Big Sister's Page

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 15, 15 December 1932, Page 10

Big Sister's Page

BIG SISTER’S LETTER. Dear Brothers and Sisters, How near it is to Christinas! Was there ever a year without a “Christmas ltuslr” ‘t Cveryono thinks vaguely during the year, “1 must be prepared for Christmas this time” —and lorgets. Then, when the time draws nearer and nearer, it is as if everyone wakes up suddenly, and there is instantly an air of bustling business—and not a little mystery about things, either. Such ' whispering and conferring among the family—what Mother would like —this for Dad —that for Sister —and so it goes on, and everyone forgets their little worries and, yes their quarrels, too, in the task of iiappy giving. Christmas is surely "surprise time.” And the little one can hardly wait for _ the longed-for morning, when they jump out of bed ever so early and rush to their stockings. Can’t you picture all the littio children —in Egland, America, France, Holland—all over the world, waiting for Santa? New Zealand children have surely, a fast bond with children of other lands, then, when they go to bed and dream of Santa. And don’t we have fun on Christmas Day—a day to be remembered for happiness, lovo and kindness, when each child’s face is crowned with merriment and laughter, and never a harsh word is spoken. And that fat, jolly old man — Santa Claus —with his merry, twinkling eyes and white beard, smiles to himself, thinking “another year to wait before I visit them” 1 There was a good response to “Letter Week,” as vou may see by glancing at the G.P.O. Thank you all for your nice letters; every one of you will receive a Ladder mark for your letters next week. Are there any more Christmas stories to come. Kemember there are only a few days till the closing date (December 20). Some letters have been received too late for acknowledgment this week. Love from BIG SISTER.

G.P.O. LETTERS TO BIG SISTER. SNOWFLAKE: Your letter was just too late last week, Snowflake; thank vou for those puzzles. Yes, examination time is an anxious one, and although we feel quite “sure” we’ve passed we do feel relieved when wo hear the results 1 I hope the littio black cat will always bring you luck and happiness. My best wishes, little Sister.

THE CUB: Your jolly letter was a treat—“ Letter Week” was certainly no object to such a regular correspondent as yourself. I am happy that you take such a lively interest in our Page, too. I was amused about the pigs—l had never heard of dogs being “pall.v” with them. I suppose you have made all sorts of exciting plans for the holidays. Happy days, Cub. LONE STAR RANGER: Of course you may join our Page, and I hope you will get plenty of enjoyment out of writing for it. Such a cheery letter yours was, and I hope your wish of “at least reaching half way” up the Ladder will be realised. You start right away with your name on the Ladder for this is “Letter Week” and each one who has written this time is awarded one Ladder mark. Best wishes and a hearty welcome, Sister. RONNIE DALEFIELD: Oh, those poor baby starlings—fancy the mother pecking them to make them do as they were:told. It must be interesting, though,' to study the birds’ habits at such close quarters. Birds soon understand whether humans mean to be kind to them or not, so I hope you will continue to feed and protect them from cats. Certainly, those children who live in the backblocks are most unfortunate in not being able to come to town on Christmas Eve, and see all the fun. JOHN BALLANCE: Now that was very nice of you to write and tell me all about the now Pahiatua bridge; you were most fortunate to see the ceremony. 1 can guess Pahiatua felt quite an important town that day. Is Margie a well-behaved calf? I wish you the best of luck when judging time comes, and 1 do hope Margie will not be shy. Good luck, Brother John. TOPPING: So you are going to Christchurch for your holiday! What a rush you must be having, packing up, and making Christmas presents, too. 1 should imagine that Wolf, the Alsatian, would be rather a rough companion for the little black kitten. However, there are queer friendships between animals, aren’t there? I have received your Christmas story; I hope you have a happy time in Christchurch. VERA: Ducklings are the sweetest things—but how do they get on with the kittens? It is funny to see a mother cat carrying her babies in her mouth. I remember, years ago finding a little boy, crying bitterly, and whacking a poor mother puss very hard. When 1 asked him why lie was hitting it, he sobbed “the naughty pussy was eating her kitty 1” But, of course, the poor cat was only carrying her baby in her mouth!

POLLY PLUM: I am so glad you have passed your examination, and now you can look forward to your holiday in Waipawa. Thank you for your good wishes. Love to you, Poll}’. LITTLE LADY: You did very well indeed to come fourth in your class —congratulations, Sister. I have your Christmas story. What a lovely time you will have on Christmas day if you spend it in the country. You seem to be most excited about things—and no wonder, with that Christmas tree to look forward to. TE ItAUPARAHA: Such a nice letter, Brother, and a very good word picture of Christmas time. Thank you for the interesting contributions. I’m sure all your Brothers and Sisters return your “Merry Christmas and Bright New Year.” I do. Best wishes, To Itauparaha. SUNBEAM: I hope that dentist didn’t give you a bad time—but then, you had the picnic to look forward to, and I’m sure that would drive the pain away! I suppose Mintie is growing very fast, like all good lambs Thank you for the nice wishes, and I hopo you have a very jolly time at Christmas. Love to you. ST A It: I am so glad you liked the picture of the horses last week. They look so gentle and kind, and their master seems very fond of them. Oh, you lucky girl—six horses on your farm, and I suppose you are friends with all of them. I wonder if you will receive a prize on breaking-up day ? I hope so. MOTHER’S HELP: The “little bird” 'tells me you have passed your proficiency examination, and I am very glad. I should. love to see your wee Persian kitten. I am very fond of that .song “The Minstrel Boy,” and I know you will sing it very nicely. The

other song is nice, too. That was a happy surprise from England. FRECKLES: Congratulations on gaining first place in the class, Brother ; that was good work and I hope you do as well in Standard VI. I am sure you will have a happy time at Grannie’s. Love to you, and best wishes, Freckles. MERVYN DALEFIELD: You didn’t know I was at the concert last night, did you, Mervyn? Well, 1 was, and I thought it was very good. The little “nigger boys” were lovely, and so were the gnomes and fairies, i laughed heartily at those “howlers” —they were quite clever. How fortunate your sister is to be going to Australia for her holiday—don't you wish you were going, too ? WENDY: I’m sure you must have been very busy with your examinations. I hope you won some of the races at the sports —and I wonder who won those lovely silver cups ? I wish you a happy holiday. DREAM LADY: It was nice to hear from you again; I have received your Christmas Competition story, and wish you good luck in it. I know you will have a jolly time if you spend your holidays by the sea in Wellington. A NEWSY LETTER. .Sunbeam is a very excited little girl; she writes : “Oh ! I am so excited, for soon we are going to have our school picnic. We sent all our invitations out vesterday. We have just come back from school and we have opened the ‘Standard.’ We have to miss school tomorrow because we have to go to the dentist. It has at last cleared up after four days of rain. On Friday night it rained very hard—l never heard it rain so hard before, but I do hope it will be fine for our picnic. I am on the cool verandah as I write to you, but now I must go and feed Mintie, the pet lamb. A merry Christmas to you!”

FOURTH IN CLASS. Little Lady was a clever girl to do so well in her examination; she writes: “Our exams, are over and I have come fourth in the class. I am very excited to think I have come so near the top. We are all very busy buying aud making presents for wo are all looking forward to Christmas Day. At our Sunday school we are having a Christmas tree for all the pupils. Everywhere wo look wo see Christmas decorations. We are hoping to go on a farm on Christmas Day. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

THE PAHIATUA BRIDGE. John Ballance went to the opening of the new Pahiatua bridge on Saturday, and he was so interested that he wrote and told Big Sister all about it: “The Pahiatua bridge is now open,” he says, “but it is not yet quite complete. The weather was very bad and the wind blew so hard that it broke the ribbon in three pieces when they first stretched it across. I think the main thing 1 will remember is the number of times I got something in my eye. We couldn’t hear what some of" the speakers said but heard nearly all of Mr Forbes’s speech and a lot of Mr Ransom’s. Mr Forbes said that if anyone wanted to see a bridge like ours he-would have to come to Pahiatua, as it was the oniy one of its type in New Zealand. The ribbon was cut by electricity ; Mr Forbes just pressed a button on the table in front of him with the gold fountain pen which had been presented to him by the contractors. No other bridge in New Zealand has been opened like that so we are leading tbe way twice over, aren’t we, Big Sister ?

“The weather is still bad but I hope it will clear up by next Friday. The competition calves* are to go in a lorry to Pahiatua and they will be judged on the Showground. There will be over a hundred calves altogether, so the judges will have a busy tiino. I must go now and take Margie for another walk around the paddock. GOOD WISHES. “I wish the Page the best of luck,” writes Snowflake to Big Sister, “and I also hope I have passed the examination, because I like getting a new teacher. I wish you and all my brothers and sisters a Merry Christmas, and 1 am sure I will have a good time myself. We have had our gala day and I was in the choir, as well as the drill. I am lucky—l have a small paper black cat in my desk at school, and I think' most of my luck comes from that.”

THE CUB’S LETTER. The Oub, who writes regularly every week to Big Sister, comments on last week’s Page: “That paragraph about the soap box greatly amused me—l hope nobody says that next time I have to go to the dentist! John Ballance will be a busy boy on the 16th, won’t he?

The other paragraph about Tim and Tilly interested me, too. Our dog is very friendly with the pigs—that is when be is in a good mood. Ho licks their ears and lies down with them. On washing days, if there are any pigs by the line, the dog is alter them. The pigs have an annoying habit of knocking down the prop, and sometimes, if not discovered in time, chew the clothes. The dog seems to understand that they are very annoying, so, unless wanted, sits under the line and guards the clothes. Whenever Dad kills a slieep, the dog stays near by, keeping off the offending pigs.” THE LITTLE HORSE.LOVER. Star just loves horses and she was so impressed with la-st week’s picture of two draught horses that she says: —' “I am going to pin the picture up on the wall with all the pictures of my other horses. We have six horses on our farm altogether. Their names a/e Pete, Dick, Tony, Kate, Wire and Kaua. .Pete is the only draught horse. I To-morrow my sister and 1 a.re going | to the dentist and then we are going i to help choose the prizes for the school picnic.”, LITTLE FEATHERED FRIENDS. .v Read what Ronnie Dalofield says about the little bird visitors tlpit come to Irs garden in tho spring: ‘ ‘Every spring the birds build nests in our garden. There are thrushes’ nests in the honeysuckle, and one in a big prunus tree. Outside tho back garden gate grow two pink flowering currant trees, joined together by their tops, to form a broad archway. On each side the blackbirds made a nest. There were three young ones 1 in one nest, and four in the other. They grew very fast, and so did the young thrushes. We often stroked them while they were ill the nests, and they were not afraid of us. The young blackbirds and thrushes have all left their nests now, and they

hop about the garden, where their mother feeds them. They sometimes come under the window to get the crumbs that are shaken from the tablecloth. A starling, squeezed through a tiny hole under the roof, and made a nest. When it- was time for the young ones to leave, there was such a squawking and noise going on for two days. I think the mother bird was pecking the little starlings to make them squeeze through the tiny hole to got outside, and the poor little birds couldn’t understand for a long time what she wanted them to do. “Are you going to hang up your stocking," Rig Sister ? I hope that if you do so it will get well filled. Won’t the city look grand on Christmas Eve? I hope that tho weather will be fine, so that I can see the shops. Isn’t it a pity that many children, who live far away in the backblocks, have never a chance of seeing a big shop—even at Christmas time?”

“HOWLERS.” This is what Mervyn Dalefield says in his letter: —“My sister is a teacher at a school in New Plymouth. She often sends us ‘howlers’ that she hears. The word ‘champagne’ came * into a reading lesson lately, and none of the children there knew what it meant. One boy thought lie would have a guess, so he said: ‘Stuff you put on your hair’ .(thinking of shampoo!) In the examination the children were also asked what ‘home sick’ meant. One bright child said ‘sick of home!’ My sister is going on a. visit to Melbourne and Sydney at Christmas. She hopes to see the Blue Mountains and the Jenol.au Caves. She likes travelling, and last summer she | went to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa for a holiday. FOUR LITTLE KITTENS. This is Vera’s letter:— “It will .soon be the longest day now, and it is light till quite late. Last week was very windy und it wasn’t very pleasant cycling to work, but the wind usually blew me home. We have quito a lot 'of chickens and ducklings. They are dear little fluffy creatures when they are very young. We have five young kittens—one that we kept for a little boy and four more that were born a few weeks ago. Evidently the mother knew that the place she had for them was not the best as they did not seem well. So one night she appeared with one, put it sately inside a box in the harness room, and then went back for the others. The kittens can run quite well now i and it is funny to seo them all running after the ducks round the yard. There are three black ones, one yellow-brown and one a creamy-yellow. Our garden is looking fine now except for a few weeds, and we have had dahlias out for about a week., The jasmine and honeysuckle on the verandah are in flower. Our carnations are lovely. Tho shades out so far are pink, red, purple and white.

Competition Ladder

I have published tho Ladder marks and points this week, so that you can all see your positions and know just where you are. This week’s marks for Letter Week and points for contributions are not included, but will be added to the Ladder when the Christmas story results appear next week. Those who have gained 1 mark (5 points for contributions, history and geography guesses, etc.) are Cinderella, Ronnie and Mervyn Dalefield, Sunbream, John Ballance, Mother’s Heip, Mocking Eyes and Te Rauparaha. The marks have been added to their Ladder marks, as above. John Ballance requires only one point to his 4 to get another Ladder mark, Mother’s Help starts off again with 2 points, and so do Mervyn Dalefieid, Mocking Eyes, Te Rauparaha, Cinderella, Ronnie Dalefield and Sunbeam, with one point. Others with points to their credit are: Old King Cole 4, Silver Star 3, Robin Hoou 3, Star 3, Tui 2, Little Lady 2, Rosebud 2, Dream Lady 2, The Cub 2, Tickles 2, Vera 1, Lorna Doone 1, Wendy 1, Brer Rabbit 1, Laughing Water 1, Fairy Fay 1; Folly Plum 1 and Freckles 1;

A BUSY TIME. I enjoyed Te Itauparalia’s letter very much : “Such a busy time is this. Christmas is drawing near with its great festivities. Everybody is hurrying and bustling to get their presents bought in secret and carefully hidden until the Eve of Christmas, when eager children will bo hanging their stockings up for St. Nicolas to fill. A few days before Christmas Day, small helpers will be seen all eager to help with the cakes, making mince pies und, last of all, having tho first taste of the mixed ingredients. Christmas Eve—shall we think of the children of England sitting before a liuge log fire, clambering on the knees of tlieir parents, begging them to tell them stories, wliilst outside the snow swirls and piles on the ground like some huge white mantel, and the moon with its fitful light shows the desolate and far'from cheerful look outside, and through the swirling snow the glow of light from a cottage window, a welcome sight to any weary traveller? Shall we picture Christmas in other countries, New Zealand, say, with its summer weather? People in the towns hurrying to get ready to go to town, whilst people in the country are hurrying up the milking to do their final Christinas shopping. Then there are all the peo- . pie in homes for the sick, aged, and orphans, hospitals and many other places whose inmates have to be content with the news of the decorated towns, and tho presents, or whatever is provided for them. “In conclusion,” says Te Rauparaha, “I wish all my Brothers and Sisters a Merry Christmas.”

ANOTHER LITTLE LETTER. Mother’s Help, has not forgotten to write, either: — “We have another addition to our family,” she says. “It is a littie bluegrey Persian kitten. It is not named yet. Mother likes Peter, but 1 don’t. It is such a nice fluffy little thing and so lively, too. We let it sleep inside because it is only seven weeks old. Our prize-giving and Parents’ Hay is on Thursday. I am going to sing ‘The Minstrel Boy’ and ‘Will Ye Go to Sheriff Muir’ if I get an encore. I’ve had to bo Mother’s Help in reality lately. I enjoyed bringing the cows in with the dog and then I milk them, or at least help to. I had my first Christmas mail to-day, and my first present was a postal note from England.” PACHYDERMS. 0 burly Hippopotamus, Your iife may be monotonous, But don’t arrange To maJce a change By rolling out on top of us. The face of the Rhinoceros Is really quite preposterous; His wife, however dutiful, Could never call him beautiful. —C. S. Holder. —Sent by John Ballance (1 point). PUZZLE LAND. Can you guess these jumbled sentences. 1. Wsha eht sdihes, y r a M. 2. Ot raets si drue. 3. Si hes apeels? Points will be awarded for correct answers. —Sent by Snowflake (1 point).

IN THE KITCHEN. SUNSHINE CANDY. Two cups sugar, 3 ta.blespoons condensed milk, 1 cup water, one teaspoon lemon extract, pinch of cream of tartar and a few drops pink or yellow colouring: Stir sugar and water over fire until dissolved, add cream of tai(a>- and condensed milk; stir until it forms a. soft ball when tried in cold water. Pour into wet basin, and vhen cooled a little, add extract and colour; beat till creamy, knead for five minutes, cover with a damp cloth and leavo for one hour, horm into balls and lay on wa.xed paper to dry Cover with cako icing or melted chocolate—John Ballanoe (1 point). RIDDLE-ME-REE. o. What can lie on water and not get wet P' A. A shadow. , Q. When is a boat not a boat. A. When it tarns turtle. Q. Why did the garden walk f A. Because it saw the tap running. —Te Rauparaha (1 point).

SENIORS. Mervyn Dalefield 17 marks Mother’s Help 11 Te llauparaha l’uduoy Tame The Cub 10 i 81 ” 7 Topping 6i » Robin Hood 5 ’ Cinderella 4 „ Ocean Roam a Mocking Eyes 3 Minnie Mouse 2 ” Vera li Old King Cole 1 ” Tickles • 1

JUNIORS. Ronnie Dalofield 21 i marks John Bailance 20* Trooper Tex " 6 Lorna Cocks 5 Snowflake 4 Rosebud 4 Star 3 Porker 2 Sunbeam 2 „ Doris 1 ” Tui 4 1