STRANGE LEGENDS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 13 November 1937, Page 11

STRANGE LEGENDS

SWEET-MAKING CORNER

THE STORY OF HEATHER Lons ago, when the trees ;md plants first came lo life, they chose the places in which they wished to live, and there was a great deal of commotion. They liked the valley, the sheltered places md the gentle plains, and these were ioon filled, but the mountains remained »a re. All settled down happily except the ittlc heather, who was too shy to push md struggle for a good place in the an. and very conscious or her lack of icauty. You see, she had no flowers :t that .time, so she clung where she ould and put forth bright leaves, but tobody took any notice of her and she ras very lonely. When all the plants were in blossom .lie earth looked so lovely that the little heather was ashamed of herself.

I [ \'Ct she could do nothing about it. I hen one day in high summer there came a , pitilul lament from the mountains. ’ "We are bare and ugly." they wailed. , -In summer the sun burns us and in f winter we are cold. Oh! Flowers and . . pi; ms of the kind places, will none of ,! you come and live with us and clothe [ us with your beauty.’ . I "I am too happy in my clear field, murmured the daisy. "You go, honcy- ! suckle.” . "I am too fond of my hedge." sighed ; the honeysuckle. "You go, water lily.

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''l can't live without my beloved pond,” cried the water-lily. "Somebody else must go." But none of them wanted lo go. and when the little heather heard ail their excuses she felt terribly nervous but she called out in a llultering voice: "Oh! mountain. 1 have no beauty, but I will come if you want me." The mountain received her joyfully, and in her gratitude she spread quickly and -kept it so warm in winter that

it did not feel the snow. She was happy, too, because the mountain loved her, and sne was never lonely again. Seeing that the mountain now looked more tempting, the flowers and plants began to climb up the steep sides and found shelter in the hollows. They based the heather because she had no flowers, but was always green. Then one day a strange thing happened. An angel walked on the mountain, and seeing that the heather had clothed even the hard stones he bent down and kissed her. Then the heather burst into blossom, and from that day it has l\gd more flowers than any other plant that grows on the high places, and its innumerable bells ring out its happiness and content.

DEMERARA CUSHIONS Put one pound of demerara sugar in- j lo a saucepan with half a tcacupful of water, and stir over moderate heal.! When the sugar has melted, add a piece , of butter the size of an egg and con-] tinue to boil until a little of the mix- 1 ture tried in cold water becomes a soft ball. Have ready some chopped nuts. Pour j the toffee on to a well buttered dish, j sprinkle it thickly with the nuts, and ' when it has set a little take a large i knife and fold one half over the other. ' Before the toffee hardens, cut it into "cushions” with a sharp knife and set j them lo get cold. Use an oiled knife, j or if the toffee is hard dip the blade j into boiling water before cutting the "cushions.” ! NEARLY 3,000,000 BOY SCOUTS ! Only 30 years have elapsed since Col. Badcn-Powell, as he then was, made 1 public his scheme for a Boy Scout movement. Yet to-day the number of j Scouts in the world totals 2.313,074. , During the last two years the number j has increased by 340.000. In addition to this total, there arc in the different countries approximately 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 n.en who have been Boy Scouts and who have thus the same spirit of comradeship with men of other nationalities.

“MUMMY” TEA COSY 1 — | You remember the liltle knitted egg j cosies about which we told you a Jew i weeks ago? To-day we are tolling you I how to make a coal black mammy tea cosy, to match the set. j It takes about three ounces ol double 1 knitting wool in black, and oddments in bright colours—say half an ounce of red. and a liltle emerald and yellow. ! You will also need a scrap of red and ; ! white checked ginghams for mammy's | apron, a six-inch square of white col--1 ton spotted with red for her head-dress, two white linen buttons, two black i ! shoe buttons, and two brass curtain rings. | Using a pair of number eight needles. : and black wool, cast on 130 stitches. ; Knit into the backs of those on the lirsl j row to get a firm edge, and work in : stocking-stitch (alternate rows of plain | I and purl), for one inch, ending at a | 1 purl row. Change to emerald woo! i j and work one inch, ending at a purl j row. Go back to the black and work another inch. Change to yellow and do j la further inch, and then change buck j |to black once more. Knit the first} row of each new colour, Work four} I more inches in black to complete the j ! skirt which is the main part of the j ! cosy. j Now start to decrease, for mammy's: I head. At the next knit row. K 2 to- j j gether all the way along, which gives I ! you 05 stitches. Purl the next row, I j then K 2 together all along the next I I row, ending with K 1 <3 stitches on j | needle). Purl the next row. and knit j the next, knitting the last 2 stitches j J together, su that you are now left with i ■ 32 stitches. j Work on these, in stocking-stitch, for | !3i inches, ending at a purl row. K 2 | together all along the next row (10 j stitches). Next row purl. K 2 to- ! gether along the next row (8 stitches).] Next row, purl, and break off the wool, i ; leaving a long end. When the final i row is knitted, bring this end of wool ; through each stitch as you knit it. | so that the last 8 stitches are threaded ion to it. Pull up the stitches tightly, I land then sew up the cosy, using the long end of wool for the purpose. Stuff mammy’s head with cotton ! wool, and sew on the linen buttons for ! her eyes, with a shoe button in the

middle of each. Work nose and lips in red wool, sew the curtain rings on each side of her face for ear-rings, and lie the kerchief round her head. Make the apron from gingham, and sew it to her waist. The costume is completed with a little red knitted crossover shawl. Start with 72 stitches, work the lirsl 2 rows plain, and then decrease 1 stitch at both ends of every following row, until you have only 2 stitches left. Draw these together and fasten off.

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STRETCH YOUR SPINE Here’s a splendid exercise for you to tlo with father's help, lie does all the work and you get all the benefit! It is chiefly for the smaller and lighter children. and it .stretches the spine and shoulders. Stand just in front of father and raise your arms overhead to clasp your hands behind his neck, lie’ll have to lean a

brother lo help you with this exercise for the spine and shoulders. little forward for this. Then, with bent elbows, he places his hands on your shoulder blades and straightens up bis body. This lifts your feet from the ground and so you are suspended in the air. hanging on to his neck and with his lands pushing you a little away from him. You'll find this will stretch your shoulders and will also straighten out your spine. IPs a good exercise to do when you come home from school each day—it will take away the stillness in your back caused by leaning forward at- a desk. THE ORCHESTRA Don't run away with the idea that an orchestra is just a collection ol musicians playing the same tune! The word comes from a Greek root meaning "dancing ring,” and in the Greek theatre the orchestra or dancing ring was the space in which the members

of ihe chorus performed their stately (Ijmee. lneideiilally. performances at the ancient Greek theatres lasted much longer than those ol to-day. The foundation of the modern orchestra is the strong quartet—that is to say. the four musical instruments played with strings and a bow. These are the first and second violins, the viola and the violincello. Next comes the wood wind quartet composed of oboe, llnte, clarionet and bassoon. After that come the brass wind instruments which in-dude the horns, trombones and trumpets, and finally in a modern orchestra the drums are m a department by themselves. They arc, as it were, a kind of background to the orchestra, and naturally they are very important. Next lime you listen to an orchestra you should try to distinguish the various instruments. Then you will be able to judge the importance of each one. In very big orchestras, of course, there are a number of violins, violas, trumpets and so forth, and in dance bands it often happens that one man will play several instruments in turn. By the way, you must not think that the leader is there just to look smart in evening dress or uniform! He is the key man and keeps the whole orchestra in musical order, the players taking the time from the beat of his baton or his hands. MISCHIEVOUS! I really think that I must be The most unlucky child . . . For every single tiling I do Drives some poor grown-up wild! Such simple things they are, you know, I’ll tell you one or two . . . And then I’m sure you will agree They’re not so bad to do! It’s true, i did lake grandpa’s hat Beside the river bank, I only wanted just to see How long before it sank! And if i did put spiders m Old Aunt Maria’s shoe, I don't sec why she should make such A ’nornil fuss, do you? And as for eating up the cake, FT was crammed quite full of plums!) i I've always heard it's wrong to waste The teeniest, tiniest crumbs! Perhaps I did turn on the taps To make a water-: pout ... But think how useful ’twould have been ; If lire had broken out!