic form, by one who had so entered into the life of the negro, that he was able to express the negro’s emotions in the negro’s way. In quoting from an article on Joel Chandler Harris in “The Bookman,” Volume 27, the author says, “When Mr. Harris chose for his subject, the plantation negro, he had a character of much subtility to deal with. His subject is a creature of extremes, carelessly happy one day, deeply despondent the next, which characteristic has sprung from his very helplessness; with a never failing sense of humor, which acts as a continual balance wheel. He is a being, whose mystical side has been highly developed, and one to whom the “creeturs” have become brothers and sisters, being endowed by him, with human virtues and vices.”

“Uncle Remus” gave to literature and the world a new type of negro, that of a good kind-hearted, sympathetic old man, who was willing to spend hours in telling stories to a little boy. So little is said of Uncle Remus himself. He is merely the teller of the stories and yet one feels him to be just such an old man, for his character is interpreted by the stories he tells. Indeed, some one once asked the author, “Mr. Harris, really, don’t you suppose that Uncle Remus would steal chickens if he had a chance?” and Mr. Harris replied, “If I follow Uncle Remus all day, you surely can’t expect me to know what he does all night.”

Joel Chandler Harris in writing his “Uncle Remus” stories, did not labor to place them in logical sequence. He cared little about their value to students of comparative folk-lore, and had little notion of their evolution when he wrote them. The series cannot be placed into one great cycle that follows a hero through a number of incidents and at last brings him to the end, victorious. Mr. Harris told them for the pure enjoyment, and he was much surprised to find such a demand for a thing that was all pleasure and no work to him. He loved the simple tales because they were so near to nature’s heart, because they were full of primitive wonder, quaint flashes of humor, homely philosophy, and simple goodness.

The stories, however, readily group themselves into four classes.

I. Those that account for Certain Animal Traits, or Characteristics. II. Stories with Brer Rabbit as a Hero. III. Those stories told to the little Boy for their Ethical Value. IV. Stories that attempt to Account for some Natural Phenomena.

Under the first group, Stories that account for certain animal characteristics, I have placed the following:

Why the Hawk Catches Chickens. Miss Partridge has a Fit. Why Brer Possum has no Hair on his Tail. Why Brer Fox’s Legs are Black. Why Mr. Possum Loves Peace. Why Brother Bull Growls and Complains. How Mr. Rabbit Lost His Fine Bushy Tail. Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength. Brer Buzzard Teaches Brer Terrapin to Fly.

The stories that show the shrewdness of Brer Rabbit, might be taken as a small cycle which has Brer Rabbit as a hero.

The following are examples:

The Wonderful Tar Baby Story. Old Mr. Rabbit, He’s a good Fisherman. Brer Rabbit and de’ skeeters. Brer Fox Says Grace. Brer Rabbit Has Fun at the Ferry. Why Brer Wolf didn’t eat the little Rabbits. Brer Fox “Smells Smoke.” Brer Rabbit Frightens Brer Tiger. Brer Rabbit Conquers Mr. Lion. Heyo House. Sis Cow Falls a Victim to Mr. Rabbit. How Mr. Rabbit Saved his Meat. The Sad Fate of Mr. Fox. Brer Rabbit Nibbles up de Butter.

The third group of stories that were told to the little boy for their ethical value, presents quite a modern idea of the purpose of a good story; namely, that in order to teach, a moral must be tacked on. When Uncle Remus found the little boy in mischief, he straightway told him a story with a homely moral. As for example the story of “Brother Bear and the Honey Orchard.” Uncle Remus caught the little boy eating a great piece of cake, while his little brother stood by, crying for some. ’Tis then that he relates of the selfishment of Brer B’ar with his own conclusion, that “to his membrence stingy folks nevah come to no good ’een.”

The following stories were told with this idea in mind:

Brother Bear and the Honey Orchard. The Man and the Wild Cattle. Brer Rabbit’s Money Mint. Brother Billy Goat’s Dinner. The King that talked Biggity. According to how the Drap Falls.

Under the fourth heading I have grouped such stories as:

The Story of the Deluge and how it came about. Where the Hurricane Comes from. The Creation. Why the Negro is Black.

No one can doubt but that these simple stories were first told when the human race was very young. The things that are at present accomplished by science were then met by magic. Whether or not we believe that the child in his development passes through much the same experience as the race has in its development, there are certain things that are evident: the child makes human and holds conversation with everything in his backyard world. The same voices speak to him that spoke to his cave dwelling ancestors. To him the wind is a person of might and power, that moans when in anguish and sighs when weary.

(_To be concluded in next issue_)

The Three Goats

By Jessica Childs

This story, contributed by Miss Jessica Childs of the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Training School for Teachers, is a translation from the Norse Folk Lore. It is very popular, Miss Childs finds, with children in the first school year.

Now you shall hear!

There was once a Boy who had three Goats. All day they leaped and pranced and skipped and climbed up on the rocky hill, but at night the Boy drove them home. One night, when he went to meet them, the frisky things leaped into a turnip field and he could not get them out. Then the Boy sat down on the hillside and cried.

As he sat there a Hare came along. “Why do you cry?” asked the Hare.

“I cry because I can’t get the Goats out of the field,” answered the Boy.

“I’ll do it,” said the Hare. So he tried, but the Goats would not come. Then the Hare, too, sat down and cried.

Along came a Fox.

“Why do you cry?” asked the Fox.

“I am crying because the Boy cries,” said the Hare; “and the Boy is crying because he cannot get the Goats out of the turnip field.”

“I’ll do it,” said the Fox. So the Fox tried, but the Goats would not come. Then the Fox also sat down and cried.

Soon after, a Wolf came along. “Why do you cry,” asked the Wolf. “I am crying because the Hare cries,” said the Fox; “and the Hare cries because the Boy cries; and the Boy cries because he can’t get the Goats out of the turnip field.”

“I’ll do it,” said the Wolf. He tried, but the Goats would not leave the field. So he sat down beside the others and began to cry too.

After a while, a Bee flew over the hill and saw them all sitting there crying. “Why do you cry?” said the Bee to the Wolf.

“I am crying because the Fox cries, and the Fox cries because the Hare cries; and the Hare cries because the Boy cries; and the Boy cries because he can’t get the Goats out of the turnip field.”

“I’ll do it,” said the Bee.

Then the big animals and the Boy all stopped crying a moment to laugh at the tiny Bee. He to do it, indeed, when they could not! But the tiny Bee flew away into the turnip field and lit upon the ear of one of the Goats and said,

“Buz-z-z-z-z!” And out ran the Goats every one!

“_The child makes human and holds conversation with everything in his backyard world._

”_The same voices speak to him that spoke to his cave-dwelling ancestors._

“_To him the wind is a person of might and power, that moans when in anguish and sighs when weary._”JOSEPHINE LEACH.

Story Telling in Washington, D. C.

By Marietta Stockard

To the Kindergarten perhaps more than to any other department of education, must be conceded the credit for having recognized the power of the story in the life of the child. The best Kindergarten training schools would no more omit a well organized course in story telling than they would a course in psychology or child study, so it is with no claim of something new or different that I respond to the invitation of the STORYTELLERS’ MAGAZINE to tell of the work as it is done in the Washington Normal School.

We are fortunate in having a Principal who has been willing to allow a full two years’ course in stories. This makes possible a broader literary basis, better developed principles of selection, more of adaptation and practical story telling than could be accomplished in a shorter time. It also makes possible a more leisurely, more psychologic approach to the subject, and therefore launches us upon the actual story telling with much of the beginner’s painful self-consciousness eliminated.

My first question to a new class is, “What have you read and really enjoyed during your past summer?” Next, “What are your favorite books?” Through a careful study of the students’ responses to these questions I gain a knowledge of the literary background and taste of each individual of whom I shall strive to make a successful story teller.

Discussion of these books which the students know and like leads us into the field of basic principles of selection in literature. Brief studies of a few typical short stories, analysis of purpose, structure, and style follow.

Realizing that the two absolute essentials in a successful story teller are, on the one hand, a sympathetic knowledge of the best in literature, and on the other, real understanding of the child, we read together as much of the best literature about children as time permits.

Our first approach to the story for the child is through a discussion of favorite fairy tales, remembered from the student’s own childhood. Comparison shows that there are many common favorites, further study reveals these same stories as favorites of generations of children.

Re-telling and enjoying these we gradually search out the secret of their universal appeal and come to formulate a standard embodying the essential characteristics which all stories for children should contain.

This knowledge of type stories is further developed by a brief study of Norse Myths and Folk Tales. No other literature gives quite so well the fundamental characteristics of action, simplicity and embodiment of ideals as does the Norse. The student who has read Mabie’s Norse Myths, Dasent’s Popular Tales from the Norse, Stories from Bjornstern and Selma Lagerlöf, absorbs the essential characteristics of the best story and can scarcely help telling a story with vigor, simplicity, directness and imaginative appeal.

Sympathetic attitude toward child and story and basis for selection of stories in the light of fundamental principles of literature having been developed, we next formulate the requisites of a good story teller and methods of story telling. This is done through story telling in class under criticism and a study of such books as: Voice and Spiritual Education, by Corson; How to Tell Stories to Children, by Sara Cone Bryant; Stories and Story Telling, by Porter St. John. We study, re-tell, adapt, and collect in a manuscript story book such stories as are particularly suitable for use in the kindergarten.

The demand for story tellers in the schools, in playground and library work, in social centers and Sunday schools, led to the establishing of a course in story telling and children’s literature at George Washington University. This course is credited both in the teacher’s department and in the English department of the University.

The work consists of lectures, required readings and reports. The history of the story, its relation to literature, its relation to the child, the story as a moral force, methods of story telling, including adaptation, preparation, and presentation are a few of the topics discussed. Studies of groups of animal stories, folk and fairy tales, hero tales, Bible stories, Christmas and Thanksgiving stories, spring stories and humorous stories constitute the content of the course.

Every student of children’s stories not only gains a deeper appreciation of the best in literature and an added sympathy with and understanding of the child, but also discovers an inexhaustible source of usefulness and joy.

Story Telling for Camp Fire Girls

By Ellen Kate Gross

_Chief Guardian, Children’s Playground Association of Baltimore, Md._

Apropos to our conversation at the Richmond Congress in regard to stories for Camp Fire Girls, the following plea is submitted to your editorial board with the hope that your splendid magazine will help us in one phase of our work.

In furthering the development of the Camp Fire Girls, there arises the necessity for a supply of Indian folk tales well told and embodying the out-of-door spirit of the Indian and his ideals. Moreover the various points of the law of the Camp Fire can best be exemplified through stories which develop the ideal held up. This law is to

“Seek beauty Give service Pursue knowledge Hold on to health Glorify work Be happy”

The following suggestive list may illustrate how this method can be carried out,—the thought and meaning of each precept being developed through one of the stories named.

_SEEK BEAUTY_

Hawthorne, “The Great Stone Face.” Kingsley, “Water Babies”—in parts.

_GIVE SERVICE_

Robert Louis Stevenson, “Prince Otto.” Stockton, “Old Pypes and the Dryad,” in Fanciful Tales. Biographies and Autobiographies. Example “Florence Nightingale.” “Lucretia Mott.” “The Little Hero of Haarlem” Emile Poulsson, “Nahum Prince,” in “In the Child’s World.”

_BE TRUSTWORTHY_

“Ruth and Esther,” told in Hamilton Mabie’s “Stories Every Child Should Know.”

_GLORIFY WORK_

19th Psalm. Lives of Burbank, Edison and other Inventors. “The Basket Weaver.” “Beowulf,” in Hamilton Mabie’s “Legends Every Child Should Know.” “The Message to Garcia,” by Elbert Hubbard.

_BE HAPPY_

“King Midas.” “Ugly Duckling.” “Pine Tree that changed its Leaves.” King Arthur tales.

If some of these stories or similar ones, and also some Indian legends could be published in your magazine from time to time, it would be a great help to those who are working with Camp Fire Girls.

“Wohelo”

“Wohelo,” the musical cry of the Camp Fire Girls was sounded by more than nine hundred of them at the first Grand Council held in the 69th Regiment Armory, New York City, recently.

Clad in the picturesque attire of the American Indian, they sat in a big circle around three lighted candles, representing their three foundation principles, and groups of lights representing real camp fires, a Camp Fire ceremonial which is performed to the music of “Burn, Fire; Burn!”

Under the supervision of the guardian Hiltini, who is Mrs. Luther H. Gulick, three other guardians, Mrs. Bradley, Mrs. Weber and Miss McCarthy, representing respectively WORK, HEALTH, LOVE, lighted the camp fire by the Indian expedient of rubbing two sticks together.

The call of the Camp Fire Girls, “Wohelo,” is formed by the first syllables of the three foundation words of their organization: WORK, HEALTH, LOVE.

The Play Spirit in America

Those who have lost the play spirit are beginning to die. These were the words of Dr. Cabot of the Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston at the recent Congress of the Playground and Recreation Association of America, held at Richmond, Va. True recreation is re-creation—to be made anew from day to day, mind and body. The old saying that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy is true of adults as well as children. It is more important that adults emphasize recreation for themselves than for the child. It is so much easier for grown people to forget to play.

The serious person is only half awake. Seriousness often excludes humor and thus shuts out the play spirit in life. The serious person is not always thoroughly in earnest. He who excludes humor and play cannot be in earnest because he does not use all the resources at his command. Young people are always earnest; play and humor are part of their program.

The calculating business man sitting in his close office or the hard taskmaster sitting at a teacher’s desk may be making a living and yet not living but prematurely dying. Compare such a one with a group of young people who shout and laugh in joyous play or work outside and ask yourself which is preferable, which is life? The business man once had the play spirit but he has lost it, and with it life and its joy. When he went to school years ago he was not taught to live but to calculate; not to think but to imitate and accumulate a living, not a life. He has been true to his teaching. He might be rescued even now if he could be made to see the necessity for play and feel the rejuvenating effect of rhythmic games. He must get rid of the idea that it is undignified for a grown man or woman to play, to join hands in a circle, to shout and laugh and sing and play games on the green.

The American people must be taught recreation, not only in public playgrounds but the necessity of using home, lawn and yard for play for child and adult as well. We must get rid of the idea that people are made for parks and substitute the idea, parks are made for people.

A one-time city superintendent of schools in a large city and for a number of years a college president recently spent a year on his farm and says that as a result his whole feeling and view toward life has been changed by the year of recreation. To have normal feelings is more important than abnormal knowledge. Knowledge is sometimes weakness rather than power.

A child without a playground is the father of a man without a job, says one of our playground officials, and we might add that a man without play will soon be a man without a job and without health. It is high time that school faculties realize their sin in failing themselves to play. Enthusiastic teachers often study and teach all the winter, then go to a summer school and pile on more of the same kind of work. We recognize the evil of this, yet few are brave enough to stop in the midst of work and play and teach play. Summer schools should send their students back home rejuvenated, with renewed health and enthusiasm and with a new feeling for life rather than book-burdened, tired and nervous.

We have in America a wealth of folk-games, folk-dances, folk-songs, folk-stories brought hither by the various races of Europe, that would give us wholesome recreation,—a folk-culture, yet we stand idly by and let an ignorant commercial schemer run a dance hall and give our young people dissipation instead of recreation. Churches and homes make a great mistake when they say “Don’t do this” or that and stop there. We must be positive and say “Do this, these are the games to play, these are the songs to sing, these are the stories to tell, come and join us.” If good people do not give us good recreation, bad people will give us bad recreation and make us pay for it. A machine can add a column of figures for us, another person can spell a word for us, but no one else can recreate or have health, personality and enthusiasm for us.

R. T. W.

Invocation

Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones

Father, make us glad that we are here, glad in the dear fellowships of the past, glad in the strong ties that bind us to our tasks, glad of the tasks. O Thou Burden Giver, lift us above the selfishness of the ease-seeker.

¶ Father, we come to listen to Thy commissions. Grant us power to go into the dark places of human lives, the sad places of human hearts, and in Thy name speak the word that may bring strength, peace, consolation. Father, help us to realize the opportunities that await us; gird us anew for the high and holy warfare wherein the weapons are the instruments of love, the counters of kindness. Help us to forget the things that hurt, to rise above all discouragements, to dwell with Thee in deathless places; to rejoice with Thee in the boundless realms where the petty lines of caste, class and sect, of race and prejudice, do not obtain, but where Thy children, conscious of Thy Fatherhood, rejoice in the largeness of the love that includes all races, all climes, and all ages.

¶ Father, take our hands and touch them with usefulness. Take our feet that they may be shod with willingness. Take our hearts that they may glow with kindness. Take our minds and tutor them in the way of truth. Take our voices and tune them to the universal harmonies, that in finite time we may sound some notes of thy never-ending song. Amen

What the Leagues are Doing

The closing meeting of the Knickerbocker Story Tellers’ League of New York City, for the season 1913, was held on Saturday evening, May 17th.

The recent work of the League has been directed along the lines of the English, Spanish and American Schools of Art. At a previous meeting the stories of the Florentine, Flemish and Dutch Schools were told and no actual reading was done throughout the entire evening. Mrs. Estelle Davis Burt, the President, handled the topic Dutch Art.

* * * * *

The last meeting of the Atlanta Story Tellers’ League is reported by Mr. George B. Hinman as the most interesting of the year.

Mrs. Goodman gave a very charming and illuminating account of her visit with Mr. R. T. Wyche to the Knickerbocker Story Tellers’ League in New York, and Mrs. Stevens told a most interesting original story, which held her audience spellbound throughout. Miss Ray Klein, who is one of the friends of the League, told a beautiful fairy story. The attendance was large and appreciative.

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The Story Tellers’ League of Little Rock, Arkansas, held its closing meeting at the public library in May, when the following officers were elected: Miss Eliza Hockins, president; Miss Grace Boyce, vice-president; Miss Johnnie Bledsoe, secretary and treasurer. The program was excellent. Miss Marguerite English told of “The Hall of Heroes”; Mrs. L. W. Cherry told an Egyptian legend, adding to the beautiful story by touches of personal experience in Egypt; Mrs. W. B. Rawlings told the story of a Syrian mother; Miss Abbie Whitcomb gave the story of a Parisian boy hero in her usual expressive way.

* * * * *

A conference was held May 27, 1913, at the Sinton Hotel from three to five, with Dr. Richard Wyche, President of the National Story Tellers’ League of New York, who has started a magazine for the benefit of story tellers, entitled “The Storytellers’ Magazine.” Dr. Lester Riley, Miss Pearl Carpenter, Miss Alice Adele Folger, Miss Annie Laws, Miss Marie Dickore, Miss Josephine Simrall and others of the Cincinnati branch of the National Story Tellers’ League were present.—_Cincinnati Commercial Tribune._

From the Editor’s Study

The revival of interest in story telling on the part of educators today is due perhaps more to scientific men than any other group. The old conception of the child was that he was born in depravity and therefore his natural impulses were bad, and he should be repressed. Methods of suppression resulted; the child had no rights. If the things he was compelled to study were meaningless and obnoxious to him, well and good. The things he was interested in were ignored.

But with the coming of the biologist, geologist, and psychologist, we have seen a world of growth and change, reaching back into the immeasurable past, and man in this order, not fallen and depraved, but natural and normal with his face to the morning, ever moving upward and onward. The students of history, primitive art and folk-literature have traced for us the path-way along which the soul of the race, ever growing into self-realization gave expression to its beliefs, its hopes, its prayers and its religion, in myth, fairy story, folk-lore and folk epic. As one who travels through low land and forest yet ever climbing reaches an upland peak and looking back sees path, forest, field and rim of sea all in the perspective of beauty, so we today looking back have an infinitely larger and deeper view of life and its meaning. It is this view that has changed our attitude toward the child and will result in our setting him, “the last serf of civilization free.”

This new valuation of the child, respect for his rights and a better understanding of his needs has brought story telling to the front again. It is true that the race and the individual of all races have had stories told them more or less by troubadour and rhapsodist—the old story tellers, chief among them Homer, but not until modern times have educators so seriously studied this story as a means of education. For many centuries literature lived orally and was handed down by the story tellers; but when printing was invented the teacher began to busy himself with grammar for young and old alike, until language form became an end instead of a means.

Man in his development did not invent letters and language with the hope that he might have something to say, but he had so much to say he was compelled to invent language in order to express himself. So with the child, we must feed the springs of imagination and emotion if we would give him something to express. As a tree puts forth leaf and blossom in obedience to the laws of life within, so will the child give back in vital expression the things that nurture his inner life. Expression is life, suppression is death. It is the recognition of this truth that has given us the pedagogical basis for the story, whether it be re-telling, dramatization or illustration of the story; modelling into clay, carving into wood or motiving in life.

Man becomes like that which he admires, therefore, stories of noble deed and great heroes are used in school and Sunday-school for character building in place of memorizing abstract statements.

Young people will read books from which interesting stories have been told them, therefore many of the public libraries have a story teller for the children’s room, who by story telling, directs the reading of the children for a whole community. Story telling is a means of recreation and pure pleasure, therefore the public playgrounds throughout the land have their story tellers for the young people. Parents who tell in their homes the right kind of stories make an atmosphere in which a soul can grow and bind their off-spring to them with spiritual ties, the most lasting of all.

Story telling is an alluring subject for study, a means of delightful social intercourse and reinforcement for life, therefore many have organized themselves into the National Story Tellers’ League and its local branches.

It is to deal with this work of story telling in all of its aspects that the STORYTELLERS’ MAGAZINE is founded. It is our purpose to point out as far as we can the vital principles that underlie the whole movement.

The question of what stories to tell is supremely important. We cannot tell or read one-hundredth part of the good stories. In order to answer this question, we propose to re-tell in the pages of the magazine some of the best stories recognized by educators the world over; and by articles from specialists, point out the stories most worth while from the standpoint of literature. It is true we shall deal as do the oral story tellers with much of the old literature but with a creative touch that will give it the breath of life, making it a living literature and a new expression of American life and art.

We propose to answer the question of what stories to tell by a study of the child and his needs in the various periods of his development. Stories that contribute most to the making of ideal womanhood and manhood, in the last analysis, are the stories to emphasize.

The ancient story teller who by fireside or in royal court told stories of their nation heroes like King Arthur, Siegfried or Ulysses had quite a simple and direct use for the story compared to the situation today. With the complexity of modern life the use of the story becomes far more rich and varied. We expect through short articles from authorities in this work to point out all legitimate uses of the story.

Many a one has a gift for story telling but knows not how to use it. We shall have an occasional article by those who have made a success of story telling and can speak from experience.

When we think of the many educational institutions and individual workers taking up this work of story telling, and when we see the many young men and women who could, if they but knew how, become evangels of the fine art of story telling, and when we hear the voices of the great multitudes of children in neglected country districts as well as cities, saying “tell us a story” surely there is an opportunity and a call to service for THE STORYTELLERS’ MAGAZINE.

American thought is in a creative period. Old forms in education, art, religion and government are assuming new forms to fit new conditions. The story telling movement is one with this growing life. Let us make it a true expression of the Nation’s best life. We are still young; much lies ahead of us. In the spirit of the great heroes of the old story books let us spread every sail, make for the mid-seas and discover lands not laid down in any chart.

In this issue of THE STORYTELLERS’ MAGAZINE will be found the initial number of Miss Martin’s admirable King Arthur Series, composed of twelve stories, as follows:

1. Merlin and His Prophecies. 2. How Arthur Won His Kingdom. 3. How Arthur won His Sword “Excalibur,” his Bride and his Round Table. 4. The Adventures of Gareth—the Kitchen Knave. 5. The Adventures of Geraint. 6. The Adventures of Tristram, the Forest Knight. 7. The Adventures of Launcelot of the Lake. 8. The Dolorous Stroke. 9. The Coming of Galahad. 10. The Quest of the Sangreal. 11. The Achieving of the Sangreal. 12. The Passing of Arthur.

At least one story will appear in each succeeding issue of the Magazine until the series is finished, and should space permit, possibly two stories will appear in some of the numbers.

The Immortal Stories

They were told long before anybody had learned how to write them out, though most of the fairy tales which the children feed on now are of the second crop, to be sure.

Dr. Greville MacDonald, writing in the _Contemporary Review_ of “The Fairy Tale in Education,” insists as strongly as Ruskin did upon the vital importance of the fairy story in the right kind of ministering to children. He regrets the tendency among the science worshipers to regard the fairy tale as a weed of superstition, to be pulled up and cast out with all such worn out beliefs. And he goes on:

“The fairy tale is a wild flower. It is native to that pasture of aboriginal, uncultivated innocence wherein, among the roots of grass and flowers, the elemental passions dwell....

“Not the least important of these elemental passions is the individual sense of unity with the world beyond. It is dominant in all unspoiled peasant folk, and dormant when not dominant in all children. It takes concrete form in folk-lore, folk-song and folk-dance. It throve fearlessly in the thirteenth century painters, in the Gothic masons and glass stainers of the great cathedrals. It is, indeed, the elemental gift in whose atmosphere and inspiration the true art grows. Hence comes the child’s fellow feeling with all simple life—his clutching at the flower, his delight in kitten, bird or butterfly. These are fellow creatures all, allies in “effort and expectation and desire.”

Dr. MacDonald is not worried by the protest that fairy tales sometimes have “bad morals.” He finds much popular confusion between the words “meaning” and “moral” in such complaints. What we do actually and rightly dislike, he thinks, is a moral label.

This is why the short sighted, the unco guid, or those whose “heads are filled with science” (to paraphrase a great writer), stupidly object to the fairy tale; they always want to append a copy book moral. The bad figures in fairy tales often play tricks successfully upon the good ones, but the child is not thereby deceived. His unerring instinct, unwarped by any sophistry of man’s education, pierces all the shams, and he loves the good and turns away, just as surely, from the bad. The spiritual sense of what is deeply true is integral in the child’s imagination, and must be held sacred.—_N. Y. Evening Sun._

From the Book Shelf

“IN OLDEST ENGLAND,” by G. P. Krapp. Price, 75 cents. Longmans, Green & Co., New York.

Dr. Krapp, a professor of literature in Columbia University, has given us an interesting and valuable book, for both youth and adult. He relates in an interesting way the story of England’s history, from the beginning up to the Norman conquest, using facts, ancient manuscripts, pictures and early literature to tell the story. He makes an appeal to the imagination, to re-create those far-off days, that we may fully realize how our ancestors lived a thousand years ago.

The measure of a people’s civilization, he says, is not in the amount of machinery they possess, but in the thoughts and affections which go to make up character. We cannot give a better idea of the book than the story of England’s first poet, which we give on another page of the Magazine.

* * * * *

“TALES OF THE ENCHANTED ISLES OF THE ATLANTIC.” By Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Price, $1.50. The Macmillan Company, New York.

“Bancroft, the historian, made it a matter of pride that the beginning of American annals was bare and literal,” says the author, and he goes on to prove, through two hundred and fifty-nine interesting pages, that Bancroft was mistaken. To Europeans, undiscovered America lay beyond the great unknown sea of awe, danger and vanishing isles. The islands within sight of European shores, Irish, Breton, Welsh and Spanish, had the glamour of enchantment cast about them. They were the gateways to a sea of mystery. The Canary Isles were discovered before the Christian era and then lost sight of for thirteen centuries. A continent called Atlantis, thought to have been submerged in the Atlantic, had long haunted the imagination of people in Europe and Africa. Solon, the law-giver and poet, wrote a letter in which he said that when a student in Egypt, he was told that the island of Atlantis, was sunk thousands of years ago. This letter was read and studied by both Socrates and Plato. From these traditions, taught by Greek and Egyptian, and believed by the inhabitants of Western Europe, who ever looked out upon the Atlantic, grew the interesting tales which the author gives, such as “Island of Youth,” “Swan Children of Lir,” “Castle of Active Door,” and “Island of Seven Cities.” King Arthur visited one of the Islands, and wrestled with Half-Man, which meant Habit, and when he fought his last battle in the West, and sailed away, it was to Avalon, one of the enchanted isles.

These traditions were great psychic forces, that lured men on until they discovered a new world, more marvelous than Atlantis. A fine book for the story tellers and one bearing directly on American history.

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“INDIAN SKETCHES, PÈRE MARQUETTE AND THE LAST OF THE POTTAWATOMIE CHIEFS.” By Cornelia Steketee Hulst. Price, 60 cents. Longmans, Green & Co., New York.

Mrs. Hulst combines historical data and literary art in such proportion as to make a most readable book, an Indian epic, beginning where the Song of Hiawatha left off, and bringing the Indian down to modern times. The story of the white man’s injustice and greed toward the Indian should be told our children. Our histories have omitted the accounts of the exile and banishment of tribes to the Far West. “To frankly confess a fault indicates a higher plane of honor and sincerity,” says the author. We have wronged our brothers, the Redmen, the first Americans. Let us as far as we can right the wrong. The book is a voice from the present speaking to the future. No one can read the book without feeling its appeal to fair play and eternal justice and right.

The Indian’s religion of the Great Spirit, his folk-games and folk-stories,—a true folk-culture that came out of the countless ages of American geography and history may yet be made over into the culture of modern America for our good. The author has set us thinking.

* * * * *

“WILLIE WYLD,” three volumes, Natural History Stories: “VOYAGE TO THE ISLAND OF ZANZIBAR,” “HUNTING BIG GAME IN AFRICA,“ ”LOST IN THE JUNGLES OF AFRICA.” By William James Morrison, with an introduction by Dr. P. P. Claxton, United States Commissioner of Education. Price, 60 cents a vol. Publishing House M. E. Church South, Nashville, Tenn.

The wide circulation these books have had prove the author’s position that a story need not be a fairy story to hold a child’s attention, but that Natural History has a marvelous story of its own to tell. While the books are instructive, yet the narrative holds the attention to the end. The plot is original and so is the method. Dr. Claxton says in his Introduction, “All people like stories of adventure, boys and girls most of all. Our ancestors told them about their camp fires, at night, in the long winter and on the meadows and in the openings of the great forests in the long twilights of the summer.

“Dr. Morrison has become known among modern story tellers for his realistic stories of adventure in which are interwoven valuable information of strange lands, peoples and animals. The stories in ‘Willie Wyld’ were first told by Dr. Morrison to the children of Nashville, in the Children’s Reading Room of the Public Library of that city, and have been written down as told, hence their freshness, simplicity and realism. I have just read them at a sitting without skipping a sentence, and I am sure many another child will want to do the same.” A helpful set of books for boys and girls.

* * * * *

THE ALDINE SERIES OF READERS: The Primer, 32 cents; 1st Reader, 36 cents; 2d Reader, 42 cents; 3d Reader, 48 cents; 4th Reader, 65 cents; 5th Reader, 75 cents; 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Grade Readers, 48 cents each.

LEARNING TO READ. A Teachers’ Manual, 60 cents. By Frank E. Spaulding, Superintendent of Schools, Newton, Mass., and Catherine T. Bryce, Supervisor of Primary Schools, Newton, Mass. Newson & Company, New York.

These Readers are based on the Aldine Method of Teaching Reading, as explained in “Learning to Read,”—A Manual for Teachers. Attractive as they undoubtedly are, with Miss Webb’s delightful illustrations and the excellent general arrangement of the material, they are far more important in the means employed to attract and hold the child’s attention; in the way in which they arouse the child’s interest and stimulate and direct the child’s thought. The Aldine Method in reading is in reality the Story Telling method of teaching the child to read.

Thus, learning to read by the Aldine Method, or the story-telling method, appeals to the child as real pleasure; he enters upon the undertaking with the enthusiasm of his play and his recreation. It is an enthusiasm which does not easily tire.

Any teacher who is interested in the art of story telling as a means of instruction for young children will surely be interested in the Aldine Readers.

Story Tellers’ Leagues

THE STORYTELLERS’ MAGAZINE publishes for the convenience of those interested in the story telling movement a finding list of Story Tellers’ Leagues throughout the United States. Correspondence is invited in order to supply omissions caused by lack of information so that the MAGAZINE may be made as complete as possible.

Leagues marked with a * publish Year Books.

The National Story Tellers’ League

HOME OFFICE: 27 West Twenty-third Street, New York

Officers

Richard T. Wyche, President 27 West 23d St., N. Y.

James H. Van Sickle, Vice President Superintendent of Schools, Springfield, Mass.

R. M. Hodge, Secretary 552 West 113th St., N. Y.

W. H. Keister, Treasurer Superintendent of Schools, Harrisonburg, Va.

ALABAMA

BIRMINGHAM

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE ————, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care J. H. Phillips, Supt. Birmingham Public Schools

MONTEVALLO

*ALABAMA GIRLS’ TECHNICAL INSTITUTE STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Myrtle Brooke, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Alabama Girls’ Technical Institute, Montevallo, Ala.

TUSCUMBIA

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Rayner Tillman, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care Public Schools, Tuscumbia, Ala.

ARKANSAS

LITTLE ROCK

*STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Grace Boyce, _President_ Miss Dora Hooper, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care Superintendent City Schools, Little Rock, Ark.

COLORADO

DENVER

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Edwina Fallis, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—637 Franklin St., Denver, Col.

CONNECTICUT

HARTFORD

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Prof. E. P. St. John, _President_ Miss Ethel H. Wooster, _Secretary_ P. O. Address—Hartford School Religious Pedagogy, Hartford, Conn.

GEORGIA

ATHENS

“ROUND TABLE” Prof. D. L. Earnest, _President_ Miss Janie Tharpe, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—State Normal, Athens, Ga.

ATLANTA

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mr. George B. Hinman, _Hon. President_ Mrs. Charles Goodman, _President_ Mrs. Meta Barker, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—24 Park Lane, Ansley Park, Atlanta, Ga.

“JUST-SO” STORY TELLERS’ CLUB Mr. Walter McElrath, _President_ Miss Meta Barker, _Secretary and Treasurer_ P. O. Address—68 East Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.

DALTON

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mr. T. S. Lucas, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Supt. City Schools, Dalton, Ga.

ILLINOIS

BLOOMINGTON

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Frances E. Foote, _Hon. President_ Mrs. C. B. Hanson, _President_ Mrs. Perry B. Johnson, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—402 West Chestnut St., Bloomington, Ill.

CARBONDALE

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Fadra R. Holmes, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—State Normal School, Carbondale, Ill.

CHICAGO

*STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE. (Chicago Branch Natl. S. T. L.) Miss Alice O’Grady, _President_ Miss Grace Hemingway, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—444 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, Ill.

DECATUR

STORY CLUB Miss Flora B. Smith, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—657 W. Main St., Decatur, Ill.

NORMAL

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE, Normal University Frances E. Foote, _President_ Miss Ada Kreider, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Normal University, Normal, Ill.

SPRINGFIELD

SANGAMON COUNTY STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Emma Grant, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address, Care of Superintendent Schools, Springfield, Ill.

IOWA

DES MOINES

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Jeanette Ezekiels, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Kindergarten Dept., Drake University, Des Moines, Ia.

KANSAS

KANSAS CITY

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Mary L. Dougherty, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—540 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kan.

TOPEKA

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Linna E. Bresette, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—506 Polk St., Topeka, Kan.

KENTUCKY

COVINGTON

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Lily Southgate, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—High School, Covington, Ky.

FORT THOMAS

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE ————, _President_ Miss Bessie J. White, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Southgate Ave., Fort Thomas, Ky.

LOUISVILLE

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Nannie Lee Frayser, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—University School, Louisville, Ky.

NEWPORT

CAMPBELL COUNTY STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE ————, _President_ Miss Florence Savage, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—36 Home Ave., Newport, Ky.

LOUISIANA

NEW ORLEANS

*STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Eleanor Payne, _President_ Miss Ida Barnett, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—1631 Octavia St., New Orleans, La.

SHREVEPORT

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Pearl Fortson, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—High School, Shreveport, La.

MASSACHUSETTS

WORCESTER

STORY TELLERS’ CLUB Miss Edna Collamore, _President_ Miss Mary Woodward, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—40 Merrick St., Worcester, Mass.

MICHIGAN

ADRIAN

*STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Nellie Stow, _President_ Miss Fanny Rich, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care Public Library, Adrian, Mich.

CALUMET

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mrs. Robert Wetzel, _President_ Miss Ella Josey, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care C. & H. Library, Calumet, Mich.

DETROIT

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Mary Conover, _President_ Miss Alice M. Alexander, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Children’s Room, Public Library, Detroit, Mich.

MISSOURI

ST. JOSEPH

*ST. JOSEPH STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Martina Martin, _President_ Miss Georgiana Behne, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—209 North 18th Street, St. Joseph, Mo.

MISSISSIPPI

BLUE MOUNTAIN

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Jennie Hardy, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Blue Mountain College, Blue Mountain, Miss.

COLUMBUS

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE

Miss Rosa B. Knox, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Normal Institute, Columbus, Miss.

MONTANA

BOZEMAN

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mrs. R. J. Cunninghan, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Bozeman, Mont.

DILLON

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Florence Mayer, _President_ Miss Susie Karas, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—State Normal, Dillon, Mont.

HELENA

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mr. J. W. Curtis, _President_ Miss Lucile Dyas, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care City Schools, Helena, Mont.

NEBRASKA

OMAHA

*STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mrs. C. W. Axtell, _President_ Miss Emma Rosicky, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—1015 William St., Omaha, Neb.

*WYCHE STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Ida M. Crowell, _President_ Miss Mary Krebs, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—1332 S. 25th Ave., Omaha, Neb.

LINCOLN

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE, Nebraska State Teachers’ Association Miss Margaret Cleland, _President_ P. O. Address—2491 Q Street, Lincoln, Neb.

NEW YORK

NEW YORK CITY

KNICKERBOCKER STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mrs. E. D. Burt, _President_ Mrs. Anna P. Ball, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—500 West 121st Street, New York.

INFORMAL FIRESIDE STORY TELLING CIRCLE Miss L. A. Palmer, _President_ Miss Charlotte Cornish, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—235 East 18th St., New York

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE, Y.W.C.A. Training School ————, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—113 East 34th Street, New York.

SYRACUSE

STORY TELLER’ LEAGUE Miss Maude C. Stewart, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care Willard School, Syracuse, N. Y.

NORTH CAROLINA

WILSON

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Daphne Carraway, _President_ Miss Florence Mayerberg, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—208 North Pine Street, Wilson, N. C.

OHIO

CINCINNATI

*STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Pearl Carpenter, _President_ Miss L. O’Neill, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—2371 Fairview Ave., Cincinnati, O.

OXFORD

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Annie Logan, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Miami University, Oxford, O.

PIQUA

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Jessie H. Masden, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Schmidlapp Free Public Library, Piqua, O.

OKLAHOMA

PONCA CITY

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Lenna Mead, _President_ Miss Roberta McCullough, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Ponca City, Okla.

PENNSYLVANIA

PHILADELPHIA

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Prof. F. A. Child, _President_ Miss Helen D. Mills, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Box 38, College Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

NORTH EAST

NORTH EAST STORY TELLERS’ CLUB Miss Laura Selkregg, _President_ Miss Almeda Wells, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—140 W. Main St., North East, Pa.

SOUTH CAROLINA

TIMMONSVILLE

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Annie W. Shuler, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Box 247, Timmonsville, S. C.

TENNESSEE

HARRIMAN

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Inez A. Ayers, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Public Library, Harriman, Tenn.

NASHVILLE

*STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Elizabeth Oehmig, _President_ Miss Cornelia Barksdale, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—1207 Ordway Place, Nashville, Tenn.

TEXAS

SAN ANTONIO

MARK TWAIN STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE ————, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—High School, San Antonio, Tex.

WACO

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY SUMMER SCHOOL ————, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—Care Prof. W. W. Pelham, Waco, Tex.

VIRGINIA

HARRISONBURG

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Prof. C. J. Heatwole, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—State Normal School, Harrisonburg, Va.

RICHMOND

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Miss Lucy Coleman, _President_ ————, _Secretary_ P. 0. Address—13 North 5th Street, Richmond, Va.

WEST VIRGINIA

GLENVILLE

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mr. Blaine Engle, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—State Normal School, Glenville, W. Va.

HINTON

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mr. R. L. Cole, _President_ ————, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—High School, Hinton, W. Va.

MORGANTOWN

BEOWULF STORY TELLERS’ CLUB Mr. J. A. McRae, _President_ Miss Marian Tapp, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—West Virginia University, Morgantown, W. Va.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS

STORY TELLERS’ LEAGUE Mr. H. C. Bailey, _President_ Miss Bettie Dunbar, _Cor. Secretary_ P. O. Address—White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.

The School of Mothercraft

OFFERS BRIEF COURSES IN

Story Telling, Nursery Play and Handwork; Methods of Teaching Nature Study; Practical Child Study.

Classes for Mothers, Mothers’ Assistants, Sunday School Workers, Social Workers. Reference Library.

_For further particulars, write the Director_,

Summer Address: MARY L. READ 59 West 96th St., New York City

Business Manager’s Story

Well, we came, we are seen, we are conquered—by the many kind things our readers are saying about us.

Of course, we understand our friends and well wishers are apt to emphasize our good points and minimize our failings. The most conscientious critics are perhaps silent over our shortcomings out of sympathy and good nature.

We hope not, however. Constructive ideas from friendly critics is the most encouraging form of appreciation. The best service any one can render the Magazine is to show how it can be made better.

THE STORYTELLERS’ letter bag since the publication of the first number of the Magazine has been running over with comment of the most encouraging nature, and, as we venture to hope the public at large will share in some degree our pleasure over the cordial recognition of our efforts which it indicates, we give below a few of the many comments received:

AMHERST, N. H. Miss Rebecca Spaulding writes:

“Perhaps you will be interested in knowing that at the news-stand where I stopped to buy the magazine the first day it was out the newsboy himself was devouring it.”

“Is it a good Magazine?” I asked.

“It’s better’n the novels,” he answered with a bright smile, and was soon lost in its pages again.

“Isn’t that a good advertisement in itself.”

SAINT LOUIS, MO. Percival Chubb, President of the Ethical Society writes:

“Congratulations on your first number. It promises very well and I hope you will be receiving assistance all over the country which will enable you to make a notable thing of your new venture.”

ILLINOIS NORMAL UNIVERSITY. Miss Frances E. Foote writes:

“Hurrah for the Storytellers’ Magazine! I’m delighted with this initial number.”

YONKERS, N. Y. Charles Welsh, author and editor, writes:

“You have struck it right the first time, and I hope you have ‘struck it rich.’ The Magazine is a little gem from the point of view of get-up, and a glance at the contents suffices to show me that you have struck a rich vein of good things. No home where there are children should be without it.”

ALBANY, N. Y. Sherman Williams, Chief of the School Libraries’ Division, New York State Education Department, writes:

“I wish it might go into the hands of every first and second grade primary teacher in the land.”

PHILADELPHIA, PA. Frederic A. Child, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania, writes:

“The Magazine is fine, both in appearance and content.”

CHICAGO, ILL. Miss Georgene Faulkner—“The Story Lady”—writes:

“The Magazine is excellent and contains very valuable material. The Bibliography alone is worth a year’s subscription.“

UTICA, N. Y. Miss Georgina Speare writes:

” ... And last but not at all the least I shall aid you to get subscribers, because I want to help the financial side of your undertaking. You are beginning a splendid work and I wish you the greatest success.”

The last writer, Miss Speare, in her desire “to help the financial side,” hits the nail squarely on the head.

That is the business manager’s side.

No one knows so well as he what the making of a magazine costs.

Have you ever reckoned up the thousands and thousands of dollars it takes to make and publish ten or twelve numbers of a magazine?

Have you ever thought how little it costs the subscriber—just eight and one-third cents _per month—including the postage_?

If you have thought of these things you already understand how necessary the subscriber is to the life of the Magazine.

“He, who is not for us, is against us” is just as true of a Magazine subscription as any other form of endeavor.

We have received much substantial encouragement already from subscribers, and new ones are coming in every day.

We have also many earnest representatives at work making friends and subscribers for the Magazine, but we need many more—in fact, we need _you_.

If you are not already a subscriber will you not send in your subscription _now_—and then lend us your assistance to get others.

REMEMBER, we _make it worth your while_ to work for THE STORYTELLERS’ MAGAZINE.

Address BUSINESS MANAGER, THE STORYTELLERS’ MAGAZINE, 27 West 23d St., New York.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In this list of books, Column I gives the price upon receipt of which the book named will be sent post-paid. Column II gives the price upon receipt of which the book named will be sent post-paid together with The Storytellers’ Magazine for one year. Remittances may safely be made by Money or Express Order or by draft on New York. All communications should be sent to The Storytellers’ Magazine, 27 West 23d Street, New York, giving the name of the book wanted; the date at which the subscription to The Storytellers’ Magazine should begin, and the name and full post-office address of the sender.

I. Story Telling

Column I Column II Price Price at which Book of Book and will be sent THE STORYTELLERS’ post-paid MAGAZINE for one year Book and STORYTELLERS’ BRYANT, Sara Cone.—How to Tell Stories MAGAZINE to Children, 1.00 Combined $1.65 Stories to Tell Children. 1.00 1.65 HOUGHTON, Louise.—Telling Bible Stories 1.25 ” 1.85 KEYES.—Stories and Story-Telling. 1.25 ” 1.85 LYMAN, Edna.—Story-Telling: What to Tell and How to Tell It 0.75 ” 1.55 PARTRIDGE, E. N. & G. P.—Story-Telling in School and Home. 1.25 ” 1.75 WYCHE, R. T.—Some Great Stories and How to Tell Them. 1.00 1.55

II. Bible Stories

BUNYAN.—Pilgrim’s Progress. 1.00 ” 1.65 CHISHOLM.—Stories from The Old Testament. 0.50 ” 1.30 CHURCH.—Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem. 1.25 ” 1.85 HODGES.—Saints and Heroes. 1.35 ” 1.95 KELMAN.—Stories from the Life of Christ. 0.50 ” 1.30 PENDLETON.—In Assyrian Tents. 0.75 ” 1.55 SHEPARD.—Young Folks Josephus. 1.25 ” 1.85 SIVITER.—Nehe, Story of Nehemiah. 1.50 ” 2.10 TOLSTOI.—Where Love Is—There is God Also. 0.35 ” 1.25

III. Epics, Romances and Classic Tales

ARNOLD.—Sohrab and Rustem. 0.25 ” 1.15 BALDWIN.—Story of Roland. 1.50 ” 2.10 BALDWIN.—Story of Siegfried. 1.50 ” 2.10 CARPENTER.—Hellenic Tales. 0.60 ” 1.45 CHURCH.—Odyssey for Boys and Girls. 1.50 ” 2.10 CHURCH.—Stories of Charlemagne. 1.75 ” 2.25 CHURCH.—Stories of Homer. 1.25 ” 1.85 CRAWFORD.—Tr. the Kalevala, the National Epic of Finland. 3.00 ” 3.50 DARTON.—Tales of the Canterbury Pilgrims. 1.50 ” 2.10 DARTON.—Wonder-book of Old Romance. 1.50 ” 2.10 DAVIDSON.—A Knight Errant—Story of Amadis of Gaul. 1.75 ” 2.25 HAVELL.—Stories from Don Quixote. 1.50 ” 2.10 HIGGINSON.—Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic 1.50 ” 2.10 HOLBROOK.—Northland Heroes. 0.35 ” 1.25 HULL.—The Boy’s Cuchulain-Irish Hero Legends. 1.50 ” 2.10 IRVING.—Tales from the Alhambra. 0.60 ” 1.40 LANG, A.—Book of Romance. 1.60 ” 2.15 LANG, Andrew.—”Tales of Troy and Greece.” 1.00 ” 1.65 LANG, L. B.—Red Book of Heroes. 1.60 ” 2.15 LANIER.—The Boy’s King Arthur. 2.00 ” 2.45 MABIE.—Heroes Every Child Should Know. 0.50 ” 1.30 MACLEOD.—Book of King Arthur, etc. (Inexpensive edition.) 1.00 ” 1.65 MACLEOD.—Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. 1.50 ” 2.10 MACLEOD.—Stories from the Faerie Queene 1.50 ” 2.10 MCSPADDEN.—Stories from Wagner. 0.50 ” 1.30 MCSPADDEN.—Stories from Chaucer. 0.50 ” 1.30 MARSHALL.—Stories of Beowulf. 0.50 ” 1.30 MARSHALL.—Stories of Childe Roland. 0.50 ” 1.30 MARSHALL.—Story of William Tell. 0.50 ” 1.30 MORRIS.—Story of Sigurd the Volsung. 2.00 ” 2.45 PALMER.—Tr. Odyssey of Homer. 1.00 ” 1.65 PYLE.—Story of King Arthur and his Knights. 2.00 ” 2.45 PYLE.—Story of Launcelot and his Companions.2.00 ” 2.45 PYLE.—Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. (Condensed) 0.50 ” 1.30 PYLE.—Merry Adventures of Robin Hood 3.00 ” 3.30 RAGOZIN.—Frithj and Roland. 1.25 ” 1.85 RAGOZIN.—Siegfried and Beowulf. 1.25 ” 1.85 ROYDE-SMITH.—Una and the Red Cross Knight.2.50 ” 2.85 TEGNER.—Frithiof’s Saga. 1.25 ” 1.85 TINKER.—Beowulf. Tr. by Tinker. 1.00 ” 1.65 WILMOT-BUXTON.—Stories of Persian Heroes. 1.50 ” 2.10 WILSON.—The Story of the Cid. 1.25 ” 1.85

IV. Fables, Myths, Heroes and Folk Lore

ÆSOP’S FABLES.—Ed. by Joseph Jacobs. 1.50 ” 2.10 ANDERSEN.—Wonder Stories. 1.00 ” 1.65 AUSTIN.—The Basket Woman—Ute Indian Tales. 1.50 ” 2.10 BALDWIN.—Story of the Golden Age. 1.50 ” 2.10 BALDWIN.—Wonder-book of Horses. 0.75 ” 1.60 BLUMENTHAL.—Folk Tales from the Russians 0.60 ” 1.45 BRADISH.—Old Norse Stories. 0.45 ” 1.28 BROWN.—In the Days of Giants. 1.10 ” 1.85 BRYCE.—Fables from Afar. 0.45 ” 1.28 Short Stories for Little Folks. 0.35 ” 1.20 BRYCE.—That’s Why Stories. 0.45 ” 1.28 DASENT.—Popular Tales from the Norse. 2.50 ” 2.85 GRIFFIS.—The Fire-Fly’s Lovers, Japanese Folk Tales. 1.00 ” 1.65 GRIMM.—Household Stories. Tr. by Crane. 1.00 ” 1.70 HAWTHORNE.—Wonderbook and Tanglewood Tales. 1.00 ” 1.70 HARRIS.—Uncle Remus and His Friends. 1.50 ” 2.10 HARRIS.—Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings. 2.00 ” 2.45 KINGSLEY.—Heroes of Greek Fairy Tales. 1.00 ” 1.65 KUPFER.—Legends of Greece and Rome. 0.75 ” 1.60 LAGERLÖF.—Swedish Folk Tales. 1.50 ” 2.10 LANG, Andrew.—True Story Book. 2.00 ” 2.45 MABIE.—Norse Stories Retold from The Eddas. 1.25 ” 1.75 PEABODY.—Old Greek Folk Stories. 0.25 ” 1.15 RAMASWAMI, Raju.—Indian Fables. 1.50 ” 2.10 ROULET-NIXON.—Japanese Folk Stories and Fairy Tales. 0.40 ” 1.25 SCUDDER.—Children’s Book. 2.50 ” 2.85 STORR.—Half-a-Hundred Hero Tales. 1.35 ” 1.95 WIGGIN & SMITH.—Tales of Laughter. 1.35 ” 1.95 WIGGIN & SMITH.—Tales of Wonder. 1.50 ” 1.95 ZITKALA-SA.—Old Indian Legends. 0.60 ” 1.40

V. Fairy Tales—Old and New

ANDERSEN.—Fairy Tales. Tr. by Mrs. Lucas. 2.50 ” 2.85 ANDERSEN.—Fairy Tales. Vol. I. 0.40 ” 1.25 Vol. II. 0.40 ” 1.25 ANDERSEN.—Stories and Tales. 0.30 ” 1.20 ASBJORNSEN.—Fairy Tales from the Far North (Burt). 1.00 ” 1.65 BALDWIN.—Fairy Stories and Fables. 0.35 ” 1.25 BAIN.—Russian Fairy Tales. 0.00 ” 1.65 BAIN.—Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk Tales. 0.00 ” 1.65 CARY.—Fairy Legends of the French Provinces. 0.60 ” 1.45 CHISHOLM.—In Fairy Land. 3.00 ” 3.30 COMPTON.—American Indian Fairy Tales. 1.50 ” 2.10 CRAIK.—The Fairy Book. 0.50 ” 1.30 DOLE.—Russian Fairy Book. 2.00 ” 2.45 GRIMM.—Fairy Tales. Tr. by Mrs. Lucas. Ill. by Arthur Rackham. 1.50 ” 2.10 JACOBS.—Celtic Fairy Tales. 1.00 ” 1.65 JACOBS.—More Celtic Fairy Tales. 1.25 ” 1.85 JACOBS.—English Fairy Tales. 1.00 ” 1.65 JACOBS.—More English Fairy Tales. 1.25 ” 1.85 JACOBS.—Indian Fairy Tales. 1.00 ” 1.65 LANG, Andrew.—Blue True Story Book. 2.00 ” 2.45 LANG, Andrew.—Crimson Fairy Book. 1.60 ” 2.15 MACDONNELL.—Italian Fairy Book. 1.35 ” 1.90 OZAKI.—Japanese Fairy Book. 1.50 ” 2.10 RHYS.—Fairy Gold. 0.70 ” 1.55 WILLISTON.—Japanese Fairy Tales. 0.75 ” 1.55

VI. History, Biography, Travel and Adventure

ABBOTT.—Daniel Boone. 1.25 ” 1.85 Christopher Carson, Known as Kit Carson. 1.25 ” 1.85 ABBOTT.—David Crockett. 1.25 ” 1.85 AMBROSI.—When I was a Girl in Italy. 0.75 ” 1.55 BARNES.—Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors. 0.50 ” 1.30 BOLTON.—Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous. 1.50 ” 2.10 BOYESEN.—Boyhood in Norway. 1.25 ” 1.85 BROOKS.—Story of Marco Polo. 1.50 ” 2.10 BROOKS.—True Story of Christopher Columbus. 1.50 ” 2.10 BUTTERWORTH.—Zigzag Journeys around the World. Per vol. 1.50 ” 2.10 CARPENTER.—Asia. 0.60 ” 1.45 CARPENTER.—South America. 0.60 ” 1.45 CHURCH.—Stories of the East from Herodotus. 1.25 ” 1.85 CUSTER (Mrs).—Boy General. Story of the Life of Major-General George A. Custer. 0.50 ” 1.40 DANA.—Two Years Before the Mast (University). 1.00 ” 1.65 DU CHAILLU.—Country of the Dwarfs. 1.25 ” 1.85 Lost in the Jungle. 1.25 ” 1.85 My Apingi Kingdom. 1.25 ” 1.85 Stories of the Gorilla Country. 1.25 ” 1.85 Wild Life Under The Equator. 1.25 ” 1.85 DUTTON.—Little Stories of Germany. 0.40 ” 1.25 GARLAND.—Boy Life on the Prairie. 1.50 ” 2.10 GIBSON.—In Eastern Wonder-Lands. 1.50 ” 2.10 GOLDING.—Story of David Livingston. 0.50 ” 1.30 HAWTHORNE.—Biographical Stories. 0.25 ” 1.15 JENKS.—Boy’s Book of Explorations. 2.00 ” 2.45 JOHNSTON AND SPENCER.—Ireland’s Story 1.40 ” 2.05 KINGSLEY.—Westward Ho! 0.60 ” 1.45 KNOX.—Boy Travellers in Great Britain and Ireland. 2.00 ” 2.45 MABIE.—Heroines Every Child Should Know. 0.50 ” 1.30 MCMANUS.—Our Little Hindu Cousin. 0.60 ” 1.40 MACGREGOR.—Story of France. 2.50 ” 2.85 PARKMAN.—Oregon Trail. 0.40 ” 1.25 ROOSEVELT AND LODGE.—Hero Tales from American History. 1.50 ” 2.10 ROOSEVELT.—Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail. 2.50 ” 2.85 SCHWATKA.—Children of the Cold. 1.25 ” 1.85 STARR.—American Indians. 0.45 ” 1.30 TAPPAN.—Story of the Greek People. 1.50 ” 2.00 Story of the Roman People. 1.50 ” 2.00 VAN BERGEN.—Story of Russia. 0.65 ” 1.50 WHITE.—The Magic Forest. 0.50 ” 1.30 YOUNGE.—Book of Golden Deeds. 1.00 ” 1.55

STORIES FOR CHILDREN

=TWO LITTLE RUNAWAYS= (_Just Published_)

Adapted and revised by MELVIN HIX and WALTER L. HERVEY. Illustrated. 95 pp. 30 cents.

Snappy and Spitfire are a dog and a cat who become dissatisfied with their surroundings and decide to run away. Their various adventures make an amusing and interesting book for children. It was designed particularly to be used at that important stage when children are ready to begin the independent practice of the most delightful of all arts, the art of finding stories in books. The simplicity of plot and general content are admirably suited to the needs and abilities of six-year-old readers.

INDIAN SKETCHES

By CORNELIA STEKETEE HULST. Illustrated. 120 pages. 60 cents.

New material, drawn from the beautiful and heroic stories of the Northwest Territory, has been worked up with the aim of presenting the Indian in a much pleasanter and fairer light than is usual in literature. Social and racial customs, the dances of the various seasons, etc., are described. Parents and teachers of younger children will find these “Sketches” interesting and historically accurate.

IN OLDEST ENGLAND

By GEORGE PHILIP KRAPP. Illustrated. 173 pp. 60 cents.

A collection of well-chosen stories which represent old English life. Tales of adventure, accounts of battles, vivid descriptions of their homes and dress, all serve to make real this distant period. The story of the beginnings of the English people up to the Norman Conquest is given, and the heroic characters of those times are brought to view in a setting altogether new.

THE MAGIC SPEECH FLOWER

By MELVIN HIX. Illustrated. 179 pp. 35 cents.

This is the story of a little boy who was kind to animals, and, because of his goodness to them, gained the power to understand and to speak the speech of the animal folk. Thus he hears from them all about their habits and they tell him many interesting legends of the woods. Most of the stories are new and they are told in simple language which can be read by children of eight or nine years of age.

HISTORICAL PLAYS OF COLONIAL DAYS

By LOUISE E. TUCKER and ESTELLE L. RYAN. Twenty-six plays. With full-page Frontispiece. 163 pp. 65 cents.

This book makes history real by lifting it into a dramatic presentation faithfully reproducing people and events in colonial times in America. It teaches history in its pleasantest form. All of the plays have been acted over and over again by children nine or ten years old. They also immensely enjoy reading the plays without acting. The average time required to give each of the plays is about fifteen minutes.

Fairy and Other Story Books by Andrew Lang.

All Sorts of Stories Book _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ $1.60 Animal Story Book 2.00 Animal Story Book Reader .50 Arabian Nights 2.00 Blue Fairy Book 2.00 Book of Princes and Princesses _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Book of Romance _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Book of Saints and Heroes _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Brown Fairy Book _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Crimson Fairy Book _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Green Fairy Book 2.00 Grey Fairy Book 2.00 Lilac Fairy Book _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 My Own Fairy Book 2.00 Olive Fairy Book _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Orange Fairy Book _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Pink Fairy Book 2.00 Red Book of Animal Stories 2.00 Red Book of Heroes _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Red Book of Romance _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Red Fairy Book 2.00 Red True Story Book 2.00 True Story Book 2.00 Violet Fairy Book _By Mail_, $1.75; _Net_ 1.60 Yellow Fairy Book 2.00

LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., Publishers Fourth Avenue and 30th Street, New York

LEARNING TO READ

BY THE

Story Telling System

“Every primary teacher should be able to tell a story to children effectively; this is an accomplishment almost indispensable in her art. If you, as a teacher, have never told a story, begin at once.” Thus write the authors of

The Aldine Readers in “LEARNING TO READ”

A Manual for Teachers

Rhymes, introduced by appropriate stories, furnish the most effective means of acquiring an initial stock of “sight words.”

The story with which the teacher introduces each rhyme is not a mere device for making a hard task easy for the child.

The story _does_ serve this purpose, but it does much more than that.

It arouses the child’s interest; it attracts and hold the child’s attention; it stimulates and directs the child’s thought; in short, the told story does for the child what the printed story must do later. By teaching the child to listen well, the teacher is preparing him to read well.

Story tellers use the Aldine Method, because learning to read in this way appeals to the child as a real pleasure; he enters upon the undertaking with the enthusiasm of his play and recreation.

=Do YOU use the ALDINE METHOD OF READING?=

If not the publishers will welcome an opportunity to tell you all about it.

NEWSON & COMPANY, Publishers Boston NEW YORK Chicago