e Golden River_, Collodi's
_Pinocchio_, Maeterlinck's _Blue-Bird_, Kipling's _Just-So Stories_
and the tales of the _Jungle Books_, Selma Lagerloef's _Wonderful
Adventures of Nils_, the _Uncle Remus Tales_ of Harris, etc. But these
classics are, with a few exceptions, the richness of the primary and
elementary literature. The modern fairy tale suited to the
kindergarten child, is at a disadvantage, for most likely it is hidden
away in some magazine, waiting for appreciation to bring some
attention to it. And in these complex modern days it is difficult to
secure a tale whose simplicity suits the little child.

Among the best tales for little people are Miss Harrison's _Hans and
the Four Giants_ and _Little Beta and the Lame Giant_. In _Little Beta
and the Lame Giant_ a natural child is placed in unusual surroundings,
where the gentleness of the giant and the strength of love in the
little girl present strong contrasts that please and satisfy. _The Sea
Fairy and the Land Fairy_ in _Some Fairies I have Met_, by Mrs.
Stawell, though possessing much charm and beauty, is too complicated
for the little people. It is a quarrel of a Sea Fairy and a Land
Fairy. It is marked by good structure, it presents a problem in the
introduction, has light fancy suited to its characters, piquant
dialogue, good description, visualized expressions, and it presents
distinct pictures. Its method is direct and it gets immediately into
the story. Its method of personification, which in this, perhaps the
best story of the collection, is rather delightful, in some of the
others is less happy and is open to question. _How Double Darling's
Old Shoes Became Lady Slippers_, by Candace Wheeler, in _St.
Nicholas_, is a really delightful modern fairy story suited to be read
to the little child. It is the experience of a little girl with new
shoes and her dream about her old shoes. But the story lacks in
structure, there is not the steady rise to one great action, the
episode of the Santa Claus tree is somewhat foreign and unnecessary,
and the conclusion falls flat because the end seems to continue after
the problem has been worked out.

In _The Dwarf's Tailor_, by Underhill, there is much conversation
about things and an indirect use of language, such as "arouse them to
reply" and "continued to question," which is tedious. The humor is at
times heavy, quoting proverbs, such as "The pitcher that goes too
often to the well is broken at last." The climax i