The New York herald., 1922-04-23

decorum the stuck-out tongue of the
very first COOP that ever saw the
light.
1t appears that In America we are
gradually coming to adopt the tidy
method Of Germany. There a child's
book before it enters the market
must first pass a committee who test
it by their standards OF excellence.
1t is pleasant to feel that the school
children who were all assembled to
sing songs OF rejoicing over the sink
ing OF the Lusitania had been shef-
tered from poisonous fiction by these
alert guardians. But perhaps if they
had done their work according to the
standards Of present American GUS
todians Germany would never have
shot up Belgium at all. For they
allowed books to go on sale which
would make any OF our up-to-psy-
chology librarians gasp in horror.
Take Grimm's Household Tales"
This classic would long ago have
been pruned. and young peoples over
there would now be as eager to lay
hands on the unexpurgated edition
as they are here to get hold OF the
unexpurgated edition OF "The Arab
ian Nights"-Burton's, not Mabie's.
The Brothers Grimm said in their
| preface: "We have added nothing of
our own. but have given the sub
stance just as we received IT," Fur
| thermore, they cut, out nothing.
They softened no coarse details. they
allowed to remain all familiar allu-
sions TO sacred persons. II cannot
be denied that the Household Tales
are occasionally as coarse as some
parts of the Old Testament which
are used in Sunday schools. Was
not this delinquency in itself possibly
sufficient to make Germany a little
over a century later go to war?
Would you not have Guessed that
children fed on such-shan we say
grim fare?-would become the grand
parents OF the policy OF Frightful-
ness?
The folk fairy tale was a story OF
an adventurer who met unexpected
I r;rc,,r,vfan1au arH ru;fh tha a;a ~
magic succeeded in overcoming them
by doing the impossible. The for
| mula for the original fairy tale Is
the same. except that the adventurer
is now invariably young. This might
be the case in the folk tale. In one
and the other. the adventurer is gen.
orally diminutive physically or figur-
atively. The pleasure in the exploits
Of the diminutive would exist In the
child audience Of to-day as wen as
in the grown-up audience OF the ear
| lier folk tale. Children to-day are
thereby assisted in the Identification
Of themselves with the hero and
heroine: and the grown-up audience
OF the other period found in the tales
sprightly rendering OF what still
remains the most allRring OF Bible
texts to the average man: He has
put down the mighty from their seat
and has exalted them of low degree.
AS for the situations in these
stories. Let us go through the list
OF fairy tale motifs drawn up by the
.ndefatigable Lang. The first four
the LADY librarian OF our time and
land would delete at once as far
too sophisticated and sexual for the
child. They are the transgression
/ by bride or bridegroom of a mystic
command. the departure and return
Of bride and bridegroom. the false
bride. the bride with animal chill
dren. Also dubious are the next two.
the attempt 70 avoid Fate and the
+ descent into Hades. You see It's al
/ together a question OF how far you
go. The slaughter Of monsters motif
is mpossible-tender little organisms
shouldn't be permitted 10 revel in
blood IL they want TO or forced to
welter in il il they don't. Flight
by aid OF animals and flight from
giant or wizard are quite per-
missible unless indeed Objectionable
But If you outrun giant or out