THE LETTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19496, 27 November 1926, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE LETTER.

! ] Bl' WHEELER KENT.

It was not written on real paper or with a real pen or real ink at all. They were playing in tins bush when they found it. Alice v;as looking for leaves for her collection and Lyn wan swinging on a supplejack vine. Per. | haps his swinging made the branches | shake. Anyway something fluttered | softly down and fell on the back of his ! hand. ' " Alice," he called, " come and see. i Here is a new kind of leaf." ' ! Alice came, all excitement, but her ex- | citement soon died away. | "Oh it isn't much good, Lyn. It jj I just an ordinary leal and, see, "it is spoilt by all thesf marks." " Weil I think it is pretty and I lika it," said Lyn, . and he sat down to play with it. Alice sat down beside him in the shade and they flung their hats oa the ground. Everything in the bush was very, very still. Even the music of the birds was hushed. Presently a tbneeiEe began whispering to a cluster of flowers on a tree-top. Tho flowers spilled some of thoir pollen over the heads of the children. It was at that very moment they made the discovery. " Why!" exclaimed Lyn starting up in surprise. "I do believe this is writ* ing ;'r Let me see. ies, so it is!" They bent ov< * the leaf and read the words eagerly and wonderingly. " Oh, Lyn, it is a letter, a real letter,**, cried Alice, her cheeks flushing with pleasure. And so it war It was a letter from the birds of the bush to the children of the world. And this is how it came to be written. A finch was flashing about in the sunshine. Such a happy, bird ho was, with not a care in the wdrld. Songs were pouring from his little throat because he was so glaa to be alive. But something whiazed suddenb through the air, The gay little finch dropped over and lay still on tht ground. When his mate came to look for him all she found was a crumpled heap of green and yellow feathors. Some oa the birds were very angry. Others perched about trembling with fear. "We must call a meeting, said the tui. He gent his clew notes eching t'srouglthe bush Soor all the birds had gathered on the branches of tho old tree where the owl Jived. Their fuss and chatter woke him lrom his slumber. He sat there with his grave, wise look, listening to thei-- sorrowful tale. Then he said, "We must send a' message to the children." The littld birds all. agreed. | "But how shall we send it?" asked one. "And what shall we say?" asked another. " And how will they understand ?"• asked a third. "We mast write a lector," said the owl. " But we have nc paper," said one. " And we have no ink." said another. " And we hav no pen," said a third. "I will give one of my leaves/' said a iree. ■ ' ■ ; , ". My nectar shall be the ink," said a flower. . •. , . "One of you birds shall write it, and I will fan it dry," said a breeze. Splendid! crLd all the birds. The faiitaa was chosen for the task. She dipped her fharp little nib into tho nectar of a flower, and wrote their message op the |eaf, snd the breeze fanned it dry as he h&c promised. "But how will they get the letter?'* asked one. " And how will they be able to read it?" asked another. " Leave it to us," said the breeze. " When some nice children come along the tree will drop he? letter. I will tefi the flowers acd they will sprinkle them with magic dust. Than the children will understand thti language of the bush." So that was how it- was done. Alicb and Lyn felt they must tell someone about their discovery at once. They found their unci" working in his garden. " Well, wfeat is it all about ?" ha asked. "I will read it," said Alice. Dear Children, "Do you think you would like the bush so Well if (hers were no pretty birds flitting about, and no darling nests to find, and no music to make you glad? We know you would not like to frighten us all away, so this is to ask you to ba kind to all "the birds you see. Wo are not as big as you and cannot tell you when you hurt us If you will leave us alone we will sing our very best songs for you. From the Birds of tho Bush." ' " Anywsy it's mine. I found it,*' said Lyn. " Yes, Lyn, you found* it. What a lucky, lucky boy you were." And so he was. But who knows ? There may be other messages 'n other strips of bush for other boys and girls to find.