Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1914-03-14
STORYTELLING IN A
CHILD'S EDUCATION
Mrs. Wilson Entertains School
Children With Interesting and
Instructive Tales.
MORAL VALUE EXPLAINED.
Conclusion Of a Very Helpful Series Of
Talks On Child Development.

1GHIfElhy dANttuDbh EtNcEhi nun
ired children remained after the close
# school and assembled in the Public
High School 10 hear Mrs. Letitia p.
Wilson. Many of the children were
invited to the platform and congre-
gated about the speaker in a pictur-
ssque gro0p, sitting tailor-fashion or
otherwise according to their several
inclinations.
Mrs. Wilson told a number of de-
ightful stories. without moralizing,
as she prefers that ths story "soak
I'M and teach it's own lesson. One of
he favorites was that OF little
sioux Indian boy named "Mocasin, :"
who at first was very lazy, but after
being captured by the Crow Indisns
and forced TO work he learned to be
industrious. Escaping to his home
again, his improved character won for
him the name Thunder horse" a
title by which he described to his
mother the gre at steam locomotive Of
he freight-train on which he hal
ridden.
Another favorite was Peter, Paul
and Espe0 The first two mentioned
we're young men, but Espen their
little brother, was only twelve years
old. Consequently, when the older
brothers stated out to make living
they laughed at Espen for wishing
TO go also. Yet they agreed to take
him. They came at length to the
Kings palace and learned that the
King offered the half of his kingdom
and his daughter in marriage to what
ever man would cut down . certain
troublesome tree growing rank in
front of the place, and also dig a we'll
Of good water.
The three brothers travelled on
awhile after be airing this and prest Mt
ly peculiar sound was heard in the
woods. 81 wonder what that isl"
said Espe-. YOU'D better go look,
laughed his brothees, "as you are
always wondering about something.
He went and looked and found an
axe chopping trees. 81 have been
waiting for you for a hundred
years" said the axe. "And / have
been waiting or you, replied the
boy. tie, pat the axe ia his sack
and went on.
In similar way, by his investi-
eating perseverance,. he found a pick
and placed it in his sack. Lastly,
az he traced beautiful brook to
its source, he found walnut cover
ed with moss and containing delicious
water. This, too, h. put in his bag.
When they all returned tc the Kings
place they found many men had tried
to win the Kings daughter in the
stated way and had failed. Then
Espen offered to cut down the tree
and dig the well, but everybo dy
laughed at twelve-year-old boy
offering to do what the young men
could not accomplish. However, he
took out his axe and set it going and
il soon made the great tree topple
nd fall. Then he set the pick 70 work
and il soou had deep we'll dug.
"Ah, but where is the waterf" ask
ed the by-standers. Wait" he said,
and he took out his walaut and placed
il in the well, which soon filed With
a delicious, sparkling water. Thus
the boy with an enterprising charsc-
ter won the princess as his bride and
became heir to the kingdom.
At night Mrs. Wilson told the
grown folks who constituted her au-
dience the object OF these tales. All
tie world loves q story teller; our
gran mothers used TO play that role,
but now great change has come in
educational work, the Kindergarten
largely fulfilling the demand. Dr..
Stadley Hall says the first essential
in child development is good story
telling. The child, like primitive
man, possesses spontaneousness and
sensuousness: he prizes into and mi
tates all those things which appli ID
to his FIVE senses.
Moses employed this human trait
in order to bring the God-eonscious.
ness TO the Hebrew race; he recited
stories and myths about persons which
emphasized certain virues. MYTHS
contain spiritual truths, and feed the
imagination upon truth, whether the
myth itself be truth or fiction. Thus
fairy tales help to inculcate whole.
some instruction.
Another story was then told to IL
lustrate this point. 1t was called
"Minna" and related how little qirl
started out to earn money to support
her sick mother and crippled sister.
She travelled through the woods where
every little squirrel and bird SCENE
to say Good luck to you, little
girl. At length she came to a queer
looking house and knocked. As nc
ore came, she opened the door anC
walked in. She found twelve little
beds, twelve cups and saucers all il
disorder. So she set tc work ane
made the beds, swept the floor anc
put everything in order. In the
evening twelve little dwarfs came in
being the occupants Of the house, anC
were so pleased they employed her q,
hJusekeeper. They placed gold coin.
under the rug, and these were dis
covered by the child through her yea
in taking up the rug to clean it. Thu.
she carried home 70 her mother al
abundant reward OF industry.