Children's Literature: A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training ClassesCurry, Charles Madison
General
Children's Literature: A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes
Curry, Charles Madison
Children -- Books and reading; Children's literature -- Study and teaching
After this Mr. Fitzwarren advised him to send for a proper tradesman and
get himself dressed like a gentleman, and told him he was welcome to
live in his house till he could provide himself with a better.
When Whittington's face was washed, his hair curled, and his hat cocked,
and he was dressed in a nice suit of clothes, he was as handsome and
genteel as any young man who visited at Mr. Fitzwarren's; so that Miss
Alice, who had once been so kind to him and thought of him with pity,
now looked upon him as fit to be her sweetheart; and the more so, no
doubt, because Whittington was now always thinking what he could do to
oblige her and making her the prettiest presents that could be.
Mr. Fitzwarren soon saw their love for each other and proposed to join
them in marriage, and to this they both readily agreed. A day for the
wedding was soon fixed; and they were attended to church by the Lord
Mayor, the court of aldermen, the sheriffs, and a great number of the
richest merchants in London, whom they afterwards treated with a very
rich feast.
History tells us that Mr. Whittington and his lady lived in great
splendor and were very happy. They had several children. He was Sheriff
of London, also Mayor, and received the honor of knighthood by Henry V.
The figure of Sir Richard Whittington with his cat in his arms, carved
in stone, was to be seen till the year 1780 over the archway of the old
prison of Newgate that stood across Newgate Street.
160
The next story came from Suffolk, England, and
the original is in the pronounced dialect of
that county. Mr. Jacobs thinks it one of the
best folk tales ever collected. The version
given follows Jacobs in reducing the dialect.
There is enough left, however, to raise the
question of the use of dialect in stories for
children. Some modern versions eliminate the
dialect altogether. It is certain that the
retention of some of the qualities of the
folk-telling makes it more dramatically
effective and appropriate. The original form of
the story may be seen in Hartland's _English
Fairy and Folk Tales_. Teachers should feel
free to use their judgment as to the best form
in which to tell a story to children.
Name-guessing stories are very common, and may
be "a 'survival' of the superstition that to
know a man's name gives you power over him, for
which reason savages object to tell their
names." The Grimm story of "Rumpelstiltskin" is
the best known of many variants (No. 178). "Tom
Tit Tot" has a rude vigor and dramatic force
not in the continental versions, and it will be
interesting to compare it with the Grimm tale.
Jacobs suggests that "it may be necessary to
explain to the little ones that Tom Tit can be
referred to only as 'that,' because his name is
not known until the end."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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