A Study of Fairy Tales Part 34

_Time_ Summer.

_Act I, Scene i_. Two-Eyes and the Fairy.

_Act II, Scene i_. The magic tree. Mother and Sisters attempt to pluck the fruit.

_Act III, Scene i_. The Knight. Second attempt to pluck fruit.

Conclusion. The happy marriage.

_Snow White_

_The Story of Snow White_ is one of the romantic fairy tales which has been re-written and staged as a play for children, and now may be procured in book form. It was produced by Winthrop Ames at the Little Theatre in New York City. The dramatization by Jessie Braham White followed closely the original tale. The entire music was composed by Edmond Rickett, who wrote melodies for a number of London Christmas pantomimes. The scenery, by Maxfield Parrish, was composed of six stage pictures, simple, harmonious, and beautiful, with tense blue skies, a dim suggestion of the forest, and the quaint architecture of the House of the Seven Dwarfs. Pictures in old nursery books were the models for the scenes. Because of the simplicity of the plot and the few characters, _Snow White_ could be played very simply in four scenes, by the children of the second and third grades for the kindergarten and first grade.

_Snow White_

_Scene i_. A Festival on the occasion of Snow White's sixteenth birthday.

_Scene ii_. In the Forest.

_Scene iii_. A Room in the House of the Seven Dwarfs.

_Scene iv_. The Reception to Snow White as Queen, on the grounds near the young King's Palace.

The beautiful character of Snow White; the glimpse of Dwarf life--the kindly little men with their unique tasks and their novel way of living; the beauty and cheer of Snow White which her housekeeping brought into their home; their devotion to her; the adventure in the wood; the faithful Huntsman; the magic mirror; the wicked Queen; and the Prince seeking the Princess--all contribute to the charm of the tale. The songs written for the play may be learned by the children, who will love to work them into their simple play: _Snow White, as fair as a lily, as sweet as a rose_; the song of the forest fairies, _Welcome, Snow White_; and their second song which they sing as they troop about Snow White lying asleep on the Dwarf's bed, _Here you'll find a happy home, softly sleep!_ or the song of Snow White to the Dwarfs, _I can brew, I can bake_.

_The Little Lamb and the Little Fish_

Once upon a time there lived a sister and a brother who loved each other very much. They were named Gretchen and Peterkin. One day their father who was King of the country, left them and brought home with him a new Queen who was not kind to the children. She banished them from the castle and told the King bad tales about them. So they made friends with the Cook and ate in the kitchen. Peterkin would bring water and Gretchen could carry plates and cups and saucers.

One beautiful spring day when all the children were out-of-doors playing games, Gretchen and Peterkin went to play with them, by the pond, on the meadow, beyond the castle wall. Around this pond the children would run, joining hands and singing:--

"Eneke, Beneke, let me live, And I to you my bird will give; The bird shall fetch of straw a bunch, And that the cow shall have to munch; The cow shall give me milk so sweet, And that I'll to the baker take, Who with it shall a small cake bake; The cake the cat shall have to eat, And for it catch a mouse for me, * * * * *

"And this is the end of the tale."

Round and round the pond the children ran singing; and as the word "tale" fell on Peterkin he had to run away over the meadow and all the rest ran after to catch him.

But just then the wicked Queen from her window in the castle spied the happy children. She did not look pleased and she muttered words which you may be sure were not very pleasant words.

The children had been racing across the meadow after Peterkin. Now one called, "Where is Peterkin? I saw him near that tree, but now I cannot see him. Gretchen, can you see Peterkin?--Why, where's Gretchen?"

Peterkin and Gretchen were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a little boy said, "Where did that lamb come from over there? It must have been behind the linden tree!"

The children drew near the lamb, when what was their surprise to hear it call out to them, "Run children, run quick or the Queen will harm you! I am Gretchen! Run, and never come near the pond again!" And at the little Lamb's words the children fled.

But the little Lamb ran all about the meadow, calling, "Peterkin, Peterkin!" and would not touch a blade of gra.s.s. Sadly she walked to the edge of the pond and slowly walked round and round it calling, "Peterkin, where are you?"

Suddenly the water bubbled and a weak voice cried, "Here, Gretchen, in the pond,--

"Here Gretchen, here swim I in the pond, Nor may I ever come near castle ground."

And the Lamb replied:--

"Ah, my brother! In the wood, A lamb, now I must search for food."

Then Peterkin comforted Gretchen and promised early every morning to come up to the water to talk with her; and Gretchen promised to come early from the wood, before the sun was up, to be with Peterkin. And Peterkin said, "I will never forsake you, Gretchen, if you will never forsake me!" And Gretchen said, "I will never forsake you, Peterkin, if you will never forsake me!"

Then the little Lamb fled sadly to the wood to look for food and the little Fish swam round the pond. But the children did not forget their playmates. Every day they saved their goodies and secretly laid them at the edge of the wood where the Lamb could get them. And the Lamb always saved some to throw the crumbs to the little Fish in the morning.

Many days pa.s.sed by. One day visitors were coming to the castle. "Now is my chance," thought the wicked Queen. So she said to the Cook, "Go, fetch me the lamb out of the meadow, for there is nothing else for the strangers!"

Now the Lamb had lingered by the pond longer than usual that morning so that the Cook easily caught her; and taking her with him tied her to the tree just outside the kitchen. But when the Cook was gone to the kitchen, the little Fish swam up from the pond into the little brook that ran by the tree and said--

"Ah, my sister, sad am I, That so great harm to you is nigh!

And far from you I love must be, A-swimming in the deep, deep sea!"

And the Lamb replied:--

"Ah, my brother in the pond, Sad must I leave you, though I'm fond; The cook has come to take my life, Swim off to sea,--Beware!"

Just then the Cook came back and hearing the Lamb speak became frightened. Thinking it could not be a real lamb, he said, "Be still, I will not harm you. Run, hide in the wood, and when it is evening, come to the edge of the wood and I will help you!"

Then the Cook caught another lamb and dressed it for the guests. And before evening he went to a wise woman who happened to be the old Nurse who had taken care of Peterkin and Gretchen. She loved the children and she soon saw what the wicked Queen had done. She told the Cook what the Lamb and Fish must do to regain their natural forms.

As soon as it was dark the little Lamb came to the edge of the wood and the Cook said, "Little Lamb, I will tell you what you must do to be a maid again!" So the Cook whispered what the wise Woman had said.

The little Lamb thanked the Cook and promised to do as he said.

Next morning very early before the break of day, the little Lamb hurried from the wood across the meadow. Not taking time to go near the pond she hastily pushed against the castle gate which the kind Cook had left unfastened for her. She ran up the path, and there under the Queen's window stood the beautiful rose-tree with only two red roses on it--just as the Cook had said. Not even glancing at the Queen's window, the little Lamb began nibbling the lowest one. And behold, there in the path stood Gretchen again! Then hastening to seize the other rose before the sun's first ray might touch it, she ran lightly down the path, away from castle ground, across the meadow to the pond. Calling little Fish to the water's edge--for he had lingered in the pond--she sprinkled over him the drops of dew in the heart of the rose. And there stood little Peterkin beside Gretchen!

Then hand in hand, Gretchen and Peterkin hurried from the pond and fled into the wood just as the sun began to show beyond the trees.

There they built themselves a cottage and lived in it happily ever afterwards. The kind Cook and the wise Nurse found them and visited them. But Gretchen and Peterkin never went near castle ground until the Cook told them the Queen was no more.--_Laura F. Kready_.

_How the Birds came to Have Different Nests Time..._.

_Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme, And monkeys chewed tobacco.

And hens took snuff to make them tough, And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!_

_Place_. ... Madge Magpie's Nest up in a Tree-top.

_Characters_: Madge Magpie, the Teacher; Thrush, Blackbird, Owl, Sparrow, Starling, and Turtle-Dove.

_All the Birds_. "We have come to you, Madge Magpie, to ask you to teach us how to build nests. All the Birds tell how clever you are at building nests."

_Magpie_. "Make a circle round about the foot of this old pear-tree. I will sit upon this limb near my nest and show you how to do it. First I take some mud and make a fine round cake with it."

_Thrush_. "Oh, that's how it's done, is it? I'll hurry home! Goodbye, Birds, I can't stay another minute!

"Mud in a cake, mud in a cake, To-whit, to-whee, a nest I'll make!"