The fairy stories of the brothers Grimm are inferior to those of Andersen in plot, lesson and style. The plots are more monotonous and sometimes unnecessarily coarse and rough; the lessons are more obscure and sometimes are of doubtful value; and the style is much less forcible, in fact is often labored and inelegant. Yet many of the stories are attractive and harmless. They may be used to make the transition from fairy tales to more elevated literature. Their very imperfections can be utilized to discourage the reading of fairy tales and by criticism and gentle ridicule a child can be led away from that type of stories which though harmless when read in moderation have been made so attractive by modern writers that children fancy them too much and cling to them long after they should be reading things of much greater value. If children are led to study fairy stories, absurdities in them soon become tiresome. Ordinarily they read merely for the excitement in the tale, for the effect it has upon their naturally vivid imaginations. If they are led to think, to analyze, their intelligence will quickly call for something more substantial, more nearly true to life. _The Drummer_ is one of the best of the Grimm stories and yet some of their weaknesses are evident. It is inadvisable to talk to small children of studying a story. They are always delighted to see their parents interested and will be very glad to "talk over" the story. In this particular tale there are many points of interest that may be brought up by skilful questioning and many places where comments may be made, comments that will show the attitude of the adult mind without raising opposition on the part of the juvenile reader. Some of the subjects suggested by a reading of _The Drummer_ are the following: I. _Characters._ Taken in the order of their appearance in the story the characters are: 1. The Drummer 2. The King's Daughter 3. The First Giant 4. The Second Giant 5. The Third Giant 6. The Two Men Quarreling 7. The Witch 8. The Drummer's Parents 9. The Maiden II. _What the Characters Do._ 1. The Drummer finds the piece of cloth, goes to the mountain of glass, deceives the two quarreling men, flies to the top of the mountain, visits the witch, performs the three tasks, throws the witch in the fire, goes to his home, kisses his parents on their right cheeks, forgets the princess, gives her jewels away, gets ready to marry the maiden, remembers the princess, rewards the maiden and marries the princess. 2. The King's Daughter asks for her dress, tells the Drummer where she is confined, helps the Drummer in his three tasks, advises the Drummer how to destroy the witch, takes the Drummer to his parents, waits in the field for the Drummer, sings her song three times, forgives and marries the Drummer. 3. The First Giant talks with the Drummer and carries him through the woods on his back. 4. The Second Giant carries the Drummer in his button hole.