In The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet, in part I, The Trip to the Nut-Hill, taken from Arthur Rackham’s Grimm Tales, the setting contributes largely to the attractiveness of the tale, as is shown in Rackham’s beautiful illustration.  The setting is given throughout the tale often in a telling word or two.  Chanticleer and Partlet went up the nut-hill to gather nuts before the squirrel carried them all away.  The day was bright and they stayed till evening.  The carriage of nut-shells; the Duck they met; the dirty road they traveled in the pitch dark; the Inn they arrived at; the night at the Inn; the early dawn; the hearth where they threw the egg-shells; the Landlord’s chair whose cushion received the Needle; the towel which received the Pin; the heath over which they hurried away; the yard of the Inn where the Duck slept and the stream he escaped by; the Landlord’s room where he gained experience with his towel; the kitchen where the egg-shells from the hearth flew into his face; and the arm-chair which received him with a Needle—­these are all elements of setting which contribute largely to the humor and the beauty of the tale.

A blending of the three elements, characters, plot, and setting, appears in the following outline of The Elves and the Shoemaker:—­

The Elves and the Shoemaker

     1. Introduction.  A poor Shoemaker.  A poor room containing
     a bed and a shoemaker’s board.  Leather for one pair of
     shoes.

     2. Development.

        First night ...  Cut out shoes.  Went to bed.  Shoes ready
        next morning.  Sold them.  Bought leather for two pairs.

        Second night ...  Cut out shoes.  Went to bed.  Shoes
        ready next morning.  Sold them.  Bought leather for four
        pairs.

One night ...  Conversation of Shoemaker and his wife:  “I should like to sit up to-night to see who it is that makes the shoes.”  They sat up.  Two Elves ran in, sewed, rapped, and tapped, and ran away when the shoes were made.

Day after ...  Conversation.  “These Elves made us rich.  I should like to do something for them.  You make each of them a little pair of shoes, and I will make them each a little shirt, a coat, a waistcoat, trousers, and a pair of stockings.”

Christmas Eve ...  Finished shoes and clothes put on the
table.  Shoemaker and Wife hid in the corner of the room
behind clothes, and watched. (Climax.)

Elves came in and put on clothes.

3. Conclusion.

Happy end.  Elves danced and sang,—­

“Smart and natty boys are we,
Cobblers we’ll no longer be.”

Shoemaker and Wife became happy and prosperous.