The House In The Wood

Northern Advocate, 21 July 1938, Page 3

The House In The Wood

(Sent in by Mabel Timperley, Parua Bay. Age 12.) Puck and Petal were busy looking for a house. “It must not be too big,” said Petal. “Or too small,” added Puck. “And it must be pretty,” they both added together. So they went to see Mr Mouse about it. and he told them that he knew of just the very house to suit them, “It's under the oak tree in the wood,” he said, and took them there to see. It was the dearest little toadstool house Puck and Petal had ever seen. There were two shiny -windows, a chimney, and a ladder leading up to the gay red door with a wee brass knob. And inside the house were two neat , little rooms; one to live in and one to sleep in. “What a darling house! We must take it!” cried Petal, who was simply longing to sweep out the rooms and polish the wee brass knob. So Puck paid Mr Mouse a piece of buttercup gold, and then he and Petal set to work. She swept and scrubbed and tidied until not the tiniest speck of dust was left, and then polished the brass door-knob until it twinkled like the sun. In the meanwhile Puck had dug up some of the softest, greenest moss he could find, and this made a lovely carpet for the floors. Then he gathered rose leaves for the window curtains, and thistledown for Petal to weave into blankets for the bed; and while she was doing this, he painted the wall a sunny yellow with butter-

cup juice. As for the chairs and tables —they were tiny baby mushrooms, and when Petal had lit the fire in the grate you couldn’t have found a cosier little house in the wood. “And now,” said Petal, “we must ask all our friends to tea.” So next day, while Puck delivered the invitations, Petal set to work to bake cakes—such lovely ones that when tea-time came. Puck ate ten of them, as well as three helpings of honey! Still Petal didn’t mind, for she had such a lot that there were plenty left for the visitors. Well, there was Mr and Mrs Mouse and baby Mouse, as well as five little elfin friends of Puck’s, and five fairy friends of Petal’s. And that was all, because there wasn’t room for anyone else. It was such a jolly party that everyone was sorry when the time came to go home. In fact, Master Mouse began to cry because there couldn’t be a party every day! But he cheered up when Petal kissed his funny little nose, and promised to have another one very soon. And then everyone took a glow-worm lantern and went home to bed.