The Troubadours, indeed, could they return to the earth, would wander
about lonely and unwelcomed till they found home and refuge in the
hospitable atmosphere of the kindergarten,--the only spot in the
busy modern world where delighted audiences still gather around the
professional story-teller.
If I were asked to furnish a recipe for one of these professional
story-tellers, these spinners of childish narratives, I should suggest
one measure of pure literary taste, two of gesture and illustration,
three of dramatic fire, and four of ready speech and clear expression.
If to these you add a pinch of tact and sympathy, the compound should
be a toothsome one, and certain to agree with all who taste it.
And now as to the kind of story our professional is to tell. In
selecting this, the first point to consider is its suitability to
the audience. A story for very little ones, three or four years old
perhaps, must be simple, bright, and full of action. They do not yet
know how to listen; their comprehension of language is very limited,
and their sympathies quite undeveloped.
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