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Show FAIRY TALES FOR CHILDREN Lady Tennant Arguea Little Onea Need Sustenance for Their Thoughts and Fancies, "IM children have fairy tales," urges Ijidy Tennant tn the London Times, on the ground that early childhood child-hood does not need Instruction so much as shape and sustenance for Its own thoughts and fancier. It Is through the old stories and the works of great writers, she thinks, that children chil-dren ran beat lt put In possession of the freedom, which, In the words of Jean Paul Itlchter, makes them citizens citi-zens of the divine city of Romance. Heading aloud to children she regards re-gards an of far reaching Importance. There Is tho Instance of a child of five years who haa been hearing with absorbing Interest the story of Joseph Jo-seph and his brethren. Some days after he was telling his mother a story and with glowing eyes he said: "And dreaming. I saw a king's throne, and the king's servant standing beside the throne." It was not difficult to trace the source of the Impression that hud led him to clothe his thoughts In such language. Let the children have the old books rend to them. There will come days when they will prefer to read an excellent ex-cellent modern detective story, or to buy a magazine. We must remind ourselves our-selves that posMbly they would be prigs If they did otherwise; nor should we, I think, on any account check reading of any kind. Hut In the early days when they are still being read to, when they are so young that It lies In the mother's choice what they shall be hearing, then, I say, let them hear the old book, or, If the choice fall on bookB of later date, let them be the works of great writers. |