FOR THE CHILDREN

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 282, 26 November 1921, Page 20

FOR THE CHILDREN

AN ANIBEAI/S EYES. A cat may look at a king: yes, but can it ccc a king when it looks at him? f?o wrote :i grent man. and he added: '"The beasts of prey never seem to mc to look, in our jcn>;r. ;it nil. Their eyes are ie-einaterl by the motion of anything, as a kitten by a ball; they fasten, a≤ if drawn by an inevitable attraction, on their iood. But when a cat caresses you it never look 6at 5-OU. Its heart eeems to lie in its back and paws, not its eyes. It will rub against you but you may talk to it an hour yet not rightly catch" its eye. We all know that few animals can endure the stare of human eyes; we all know, too, that animals ccc what they see according to their several organs of eight; ( 'mtt no one knows what these companions of ours really do see.

A dog seems to sacrifice sight to ecent. We have again and again noted

that a dog doee not recognieo Ms master for certain at even a short distance. In a strange environment a dog only recognises his maeter by sound or ecent. And many a dog will mistake at twelve yards a clod of eartli for a rabbit, or a blackbird in a ditch for a rat. "Hoiv much of a man," it 13 asked, 'can a gnake see? What eort of image of him is received tliroug-k tliat deadly vertical cleft in the iris—through the glazed blue of the ghastly lens?" Xo man can answer. We have no knowledge of what sort of world is -een by the 6pider, the 'bee, and the florae. But this we can say safely, that no animal on the earth is given thatj wonderful vision of man which enables: him to look with mercy on an enemy | and with kindness on tue unlovely. Sight k itself a .miracle. The human seems to us to have something in it of the divine.

TEQ3 ONE WISH. Celia had been Teading a delightful fairy story about a little girl who was given a wishing ring. "How wonderful tjhat must have been," she thought. "I wish I could ihuvc just one wish, and then I should toe satisfied." There wae a swishing of silks, and turning, β-hc saw a beautiful fairy toming towards 'her through the garden. She gavo C«lia a ring, telling her t'ha,t sine mbrht have one will. When she wished, she must turn the rinc upon 'her finger: when the wish was granted, tho ring T.-ould return to the fairy. Celia thanked her, hex face beaming with happiness, and she slipped fche ring upon 'her finger. Looking up, she found that the fairy had disappeared. She did not ■wish, for she wanted to keep the ring as long as pcesible, Ibut sfce know What she wanted—a lovely baby doll which she ihad seen in a shop window, and for wtedh she had ever since longed. Suddenly the heard the sound, of sobbing. Peeping over the garden wall, E3ie saw a little girl of her own age

huddled against it. CoHα was a sympathetic little girl, and tKsing happy herself tflve could not bear to see anyone crying, so she called, "What is tfne matter?" The other jrirl raised v, tear-stained face and said she was crying because her father was ill, and they ihad nothing to eat in the house. The tale she told tras so pathetic that Celia wished she could help her. Then suddenly e'he remomibered 'her wishing ring. Without (hesitation siie turned it on her finger, and wished that the little ofiri's father could soon grow better and bo rich. The ring vanished, and she told the other girl to go home, and see- if a fairy (had not made her daddy better. Scarcely had she gone when the lieautoful fairy appeared. She told Celia that she bad been v«ry pleased to ccc her unseifistanees. In her 'hands eiie carried the 'baby doll, which ehe handed to Celia, as «. reward for her kindnesfs. 'M could grant you only orto wish," she said, ''but I know what your real -wish was, so broug'kt this as a" present." Name a -word of five letters from which if you take away two one remains. Stone.