FOR THE CHILDREN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14250, 22 December 1909, Page 10

FOR THE CHILDREN.

THE PUNISHMENT BELLS. J i- j The king of Sunnysouthland was 1 - in ,a V terrible way, and as for the poor wife, weilffl her face was growing a year older eyeryjday|> she lived ! But the land was happy and flourishing,'' their subjects were loving and kind, both'/; the monarehs were hearty and well, why,£; why was it that they wore so terribly) undw happy?- _ ' ' ;f|pi| It was this: They had but one child,"\>aYrf little daughter 10 years of age, but she so naughty, so terribly awfully naughty, T I t&afc her parents were really growing i i/'rate, and. no one in the land could 'do *.'' anything at all with her. Sho was pretty and clever, and her name was Myra, but her temper, it was 100 dread-® fill to describe, the very dogs, her own peis.lt; ran away with fright when they saw lior a ' clenching her little hands and stamping with rage. But I must not forget to say that some*-! times, just sometimes, she was really veryff good, and, as .the nursery, rhyme goes: " When sho was good she was veryJgoq'd;p But when sho was bad she was horrid i" Cv v Her naughtiness was borne with for a vcrv long- time., in the hope that she would growF' out of her tiresome ways, but instead- of ■ growing out of her tempers and tantrums'-'-sho seemed to grow into them moro and 5 more, a id one day little really'sur-Sj passed lierself in the number of "haughty® pranks she performed. ' Early in the morning sho broke her best • gold-mounted comb, by throwing it in' a temper .at her nurse. 'At breakfast-she 1 * upset - her porridge . across ' the royal table (she had meals in the state apartments 'witlis her parents because ,no one in the nursery^ could manage her at all). | . At •10 .o'clock, while out for a walk, sho' . was so angry - and rude in the . street that'.';the maids of honour who were with her had-,, to lift her''into a . carriage and bring her ; home screaming with rage. • , Before 12 sho had . torn up a new lesson book, and poured a bottle of ink over her' • pretty new hat.'., - ■ j . .- ,At lunch- she insisted on singing; at' the top of ■ her voice, arid ■ made so i much ' noiseltbafe the poor Queen had to retire, ( her head'*3 'ached so badly.J ' . , . In the .afternoon, Because she was angrywith one of the gardeners for asking her no(0 to walk over the flower-beds, she tore up 45;'new geraniums, which had been planted out* that morning. < . . -j > At : tea - she insisted ton.- turning everything''" that she could roach upside down, whether it"' was full or. empty, and when the whole table": was spoiled,/was ; carried from the room and ;f put to bed! , , • Tfcere'\she ; amused-herself by .: .tearing■: pretty -silk - bedclothes .into ribbons and ; } ing all 'r the lace off her nightgown: then - ? at last she fell. asleep. - Y : As ' soon ' as it was dpsk, the ; King, who "' had crept up to the nursery and soon Jlyra's^ latest, piece of work, dressed himself care-'-fully, in . a dark ; coat; and hat, and ? unnoticed out of the palace, walked qaick/v.i : into the "country. At .last he came 'to > oak. tree, around which was a fairies' riug!;i • Waiting* patiently until' it-struck 12 ; o'clock and tie moon was high in the sky, r he at last saw that the tree was surrounded • with elves, who were dancing'arid singing their mystiff# ;evening chant. * ■-<; .. - ,v -, "■ i ; Approaching •' them.; politicly, the poor?' monarch begged In humble tones that • would 'ask . their beautiful Queen to'l advise.;; ■ him-as to how C Princess Myra f could be \ taught to become' a good child. 4 .He then., pleaded, as a great favour, that they s would'!, not take ; her , away; (asthey often J do), I but | ; allow, her to be cured at home. ; <£2 The ; kind t little elves were very ' sorry for * the King's distress, and promised to-deliver-"' his message, - asking: him to .return the- nest:, ; night for his answer. L * 'I |M . This you may be sure he did,* and found ;; an : elf ; waiting for himJ^^v; - The instructions were short - and '< simple, , ; just this, ' that 5 whenever' the Princess was'' naughty the fairies would make the bells', in' the ; big church • tower ring thair hardest" for five minutes.: .The King was "a little di?v"' , appointed, for the ; cure sounded too simple"; to act, but he had great faith in the fairies,'v; and sending his best thanks to' their Queen . returned j home, and the ; next morning'; his little daughter,what would happen.^' 'I; 1 And now the exciting part of sthe , story ' begins; # . Although little ; seemed very impressed by what her father told her, s!h>";: "could \ not' keep r hernaughty > temper undercontrol, ; and hardly, was breakfast over than she,flew into a'rage. because the lace of her ; boot broke as she was tieing - it! She -had scarcely; spoken, however," when the whole. , . town began to ; ring with the mightiest'peal;s of bells which;had ever been heard— not® pretty ones, . but a jumble of crashing chords and runs, a wild confusion of sounds, d Everyone in the' Palace and town fi rushed';,? ; together, to ask what it could: mean, and the« King, 'poor man;i had. to 'be honest and tell them tho reason. r " Now this - caused great excitement- lin \ the ciy. and when Myra was taken out A |,for her walk a little later 1 she was ashamed to hear some Ijttle children saying:—,"*"';; " There she goes, there she goes, . look, the '■naughty Princess,' and tho bells are going to ring every time she has -a - temper. my! fancy the King's daughter being so • naughty I " and other . remarks.: of r tbo ■. same kind. ■ , ; \ '4m ■ _ But in spite'of all •this ' the bells had to • rinc three times more; ;it was certainly the most miserable day of Myra's life, ana she .; went to bed- with a wicked plan in, her little .. head. -. , , , ; - When night came she quitted her bedroom bV. a balcony, i" and stealing down - into the [ - garden left it by a door at the lower end. Then she raced through thoJ quiet streets u until sho reached the church. She found a.y little window open, and creeping through stole into tho room where she knew the/beu., ropes hung. ; ;h\ £■ - , >i When there she produced a box of matcnes - j and a candle, and prepared to do her dreaaful work. To burn away the ropes so that tho fairies could not ring" , them when s "0 was naughty! Now, hardly had she struck, a light, she had tho greatest and t most dreaal / fright of her life. . \ ~ , \£l < With the sound of six .of tho - thunderstorms rolled into one, overhead. to ring the loudest,• and most awful peal that tit-. is posMPi .:■ imagine, tho tower seemed to l 'ofk|'&±t s SsS fro, and for very fear she sank ground and covered her ears with. licrt "-'-j ling fingers! , , . ; xr;n? " ' Now, while she was lying there, ; the and Queen in the Palace were rosnro&JL towards the nursery how could Myr naughty when sho was asleep in bed^^^M They did not find her there, however, a. great search was immediately sstote|.., | Meanwhile, the bells continued to send ou their fearful noise, and it was oriyMpm hope of stopping them that a last sent to the church. There the Prince^ was discovered. miserable lhtleobjeot Oh, what a terrified, miserable httleo^ec ;i | she was, tear stained, pale, and bewddere for the noise in the tower was terrible, sho was too frightened to move. _ ,'j' She was carried home weeping bitteriy. and when at last she reached the Palace sh begged so earnestly for an elf to be sent for, ■. that the King, hoping much, | A messenger soon returned with one, whom the Queen had allowed to '» e^ s n ■; very, very great favour to the noble' , anxious parents. ' . ~, , .could- : To him Myra promised that-- she wouia try never, nover to bo so naujhty "S® ' and begged him if »she ever did do not right, to punish her in any, way but bj ;i ringing vtho dreadful bells. -* , Tlie elf agreed- andvjckpar£e^;^a a |b Mvra, • from . that ': day . became a difterenU child, arid before long was known not as the " naughty Princess ' as I J efo , r t; btu as "Sunshine of Sunnysouthland.. _ r ,V And now fiho is; good,» she is very, vex*,, good. And never bad nor horrid. . ,