The KISS Grammar Presentation of

A German Fairy Tale

From the KISS Grammar Workbooks

http://home.pct.edu/~evavra/kiss/wb/index.htm

Contents

THE THREE LITTLE BUTTERFLY BROTHERS................................................................................................2

NOTES FOR "THE THREE LITTLE BUTTERFLY BROTHERS"....................................................................4

THE THREE LITTLE BUTTERFLY BROTHERS (PART 1)...............................................................................5

THE THREE LITTLE BUTTERFLY BROTHERS (PART 2)...............................................................................6

Analysis Key for Part One......................................................................................................................................7
Analysis Key for Part Two.....................................................................................................................................8
 2

The Three Little

Butterfly Brothers
A German Fairy Tale

There were once three little butterfly brothers, one white, one red,
and one yellow.  They played in the sunshine, and danced among the
flowers in the garden, and they never grew tired because they were so
happy.
One day there came a heavy rain, and it wet their wings.  They flew
away home, but when they got there they found the door locked and the
key gone.  So they had to stay out of doors in the rain, and they grew
wetter and wetter.
By and by they flew to the red and yellow striped tulip, and said: 
"Friend Tulip, will you open your flower-cup and let us in till the storm is
over?''
The tulip answered:  "The red and yellow butterflies may enter,
because they are like me, but the white one may not come in.''
But the red and yellow butterflies said:  "If our white brother may not
find shelter in your flower-cup, why, then, we'll stay outside in the rain with
him.''
It rained harder and harder, and the poor little butterflies grew wetter
and wetter, so they flew to the white lily and said:  "Good Lily, will you open
your bud a little so we may creep in out of the rain?''
 3
The lily answered:  "The white butterfly may come in, because he is
like me, but the red and yellow ones must stay outside in the storm.''
Then the little white butterfly said:  "If you won't receive my red and
yellow brothers, why, then, I'll stay out in the rain with them.  We would
rather be wet than be parted.''
So the three little butterflies flew away.
But the sun, who was behind a cloud, heard it all, and he knew what
good little brothers the butterflies were, and how they had held together in
spite of the wet.  So he pushed his face through the clouds, and chased
away the rain, and shone brightly on the garden.
He dried the wings of the three little butterflies, and warmed their
bodies.  They ceased to sorrow, and danced among the flowers till evening,
then they flew away home, and found the door wide open.  

Olcott, Frances Jenkins, Good Stories For

Holidays (1914)
 4

Notes for "The Three Little Butterfly Brothers"

A German Fairy Tale

I ran across this tale in Frances Jenkins Olcott's Good Stories For Holidays (1914), and,
because it includes examples of direct address, interjections, and nouns used as adverbs, I
decided to put it here. One way to use the passages, therefore, is simply to have the students find
examples of these three constructions. Teachers may simply want to read the entire tale to
students and then assign either the first or the second part.

Modeling Exercises

For a quick exercise, you can have the students simply write one or two sentences that
include direct address, one or two that include interjections, and one or two that include nouns
used as adverbs. You may want to extend this to include sentences that have compound subjects,
compound verbs, compound complements, and/or a set number of prepositional phrases. Have
the students label each of the required constructions.
Another option is to have the students do one of the longer exercises (below). After they
have written the first draft, give the students a list of the constructions that you want them to use.
Have them identify these constructions in what they wrote, or, if they did not use them, have
them revise what they wrote in order to add them.

Suggestions for Longer Writing Exercises

1. As always with third graders and literature, perhaps the best writing exercise is to have
the students retell the story in as much detail as they possibly can. If necessary, you might
want to remind the students by writing on the board where the butterflies went -- 1) home, 2) to
the red and yellow striped tulip, 3) to the white lily, and then 4) home. Have the students write a
draft in as much detail as they can -- without thinking about grammar or spelling. Then have
them edit the drafts to correct grammar and spelling.
2 Have the students discuss the moral of the story and then have each student try to write a
short essay in which they explain their own experience with this moral. These can range, of
course, all over the place -- girls excluding boys, boys excluding girls, students from the same
geographical areas excluding outsiders, etc.
3 [This one is difficult.] Have the students retell the story, replacing the three butterflies
with three of another kind of animal (frogs, cats, dogs, etc.). You should probably have them
discuss what else in the story would have to change. For example, frogs, tired of swimming,
would not go to flowers, but they might go to lily pads. In this case, the sun's role might remain
similar. Three hungry kittens caught in snow might go to raccoons for food, and the sun might
melt the snow so that they can find their own. Give the students a few suggestions like this, but
encourage them to use their own imaginations. 
 5

The Three Little Butterfly Brothers (Part 1)

Directions:
1. Place parentheses around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline every subject once, every finite verb twice, and label complements (PA, PN, IO,
DO).

There were once three little butterfly brothers, one white, one red, and one

yellow. They played in the sunshine, and danced among the flowers in the garden,

and they never grew tired because they were so happy.

One day there came a heavy rain, and it wet their wings. They flew away

home, but when they got there they found the door locked and the key gone. So

they had to stay out of doors in the rain, and they grew wetter and wetter.

By and by they flew to the red and yellow striped tulip, and said: “Friend

Tulip, will you open your flower-cup and let us in till the storm is over?”

The tulip answered: “The red and yellow butterflies may enter, because they

are like me, but the white one may not come in.”

But the red and yellow butterflies said: “If our white brother may not find

shelter in your flower-cup, why, then, we’ll stay outside in the rain with him.”
 6

The Three Little Butterfly Brothers (Part 2)

A German Fairy Tale
Directions:
1. Place parentheses around each prepositional phrase. 
2. Underline every subject once, every finite verb twice, and label complements (PA, PN, IO, DO).

It rained harder and harder, and the poor little butterflies grew wetter and

wetter, so they flew to the white lily and said:  “Good Lily, will you open your bud

a little so we may creep in out of the rain?”

The lily answered: “The white butterfly may come in, because he is like me,

but the red and yellow ones must stay outside in the storm.”

Then the little white butterfly said: “If you won’t receive my red and yellow

brothers, why, then, I’ll stay out in the rain with them. We would rather be wet

than be parted.”

So the three little butterflies flew away.

But the sun, who was behind a cloud, heard it all, and he knew what good

little brothers the butterflies were, and how they had held together in spite of the

wet. So he pushed his face through the clouds, and chased away the rain, and shone

brightly on the garden.

He dried the wings of the three little butterflies, and warmed their bodies.

They ceased to sorrow, and danced among the flowers till evening, then they flew

away home, and found the door wide open.

 7

Analysis Key for Part One

There were once three little butterfly brothers (PN), one white, one red, and one

yellow. [#1] | They played {in the sunshine}, and danced {among the flowers} {in the

garden}, | and they never grew tired (PA) [Adv. to "never" because they were so

happy (PA).] |

One day [NuA] there came a heavy rain (PN) [#2], | and it wet their wings (DO). |

They flew away home [NuA] , | but [Adv. to "found" when they got there] they found the

door locked [#3] and the key gone. [#3] |

So they had to stay {out of doors} {in the rain}, | and they grew wetter (PA) and

wetter (PA). |
By and by they flew {to the red and yellow striped tulip}, and said: [DO of "said"
"Friend Tulip [DirA], will you open your flower-cup (DO) and let us (DO) in [Adv. to

"let" till the storm is over?'']] |

The tulip answered: [DO of "answered" "The red and yellow butterflies may enter,
[Adv. to "may" because they are {like me} (PA)]], but [DO of "answered" the white one

may not come in."] |

But the red and yellow butterflies said: [DO of "said" [Adv. to "will stay " "If our
white brother may not find shelter (DO) {in your flower-cup},] why [Inj], then, we'll stay

outside {in the rain} {with him}."] |

Notes
1. Within KISS grammatical concepts, there are several ways of analyzing these. At KISS Level Three, students
who are comfortable working with clauses might view them as ellipsed clauses modifying "brothers" -- "one
*of which was* white, one *of which was* red, and one *of which was* yellow." At levels four and five, some
 8
students might explain the "one" as appositives to "brothers," and "white,:" "red," and "yellow" as post-
positioned adjectives. Personally, I prefer the explanation using ellipsed clauses, but I would also accept an
explanation that considered them as three noun absolutes ("one *being* white," etc.) that function as
appositives to "brothers."
2. KISS explains this as a palimpsest pattern with "came" written over "was." Alternatively, it can be explained as
"there" being an expletive and "rain" being the subject. See KISS Level  2.1.3 - Expletives (Optional).
3. At KISS Level Four, students learn to explain "locked" and "gone" as gerundives to "door" and "key,"
respectively. I prefer the explanation using noun absolutes that function as nouns. Here, of course, they
function as direct objects. The second case here especially begs for the noun absolute explanation. Although
we can sensibly say that they found the door that was locked, it makes no sense to say that "key gone" here
means that they found the key that was gone.

Analysis Key for Part Two

It rained harder and harder, | and the poor little butterflies grew wetter (PA) and
wetter (PA), [Adv. (result) to "grew" so they flew {to the white lily} and said: [DO of
"said" "Good Lily [DirA], will you open your bud (DO) a little [NuA] [Adv. to "will open" so

we may creep in {out of the rain}?"]]] |

The lily answered: [DO of "answered" "The white butterfly may come in, [Adv. to
"may come" because he is {like me} (PA),]] but [DO of "answered" the red and yellow

ones must stay outside {in the storm}."] |

Then the little white butterfly said: [DO of "said" [Adv. to "will stay" "If you won't
receive my red and yellow brothers (DO),] why [Inj], then, I'll stay out {in the rain} {with

them}.] | We would rather be wet (PA) than be parted [#5]."|

So the three little butterflies flew away. |

But the sun, [Adj. to "sun" who was {behind a cloud}], heard it (DO) all [#6], | and
he knew [#2] [DO of "knew" what good little brothers (PN) the butterflies were,] and

[DO of "knew" how they had held together {in spite} {of the wet}.] | So he pushed his
 9
face (DO) {through the clouds}, and chased away the rain (DO), and shone brightly {on

the garden}. |

He dried the wings (DO) {of the three little butterflies}, and warmed their bodies

(DO). | They ceased to sorrow [#3] (DO), and danced {among the flowers} {till evening},
[#4]
| then they flew away home [NuA]
, and found the door wide open [#7] . |
Notes
1. Should a student argue that the clause after "answered" is not its direct object, and that the colon separates main
clauses, I would accept the argument. See "Alternative Explanations."
2. Although I'm not happy with it, I can see some students arguing that the direct objects here are "what good little
brothers" and "how." This would result in two adjectival clauses -- He knew what good little brothers (DO)
[Adj. to "brothers" the butterflies were] and how (DO) [Adj. to "how" they had held together in spite of the
wet]. Depending on my mood and on how much time the class had to devote to it, I would either quickly
accept it as a possible alternative explanation, or I would ask the class to discuss the two explanations. Then I
would ask for an informal vote.
3. At KISS Level Four, "to sorrow" would be explained as an infinitive that functions as the direct object of
"ceased."
4. This comma was in the text as I found it. Technically, it is a comma-splice -- two main clauses joined only by a
comma. Most textbooks consider such splices to be errors, and many teachers try to eradicate them, but we
need to keep in mind that professional writers often break the rules.
5. Some grammarians argue that this should be explained as an ellipsed subordinate clause with "than" functioning
as a subordinate conjunction -- "We would rather be wet than *we would ?rather?* be parted." If this makes
sense to students, then let them explain it that way. Other students may prefer the KISS explanation which is to
say that "than" here functions as a preposition and "be parted" is an infinitive (with "to" ellipsed") that
functions as the object of the preposition. See also: "Alternative Explanations." 
6. "All" can be explained in several ways: 1) as an adverb (meaning "completely"), 2) as a regular old adjective to
"it," or 3) as a post-positioned adjective to "it."
7. KISS explains "door wide open" as an ellipsed infinitive construction, with "door" the subject and "open" a
predicate adjective of an ellipsed infinitive "to be." The infinitive phrase is the direct object of "found." See
"Ellipsed Infinitives" in KISS Level 4.