In the story of "Hereafter-this,"[26] we have just the converse: a
perfectly foolish wife shielded by a most patient and forbearing
husband, whose tolerance and common-sense save the situation.

One of the most important elements to seek in our choice of stories is
that which tends to develop, eventually, a fine sense of humor in a
child. I purposely use the word, "eventually," because I realize,
first, that humor has various stages, and that seldom, if ever, can
one expect an appreciation of fine humor from a normal child, that is,
from an elemental mind. It seems as if the rough-and-tumble element
were almost a necessary stage through which children must pass, and
which is a normal and healthy stage; but up to now we have quite
unnecessarily extended the period of elephantine fun, and, though we
cannot control the manner in which children are catered to along this
line in their homes, we can restrict the folly of appealing too
strongly or too long to this elemental faculty in our schools. Of
course, the temptation is strong because the appeal is so easy, but
there is a tacit recognition that horseplay and practical jokes are
no longer considered as an essential part of a child's education.
We note this in the changed attitude in the schools, taken by more
advanced educators, towards bullying, fagging, hazing, etc. As a
reaction, then, from more obvious fun, there should be a certain
number of stories which make appeal to a more subtle element, and
in the chapter on the questions put to me by teachers on various
occasions I speak more in detail as to the educational value of a
finer humor in our stories.

At some period there ought to be presented in our stories the
superstitions connected with the primitive history of the race, dealing
with the fairy proper, giants, dwarfs, gnomes, nixies, brownies and