GRANNY'S JUST-BEFOREBEDTIME STORY.
Maoriland Worker, Volume 8, Issue 301, 27 June 1917, Page 7
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GRANNY'S JUST-BEFOREBEDTIME STORY.
. Granny Why and her little grandchildren, Willie and Dorothy, were laughing over the queer people who live in Tea-pot Laud. They were round, pump, jolly people, with very big sinik'S, and Willie Why fell to wondering what King Taypot would bo like if they should chance to meet him. "Wouldn't it he jolly if wo could get inside the tea-pot and walk all round Tea-pot Land?" said Willie Why. "It's just as easy as climbing up a star beam," said Granny, smiling. "Just go to bed thinking , about it, and before you reach the Land of Nod you will meet King' Taypot and he will show you round his kingdom." "But, Granny," said Dorothy, "just tell us a little story about King Taypot before we jo to bed." Granny looked keenly into the shiny side of the tea-pot and then commenced. It was Friday afternoon. School had ju-.t come out and a merry crowd of bays and girls on their way home looked in at old King Taypot's'workshop. "Hello, children, hello! hello! hello!" said old King Taypot, merrily. "Hello, hollo, hello!" chorused the childdren. "Have you got any warblers, Mr. Taypot?" a«kod one of the boys. ''Let ine see" said King Taypot. "I thiuk I have just an odd one or so. IFiii, yes, hero thty ■are. What it is you want, ' canary, nightingale, robin, lurk, or sparrow?" ■ "Canary," said the boy. Kinj; Taypot got a porcelain bird, colored yellow, and put it in a pail of water for a lew seconds, and then put it to his mouth and blew. The bird whistled and warbled, filling the workshop with melody. "Here you are," he said to the buy. "Don't blow your brains out or blow the bird inside out and break his whistle." "Oh, give mc one," said several children. "Now then, no rushing or quarrelin;;, or out you all go," said old Taypot. "All hold your hands out," lie .said, and then he gave each child a bird colored red, green, black, blue, brown, or some other color. "Now all of you run home, and let mv yel on with my work." "Oh, Taypot, let us see you make something first, and then wo will go," said a little girl. "Alright, what; shall it be?" "Anything," chorused the children. King Taypot got a lump of clay and throw it on to his wheel. "Now 1 wonder what this will make," ho said. With something of a magician's skill the wheel Whizzed round, and old Taypot's fingers and hands worked it into all sorts of strange things. For a minute it would be a teapot, then change into a big cup, or a dinner plate, and at last it turned into a long flower vase. King Taypot stopped the wheel, and began to dab bits of clay on here, and there which turned into grass and flowers or birds just as ho wanted them to. Then out ■A tli« side of the vase, pcepiug from among tke flowers, he shaped a fairy.
"There now, isn't that beautiful," ho said. The children en wo close up to the clay vnsc, and admired tlio work very much;'but suddenly King Taypot's hand came down upon it and pressed it into shnpcless clay again. "Oh, Kinjr Taypot, you've spoilt it," said Iho little giil who had asked him to moke something. "Why did you do that?" "Just to do it better some day, Princes?," said King Taypot. "Now then, children, just sing mo one of your school songs, and then you can all run home," he said; "and come and see mc again next Friday afternoon." After Mm children had sung a song, with a chorus: "Catch the sunshine, it is passing, Passing rapidly away; It lisis only come to tell you There is yet a brighter day," Taypot bid them all good night and the children ran home blowing their bird whistles until it seemed all the 'birds of the. world were whistling together. [Nest woc-k: Willie Why Travels to Teapot Land.]
