[This story was told me in the mother-tongue of a German friend, at the kindly instance of a common friend of both; the narrator had heard it at home from the lips of a father of story-loving children for whom he often invented such little tales. The present adaptation has passed by hearsay through so many minds that it is perhaps little like the original, but I venture to hope it has a touch of the original fancy, at least.]
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The program for the current year embraces a study of the stories of Ancient Greece, Rome and Italy, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan, interspersed with meetings devoted to the study of stories of Christmas and other holidays. One of the October meetings was devoted to Thanksgiving stories. The topic for the Second meeting in November was “Xerxes and Prehistoric Stories.” The meetings of this league are conducted primarily for the benefit of teachers to prepare them for telling stories to their classes.
Two flourishing junior leagues are maintained in the Tuscumbia public schools. One is made up from pupils of the fifth and sixth grades; the other from pupils of the third and fourth grades. They meet every Friday afternoon for story-telling. The children are greatly interested and are eager for some new stories. It is the purpose of THE STORY HOUR to supply just such needs, both by the stories it reproduces and by directing to good books of stories.
Excellent work is reported from the leagues in Blue Mountain College, at Mississippi Heights. These three leagues are among the first to have been organized in the State. One league is for the teacher girls of the school and two are for the boys and girls respectively. Mrs. Jennie M. Hardy, who organized these leagues, more recently organized work at some of the State Summer Schools. She also organized the league at the Sherman State Normal, in July, this year.
The Cincinnati Story Tellers’ League was organized Sept. 23, 1906, at the Kindergarten Training School on Linton Street, and has conducted two successful series of meetings. The last annual report shows a membership of sixty. Meetings have been held once a month, on the fourth Tuesday, at 7:15 p.m., sometimes in School houses and at other times at the homes of members. A variety of interesting subjects have been profitably considered, as indicated in the following schedules of meetings:—