The Diving Bell

Uncle Frank asks young readers to look beneath the surface of a story and discover something useful there. Francis C. Woodworth frames this collection of children's stories, fables and verse with an explanation of a diving bell, beginning with a glass tumbler and a cork in water. The underwater device becomes an image for attentive reading: the valuable lesson may take a little thought to find. A visit to a bookshop then raises the question of what reading can offer beyond laughter.

Animal fables and everyday incidents give the lessons concrete settings. The contents include a fox and a crab, a greedy fly, and Caroline with her kitten. A schoolboy helps a farmer rearrange a lever so that he can lift a stubborn stone. That practical correction leads to reflection on how people approach moral problems. The conversational narrator also considers kindness and the wish to appear important, making the collection useful for exploring older approaches to teaching children through entertainment.