He wants to talk to them, to tell them what he has done, seen, felt, thought; and he wants to hear what they have to tell him,--not only of what they themselves have done, but also of what other persons and other living things have done, in other times, in other countries, in other worlds.

Later on, the desire to talk and listen will develop into the desire to write and read; but the desire will still be one for communion, for intercourse with other lives.
We will call this the _communicative instinct_.
(2) The child desires, not only to enter into communion with other persons and other living things, but also, in some sort, to identify his life with theirs.

Watch him when he is playing with other children, or even when he is alone, except for the companionship of his dolls and toys.

He is pretty sure to be _acting_, playing at make-believe, pretending to be something that he is not, some grown-up person of his acquaintance, some hero of history or romance, some traveller or other adventurer, some giant, dwarf, or fairy, some animal, wild or tame.

He plays the part of one or other of these, and his playmates play other parts, and so a little drama is enacted.