A Fairy Tale

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 124, 19 February 1938, Page 9 (Supplement)

A Fairy Tale

Jf)EAR Boys and Girls, There were two little boys. The place where they lived had a high mantlepiece where two cups like egg-cups were kept, and they could’ not be reached. The little boys began to grow up, other things tapped their curiosity, and they forgot all about the egg-cups. Then they went away from home, and a long time passed, and they laughed and were mournful live everyone else.

At last the time came for both egg-cups to be taken down. Those who had been little boys and who were now grown wished they had thought out this matter, for it was something which they did 'not understand, and they felt they should. In the first egg-cup were many shining golden balls, just

like marbles. They were beautiful an d valuable, and much could be done with them; they had been mounting up for a lifetime. In the second egg-cup were many, many more, balls, but they were dull and useless, like rusted iron. Then the person who had been counting up

the balls handed’ them to their owners.

“Every time you laughed,” he said, “one of these balls was put into your cup. Your cup, I see, is full of valueless balls. That is because you laughed through your nose, and sneered. You may both take them with you,for they are yours.” Then the speaker was gone.

The first man went off and took with him the gold balls, but the second, because his were of no use, threw them away, and went on, without anything.

This is the fairy-tale of laughter, and when William 1 Leatherman and I were, talking we came to the conclusion that there could not possibly be anyone in the League like the second man. So William, when he realised this, was very happy, too, and decided to extend our summer and to make winter very, very short! . . Laugh away, boys and girls. j