only, of writing a story. You may take a plot and fit
characters to it, or you may take a character and choose
incidents and situations to develop it, or lastly--you must
bear with me while I try to make this clear.... You may take
a certain atmosphere and get action and persons to express
and realize it. I'll give you an example--_The Merry Men_.
There I began with the feeling of one of those islands on
the west coast of Scotland, and I gradually developed the
story to express the sentiment with which the coast affected
me."

According to the method by which the story was made, the emphasis will
be on character, plot, or setting. Sometimes you may have a perfect
blending of all three.

(1) Characters. The characters must be unique and original, so that
they catch the eye at once. They dare not be colorless, they must have
striking experiences. The Elephant's Child, Henny Penny, Medio
Pollito, Jack of the Beanstalk, the Three Pigs, the Three Bears, and
Drakesbill--the characters of the fairy tales have no equal in
literature for freshness and vivacity. The very mention of the thought
brings a smile of recognition; and it is for this reason, no doubt,
that leading men in large universities turn aside from their high
scholarly labors, to work or play with fairy tales. Besides the
interesting chief characters, moreover, there are many more
subordinate characters that are especially unique: the fairies, the
fairy godmothers and wise women, the elves of the trees, the dwarfs of
the ground, the trolls of the rocks and hills, and the giants and
witches. Then that great company of toilers in every occupation of
life bring the child in touch with many novel phases of life. At best