THOUGHTS OF AUTUMN

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 132, 5 June 1937, Page 20

THOUGHTS OF AUTUMN

Elves of the Ring— Every morning this neck I have passed groups of merry, chatter'ing'Hule folk on the way to school — a 1 cry new and cheerful iight after'weeks of deserted streets. "I'd like to abolis/f school," said "Lctierbol£_Elf" to me yesterday. "It steals all bne's time and (eaves not"a minute for letter-writing." , , / told him'to expect to be very busy next week tihen you hat a settled dotOn to lessons again. Haie you thought of any new ideas for improving the "Fairy Ring"? If you hate, do send them along. This week an interesting competition begins. The Puzzle Man of the Fairy Ring, who is called "The Spotted Drou siorc," has offered a prize for the boy or girl wJ\o guesses most of the animals in the puzzle pictures below. All you have to do is to fill in the blank space; in the rhymes. There will be six groups of pictures in this natural history competition. I wonder who is going to isn , . . somebody who is fond of animals and naturestud''f /am sure. At the end of this month-of-the-shortest-day, we shall have our Winter Page, so you may begin planning for it now, my cleies. Please storymakers, we shall not need fairy-tales or legends of the seasons for this page. Instead, will you please make your stories about real people and their adventures? Pen and ink sketches of snow-scene and countryside, please artist-pixies and, of course, versemakers will find many subjects for poems. "Letterbox Elf" and I are hoping that we shall discover new talent in this Winter Page. My love to every pixie in our Ring tonight.

This girl writer •' can find only melancholy dn autumn weather: —

"The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year. Surely this expresses the real spirit of the chilly autumn days.: The leaves are falling, ever falling, symbolical of the joys and the hopes that are falling, too.

"The season may be beautiful, as a fading rose is beautiful. But how can. we compare the fading rose to the beauty of the fresh, newly-opened bud? So is autumn beautiful in its sad desolation, its mists, and its carpet of dead leaves. . . ...

"But let this melancholy fall upon us for a while. For there is a pleasure, as one of our most-lyrical poets has expressed it, arising from vicissitude, and the joyous days of summer are liable to pall. Then, too, is there the pleasure of looking forward to the days when the flowers will bloom more beautifully and the'birds. will ,sing again. '~

"Then let the south-west wind pursue its chilly way across the carpet of crocusses. Meanwhile we patiently wait for the approach of the pleasant, carefree days,of spring."

As a contrast the second writer is struck by the vividness of. the. season:— ; ■.."' '

"So autumn came; pur, dashing and swirling,, lazy and .vividly beautful autumn. At her praise the trees and plants crimsoned, .while in her balmy sunshine they reflected her beauty— the blue ponds, her eyes, the fleecy clouds her skiht/ and .the:,gblden poplars her bright p lpcks»:--.luia •Her-merry games with the '■windsI;: whipped her cheeks so thatVthey. glowed, red, fed as the blush of the" trees..':;V,>:S; ' :,

"Then the ,-wirtd^ ( igrew .'.'rougher. Winter mocked at her;.':,ln 'tempestuous rage she stripped the .trees of their splendour, and .left them1, ■ mourning 'silhouettes against the. flaming sunset. Her eyes grew blacK^'itK: anger, and her hair was wild, OSut'for one more dreamy day she was with us again. Then, as a thief in the night, she stole quietly and unobtrusively away. "Such is autumn, the season of vivid, unexpected change." •■•..■■

(Original.)

"Oh, dear," sobbed Twinkle Toes, the little fairy who lived in" the heart of Buttercup Lane, "I will .'lift'be able to go to the Queen's wbrfdierfUl ball tonight as I have no frock vto ,wear and no money to buy one "from Mr, Spider, but I do wish I could, win the competition for kindness." '■ v; . ■ At that moment Twinkle ;Toes. heard a rumbling of wheels, and quickly -drying her eyes she lookedj|a|:oiind. To her surprise she saw vsv wonderful coach. This was the Qupui'?/coach. ■Whatever did it want a'fc^lie^-/house; A door opened and the beaufii'jil Queen herself stepped out. Shei^epfVover to Twinkle Toes and hande&i.her' three small bags, each tied with yellow ribbon. She then told her ' i\ /was for ■winning the competition;^ iir Kindness. Twinkle Toes was overjoyed; for inside it was gold. She thanked .the; Queen very, very much, and when the coach had disappeared down the cobbled road she said, "At last I can go to the ball," That night it was a; very pretty iairy that danced with the Prince, and he declared she was the jprettiest fairy at the ball. *•■. ' ; "DILLY DALLY" ,(11).., Hataitai. ,; ' '"■,

HIDDEN FRUIT

Hidden in this drawing of an apple are the names of a number of fruits, British and foreign, which can be discovered by moving from one square to the next—backwards, forwards, or in any direction. It can be seen, from the example given, that the four letters with tiny black triangles in the lower right-

hand corners spell the word "plum"; and there are thirty-one other names in the puzzle.' In working out, each preceding letter must, in some way, "touch" the letter coming after —no "skipping across" squares being allowed; and the same letter may not be used twice over in one name. .....;'' It is a jolly puzzle for adull winter's day.; ...... \. '■ '-■■,-■]■ ' -.;■-. • •-.,' ■'.■. " ; ♦»♦ ~ v ']• •♦•* -. Vi ■-.•* A QUICK CROSS WORD. •Jlcre. Is-an amusing little' crossword puzzle to try on your.... Mends:;. ,-. Bule up a>square and.i divide It Into 10 smaller squares so that you' have accommodation for the answers to four clues across anil four down. Here are the clues. Across. —Insects. Is in debt. Measures of length. To annoy. Down.—Elizabethan weapon. To swallow quickly. To flee. A kind of bar. Bore is the answer:— BB B B 0000 . : I. L L h TT T T TONGUE TWISTER. Betty Potter bought some butter; but she said: "This butter's bitter; but a bit of better butter will but make my batter better." So she bought a bit of butter better than the bitter butter, and it made her batter better, so 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter. RIDDLES. Q. Why does a sailor know there Is a man in .tbe moon? ■■■■■■■■ ■ ' , ■ A. Because he has been to see (sea). Q. Which is the oldest tree? A. The elder. •..'•': . Q. What is the quickest way; to. get to Dover?; : '..' ■ :; A. Take off the D and you are over. ' Qi: What should nobody ever'plck? | A.: A quarrel; ■ ■•...■■•■ < Q.: Why is> the letter A like a lady's eartrumpet ? •, •■■,--' i ■'■■•■ . A.: Because it makes her hear. Q.: Why Is the letter's like.a hundred? . 'A.: Because It makes ten tens. . ■•.. ; ; : :V: "DANCING STAR" (13). 7 Kewtowiii ' '■ ■■..:■'■>• i ■ :. :■:.■■ "r : .:; TRANSPOSITION;-^/;. v)wf-^;. .To see;me whole, observe. a. spring,.; ■; , ■'■.' But headless, listen,. I'm a thine .'-: .. You'll find amoiig the kine. ' Again transposed, Tm at the farm; Reverse, and I shall cause alarm Hid forest, wood, and sine. LAST. WEEK'S ANSWERS. ' Puzzle Picture.—lf you gazed steadily Into peared to turn upside down. What Am I?—A noun. A "W" Rhyme.—Will, went, walk, winding, warbler's, walked, wheat, willow, wandered, watched, when, wheeled,. washed, water, .well, weary, went. ; Rlddl«-m«-re«.— (iodwlt. ■ -. : Thr«« Words.—Wheat, heat/eat. - - . Topsy-Turvy Town.^Bat. and ";'owl out m. the sunshine; apples and pears on same tree; door handle in wrong place; crooked chimney; lien with ducklings; gnlter buttons on wrong side: rabbit with squirrel's tall; basket oven it side- three legs on seat; double haystack; odd shoes; thatch and tile roof; fork ,with two prongs. .. "} . ' Handy. ..■■'/ 7.. \" • ' The boy was obviously not, ■ suited:.-toS the job. and the employer told him so/ ■ . ■;• "You told me when I employed you, that; you were very handy," he said.;' '„.';■ "So I am, sir," replied the boy. "I- live Just opposite." ' ' ■; Absorbinß. Peter thought lie could write poetry. ; .- "I say l'eter," said J0hn,,,"1: found . something most absorbing on your desk just; now. "Which of my poeni3 was that?' • ( "Oh, not a poem; just your blotting-paper. CONSOLATION. For five minutes the speaker tried to get * hearing, but the audience would not have W™i cannot K o on with this noise," he shouted. "Why, I cannot hear myself speak." "You are not missing much, guvnor," yelled s voice from the audience.

»<OM<r>s6<3

THE ELFIN CONCERT

(An Autumn Tale, by v"iiUc," 13, Island Bay.)

DAVID had been a cripple ever since be;,was six years old, and although he was allowed to lie all day in a flowery, sunlit garden . he often 1 elt very sad and lonely because he could riot;run about like other children or play the many games which other children play.

1 It seemed to David that he was lying'on his bed under the old cedar tree on the lawn, when suddenly, as if from nowhere, a "tiny bugle-note rang through the garden. Such a sweet, musical note it was that all Nature seemed to listen to it. The flowers seemed to throw more fragrance to. the breezes, and the birds' seemed' to hop more merrily from the green branches of the trees, than before. , . . Then David saw who it was who had sounded the magic note—a tiny elf dressed in a red-gold jerkin, with a sprig-of blackthorn in his tiny brown cap He wore gloves-, of .bluebell leaven, and tiny sandals made from the russet-brown leaves of the beech. In his tiny hand he clasped a golden pipe which he waved to David. ~< "I am the Autumn Herald,",he said, and his voice sounded like many silver bells. "You have not seen me before, for I am invisible to any lonely child until they reach the age of eight, but now I have come, and in my wake I bring the dahlias, chrysanthemums, the late roses, and every other autumn flower." • .■ ': . ■ , He .blew another silvery blast o.n his .pipe, .and instantly before Davids eyes- fairies of all descriptions came tripping, dipping, prancing, and dancing across the lawn towards him, ■ ■ • ■ . ' "We will dance for1 you," they sang in. chorus, "but when the sun sets and the moon rises we must leave you and return to the woods." The happy day wore on, and the flower fairies danced and danced before the delighted eyes of the little boy; : but when the blue twilight shadows stole over the garden and a long,.silver beam of moonlight rose from behind the • trees the herald blew another note on his pipe, and the fairies, after crying "farewells" to David, departed..

Davvi rubbed his eyes and looked about him, but—where was the garden, and the herald, and the flower fairies. He was. not lying on the lawn under the cedar tree; white walls rose all about him; white tables, white chairs, jlittle white beds. Ah! He remembered then, he was in the hospital, with his-mother and.father sitting beside him, while, the doctor told him in tones of joy-that he'was a cripple no longer, but would be well and strong like other.».boy.s>_ ,And from that day to this David says that at that moment a sound-like elfln laughter rang softly through the dusk.