rds and ideas, but gives life and
attraction to the exercise.

Illustrations, either impromptu or carefully prepared beforehand, are
always hailed with delight by the children. Nor need you hesitate to
try your "'prentice hand" at this work. Never mind if you "cannot
draw." It must be a rude picture, indeed, which is not enjoyed by an
audience of little people. Their vivid imaginations will triumph over
all difficulties, and enable them to see the ideal shining through the
real. It is well now and then, also, to have the children illustrate
the story. Their drawings, if executed quite without help, are, most
interesting from a psychological standpoint, and will afford great
delight to you, as well as to the little artists themselves.

The stories can also be illustrated with clay modeling, an idealized
mud-pie-making very dear to children. They soon become quite expert in
moulding simple objects, and enjoy the work with all the capacity of
their childish hearts.

Now and then encourage the little ones to repeat what they remember of
the tale you have told, or to tell something new on the same theme. If
the story you have given has been within their range and on a familiar
subject, a torrent of infantile reminiscence will immediately gush
forth, and you will have a miniature "experience meeting." If you have
been telling a dog story, for instance,--"I hed a dog once't," cries
Jimmy breathlessly, and is just about to tell some startling incident
concerning him, when Nickey pipes up, "And so hed I, and the pound man
tuk him;" and so on, all around the circle in the Free Kindergarten,
each child palpitating with eagerness to give you his bit of personal
experience.

Gather the little ones as near to you as possible when you are telling
stories, the tiniest in your lap, the others cuddled at your knee.
This is easily managed in the nursery, but is more difficult with a
large circle of children. With the latter you can but seat yourself
among the wee ones, confident that the interest of the story will hold
the attention of the older children.

What a happy hour it is, this one of story-telling, dear and sacred to
every child-lover! What an eager, delightful audience are these little
ones, grieving at the sorrows of the heroes, laughing at their happy
successes, breathless with anxiety lest the cat catch the disobedient
mouse, clapping hands when the Ugly Duckling is changed into the
Swan,--all appreciation, all interest