TAKING THE PLUNGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 137, 11 June 1932, Page 3 (Supplement)

TAKING THE PLUNGE.

(By Alma Wynn, Quoen Street, VVaihi; age 1-1.) The iraecible-looking gentleman with the huge eyebrows And the knotted walking stick, turned an exceptionally windy corner, and, desperately holding his hat crushed down upon his forehead, so as Co evade the clutches of the wiid west wind, he turned down the street with hesitant stepe. The wild west wind saw him pass up an<l down, turning at the far corner, and pacing back again, and wondered. For a moment he paused in his mad career and watched the irascible gentleman peering over a gate at a friendly little house, set among many trees and elinjbs. "What — 1" thought the weet wind. "And, above all, why?" Now there was a romantic element in the west wind, and while he paused, watching the little gentleman pace back and forth before the white gate, like a soldier on guard, he thought quickly. "I'll help him," he thought. "'His main thing is to make him enter that gate." Then with a wild shriek the west wind gathered up his forces and swept down on the irascible gentleman. One second .more and the little man's hat wae off, over the gate, and among the shrubbery on fhe lawn. "My best hilt!" burbled the little man. "Ha!" shrieked the west wind. "Are you not going into get it? It is your best hat, as you say." He laughed again and rustled the leaves of a nearby tree with very glee. The little man looked worried. Furtively he lifted the catch and opened the gate. "'I will only slip in end fetch it. I can't wander round without a hat on a day like this. People would think QIC an escaped lunatic," he thought. He trotted up the garden path and stopped on to the lawn. "Ha, ha!" shrieked the wind. "But it will take you a long time to-find it, my friend. The west wind always does his work thoroughly." Feverishly the little man searched. "I must not be found here," he muttered anxiously. "Where is that blamed hat?" But the hat it seemed was lost. Cautiously the irascible gentleman 6earehed the garden. Where could it bo V Suddenly came a noise from the corner of the house. A dog barked. The little man's heart quailed. He shook with fear. If he ehoukl be found!

"Cluck!" murmured something behind

"Go away," whispered tne little man, dodging behind an ornamental tree. "Shi Shoo! doggie." "Guluggle," burbled something from behind a rose bush. "Guluggle-cluc!" The lit!'" man, thoroughly scared, forgot all caution and bu'rst noisily through the ehrube. What strange animal was it? If it should bark. . . He would get away as soon as possible. ITe had been foolish to come here. What if ... He made a dash towards the path, hoping to escape without being seen, when a voirn behind him epoke: "Who are you? What do you want?" The little man nearly fainted with terror. Caught! He stifled an impulee to floe, and turned. What would ehe do? The woman who faced him stared incredulously when he turned. "Father!" He trembled. Would she make up tho quarrel? Sho did. Already she was hugging him for very joy. How thankful he was that he had ventured in—stay—it was the wind who had forced him to do that. Beaming, he turned to his daughter. "I was afraid you wouldn't forgive," he eaid. "I wae afraid to venture in. But the wind blew my hat in—" "Ha!" shrieked the wind. "And eo 1 did!" "Shall we find it, father?" laughed his daughter. 'Tshaw! I'm too happy to worry about hats!" "Cluck-guluggle!" agreed the little black hen, scratching behind the rose bush.