We shall find, however, that all
stories appropriate for young children naturally divide themselves
into the following classes:--
I. The purely imaginative or fanciful, and here belongs the so-called
fairy story.
II. The realistic, devoted to things which have happened, and might,
could, would, or should happen without violence to probability. These
are generally the vehicle for moral lessons which are all the more
impressive because not insisted on.
III. The scientific, conveying bits of information about animals,
flowers, rocks, and stars.
IV. The historical, or simple, interesting accounts of the lives of
heroes and events in our country's struggle for life and liberty.
There is a great difference in opinion regarding the advisability of
telling fairy stories to very young children, and there can be no
question that some of them are entirely undesirable and inappropriate.
Those containing a fierce or horrible element must, of course, be
promptly ruled out of court, including the "bluggy" tales of cruel
stepmothers, ferocious giants and ogres, which fill the so-called
fairy literature.
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