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Good Stories for Great Holidays
GOOD STORIES FOR GREAT HOLIDAYS
ARRANGED FOR STORY-TELLING AND READING ALOUD AND FOR THE CHILDREN'S
OWN READING
BY FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT
Index according to reading level is appended.
TO THE STORY-TELLER
This volume, though intended also for the children's own reading and
for reading aloud, is especially planned for story-telling. The
latter is a delightful way of arousing a gladsome holiday spirit, and
of showing the inner meanings of different holidays. As stories used
for this purpose are scattered through many volumes, and as they are
not always in the concrete form required for story-telling, I have
endeavored to bring together myths, legends, tales, and historical
stories suitable to holiday occasions.
There are here collected one hundred and twenty stories for seventeen
holidays--stories grave, gay, humorous, or fanciful; also some that
are spiritual in feeling, and others that give the delicious thrill of
horror so craved by boys and girls at Halloween time. The range of
selection is wide, and touches all sides of wholesome boy and girl
nature, and the tales have the power to arouse an appropriate holiday
spirit.
As far as possible the stories are presented in their original form.
When, however, they are too long for inclusion, or too loose in
structure for story-telling purposes, they are adapted.
Adapted stories are of two sorts. Condensed: in which case a piece of
literature is shortened, scarcely any changes being made in the
original language. Rewritten: here the plot, imagery, language, and
style of the original are retained as far as possible, while the whole
is moulded into form suitable for story-telling. Some few stories are
built up on a slight framework of original matter.
Thus it may be seen that the tales in this volume have not been
reduced to the necessarily limited vocabulary and uniform style of one
editor, but that they are varied in treatment and language, and are
the products of many minds.
A glance at the table of contents will show that not only have
selections been made from modern authors and from the folklore of
different races, but that some quaint old literary sources have been
drawn on. Among the men and books contributing to these pages are the
Gesta Romanorum, Il Libro d'Oro, Xenophon, Ovid, Lucian, the Venerable
Bede, William of Malmesbury. John of Hildesheim, William Caxton, and
the more modern Washington Irving, Hugh Miller, Charles Dickens, and
Henry Cabot Lodge; also those immortals, Hans Andersen, the Brothers
Grimm, Horace E. Scudder, and others.
The stories are arranged to meet the needs of story-telling in the
graded schools. Reading- lists, showing where to find additional
material for story-telling and collateral reading, are added. Grades
in which the recommended stories are useful are indicated.
The number of selections in the volume, as well as the references to
other books, is limited by the amount and character of available
material. For instance, there is little to be found for Saint
Valentine's Day, while there is an overwhelming abundance of fine
stories for the Christmas season. Stories like Dickens's ``Christmas
Carol,'' Ouida's ``Dog of Flanders,'' and Hawthorne's tales, which are
too long for inclusion and would lose their literary beauty if
condensed, are referred to in the lists. Volumes containing these
stories may be procured at the public library.
A subject index is appended. This indicates the ethical, historical,
and other subject-matter of interest to the teacher, thus making the
volume serviceable for other occasions besides holidays.
In learning her tale the story-teller is advised not to commit it to
memory. Such a method is apt to produce a wooden or glib manner of
presentation. It is better for her to read the story over and over
again until its plot, imagery, style, and vocabulary become her own,
and then to retell it, as Miss Bryant says, ``simply, vitally,
joyously.''
CONTENTS
NEW YEAR'S DAY (January 1)
THE FAIRY'S NEW YEAR GIFT: Emilie Poulsson, In the Child's World
THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Hans Christian Andersen, Stories and Tales
THE TWELVE MONTHS: Alexander Chodsvko, Slav Fairy Tales
THE MAIL-COACH PASSENGERS: Hans Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales
LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY (February 10)
HE RESCUES THE BIRDS: Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln
LINCOLN AND THE LITTLE GIRL: Charles W. Moores, Life of Abraham
Lincoln for Boys and Girls
TRAINING FOR THE PRESIDENCY: Orison Swett Matden, Winning Out
WHY LINCOLN WAS CALLED ``HONEST ABE'': Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln
A STRANGER AT FIVE-POINTS: Adapted
A SOLOMON COME TO JUDGMENT: Charles W. Moores, Life of Abraham Lincoln
for Boys and Girls
GEORGE PICKETT'S FRIEND: Charles W. Moores, Life of Abraham Lincoln
for Boys and Girls
LINCOLN THE LAWYER: Z. A. Mudge, The Forest Boy
THE COURAGE OF HIS CONVICTIONS: Adapted
MR. LINCOLN AND THE BIBLE: Z. A. Mudge, The Forest Boy
HIS SPRINGFIELD FAREWELL ADDRESS [Lincoln]
SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY (February 14)
SAINT VALENTINE
SAINT VALENTINE: Millicent Olmsted
A GIRL'S VALENTINE CHARM: The Connoisseur, 1775
MR. PEPYS HIS VALENTINE: Samuel Pepys, Diary
CUPID AND PSYCHE: Josephine Preston Peabody, Old Greek Folk Stories
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY (February 22)
THREE OLD TALES: M. L. Weems, Life of George Washington, with Curious
Anecdotes
YOUNG GEORGE AND THE COLT: Horace E. Scudder, George Washington
WASHINGTON THE ATHLETE: Albert F. Blaisdell and Francis R. Ball, Hero
Stories from American History
WASHINGTON'S MODESTY: Henry Cabot Lodge, George Washington
WASHINGTON AT YORKTOWN: Henry Cabot lodge, George Washington
RESURRECTION DAY (Easter Sunday) (March or April)
A LESSON OF FAITH: Mrs. Alfred Gatty, Parables from Nature
A CHILD'S DREAM OF A STAR: Charles Dickens
THE LOVELIEST ROSE IN THE WORLD: Hans Christian Andersen, Stories and
Tales
MAY DAY (May 1) THE SNOWDROP: Hans Christian Andersen; Adapted by
Bailey and Lewis
THE THREE LITTLE BUTTERFLY BROTHERS: From the German
THE WATER DROP: Friedrich Wilhelm Carove, Story without an End,
translated by Sarah Austin
THE SPRING BEAUTY: Henry R. Schoolcraft, The Myth of Hiawatha
THE FAIRY TULIPS: English Folk-Tale
THE STREAM THAT RAN AWAY: Mary Austin, The Basket Woman
THE ELVES: Harriet Mazwell Converse, Myths and legends of the New York
State Iroquois
THE CANYON FLOWERS: Ralph Connor, The Sky Pilot
CLYTIE, THE HELIOTROPE: Ovid, Metamorphoses
HYACINTHUS: Ovid, Metamorphoses
ECHO AND NARCISSUS: Ovid, Metamorphoses
MOTHERS' DAY (Second Sunday in May)
THE LARK AND ITS YOUNG ONES: P. V. Ramuswami Raju, Indian Fables
CORNELIA S JEWELS: James Baldwin, Fifty Famous Stories Retold
QUEEN MARGARET AND THE ROBBERS: Albert F. Blaisdell, Stories from
Enylish History
THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS: Charles Morris, Historical Tales
THE WIDOW AND HER THREE SONS
MEMORIAL DAY (May 30)[1] AND FLAG DAY (June 14) Confederate Memorial
Day is celebrated in some States on April 26 and in others on May 10.
BETSY ROSS AND THE FLAG: Harry Pringle Ford
THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER: Eva March Tappan, Hero Stories from American
History
THE LITTLE DRUMMER-BOY: Aloert Bushnell Hart, The Romance of the Civil
War
A FLAG INCIDENT: M. M. Thomas, Captain Phil
TWO HERO-STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR: Ben La Bree, Camp Fires of the
Confederacy
THE YOUNG SENTINEL: Z. A. Mudge, The Forest Boy
THE COLONEL OF THE ZOUAVES: Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln
GENERAL SCOTT AND THE STARS AND STRIPES: E. D. Townsend, Anecdotes of
the Civil War
lNDEPENDENCE DAY (July 4)
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: Washington Irving, Life of Washington
THE SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: H. A. Guerber, The
Story of the Thirteen Colonies
A BRAVE GIRL: James Johonnot, Stories of Heroic Deeds
THE BOSTON TEA-PARTY: John Andrews, Letter to a friend written in 1773
A GUNPOWDER STORY: John Esten Cooke, Stories of the Old Dominion
THE CAPTURE OF FORT TICONDEROGA: Washington Irving, Life of Washington
WASHINGTON AND THE COWARDS: Washington Irving, Life of Washington
LABOR DAY (First Monday in September)
THE SMITHY: P. V. Ramaswami Raju, Indian Fables
THE NAIL: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales
THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER: Horace E. Scudder, Book of Fables and
Folk Stories
THE HILLMAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE: Juliana Horatia Ewing, Old Fashioned
Fairy Tales
HOFUS THE STONE CUTTER, A JAPANESE LEGEND: The Riserside Third Reader
ARACHNE: Josephine Preston Peabody, Old Greek Folk Stories
THE METAL KING: A German Folk-Tale
THE CHOICE OF HERCULES: Xenophon, Memorabilia of Socrates
THE SPEAKING STATUE: Gesta Romanorum
THE CHAMPION STONE CUTTER: Hugh Miller
BILL BROWN'S TEST: Cleveland Moffett, Careers of Danger and Daring
COLUMBUS DAY (October 12)
COLUMBUS AND THE EGG: James Baldwin, Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
COLUMBUS AT LA RABIDA: Washington Irving, Life of Christopher Columbus
THE MUTINY: A. de Lamartine, Life of Columbus
THE FIRST LANDING OF COLUMBUS IN THE NEW WORLD: Washington Irving,
Life of Christopher Columbus
HALLOWEEN (October 31)
THE OLD WITCH: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales
SHIPPEITARO: Mary F. Nixon-Roulet, Japanese Folk Stories and Fairy
Tales
HANSEL AND GRETHEL: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales
BURG HILL'S ON FIRE: Elizabeth W. Grierson, Children's Book of Celtic
Stories
THE KING OF THE CATS: Ernest Rhys, Fairy-Gold
THE STRANGE VISITOR: Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales
THE BENEVOLENT GOBLIN: Gesta Romanorum
THE PHANTOM KNIGHT OF THE VANDAL CAMP: Gesta Romanorum
THANKSGIVING DAY (Last Thursday in November)
THE FIRST HARVEST-HOME IN PLYMOUTH: W. De Loss Lore, Jr., The Fast and
Thanksgiving Days of New England
THE MASTER OF THE HARVEST: Mrs. Alfred Gatty, Parables from Nature
SAINT CUTHBERT'S EAGLE: The Venerable Bede, Life and Miracles of Saint
Cuthbert
THE EARS OF WHEAT: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales
HOW INDIAN CORN CAME INTO THE WORLD: Henry R. Schoolcraft, The Myth of
Hiawatha
THE NUTCRACKER DWARF: Count Franz Pocci, Fur Frohliche Kinder
THE PUMPKIN PIRATES, A TALE FROM LUCIAN: Alfred J. Church, The Greek
Gulliver
THE SPIRIT OF THE CORN: Harriet Mazwell Converse, Myths and Legends of
the New York State Iroquois
THE HORN OF PLENTY: Ovid, Metamorphoses
CHRISTMAS DAY (December 25)
LITTLE PICCOLA: Celia Thazter, Stories and Poems for Children
THE STRANGER CHILD, A LEGEND: Count Franz Pocci, Fur Frohliche Kinder
SAINT CHRISTOPHER: William Caxton, Golden Legend
THE CHRISTMAS ROSE, AN OLD LEGEND: Lizzie Deas, Flower Favourites
THE WOODEN SHOES OF LITTLE WOLFF: Francois Coppee
THE PINE TREE: Hans Christian Andersen, Wonder Stories
THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO: Frances Browne, Granny's Wonderful Chair
THE CHRISTMAS FAIRY OF STRASBURG, A GERMAN FOLK-TALE: J. Stirling
Coyne, Illustrated London News
THE THREE PURSES, A LEGEND: William S. Walsh, Story of Santa Klaus
THE THUNDER OAK, A SCANDINAVIAN LEGEND: William S. Walsh and Others
THE CHRISTMAS THORN OF GLASTONBURY, A LEGEND OF ANCIENT BRITAIN:
William of Malmesbury and Others
THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE, A LEGEND OF THE MIDDLE AGES: John of
Hildesheim, Modernized by H. S. Morris
ARBOR DAY
THE LITTLE TREE THAT LONGED FOR OTHER LEAVES: Friedrieh Ruckert
WHY THE EVERGREEN TREES NEVER LOSE THEIR LEAVES: Florence Holbrook,
Book of Nature Myths
WHY THE ASPEN QUIVERS: Old legend
THE WONDER TREE: Friedrich Adolph Krummacher, Parables
THE PROUD OAK TREE: Old Fable
BAUCIS AND PHILEMON: H. P. Maskell, Francis Storr, Half-a-Hundred Hero
Tales
THE UNFRUITFUL TREE: Friedrich Adolph Krummacher, Parables
THE DRYAD OF THE OLD OAK: James Russell Lowell, Rhoecus (a poem)
DAPHNE: OVID, Metamorphoses BIRD DAY
THE OLD WOMAN WHO BECAME A WOODPECKER: Phoebe Cary, A Legend of the
Northland (poem)
THE BOY WHO BECAME A ROBIN: Henry R. Schoolcraft, The Myth of Hiawatha
THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW: A. B. Mitford, Tales of Old Japan
THE QUAILS, A LEGEND OF THE JATAKA: Riverside Fourth Reader
THE MAGPIE'S NEST: Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales
THE GREEDY GEESE: Il Libro d'Oro
THE KING OF THE BIRDS: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales
THE DOVE WHO SPOKE TRUTH: Abbie Farwell Brown, The Curious Book of
Birds
THE BUSY BLUE JAY: Olive Thorne Miller, True Bird Stories
BABES IN THE WOODS: John Burroughs, Bird Stories from Burroughs
THE PRIDE OF THE REGIMENT: Harry M. Rieffer, The Recollections of a
Drummer Boy
THE MOTHER MURRE: Dallas Lore Sharp, Summer
REFERENCE LISTS FOR STORY-TELLING AND COLLATERAL READING