d waits--"and it was too hot! She tasted the next one,
and _that_ was too hot. Then she tasted the little bit of a plate, and
that--was--just--right!"

How I remember the delightful sense of achievement which stole into the
little girl's veins when the voice behind her said "just right." I think
she always chuckled a little, and hugged her stomach. So the story
progressed, and the little girl got through her toilet without crying,
owing to the wonder-working voice and its marvellous adaptation of
climaxes to emergencies. Nine times out of ten, it was the story of _The
Three Bears_ she demanded when, with the appearance of brush and comb, the
voice asked, "Which story shall mother tell?"

It was a memory of the little girl in the pink room which made it easy for
me to understand some other children's preferences when I recently had
occasion to inquire about them. By asking many individual children which
story of all they had heard they liked best, by taking votes on the best
story of a series, after telling it, and by getting some obliging teachers
to put similar questions to their pupils, I found three prime favourites
common to a great many children of about the kindergarten age. They were
_The Three Bears_, _Three Little Pigs_, and _The Little Pig that wouldn't
go over the Stile_.

Some of the teachers were genuinely disturbed because the few stories they
had introduced merely for amusement had taken so pre-eminent a place in
the children's affection over those which had been given seriously. It was
of no use, however, to suggest substitutes. The children knew definitely
what they liked, and though they accepted the recapitulation of scientific
and moral stories with polite approbation, they returned to the original
answer at a repetition of the question.

Inasmuch as the slightest of the things we hope to do for children by
means of stories is quite impossible unless the children enjoy the
stories, it may be worth our while to consider seriously these three which
they surely do enjoy, to see what common qualities are in them,
explanatory of their popularity, by which we may test the probable success
of other stories we wish to tell.

Here they are,--three prime favourites of proved standing.

THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS[1]

[Footnote 1: Adapted from Joseph Jacobs's _English Fairy Tales_ (David
Nutt, 57-59 Long Acre, W.C. 6s.).]

Once upon a time there were three little pigs, who went from home to see