FOR THE CHILDREN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16500, 28 March 1917, Page 9

FOR THE CHILDREN.

THE ADVENTURES OF DANNY. " Please, will you tell me a story' Tha story of Danny Doesn't Matter You said you would." "Well, it is just a little story I heard when I was little." ''Does it begin 'Once upon a time?'- 5 asked Billv. " Yes."' " Please tell me." "Once —upona—time," began Mrs* Fraser, and stopped to thread a needla "Once upon a time," said Billv. " \es. Go on." " Once npon a time there was a littla boy. Hi* name was Danny. He lived in a little louse, on a little hill, and he had a little dog, and a little cat. Of c< ;rse, he had a mother and father, and brothers and sisters —three brothers and three sisters. And they played in the garden, and climbed the hill, and went rj>hin2 -n the little creek—yes there were fish there —and sometimes they fell in. and when they were naughty they were punished, and felt very sorry and said ll.ey wouldn't, do wrong again. And movt of the 'ma they were very happy. Seven ohi'dtei;, three boys and three girls—and Danny, who was never quite like the reft. Ho was the. littlest one." "How big was he?" asked Billy "Just about as big as y.>u ire. said Mrs. Fraser. "Well, to go on wit . my* story, Danny had a silly way of s ying 'Won't,' 'Don't care'.' or someth'ng like that. Ho would start with a word in the t morning and keep it up all day. Cur day he started in the morning saying, 'Dcv-m'fc matter.' "At the start it was all right. He wag coming in to breakfast and bumped his head. It hurt, but he just rubbed the place and said, 'Doesn't matter.' "That is my brave boy!" his mother said.

" Then Mary, the eldest sister, said, ' Oh, Danny, there's just a little porridge left for you.' "'Doesn't matter!" said Dan again. " "That's my Danny!' said his mother again. The children were going to hunt for eggs. They thought it great fun finding Dew nests. " 'Come along, Danny,' said Mary, the eldest sister, ' and tie up that bootlace, or you'll trip.' " ' Doesn't matter!' '"Come along, Dainty,' said Betty 'and get a better basket. The handle of that one is broken and the bottom isn't

strong.' " ' Doesn't matter !' "' Hurry up, Danny, you'll be left b*» hind,' said Annie. " ' Doesn't matter'.' "'Look out,' said Bob, 'the path by! the old stump isn't safe.' " ' Doesn't matter !' "'Oh, come along!' said Jim, 'whefi we've found the eggs we are going to the creek for some blackberries for a pie.' 'Doesn't matter!' said Danny. " ' Hurry up. hurry up, hurry up,' «ai<J Dick, 'or'vou'll be all by your own self.* " ' Deosn't matter!' said Danny. "So they all went into the field —that! is the paddock, you —and hunted fos eggs; yon could hear them calling to each, other "when they found them. Danny waited for them to call him again, but they did not. So he started out all fry his"little self, with one bootlace trailing, and a rotten old basket in his hand, and the little dog running before, and the little cat following behind. " He got to the paddock, but the others had all gone on. 'Doesn't matter!' said Danny. " He found a nest with ever so many eggs in. More eggs than he could count on his little tat fingers. They were rather flusty and dirty looking. ' Doesn't matter,'* said Danny. 'They're eggs.' .'.nd he gathered them up. one. tw... three, four, five, six, seven. eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve eggs, and he put them into the cld basket and went on down the hill with his bootlace trailing and the little dog running before and the little cat following behind. The other children had found the blackberry bushes, and gathered and gathered and "gathered, until they had enough for a pie, and they were just going to start home when they saw Danny coming along the path by the old stump. "' Gc back, and come round the other way,' said Bob. " ' Doesn't matter!'

" 'Look out, there's a bulldog ant's nest near that stone.' said Dick. " 'Doesn't matter!' said Danny, and he sat dnvin on the stone, and the little dog and the little 'it sat down b»side him. ""Now down in a hole under that stone lived the biggest, strongest, worst-tem-pered bulldog ant you ever saw. His name was Nippers. " ' There's somebody talking near my house.' said Nippers the ant. "' There's somebody sitting right on tha roof of my house!' said Nippers. 'Wa must see about this.'

" So Nippers crept up and up out of the hole under the stone. Hie other children were just down below the bank with all the blackberries they had picked for the> pie. " ' You can't come down that way, &nd yon won't get any blackberries for mother.' said Mary. '"Will if I like, don't care! Doesn't matter,' said Danny, and kicked his heels against the stone. Nippers thought he meant to knock his house down, so he made a jump and fixed his pinchers on Danny's leg. " ' Ooh !' said Danny, and he jumped up to run away, but he tripped on hi s bootlace, and the basket broke, and he fell down on top of the little dog, who had gone to sleep, the little cat ran up th i old stump. Danny caught at that stump to save himself from falling, and it broke; away, and Danny and the little dog. and the eggs and the stum" and the cat all fell over the bank into the blackberry bush and right on top of the berries tb> other boys and girls had picked. " So nobody had any blackberry pie frr dinner that day, and it was a lone, 1. re* time before Danny lost the name of D-wny Doesn't Matter." "What became of Pinchers the ant"" asked Hillv. " Hist, listen:" said '■':-. Km--. Si.m enough there was the sound of wheels .-is the drive. Billy's Murmur had r<-me home. There were two people wit>. 1.0-. A young man and his wife, a.id ;i dear baby. They had conic to stay with Mrs. Fraser and take care of the garden. \rd next day Billy went away to town with bis Mum mie. He had quite a busy morning saying good-bye to all his friends. There was the calf, and there was Towser. and there was the cat, not to imntion the ducks and the hens and the pot v, and the pigs, and Mr. Richarday. "Good-bye, laddie." said old Mrs. Fraser: "come back some day," "Good-bye, good-bye' Good-bye, goodbyegoodbyegoodbye! Krraa-ah !'' yelled' Cocky Boy. "Goodbye, good-bye, I'll come back! soon!" said Billy. And then the pony took them tip and up the hill till they could not see the creek or the little house in the garden, only tho smoke from th% chimney*