Possible Clues:

• Like Hawthorne's 'Tales'
• Hyphenated word in a Hawthorne title
• '__ Tales' (Hawthorne title)
• Trite
• Repeated order to wet child -- you must release hydrant
• Hawthorne's tales
• Like Hawthorne's tales
• Like some of Hawthorne's tales
• For King John, life was as tedious as such a tale