THE GASTLE PLEDGE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 10 September 1927, Page 18

THE GASTLE 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 tis Magic Sword Happiness.

My Dear Smiles, — . „ rnl ... Are any of you learning- Latin yet ! I hen you will know that Ursus means a bear, ancl this week I want to tell you about the strangest lake in the world, Lake Ursu, or, as we would say it, Bear Lake. This very queer lake is verv big and it lies in a very high valley in Transylvania in Rumania. To look at it is just a small, rather beautiful lake, with dense wooded green slopes stretching; sheer into the water. But dip your finger in and you will find it is quite warm; lower a bucket and you will find the water not only much warmer, but very salty; lower the bucket still further and lo! the water this time is icy cold and salty just like brine. I don’t suppose there is another lake m the world with three distinct layers of water like this. Another peculiarity about Ursu is that it was not always there; in fact, it is not one hundred years old. Many, many hundreds of vears- ago Rumania, or Dacia as it was called then, was a Roman colony and boasted several salt mines. But after the fall of Rome there was no money to work the mines, and so they w’ere left idle. During the course of ages the ground above the old mines subsided and caved in, leaving huge yawning cavities. Lake Ursu now occupies the largest of these cavities. The whole country has a belt of salt running through it, and in some places there aie large white hills of salt. There are many streams in this Transylvanian valley, and quite a number of them flow into the cavities and feed the lakes. - Now, Smiles, I suppose you would like to know how to reach this queer place. If you are ever travelling in Europe, take the train from Bucharest to Sigisoara, then change to a strange little branch line and alight at a small station called Sovata. However, I believe Sovata is becoming quite a well-known village, for every summer many visitors flock there to take baths in the famous Ursu Lake, and in August Queen Marie of Rumania often goes there herself to enjoy these warm salt baths. It is not an unsual sight to see the beautiful Queen swimming with her subjects in the strangest lake in the world. Now, I’m going to forget the lake for a while and remind you'that I want all your essays in next week. Do please enter for the competition and gladden the heart of—

Your affectionate SMILE QUEEN