the oral presentation of the tale new elements of the teacher's
preparation enter, for here the voice is the medium and the teacher
must use the voice as the organist his keys. The aim of the oral
presentation is to give the spiritual effect. This requires certain
conditions of effectiveness--to speak with distinctness, to give the
sense, and to cause to understand; and certain intellectual
requirements--to articulate with perfection, to present successive
thoughts in clear outline, and to preserve relative values of
importance.

The production of the proper effect necessitates placing in the
foreground, with full expression, what needs emphasis, and throwing
back with monotony or acceleration parts that do not need emphasis. It
requires slighting subordinate, unimportant parts, so that one point
is made and one total impression given. This results in that
flexibility and lightsomeness of the voice, which is one of the most
important features in the telling of the tale. The study of technique,
when controlled by these principles of vocal expression, is not
opposed to the art of story-telling any more than the painter's
knowledge of color is opposed to his art of painting. To obtain
complete control of the voice as an instrument of the mind, there is
necessary: (1) training of the voice; (2) exercises in breathing; (3)
a knowledge of gesture; and (4) a power of personality.

(1) Training of the voice. This training aims to secure freedom of
tone, purity of tone, fullness of tone, variety of volume, and
tone-color. It will include a study of phonetics to give correct
pronunciation of sounds and a knowledge of their formation; freeing
exercises to produce a jaw which is not set, an open throat, a mobile
lip, and nimble tongue; and exercises to get rid of nasality or
throatiness. The art of articulation adds to the richness of meaning,
it is the connection between sound and sense. Open sounds are in
harmony with joy, and very distinct emotional effects are produced by
arrangements of consonants. The effect created by the use of the
vowels and consonants in _The Spider and the Flea_ has already been
referred to under "Setting." The open vowels of "On, little Drumikin!
Tum-pae, tum-t[=oo]!" help to convey the impression of lightsome gaiety
in _Lambikin_. The effect of power displayed by "Then I'll huff and
I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in," is made largely by the sound
of the consonants _ff_ and the _n_ in the conclud