The wisdom which lies behind true humour is
found in the nonsense tale of infancy as truly as in mature humour, but in
its own kind and degree. "Just for fun" is the first reason for the
humorous story; the wisdom in the fun is the second.
And now we come to
THE NATURE STORY
No other type of fiction is more familiar to the teacher, and probably no
other kind is the source of so much uncertainty of feeling. The nature
story is much used, as I have noticed above, to illustrate or to teach the
habits of animals and the laws of plant-growth; to stimulate scientific
interest as well as to increase culture in scientific fact. This is an
entirely legitimate object. In view of its present preponderance, it is
certainly a pity, however, that so few stories are available, the accuracy
of which, from this point of view, can be vouched for. The carefully
prepared book of to-day is refuted and scoffed at to-morrow. The teacher
who wishes to use story-telling chiefly as an element in nature study must
at least limit herself to a small amount of absolutely unquestioned
material, or else subject every new story to the judgment of an authority
in the line dealt with. This is not easy for the teacher at a distance
from the great libraries, and for those who have access to well-equipped
libraries it is a matter of time and thought.
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