THE PUZZLEMENT OF PENELOPE ANN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 170, 20 July 1935, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE PUZZLEMENT OF PENELOPE ANN.

(Half-crown prize to Anna Ohristenaen, 235, Botanical Road, Falmerston North; age 17 yrars.) Penelope Ann was puzzled. There were worry lines creasing the whito smoothness of her forehead. "I don't like to see worry lines," she thought hastily, and so she cleared them away. But Penelope Ann was puzzled still. A little fairy thief had flown past her in the garden; yesterday a bee had flown past her in the garden, too. But to-day, somehow, it had buzzed a different song from yesterday. And it was trying to define why that caused the puzzlement of Penelope Ann. "I wonder what it can bef she thought, and looked around her. There was a litle breeze playing in the corner of the garden, just where one had played yesterday. '"But, somehow," thought Penelope Ann, "it plays differently, too."

There was sunshine in the garden; it spilled hi pools everywhere. "It did that yesterday, too," said Penelope Ann, "but I'm* sure it was different then."

"I wonder, I wonder wliat it can be?" puzzled Penelope Ann. She listened to hear if the birds would tell her, but she could only hear that their song was different, and could not understand why.

She looked around at the flowers, asters and zinnias, in a lovely range of colour, smiling a soft and glowing smile. "They are different, too," Penelope thought. "Their smile is more opan." Thore was a lovely clump of sunflowers near her. "I am always quite sure that fairies stole sunshine to make them," was Penelope's thought as she looked at them.

"Golden flowers of summer."

And then she was startled still' more. The sunflowers were different from yesterday. Yesterday they had held up their heads gaily. To-day their heads were drooping wistfully, and softly tearpetals fell. "Summer is over," they wept. The puzzlement of Pennelope Ann vanished. "Why!" she cried. "That is what it is! Summer is over, and everything is different because —autumn is here!"