THE LAND OF WAIT A-WHILE

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21732, 14 March 1936, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE LAND OF WAIT A-WHILE

The royal palace .of Wait-a-While •was in a dreadful commotion;. Ail the page-boys were lying on their faces fumbling in the corners. The Lord High Chancellor was distractedly running his fingers through dishevelled hair. The King, standing on a pile of chairs and stools which rocked dangerously, looked behind all the pictures and the Ladies of the Bed Chamber were trying to calm the Queen who had cried so much that she had made quite- a pool of tears round the Royal chair. The Royal Infant was ' placidly sucking his thumb,, quite unaware of the cause of the disturbance. It was this. On the iol-, lowing day he was to be christened, and the Queen's.silver thinlble had gone astray. There .was- his christening robe, all De-ribboned and but with one wiole seam stiU waiting to be finished. .What was to be done?: >Tne Lord, *Hj£h ,C>J|Bcellor. sorrowfully shook. his heacL: ;r v*Of safd he, "the Queen could Bot* ; sossibly use one of *he 'KOusehtfa' thimbles. They • , would ."tooMt Jter .stende* ftager,-and be\ sides, they, were made of common ■' toi'! v '-'."''-. , '. ' '" ''• "' -, v. .wer* \

dashing round the kingdom on whatever steeds could be found m search of a silver thimble that would .fit her Majesty's finger. Here was one herald whipping up the prize pig, while another was frantically digging his heels into the King's special cow, Topsy. They

&atih&4lfe country, high tfrid low, but all in vain. sft>.silyelr thimble of toe-propex site- could \Se lound, >| Meantime, in the Royal palace a 'little housemaid called Annabella, had a sudden idea. Stealing' into the room where the Queen, quite with crying, had, flul^a

asleep, she slipped her own thimble on to her Majesty's middle finger. It fitted exactly. -Annabella's eyes sparkled. She ran up to her little attic, and took some silver paper that she had saved from a royal banquet This she began to glue to the thimble.

In the courtyard the court cryer was" proclaiming to the crowd assembled outside the gates that whatsoever person should serve ■'he State by discovering a silver thimble which would fit her Majesty the Queen's middle finger would be rewarded with whatsoever privilege or treasure hje v desired. The little housemaid up in her attic heard this and grew rosy with delight The thimble was ready for the Queen's finger. No one could possibly have guessed that it was an ordinary thimble covered with silver paper! Annabella presented it to her Majesty, who breathed a relieved sigh. "Name thy reward," cried the King. "Gold, silver, gems, anything thou dost choose." ;. ~ * Annabella dropped a curtsey. "An,' it please your Majesty Ii woiaid ; ask:i6r the position of chief attendant upon his Hoyal, Highness, The 'King's eyes opened wide. "Chief attendant thou shalt be,

Do you agree, my dear?" .e asked, turning to her Majesty. The Queen's mouth was full of pins as sHe sewed for dear life, but she nodded her head violently.

"Then that's settled," said the King jovially. "Now, we can have the banquet. So everything ended happily. —'MATE AURORA, L.8.H.. • Christchnrcn.