Yet a skilful and sympathetic leader,
one quick to read the feelings of his young listeners, may often render
his greatest service in free conversations about what the story teaches.
It would seem that no one could do this quite as well as the parent who
has known his boys and girls from infancy and can see in his offspring
those very traits of character which have been to his own advantage or
detriment.

More will be accomplished by questioning with occasional comments than
by preaching, more by showing the help the story gives to the questioner
than by trying to foist its assistance upon the hearer. "Now there is a
fine lesson for you, my boy. I want you to remember it," is not half so
effective as "That idea seems good to me. I've often thought about it
but never seemed to realize it so much. I shall try to remember it."
Wouldn't you, dear parent, rather learn _with_ your friend than to have
him always instructing you? "What do you think of that, John?" is much
more apt to help the boy than "You must see it this way, John." Are you
not, dear parent, rather proud of your own judgment, and do you not
suppose your son has inherited your feeling to some extent at least?

We heard the old fables in our babyhood and read them in Latin as we
grew older, and we still are fond of them, though the "morals" have long
since been forgotten. Those wise lessons so graphically presented have
helped to form our characters, but not through the formal "moral" at the
end. Beware of "_Haec fabula docet_."[189-1]

As a further suggestion of method we may consider for a few moments that
beautiful but sad little story of Andersen's, _The Fir Tree_ (Volume II,
page 68). Every good story is worth reading more than once, and every
good method of teaching involves more than one reading. In this instance
as children read or listen, they are first interested in the story as a
story; that is, in the plot. They enjoy the adventures of the Fir Tree
and may feel for it in its misfortunes, but their interest is in the
tale. When they have read to the end, however, they will be interested
in the appearance of the tree, their hero, and in the other characters
which give vitality to the story. Then the scenes may be talked over,
and varied enough they are to excite real interest as the story is read
now with the definite purpose of seeing the pictures Andersen has
sketched. With all this in mind the children are ready to think over it
again and learn