t. While they were at it, a man in a heavy overcoat came walking
along the road. When Mr. Wind saw the man he said, "Now see that man
down there. I can make him take off his coat, but you can't." Mr. Sun
replied, "I don't believe you can do it, but I can, though," then Mr.
Wind said, "Well, I'll show you, you conceited thing!" So the Wind blew
and blew, fierce and loud like a lion attacking his prey, but the man
wouldn't take off his coat. He drew it around him and buttoned it up and
hung on to it.

Q. I like your story. But how many people were talking?

A. Two.

Q. Did you mean to say "_strongest_"?

A. Stronger.

It is not necessary to continue this farther, for enough has been
written to show how a story may be developed and improved with each
retelling.

The same style of work, perhaps to even better advantage, may be done
from the pictures so numerous in _Journeys Through Bookland_. In this
volume, under the title _Pictures and Their Use_, will be found
plentiful suggestions that will be helpful in conversation lessons.

2. Written Lessons

A. Introduction.

The demands of written composition are so much more severe than those of
oral composition that we must be careful not to ask more than the child
can execute with comparative ease. Before he begins to write, he should
have clear ideas of what he intends to write and should have those ideas
so arranged that they will not be confused in the process of writing.
Moreover, a child must become quite familiar with writing as an art
before he can be expected to originate ideas or forms of expression for
the purpose of writing them. It follows, then, that some of the early
written work in language may profitably consist of copying selections of
various kinds.

The titles given under the preceding section (_Oral Lessons_) will lead
to many excellent exercises for this purpose. Insist on perfect accuracy
of copy. Spelling, capitalization and punctuation must be correct. If
the original is prose, insist upon proper paragraphing; if poetry, upon
exactness in the arrangement of the lines, especially in the matter of
indentation. Children will quickly see the relation that indentation
bears to rhymes. By following with exactness, the child learns
unconsciously to observe the general rules. By occasionally calling
attention to the reasons for forms, children are taught to act
intelligently and to decide for themselves when they come to original
composition.