HELPFUL SLICK

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 29, 11 December 1930, Page 21

HELPFUL SLICK

Old Sharp, the cutler-goblin workshop. He made knives with, grass-blades and mother1-*) '-pearl handles for the fairy folk, and as Queen Sylvia \vas: giving quet to celebrate her purple birth- ; day. he felt he could not possibly Ido all the work himself. The Queen,. by the way, was so I fond of parties that she1 -"had birthdays for all the seasons of the, flowers— a white one for the snowdrops, yellow for the daffodils, blue for the bluebells, pink for the roses, and'so on. And this1 was a purple birthday for the heather on the Purple Moor. "And every one is invited, rr said Old Sharp to himself. ''So, of course, they'll need hundreds of extra knives, and I must get help. But the pixies are all such scamps—l don rt know one I could trust not to be up to tricks.:" - •'Try nic!" said some one: And from behind the apple-tree in the goblin's garden a merry young sprite appeared. He was dressed in russet-brown like the old .bracken on Pixie Commony and he looked very thin and wispy and quick. ~ : ■ ; "Try me!" he said again. "My name is Slick, and I work so quick ly. I get things done before, any one can say 'knife'!,' " *- "Before any oiie can- say ' knife' % " said.OM Sharp. ''Well that sounds very suitable. Buthow do I know I can trust you?" '.'l've a beautiful rhyme to tell,, you all about me/ said the sprite, fumbling in his pocket. "Yes, here it is! Listen! 'Slick is quick, span and spick. Slick is gay, come what may: And Slick will journey a mile or two

li he thinks there's a piece of work to do.' " "Oh!" said Old Sharp, looking at the sprite very hard. VBut the point is, do you journey to find the work or to run away from it 1 And who wrote your rhyme for you?" "I did.,-' said Slick, proudly. "That shows you 1 can write well, -too," ■,■ ■■■•: ' = ■•■• .••* ■ ',; ■, -:- ■■:■ > "So it does," said Old Sharp. <' Well, Slick, we '11 try you. Now what's to be done first, I wonder?' And he looked; round his work--bundles of glass-blades and shells full of mother-o'-pearl. x "Well, iM journey a o two first,'-'said JSIHJk. .','K-klways do, you know. And it will be a good thing for you too, Master Sharp, for you need new grassblades." • ' Yes, yes,'' said Old Sharp. ''I, could do with fresh blades. But they grow on Pixie Common, boy. Come, now, let's # get to work quickly." " The blades I mean,'' said Slick, "grow at least two miles from here on the far edge of the Common. And they grow in the garden of a friend of mine—-Dame Saucy, her name is. She has clumps of ribbon-grass, striped green and wtote, that would make knife-blades'fit for a/queen, .1 think shell give me some. So you see I must journey a mile or two.;"- -.■ ■■> <■';:■ :,-:.:;-:;. v-f . "Blades of ribbon-grass, strong and sharp and beautiful!" said Old .Sharp, rubbing his hands together. "Why, that's what I've, always wanted and never known where to find!" "Hooray!" said Slick. '''Then I'll go at once." "Stay!" sa)d Ql4 Sharp. "Toil1 must take jFOm* a present from me, ind|pl youl;must£ I've a ; mother-o^earl brdoch2 she might like; jlpiade i£ myscjlf, of course." And he took it out of his pocket. The brooch was carved'like a .white rose, arid''it- gleamed .with soft colours as the sun shone on it.: ;■•■■■ '■■ .' ■. '- . - :■.".'. "How lovely I" said Slick, taking it in Ms hand. "Dame Saucy will like that, I know. And now I'm off I Good-bye I" And before the old ctttler-goblin could say another word, the sprite was off and out of the garden gate, and racing across tne Common, taking the beautiful brooeli with Mm. " Slick is quick! " said Old Sharp to himself. "Well, well, I'm. lucky to liave such va splendid; assistant. And I hope his friend will like the brooch and give him. a good bundle of ribbon-grass in exchange." Now you may be surprised to, know that SlicV was the most mischievous sprite in all Fairyland. If the pixies were scamps, as Old Sharp had said—well,' Slick was ten times more scampish, as was well known in his- own village. .■■'./'}. As he galloped across Pixie Common with the lovely brooch in his Hand, he chuckled to think how easily he had tricked Old .Sharp into thinking he wanted work. Work! Not for Slick, thank yon! .■ "All the same, I'll see that" he gets his brooch back—wlien I've played with it for a little time," said Slick, grinning. "He wasn't a bad old sort, and won't he be surprised, when I don't go back! But fancy trusting me with this V\ And he >sat down near Dame Saucy's garden wall .to look at it again. For he had nui so fast ne -was there almost before he knew it himself." "It is very lovely ; " he niurmured! i 'Old Sharp must have spent hours and hours making it.

And he actually trusted inc.witK about it <|uite seriously . ■*«< T f^ tor- * *ime ' Jle again. It seems a mean trick to olav '» he said, sighing. J' ''Bless the lad! Whatever is he talking about f" said a biiak vojge from the other' aide of the And there was Dame Saucy who had been gardening among her tofcJST ******** Ot c*Oh, Slick!" she said, admiringly. -Where did you get that beautiful thing, and ,wh<WL is it tor?" /'Xt's for you!" said Slick, quickly. -Old Sharp, the cutlet goblin on the other side of the Common, sent it to you because he thought you might giye him some ribbon-grass to Jnake his Jnife-blades with for the hinquet. 1 told iiim you would." "I :will," said Dame Saucy, taking the brooch eagerly. "I'll give him a huge bundle at once. Come along in—you're going- to. wanted a new assistant in his take them, I suppose!" . VI suppose so," said Slick, wno had never meant to do "mything of the kind. He signer heavily, for there was a Fair away on the Purple Moor, and he was lon.«>'in& to go. , ■•■ ■■ ■_•■■■ ;. } ;•■■■.-.:-.■ Dame Saucy talked as she cut the strong green-and-trhite grassblades. ' "It's very nice to see you doiiig a helpful deed, Slick," she said. "Are you going- to the Fair tonight when your work if finished?" ■•"■•■ .;■■ "I may, "'said Slick.' Dame 3aucy tied up a huge sheaf of ribbon-grass. She glanc ed at Slick and thought he looked rather sulky. But she ahrays knew a cure for anything; did Dame Saucy Parilla/ , "Hum!" she said. "What you .need,, young' Slick, is a silver sixpence to cheer you up. And if Old- Sharp gives you another you'll be quite rich by the time you get to the Purple Moor and the merry-go-rounds." And :he took a sixpence out of her purse and it to him; I^hen, later on in the day, Old Sharp, who was Righted with all the Slick %d given him, paid him with another sixpence! and packed him off to the Fair, i And Slick was-so pleased withl himself for beuig good for bitce that he wrote out ( /anotlMr ift^mei which i*an:, ; '\ "Slick is quick, span and spick; Slick is kind, ,you will 2ini3v And Slick will journey a mile or two, If he thinks it will be a help to