LETTER-BOX CORNER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19608, 9 April 1927, Page 4 (Supplement)

LETTER-BOX CORNER.

BZ ELSIE K. MOETON, iWell, dear little friends, here I am home again at "last, after my long tour through New Zealand with the Duke and Duchess. As I expected, there was a great pile of letters waiting for me, and I want to thank you all for your kind wishes and congratulations on having been able to make such a delightful tour. I want also to thank all the parents and teachers who have written to me about Letterbox Corner. It is a great pleasure to know that they are so interested in our pen-friends' circle, and that they realise what a great help such a column can be in developing a sense of observation and powers of description in our boys and girls. Some of my little pen-friends have sent me photographs of themselves and their pets, and I have been very pleased indeed to receive them. X have ever so many interesting things to tell you, but there are a lot of letters waiting to find their way into print, bo I will just tell you how big our circle of pen-friends is growing. Last week, I had a most- delightful letter from a little -girl in far-off Michigan, in the United States, who wants to join U3. A boy- in Christchurch, and a little girl in Wellington, have also asked to become membars, and later on you will read their letters. >

I have been so busy judging the Bib

and Bub " painting competition that I haven't had time to go through the Roya! I [Visit essays yet, but the results will be announced next Saturday, You will find 1 4 «« Bib and Bub" prize-winners in the I next column. Don't forget the name competition and be sure you have your entries in before next luesday I The prize for the best letter goes this i' week to Bell-Bird, North Auckland. Will : she please send her name? When cor- ? respondents use pen-names they must give their real names also. Please remember this in future.

1 Dear Miss Morton,—Have you ever been i to Muriwai? You have certainly missed seeling one p f New Zealand's most beautuul and ■wild coasts, if you have not done so. One :31 fene day last summer we set out to spend 1 a da y at Muriwai. The journey takes about 1 troo hours by car. Before the beach is I -reached you have to pass down a narrow ' Toadwhich winds through real Few Zealand bush. Thi» is the part of the road I I Jike best. On this day the locusts were ' very busy, chirping away and making I nlenty of noise, Tho sunlight filtered through the trees and cast patterns on the ' carpet of deßd leaves, which crackled pleas- ! ahtly beneath the wheels of the car. At last we reached the beach and before us lay the mighty ocean. Far out tae water was ! calm and blue, but farther in it wat a white mas of tumbled breakers. On they I came, racing toward the shore and crasn--1 ins against the rocks, sending spray and ! foam far above our heads. BasematecL I i watched 'breaker after breaker, fling themselves against the black grim rocks. i Presently we set oS farther rour,c the beach 1 -where the crowd did not comj, and here i we enjoyed a swim. After our dip we set : out to explore, as we d never been to this I part of the beach before. ' Look, a cave! i came an excited cry, from one of the boys, I The opening was dark and gloomy, but we trooped in and found otirselveß in complete i darkness,, Not an inch could we see be- ! fore us. nor could we see each other, when ! we spoke our voices rolled in thunder from each side. Very slowly, we moved fore- ' ward, feeling our way with our hands, I tripped over a stoae and knocked my bead : against another. Then we saw that , comir.fr through a hole, and on clambering ! through we found ourselves a short way up iudes of a cliff. Soon we were 1 back at- the openiirg and again we . went through. Soon afterwards we i found crabs—great big ones—under a ! rock, but in epite of our efforts with j long sticks we did not get one, so we i turned our attention to the pretty, many- ! coloured -anemones in the sandy pools, left by the tide. By this time the waves were coming in, ana people were beginning to make a hurried race across the sandy bay. "We picked our way over the rocks, and then raced up the beaeh to where our parents were packing up ; to go home.—With love frotn Bellbird (age 16). (A good letter. Bellbird. I have often been to Muriwai, and I" know the big cave you speak of It is a lovely beach, as you say. We used to walk out from Waimaukau.

Dear Miss Morton.—J thought I would like to write and* tell you about my trip from Canada to New Zealand. We left ti?e city vof Toronto oix a lovely night, and we felt very lonely for a day on the train, because there were no children to play with. I whs eight years old when I left, bo I do not remember everything, but I will tell you wbat Ido remember. We were four days and four nights on the train from Toronto to' Vancouver. The Rocky Mountains just looked like gold, because th& golden sun was shining on the pure white snow. "We were *ll glad when the train journey was ended, because, although we saw wonderful _ scenery, it was very wearisome with nothing to do. _ _ I was very pleased when we were sailing along the big blue ocean. We left Vancouver at eleven o'clock in the morning, and arrived at Victoria at six o'clock at night- The next place was Honolulu, and it was a lovely place. My little sister and I got sunshades with different coloured Sowers on them made by the Hawaiians. Fiji was the next place, and the name of the town we landed in was Suva. Mary, Jean and I got a basket each with coral. And we keep them as ornaments. _ The neJft. place was the wonderful . ?:ty of Auckland, and I was Quite surprised to see it so clean, tidy and lovely, because New Zealand is a young country. We were soon on the train for Buckland, and it just seemed like a holiday for a Ion?: time, because it was' a change to the city. _ I will close now.—Love from Lizzie Mcßctbie, Buckland (age 13). (Very interesting letter. Lizzie, and I am sure you are very happy now in our beautiful country.)

! Dear Miss Morton,—l enjoy reading tic | letters in letter-box corner, so I thought I i would like to writ© one to you. We live on a dairy farm and milk twenty-one cows morning and night. My two sisters and I help our father milk. On Saturday, lily 1 >#iater Joan found a sky-lark's nest on the • in some pennyroyal with three egga ' ira it. The sky-lark was- axnisring its sweet i livttle song above the nest. The birds are ; jproud of their nests. build in the trees and gorse, and opera on the ground ! and all kinds of lovely places.—Yours truly, -Sylvia Hobson, Otorolianga. (age 8).

Dear Miss Morton,—l am .going to tell you of how I spent the last day in the holidays. 'All the family, but m t father, set off for the Kirikiri Bet;ch. Part of the road iroin mv father's gate tc my uncle b was rather WMh soweall walked that part, but my mother and brothei After travelling for about 2 hours we reached the beach. When ■we had finished our lunch, we went to play on the beach. "We saw many large and small crabs. As it was too cold for us to bathe, we enjoyed paddling in the water. Sometimes we went info about the deepest ■oarls: the water was above our knees, it is a good place for little children, as I* is not very deep. "When the tide was out we ware not afraid to cross the channel, but when it was in we were afraid to. The inud was deep in tlio channel, ana tna»t js -w© were afraid. Soon after we set off for home, glad that we had visited the beach.—Well, good-bye. from Eileen Garrett, Taurapga (age 12). THE BEDROOM SPRITES. (By Irene Thornley, age 13.) Ella had been very naughty. She has pinched poor pussy, picked all the roses, kicked her heeb in the lawn, and grieved her mother. At last, when tea was. over, ■he was sent to bed. There she lay m the dark when, all at once, she saw dozens of sprites teasing her, and swinging on her h*ir, .All at once she was lifted high up into the air, until she reached a beautiful with lofty walls, nice furniture and ? cushions. She looked round and saw «)«•»?« I- l' d ? to a maT) a golden head. "Come here, prisoner," V Jiej" trembled, but •Spr pretty dresses of Wrn l"*r JPO»lad the queen's 6 w dwm*X^ t i nued -. 'Vw Punish. ."bEL'* inSsLi* 0 ? 1 * to the earth. (o °ll a r'^ e r **l J?' a®