Samuel B. Allison

“ She loved them as every mother loves her children. One day she wished to go into the forest to get food for her children. So, calling them to her, she said:
“Dear children, I am going into the forest to get you something to eat. Now be on your guard against the wolf; for, if he comes here, he will eat you up. But you will know him by his rough voice and his black feet.”
The little goats replied: “Dear mother, we will be very careful and pay close attention to what you say. You need not be at all anxious about us.” So the mother bleated a good-bye and ran off quite contented. ”

“ This plan did not please Friday at all. His savage blood was up and he wanted to kill all he could. "Let's fire on them," he said. "Let's kill all but the prisoners."
"No, no," said Robinson, "it's always wrong to take life unless it cannot be avoided to save one's own. ”

“ Children are wholly in the imaginative on mythical level of thought. They are immersed in the sensuous. They refuse to be bound by the hard matter of fact. They will away and claim the world as their own through which to roam on the unfettered wing of fancy. They claim freedom to construct their own world and to people it with creatures of their own fabrication, independent of the shackles of time and space.
The child also feels himself a part of nature, not as something standing over against it. ”

“ He had his cave in case of danger. He had his cellar in which to keep his meat. He would sit in the shade near the door of his bower and think of the many things he should be thankful for. But there was one hardship that Robinson could not get used to and that was the eating of raw food. "How fine it would be if only I could parch a few grains of corn in the fire! I could like live a prince," thought he, "if I had fire. I would grind some of my corn into flour and make some corn bread or cakes and cook rice." He did so long for roasted meat and determined again to make the attempt to get fire. ”

“ But the lazy girl soon became tired of spinning and threw the spindle into the well. Then she jumped in after it.
Like her sister, she came to the beautiful meadow and traveled the same path. When she came to the bake oven, the bread called, “Draw me out! Draw me out!” But the lazy maid said, “I have no wish to make myself dirty with you!”
Soon she came to the apple tree. The tree cried out, “Shake me! shake me! My apples are ripe.” But the maid said, “I will not shake you. Your apples might fall on my head.” She was not afraid of old Mother Frost, for she had heard of her large teeth. ”

“ Now that Robinson had fire, he determined to try to make bread. He had seen the servants at home make bread many times, but he had not observed closely and knew next to nothing about the way bread is made. He knew he must in some way grind the corn into flour, but how could he do this? He had no mill nor any tools with which to crush the corn.
He first tried to find a stone large and hard enough out of which he might hollow a vessel or kind of mortar. He thought he could put the corn into this mortar and grind it by means of another stone or pestle. ”

“ The children wished to help the poor dwarf. They went up to him and tried to pull his beard out of the tree, but all their pulling was of no use. “I will go home and get my mother,” said Rose-red. “No, no,” shouted the dwarf, “do not bring any more people here.” “I think I can help you,” said Snow-white. She took a little pair of scissors out of her pocket and cut the dwarf’s beard off close to the tree.
No sooner was he free than he caught up a bag full of gold which was lying among the roots of the tree, swung it over his shoulder, and walked away. ”

“ The moon shone clear in the heavens. As Robinson sat before the goat's bed he looked down on his new possession as lovingly as a mother on her child.
The next morning Robinson's first thought was, "I am no longer alone. I have a companion, my goat." He sprang up and looked for it. There she lay on her side, still sleeping.
[Pg 59]
As he stood and considered, the thought came to him that perhaps the goat had escaped from its keeper. There must then be some one living on the land. He quickly put on his shoes and his hat, took his parasol, and ran to the rock where he had found the goat. ”

“ The oldest one said, “O papa, bring me a pretty silk dress. I need a new party dress.” “Oh!” cried the second sister, “I must have a pearl necklace. Do bring me a beautiful pearl necklace.” “Very well,” said the father, “you shall have what you want.” Then he turned to Cinderella and asked, “And what shall I bring you, my daughter?” She replied, “I do not want anything from the fair, father. But please bring me the first branch that touches your hat as you ride home through the forest.”
The two sisters laughed and said: “What a goose you are, Cinderella. Why don’t you ask for something nice?” ”

“ Robinson remained here over night and the next morning made his way back to the shelter. Up to this time Robinson had never seen any dangerous animals on the island. He had grown used to life there and went about without fear of animals. But as he was returning across a little opening, he saw a clump of palms in the centre of the opening, swaying about. He did not at first see what caused this, but soon there was thrust out the head of a great serpent. Its jaws were open and its eyes were fixed on a poor terrified little rabbit. The rabbit seemed rooted to the spot. ”

“ Skill in aesthetic forms can come only from an interest in something to be expressed in these forms.
When we consider that the child, up to the eighth or ninth year of his life, has not a sufficient mastery of a reading vocabulary to enable him to get for himself out of books material for which he has deepest need, and which is his natural and proper nourishment, the imparting to him orally such material assumes an aspect of gravest importance. Shall his early years of school life be barren and empty? Surely the teacher has a duty in this respect beyond giving merely formal [11] instruction. ”

“ He finally went to a point where he could see farther inland and soon caught sight of a crowd of about thirty savages. They were naked and dancing around and around in a circle. All the while they were singing and making hideous noises. There was a fire in the center of the ring of savages. "They are cooking their feast," thought Robinson. "Maybe I can surprise them while they eat and rush in and seize one." But this seemed too great a risk to run. He had no weapons but his bow and arrows, his lance and knife. What could he do against so great a number? ”

“ After a time, when Hans had grown so tall that you and I would call him a young man, his father said to him, “Hans, my boy, it is time now that you started out to hunt some work for yourself. Your next younger brother can help me with the wood-chopping and the smaller ones can help the mother in the work about the house. You must go out into the world and learn how to take care of yourself; and perhaps, some day, you may have to take care of your mother and me, when we grow too old to work.” ”

“ He imagined how pleasant it would be sitting in the boat sailing along with a gentle wind. "When the wind is favorable," he thought, "I will only have to steer with my paddle."
So he set about weaving a sail of his sisal fibre. To do this he had to make a much larger loom than he had yet used. ”

“ In the reaction from formal moral instruction there is danger of going to the other extreme and neglecting it entirely.
The vital element in literature—its ultimate raison d’etre—is its ethical import. It constitutes the ethical medium. It gives each child the benefit of the experience of the race. The duty of the school to give occasion for the exercise of ethical judgments is greater than its duty to train the merely intellectual judgment. For the one determines what is good or bad, the other what is real or unreal. Right conduct is of more importance than mere knowing. ”

“ XX ROBINSON GETS READY FOR WINTER
There was one thing that troubled Robinson greatly. "What will become of me when the winter comes? I will have no fire to warm me. I have no clothing to protect me from the cold, and where shall I find food when snow and ice cover all the ground and when the trees are bare and the spring is frozen? It will be cold then in my cave; what shall I do? It is cold and rainy already. I believe this is harvest time and winter will soon be here. Winter and no stove, no winter clothing, no winter store of food and no winter dwelling. ”

“ There is no interest for the child in the language forms themselves when presented in abstraction and emphasized as such. He may be drilled into proficiency, but the interest does not come from the relation of these formal elements to his own needs or activity. The interest has been external and it flags as soon as the external excitement is withdrawn. A genuine interest, an intrinsic one growing out of his own needs and nature, can be fostered only by supplying a subject matter adapted to the various levels of thought through which his development leads him. ”

“ He found nothing. He found no trace of man. There was no road, no bridge, no field, no logs, not even a chip or shaving to show that the hand of man had been there.
But what was that? In the distance ran a herd of goats over the rocks. But no dog followed them and no shepherd. They ran wild on the island. They had perhaps been left there by some ship. As he came home he noticed the goat sorrowfully. The bandage had become dry. The goat might be suffering pain. Robinson loosened the bandage, washed the wound again and bound it up anew. ”

“ Starting from what is already known, a skillful teacher can build up an idea, though of course more or less indefinite, of [28] the object or process that is comparatively unknown. Questioning can never do more than bring into explicitness what is really in the mind in a vague way. Yet, when we consider that the possibilities of all science and, in fact, of all knowledge, are implicit in the experiences of the normal child of school age, it is seen that the use of questions as an educative means is practically unlimited and that it should not be neglected even in the primary grades. ”

“ If you do not do better you will grow up to be a beggar or worse." Robinson cast his eyes down and said, "I do not want to be a merchant, I would rather sail in a ship around the world." His father answered, "If you do not know anything you cannot be of use on a ship, and no one will want you. In a strange land you cannot live without working. ”

“ It is a mistaken view to suppose that the exercise and the development of the activities dominant in early childhood will lead away from the best interests of the individual or endanger his efficiency as a member of society. It is anomalous to assume that the impulses and interests of childhood must be suppressed or eradicated in order to fit him for participation in social life. These impulses have been implanted in his nature by actual participation in a social life on the part of his ancestry, and they are the possibilities of a worthy social development. ”

“ But Friday, too, was lying on the ground. He had fainted from astonishment and fright. Robinson dropped his gun and raised the poor fellow up to a sitting position. He quickly recovered. He ran to get the rabbit. He examined it carefully. Robinson at last pointed out the hole the bullet had made and the mystery of the way the rabbit was killed was solved.
Robinson had lived alone so long that he had learned to love every living creature on the island. He never harmed anything except when he needed food. He had lived so quietly that the birds and animals did not fear him. ”

“ But the nuts were very hard. How should he open them? He had brought along his sharp stone with which he had stripped off the inner bark. With this he forced off the thick outer shell. But now came the hard nut within, and how hard it was! Striking it was of no use.
Then he threw a great stone on the nut. The shell was crushed and a snow-white kernel lay before him. It tasted like almond. With astonishment Robinson saw in the middle of the nut a large empty space which must have been filled with fluid as the inside was wet. He wished that he had the juice to drink, for he was very thirsty. ”

“ The teaching of the mechanics of reading concerns itself with affixing visual images of words to the auditory vocabulary already possessed by the child. As this is a purely formal process, having little educative value in itself, the judicious teacher will welcome any suggestion toward minimizing routine drill. Instead of attempting to fix the visual form of each word, she will limit the formal instruction to giving the child a capability of deciphering new words for himself, that is, of translating them into motor images of articulation. ”

“ He kindled in this way the wood in his stove and soon had a hot fire.
The first thing he did in the way of cooking was to roast some rabbit meat on a spit or forked stick held in his hand over the fire. Nothing Robinson had ever eaten was to be compared to this.
"I can do many things now," thought Robinson. "My work will not be nearly so hard. My fire will be my servant and help me make my tools as well as cook my food. I can now cook my corn and rice." ”

“ So the three went on towards Bremen.
As they were passing by a farm they saw a cock perched upon a barn door. He was crowing as loud as he could. The donkey called out, “What ails you, old red comb? You are crowing as if you meant to split your throat.” “I am crowing while I can,” said the cock; “to-morrow the cook is going to put me into the soup pot.” And he went on crowing louder than ever. “I can tell you something better than that,” said the donkey. “We are all going to be musicians. You have a fine voice, so come with us.” “Thank you,” said the cock. ”

“ But his longing for meat was still very great. "I will try to make a bow and arrow," he said. No sooner said than done. He bent a long piece of tough, young wood and stretched between the ends a cord twisted out of the fiber taken from the cocoanut shell. He then sought for a piece of wood for arrows. He split the ends with his flint knife and fastened in splinters of stone. At the other end he fastened on some feathers found on the ground. The arrows flew through the air with great swiftness. "They will go far enough," thought Robinson, "if I could only hit anything." ”

“ What principles should govern in our choice? As already hinted there are degrees of value, for purposes of instruction, in the immense treasury of folklore, myth and fable. It will be readily conceded that what is known as folklore has qualities rendering it of greatest value, for the first years of school life. It is simple and direct. Its conception of the world is that of pure naturalism. The formal myth and fable belong to later stages of mental development. ”

“ From his study of the woven cloth, Robinson saw he must have a firmer thread than the strips of bark gave alone. He separated his bark into long, thin strips. These he twisted into strands of yarn by rolling between his hands, or on a smooth surface. As he twisted it he wound it on a stick. It was slow, hard work. Of all his work, the making of yarn of thread gave him the most trouble. He learned to twist it by knotting the thread around the spindle or bobbin on which he wound it and twirling this in the air. ”

“ Viewed from our ethical standpoint, folklore does not always come up to the highest standard. There are objectionable features in many tales. In this respect they reflect the uncritical and even crude morals of the time. While this is true of some of the tales, in many the ethical teaching is pure, lofty and wholesome, and furnishes an element greatly needed in our primary schools. We have here held up for esteem and veneration these virtues of head and heart and action that lie at the base of a happy, considerate and industrious home life. ”