Tale of Tuppences

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 100, 21 January 1933, Page 19

Tale of Tuppences

She was so very small. The children all loved her just because she was so tiny, and so cuddly, and so deliciously snugglesome. You could not give a name to anything so small; giving a special name to anyone seems so important. When she first wandered into the garden where the children played she had a face like a pansy, with milky blue eyes that blinked inquiringly. And she was just the size of Tuppence. So that is what the children called her for ever after.

One day Tuppence went leaping and scampering over the lawn in chase of a leaf from the plane tree. The wind tossed the leaf over her head, and when she sprang to catch it, it drifted back to the ground just ahead of her. When she touched it with her velvety paw it made a little crackly noise that sounded like a chuckle. This alarmed Tuppence so much that she took several steps backward and arched her hack until it was the shape of a U. During this pause the leaf gave a little crisp crackle that sounded like “Ha, ha!” and next moment it had whirled up right over the fence. Tuppence sprang after it, and was just in time to see it flutter back, to ward the tree from which it had evidently fallen. Up the tree went Tuppence like a flash. But she found herself surrounded by thousands of leaves all so alike , that it was impossible to distinguish one from another. And then, as she gazed about her, she saw that all the leaves had faces; they were really little brown gnomes and elves. They kept dancing all the time, and whispering secrets to one another. “I wish I knew what the leaves are whispering about; I can’t understand a word,” exclaimed Tuppence, feeling lonely and a little frightened because the whispering grew louder and louder, and the leaves moved, so fast that she felt quite dizzy. When sbe turned to climb down from the tree she found that she was very much higher than she had imagined, and the leaves had closed in behind her in great swaying curtains which had come alive with little grinning faces that chuckled and whistled, and whispered terrible secrets to one another. Poor Tuppence was just about to give a piercing “mieuow” when something tapped her gently on the nose. Trembling with fear, she looked up and saw a beautiful green and yellow butterfly. “Do you want to know what the leaves are saying?” asked the butterfly. “Yes, please,” said Tuppence. She wanted to say that all she wished was to. get down on to the ground again, but was afraid the grinning leaves might hear her and would know how frightened she was.

“Do as they do,” murmured the butterfly. “But I cannot grow on a stalk, and cannot chuckle, or even laugh,” replied Tuppence. But by this time the butterfly had fluttered away. Next moment a bee came bumbling by.

“Do you want to understand tbe leaves?” he asked.

- “Yes, indeed I do,” replied Tuppence.

“Well, imitate them,” murmured the bee as it flew off to work. “But I .can’t look like a leaf, I’m the wrong shape,” replied the bewildered kitten. Just at that moment she slipped a little and nearlj’ overbalanced. As she swayed lightly, rocking gently in the wind, she caught a few of tbe leaves’ whispered words. “Of course,” she exclaimed happily to herself, “now I know what I must do to understand the leaves. I must dance with them!”

So tbe kitten danced with the leaves, keeping time with tbe breeze, swaying.'trembling, fluttering; and as she danced, tbe whisperings were quite easy to understand. Most of these whispering's she found were happy lit-

tle songs, drfeamy, drowsy songs that soothed, or songs of merry nonsense that were just for fun, like this: — Rattle, rattle, Rear us prattle, Dancing as we Tittle tattle. Swaying, in the laughing breeze, Telling secrets in the trees. And this one When we’re brown IFe flutter down, Sighing as we fall; Drifting, drifting. Like snow sifting. .Merrily haste we all. But sometimes real secrets y^ eL ’ c

whispered, terrible, wonderful secrets such as kittens never dream of. Green secrets about magic, and . old, old secrets brought to the leaves by the north wind from the distant - rocls-tootheu mountains. ■’... ' ■/. , Presently.. Tuppence grew too tired to dance any more, and was just about to give a sad long “mieuow” of sheer wearjness when one of the little green leaves whispered to her. “If you want to go home, ol<l Brownie is here ready to take you. Just catch hold of him, shut your eyes, and say, ‘Whisk me. by the whiskers. To her delight, Tuppehce recognised the old brown leaf she had been chasing in the garden. It.was now murmuring - in little crackly chuckles beside her. . So she just tapped Brownie gently with her velvet paw, and . whispered. “Whisk me by the whiskers,” and the next moment she found herself sateij back in the garden where the children were searching for her in ail kinds rl places, calling, "Puss, puss.” as they tumbled about among tbe bushes. Tuppence did not tell the children a word about her adventures, but let herself be petted and stroked, and very eagerly lapped up'the'saucer of mils she was given. Which is -usually the way with kittens. ■