Chapter V · Third Grade Stories

THE MYTHICAL STORIES

In the third grade we wish to bring a number of the mythical stories vividly before the children. The classical myths which belong to the literature of Europe are the fund from which to select the best. Not all, but only a few of the simple and appropriate stories can be chosen. Only two recitation periods a week are usually set apart for the oral treatment of these old myths. But later in the progress of the reading lessons other similar stories should be treated. The few recitation periods used for oral work are rather designed to introduce children to the spirit of this literature, to get them into the appreciative mind.

This body of ancient myths comes down to us, sifted out of the early literature of the active-minded Greeks. They have found their way as a simple and charming poetry into the national literature of all the European countries. Is this the material suited to nine- and ten-year-old children? It will not be questioned that these myths belong to the best literary products of Europe, but are they suited to children?

It is evident that some of our best literary judges have deemed them appropriate. Hawthorne has put them into a form designed especially for the young folk. Charles Kingsley wrote of the Greek myths for his children: "Now I love these old Hellens heartily, and they seem to me like brothers, though they have all been dead and gone many a hundred years. They are come to tell you some of their old fairy tales, which they loved when they were young like you. For nations begin at first by being children like you, though they are made up of grown men. They are children at first like you—men and women with children's hearts; frank, and affectionate, and full of trust, and teachable, loving to see and learn all the wonders around them; and greedy also, too often, and passionate and silly, as children are."

Not a few other authors of less note have tried to turn the classical myths of the old Greek poets into simple English for the entertainment and instruction of children. Scarcely any of these stories that have not appeared in various children's books in recent years. Taken as a whole, they are a storehouse of children's literature. The philosopher, Herbart, looked upon poems of Homer as giving ideal expression to the boyhood of the race, and the story of Ulysses was regarded by him as the boy's book,—the Greek Robinson Crusoe. For the child of nine years he thought it the most suitable story.

Kingsley says in his Introduction: "Now you must not think of the Greeks in this book as learned men, living in great cities, such as they were afterwards, when they wrought all their beautiful works, but as country people, living on farms and in walled villages, in a simple, hard-working way; so that the greatest kings and heroes cooked their own meals and thought it no shame, and made their own ships and weapons, and fed and harnessed their own horses. So that a man was honored among them, not because he happened to be rich, but according to his skill and his strength and courage and the number of things he could do. For they were but grown-up children, though they were right noble children too, and it was with them as it is now at school, the strongest and cleverest boy, though he be poor, leads all the rest."

In the introduction to the "Wonder Book" we find the following: "Hawthorne took a vital interest in child life. He was accustomed to observe his own children very closely. There are private manuscripts extant which present exact records of what his young son and elder daughter said or did from hour to hour, the father seating himself in their playroom and patiently noting all that passed. To this habit of watchful and sympathetic scrutiny we may attribute in part the remarkable felicity, the fortunate ease of adaptation to the immature understanding, and the skilful appeal to the fresh imaginations which characterize his stories for the young." Hawthorne himself says: "The author has long been of the opinion that many of the classical myths were capable of being rendered into very capital reading for children.... No epoch of time can claim a copyright on these immortal fables. They seem never to have been made, and so long as man exists they can never perish; but by their indestructibility itself they are legitimate subjects, for every age to clothe with its own garniture of manners and sentiment, and to imbue with its own morality.... The author has not always thought it necessary to write downward in order to meet the comprehension of children. He has generally suffered the theme to soar, whenever such was its tendency. Children possess an unestimated sensibility to whatever is deep or high in imagination or feeling so long as it is simple likewise. It is only the artificial and the complex that bewilder them."

A brief analysis of the qualities which render these myths so attractive will help us to see their value in the education of children.

The astonishing brightness of fanciful episode and of pure and clear-cut imagery has an indestructible charm for children. They can soar into and above the clouds on the shining wings of Pegasus. With Eolus they shut up the contrary winds in an ox-hide, and later let them out to plague the much-suffering Ulysses. They watch with astonishment as Jason yokes the fire-breathing oxen and strews the field with uprooted stumps and stones as he prepares the soil for the seed of dragon's teeth. Each child becomes a poet as he recreates the sparkling brightness of these simple pictures. And when a child has once suffered his fancy to soar to these mountain heights and ocean depths, it will no longer be possible to make his life entirely dull and prosaic. He has caught glimpses of a bright world that will linger unfading in the uplands of his memory. And while they are so deep and lofty they are still, as Hawthorne says, very simple. Some of the most classic of the old stories are indeed too long for third grade children; too many persons and too much complexity, as in the "Tales of Troy." But on the other hand, many of the most beautiful of the old myths are as plain and simple to a child as a floating summer cloud. High in the sky they may be or deep in the reflection of some lake or spring, but clear and plain to the thought of a little child. These stories in their naive simplicity reflect the wonder and surprise with which a person first beholds grand and touching scenery, whether it be the oppressive grandeur of some beetling mountain crag, or the placid quiet of a moonlit stream. The stories selected for this grade should be the simplest and best: "The Golden Touch," "Perseus," "The Chimæra," of Hawthorne, the episodes of the "Golden Fleece," with others similar.

In one form or another they introduce us to the company of heroes, or, at least, of great and simple characters. Deeds of enterprise and manliness or of unselfishness and generosity are the climax of the story. To meet danger and hardship or ridicule for the sake of a high purpose is their underlying thought. Perseus and Jason and Ulysses are all ambitious to prove their title to superior shrewdness and courage and self-control. When we get fairly into the mythical age, we find ourselves among the heroes, among those striving for mastery and leadership in great undertakings. Physical prowess and manly spirit are its chief virtues. And can there be any question that there is a time in the lives of children when these ideas fill the horizon of their thought? Samson and David and Hercules, Bellerophon and Jason, are a child's natural thoughts or, at least, they fit the frame of his mind so exactly that one may say the picture and the frame were made for each other. The history of most countries contains such an age of heroes. Tell in Switzerland, Siegfried in Germany, Bruce in Scotland, Romulus and Horatius at Rome, Alfred in England, are all national heroes of the mythical age, whose deeds are heroic and of public good. The Greek stories are only a more classic edition of this historical epoch, and should lead up to a study of these later products of European literature.

Several forms of moral excellence are objectively realized or personified in these stories.

As the wise Centaur, after teaching Jason to be skilful and brave, sent him out into the world, he said: "Well, go, my son; the throne belongs to thy father and the gods love justice. But remember, wherever thou dost wander, to observe these three things:

And many events in Jason's life illustrate the wisdom of these words. The miraculous pitcher is one whose fountain of refreshing milk bubbled always because of a gentle deed of hospitality to strangers. King Midas, on the other hand, experiences in most graphic form the punishment which ought to follow miserly greed, while his humble penitence brought back his daughter and the homely comforts of life. Bellerophon is filled with a desire to perform a noble deed that will relieve the distress of a whole people. After the exercise of much patience and self-control he succeeds in his generous enterprise. Many a lesson of worldly wisdom and homely virtue is brought out in the story of Ulysses' varied and adventuresome career.

These myths bring children into lively contact with European history and geography, as well as with its modes of life and thought. The early history of Europe is in all cases shrouded in mist and legend. But even from this historically impenetrable past has sprung a literature that has exercised a profound influence upon the life and growth of the people. Not that children are conscious of the significance of these ideas, but being placed in an atmosphere which is full of them, their deeper meaning gradually unfolds itself. The early myths afford an interesting approach for children to the history and geography of important countries. Those countries they must, sooner or later, make the acquaintance of both geographically and historically, and could anything be designed to take stronger hold upon their imagination and memory than these charming myths, which were the poetry and religion of the people once living there?

It is a very simple and primitive state of culture, whose ships, arms, agriculture, and domestic life are given us in clear and pleasing pictures. Our own country is largely lacking in a mythical age. Our culture sprang, more than half-grown, from the midst of Europe's choicest nations, and out of institutions that had been centuries in forming. The myths of Europe are therefore as truly ours as they are the treasure of Englishmen, of Germans, or of Greeks. Again, our own literature, as well as that of European states, is full of the spirit and suggestion of the mythical age. Our poets and writers have drawn much of their imagery from this old storehouse of thought, and a child will better understand the works of the present through this contact with mythical ages.

In method of treatment with school classes, these stories will admit of a variation from the plan used with "Robinson Crusoe." One unaccustomed to the reading of such stories would be at a loss for a method of treatment with children. There is a charm and literary art in the presentation that may make the teacher feel unqualified to present them. The children are not yet sufficiently masters of the printed symbols of speech to read for themselves. Shall the teacher simply read the stories to children? We would suggest first of all, that the teacher, who would expect to make use of these materials, steep himself fully in literature of this class, and bring his mind into familiar acquaintance and sympathy with its characters. In interpreting classical authors to pupils, we are justified in requiring of the teacher intimate knowledge and appreciative sympathy with his author. Certainly no one will teach these stories well whose fancy was never touched into airy flights—who cannot become a child again and partake of his pleasures. No condescension is needed, but ascension to a free and ready flight of fancy. By learning to drink at these ancient fountains of song and poetry, the teacher might learn to tell a fairy story for himself. But doubtless it will be well to mingle oral narrative and description on the part of the teacher with the fit reading of choice parts so as to better preserve the classic beauty and suggestion of the author. Children are quite old enough now to appreciate beauty of language and expressive, happy turns of speech. In the midst of question, suggestion, and discussion between pupil and teacher, the story should be carried forward, never forgetting to stop at suitable intervals and get such a reproduction of the story as the little children are capable of. And indeed they are capable of much in this direction, for their thoughts are more nimble, and their power of expression more apt, oftentimes, than the teacher's own.

We would not favor a simple reading of these stories for the entertainment of pupils. It should take more the form of a school exercise, requiring not only interest and attention, but vigorous effort to grasp and reproduce the thought. The result should be a much livelier and deeper insight into the story than would be secured by a simple reading for amusement or variety. They should prepare also for an appreciative reading of other myths in the following grades.

After all, in two or three recitation periods a week, extending through a year, it cannot be expected that children will make the acquaintance of all the literature that could be properly called the myth of the heroic age in different countries. All that we may expect is to enter this paradise of children, to pluck a few of its choicest flowers, and get such a breath of their fragrance that there will be a child's desire to return again and again. The school also should provide in the succeeding year for an abundance of reading of myths. The same old stories which they first learned to enjoy in oral recitations should be read in books, and still others should be utilized in the regular reading classes of the fourth and fifth grades. In this way the myths of other countries may be brought in, the story of Tell, of Siegfried, of Alfred, and of others.

In summarizing the advantages of a systematic attempt to get this simple classic lore into our schools, we recall the interest and mental activity which it arouses, its power to please and satisfy the creative fancy in children, its fundamental feeling and instincts, the virtues of bravery, manliness, and unselfishness, and all this in a form that still further increases its culture effect upon teacher and pupil. It should never be forgotten that teacher and pupil alike are here imbibing lessons and inspirations that draw them into closer sympathy because the subject is worthy of both old and young.

In addition to the earlier Greek myths we may mention the following subjects as suitable for oral treatment:

The story of Ulysses has been much used in schools with oral presentation, and is one of the best tales for this purpose in all literature. A somewhat full discussion of the value of this story for schools is found in the Special Method in Reading of Complete English Classics.

The Norse mythology has also received much attention from teachers who have used the oral mode of treatment. Several of the best books of Norse mythology are mentioned in the appended list. Also the great story of Siegfried.

Some of the old traditional stories in the early history of Rome, of France, Germany, and England, have been used for oral narration and reading to children.

The "Seven Little Sisters" and its companion book "Each and All," and the "Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago to Now," by Jane Andrews, published by Ginn & Co., have been employed extensively for oral and reading work in the third and fourth years of school. The "Seven Little Sisters" is valuable in connection with the beginnings of geography.

BOOKS FOR THIRD YEAR OF SCHOOL

The Wonder Book of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The following stories are especially recommended: The Gorgon's Head, The Golden Touch, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Chimæra.

One should preserve as much as possible of the spirit and language of the author. Perhaps in classes with children the other stories will be found equally attractive: The Paradise of Children and the Three Golden Apples. Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., Boston.

Kingsley's Greek Heroes.

The stories of Perseus, the Argonauts, and Theseus, especially adapted to children. It may be advisable for the teacher to abbreviate the stories, leaving out unimportant parts, but giving the best portions in the fullest detail. Published by Ginn & Co.; The Macmillan Co.

Story of the Iliad and Story of the Odyssey (Church).

Simple and interesting narrative of the Homeric stories. The Macmillan Co.

Jason's Quest (Lowell).

The story of the Argonauts with many other Greek myths woven into the narrative. This book is a store of excellent material. The teacher should select from it those parts specially suited to the grade. Published by Sibley & Ducker, Chicago.

Adventures of Ulysses (Lamb).

A small book from which the chief episodes of Ulysses' career can be obtained. Published by Ginn & Co., Boston.

The Story of Siegfried (Baldwin). Published by Scribner's Sons.

Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories.

Simple and well written. A supplement to the Wonder Book. Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

Tales of Troy (De Garmo).

The story of the siege of Troy and of the great events of Homer's Iliad. This story, on account of its complexity, we deem better adapted to the fourth grade. Published by the Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill.

Stories of the Old World (Church).

Stories of the Argo, of Thebes, of Troy, of Ulysses, and of Æneas. Stories are simply and well told. It is a book of 350 pages, and would serve well as a supplementary reader in fourth grade. Published by Ginn & Co.

Gods and Heroes (Francillon).

A successful effort to cover the whole field of Greek mythology in the story form. Ginn & Co.

The Tanglewood Tales (Nathaniel Hawthorne).

A continuation of the Wonder Book.

Heroes of Asgard.

Stories of Norse mythology; simple and attractive. Macmillan & Co.

The Story of Ulysses (Agnes S. Cook).

An account of the adventures of Ulysses, told in connected narrative, in language easily comprehended by children in the third and fourth grades. Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill.

Old Norse Stories (Bradish).

Stories for reference and sight reading. American Book Co.

Norse Stories (Mabie).

An excellent rendering of the old stories. Dodd, Mead, & Co.

Myths of Northern Lands (Guerber). American Book Co.

The Age of Fable (Bulfinch). Lee and Shepard.

Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co.

National Epics (Rabb). A. C. McClurg & Co.

Classic Myths (Gayley). Ginn & Co.

Bryant's Odyssey. Complete poetic translation. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

Bryant's Iliad. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

Butcher and Lang's prose translation of the Odyssey. The Macmillan Co.

The Odyssey of Homer (Palmer). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

A prose translation.

Myths and Myth Makers (Fiske).

Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). Chapter X. D. Appleton & Co.

THE BIBLE STORIES

The stories of early Bible history have been much used in all European lands, and in America, for the instruction of children. Among Jews and Christians everywhere, and even among Mohammedans, these stories have been extensively used. They include the simple accounts of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and his brethren, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Samuel, and David. It may be seen at a glance that no more famous stories than these could be selected from the history of any country in the world. They stand preëminent as graphic descriptions of the modes of life which prevailed in the early period of civilized races. The old patriarchs lived in what is usually called the pastoral age, when men dwelt in tents and moved about from place to place with their flocks in search of pasture. The patriarch at the head of the family, and even of a whole tribe, is the father, ruler, priest, and judge for the little community over which he presides. In his person there is a simple union of all the important powers of the later Hebrew state. The dignity and authority which centre in the person of Abraham, together with a marked gravity and strength of character, lend a distinct grandeur to his personality, so that he has been recognized in all ages as one of the great figures in the history of the world; the foremost of the old patriarchs,—the father of the faithful. A similar respect and dignity attaches to all these old Bible characters, and in the case of Moses, rises to a supreme height, while in David the warrior, statesman, and poet are united in one of the most pronounced and pleasing characters in the world's history. These old stories are also unparalleled in the simplicity and transparent clearness with which the life of the pastoral age is depicted. Human nature comes out in a series of pictures most striking and individual, and yet unmistakably true to life and reality. And yet while this life was so small in its compass, it is almost wholly free from narrowness and provincialism. The universal qualities of human nature, common to men in all ages and countries, stand out with a clearness which even little children can grasp. The story of Joseph and his brethren is probably the finest story that was ever written for children from eight to ten years of age. The characters involved in this family history are striking and impressive, and the strength of the family virtues and affections has never been set forth with greater simplicity and power.

The heroic qualities which appear in the old Bible stories, especially in Moses, Samson, and David, would bear a favorable comparison with the men of the heroic age in all countries. Strength of character combined with faith in high ideals, pursued with unwavering resolution, is a peculiar merit of these narratives. The heroes of the Hebrew race should be compared, later on, with the most renowned heroes of England, Scotland, Germany, and Greece, and even of America, for they have common qualities which have like merit as educative materials for the young.

This early literature of the Bible stories will be found to contain a large part of the universal thought of the world, that is, of the masterly ideas which, because of their superior truth and excellence, have gradually worked their way as controlling principles into the life of all modern nations. It need hardly be said that these stories have a peculiar charm and attractiveness for children. The simplicity of a patriarchal age, the strong interest in persons of heroic quality, the descriptions of early childhood, the heroic deeds of bold and high-spirited youth,—these things command the unfaltering interest of children, and at the same time give their lives a touch of moral strength and idealism which is of the highest promise.

The oral treatment of these stories in the third or fourth year of school is the only mode of bringing them before the children in their full power, and they are well adapted to easy oral narrative and discussion. The language is the genuine, simple, powerful old English, and the teacher should become thoroughly saturated with these simple words and modes of thought. The dramatic element is also not lacking in many parts, and can be well executed in the classroom. Many opportunities will be furnished to the children for drawing pictures illustrating the stories. Many of the most famous masterpieces of painting and sculpture represent the persons and scenes of these tales. The great heroes of Christian art have exhausted their skill in these representations, which are now being furnished to the schools by the large publishing houses. Even the costumes and modes of life are thus brought home to the children in the most realistic yet artistic way.

An acquaintance with such early stories of Hebrew history is an introduction to some of the finest literature of the English language. First, that dealing with the Hebrew scriptures themselves, as the books of Moses, the psalms of David, and second, a number of the great poems of English masters, as the "Burial of Moses" and Milton's "Samson Agonistes." In short, we may say that these stories are the key to a large part of our best English thought.

Adler, in his "Moral Instruction of Children," says: "The narrative of the Bible is fairly saturated with the moral spirit; the moral issues are everywhere in the forefront. Duty, guilt, and its punishment, the conflict of conscience with inclination, are the leading themes. The Hebrew people seem to have been endowed with what may be called 'a moral genius,' and especially did they emphasize the filial and fraternal duties to an extent hardly equalled elsewhere. Now it is precisely these duties that must be impressed upon young children, and hence the biblical stories present us with the very material we require. They cannot, in this respect, be replaced; there is no other literature in the world that offers what is equal to them in value for the particular object we now have in view."

If we could only contemplate the patriarchal stories as a part of the great literature of the world, on account of its typical yet realistic portraiture of men and women, we might use this material as we use the very best derived from other sources. Mr. Adler remarks that "this typical quality in Homer's portraiture has been one secret of its universal impressiveness. The Homeric outlines are in each case brilliantly distinct, while they leave to the reader a certain liberty of private conception, and he can fill them in to satisfy his own ideal. We may add that this is just as true of the Bible as of Homer. The biblical narrative, too, depicts a few essential traits of human nature, and refrains from multiplying minor traits which might interfere with the main effect. The Bible, too, draws its figures in outline, and leaves every age free to fill them in so as to satisfy its own ideal."

Moreover, their use is not a matter of experiment. For hundreds of years they have held the first place in the best homes and schools of Germany, England, and America, and their educative influence has been profoundly felt in all Christian nations.

We have several editions of the stories adapted from the Bible for school use. In the Bible itself they are not found in the simple, connected form that makes them available for school use. One of the best editions for school is that published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., called, "Old Testament Stories in Scriptural Language." A free and somewhat original rendering of the stories is given by Baldwin in his "Old Stories of the East," published by the American Book Co. Both of these books have been extensively used in the schools of this country. The oral treatment of the Bible stories in the schools has not been common in this country, but it has all the merits described by us in the chapter on oral instruction. In fourth and fifth grades these books may serve well for exercises in reading.

In a great many schools of this country they can be used and are used without giving offence to anybody, and where this is true, they well deserve recognition in our school course because of their superior presentation of some of the great universal ideas of our civilization.

BOOKS FOR TEACHERS OF BIBLE LITERATURE

The Modern Reader's Bible, twenty-one volumes (Richard Moulton). The Macmillan Co. Children's Series. Old Testament and New Testament Stories. In two volumes. The Macmillan Co. Stories from the Bible (Church). The Macmillan Co. Story of the Chosen People (Guerber). The American Book Co. The Literary Study of the Bible (Moulton). D. C. Heath & Co.

STORIES OF ROBIN HOOD

In the latter part of third grade or beginning of fourth, the stories of Robin Hood are likely to prove exhilarating to children.

These stories of the bold, manly, good-natured outlaw, with his band of trusty men in Sherwood Forest, have been famous throughout England these five hundred years, and the stories themselves, and the ballads accompanying them, are a genuine part of the treasures of the older English literature. They have been worked by Howard Pyle into the stout, hearty English style which is so appropriate to the rendering of the deeds of this sturdy English yeoman and his band.

Their careless life and woodland sports under the Greenwood Tree, and their merry adventures and shooting matches, have been the delight of many a generation of English children. But even their woodland sports were a severe and rugged training in hardy endurance and manly spirit. Pyle says well in his preface: "For honest purposes manfully followed and hard knocks courageously endured must always interest the wholesome boy; while nature is so closely akin to man in the golden days of his green youth that tales of the Greenwood, where the leaves rustle and the birds sing, and all the air is full of sweet savors of growing things, must ever have a potent charm for the fresh imagination of childhood."

One phase of this training, as manifested in the stories, is not only the ability to take hard knocks and keep a stiff upper lip, as the old saying goes, but to master chagrin and anger and endure fun and gibes at one's own expense; indeed, even with aching bones and buzzing ears, to join in the merriment over one's own discomfiture. This is an unusual accompaniment of even good stories, which makes them truly wholesome. The fun of the stories also is of a light and rollicking sort which children should have a chance to thoroughly enjoy. In fact it is excellent material upon which to cultivate their early sense of the comic and humorous. The literature used in early school years has, unfortunately, too little of the sportive and laughable, and the Robin Hood adventures will help in no small degree to remedy this defect.

It is interesting to note, also, that brute strength is not at a premium, but skill and quick-wittedness. Not the least attractive and forcible part of Robin Hood's character is the shrewd-witted versatility and boldness with which he plays any part which circumstances require him to assume. His foes are circumvented by his shrewdness and keen wit even as much as by his unfailing skill in archery or dexterous strength in personal contest.

Robin Hood's relation to the British government was known as that of the outlaw, although the visit of King Richard to him in Sherwood Forest and his service under that prince and others gave him a certain legal status. He has always been regarded as a popular hero representing the rights of the common people.

After describing Robin Hood's first adventure with the foresters and his outlawry, Howard Pyle says: "But Robin Hood lay hidden in Sherwood Forest for one year, and in that time there gathered around him many others like himself, outlawed for this cause and for that.

"So, in all that year, five score or more good, stout yeomen joined themselves to him, and chose him to be their leader and chief. Then they vowed that even as they themselves had been despoiled they would despoil their oppressors, whether baron, abbot, knight, or squire, and that from each they would take that which had been wrung from the poor by unjust taxes, or land rents, or in wrongful fines; but to the poor folk they would give a helping hand in need and trouble, and would return to them that which had been unjustly taken from them. Besides this, they swore never to harm a child, nor to wrong a woman, be she maid, wife, or widow; so that, after a while, when the people began to find that no harm was meant to them, but that money or food came in time of want to many a poor family, they came to praise Robin and his merry men, and to tell many tales of him and of his doings in Sherwood Forest, for they felt him to be one of themselves."

When we consider the stories which tradition has handed down relative to the exploits of Robin Hood, the Old-English ballads which celebrate them in song, the stories of King Richard's visit to him in Sherwood, and Robin's visit to the court of Eleanor and King Henry at London town, to share in the great shooting-match, and the story of Locksley in Scott's "Ivanhoe"—we might almost say that Robin Hood would bear favorable comparison with any Englishman of his time. At any rate it would be difficult to find among the kings and great lords of that age one who had so much regard for justice and fair dealing among men, to say nothing of his kindness to the poor and needy.

He stands distinctly for those rights of the common people which were constantly violated by the powerful and influential in that half-barbarous age of feudalism. It is from this instinct for popular rights that the body of English liberties has gradually developed, and it is not strange that Robin Hood has always been regarded as a hero among a people who have preserved this instinct for liberty and justice.

The foresters of Robin Hood's band were lovers of forest and glade; the song of the bird and fragrance of wild flowers were sweet to them. In Pyle's introductory chapter is this description of their retreat under the Greenwood. "So turning their backs upon the stream, they plunged into the forest once more, through which they traced their steps till they reached the spot where they dwelt in the depths of the woodland. There had they built huts of bark and branches of trees, and made couches of sweet rushes spread over with skins of fallow deer. Here stood a great oak tree with branches spreading broadly around, beneath which was a seat of green moss where Robin Hood was wont to sit at feast and at merrymaking, with his stout men about him. Here they found the rest of the band, some of whom had come in with a brace of fat does. Then they built great fires, and after the feast was ready they all sat down, but Robin Hood placed Little John at his right hand, for he was henceforth to be the second in the band."

Little John's bout with the tanner of Blyth is introduced thus:—

"One fine day, not long after Little John had left abiding with the Sheriff and had come back to the merry Greenwood, Robin Hood and a few chosen fellows of his band lay upon the soft sward beneath the Greenwood Tree where they dwelt. The day was warm and sultry, so that whilst most of the band were scattered through the forest upon this mission and upon that, these few stout fellows lay lazily beneath the shade of the tree, in the soft afternoon, passing jests among themselves and telling merry stories, with laughter and mirth.

"All the air was laden with the bitter fragrance of the May, and all the bosky shades of the woodlands beyond rang with the sweet song of birds,—the throstle-cock, the cuckoo, and the wood-pigeon,—and with the song of birds mingled the cool sound of the gurgling brook that leaped out of the forest shades, and ran fretting amid its rough gray stones across the sunlit open glade before the trysting-tree."

This delight in the beauty and music of all nature about them is a sort of atmosphere which gives tone to all the stories of this group.

The language in which the stories are narrated is rich in the quaint and vigorous phrases of Old English, reminding one of the times of Shakespeare and before. One could hardly give the children a better introduction to the riches of our mother tongue.

The description of English customs, the popular festivities, the booths of the market town, the parade of feudal lords and retainers, the constraints placed upon hunting by kings and lords, and the hardships of the poor are touched upon in significant ways. The stories give an insight into the English character, their love of rude sports, their ballad literature, and their respect for honesty and courage and shrewdness.

The ballads associated with the Robin Hood legends are often beautiful and striking expressions of the English spirit, and have a special charm for children. They should be read in connection with the later reading of the stories in the third and fourth school years.

The bearing of these tales upon early feudal history and the general literature of that age is of importance. This is well illustrated in "Ivanhoe" in the use by Richard of Robin Hood and his archers in the attack upon Torquilstone, and in various exploits of the men of the Greenwood when brought in contact with knights on horseback. There is also a kinship in these narratives with some of the best stories and novels of early English history, as Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather," Kingsley's "Hereward the Wake," Jane Andrew's "Gilbert the Page," and a number of Scott's novels.

In the oral treatment of the stories in the third or fourth school year, the teacher will find her powers of presentation taxed in a peculiar way. The quaint language and humorous tone, the occasional witty conceits, will need to be appreciated and enjoyed, and the mode of presentation suited to the thought. Let the teacher first of all thoroughly enjoy the stories and in rendering them to children in the classroom lose herself in the tone and spirit of the account. It requires great freedom and flexibility of body and mind to do this well, but that is what a teacher most of all needs. The humorous part, especially, will require a certain unbending of the stiff manners of a teacher, but no harm is done in this.

The large volume of Robin Hood stories by Pyle should be in the hands of the teacher, if possible, although it is an expensive book. It is much fuller in the special details of the stories needed by the teacher, though the smaller book is far better adapted as a reading book for schools.

To illustrate the place which the Robin Hood legends hold in English history and literature, the following selections, quoted from Tennyson's "The Foresters" and one of the old ballads, are given. They are taken from "English History told by English Poets," published by The Macmillan Company, where the passage from "The Foresters" is given at greater length.

KING RICHARD IN SHERWOOD FOREST Lord Tennyson (From "The Foresters")

Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and George-a-Green, Will Scarlet, Midge the Miller's Son, Little John, and the rest are legendary characters loved and sung from the fourteenth century to modern times. The charm of these light-hearted highwaymen was felt by Shakespeare himself: "They say he is already in the forest of Arden, and a many merry men with him: and there they live like the old Robin Hood of England; they say many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world."—("As You Like It," I, I.) Tennyson adopts the tradition that the generous outlaws dwelt in Sherwood Forest in Cumberlandshire, and that their leader, Robin Hood, was the banished Earl of Huntingdon. The plot of the "The Foresters" turns upon the sudden return of Richard from his Austrian captivity and the consequent collapse of the intrigues conducted by his crafty and cruel brother John.

HOW ROBIN HOOD RESCUED THE WIDOW'S THREE SONS

Robin Hood and his followers were bandits and outlaws, but the people loved them because they defied the hateful forest laws and made light of the sheriff. The king's officers were responsible for the maintenance of order, but in these lawless times they often used their power for their own advantage, imposing heavy fines and penalties on the poor, and extorting bribes from the rich. The following is one of the oldest and rudest of the many Robin Hood ballads:—

ROBIN HOOD BOOKS

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Howard Pyle). Finely illustrated, $3.00. Scribner's Sons. Some Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle). Small school edition, illustrated; Scribner's Sons. Tennyson's The Foresters. The Robin Hood ballads are found in many of the ballad books. Ivanhoe contains several scenes from the life of Robin Hood (Locksley).