THE SMILE CASTLE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 5 February 1927, Page 18

THE SMILE CASTLE

THE CASTLE PLEDGE. I promise to smile every time I can, and to chase all the frowns into the dark cave, where the Smile Giant will kill them with his Magic Sword Happiness. My Dear Smiles, I have just so much to talk about in my first letter of the year that I’m afraid my smile might wear into a frown in puzzling over what to say first. Wouldn’t that be dreadful, as my biggest resolution on New Year’s morning was that I would never frown, but always try and smile even when I felt very cross. Well, first of all I hope you have all begun the New Year happily and have enjoyed your holidays. All our readers will be looking fox-ward to such lots of letters telling all about the different Smiles’ holidays. I’m sure you will all write and tell us all about them, because there are a gi-eat many of our readers and Smiles who don’t have the joy of going away 'for their holidays and the next best thing is to read about other people’s adventures and imagine that we have been able to share them. So Smiles it is such a good unselfish deed if you write all your joys to the Smile Castle; then you are sharing them Avith others.

You will see by this mail that/we have two Smiles in England. ■ Isn’t it just splendid to think that every week we have two young friends many hundred miles away reading our Smile Castle page! They are fortunate to live in Sxxrrey: it is a beautiful county. Once when I was only an ordinary fairy the Queen took me on one of her trips to England, and I remember Sui-rey so well. All the hedges and trees were turning yellow, red and brown because Autumn had waved good-bye to Summer and had started to dress all Nature in "her beautiful amber-tinted garbs. Don’t you envy our little English members living so near to the darling little baby Princess Elizabeth? Next week I shall write you mox-e about the little Pi-incess so that when you see her father and mother, the Duke and Duchess of York, you will know something about them and the dear wee baby who had to stay at home.

When I promised myself on New Year's morning to do all kinds of good deeds all the ycax*, I thought of all my Smiles and wondex-ed just wha t they were promising themselves. It is often so hard to keep our promises, but when I sometimes forget and break mine, Avhom do’ you imagine I think of? King- Robert the Bi-uce of Scotland. When he Avanted to do a good deed for his country he almost gave in, and then one day'he flung himself down in a lonely mood to think and guess Avhat attracted his attention! ! A tiny Avee spider Aveaving her Aveb. She made one silk thread and fell; she climbed up and fell again. Again she attempted it, and again she fell; but in the end she made a beautiful Aveb. So Robert the Bruce jumped up and he said “If a spider can succeed so can I.” Smiles, think of the Scottish King and the spider every time you forget your resolution and sav to yourselves. “I’ll start again; I’m sure to win in the encl. i With love to every one of you, . Your affectionate, SMILE QUEEN.