THE MODEL YACHT

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 20

THE MODEL YACHT

She's a beauty! muttered Billy, his face dropping as he saw the beautiful new model. yacht : that Jerry hugged in both arms. • -..■'■•

Jerry was the little boy next door. Billy had often shown him his yacht, the Flying Scud,;of which he-was very proud. But Billy had to admit that his Flying Scud was much smaller than- Jerry's new boat, with its little handrails all round the deck, a cabin in the middle, and tiny rope ladders running up into the! rigging.

"Rather!" chuckled Jerry. "Better than your old Flying Scud any day. She couldn't race with mine!" "She could!" retorted Billy stoutly. "Race, then!" jeered Jerry.

"Right!" returned Billy,

A few minutes later the two. little boys were hurrying up the hill to the pond. • "My keel's almost as deep as your mast's high!" boasted Jerry, as they slipped the two boats into the water. Billy said nothing, but looked very determined as he held his yacht in check.

"Ready?" cried Jerry. Billy nodded, and the two yachts sped down the pond. The Flying Scud was soon left behind. Billy bit his lip. He couldn't watch his own boat being so badly beaten. He shut his eyes; and so he wondered a few moments later to hear Jerry exclaim: "Oh, dear! Look!" Jerry's big yacht was standing quite still in the middle of the pond, and the Flying Scud, with billowing sails, was passing her. "It's her keel!" cried Jerry. "It's stuck in a mudbank!"

"Well, you said it was as deep as my mast.was high!" laughed Billy. Poor Jerry, who had been so certain that his yacht would win easily, watched sadly as the. Flying Scud approached the winning end, and Billy ran round to prevent it dashing into the bank.

"Well, mine won after all!" said Billy. "Now we'll see if it can get your boat off the mud!" And it did. Billy set it straight at Jerry's boat, and it bumped into the larger craft, and pushed it off. Once freed, Jerry's yacht left Flying Scud far behind, and soon reached the farther bank.

"Well, mine won that time!" cried Jerry. "Yes, but it wasn't the race!' retorted Billy. "The Flying Scud won that."

Then, seieng Jerry's crest-fallen face, "I know! Let's say they both won!"

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY.

(Original.)

One day in the school holidays we went to the country for the day. Arriving at SHverstream, we chose a clearing for our picnic and then went for a walk round the countryside. Walking through the wood on one side was like walking under a giant's web made from the entwining branches overhead. The main trees of this wood were oak, kowhai, and pine. Emerging from the wood we gazed round the picturesque scenery. While having lunch we could hear the highpitched note of the tui and the -belllike voice of the bell-bird. "FLIP FLOP" (10). Kelburn.