on the further point that the child will often
sympathize with the wrong character in the story, thus going astray in
the moral lesson. Other objectors down to the present day simply echo
Rousseau. Such a view does little justice to the child's natural sense
of values. He is certain to see that the Frog is foolish in competing
with the Ox in size, and certain to recognize the common sense of the
Country Mouse. He will no more be deceived by a fable than he will by
the painted clown in a circus.

The oral method of presentation is the ideal one. Tell the story in as
vivid a form as possible. In the earlier grades the interest in the
story may be a sufficient end, but almost from the beginning children
will see the lesson intended. They will catch the phrases that have come
from fables into our everyday speech. Thus, "sour grapes," "dog in the
manger," "to blow hot and cold," "to kill the goose that lays the golden
eggs," "to cry 'Wolf!'" will take on more significant meanings. If some
familiar proverb goes hand in hand with the story, it will help the
point to take fast hold in the mind. Applications of the fable to real
events should be encouraged. That is what fables were made for and that
is where their chief value for us is still manifest. Only a short time
need be spent on any one fable, but every opportunity should be taken to
call up and apply the fables already learned. For they are not merely
for passing amusement, nor is their value confined to childhood. Listen
to John Locke, one of the "hardest-headed" of philosophers: "As soon as
a child has learned to read, it is desirable to place in his hands
pleasant books, suited to his capacity, wherein the entertainment that
he finds might draw him on, and reward his pains in reading; and yet not
such as should fill his head with perfectly useless trumpery, or lay the
principles of vice and folly. To this purpose I think _AEsop's Fables_
the best, which being stories apt to delight and entertain a child, may
yet afford useful reflections to a grown man, and if his memory retain
them all his life after, he will not repent to find them there, amongst
his manly thoughts and serious business."

The best AEsop collection for teachers and
pupils alike is _The Fables of AEsop_, edited by
Joseph Jacobs. It contains eighty-two selected
fables, including those that are most familiar
and most valuable for children. The versions
a