combined with the story of The Little Rid Hin. In this tale the two old classic stories are preserved but re-experienced, with such details improvised as a clever child would himself naturally make. These additional details appeal to his imagination and give life-likeness and freshness to the tale, but they do not detract from the impression of the original or confuse the identity of the characters in the old tales.
One must not forget Peter Rabbit—that captivating, realistic fairy tale by Beatrix Potter—and his companions, Benjamin Bunny, Pigling Bland, Tom Kitten, and the rest, of which children never tire. Peter Rabbit undoubtedly holds a place as a kindergarten classic. In somewhat the same class of merry animal tales is Tommy and the Wishing Stone, a series of tales by Thornton Burgess, in St. Nicholas, 1915. Here the child enjoys the novel transformation of becoming a Musk-rat, a Ruffed Grouse, a Toad, Honker the Goose, and other interesting personages. A modern fairy tale which is received gladly by children is Ludwig and Marleen, by Jane Hoxie. Here we have the friendly Fox who grants to Ludwig the wishes he asks for Marleen. The theme parallels for the little people the charm of The Fisherman and His Wife, a Grimm tale suited to the second grade. Among modern animal tales The Elephant's Child,[1] one of the Just-So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, ranks high as a fairy tale produced for little children by one of the great literary masters of the short-story.
- ↑ See Appendix.
