THE ENCHANTED GARDEN

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21759, 16 April 1936, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE ENCHANTED GARDEN

"Thtre, Dumpsey I knew this was * magic garden," said Jill. "Look at ail these stone:-:. They must have ewne frcm the seaside or out of a river. They have been in the water a long time, too. See how smooth wd white they are." Lnsnpsey said nothing. She Minted her eyes and smiled. She w« a very kind doll: "There's enc that didn't get scrubbed quite hard enough," Jill added w she caught siciht of a grey pebble. ?oh, lock, here':; a yellow one. It is MX what I wanted. I'll put it in we pocket of my apron." A little breeze wandered by and worthing came fluttering down at «r feet. It was a leaf from the JttgnoJia tree. "It is like a green boat." thought J «l "I wonder where I could sail A. She looked all about her. The Wal* path ran on round the edge f the lawn, but she took no notice, wr in the middle of the lawn was » fountain. The leaf floated beautifully. She IWbered daisy petals and tied them wo bundles with blades of grass ««d placed them in tha boat. tii??. 1 P reten d they are bales of ***•" she thought. "Now what else mil I have? Dandelion petals will «0 for bars cf gold and pink clover «r pomegranates." Two twigs were put in to row the •"J with, then all was ready. * wish I were small enough to IB on board, then I could look after * "aid Jill. *» sooner had she spoken than 2? "*& the strangest feeling. She wered with tho cold and quivered •a shrank. jyti, I'm colder than ice cream," ** gasped. Her leeth chattered, she shivered yi, and with each shiver she •w. smaller and smaller till she J™ Just a t ; ny figure standing on 2Lr ge of the fountain. She was mth smaller than the Dumpsey

(By Irene O. Laing)

I doll, who was still sitting under the magnolia tree. I It was hard work climbing down the rough grey precipice that was between her and the water, but she managed it safely and sprang into the boat. The two twigs she had placed in it now looked very large and clumsy. Lifting one with both hands she set the end against the side of the fountain and pushed. \ Slowly the boat moved out upon the water, where a gust of wind caught it and nearly blew it over, sending it scuttling sideways like a big waterbeetle across the surface, till it brought up against a lily pad. First Jill tried to push it off, but it only tilted further over, so she tried pushing it across the leaf, and soon the boat slipped safely into deep water on the other side. Before her stretched an open channel, and by pushing gently against the leaves when the boat drifted too close to them, she was able to make good progress, tsne was so busy that she did not see the green island till the boat bumped against it, and a voice as shrill as the chirp of a grasshopper, cried, "Ship ahoy! What is your cargo. Captain?" She looked up and saw the Princess of the island. "I have gold and silk and pomegranates from the land of Sunny Skies," Jill replied. "But it is only pretend, really," she added. "Only pretend? What do you mean?" said the Princess. "Why, those pomegranates look lovely." Jill looked down. They .really were pomegranates, round and firm and rosy. The gold lay in heavy bars beneath her feet and the bundles of Qaisy petals had turned into bales of silk. The Princess waved her hand and a number of her people came hurrying down to shift the cargo. "What gift will you have in exchange?" she asked.

"Have you got anything that would make me taller?" asked Jill. "Taller? Why, you are far too big now! I could give you something to make you just the right size, about as big as I am." "Oh, no. I wouldn't be able to manage these poles at all, then," said Jill, pointing to the twigs lying in the bottom of the boat. "I suppose not. What a pity. But at least I can give you a mast and a sail." "Thank you," said Jill sadly. "Oh, dear, I did hope you would be able to help me. You see I used to be ever so much bigger than this, only I got shrunk by accident." "Why, you must have been a regular giantess. But how did you come to get shrunk? You hadn't been—" The Princess stopped and glanced anxiously about her, then she lowered her voice and said, "You had not been walking in the wood, had you?" "No. I walked on the path and I found such a pretty pebble there." Jill took it out of her apron pocket and showed it to her. "Now I understand." cried the Princess. "It is a 'size' pebble. When you wish to grow bigger or smaller, just hold it in your hand and wish. They are useful things, but you have to be careful with them. I see my people have nearly finished fixing the mast and I suppose you will have to go. Come again, won't you? Next time I will take you over the island and show you all the caves and secret places." I "Oh, I would like that," cried Jill. "I'll come." With the sail to help, the boat moved quickly and soon reached the end of the pond. She scrambled up the steep side, and standing on the grass, held the pebble and wished. Everything seemed to alter so quickly she shut her eyes till she felt sure she had reached her proper size, then she opened them and looked round her. The lawn seemed very large and empty. The sun was low and the garden was very still.