i, the Beautiful_; and the English _Robin's Christmas
Song. Little Two-Eyes_ stands out as one containing a large
element of beauty, and _Oeyvind and Marit_ represents in an
ideal way the possible union of the good, the true, and the
beautiful. This union of the good, the true, and the
beautiful has been expressed by an old Persian legend: "In
the midst of the light is the beautiful, in the midst of the
beautiful is the good, in the midst of the good is God, the
Eternal One."

_Wonder, mystery, magic_. The spirit of wonder, like a
will-o'-the-wisp, leads on through a fairy tale, enticing
the child who follows, knowing that something will happen,
and wondering what. When magic comes in he is gratified
because some one becomes master of the universe--Cinderella,
when she plants the hazel bough, and later goes to the
wishing-tree; the fairy godmother, when with her wand she
transforms a pumpkin to a gilded coach and six mice to
beautiful gray horses; Little Two-Eyes, when she says,--

Little kid, bleat,
I wish to eat!

and immediately her little table set with food so
marvelously appears; or Hop-o'-my-Thumb when he steps into
his Seven-League Boots and goes like the wind.

_Adventure_. This is a form of curiosity. In the old tale,
as the wood was the place outside the usual habitation,
naturally it was the place where things happened. Often
there was a house in the wood, like the one "amidst the
forest darkly green," where Snow White lived with the
Dwarfs. This adventure the little child loves for its own
sake. Later, when he is about eleven or twelve, he loves it
for its motive. This love of adventure is part of the charm
of _Red Riding Hood_, of the _Three Bears_, of the _Three
Pigs_, or of any good tale you might mention.

_Success_. The child likes the fairy tale to tell him of
some one who succeeds. He admires the little pig Speckle who
outwitted the Wolf in getting to the field of turnips first,
or in going to the apple tree at Merry-Garden, or to the
fair at Shanklin; who built his house of brick which would
defy assault; and whose cleverness ended the Wolf's life.
This observation of success teaches the child to admire
masterliness, to get the motto, _Age quod agis_, stamped
into his child life