A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 80, 28 December 1929, Page 24

A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE

It was midsummer’s eve, and midnight. In the nursery the occupants of the two little white beds were fast asleep. The silver chimes of the little blue and white clock on the mantelpiece announced midnight and simultaneously the small figure in the first bed stirred. A small arm was thrust out and a small voice whispered frantically: “Sue, wake up! Wake up! It’s time. Sue, do wake up.” The tumbled bed clothes on the other bed moved, arid the tumbled heap of blankets turned into a child of nine with dark curls and blue eyes.

“Need we go to-night,” she asked, rubbing her eyes with a chubby little first, “it’s so dark, and the fairies never come on a dark night.” “Yes, but the moon’s out, silly,” reminded her fair twin. In a few minutes the adventurers had hastily dressed, and with many pauses had arrived safely at the door. The bolts were easy to slip aside, and a minute later Sue and Sally were on the lawn by the hollyhocks. “We’ll go first to the shelter .of bushes by the meadow and watch,” whispered Sally. The bushes arrived at, the little 1 girls sat down to watch for the fairies. Then all of a sudden it happened! Into the glade danced ten fairies and elves dressed in beautiful colours and with wands and glittering wings. Sue and Sally, hidden beside the tall bushes, watched, scarcely daring to breathe for fear of disturbing them. True, they were a little bigger than the fairies which Sue and Sally had read about, but what did they care. Oh, how they danced, turning and twisting rapidly and gracefully, leaping at the moon beams and playing leap frog. Then all of a sudden they turned and danced off into the night and were gone. Sally and Sue arose and joyfully crept back to the house. It did not take them long to find their way back to bed, and very soon (as the clock struck one) they were smilingly asleep, dreaming of 'fairies and elves. Next morning at breakfast their father looked up at his wife and said: “By the way, Mary, my dear, I. loaned the glade last night to the local film company. They were acting a fairy scene for a picture. Did you hear them?” Sally and Sue’s faces grew suddenly rosy. “We saw them, father, the fairies, last night 1” and out came the story of the midnight adventure. “Well, you never know,” said father, winking at mother, "it was quite likely that it was the fairies.” , “We are sure they were!" chorused the twins.—By Marjorie Millar, New Plymouth (aged 14 years).

Teacher: What is the Royal Mint? Bobby: What the King eats with his roast lamb. —Sent by “Columbine.’’