Untitled

Evening Star, Issue 19758, 7 January 1928, Page 17

m BROTHER BILL'S NATURAL HISTORY JINGLES VI!.—SUSIE, THE SNAKE Susie, the Snake, is a horrible thing As she slithers her way through the dust; She’ hasn’t a leg, and she hasn’t a wing (So she slithers because she must). She coils in the sun on the warm warm sand, But still is as cold as ice. As cold as death when touched by your hand (She is certainly not very nice). She slides through the leaves with a whispering sound, Or hides in the log of a tree; She hisses quite softly, head raised from the ground (She is not a nice thing to see). In her velvety mouth lie two poisonfilled bags, And a flickering tongue like a sting, Two thin, hollow fangs grow down from the bags (To leave these alone is the thing). She is a dangerous, ugly, slithering thing, Most fearful that we’ve found yet, With her poisonous fangs she kills everything (She never was made for a pet). THE WEEKLY COMPETITION Someone has said that last week’s competition was very hard. Well, I am sorry; but if you try hard things they become easy in time, and they help you to do harder things yet. This week’s competition is easy enough anyway. It will depend entirely on your skill. Of course, you may get help, all the help yon can. Here is the competition;—The longest list of words made from the name of this paper will receive a prize of 2s 6d. The Dunedin ‘ Evening Star.’ You must not use any letters not to be found in the name, and all the words must be English. Now, get busy and win the prize. Send your letters to Big Brother Bill, ‘Evening Star,’ Dunedin.

THE HAPPY ADVENTURES OF SALLY SUNBEAM A BED-TIME STORY A really dreadful thing was about to happen. All the sunbeams were threatening to stop visiting the earth. They wore having a meeting to decide whether or not they should go on strike. “ It’s time we had a holiday, anyway,” said one of them. “Wo have been on duty long enough. And nobody over seems grateful for all we do.” “Quito right,” they all shouted. “We won’t shine again until we feel like it. It’ll do people good to miss us.” “But” said Sally Sunbeam, “what about the flowers and the harvests? And what about the people _ who are cheered when they see us shining? I don’t think we should be disagreeable, even if there are some folk who are not grateful.” “All right, Sally,” they said. “If you want to work you can. We’re all having a holiday.” So Sally Sunbeam shot swiftly toward the earth, swifter than a falling stone, travelling through clouds and smoke until she reached the streets of a gloomy city. It was very early in the morning when she arrived. People were on their way to work, but one or two smiled when they saw her pretty gold dress flitting past them in tho grey streets. . “Now, what on earth will I do all by myself?” she asked. “I must do some good deed to shame those lazy beggars I have loft at homo.” Then she saw a house standing by itself among some great buildings. It looked very shabby and worse for wear. And it was all crushed up among them like a little child in a crowd of grown-up men and women. “I wonder if there is anyone here wants cheering up?” she said, and peeked through the window. _ On a little bed lay a little chap with the palest checks. The room was very bare of pretty things. There wasn’t much to make a sick boy happy. “Why, what a poor little chap,” she said. Then she hopped up on to the bed. In a minute she was having the loveliest game with tho sick boy. She played tig with him, his little thin hand trying to catch her all the time. Then she tickled him under the chin until he laughed out loud. And Ids' tired mother in tho kitchen felt quite happy to hear her boy getting better. When the time came for her to flit away the boy’s face wasn’t pale any more and ho was sitting up laughing and happy. Then slio found herself lost among some tall buildings, so high that they shut out all the sunlight from _ the offices they contained. So she flitted up some winding stairs, afid found herself in a passage so dark that an electric light was always kept burning. _ “What a gloomy place,” she shivered. “There must bo somebody here would he glad to see a sunbeam.” So she peeked through a keyhole this time, and, sure enough, saw a man sitting over Id’s desk looking as unhappy as he could possibly be. “Things are in a dreadful tangle,” he said, “ and, my goodness, I do feel tired.” As soon as Sally heard this she wriggled through the keyhole, flitted across the office floor, and hopped up on the desk. Then she sat down on the calendar. And just at that moment the man looked up to see the date.

“My goodness gracious,” he said. “What a silly I am to feel so blue. Why, I declare, the sun is shining. Things are not so bad after all.” And he bustled about his office. When Sally Sunbeam left the man after a little while he was singing the happy ditty: Let’s all sing, Let’s all sing, I don’t care whether it rains or snows, Or whether the old clock stops or goes, There’s nothing in worrying, goodness knows. So let’s all sing. By this time Sally Sunbeam was chuckling with glee. “ Those silly folks at home don’t know what they are missing,” she chortled. “Just wait till I get back and tell them. Now, what’s to be done next?” When she got down into the street again there were some boys shouting. Before she knew what was happening a dog came round the corner,_ running as hard as it could. It was in a terrible fright—tongue hanging out and tail between its legs. “Goodness,” said Sally Sunbeam, “ here are some boys chasing this dog. Now for it.” And she flashed her warm golden light right into the eyes of the boys who came round the corner after the dog. They were quite bewildered. And whilst they were wondering wdiat was the matter the dog had escaped. “My word,” said Sally happily, “I never knew' there was so much fun in doing good turns for folk.” When she got back home that night and told the story of her day’s work the Sunbeam family were all ashamed. And the next day they were all hard at work copying Sally’s example. As she told them: “ Whether people are grateful or not, the truth is they can’t do without

us. Our job is to make people happy whether they say thanks or not.” Which is true of everybody as well as of sunbeams. THE LOUIE RECIPE Do you like fudge? When it is properly made it is soft and melts in the mouth, but to be like that it must bo made carefully. Here is a delicious fudge, and guite the nicest you ever tasted. It is called raspberry fudge. The ingredients are : Quarter of a pound of raspberry jam, half a teaspoon of raspberry extract, a cup of water, a pinch of cream of tartar, a few drops of cochineal, a quarter of a pound of minced nuts, and one pound of sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the water over a moderate fire, add the cream of tartar, and boil until it forms a firm ball when some is dropped in hot < water. Pour the syrup in a wet basin, and allow to stand for a few minutes. Warm the raspberry jam and pass it through a fine sieve. Now add the jam, together with coloring and extract. Beat all together until the syrup becomes sugary. Add the nuts and place in buttered tin. Cheerio, everybody, BIG BROTHER BILL.