Article #474-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from How to Tell Stories to Children, and Some Stories to Tell, by Sara Cone Bryant

This not only reduces the story to tellable form, but it also leaves a
suggestive interest which heightens later enjoyment of the original. I
suggest the adaptation of Kate Douglas Wiggin, in The Story Hour, since
in view of the existence of a satisfactory adaptation it seems
unappreciative to offer a second. The one I made for my own use some years
ago is not dissimilar to this, and I have no reason to suppose it more
desirable.

Ruskin's King of the Golden River is somewhat difficult to adapt. Not
only is it long, but its style is mature, highly descriptive, and closely
allegorical. Yet the tale is too beautiful and too suggestive to be lost
to the story-teller. 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. Gluck tries, and wins the treasure through
self-sacrifice. The form of the treasure is a renewal of the fertility of
Treasure Valley, and the moral of the whole story is summed up in
Ruskin's words, "So the inheritance which was lost by cruelty was regained
by love."

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from How to Tell Stories to Children, and Some Stories to Tell by Sara Cone Bryant**

This passage is from Sara Cone Bryant’s 1905 guidebook, How to Tell Stories to Children, and Some Stories to Tell, a work aimed at parents, teachers, and storytellers on the art of adapting and narrating stories for young audiences. Bryant was a prominent educator and advocate for children’s literature, emphasizing the importance of oral storytelling in child development. In this excerpt, she discusses the challenges and strategies of adapting John Ruskin’s The King of the Golden River (1851) for children.

Context of the Source

Sara Cone Bryant’s Purpose
- Bryant’s book is a practical manual for adults on how to engage children through storytelling. She argues that stories should be simplified, vivid, and morally instructive while preserving their literary essence.
- The excerpt reflects her belief that classic tales (even complex ones like Ruskin’s) should be made accessible to children, as they contain timeless moral and aesthetic value.
John Ruskin’s The King of the Golden River
- A fairy tale/allegory written in Ruskin’s ornate, descriptive style, blending moral lessons with fantastical elements.
- The story follows three brothers—Hans, Schwartz, and Gluck—who inherit a fertile valley but lose it due to their cruelty. The youngest, Gluck, regains it through kindness and self-sacrifice.
- Ruskin’s work is highly allegorical, with themes of greed vs. generosity, divine justice, and redemption.

Key Themes in the Excerpt

Adaptation for Child Audiences
- Bryant emphasizes that not all great stories are immediately child-friendly—some require pruning, simplification, and focus on essential events.
- She rejects the idea of creating a new adaptation when a good one (like Kate Douglas Wiggin’s in The Story Hour) already exists, showing respect for existing literary adaptations.
The Challenge of Ruskin’s Style
- Ruskin’s prose is dense, descriptive, and allegorical—qualities that make it difficult for children to follow in its original form.
- Bryant identifies two major hurdles:
  - Length (8,000 words is too long for a child’s attention span).
  - Complexity (his mature style and allegory require streamlining for young listeners).
Selecting the Core Narrative
- Bryant suggests focusing on the most dramatic and morally significant episodes:
  - The introduction of the brothers’ cruelty and the West Wind’s punishment (first 3,000 words).
  - Gluck’s kindness to the disguised West Wind (a key moral moment).
  - The climax: Gluck’s self-sacrifice and the restoration of the valley (the moral payoff).
- She omits excessive description (e.g., lengthy depictions of the valley’s beauty) to keep the story engaging and concise.
Moral Clarity Over Literary Ornamentation
- Bryant’s goal is to preserve the moral lesson ("the inheritance lost by cruelty was regained by love") while removing distractions.
- She prioritizes action and dialogue over Ruskin’s philosophical asides, making the story more immediate and relatable for children.

Literary Devices & Techniques Discussed

Abridgment & Simplification
- Bryant advocates cutting non-essential details (e.g., reducing the 8,000-word original to a tellable version).
- Example: She suggests condensing the brothers’ backstory but keeping the West Wind’s test and Gluck’s triumph.
Oral Storytelling Techniques
- "Appeal to children’s ears": Bryant stresses rhythm, repetition, and vivid imagery in spoken narration.
- "Not to tire them": She warns against overloading young listeners with too much exposition.
Allegory Made Accessible
- Ruskin’s allegory (e.g., West Wind as divine justice, the river as moral reward) is implicit—Bryant suggests making it explicit but simple for children.
- Example: Instead of dwelling on the symbolism of the golden river, she focuses on Gluck’s actions (helping the stranger, resisting greed).
Moral Emphasis
- The explicit moral ("cruelty loses, love wins") is highlighted as the emotional and narrative core.
- Bryant ensures the cause-and-effect (greed → punishment; kindness → reward) is clear and satisfying for young listeners.

Significance of the Excerpt

Pedagogical Value
- Bryant’s approach reflects early 20th-century educational philosophy, where moral instruction through stories was central.
- She bridges literary appreciation (respecting Ruskin’s work) with child psychology (knowing what engages young minds).
Preservation of Classic Tales
- By advocating thoughtful adaptation, she ensures complex works (like Ruskin’s) remain part of children’s cultural heritage.
- Her method respects the original while making it functional for oral storytelling.
Influence on Children’s Literature
- Bryant’s ideas prefigure modern adaptation techniques (e.g., retellings of myths, abridged classics).
- Her focus on moral clarity and engagement remains relevant in contemporary storytelling (e.g., Disney adaptations, simplified folktales).

Textual Breakdown: Key Lines Explained

"This not only reduces the story to tellable form, but it also leaves a suggestive interest which heightens later enjoyment of the original."
- Meaning: A well-adapted story sparks curiosity—children may later seek out the full version when they’re older.
- Example: A child who hears a simplified King of the Golden River might one day read Ruskin’s original with greater appreciation.
"Ruskin’s King of the Golden River is somewhat difficult to adapt. Not only is it long, but its style is mature, highly descriptive, and closely allegorical."
- Analysis:
  - "Mature style" = complex sentences, advanced vocabulary.
  - "Highly descriptive" = long passages about scenery (e.g., the valley’s beauty) that may bore young listeners.
  - "Closely allegorical" = symbolic meanings (e.g., the river = moral purity) that children might miss without guidance.
"To make it available for telling, we must choose the most essential events... and present these so simply as to appeal to children’s ears, and so briefly as not to tire them."
- Strategy:
  - Essential events = the West Wind’s test, the brothers’ fates, Gluck’s victory.
  - "Appeal to children’s ears" = vivid, rhythmic language (e.g., "The old man shivered, and Gluck shared his last crust of bread.").
  - "Not to tire them" = keep it under 10-15 minutes for young audiences.
"So the inheritance which was lost by cruelty was regained by love."
- Moral Summary:
  - Cruelty (Hans & Schwartz) → loss (the valley turns to desert).
  - Love (Gluck’s kindness) → restoration (the valley blooms again).
- Why it works for kids: A clear, binary moral (good vs. evil) with a happy ending.

Conclusion: Why This Matters

Bryant’s excerpt is a masterclass in adapting literature for children. She demonstrates how to:

Respect the original while making it accessible.
Focus on action and morality over decorative language.
Engage young listeners through simplicity and emotional clarity.

Her methods ensure that great stories—even challenging ones—can inspire children, planting the seeds for a lifelong love of literature. Today, her principles remain valuable for parents, teachers, and writers who seek to bridge the gap between classic tales and young audiences.

Questions

Question 1

The passage suggests that Bryant’s approach to adapting The King of the Golden River is fundamentally guided by a tension between two priorities. The primary tension may best be characterised as that between:

A. fidelity to the original’s moral architecture and the pragmatic demands of a child’s cognitive and emotional engagement.
B. the preservation of Ruskin’s allegorical depth and the necessity of excising his ornate descriptive prose.
C. the story’s literary merit as a standard work and its utility as a vehicle for didactic instruction.
D. the adult storyteller’s aesthetic preferences and the child listener’s limited attention span.
E. the adaptation’s role in fostering immediate enjoyment and its potential to cultivate future appreciation of the unabridged text.

Question 2

When Bryant states that a well-adapted story leaves a “suggestive interest which heightens later enjoyment of the original,” she implies that the adaptation should function analogously to:

A. a scaffold that is dismantled once the child’s comprehension reaches maturity.
B. a map that orients the child toward the original’s geographical and thematic terrain.
C. an appetiser that stimulates a hunger for the fuller, more complex meal to come.
D. a translation that renders the original’s meaning accessible while inevitably losing some of its poetic resonance.
E. a spark that ignites the child’s imagination but risks distorting the original’s intended moral lesson.

Question 3

Bryant’s decision to defer to Kate Douglas Wiggin’s adaptation of The Story Hour rather than propose her own most strongly reflects which of the following principles?

A. A belief that children’s literature should adhere to a canon of vetted, authoritative adaptations.
B. A reluctance to engage in creative competition with a peer whose work she admires.
C. A respect for existing solutions that adequately fulfil a pedagogical need, absent evidence of their inferiority.
D. An assumption that children are incapable of distinguishing between multiple adaptations of the same tale.
E. A preference for adaptations that prioritise historical accuracy over narrative embellishment.

Question 4

The passage’s description of Ruskin’s style as “mature, highly descriptive, and closely allegorical” serves primarily to:

A. justify the need for radical abridgment by framing the original as inherently inaccessible to children without intervention.
B. highlight the aesthetic richness of the original text, which any adaptation will necessarily diminish.
C. distinguish Ruskin’s literary sophistication from the simpler prose typically aimed at child audiences.
D. imply that children are incapable of appreciating allegory unless it is rendered explicit through didactic explanation.
E. suggest that the story’s moral lessons are embedded in its stylistic complexity, making adaptation a morally fraught endeavour.

Question 5

Bryant’s assertion that “the inheritance which was lost by cruelty was regained by love” is treated in the passage as:

A. a reductive simplification of Ruskin’s nuanced exploration of moral consequence.
B. the irreducible core of the story’s moral logic, which must be preserved even at the expense of stylistic fidelity.
C. an example of how allegorical tales can be distilled into universally applicable maxims.
D. evidence that Ruskin’s work, despite its complexity, ultimately adheres to a conventional fairy-tale morality.
E. a thematic anchor that justifies the exclusion of descriptive passages deemed extraneous to the moral arc.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The passage explicitly frames Bryant’s adaptation strategy as a balance between two imperatives: (1) retaining the moral structure of Ruskin’s original (e.g., the climax of Gluck’s self-sacrifice and the restoration of the valley) and (2) accommodating the practical constraints of a child’s engagement (e.g., brevity, simplicity, oral appeal). This tension is central to her discussion of how to adapt—the moral “architecture” (the cause-and-effect of cruelty/love) must survive, but the execution must bend to the child’s cognitive and emotional limits.