THE FAIRIES' WAY

Evening Star, Issue 15373, 23 December 1913, Page 10

THE FAIRIES' WAY

[By Fnr.KSTKR Gierke, of Auckland.]

[Specially Written* for the 'Staji.']

" Shrr! ! father's asleep again ; we must keep very quiet." Mrs l.angmuir held up a warning finger to her little son and daughter, and cast an anxious face in the direction of tho couch on which her husband lay. He was just recovering from an attack of dengue fever. Presently the children began to get restive, and their mother beckoned them from the room.

"Now. darlings, couldn't you run away from the house for an hour or two and let your father have a good sleep? You know that he has not slept well for days, and he might sleep now for awhile before tho sun gets round to the dining room."

"The sun's a nuisance; I'm sick of it." Norman said, crossly. "I'd like to go away to a country where there was no

"Well, dearie, that's impossible; but you can go out and let father get a rest. Then he will get well quickly and be able to make lots of money, and we may be able to go away from this hot place for good," his mother answered, gently. '" Wish we could go away from this part of Queensland, anyway, to a cooler place," Gwen said.

"We can't go away yet. Gwen dear. This terrible drought has put us back too far; but we must try to be patient, and once we get a good season or two your father means to sell out this place and take us all back to New Zealand."

"Oh! mother, does he? Will we go to Queen Charlotte Sound, where Granny lives?" asked Xorman, gleefully. " Perhaps our good fairy will guide us there, Norman." said his mother, smiling proudly at him. "Xo fear of that: there's no fairies here. I guess they died out with the heat long ago." he answered, irritably. The mother cast her eye over the uninviting, grassless plains, then back to barbwire fences and stark, ugly shearing sheds. Instinctively she walked to the end of the house and looked towards the west. A good half-mile away the ground rose abruptly, fpced by a brown cliff, and on the higher level a few stunted trees grew at long intervals. "I wouldn't bo a bit surprised but what those trees are full of fairies," she said, presently. "Oh. mother, I wish we had some trees and greens hero, and then they might come to Xormie and me." Given said.

" I've just been thinkng, Given, that if Xorma-n and you like you can let your lessons alone for to-day and take your luncheon and go to the cliff and got a lot of small rocks loosened out in a heap, and in the cool of the evening or to-morrow you can take your goat cart and bring them home. We could then make a small rockery in the coolest part of the yard and put some earth between. I will give you my 'Wandering Jew.' and we'll soon have a lovely place where the fairies would love to come."

Xorman looked dubious. "What about watering it? It would die out, like our flowers did."

" We'll get a water-bag and make everybody put the leavings of their drinking water in, and the left-over tea could go in; so you see we will have quite enough water for a rockery," she said, hopefully. It was not long after that the children were on their way to the cliff, eager to begin their work. Both wore huge sun hats, and Xorman carried a water-bag and a small pick, and Gwen the luncheon basket. When they arrived there they climbed up the little sheep-track and went to the nearest tree to hang the water-bag amongst the branches. Xorman could easily reach the boughs, and (.{wen passed the bag up to him first, and then the little basket.

" Why. Gwen, you've left the lid open !" "Yes, Xormie, 1 did it on purpose," she said, shyly. " 1 thought p'raps that the fairies would like some." Xorman looked at her. "I wonder if they would like some? Oh, Gwen! what if they snapped the lot?" Gwen threw up her head. "Xormie, I'm ashamed of you. As if they would, when they can get anything they like !" Xorman looked very ill at ease, and hoped that the fairies had not heard his rude remark. "Ted Mowbray said there ain't no fairies!'' he whispered.

"Ted Mowbray! He knows nothing about it. Why, he thought that London was the only place in the world until father told him that he could tuck away the British Isles in a corner of Queensland, and since then he's been more respectful.'' she answered angrily.

" Well, come on, and we'll get the rocks ready, and we'll see for ourselves what'll happen," Xorman said briskly, going down the cliff ayain. There were lots of dull brown stones lying at the bottom of the cliff, half buried with earth and fine rock. Xorman took off his coat and began in a business-like fashion to pick them out, and as he would free them with the pick Gwen would roll them away w'ith her little brown hands. Soon they liad quite a pile, and they fat down to rest, for it was verv hot.

"Normie, suppose when we iix up our reckon - , that the fairies come and stay there, and then they take us over to grannie's for Christinas?" Gwen said. "My! if they only would. Mother says that there's lots of snow there in the winter, and a lovely stream of clear running water near the house, and ferns, and wild flowers, and birds—all kinds of birds. Oil. (Iwen, just-' hink of it! "Why, I'd yell for glee," cried Norman ; and in his excitement he caught up his pick and brought it down with all bis might on the nearest stone to him. The brown stone split in two, and the children blinked with the dust that- was disturbed. " Normie ! Xormio! Just 100k —0-oh !" cried Owen, falling on her knees beside the broken stone.

Norman was quickly beside her, and both stared in wonder at what they saw, for from out of the dull brown stone all the colors of the rainbow were shining and dazzling their eyes—green, pink, bluo, indigo, and gold. "Gwen, isn't it lovely? Tt shines like, the diamonds in mother's ring. I wonder what it is?"

Gwen clasped her brown bands, and said in an awed whisper: " P'raps the fairies done- this 'cause we gave them some lunch."

" Fraps," _ answered Norman, looking back over his shoulder, half expecting to see a fairy there. " Polly's young man has a pin made of some glassy stone just like that. 1 wonder if there's any more?" Ho took the pick and tried to break another piece, but, try as he would, he could not break any of the stones; but after a great many blows at a large piecs of rock half buried in the earth, he succeeded in knocking off a big comer, and sat down to wipe the perspiration off his forehead, while Gwen took a, peep at the stone.

"It's lovelier than ever, Normie; just like the sun shining through soap bubbles," she cried. Norman had a look. "Won't dad bo surprised when he sees gur rockery! r;rt

get one of the men to come with the waggon and bring lots of the stone home, and break it up, and we can put all tho best pieces on top, and when mother's old Wandering Jew begins to creep over it won't it be splendid with all the colors shining through. I say, Gwen. that ought to fetch tho fairies if anything will," he said, in a confidential voice.

" Normie, let's go and get our lunch and see if any's gone." They went up the cliff, and when they got near the tree Owen's hand stole into his. Norman lifted down the water-bag, but hesitated about touching the basket until Gwen gave him a nudge, and then he very carefully took it down. There was a tiny hole through the paper and some crumbs of cake lying on top. " Normie ! Nonnie ! They've been here," she whispered. Norman looked stupidly at the basket. "Perhaps a bird?" he suggested. " Stupid! there ain't no birds about since tho drought." " Perhaps a twig stuck in when I hung the basket up?" Gwen looked at him with withering scorn. "I really didn't know you were such an igerent person." "Well, Gwen, I'm not saying that they didn't take some, but I'll soon find out," he said, turning back to the tree; but Gwen caught his hand and tugged him away. She had no wish to insult the fairies by want of faith. The children had their lunch sitting beside the beautiful glistening stone. Gwen served it out, and broke the top slice of cake in two, so that they would share the piece the fairies had touched. Thev ate it silently.

Then Gwen whispered : " Didn't you notice that it tasted sweeter than the rest, Normie?"

"I believe it did. I feel just like as if we were going away. Oh, Gwen. wouldn't it be aH right if we did. We were born here, and don't know r how nice other places are. I hope we go to a. place that's so cold that we have to have a chimney. Won't it be queer to see a house with a chimney? All the houses we've seen here have stovepipes sticking out the top of the roof. Think of making snowballs, Gwen, and pelting each other. We'd go fishing, too. and row in our own boat." Norman was getting more and more excited as ho thought of it all. " Yes. I'd lean out the boat and dabble my hands in the water, and catch the willows that mother says hang down to the water. Oh. and I'd" get heaps and heaps of ferns and flowers, and I'd never want to go in the house—just live out with tho ilowers and birds—and I'd learn to swim ; and oh! Normie, what a time we'll have when we do get there," Gwen said, in equal excitement. They tried to work again, but the fierce glare of the sun had made the rocks unbearably hot, and they soon gave it up and sat back against the cliff, where their heads were in the shade. Norman carried a piece of the beautiful stone each side of them to play with and to watch the tints as the sun 'struck it. By and by their heads began to nod, and, taking hold of each other's hands, they fell fast asleep. Mr Langmuir awoke refreshed and strengthened by his long sleep, and immediately "asked 'after the children. " I've had a queer dream about them. I thought that thy were calling me from the cliff," ho said to' his wife. And then she told him that they were there, and that she was rather anxious about them, for they had not waved, as they usually did. But, of course, she did not know of their excitement, nor of the cause of it.

After Mr Langmuir had some luncheon he and his good wife walked slowly to the cliff. They found the children sound asleep beside the stone. As soon as their father saw it he dropped on his knees besido it and examined it closely. " Opal, Helen, opal!" he shouted, weakly. " Our children have discovered a fortune; my dream was real, after all." The children awoke with their father's shout and looked around bewildered.

" Oh, mother, father, look what we got! The fairies put it there for us," said Gwen. pointing to the place where they had broken the stone.

" Yes, Gwen, clear ; our fairy has been good to us," her mother said, gently. "Oh, no, mother; not that big fairy that comes to you. These belong to Xormie and me. We gave them some of our lunch, and then they made these old brown stones shine with lovely colors. Wo are going to make our rockery out of them, and then the fairies will come and stay, and p'raps take us away like they did awhile ago." "Did they take you away, dear?" asked her father.

" Oh, dad, yes ; they came and took us away over the sea in a boat of that lovely stone," she replied. _ "Yes, clad, that's right. It was just like a lovely dream, but more real like. I'll never, never say a word against fairies again. Oh my ! they were beautiful, and their dresses were all shiny. They took Gwen and me into a great forest where there was water running over stones like these, and ferns, and creepers, and birds. Then I heard you call out, and Gwen and I started to run to you. I don't know where the fairies went to," Norman said, with a puzzled look. " They won't be far away, Norman, my boy," said Mr Langmuir, as he leant back and rested, for he was faint with fatigue and excitement. "They love good children, but they have their own way of doing things. They were pleased with vou for obeying your mother, and so let you discover this precious opal that has lain here for thousands of years, perhaps. Now, dear children, we sliall be very rich some day, and can go away to a beautiful climate where we can have all those things you wish for. Mother and I are going to give our little boy and girl the happiest Christmas that they ever had."