And it is, also, so recognised a part of the standard
literary equipment of youth that teachers need to be able to introduce
children to its charm. To make it available for telling, we must choose
the most essential events of the series leading up to the climax, and
present these so simply as to appeal to children's ears, and so briefly as
not to tire them.
The printed story is eight thousand words in length. The first three
thousand words depict the beauty and fertility of the Treasure Valley, and
the cruel habits of Hans and Schwartz, its owners, and give the
culminating incident which leads to their banishment by "West Wind." This
episode,--the West Wind's appearance in the shape of an aged traveller,
his kind reception by the younger brother, little Gluck, and the
subsequent wrath of Hans and Schwartz, with their resulting
punishment,--occupies about two thousand words. The rest of the story
deals with the three brothers after the decree of West Wind has turned
Treasure Valley into a desert. In the little house where they are plying
their trade of goldsmiths, the King of the Golden River appears to Gluck
and tells him the magic secret of turning the river's waters to gold. Hans
and Schwartz in turn attempt the miracle, and in turn incur the penalty
attached to failure.
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