New-York tribune., 1910-01-09

false stimulation, and there is certainly
danger Of telling children too many fairy
tales. The very first stories that were told
were fables. and they art because they
combine the real and the ideal The real
in that they represent life, and the ideal
or imaginative in that they make animals,
trees ard flowers act and talk They are
comprehensive to primitive peoples. who
represent the childhood of the race. and
they appeal strongly to the children OF to-
day"
DR.. curry is a kindly, white haired man,
who can make people laugh and cry all in
one breath when he tells q story So he
ought to know something about the effect
of the various kinds Of stories. When he
was asked whether fairy ia es did not make
wider appeal. because they deal with
people rather than with things he replied:
"A country child who knows horses and
cows, rabbits, woodchucks and squirrels,
likes nothing more than to hear stories
about these little friends of his They love
the woods, and tiirned loose on nature
nothing absorbs their attention and fires
their imaginat ton more than the life of the
forest and the meadow people OF course
your poor little slum baby is bewildered by
stories of grass and trees and flowers be-
cause they mean nothing to him-he knows
only the human animals and the human
plants; so ] suppose he has to have fairy
stories of princes and magicians 10 please
his fancy. You know ! wouldn't believe
II the first time I saw a child that didI1't
know tree from a cloud. and though that
is more infrequent now than it used to be
1t makes me very sad every time think
Of it. Children belong TO out-of-doors, and
the air and sunshine We're made for them
first
don't like to make any sweeping def
nlte statements about fables anG parables.
because / haven't any statistics to show
Tor them. and even if I had, they wouldn't
be worth much-because, as Disraeli saws.
There are lies, worse Iies-and statistics
And. after all, any story is good so long
as 1t develops a chid's instinct to play.
/ don't mind saying that it is more es-
sential to learn how to play we'll than to
learn how to work well. never worry
about myself until l find that don't
know how TO play, because any old fool
can work; ii takes a wise man 10 be fool
ish"
Like many another who was graduated
from college back in the 70's Mr. Curry
likes TO compare the good old days with
modern times.
Children are just as nice and i0llv as
they ever were.' he said but one Of the
few faults l have TO find with them is that
they don't care enough about nets The
child that hasn't a pet of It's own-I don,t
care if it's only a fiy-isn't being brouebt
up properly. Why, the civilization of the
human race began with the domestication
of wild animals, because man began 10
control his own passions when he had 10
curb those Of beast. We ought to be
ashamed of ourselves for not having added
to the list of domestic animals since we
have inhabited this land. We used to boast
of the conquest of the turkey, but now It
is known that he tanned in Mexico.
away back in the days Of the Aztecs It's
foolish to think that children don't care
for animals. That is true only where they
haven't had a chance to decide for them
selves"