A Study of Fairy Tales Part 6

_Change in setting_. Great rock. A sly Fox.

Fox said, "See the spot on my tail."

Robin replied, "You bit the wee lambie."

_Change in setting_. Banks of a rivulet. A small Boy.

Boy said, "See the crumbs in my pocket."

Robin replied, "You caught the goldfinch."

_Change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill. The King at the window.

Robin sang, "A song for the King."

King replied, "What shall we give Robin?"

3. _Conclusion_.

_No change in setting_. King's palace. The window sill.

The King at the window.

King Filled a plate and set it on the window sill.

Robin Ate, sang a song again, and flew away.

Here, not only the sequence of the tale is held largely by the change in setting, but also the pleasure in the tale is due largely to the setting, the pictures of landscape beauty it presents, and the feelings arising from these images.

A j.a.panese tale, in which the setting is a large part of the tale, and a large element of beauty, is _Mezumi, the Beautiful_, or _The Rat Princess_.

A Grimm tale in which the setting is a very large element of pleasure and in which it preserves the sequence of the tale, is _The Spider and the Flea_, a lively acc.u.mulative tale that deserves attention for several reasons.--A Spider and a Flea dwelt together. One day a number of unusual occurrences happened, so that finally a little Girl with a water-pitcher broke it, and then the Streamlet from which she drew the water asked, "Why do you break your pitcher, little Girl?" And she replied:--

The little Spider's burned herself.

And the Flea weeps; The little Door creaks with the pain, And the Broom sweeps; The little Cart runs on so fast, And the Ashes burn; The little Tree shakes down its leaves.

Now it is my turn!

And then the Streamlet said, "Now I must flow."

And it flowed on and on, getting bigger and bigger, until it swallowed up the little Girl, the little Tree, the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom, the Door, the Flea, and at last, the Spider--all together.

Here we have a tale, which, in its language, well ill.u.s.trates Stevenson's "pattern of style," especially as regards the harmony produced by the arrangement of letters. From the standpoint of style, this tale might be named, _The Adventure of the Letter E_; it ill.u.s.trates the part the phonics of the tale may contribute to the effect of the setting. Follow the letter _e_ in the opening of the tale, both as to the eye and the ear:--

A Spid_e_r and a Fl_e_a dw_e_lt tog_e_th_e_r in on_e_ hous_e_ and br_e_w_e_d th_e_ir b_ee_r in an _e_gg-sh.e.l.l.

On_e_ day wh_e_n th_e_ Spid_e_r was stirring it up sh_e_ f_e_ll in and burn_e_d h_e_rs_e_lf. Th_e_r_e_upon th_e_ Fl_e_a b_e_gan to scr_e_am. And th_e_n th_e_ Door ask_e_d, "Why ar_e_ you scr_e_aming, littl_e_ Fl_e_a?"

If we follow the _e_ sound through the tale, we find it in _Flea, beer, scream, creak, weeps, sweep, reason, heap_, _Tree, leaves_, and _Streamlet_. This repet.i.tion of the one sound puts music into the tale and creates a center of the harmony of sound. But if we examine the next part of the tale we find a variety of sounds of _o_ in _thereupon, Door, Broom, stood_, and _corner_. Later, in connection with _Cart_, we have _began, fast, past_, and _Ashes_. Other phonic effects are crowded into the tale; such as the sound of _l_ in _violently, till, all, leaves_, and _fell_; the sound of _i_ in _little_ and _Girl_; of _p_ in _pitcher_ and _pa.s.sing_; of _t_ in _little_ and _pitcher_; and of _ew_ in _threw_ and _drew_. Altogether this very effective use of sound is a fine employment of concrete language, words which present images that are clear-cut as a cameo. It also gives to the tale a poetical touch.

_t.i.tty Mouse and Tatty Mouse_, an English tale, and a parallel of _The Spider and the Flea_, preserves the same beauty and sequence by means of its setting and ill.u.s.trates the same very unusual contribution of the sounds of particular letters combined in the harmony of the whole.

_The Phonics of the Fairy Tales_ is a subject which yields much interest and, as yet, has been almost untouched.

In _The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet_, in part I, _The Trip to the Nut-Hill_, taken from Arthur Rackham's _Grimm Tales_, the setting contributes largely to the attractiveness of the tale, as is shown in Rackham's beautiful ill.u.s.tration. The setting is given throughout the tale often in a telling word or two. Chanticleer and Partlet went up the _nut-hill_ to gather nuts before the _squirrel_ carried them all away. The _day_ was _bright_ and they stayed till _evening_. The _carriage_ of _nut-sh.e.l.ls_; the _Duck_ they met; the _dirty road_ they traveled in the _pitch dark_; the _Inn_ they arrived at; the _night_ at the Inn; the early _dawn_; the _hearth_ where they threw the egg-sh.e.l.ls; the Landlord's _chair_ whose _cus.h.i.+on_ received the Needle; the _towel_ which received the Pin; the _heath_ over which they hurried away; the _yard_ of the Inn where the Duck slept and the _stream_ he escaped by; the Landlord's _room_ where he gained experience with his towel; the _kitchen_ where the egg-sh.e.l.ls from the _hearth_ flew into his face; and the _arm-chair_ which received him with a Needle--these are all elements of setting which contribute largely to the humor and the beauty of the tale.

A blending of the three elements, characters, plot, and setting, appears in the following outline of _The Elves and the Shoemaker_:--

_The Elves and the Shoemaker_

1. _Introduction_. A poor Shoemaker. A poor room containing a bed and a shoemaker's board. Leather for one pair of shoes.

2. _Development_.

First night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes ready next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for two pairs.

Second night ... Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes ready next morning. Sold them. Bought leather for four pairs.

One night ... Conversation of Shoemaker and his wife: "I should like to sit up to-night to see who it is that makes the shoes." They sat up. Two Elves ran in, sewed, rapped, and tapped, and ran away when the shoes were made.

Day after ... Conversation. "These Elves made us rich.

I should like to do something for them. You make each of them a little pair of shoes, and I will make them each a little s.h.i.+rt, a coat, a waistcoat, trousers, and a pair of stockings."

Christmas Eve ... Finished shoes and clothes put on the table. Shoemaker and Wife hid in the corner of the room behind clothes, and watched. (Climax.)

Elves came in and put on clothes.

3. _Conclusion_.

Happy end. Elves danced and sang,--

"Smart and natty boys are we, Cobblers we'll no longer be."

Shoemaker and Wife became happy and prosperous.

The characters of this tale are usual, a poor Shoemaker and his Wife; and unusual, the dainty Elves who made shoes in a twinkling. But the commonplace peasants become interesting through their generosity, kindness, and service to the Elves; and the Elves become human in their joy at receiving gifts. The structure of the tale is so distinct as to be seen a thing itself, apart from the story. The framework is built on what happens on two nights and following nights, the conversation of the next day, and what happens on Christmas Eve. The climax evidently is what the Shoemaker and his Wife hid in the corner to see--the entrance of the Elves on Christmas Eve--which episode has been interpreted charmingly by the English ill.u.s.trator, Cruikshank.

The joy of the Elves and of the two aged people, the gifts received by the one and the riches won by the other, form the conclusion, which follows very closely upon the climax. The commonplace setting, the poor room with its simple bed and table, becomes transformed by the unusual happenings in the place. If we should take away this setting, we see how much the tale would suffer. Also without the characters the tale would be empty. And without the interesting, human, humorous, and pleasing plot, characters and setting would be insufficient. Each element of the short-story contributes its fair share to the tale, and blends harmoniously in the whole.

Various standards for testing the folk-tale have been given by writers. One might refer to the standards given by Wilman in his _Pedagogische Vortrage_ and those mentioned by William Rein in _Das Erste Schuljahr_. We have seen here that the fairy tale must contain the child's interests and it must be able to stand the test of a true cla.s.sic. It must stand the test of literature in its appeal to emotion and to imagination, in its appeal to the intellect through its basis of truth, and to the language-sense through its perfection of form; it must stand the test of the short-story and of good narration and of description. Let us now examine a few of the old tales to see how they stand the complete test:--

_How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner_

_This story of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went out to Dinner_ appeals to the children's interest in a family dinner--they went to dine with their Uncle and Aunt, Thunder and Lightning. The characters are interesting to the child, for they are the inhabitants of his sky that cause him much wonder: the star, the sun, the moon, the thunder, and the lightning. To the little child, who as she watched a grown-up drying her hands, remarked, "I wouldn't like to be a towel, would you?" the idea of the moon, sun, and wind possessing personality and going to a dinner-party will amuse and please. The theme of the story finds a place in the experience of children who go to a party; and secretly they will enjoy making comparisons. When they go to a party they too like to bring something home; but they wouldn't think of hiding goodies in their hands. They are fortunate enough to have their hostess give them a toy animal or a box of sweetmeats, a tiny dolly or a gay balloon, as a souvenir.

The greediness and selfishness of the Sun and Wind impress little children, for these are perhaps the two sins possible to childhood; and all children will fully appreciate why the Sun and the Wind received so swiftly the punishment they deserved. The thoughtfulness of the loving gentle Moon to remember her Mother the Star, appeals to them. The rapid punishment, well-deserved, and the simplicity of the story with its one point, make it a very good tale for little children. The whole effect is pleasing. What children recall is the motherly Star; and the beautiful Moon, who was cool and calm and bright as a reward for being good.

The structure of the tale is neat and orderly, dominated by a single theme. The form of the tale, as given in Jacobs's _Indian Tales_, shows a good use of telling expressions; such as, "the Mother waited _alone_ for her children's return," "Kept watch with her _little bright eye_," "the Moon, _shaking_ her hands _showered_ down such a _choice_ dinner," etc. Here we have too, the use of concrete, visualized expressions and direct language. There is also a good use of repet.i.tion, which aids the child in following the plot and which clarifies the meaning. The Mother Star, when p.r.o.nouncing a punishment upon Sun, repeated his own words as he had spoken when returning from the dinner: "I went out to enjoy myself with my friends." In her speech to Wind she included his own remark: "I merely went for my own pleasure."--The examination of this tale shows that it stands well the complete test applied here to the fairy tale.

_The Straw Ox_

_The Straw Ox_ is an acc.u.mulative tale which has sufficient plot to ill.u.s.trate the fine points of the old tale completely. A poor woman who could barely earn a living had an idea and carried it out successfully.--Her need immediately wins sympathy in her behalf.--She asked her husband to make her a straw ox and smear it with tar. Then placing it in the field where she spun, she called out, "Graze away, little Ox, graze away, while I spin my flax!"

First a Bear came out of the Wood and got caught by the tar so that the Straw Ox dragged him home. The old Man then put the Bear in the cellar. Then a Wolf, a Fox, and a Hare got caught in the same way and also were consigned to the cellar.--The plot has so far built itself up by an orderly succession of incidents.--But just when the Man is preparing to kill the animals, they save their lives by promising vicarious offerings: The Bear promises honey; the Wolf a flock of sheep; the Fox a flock of geese; and the Hare kale and cauliflower.--Then the plot, having tied itself into a knot, unties itself as the animals return, each with the gift he promised.