childhood--_obedience to parents_. Children must not loiter on the way
when they are sent on errands. And Riding Hood loiters, and hence all
the mischief which follows. She is sent to bring wine and cake to her
grandmother. The example of such attentions as this serves to quicken in
children the sentiment of reverence for the aged. Children learn
reverence toward their parents in part by the reverence which these
display toward the grandparents. Another point is that Red Riding Hood,
to quiet her conscience, when she strays from the straight path deceives
herself as to her motives. She says, "I will also gather a bunch of wild
flowers to please grandmother." But her real purpose is to enjoy the
freedom of the woods, and the proof is that presently she forgets all
about grandmother. There is one objection that has sometimes been urged
against this story, viz., the part which the wolf plays in it. But the
wolf is not really treated as a hostile or fearful being. He meets Red
Riding Hood on the way, and they chat confidentially together. He
appears rather in the light of a trickster. But, it is objected, that he
devours the grandmother and, later on, Red Riding Hood herself. Very
true; but the curious fact is that, when his belly is cut open, the
grandmother and Red Riding Hood come out intact. They have evidently not
been injured. Children have very defective notions of the human body,
with the exception of such external parts as hands, feet, and face. In
an examination recently conducted by Prof. G. Stanley Hall in regard to
the contents of childrens' minds at the time they enter school, it was
found that ninety per cent of those questioned had no idea where the
heart is located, eighty-one per cent did not know anything about the
lungs, ninety per cent could not tell where their ribs are situated,
etc. Of the internal organs children have no idea. Hence when the story
says that the grandmother is swallowed by the wolf, the impression
created is that she has been forced down into a sort of dark hole, and
that her situation, while rather uncomfortable, no doubt, is not
otherwise distressing. The ideas of torn and mangled flesh are not
suggested. Hence the act of devouring arouses no feeling of horror, and
the story of Red Riding Hood, that prime favorite of all young children,
may be related without any apprehension as to its moral effect.
Then there are other stories, such as that of the man who went abroad to
learn the art of shuddering--an excellent example of bravery; the story
of the seven Suabians--a persiflage of cowardice; the story of the
_Marienkind_ which contains a wholesome lesson against obstinacy, etc. I
have not, of course, attempted to cover the whole ground, but only to
mention a few examples sufficient to show along what lines the selection
may be made. The ethical interests peculiar to childhood are the heads
under which the whole material can be classified.
The value of the fairy tales is that they stimulate the imagination;
that they reflect the unbroken communion of human life with the life
universal, as in beasts, fishes, trees, flowers, and stars; and that
incidentally, but all the more powerfully on that account, they quicken
the moral sentiments.
Let us avail ourselves freely of the treasures which are thus placed at
our disposal. Let us welcome _das Maerchen_ into our primary course of
moral training, that with its gentle bands, woven of "morning mist and
morning glory," it may help to lead our children into the bright realms
of the ideal.
VII.
THE USE OF FABLES.
The collection of fables which figures under the name of AEsop has to a
very remarkable degree maintained its popularity among children, and
many of its typical characters have been adopted into current
literature, such as the Dog in the Manger, the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing,
King Log, and King Stork, and others. Recent researches have brought to
light the highly interesting fact that these fables are of Asiatic
origin. A collection of Indian and, it is believed, Buddhist fables and
stories traveled at an early period into Persia, where it became known
as the Pancha-Tantra. The Pancha-Tantra was translated into Arabic, and
became the source of the voluminous Kalilah-wa-Dimnah literature. The
Arabic tales in turn migrated into Europe at the time of the Crusades
and were rendered into Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. In this form they
became accessible to the nations of Europe, were extensively circulated,
and a collection of them was wrongly, but very naturally, ascribed to a
famous story-teller of the ancient Greeks--i. e., to AEsop. The arguments
on which this deduction is based may be found in Rhys Davids's
introduction to his English translation of the Jataka Tales.[8] This
author speaks of AEsop's fables as a first moral lesson-book for our
children in the West. We shall have to consider in how far this
description is correct--that is to say, in how far we can use the fables
for moral purposes. The point to be kept in mind is their Asiatic
origin, as this will at once help us to separate the fables which we can
use from those which must be rejected. A discrimination of this sort is
absolutely necessary. I am of the opinion that it is a serious mistake
to place the whole collection as it stands in the hands of children.
To decide this question we must study the _milieu_ in which the fables
arose, the spirit which they breathe, the conditions which they reflect.
The conditions they reflect are those of an Oriental despotism. They
depict a state of society in which the people are cruelly oppressed by
tyrannical rulers, and the weak are helpless in the hands of the strong.
The spirit which they breathe is, on the whole, one of patient and
rather hopeless submission. The effect upon the reader as soon as he has
caught this clew, this _Leitmotiv_, which occurs in a hundred
variations, is very saddening. I must substantiate this cardinal point
by a somewhat detailed analysis. Let us take first the fable of the Kite
and the Pigeons. A kite had been sailing in the air for many days near a
pigeon-house with the intention of seizing the pigeons; at last he had
recourse to stratagem. He expressed his deep concern at their unjust and
unreasonable suspicions of himself, as if he intended to do them an
injury. He declared that, on the contrary, he had nothing more at heart
than the defense of their ancient rights and liberties, and ended by
proposing that they should accept him as their protector, their king.
The poor, simple pigeons consented. The kite took the coronation oath in
a very solemn manner. But much time had not elapsed before the good kite
declared it to be a part of the king's prerogative to devour a pigeon
now and then, and the various members of his family adhered to the same
view of royal privilege. The miserable pigeons exclaimed: "Ah, we
deserve no better. Why did we let him in!"
The fable of the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing conveys essentially the same
idea. The fable of the Lion and the Deer illustrates the exorbitant
exactions practiced by despots. A fat deer was divided into four parts.
His majesty the lion proposed that they be suitably apportioned. The
first part he claimed for himself on account of his true hereditary
descent from the royal family of Lion; the second he considered properly
his own because he had headed the hunt; the third he took in virtue of
his prerogative; and finally he assumed a menacing attitude, and dared
any one to dispute his right to the fourth part also.
In the fable of the Sick Lion and the Fox, the fox says: "I see the
footprints of beasts who have gone into the cave, but of none that have
come out." The fable of the Cat and the Mice expresses the same thought,
namely, that it is necessary to be ever on one's guard against the
mighty oppressors even when their power seems for the time to have
deserted them. The cat pretends to be dead, hoping by this means to
entice the mice within her reach. A cunning old mouse peeps over the
edge of the shelf, and says: "Aha, my good friend, are you there? I
would not trust myself with you though your skin were stuffed with
straw."
The fable of King Log and King Stork shows what a poor choice the people
have in the matter of their kings. First they have a fool for their
king, a mere log, and they are discontented. Then Stork ascends the
throne, and he devours them. It would have been better if they had put
up with the fool. The injustice of despotic rulers is exemplified in the
fable of the Kite and the Wolf. The kite and the wolf are seated in
judgment. The dog comes before them to sue the sheep for debt. Kite and
wolf, without waiting for the evidence, give sentence for the plaintiff,
who immediately tears the poor sheep into pieces and divides the spoil
with the judges. The sort of thanks which the people get when they are
foolish enough to come to the assistance of their masters, is
illustrated by the conduct of the wolf toward the crane. The wolf
happened to have a bone sticking in his throat, and, howling with pain,
promised a reward to any one who should relieve him. At last the crane
ventured his long neck into the wolf's throat and plucked out the bone.
But when he asked for his reward, the wolf glared savagely upon him, and
said: "Is it not enough that I refrained from biting off your head?" How
dangerous it is to come at all into close contact with the mighty, is
shown in the fable of the Earthen and the Brazen Pot. The brazen pot
offers to protect the earthen one as they float down stream. "Oh,"
replies the latter, "keep as far off as ever you can, if you please;
for, whether the stream dashes you against me or me against you, I am
sure to be the sufferer."
The fables which we have considered have for their theme the character
of the strong as exhibited in their dealings with the weak. A second
group is intended to recommend a certain policy to be pursued by the
weak in self-protection. This policy consists either in pacifying the
strong by giving up to them voluntarily what they want, or in flight,
or, if that be impossible, in uncomplaining submission. The first
expedient is recommended in the fable of the Beaver. A beaver who was
being hard pressed by a hunter and knew not how to escape, suddenly,
with a great effort, bit off the part which the hunter desired, and,
throwing it toward him, by this means escaped with his life. The
expedient of flight is recommended in the fable of Reynard and the Cat.
Reynard and the cat one day were talking politics in the forest. The fox
boasted that though things might turn out never so badly, he had still a
thousand tricks to play before they should catch him. The cat said: "I
have but one trick, and if that does not succeed I am undone." Presently
a pack of hounds came upon them full cry. The cat ran up a tree and hid
herself among the top branches. The fox, who had not been able to get
out of sight, was overtaken despite his thousand tricks and torn to
pieces by the hounds. The fable of the Oak and the Reed teaches the
policy of utter, uncomplaining submission. The oak refuses to bend, and
is broken. The supple reed yields to the blast, and is safe. Is it not a
little astonishing that this fable should so often be related to
children as if it contained a moral which they ought to take to heart?
To make it apply at all, it is usually twisted from its proper
signification and explained as meaning that one should not be
fool-hardy, not attempt to struggle against overwhelming odds. But this
is not the true interpretation. The oak is by nature strong and firm,
while it is the nature of the reed to bend to every wind. The fable
springs out of the experience of a people who have found resistance
against oppression useless. And this sort of teaching we can not, of
course, wish to give to our children. I should certainly prefer that a
child of mine should take the oak, and not the reed, for his pattern.
The same spirit is again inculcated in the fable of the Wanton Calf. The
wanton calf sneers at the poor ox who all day long bears the heavy yoke
patiently upon his neck. But in the evening it turns out that the ox is
unyoked, while the calf is butchered. The choice seems to lie between
subserviency and destruction. The fable of the Old Woman and her Maids
suggests the same conclusion, with the warning added that it is useless
to rise against the agents of tyranny so long as the tyrants themselves
can not be overthrown. The cock in the fable represents the agents of
oppression. The killing of the cock serves only to bring the mistress
herself on the scene, and the lot of the servants becomes in consequence
very much harder than it had been before.
We have now considered two groups of fables: those which depict the
character of the mighty, and those which treat of the proper policy of
the weak. The subject of the third group is, the consolations of the
weak. These are, first, that even tyrannical masters are to a certain
extent dependent upon their inferiors, and can be punished if they go
too far; secondly, that the mighty occasionally come to grief in
consequence of dissensions among themselves; thirdly, that fortune is
fickle. A lion is caught in the toils, and would perish did not a little
mouse come to his aid by gnawing asunder the knots and fastenings. The
bear robs the bees of their honey, but is punished and rendered almost
desperate by their stings. An eagle carries off the cub of a fox; but
the fox, snatching a fire-brand, threatens to set the eagle's nest on
fire, and thus forces him to restore her young one. This is evidently a
fable of insurrection. The fable of the Viper and the File shows that it
is not safe to attack the wrong person--in other words, that tyrants
sometimes come to grief by singling out for persecution some one who is
strong enough to resist them though they little suspect it. The fable of
the four bulls shows the effect of dissensions among the mighty. Four
bulls had entered into a close alliance, and agreed to keep always near
one another. A lion fomented jealousies among them. The bulls grew
distrustful of one another, and at last parted company. The lion had now
obtained his end, and seized and devoured them singly. The fickleness of
fortune is the theme of the fable of the Horse and the Ass. The horse,
richly caparisoned and champing his foaming bridle, insults an ass who
moves along under a heavy load. Soon after the horse is wounded, and,
being unfit for military service, is sold to a carrier. The ass now
taunts the proud animal with his fallen estate. The horse in this fable
is the type of many an Eastern vizier, who has basked for a time in the
sunshine of a despot's favor only to be suddenly and ignominiously
degraded. The ass in the fable represents the people. There remains a
fourth group of fables, which satirize certain mean or ridiculous types
of characters, such as are apt to appear in social conditions of the
kind we have described. Especially do the fables make a target of the
folly of those who affect the manners of the aristocratic class, or who
try to crowd in where they are not wanted, or who boast of their high
connections. The frog puffs himself up so that he may seem as large as
the ox, until he bursts. The mouse aspires to marry the young lioness,
and is in fact well received; but the young lady inadvertently places
her foot on her suitor and crushes him. The jackdaw picks up feathers
which have fallen from the peacocks, sticks them among his own, and
introduces himself into the assembly of those proud birds. They find him
out, strip him of his plumes, and with their sharp bills punish him as
he deserves. A fly boasts that he frequents the most distinguished
company, and that he is on familiar terms with the king, the priests,
and the nobility. Many a time, he says, he has entered the royal
chamber, has sat upon the altar, and has even enjoyed the privilege of
kissing the lips of the most beautiful maids of honor. "Yes," replies an
ant, "but in what capacity are you admitted among all these great
people? One and all regard you as a nuisance, and the sooner they can
get rid of you the better they are pleased."
Most of the fables which thus far have been mentioned we can not use.
The discovery of their Asiatic origin sheds a new, keen light upon their
meaning. They breathe, in many cases, a spirit of fear, of abject
subserviency, of hopeless pessimism. Can we desire to inoculate the
young with this spirit? The question may be asked why fables are so
popular with boys. I should say, Because school-boy society reproduces
in miniature to a certain extent the social conditions which are
reflected in the fables. Among unregenerate school-boys there often
exists a kind of despotism, not the less degrading because petty. The
strong are pitted against the weak--witness the fagging system in the
English schools--and their mutual antagonism produces in both the
characteristic vices which we have noted above. The psychological study
of school-boy society has been only begun, but even what lies on the
surface will, I think, bear out this remark. Now it has come to be one
of the commonplaces of educational literature, that the individual of
to-day must pass through the same stages of evolution as the human race
as a whole. But it should not be forgotten that the advance of
civilization depends on two conditions: first, that the course of
evolution be accelerated, that the time allowed to the successive stages
be shortened; and, secondly, that the unworthy and degrading elements
which entered into the process of evolution in the past, and at the time
were inseparable from it, be now eliminated. Thus the fairy-tales which
correspond to the myth-making epoch in human history must be purged of
the dross of superstition which still adheres to them, and the fables
which correspond to the age of primitive despotisms must be cleansed of
the immoral elements they still embody.
The fables which are fit for use may be divided into two classes: those
which give illustrations of evil,[9] the effect of which on the young
should be to arouse disapprobation, and those which present types of
virtue. The following is a list of some of the principal ones in each
category:
_An Instance of Selfishness._ The porcupine having begged for
hospitality and having been invited into a nest of snakes,
inconveniences the inmates and finally crowds them out. When they
remonstrate, he says, "Let those quit the place that do not like it."
_Injustice._ The fable of the Kite and the Wolf, mentioned above.
_Improvidence._ The fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper; also the fable
entitled One Swallow does not make Summer, and the fable of the Man who
Killed the Goose that laid the Golden Eggs.
_Ingratitude._ The fable of the snake which bit the countryman who had
warmed it in his breast.
_Cowardice._ The fable of the Stag and the Fawn, and of the Hares in the
Storm.
_Vanity._ The fables of the Peacock and the Crane, and of the Crow who
lost his Cheese by listening to the flattery of the fox.
_Contemptuous Self-confidence._ The Hare and the Tortoise.
_The Evil Influence of Bad Company._ The Husbandman and the Stork.
_Cruelty to Animals._ The Fowler and the Ringdove; the Hawk and the
Pigeons.
_Greediness._ The Dog and the Shadow.
_Lying._ The fable of the boy who cried "Wolf!"
_Bragging._ The fable of the Ass in the Lion's Skin.
_Deceit._ The fable of the Fox without a Tail.
_Disingenuousness._ The fable of the Sour Grapes.
_A Discontented Spirit._ The fable of the Peacock's Complaint.
_Equal Graces are not given to all._ The fable of the Ass who leaped
into his Master's Lap.
_Borrowed Plumes._ The fable of the Jackdaw and the Peacocks, mentioned
above.
_Malice._ The fable of the Dog in the Manger, who would not eat, neither
let others eat.
_Breaking Faith._ The fable of the Traveler and the Bear.
_To Fan Animosity is even Worse than to Quarrel._ The fable of the
Trumpeter.
The value of these fables, as has been said, consists in the reaction
which they call forth in the minds of the pupils. Sometimes this
reaction finds expression in the fable itself; sometimes the particular
vice is merely depicted in its nakedness, and it becomes the business of
the teacher distinctly to evoke the feeling of disapprobation, and to
have it expressly stated in words. The words tend to fix the feeling.
Often, when a child has committed some fault, it is useful to refer by
name to the fable that fits it. As, when a boy has made room in his seat
for another, and the other crowds him out, the mere mention of the fable
of the Porcupine is a telling rebuke; or the fable of the Hawk and the
Pigeons may be called to mind when a boy has been guilty of mean
excuses. On the same principle that angry children are sometimes taken
before a mirror to show them how ugly they look. The fable is a kind of
mirror for the vices of the young.
Of the fables that illustrate virtuous conduct, I mention that of
Hercules and the Cart-driver, which teaches self-reliance. Hercules
helps the driver as soon as the latter has put his own shoulders to the
wheel. Also the fable of the Lark. So long as the farmer depends on his
neighbors, or his kinsmen, the lark is not afraid; but when he proposes
to buckle to himself, she advises her young that it is time to seek
another field. The fable of the Wind and the Sun shows that kindness
succeeds where rough treatment would fail. The fable of the Bundle of
Sticks exemplifies the value of harmony. The fable of the Wolf, whom the
dog tries to induce to enter civilization, expresses the sentiment that
lean liberty is to be preferred to pampered servitude. The fable of the
Old Hound teaches regard for old servants. Finally, the fable of the
Horse and the Loaded Ass, and of the Dove and the Ant, show that
kindness pays on selfish principles. The horse refuses to share the
ass's burden; the ass falls dead under his load; in consequence, the
horse has to bear the whole of it. On the other hand the dove rescues
the ant from drowning, and the ant in turn saves the dove from the
fowler's net.
The last remark throws light on the point of view from which the fables
contemplate good and evil. It is to be noted that a really moral spirit
is wanting in them; the moral motives are not appealed to. The appeal
throughout is to the bare motive of self-interest. Do not lie, because
you will be found out, and will be left in the lurch when you depend for
help on the confidence of others. Do not indulge in vanity, because you
will make yourself ridiculous. Do not try to appear like a lion when you
can not support the character, because people will find out that you are
only an ass. Do not act ungratefully, because you will be thrust out of
doors. Even when good conduct is inculcated, it is on the ground that it
pays. Be self-reliant, because if you help yourself others will help
you. Be kind, because by gentle means you can gain your purpose better
than by harshness. Agree with your neighbors, because you can then, like
the bundle of sticks, resist aggression from without. That lying is
wrong on principle; that greediness is shameful, whether you lose your
cheese or not; that kindness is blessed, even when it does not bring a
material reward; that it is lovely for neighbors to dwell together in
peace, is nowhere indicated. The beauty and the holiness of right
conduct lie utterly beyond the horizon of the fable. Nevertheless, as we
have seen when speaking of the efficient motives of conduct,
self-interest as a motive should not be underrated, but should be
allowed the influence which belongs to it as an auxiliary to the moral
motive. It is well, it is necessary, for children to learn that lying,
besides being in itself disgraceful, does also entail penalties of a
palpable sort; that vanity and self-conceit, besides being immoral, are
also punished by the contempt of one's fellows; that those who are
unkind, as the horse was to the ass, may have to bear the ass's burden.
The checks and curbs supplied by such considerations as these serve the
purpose of strengthening the weak conscience of the young, and are not
to be dispensed with, provided always they are treated not as
substitutes for but as auxiliaries to the moral motives, properly
speaking.