e Rat
Princess_.

A Grimm tale in which the setting is a very large element of pleasure
and in which it preserves the sequence of the tale, is _The Spider and
the Flea_, a lively accumulative tale that deserves attention for
several reasons.--A Spider and a Flea dwelt together. One day a number
of unusual occurrences happened, so that finally a little Girl with a
water-pitcher broke it, and then the Streamlet from which she drew the
water asked, "Why do you break your pitcher, little Girl?" And she
replied:--

The little Spider's burned herself.
And the Flea weeps;
The little Door creaks with the pain,
And the Broom sweeps;
The little Cart runs on so fast,
And the Ashes burn;
The little Tree shakes down its leaves.
Now it is my turn!

And then the Streamlet said, "Now I must flow."

And it flowed on and on, getting bigger and bigger, until it swallowed
up the little Girl, the little Tree, the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom,
the Door, the Flea, and at last, the Spider--all together.

Here we have a tale, which, in its language, well illustrates
Stevenson's "pattern of style," especially as regards the harmony
produced by the arrangement of letters. From the standpoint of style,
this tale might be named, _The Adventure of the Letter E_; it
illustrates the part the phonics of the tale may contribute to the
effect of the setting. Follow the letter _e_ in the opening of the
tale, both as to the eye and the ear:--

A Spid_e_r and a Fl_e_a dw_e_lt tog_e_th_e_r in on_e_
hous_e_ and br_e_w_e_d th_e_ir b_ee_r in an _e_gg-shell.
On_e_ day wh_e_n th_e_ Spid_e_r was stirring it up sh_e_
f_e_ll in and burn_e_d h_e_rs_e_lf. Th_e_r_e_upon th_e_
Fl_e_a b_e_gan to scr_e_am. And th_e_n th_e_ Door ask_e_d,
"Why ar_e_ you scr_e_aming, littl_e_ Fl_e_a?"

If we follow the _e_ sound through the tale, we find it in _Flea,
beer, scream, creak, weeps, sweep, reason, heap_, _Tree, leaves_, and
_Streamlet_. This repetition of the one sound puts music into the tale
and creates a center of the harmony of sound. But if we examine the
next part of the tale we find a variety of sounds of _o_ in
_thereupon, Door, Broom, stood_, and _corner_. Later, in connection
with _Cart_, we have _began, fast, past_, and _Ashes_. Other phonic
effects are crowded into the tale; such as the sound of _l_ in
_violently, till, all, leaves_, and _fell_; the sound of _i_ in
_little_ and _Girl_; o