The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf

The girl’s name was Inge; she was a poor child, but proud and presumptuous.

With years she grew worse rather than better.

She was sent into the country, in service, in the house of a rich people who kept her as their own child, and dressed her in corresponding style. She looked well, and her presumption increased.

When she had been there about a year, her mistress said to her, “You ought once to visit your parents, Inge.

“I’ll make you a present of a great wheaten loaf that you may give to them; they will certainly be glad to see you again.”

And Inge put on her best clothes, and her new shoes, and drew her skirts around her, and set out, stepping very carefully that she might be clean and neat about the feet; and there was no harm in that. But when she came to the place where the footway led across the moor, and where there were mud and puddles, she threw the loaf into the mud, and trod upon it to pass over without wetting her feet.

But as she stood there with one foot upon the loaf and the other uplifted to step farther, the loaf sank with her, deeper and deeper, till she disappeared altogether, and only a great puddle, from which the bubbles rose, remained where she had been.

Whither did Inge go? She sank into the moor ground, and went down to the Moor Woman, who is always brewing there. The Moor Woman is cousin to the Elf Maidens, who are well enough known, of whom songs are sung, and whose pictures are painted; but concerning the Moor Woman it is only known that when the meadows steam in summer-time, it is because she is brewing. Into the Moor Woman’s place did Inge sink down; and no one can endure that place long. A box of mud is a palace compared with the Moor Woman’s brewery. Every barrel there has an odor that almost takes away one’s senses; and the barrels stand close to each other; and wherever there is a little opening among them, through which one might push one’s way, the passage becomes impracticable from the number of damp toads and fat snakes who sit out their time there. Among this company did Inge fall! and she shuddered and became stark and stiff.

She continued fastened to the loaf and the loaf drew her down as an amber button draws a fragment of straw.

That was a never ending antechamber where Inge found herself. There was a whole crowd of sinful people there, too. Great, fat, waddling spiders spun webs of a thousand years over the people’s feet, webs that cut like wire and bound them like bronze fetters. Inge felt a terrible pain while she had to stand there as a statue, for she was tied fast to the loaf. Her clothes had been soiled with mud in coming down to the Moor Woman’s place; a snake was fastened in her hair and out of each fold in her muddy frock a great toad looked forth, croaking.

The worst of all was the terrible hunger that tormented her. But could she not stoop and break off a piece of the loaf on which she stood? No, her back was too stiff, her hands and arms were benumbed, and her whole body was like a pillar of stone; only she was able to turn her eyes in her head, to turn them quite round, so that she could see backwards.

“If this lasts much longer,” she said, “I shall not be able to bear it.”

But she had to bear it, and it lasted on and on.

Her mother and all on earth knew of the sin she had committed; knew that she had trodden upon the loaf, and had sunk and disappeared; for the cowherd had seen it from the hill beside the moor.

And then she heard how her story was told to the little children, and the little ones said that she was so naughty and ugly that she must be well punished.

But one day when Inge was very hungry, she heard her name mentioned and her story was told to an innocent child. The little girl burst into tears at the tale of the haughty, vain Inge.

“But will Inge never come up here again?” asked the little girl.

And the reply was, “She will never come up again.”

“But if she were to say she was sorry, and to beg pardon, and say she would never do so again?”

“Yes, then she might come,” was the reply, and the words penetrated to Inge’s heart and did her good, and a tear of penitence dropped down on the loaf.

Again time went on—a long, bitter time, but at last Inge heard some one call her name and she saw two bright stars that seemed gleaming above her. The little girl who had been sorry for Inge was now an old woman and had gone to Heaven. She was calling to Inge. She was still sorry for her.

And a wonderful thing happened. A beam of light shot radiantly down into the depths of the Moor Woman’s place with all the force of the sunbeam which melts the snow man the boys have built. More quickly than the snowflake turns to water, the stony form of Inge was changed to mist, and a little bird soared with the speed of lightning upward into the world of men. But the bird was timid and shy towards all things around; he was ashamed of himself, ashamed to encounter any living thing, and hurriedly sought to conceal himself in a dark hole in an old crumbling wall; there he sat cowering, trembling through his whole frame.

Then, presently, it was the blessed Christmas time. The peasant who dwelt near set up a pole by the old wall with some ears of corn bound to the top, that the birds of heaven might have a good meal, and rejoice in the happy, blessed time.

And on Christmas morning the sun arose and shone upon the ears of corn, which were surrounded by a number of twittering birds. Then out of the hole in the wall streamed forth the voice of another bird, and the bird soared forth from his hiding-place; and in heaven it was well known what bird this was.

It was a hard winter. The ponds were covered with ice, and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air were stinted for food. Our little bird soared away over the high road, and in the ruts of the sledges he found here and there a grain of corn, and at the halting-places some crumbs. Of these he ate only a few, but he called all the other hungry sparrows around him, that they, too, might have some food. He flew into the towns, and looked round about; and wherever a kind hand had strewn bread on the window-sill for the birds, he only ate a single crumb himself, and gave all the rest to the other birds.

In the course of the winter, the bird had collected so many bread-crumbs, and given them to the other birds, that they equalled the weight of the loaf on which Inge had trod to keep her shoes clean; and when the last bread-crumb had been found and given, the gray wings of the bird became white, and spread far out.

“Yonder is a sea-swallow, flying away across the water,” said the children, when they saw the white bird. Now it dived into the sea, and now it rose again into the clear sunlight. It gleamed white; but no one could tell whither it went, though some asserted that it flew straight into the sun.

Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen.

CHAPTER XIII
PLANNING STORY GROUPS

THE children who hear one story well told eagerly demand,

“Tell us another!”

It is the natural, to-be-desired longing of the child mind to be satiated with good stories. We endeavor to meet the children’s wish for a number of stories in each story hour but we often hurt the mental and moral effect of one story by telling in close connection another story that has no interest connection with the last one told. We lead the child from one story interest to another with slight attention to the influence which the story group will have upon the minds of the children. We tell, perhaps, a home story, then a nature story, and last of all a holiday story in one story hour, and in doing this we so quickly transfer the child’s attention from one theme to a distinctly different one that there is no cohesion in our story building. We break down instead of building up the powers of concentration of our children.

Planning a group of stories for one story hour is quite as much a matter to be studied as is the selection of each individual story in the group and preparing this story for telling. The story combination selected by the story teller must have the qualities of cohesion, unity of theme, and related interests to make the story hour valuable in the child’s life. On the other hand, the unity of theme in the separate stories chosen must be emphasized by contrasting story treatment of this central theme. A group of stories in which each story is just like its predecessor and similar to the story that follows will tire the child listeners. We must bring about cohesion in the story hour by means of contrast in the treatment of each story.

Our first thought in planning story groups will be:

Select the story theme for the story hour.

This story theme will be some idea which we want to bring forcefully to the minds of our children. The story hour motif may be: animals, the home, trades, birds, flowers, heroes, a holiday or some ethical theme as: honesty, truth or charity, but each of the stories selected for the story group will have an animal, home, trade, bird, flower, hero, holiday, honesty, truth or charity theme.

Our second thought in planning story groups will be:

Select stories which present the selected theme in contrasting treatment.

Three stories form an excellent number for one story hour. Each of these stories will illustrate one central idea that a continuing thread of interest may be carried through the story group and knotted at the end of the story hour. But each story will make a different mental appeal in presenting the theme that the children may have the benefit of contrast in helping them to concentrate upon listening to all the stories that make up the group.

The first of these three stories should be selected having in mind the securing of the involuntary attention of the children. It should be an apperceptive story that finds quick interpretation in the minds of the children because its ideas are their ideas, its scenes are familiar to theirs and its characters are people like the people whom they meet and know in their every-day environment. Having caught the children’s attention involuntarily by a story that finds a place by its familiarity of treatment in their own lives, the second story in the group may make a different mental appeal. It may make the children reason; it may take them far afield in their thinking, it may be the longest story in the group and so call for greater concentration on the part of the story teller.

The last story in the story group will be selected for mental relaxation after the tense attention demanded for the second story. It may be a humorous story, a very short story, or one so contrasted in treatment to the other stories in the group that it gives rest because of its difference.

To illustrate with one typical story group will be helpful.

We wish to make the thought of industry the central thought for a story hour. The first story in the story group might be “The Sailor Man” by Laura E. Richards. This story catches and holds the children’s attention at once because its characters are familiar to them; its setting is one that they can quickly see in their imagination. They have much in common with the two children who go to visit the sailor man; they know sailors; they have been to the seashore; they have enjoyed boat rides. And the climax of the story is a lesson in industry. The child who most industriously ties knots in the sailor’s fish nets wins the reward.

The second story in the group, “The Stone in the Road,” makes the children think more forcefully than did the first one. It takes them farther afield and makes them see in imagination, wealth, a castle, gold, poverty. They are obliged to reason in interpreting the rich man’s motive in hiding his gold. The story makes the children use their dawning power of judging.

The last story selected for this special story group is, “Drakesbill,” a humorous folk tale. The hero, an industrious duck who has worked hard all his life to accumulate a competence upon which he may live in his old age, loans a large sum of money to the king. The king being slow in paying back the money, Drakesbill goes to the palace to collect his debt. His adventures on the way and the successful end of his journey form the interest of the story. This story makes a fine climax to the story group. While it still emphasizes the central thought of the story program, industry, it treats it in a different way from that in which the previous stories illuminate the theme. Its fantasy, its humor make it a relaxation for the children.

If story groups are arranged having in mind these two considerations: a central theme and contrast in the treatment of this theme the story hour will be a vital force for good in the development of the children’s mental and moral life.

For the benefit of the story teller who has slight time for the consulting of many books of stories which such a planning of story groups entails, some illustrative story programs follow, each of which has been arranged with reference to one child-interest theme carried through three different types of stories.

STORY PROGRAMS SELECTED BECAUSE OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL APPEAL OF EACH GROUP

HOME PROGRAMS
The Home:
How the Home Was Built Maud Lindsay, in Mother Stories
The Little Gray Grandmother Elizabeth Harrison, in For the Children’s Hour
The Sheep and the Pig Scandinavian Folk Tale
The Kitchen:
The Little Red Hen Folk Tale
The Two Little Cooks Laura E. Richards, in Five Minute Stories
The Wonderful Tea Kettle In Tales of Laughter
Toys:
The China Rabbit Family In In the Child’s World
The Top and the Ball Hans Christian Andersen
The Doll in the Grass In The Fairy Ring
Being Neat:
The Child Who Forgot to Wash His Face Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, in Story Telling Time
Dust Under the Rug Maud Lindsay, in Mother Stories
The Pig Brother Laura E. Richards, in The Golden Windows
Cake:
The Christmas Cake Maud Lindsay, in More Mother Stories
King Alfred and the Cakes In Baldwin’s Fifty Famous Stories Retold
The Pancake In Tales of Laughter
Mother:
The Cap That Mother Made, see page [8]
About Angels Laura E. Richards, in The Golden Windows
The Story of Epaminondas and His Auntie Southern Folk Tale, in Best Stories to Tell to Children
The Children:
Wishing Wishes Maud Lindsay, in More Mother Stories
Little Jack Rollaround Adapted in Best Stories to Tell to Children
Food:
The Gingerbread Boy In For the Children’s Hour
The Proud Little Grain of Wheat Frances Hodgson Burnett, in St. Nicholas Files
The Pancake In Tales of Laughter
Traveling:
The Crane Express In In the Child’s World
The Pony Engine and the Pacific Express William Dean Howells, in Christmas Every Day
The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Round the World Edward Lear, in Tales of Laughter
ANIMAL PROGRAMS
The Cat:
Mrs. Tabby Gray Maud Lindsay, in Mother Stories
Dick Whittington and His Cat Old Folk Tale
The Greedy Cat Sara Cone Bryant, in Best Stories to Tell to Children
The Dog:
The Story of Wylie Adapted by Sara Cone Bryant, in How to Tell Stories to Children
A Dog of Flanders Ouida
The Dog in the Manger In Æsop’s Fables
The Horse:
The Little Gray Pony Maud Lindsay, in Mother Stories
The Horse That Believed He’d Get There Annie Trumbull Slosson, in Story Tell Lib
A Wise Old Horse In In the Child’s World
The Cow:
The Friendly Cow Robert Louis Stevenson, in A Child’s Garden of Verse
Irmgard’s Cow Maud Lindsay, in More Mother Stories
The Story the Milk Told Me Gertrude H. Noyes, in In the Child’s World
The Rabbit:
Raggylug Ernest Thompson Seton, adapted by Sara Cone Bryant, in Best Stories to Tell to Children
Peter Rabbit Beatrix Potter
Bre’r Rabbit and the Little Tar Baby Joel Chandler Harris, in Nights With Uncle Remus
The Squirrel:
The Thrifty Squirrels Mary Dendy, in In the Child’s World
Squirrel Nutkin Beatrix Potter
Bobby Squirrel’s Busy Day Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, in Story Telling Time
Sheep:
Grandfather’s Little Lamb In Stories and Rhymes for a Child
The Good Shepherd The Bible
The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf In Æsop’s Fables
The Pig:
The Story of the Three Little Pigs In For the Children’s Hour
The Little Pig Maud Lindsay, in More Mother Stories
How the Pigs Can See the Wind In Firelight Stories
The Bear:
The Three Bears In For the Children’s Hour
The Bear and the Fowls Æsop’s Fables
Why the Bear Has a Stumpy Tail In Firelight Stories
The Lion:
The Man and the Lion Æsop’s Fables
Daniel and the Lions The Bible
The Lion and the Mouse In For the Children’s Hour
Children and Animals:
Moufflou Ouida
Benjy in Beastland Nora Archibald Smith, in The Story Hour
The Boy and the Wolves Æsop’s Fables
NATURE PROGRAMS
Spring Flowers:
The Snowdrop Hans Christian Andersen
The Shet-up Posy Annie Trumbull Slosson, in Story Tell Lib
The Story of the Morning Glory Seed Margaret Eytinge, in In the Child’s World
Summer Flowers:
The Pink Rose Sara Cone Bryant, in Best Stories to Tell to Children
Rose Bloom and Thorn Bloom Alice Brown, in The One-Footed Fairy
A Legend of the Goldenrod Frances Deland, in Story Telling Time
Birds:
The Legend of the Woodpecker In For the Children’s Hour
The Blue Robin Mary Wilkins Freeman, see page [219]
King Wren In Tales of Laughter
The Sky:
The Star Dollars Grimm’s Fairy Tales
The Stars Laura E. Richards, in The Golden Windows
How the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind Went Out to Dinner In Tales of Laughter
Apples:
The Sleeping Apple In In the Child’s World
The Big Red Apple Kate Whiting Patch, in For the Children’s Hour
Apple Seed John In Saint Nicholas Files
The Barnyard:
The Goose that Laid Golden Eggs Old Folk Tale
The Ugly Duckling Hans Christian Andersen
A Barnyard Talk Emilie Poulsson, in In the Child’s World
Light:
The Old Street Lamp Hans Christian Andersen
The Golden Windows Laura E. Richards, in The Golden Windows
The Moon Cake In Tales of Laughter
Snow:
The Snow Man Hans Christian Andersen
Grandfather’s Penny In For the Children’s Hour
How Peter Rabbit Got His White Patch Thornton Burgess, in Mother West Wind’s Children
Water:
The Little Hero of Harlem Adapted by Sara Cone Bryant, in Best Stories to Tell to Children
Tom, The Water Baby Charles Kingsley, adapted in For the Children’s Hour
Why the Sea is Salt In Tales of Laughter
Leaves:
The Anxious Leaf Henry Ward Beecher, in For the Children’s Hour
The Maple Leaf and the Violet Eugene Field, in A Little Book of Profitable Tales
The Snowflake and the Leaf Helen Preble, in For the Children’s Hour
The Bee:
Little Bee Trunkhosie In Firelight Stories
The Bee Man of Orne Frank R. Stockton, in Fanciful Tales
Battle of the Monkey and the Crab Japanese Fairy Tale, in Tales of Laughter
Trees:
The Little Pine Tree That Wished For New Leaves In For the Children’s Hour
Old Pipes and the Dryad Frank R. Stockton, in Fanciful Tales
The Three Little Christmas Trees That Grew on the Hill Mary McDowell, in The Story Teller’s Book
TRADE PROGRAMS
The Farmer:
The Larks in the Corn Field In Æsop’s Fables
Do What You Can In For the Children’s Hour
The Farmer and the Troll In Tales of Laughter
The Baker:
Nero at the Bakery Emilie Poulsson, in In the Child’s World
The Queer Little Baker Man Phila Butler Bowman, in Mother’s Magazine, November, 1912
The Old Woman Who Lost Her Dumplings In Tales of Laughter
The Shoemaker:
Goody Two Shoes Emilie Poulsson, see page [16]
The Elves and the Shoemaker Grimm
The Hop-About Man In The Story Teller’s Book
The Blacksmith:
The Little Gray Pony Maud Lindsay, in Mother Stories
Vulcan In In the Child’s World
The Village Blacksmith Longfellow
HOLIDAY PROGRAMS
Thanksgiving:
How Patty Gave Thanks In In the Child’s World
The Story of the First Thanksgiving Nora Archibald Smith, in The Story Hour
The Pumpkin Glory William Dean Howells, in Christmas Every Day
Christmas:
The Night Before Christmas Clement Moore
The Legend of Claus Eugene Field, in A Little Book of Profitable Tales
The Golden Cobwebs In Best Stories to Tell to Children
Easter:
An Easter Surprise. Louise M. Oglevee, in Story Telling Time
A Lesson in Faith Margaret Gatty, in In the Child’s World
Herr Oster Haase In For the Children’s Hour
Stories of Patriotism:
How Cedric Became a Knight Elizabeth Harrison, in For the Children’s Hour
Little George Washington Nora Archibald Smith, in The Story Hour
The Last Lesson Adapted by Sara Cone Bryant, in How to Tell Stories to Children
For a Birthday:
The Birthday Present Maud Lindsay, in More Mother Stories
Dicky Smiley’s Birthday Nora Archibald Smith, in The Story Hour
The Birthday Party Gertrude Smith, in The Story Teller’s Book
ETHICAL PROGRAMS
Being Brave:
The Eyes of the King Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, in Story Telling Time
The Little Hero of Harlem Sara Cone Bryant, in Best Stories to Tell to Children
The Brave Tin Soldier Hans Christian Andersen
Being Industrious:
The Sailor Man Laura Richards, in The Golden Windows
The Stone in the Road In For the Children’s Hour
Drakesbill In The Story Teller’s Book
Being Kind:
The Little Brown Lady Phila Butler Bowman, in Story Telling Time
The Wheat Field Laura E. Richards, in The Golden Windows
Little Half Chick In For the Children’s Hour
Being Generous:
The Little Boy Who Had a Picnic Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, in Stories and Rhymes for a Child
The Happy Prince Oscar Wilde
The Little Old Man and His Gold Phila Butler Bowman, in Story Telling Time
Being Hospitable:
The Selfish Giant Oscar Wilde, in The Happy Prince and Other Fairy Tales
Baucis and Philemon Adapted in For the Children’s Hour
The Woodpecker Who Was Selfish, see page [181]
Being Honest:
The Little Cowherd Brother In Story Telling in School and Home
The Honest Woodman In In the Child’s World
The Street Musicians In The Story Teller’s Book
MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS
Good Little Folk:
The Adventures of a Brownie (to be adapted) Miss Mulock
The One-Footed Fairy Alice Brown
The Gradual Fairy Alice Brown, in The One-Footed Fairy
Funny Stories:
The Story of Lambikin In Firelight Stories
The Happy Family Hans Christian Andersen
The Story of Little Black Mingo Helen Bannerman, in Tales of Laughter
Myths:
The Paradise of Children In Myths Every Child Should Know
The Story of Persephone In For the Children’s Hour
The Golden Touch Adapted, in Myths Every Child Should Know
Fairy Animals:
The Winding Up Place (to be adapted) In Mopsa The Fairy
The Chimæra (to be adapted) In Myths Every Child Should Know
The Little Jackal and the Alligator In Best Stories to Tell to Children
Princesses:
The Crown Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, in Story Telling Time
The Princess and the Pea Hans Christian Andersen
The Princess Whom Nobody Could Silence In Tales of Laughter
VALUABLE REFERENCE BOOKS FOR THE STORY TELLER
How to Tell Stories to Children Sara Cone Bryant
Stories to Tell to Children Sara Cone Bryant
The Children’s Reading Frances Jenkins Olcott
Story Telling: What to Tell and How to Tell It Edna Lyman
A LIST OF GOOD STORIES TO TELL TO CHILDREN UNDER TWELVE YEARS OF AGE
Index to Short Stories Salisbury and Beckwith
The Story in Early Education Sara Wiltse
Story Telling in School and Home Partridge
The Story Teller’s Book Alice O’Grady and Frances Throop
Story Telling Time Frances Weld Danielson
In the Child’s World Emilie Poulsson
For the Children’s Hour Bailey and Lewis
Mother Stories Maud Lindsay
More Mother Stories Maud Lindsay
Tales of Laughter Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith
The Talking Beasts Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith
Story-Tell Lib Annie Trumbull Slosson
The Golden Windows Laura E. Richards
The Story Hour Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith
Stories and Rhymes for a Child Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
Firelight Stories Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
The Wonder Book Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tanglewood Tales Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fairy Tales The Brothers Grimm
“ “ Hans Christian Andersen
“ “ Joseph Jacobs
The One-Footed Fairy Alice Brown
The Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories
The Children’s Hour Eva March Tappan
The Jungle Books Rudyard Kipling
The Just So Stories Rudyard Kipling
Nature Myths Florence Holbrook
The Happy Prince and Other Fairy Tales Oscar Wilde
Why the Chimes Rang R. M. Alden
Nights With Uncle Remus Joel Chandler Harris
Johnny Crow’s Garden Leslie Brooke
Granny’s Wonderful Chair Francis Browne
Parables from Nature Margaret Gatty
Forgotten Tales of Long Ago E. V. Lucas
The Book of Christmas Hamilton W. Mabie
Myths Every Child Should Know Hamilton W. Mabie
Heroes Every Child Should Know Hamilton W. Mabie
Mopsa the Fairy Jean Ingelow
The Dog of Flanders and Other Stories Ouida (Raméé)
The Children’s Book Horace E. Scudder
The Bee-Man of Orne Frank R. Stockton
Half a Hundred Hero Tales Francis Storr
Stories and Poems for Children Celia Thaxter

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:

The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber from the title page and is thus entered into the public domain.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.