In Froebel's "Mother Play" he demonstrates the educational value of
stories, emphasizing that their highest use consists in their ability
to enable the child, through _suggestion_, to form a pure and
noble idea of what a man may be or do. The sensitiveness of a child's
mind is offended if the moral is forced upon him, but if he absorbs it
unconsciously, he has received its influence for all time.

To me the idea of pointing out the moral of the story has always
seemed as futile as tying a flower on a stalk instead of letting the
flower grow out of the stalk, as Nature has intended. In the first
case, the flower, showy and bright for the moment, soon fades away.
In the second instance, it develops slowly, coming to perfection in
fullness of time because of the life within.

Lastly, the element to avoid is that which rouses emotions which
cannot be translated into action.

Mr. Earl Barnes, to whom all teachers owe a debt of gratitude for the
inspiration of his educational views, insists strongly on this point.
The sole effect of such stories is to produce a form of hysteria,
fortunately short-lived, but a waste of force which might be directed
into a better channel.[20] Such stories are so easy to recognize that
it would be useless to make a formal list, but I make further allusion
to them, in dealing with stories from the lives of the saints.

These, then, are the main elements to avoid in the selection of material
suitable for normal children. Much might be added in the way of detail,
and the special tendency of the day may make it necessary to avoid one
class of story more than another, but this care belongs to another
generation of teachers and parents.