The little Spider’s burned herself. 
     And the Flea weeps;
     The little Door creaks with the pain,
     And the Broom sweeps;
     The little Cart runs on so fast,
     And the Ashes burn;
     The little Tree shakes down its leaves. 
     Now it is my turn!

And then the Streamlet said, “Now I must flow.”

And it flowed on and on, getting bigger and bigger, until it swallowed up the little Girl, the little Tree, the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom, the Door, the Flea, and at last, the Spider—­all together.

Here we have a tale, which, in its language, well illustrates Stevenson’s “pattern of style,” especially as regards the harmony produced by the arrangement of letters.  From the standpoint of style, this tale might be named, The Adventure of the Letter E; it illustrates the part the phonics of the tale may contribute to the effect of the setting.  Follow the letter e in the opening of the tale, both as to the eye and the ear:—­

A Spid_e_r and a Fl_e_a dw_e_lt tog_e_th_e_r in on_e_ hous_e_ and br_e_w_e_d th_e_ir b_ee_r in an egg-shell.  On_e_ day wh_e_n th_e_ Spid_e_r was stirring it up sh_e_ f_e_ll in and burn_e_d h_e_rs_e_lf.  Th_e_r_e_upon th_e_ Fl_e_a b_e_gan to scr_e_am.  And th_e_n th_e_ Door ask_e_d, “Why ar_e_ you scr_e_aming, littl_e_ Fl_e_a?”

If we follow the e sound through the tale, we find it in Flea, beer, scream, creak, weeps, sweep, reason, heap, Tree, leaves, and Streamlet.  This repetition of the one sound puts music into the tale and creates a center of the harmony of sound.  But if we examine the next part of the tale we find a variety of sounds of o in thereupon, Door, Broom, stood, and corner.  Later, in connection with Cart, we have began, fast, past, and Ashes.  Other phonic effects are crowded into the tale; such as the sound of l in violently, till, all, leaves, and fell; the sound of i in little and Girl; of p in pitcher and passing; of t in little and pitcher; and of ew in threw and drew.  Altogether this very effective use of sound is a fine employment of concrete language, words which present images that are clear-cut as a cameo.  It also gives to the tale a poetical touch.

Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, an English tale, and a parallel of The Spider and the Flea, preserves the same beauty and sequence by means of its setting and illustrates the same very unusual contribution of the sounds of particular letters combined in the harmony of the whole. The Phonics of the Fairy Tales is a subject which yields much interest and, as yet, has been almost untouched.