CHAPTER I
Story-Telling in the Home
The home, the school, and the library
have each a distinct purpose in story-telling.
These purposes may be more or less
complex, they may in some instances coincide,
yet the fields are separate, and each
has its own fundamental reason for presenting
the oral story to the child.
In the home, the chief object in story-telling is to give content, to satisfy. The child, becoming tired of his toys or of his games, comes to his mother and begs for a story. He wants to be taken into her lap, cuddled within her arms, and entertained. Oh, the wonderful, the far-reaching opportunities held by the mother in such moments as these! The child is in a quiet, receptive mood, and the stories told him at such times will never be forgotten; their influence will follow him as long as he lives. Nothing that
