or if they understand, they will suffer a sudden forcing of growth in
the knowledge of life which is always unwholesome.

Only stories which are sound in the views of life they present ought
to be within the reach of children; these stories ought to be well
constructed and well written; they ought to be largely objective
stories; they ought not to be introspective, morbid or abnormal in any
way. Goody-good and professionally "pious" stories, sentimental or
unreal stories, ought to be rigorously excluded. A great deal of
fiction specially written for children ought to be left severely
alone; it is cheap, shallow and stamped with unreality from cover to
cover. It is as unwise to feed the minds of children exclusively on
books specially prepared for their particular age as to shape the
talk at breakfast or dinner specially for their stage of development;
few opportunities for education are more valuable for a child than
hearing the talk of its elders about the topics of the time. There are
many wholesome and entertaining stories in the vast mass of fiction
addressed to younger readers; but this literature of a period ought
never to exclude the literature of all periods.

The stories collected in this volume have been selected from many
sources, because in the judgment of the editor, they are sound pieces
of writing, wholesome in tone, varied in interest and style, and
interesting. It is his hope that they will not only furnish good
reading, but that they will suggest the kind of reading in this field
that should be within the reach of children.

HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE

FAMOUS STORIES

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. A Child's Dream of a Star
By CHARLES DICKENS

II. The King of the Golden River or, The Black Brothers
By JOHN RUSKIN

III. The Snow Image: A Childish Miracle
By NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

IV. Undine
By FRIEDRICH, BARON DE LA MOTTE FOUQUE

V. The Story of Ruth
FROM THE BOOK OF RUTH

VI. The Great Stone Face
By NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

VII. The Diverting History of John Gilpin
By WILLIAM COWPER

VIII. The Man Without a Country
By EDWARD EVERETT HALE

IX. The Nuernberg Stove
By LOUISE DE LA RAMEE ("Ouida")

X. Rab and His Friends
By JOHN BROWN, M.D.

XI. Peter Rugg, the Missing Man
By WILLIAM AUSTIN

STORIES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW

I

A CHILD'S DREAM OF A STAR

There was once a child, and he strolled about a good deal, and thought