A Study of Fairy Tales Part 24

(4) It shows Cinderella sleeping in a garret instead of on the hearth.

(5) It omits the Father.

(6) It omits the hazel bough.

(7) It omits the three wishes.

(8) It subst.i.tutes the fairy G.o.dmother for the hazel tree and the friendly doves.

(9) It subst.i.tutes transformation for tree-shaking.

(10) It omits the episode of the pear tree and of the pigeon-house.

(11) It omits the use of pitch and axe-cutting.

(12) It omits the false bride and the two doves.

(13) It subst.i.tutes two nights at the ball for three nights.

(14) It makes C. forgiving and generous at the end. The Sisters are not punished.

(15) It contains slippers of gla.s.s instead of slippers of gold.

(16) It simplifies the narrative, improves the structure, and puts in the condition, which is a keystone to the structure.

(17) It has no poetical refrain.

(18) It is more direct and dramatic.

(19) It draws the characters more clearly.

(20) Is it not more artificial and conventional?

This contrast shows the Grimm tale to be the more poetical, while it is the more complex, and contains more barbarous and gruesome elements unsuited to the child of to-day. Of the two forms, the Grimm tale seems the superior tale, however, and if rewritten in a literary form suited to the child, might become even preferable.

_Sleeping Beauty_, which is another romantic tale that might claim to be the most popular fairy tale, has for its theme the long sleep of winter and the awakening of spring. The Earth G.o.ddess, p.r.i.c.ked by winter's dart, falls into a deep sleep from which she is awakened by the Sun who searches far for her. This tale is similar to the Norse _Balder_ and the Greek _Persephone_. Some of its incidents appear also in _The Two Brothers_, an Egyptian tale of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Seti II, in which the Hathors who p.r.o.nounce the fate of the Prince correspond to the wicked old Fairy. The spindle whose p.r.i.c.k caused slumber is the arrow that wounded Achilles, the thorn which p.r.i.c.ked Siegfried, the mistle-toe which wounded Balder, and the poisoned nail of the demon in _Surya Bai_. In the northern form of the story we find the ivy, which is the one plant that can endure winter's touch. The theme of the long sleep occurs in the mediaeval legend of _The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus_, in the English _The King of England and His Three Sons_, poetically as Tennyson has given it in his _Day-Dream_, and in the _Story of Brunhilde_, in _Siegfried_. Here a hedge of flames encircles Brunhilde who is awakened at the touch of Siegfried's magic sword, just as Sleeping Beauty is awakened by the Prince's kiss.

The kiss may be a survival of an ancient form of wors.h.i.+p of some local G.o.ddess. In the Hindu _Panch-Rhul Ranee_, seven ditches surmounted by seven hedges of spears, surround the heroine. Of the Perrault and Grimm versions of _Sleeping Beauty_, the Perrault version is long and complex because it contains the minor tale of the cruel stepmother added to the main tale, while the Grimm _Briar Rose_ is a model of structure easily separated into ten leading episodes. _Sleeping Beauty_ appeared in Basile's _Pentamerone_ where there is given the beautiful incident of the baby sucking the spike of flax out of its sleeping mother's fingers. The Perrault version agrees with that of Basile in naming the twins, who are Sun and Moon in the _Pentamerone_, Day and Dawn.

_Red Riding Hood_ is another romantic tale[11] that could claim to be the one most popular fairy tale of all fairy tales. Similar tales occur in the story of the Greek Kronos swallowing his children, in the Algonquin legend repeated in _Hiawatha_, and in an Aryan story of a Dragon swallowing the sun and being killed by the sun-G.o.d, Indra. _Red Riding Hood_ appeals to a child's sense of fear, it gives a thrill which if not too intense, is distinctly pleasing. But it pleases less noticeably perhaps because of its atmosphere of love and service, and because it presents a picture of a dear little maid. The Grandmother's gift of love to the child, the bright red hood, the mother's parting injunction, the Wolf's change of aspect and voice to suit the child--all these directly and indirectly emphasize love, tenderness, and appreciation of simple childhood. The child's errand of grat.i.tude and love, the play in the wood, the faith in the woodcutter's presence--all are characteristic of a typical little maid and one to be loved. There is in the tale too, the beauty of the wood--flowers, birds, and the freshness of the open air. The ending of the tale is varied. In Perrault the Wolf ate Grandmother and then ate Red Riding Hood. In Grimm one version gives it that the Hunter, hearing snoring, went to see what the old lady needed. He cut open the Wolf, and Grandmother and Red Riding Hood became alive. He filled the Wolf with stones. When the Wolf awoke, he tried to run, and died. All three were happy; the Hunter took the skin, Grandmother had her cake and wine, and Red Riding Hood was safe and had her little girl's lesson of obedience. Another Grimm ending is that Little Red-Cap reached the Grandmother before the Wolf, and after telling her that she had met him, they both locked the door. Then they filled a trough with water in which the sausages had been boiled. When the Wolf tried to get in and got up on the roof, he was enticed by the odor, and fell into the trough. A great deal of freedom has been used in re-telling the ending of this tale, usually with the purpose of preventing the Wolf from eating Red Riding Hood. In regard to the conclusion of _Red Riding Hood_, Thackeray said: "I am reconciled to the Wolf eating Red Riding Hood because I have given up believing this is a moral tale altogether and am content to receive it as a wild, odd, surprising, and not unkindly fairy story."

The interpretation of _Red Riding Hood_--which the children need not know--is that the evening Sun goes to see her Grandmother, the Earth, who is the first to be swallowed up by the Wolf of Night and Darkness.

The red cloak is the twilight glow. The Hunter may be the rising Sun that rescues all from Night. _Red Riding Hood_ has been charmingly elaborated in Tieck's _Romantic Poems_, and a similar story appears in a Swedish popular song, _Jungfrun i'Blaskagen_, in _Folkviser_ 3; 68, 69.

VI, VII. The Old Tale and the Modern Tale.

The old fairy tale is to be distinguished from the modern fairy tale.

Most of the tales selected have been old tales because they possess the characteristics suited to the little child. The modern fairy tale may be said to begin with Andersen's _Fairy Tales_.--Since Andersen has been referred to frequently and as a study of _The Tin Soldier_ has already been given, Andersen's work can receive no more detailed treatment here.--The modern fairy tale, since the time of Andersen, has yet to learn simplicity and sincerity. It often is long and involved and presents a multiplicity of images that is confusing. It lacks the great art qualities of the old tale, the central unity and harmony of character and plot. The _idea_ must be the soul of the narrative, and the problem is to make happen to the characters things that are expressive of the idea. The story must hold by its interest, and must be sincere and inevitable to be convincing. It must understand that the method of expression must be the method of suggestion and not that of detail. The old tale set no boundaries to its suggestion. It used concrete artistry; but because the symbol expressed less it implied more. The modern tale is more definitely intentional and it often sets boundaries to its suggestion because the symbol expresses so much. Frequently it emphasizes the satiric and critical element, and its humor often is heavy and clumsy. To be literature, as has been pointed out, besides characters, plot, setting, and dialogue, a cla.s.sic must present truth; it must have emotion and imagination molded with beauty into the form of language; and it must have the power of a cla.s.sic to bestow upon the mind a permanent enrichment. Any examination of the modern fairy tale very frequently shows a failure to meet these requirements.

The modern tale is not so poor, however, when we mention such tales as Lewis Carroll's _Alice in Wonderland_, Oscar Wilde's _Happy Prince_, Alice Brown's _Gradual Fairy_, Frances Browne's _Prince Fairyfoot_, Miss Mulock's _Little Lame Prince_, Barrie's _Peter Pan_, Jean Ingelow's _Mopsa, the Fairy_ and _The Ouphe in the Wood_, Field's _The Story of Claus_, Stockton's _Old Pipes and the Dryad_, Kingsley's _Water Babies_, Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_, Collodi's _Pinocchio_, Maeterlinck's _Blue-Bird_, Kipling's _Just-So Stories_ and the tales of the _Jungle Books_, Selma Lagerlof's _Wonderful Adventures of Nils_, the _Uncle Remus Tales_ of Harris, etc. But these cla.s.sics are, with a few exceptions, the richness of the primary and elementary literature. The modern fairy tale suited to the kindergarten child, is at a disadvantage, for most likely it is hidden away in some magazine, waiting for appreciation to bring some attention to it. And in these complex modern days it is difficult to secure a tale whose simplicity suits the little child.

Among the best tales for little people are Miss Harrison's _Hans and the Four Giants_ and _Little Beta and the Lame Giant_. In _Little Beta and the Lame Giant_ a natural child is placed in unusual surroundings, where the gentleness of the giant and the strength of love in the little girl present strong contrasts that please and satisfy. _The Sea Fairy and the Land Fairy_ in _Some Fairies I have Met_, by Mrs.

Stawell, though possessing much charm and beauty, is too complicated for the little people. It is a quarrel of a Sea Fairy and a Land Fairy. It is marked by good structure, it presents a problem in the introduction, has light fancy suited to its characters, piquant dialogue, good description, visualized expressions, and it presents distinct pictures. Its method is direct and it gets immediately into the story. Its method of personification, which in this, perhaps the best story of the collection, is rather delightful, in some of the others is less happy and is open to question. _How Double Darling's Old Shoes Became Lady Slippers_, by Candace Wheeler, in _St.

Nicholas_, is a really delightful modern fairy story suited to be read to the little child. It is the experience of a little girl with new shoes and her dream about her old shoes. But the story lacks in structure, there is not the steady rise to one great action, the episode of the Santa Claus tree is somewhat foreign and unnecessary, and the conclusion falls flat because the end seems to continue after the problem has been worked out.

In _The Dwarf's Tailor_, by Underhill, there is much conversation about things and an indirect use of language, such as "arouse them to reply" and "continued to question," which is tedious. The humor is at times heavy, quoting proverbs, such as "The pitcher that goes too often to the well is broken at last." The climax is without interest.

The scene of the Dwarfs around the fire--in which the chief element of humor seems to be that the Tailor gives the Dwarf a slap--is rather foolish than funny. The details are trite and the transformation misses being pleasing. Again there is not much plot and the story does not hold by its interest. In _The Golden Egg and the c.o.c.k of Gold_, by Scudder, the conversation is not always to the point, is somewhat on the gossipy order, is trite, and the suspense is not held because the climax is told beforehand. Mrs. Burton Harrison's _Old Fas.h.i.+oned Fairy Book_ is very pleasing, but it was written for her two sons, who were older children. It has the fault of presenting too great a variety of images and it lacks simplicity of structure. Its _Juliet_, or _The Little White Mouse_, which seems to be a re-telling of D'Aulnoy's _Good Little Mouse_, contains a good description of the old-time fairy dress. _Deep Sea Violets_, perhaps the best-written story in the book, gives a good picture of a maiden taken to a Merman's realm. _Rosy's Stay-at-Home Parties_ has delightful imagination similar to that of Andersen.

_Five Little Pigs_, by Katherine Pyle, is a delightful little modern story, which could be used with interest by the child who knows _The Story of Three Little Pigs_. _The Little Rooster_, by Southey, is a very pleasing realistic tale of utmost simplicity which, because of its talking animals, might be included here. A criticism of this tale, together with a list of realistic stories containing some realistic fairy tales suited to the kindergarten, may be read in _Educational Foundations_, October, 1914. _The Hen That Hatched Ducks_, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is a pleasing and sprightly humorous tale of Madam Feathertop and her surprising family of eight ducks, and of Master Gray c.o.c.k, Dame Scratchard and Dr. Peppercorn. A modern tale that is very acceptable to the children is _The c.o.c.k, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen_, by Felicite Lefevre, which is a re-telling of the _Story of the Little Red Hen_ combined with the story of _The Little Rid Hin_. In this tale the two old cla.s.sic stories are preserved but re-experienced, with such details improvised as a clever child would himself naturally make. These additional details appeal to his imagination and give life-likeness and freshness to the tale, but they do not detract from the impression of the original or confuse the ident.i.ty of the characters in the old tales.

One must not forget _Peter Rabbit_--that captivating, realistic fairy tale by Beatrix Potter--and his companions, _Benjamin Bunny, Pigling Bland, Tom Kitten_, and the rest, of which children never tire. _Peter Rabbit_ undoubtedly holds a place as a kindergarten cla.s.sic. In somewhat the same cla.s.s of merry animal tales is _Tommy and the Wis.h.i.+ng Stone_, a series of tales by Thornton Burgess, in _St.

Nicholas_, 1915. Here the child enjoys the novel transformation of becoming a Musk-rat, a Ruffed Grouse, a Toad, Honker the Goose, and other interesting personages. A modern fairy tale which is received gladly by children is _Ludwig and Marleen_, by Jane Hoxie. Here we have the friendly Fox who grants to Ludwig the wishes he asks for Marleen. The theme parallels for the little people the charm of _The Fisherman and His Wife_, a Grimm tale suited to the second grade.

Among modern animal tales _The Elephant's Child_[12], one of the _Just-So Stories_ by Rudyard Kipling, ranks high as a fairy tale produced for little children by one of the great literary masters of the short-story.

A modern tale that is a bit of pure imagination and seems an attempt to follow Grimm and Andersen, is _A Quick-Running Squash_, in Aspinwall's _Short Stories for Short People_. It uses the little boy's interest in a garden--his garden.--Interest centers about the fairy, the magic seed, the wonderful ride, and the happy ending. It uses the simple, everyday life and puts into it the unusual and the wonderful where nothing is impossible. It blends the realistic and the romantic in a way that is most pleasing. _The Rich Goose_, by Leora Robinson, in the _Outlook_, is an acc.u.mulative tale with an interesting ending and surprise. _Why the Morning Glory Climbs_, by Elizabeth McCracken, in Miss Bryant's _How to Tell Stories_, is a simple fanciful tale.

_The Discontented Pendulum_, by Jane Taylor, in Poulssen's _In the Child's World_, is a good ill.u.s.tration of the modern purely fanciful tale. _What Bunch and Joker saw in the Moon_, in _Wide-Awake Chatterbox_, about 1887, is a most delightful modern fanciful tale, although it is best suited to the child of nine or ten. _Greencap_, by Ruth Hays, in _St. Nicholas_, June, 1915, appeals to the child through the experience of Sarah Jane, whose Mother and Father traveled to India. Sarah went to live with Aunt Jane and there met Greencap who granted the proverbial "three wishes." _Alice in Wonderland_ ranks in a cla.s.s by itself among modern fanciful tales but it is better suited to the child of the third and fourth grades.

A modern fairy tale which is suited to the child's simplicity and which will stimulate his own desire to make a tale, is _The Doll Who Was Sister to a Princess_, one of the _Toy Stories_ by Carolyn Bailey which have been published by the _Kindergarten Review_ during 1914-15.

Among modern tales selected from _Fairy Stories Re-told from St.

Nicholas_, appear some interesting ones which might be read to the little child, or told in the primary grades. Among these might be mentioned:--

_The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons_, a modern tale in verse by Mary E. Wilkins.

_Casperl_, by H.C. Bunner, a modern Sleeping Beauty tale. This tale has the virtue of not being complex and elaborate. It has the underlying idea that "People who are helping others have a strength beyond their own."

_Ten Little Dwarfs_, by Sophie Dorsey, from the French of Emile Souvestre. It tells of the ten little Dwarfs who lived in the Good-wife's fingers.

_Wondering Tom_, by Mary Mapes Dodge. This is a bright story of a boy who Hamlet-like, hesitated to act. Tom was always wondering. The story contains a fairy, k.u.mtoo-thepoynt, who sat on a toadstool and looked profound. It is realistic and romantic and has fine touches of humor. It tells how Wondering Tom became transformed into a Royal s.h.i.+p-Builder.

_How An Elf Set Up Housekeeping_, by Anne Cleve. This is a good tale of fancy. An Elf set up housekeeping in a lily and obtained a curtain from a spider, down from a thistle, a stool from a toad who lived in a green house in the wood, etc.

_The Wish-Ring_, translated from the German by Anne Eichberg.

This is a tale with the implied message that "The best way to secure one's best wish is to work for it."

_The Hop-About Man_, by Agnes Herbertson, in _Little Folks Magazine_, is a very pleasing modern romantic fairy tale for little children. Wee Wun was a gnome who lived in the Bye-Bye meadow in a fine new house which he loved. As he flew across the Meadow he had his pockets full of blue blow-away seeds. In the Meadow he found a pair of shoes, of blue and silver, and of course he took them home to his new house. But first he scattered the blue blow-away seeds over the garden wall in the Stir-About-Wife's garden where golden dandelions grew. And the seeds grew and crowded out the dandelions. Next day Wee Wun found a large blue seed which he planted outside his house; and on the following morning a great blue blow-away which had grown in a night, made his house dark. So he went to the Green Ogre to get him to take it away. When he came home he found, sitting in his chair, the Hop-About-Man, who had come to live with him. He had been forewarned of this coming by the little blue shoes when they hopped round the room singing:--

Ring-a-ding-dill, ring-a-ding-dill, The Hop-About-Man comes over the hill.

Why is he coming, and what will he see?

Rickety, rackety,--one, two, three.

The story then describes Wee Wun's troubles with the Hop-About-Man, who remained an unwelcome inhabitant of the house where Wee Wun liked to sit all alone. The Hop-About-Man made everything keep hopping about until Wee Wun would put all careless things straight, and until he would give back to him his blue-and-silver shoes. One day, Wee Wun became a careful housekeeper and weeded out of the dandelion garden all the blue blow-away plants that grew from the seeds he had scattered there in the Stir-About-Wife's garden, and when he came home his troubles were over, and the Hop-About-Man was gone.

Perhaps one reason for the frequent failure of the modern fairy tale is that it fails to keep in harmony with the times. Just as the modern novel has progressed from the romanticism of Hawthorne, the realism of Thackeray, through the psychology of George Eliot, and the philosophy of George Meredith, so the little child's story--which like the adult story is an expression of the spirit of the times--must recognize these modern tendencies. It must learn, from _Alice in Wonderland_ and from _A Child's Garden of Verses_, that the modern fairy tale is not a _Cinderella_ or _Sleeping Beauty_, but the modern fairy tale is the child's mind. The real fairy world is the strangeness and beauty of the child mind's point of view. It is the duty and privilege of the modern fairy tale to interpret the child's psychology and to present the child's philosophy of life.