And now let us review a number of the _Maerchen_ against which none of
these objections lie, which are delicious food for children's minds, and
consider the place they occupy in a scheme of moral training. It has
been already stated that each period of human life has a set of duties
peculiar to itself. The principal duties of childhood are: Obedience to
parents, love and kindness toward brothers and sisters, a proper regard
for the feelings of servants, and kindness toward animals. We can
classify the fairy tales which we can use under these various heads. Let
us begin with the topic last mentioned.
_Tales illustrating Kindness toward Animals._
The House in the Woods.--The daughter of a poor wood-cutter is lost in
the woods, and comes at night to a lonely house. An old man is sitting
within. Three animals--a cow, a cock, and a chicken--lie on the hearth.
The child is made welcome, and is asked to prepare supper. She cooks for
the old man and herself, but forgets the animals. The second daughter
likewise goes astray in the woods, comes to the same house, and acts in
the same way. The third daughter, a sweet, loving child, before sitting
down to her own meal, brings in hay for the cow and barley for the cock
and chicken, and by this act of kindness to animals breaks the spell
which had been cast upon the house. The old man is immediately
transformed into a prince, etc.
The Story of the Dog Sultan.--Sultan is old, and about to be shot by his
master. The wolf, seeing his cousin the dog in such distress, promises
to help him. He arranges that on the morrow he will seize a sheep
belonging to Sultan's master. The dog is to run after him, and he, the
wolf, will drop the sheep and Sultan shall get the credit of the rescue.
Everything passes off as prearranged, and Sultan's life is spared by his
grateful owner. Some time after the wolf comes prowling around the
house, and, reminding his friend that one good turn deserves another,
declares that he has now come for mutton in good earnest. But the dog
replies that nothing can tempt him to betray the interests of his
master. The wolf persists, but Sultan gives the alarm and the thief
receives his due in the shape of a sound beating.
The point of special interest in the beautiful story of Snow-white and
Rose-red above referred to is the incident of the bear. One cold
winter's night some one knocks at the door. Snow-white and Rose-red go
to open, when a huge black bear appears at the entrance and begs for
shelter. He is almost frozen with the cold, he says, and would like to
warm himself a bit. The two little girls are at first frightened, but,
encouraged by their mother, they take heart and invite the bear into the
kitchen. Soon a cordial friendship springs up between Bruin and the
children. They brush the snow from his fur, tease, and caress him by
turns. After this the bear returns every night, and finally turns out to
be a beautiful prince.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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