that wagon? Am I going crazy as well as to be murdered and hanged by robbers this day?" "You brought her to us, Fritz," cried Herr Hildesmuller. "How can we ever thank you enough?" "Tell mamma how you came in Fritz's wagon," said Frau Hildesmuller. "I don't know," said Lena. "But I know how I got away from the hotel. The Prince brought me." "By the Emperor's crown!" shouted Fritz, "we are all going crazy." "I always knew he would come," said Lena, sitting down on her bundle of bedclothes on the sidewalk. "Last night he came with his armed knights and captured the ogre's castle. They broke the dishes and kicked down the doors. They pitched Mr. Maloney into a barrel of rain water and threw flour all over Mrs. Maloney. The workmen in the hotel jumped out of the windows and ran into the woods when the knights began firing their guns. They wakened me up and I peeped down the stair. And then the Prince came up and wrapped me in the bedclothes and carried me out. He was so tall and strong and fine. His face was as rough as a scrubbing brush, and he talked soft and kind and smelled of schnapps. He took me on his horse before him and we rode away among the knights. He held me close and I went to sleep that way, and didn't wake up till I got home." "Rubbish!" cried Fritz Bergmann. "Fairy tales! How did you come from the quarries to my wagon?" "The Prince brought me," said Lena, confidently. And to this day the good people of Fredericksburg haven't been able to make her give any other explanation. Is your interest in this story awakened at once? What one comfort did Lena have? How did it help her through the long days? Who was Grimm? Which of his stories do you think Lena had specially in mind? Why does the author talk so much about Grimm at the beginning of the story? What connection has Grimm with the title? How does Lena's letter affect you? What expressions arouse your sympathy? Is the letter childlike? How does Fritz show his love for the child? the mules? Do the German expressions and the dialect of the outlaws add to the interest? Why was Lena so willing to be carried off by a stranger? Does Lena's father feel any shame for his conduct? Does the story end as you expected? Does it seem impossible? How would you feel if you happened to be a member of the jury to try those robbers? SUGGESTIONS FOR ORAL AND WRITTEN ENGLISH For What fairy tales particularly had Lena been reading? Tell one, making it as interesting as possible. Can you recall any fairy tales that ended differently from what you expected? An unexpected ending is one of the characteristics of O. Henry's stories. Select an incident for a climax and try to end the story in a manner that will completely surprise the reader. Be careful that your ending is not impossible. Tell your favorite fairy tale. Dramatize it as suggested on page 106 in a simple form for children. The Story of the Finding of Lena (by one of the robbers). The Hold-up (as told by Fritz). The Advantages of a Lively Im- Some Disadvantages of a Lively Imagination. How I Help at Home. The Best Way to Wash Dishes. In the Days of the Stagecoach. SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL READINGS The Gifts of the Magi (in The Four Million). O. Henry. The Lady or the Tiger. Frank R. Stockton. Marjory Daw. Thomas B. Aldrich. Emmy Lou. George Madden Martin. Tillie, A Mennonite Maid. H. R. Martin. A Christmas Mystery. W. J. Locke. Van Bibber and the Swan Boats. R. H. Davis. Van Bibber's Burglar. R. H. Davis. In Grimm's Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snowdrop, Tom Thumb, The Seven Ravens, Rumpelstiltskin, The Youth Who Could Not Shudder, Hansel and Gretel. THE OLD HUSBAND AND THE YOUNG WIFE1 RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) was born in Dublin and educated at the famous English school of Harrow. He was successful both as a dramatist and as a statesman. His two plays, The Rivals (1775) and The School for Scandal (1777), are noted for their realistic portrayal of eighteenth-century life and customs. He died in 1816 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. From 1642, when the Puritans closed the theaters, until 1890, only three plays were written which are much read or acted to-day. The three are these two by Sheridan, and one by Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer (1773). See also: Halleck's New English Literature, pp. 210, 262-264, 337. She ap Sir Peter Teazle. But here comes my helpmate! pears in great good humor. How happy I should be if I could tease her into loving me, though but a little! Enter LADY TEAZLE. Lady Teazle. Lud! Sir Peter, I hope you haven't been quarreling with Maria? It is not using me well to be ill humored when I am not by. Sir Peter. Ah, Lady Teazle, you might have the power to make me good humored at all times. Lady Teazle. I am sure I wish I had; for I want you to be in a charming sweet temper at this moment. Do be good humored now, and let me have two hundred pounds, will you? 1 From The School for Scandal. what, a'n't I to be in a But speak to me thus, Sir Peter. Two hundred pounds; good humor without paying for it! and i' faith there's nothing I could refuse you. You shall have it; but seal me a bond for the repayment. Lady Teazle. O, no there my note of hand will do as well. [Offering her hand.] Sir Peter. And you shall no longer reproach me with not giving you an independent settlement. I mean shortly to surprise you but shall we always live thus, hey? Lady Teazle. If you please. I'm sure I don't care how soon we leave off quarreling, provided you'll own you were tired first. Sir Peter. Well then let our future contest be, who shall be most obliging. Lady Teazle. I assure you, Sir Peter, good nature becomes you. You look now as you did before we were married, when you used to walk with me under the elms, and tell me stories of what a gallant you were in your youth, and chuck me under the chin, you would; and ask me if I thought I could love an old fellow, who would deny me nothing — didn't you? Sir Peter. Yes, yes, and you were as kind and attentive Lady Teazle. Ay, so I was, and would always take your part, when my acquaintance used to abuse you, and turn you into ridicule. Sir Peter. Indeed! Lady Teazle. Ay, and when my cousin Sophy has called you a stiff, peevish old bachelor, and laughed at me for thinking of marrying one who might be my father, I have always defended you, and said, I didn't think you so ugly by any means. Sir Peter. Thank you. And you prophesied right; and we shall now be the happiest couple |