Children's Corner

Hutt News, Volume 1, Issue 14, 30 August 1928, Page 6

Children's Corner

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK'S PUZZLES. 1. —Solution to the Crossword puzzles. Down. —(1) Radix, (2) ofal, (3) Udy, (5) ups, (6) nail, (7) dimes, (8) home, (9) sap, (11) Nova, (12) tasks, (15) nymph, (17) pine, (18) tree, (21) sip, (22) non, (23) owl, (24) ant, (28) lip, (31) cup, (34) psalm, (35) pap, (36) ulex, (37) tea, (38) and, (39) poem, (40) ere, (41) blast (45) wail, (46) limit, (49) house, (50) Otis, (52) nini, (53) boy/ (54) pram, (56) cam, (58) F.P.A., Across —(1) round, (4) found, (8) hard, X 10) pain, (12) to-day, (16) anvil, (20) sex, (21) sin, (22) ora, (25) Sam, (26) lino, (27) went, (29) pen, (30) let, (32) Kirn, (33) fun, (35)' put, (38) ape, (42) pale, (43) norm, (44) awl, (47) pea, (48) Dee (49) Hoa, (51) loan, (54) pots, (55) mimic, (57), Tom, (58) fruit, (59) Lisa, (60) pass, (61) timid, (62) frame.

2.—The packing problem. —On the side of the box 15 by 22 4/5 we can arrange 13 rows, containing alternately 7 and 6 balls, making 85 in all. Above this we can place another layer consisting of 12 rows of 7 anjd -6 respectively, making 7S in all. Into the length of 24 9/10 inches, 15 such layers may be packed, the alternate layers containing 85 and 73 balls. Thus 8 times S5 added to 7 times 78' gives us 1226. for the contents of the box. 3. —The only way in which the barrels could be divided up according to the conditions is as under.— full -full empty Ist brother 3 13 2nd brother 3 3 2 3rd brother 2 3 2 NEW PUZZLES. 1. —Mrs Spooner called this morning, said the honest grocer to Ms assistant. She wants twenty pounds of tea at 2/1J per lb. Of course we have a good 2/G j i tea, a slightly inferior 2/3 and a cheap | I one at 1/9. "What do you propose ty do? : asked the assistant. Do, said the grocer, why, just mix up the three teas in such a way that the mixture will work out [fairly at the lady's price. Don't use more of the best tea than you can help, as we make least profit on that, and of course you will use only,, our complete pound packets. Don't do any weighing. Could you show the poor assistant how to do it?

2. —Imagine a picture of two men wangling over the contents of a barrel into which, they cannot see (nor can we!) One*man says that the barrel is halffull, while the other says that it is not. What is the easiest way in which to settle the argument. Note that this can be done without measuring stick, string, or implement of any kind.

3. —In. a certain garden at Moera ai*e two clothes posts, one sft and the other 7ft high. Last week a miseliievous boy tied a clothes line from the top of each post to the bottom of the other one, and then asked his father how far from Ilie ground the lines crossed. Coald you tell him? .

4. —Can. you draw an oval on a sheet of paper with one sweep of the compass; It is one of the easiest things in -he world when you know how.

5. —Here is an interesting variation of the Magic Square puzzle. The diagram represents a square with three spaces in. each direction. In the centre space, a counter marked to represent a five-shill-ing piece is placed, and immediately below that a second counter to represent a florin. Now the puzzle is to fill th.3 remaining spaces with counters so that the face value of the counters adds up to 15/- diagonally, vertically, and horizontally. Current English coins only are to be used —half -crowns, florins, shillings, threepences, pence^ but you may have more than one counter in each space.

THE MAGIC HAMMER. There was once a great famine in a certain country, the poor could not get food, and even the rich suffered. At that time a poor peasant dwelt on a heath, and, daring the famine he said to Ms son, "Go away, I can no longer support you. You must look after yourself.'' Niels, for that was the son's name, therefore set out, and towards evening found himself in a large forest. He climbed up a tree to make himself safe from wild beasts, and soon fell asleep. After a while he heard a noise, and looked down. He saw a little dwarf with bandy legs and a red cap fighting with a huge^ wolf, and clearly getting the worst

of it. Quickly Niels jumjed down and went to the assistance of the dwarf. The wolf, seeing that he had two men to fight thought that he could do no good by staying and ran off into the depths of the wood. The dwarf was very grateful, and asked Niels about his history and circumstances. Learning that he was apprenticed to a smith, the dwarf gave Tii-rn a hammer and said that all the work forged with the tool would be the best of Hs kind. He then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Niels wandered on till he came to a large town, where he heard that the king's treasury had been broken open by thieves who had carried off a large sum of money. The king had called for a Court Locksmith, who should receive a good salary anfr a handsome reward if he could make a lock that nobody could pick. Niels thought that he would try to make this lock, for he could not forget the words that the dwarf had spoken regarding the hammer. Niels returned to his village and told his master the smith what had happened, but he did not tell him about the hammer. He asked his master to let him have a workshop^ which he locked up, and in which he worked -or two days and nights without stopping. Then he went to his master and told ■ him that lie had worked for two days and • wanted some money with which to amuse himself. The master was afraid that the work would not be finished in the eight clays tliat the king had allowed, and kept on asking how the work was getting on, to which the boy repeated that he would be finished in time.

When the day arrived, Niels and the smith went to the palace, and the king was so pleased with the lock that he instantly gave the smith the promised kward and the smith (not Niels) became famous as a locksmith. Report spread all over the world of the ingenious lock that the king had got for his treasury, so that a king who was on a visit to liim I offered a huge reward to all the smiths in the world for the best knife. NieU made a very fine knife which also gained the reward. In the meantime, Niels heard that his father was begging from door to doory and when he asked Ms master for some money, the request was refused. Upon this, Niels grew angry and went to the king to whom he related the whole story, telling him that it was lie and not the smith who had made the knife and the lock. The king sided with the smith and said that as a test they were each to make him a sword; the winner to be court smith and the loser to die. Naturally Niels won, and tjie smith, to s-ave his life was obliged to confess that Niels had made both the lock and the knife. Niels became mas-ter-smith to the king, and was able to keep his father in comfort.