Story-telling has a real mission to perform in setting free the natural
creative expression of children, and in vitalising the general atmosphere
of the school. The method in use for this purpose in Providence (and
probably elsewhere, as ideas usually germinate in more than one place at
once) is a threefold _giving back_ of the story by the children. Two of
the forms of reproduction are familiar to many teachers; the first is the
obvious one of telling the story back again.

It is such fun to listen to a good story that children remember it without
effort, and later, when asked if they can tell the story of _The
Red-Headed Woodpecker_ or _The Little Red Hen_, they are as eager to try
it as if it were a personal experience which they were burning to impart.

Each pupil, in the Providence classes, is given a chance to try each
story, at some time. Then that one which each has told especially well is
allotted to him for his own particular story, on which he has an especial
claim thereafter.

It is surprising to note how comparatively individual and distinctive the
expression of voice and manner becomes, after a short time. The child
instinctively emphasises the points which appeal to him, and the element
of fun in it all helps to bring forgetfulness of self. The main
inflections and the general tenor of the language, however, remain
imitative, as is natural with children. But this is a gain rather than
otherwise, for it is useful in forming good habit. In no other part of her
work, probably, has a teacher so good a chance to foster in her pupils
pleasant habits of enunciation and voice. And this is especially worth
while in the big city schools, where so many children come from homes
where the English of the tenement is spoken.