appeal to the eye differs in many important respects from that to the ear.
Unless one is able to change the form of a story to suit the needs of oral
delivery, one is likely to suffer from poverty of material. Perhaps the
commonest need of change is in the case of a story too long to tell, yet
embodying some one beautiful incident or lesson; or one including a series
of such incidents. The story of _The Nürnberg Stove_, by Ouida,[1] is a
good example of the latter kind; Ruskin's _King of the Golden River_ will
serve as an illustration of the former.

[Footnote 1: See _Bimbi_, by Ouida. (Chatto. 2s.)]

The problem in one case is chiefly one of elimination; in the other it is
also in a large degree one of rearrangement. In both cases I have
purposely chosen extreme instances, as furnishing plainer illustration.
The usual story needs less adaptation than these, but the same kind, in
its own degree. Condensation and rearrangement are the commonest forms of
change required.

Pure condensation is probably the easier for most persons. With _The
Nürnberg Stove_ in mind for reference, let us see what the process
includes. This story can be readily found by anyone who is interested in
the following example of adaptation, for nearly every library includes in
its catalogue the juvenile works of Mlle. de la Ramée (Ouida). The
suggestions given assume that the story is before my readers.

The story as it stands is two thousand four hundred words long, obviously
too long to tell. What can be left out? Let us see what must be kept in.

The dramatic climax toward which we are working is the outcome of August's
strange exploit,--his discovery by the king and the opportunity for him to