【英文原著类】storiestotelltochil

StoriesToTellChildren1StoriesToTellChildrenStoriesToTellChildren2Concerningthefundamentalpointsofmethodintellingastory,IhavelittletoaddtotheprincipleswhichIhavealreadystatedasnecessary,inmyopinion,inthebookofwhichthisis,inaway,thecontinuation.Butinthetwoyearswhichhavepassedsincethatbookwaswritten,Ihavehadthehappinessofworkingonstoriesandthetellingofthem,amongteachersandstudentsalloverthiscountry,andinthatexperiencecertainsecondarypointsofmethodhavecometoseemmoreimportant,oratleastmoreinneedofemphasis,thantheydidbefore.Assooftenhappens,Ihadassumedthatthosethingsaretakenforgranted;whereas,tothebeginnerortheteachernotnaturallyastory-teller,thesecondaryorimpliedtechniqueisoftenofgreaterdifficultythanthemasteryofunderlyingprinciples.Thefewsuggestionswhichfollowareofthispractical,obviouskind.Takeyourstoryseriously.Nomatterhowriotouslyabsurditis,orhowfullofinanerepetition,remember,ifitisgoodenoughtotell,itisarealstory,andmustbetreatedwithrespect.Ifyoucannotfeelsotowardit,donottellit.Havefaithinthestory,andintheattitudeofthechildrentowarditandyou.Ifyoufailinthis,theimmediateresultwillbeatouchofshame-facedness,affectingyourmannerunfavorably,and,probably,influencingyouraccuracyandimaginativevividness.PerhapsIcanmakethepointclearerbytellingyouaboutoneofthegirlsinaclasswhichwasstudyingstorieslastwinter;Ifeelsureifsheoranyofherfellowstudentsrecognizestheincident,shewillnotresentbeingmadetoservethegoodcause,evenintheunattractiveguiseofawarningexample.AfewmembersoftheclasshadpreparedthestoryofTheFishermanandhisWife.Thefirstgirlcalledonwasevidentlyinclinedtofeelthatitwasratherafoolishstory.Shetriedtotellitwell,buttherewerepartsofitwhichproducedinherthetouchofshamefacednesstowhichIhavereferred.Whenshecametotherhyme,--Omanofthesea,come,listentome,ForAlice,mywife,theplagueofmylife,Hassentmetobegaboonofthee,shesaiditratherrapidly.AtthefirstrepetitionshesaiditstillmoreStoriesToTellChildren3rapidly;thenexttimeshecametothejingleshesaiditsofastandsolowthatitwasunintelligible;andthenextrecurrencewastoomuchforher.Withablushandahesitatingsmileshesaid,Andhesaidthatsamething,youknow!Ofcourseeverybodylaughed,andofcoursethethreadofinterestandillusionwashopelesslybrokenforeverybody.Now,anyonewhochancedtohearMissShedlocktellthatsamestorywillrememberthattheabsurdrhymegavegreatopportunityforexpression,initsveryrepetition;eachtimethatthefishermancametothewater'sedgehischagrinandunwillingnesswasgreater,andhissummonstothemagicfishmirroredhisfeeling.ThejingleISfoolish;thatisapartofthecharm.ButifthepersonwhotellsitFEELSfoolish,thereisnocharmatall!Itisthesameprinciplewhichappliestoanyaddresstoanyassemblage:ifthespeakerhastheairoffindingwhathehastosayabsurdorunworthyofeffort,theaudiencenaturallytendstofollowhislead,andfinditnotworthlisteningto.Letmeurge,then,takeyourstoryseriously.Next,takeyourtime.Thissuggestionneedsexplaining,perhaps.Itdoesnotmeanlicensetodawdle.Nothingismuchmoreannoyinginaspeakerthantoogreatdeliberateness,orthanhesitationofspeech.Butitmeansaquietrealizationofthefactthatthefloorisyours,everybodywantstohearyou,thereistimeenoughforeverypointandshadeofmeaningandnoonewillthinkthestorytoolong.Thismentalattitudemustunderliepropercontrolofspeed.Neverhurry.Abusiness-likeleisureisthetrueattitudeofthestoryteller.Andtheresultisbestattainedbyconcentratingone'sattentionontheepisodesofthestory.Passlightly,andcomparativelyswiftly,overtheportionsbetweenactualepisodes,buttakeallthetimeyouneedfortheelaborationofthose.Andaboveall,donotFEELhurried.Thenextsuggestioniseminentlyplainandpractical,ifnotanalltooobviousone.Itisthis:ifallyourpreparationandconfidencefailsyouatthecrucialmoment,andmemoryplaysthepartoftraitorinsomeparticular,if,inshort,youblunderonadetailofthestory,NEVERADMITIT.Ifitwasanunimportantdetailwhichyoumisstated,passrighton,acceptingwhateveryousaid,andcontinuingwithit;ifyouhavebeenStoriesToTellChildren4sounfortunateastoomitafactwhichwasanecessarylinkinthechain,putitin,later,asskillfullyasyoucan,andwithasdeceptiveanappearanceofitsbeingintheintendedorder;butnevertakethechildrenbehindthescenes,andletthemhearthecreakingofyourmentalmachinery.Youmustbeinfallible.Youmustbeinthesecretofthemystery,andadmityouraudienceonsomewhatunequalterms;theyshouldhavenocreepingdoubtsastoyourcompleteinitiationintothesecretsofthehappeningsyourelate.Plainly,therecanbelapsesofmemorysocomplete,soall-embracing,thatfrankfailureistheonlyoutcome,butthesearesofewasnottoneedconsideration,whendealingwithsosimplematerialasthatofchildren'sstories.Therearetimes,too,beforeanadultaudience,whenaspeakercanaffordtolethishearersbeamusedwithhimoverachancemistake.Butwithchildrenitismostunwisetobreakthespelloftheentertainmentinthatway.Consider,inthematterofadetailofactionordescription,howabsolutelyunimportantthemereaccuracyis,comparedwiththeeffectofsmoothnessandtheenjoymentofthehearers.Theywillnotrememberthedetail,forgoodorevil,halfsolongastheywillrememberthefactthatyoudidnotknowit.So,fortheirsakes,aswellasforthesuccessofyourstory,coveryourslipsofmemory,andletthembeasiftheywerenot.