THE BEST OF ALL

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 31, 5 August 1933, Page 20

THE BEST OF ALL

■It was Mother Earth's birthday, and ■11. of her four sons had come to her fire-side to give her- their presents. The South Wind spoke first. •"Mother," he said, "I have brought you a painting more beautiful than any thing I have ever seen." With these ■words he drew from the folds of his ample garment a pane of glass, delicately painted by that master artist, Ja-ck Frost. ; Mother Earth smiled as she took the gift from him, but as the painting neared the fire, the colours faded, and the lovely design melted with the heat of the fire. ... "A present that melts because of the " heat is useless," said the mother vexed.At this, the West Wind stepped forward. "Oh, mother," he exclaimed, "look at .my gift!" He held forth . a-flute, which, if one but smiled at it, would play the loveliest music. The ' Earth-woman smled, and at once the . room was full of melody. But the East Wind wished to speak, and he could not lie heard above the, wild music, and at that the mother was

(Original, by "Zodiac," 12.)

angered, and, stretching forth her hand, she broke the flute in two, thus silencing it forever. I Then the East Wind came forward ■with a little soft qloud. , "I found this as I journeyed across the sky, mother," he said; but the cloud drifted out of his grasp and slow ly dwindled to nothing. Then the woman turned to the youngest sou, the North "Wind. "What gift have you brought?" she demanded bitterly. '.'A cloud, or mayhap a piece of sky?" v m "The only gift I bring is a story!" said the young son. He then sat down by his mother's feet, and told to her a' tale about the human people, who lived away down upon the earth. When lie finished tlie mother gave her Judgment upon the presents. . . "What I wanted," she said, "was a gift which would last, for ever —that would always remind me of the devotion of my sons. "Only in the last gift did I get that. That story will always remain in my memory, as the nicest gift I have ever received. The best of all! " j