i have endeavored to write, for mothers and dear little children, a few simple stories, embodying some of the truths of froebel's mother play.

the mother play is such a vast treasure house of truth, that each one who seeks among its stores may bring to light some gem; and though, perhaps, i have missed its diamonds and rubies, i trust my string of pearls may find acceptance with some mother who is trying to live with her children.

i have written my own mottoes, with a few exceptions, that i might emphasize the particular lesson which i endeavor to teach in the story; for every motto in the mother play comprehends so much that it is impossible to use the whole for a single subject. from "the bridge" for instance, which is replete with lessons, i have taken only one,—for the story of the "little traveler."

most of these stories have been told and retold to little children, and are surrounded, in my eyes, by a halo of listening faces.

"mrs. tabby gray" is founded on a true story of a favorite cat. "the journey" is a new version of the old stage coach game, much loved by our grandmothers; and i am indebted to some old story, read in childhood, for the suggestion of "dust under the rug," which was a successful experiment in a kindergarten to test the possibility of interesting little children in a story after the order of grimm, with the wicked stepmother and her violent daughter eradicated.

elizabeth peabody says we are all free to look out of each other's windows; and so i place mine at the service of all who care to see what its tiny panes command.

maud lindsay.

该作者的其它作品

《a story garden for little children》