is no less true that some young folks are the better for their
giants, their knights and their battles. On the whole, it is wiser to
keep the giants, the ogres and the suffering people in the background,
or to dwell upon them only when there seems a demand for them; later,
lead the young imaginations into the realms of history and real life
where giants are very real and ogres yet remain to be subdued. Do not
tell sad or exciting stories in the evening. Keep the quiet, peaceful
things for bed-time stories.

Here, then, is the great opportunity for the parent. The teacher has
thirty or more children of as many different temperaments from homes as
varied in culture as the children are different in appearance, and to
them she must tell her story as to one. The parent has but his own
little flock, whom he has known every day of their lives, and whose
souls are as transparent as glass to his watchful and sympathetic eye.
How certain may he feel in his selection of material, how powerful in
his recital!

Perhaps, however, he may find the pleasant task an unaccustomed one, may
have forgotten what he knew as a boy, and may not know where to turn for
material. Here these books come to his assistance with material for
every taste and suited to every occasion. In the beginning of the first
volume are the nursery rhymes which children have enjoyed for ages,
which are read, or far better told, to infants who rejoice in the
pictures. Between the nursery rhymes and the literature that follows is
quite a gap, intentionally left by the editor. There are no pretty
little tales in words of one syllable for beginners to read, but there
are good fables and stories to be told while the children are learning
to read, and later, to be read by the young people themselves. No parent
can go astray in selection if he knows his own children.

Do not be afraid to _tell_ the story--reading it aloud will not be half
so effective. Select a fable or a short story first. Read it carefully,
and then shut the book and think about it. Be sure you have the plot in
your mind, make the hero and the other characters seem very real to
yourself, picture the scenes vividly in your mind's eye, and you are
ready to begin.

1. _Use Your Own Words._ Simple words, graphic, commonplace words, are
the best. The older children will be just as much entertained, and the
younger ones can understand better. On the other hand, do not talk
_down_ to their level; they will r