LOST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20596, 21 June 1930, Page 28 (Supplement)

LOST.

(Original.) By A. G. MOUNTFORT, Kaetihi Road, Ohakune. (Age 17 years.) One morning, while mending a hole in the boundary fence made by the ball during one of hi 3 frolicsome moods, I was hailed by the little daughter df my neighbour. ■" Mr. Bronsori, would you open a baa for- me? " a " Cortainly," I said. " What sort of a bag ? " " A bag of potatoes, please." On following her to the stable I found that, my neighbour had six large bran sacks nearly full of the useful vegetable. Having cut open a bag I returned to my work and almost forgot the incident. A few evenings later when I went to See Jack about borrowing a, borso with which to do some ploughing, I found the whole family sqarching for a cow and, of course, I joined in the hunt. For two hours we searched, combing tliß backpaddocks and the swamps, and even seeking information from the industrious Oriental who was still at work among his cabbages, but nowhere, nowhere could we glean ono particle of news concerning the whereabouts of the missing Bluey. . As Jack and I were returning past th<j stable our hearts were brought to our mouths by a terrific roar that seamed to shake tho universe, but which issued from the above-mentioned building. We both jumped. " That wretched cow! " exclaimed Jack and wo joined in lauglltel loud and long. Suddenly Jack's merriment ceased, and with an anxious look on*»his face, he covored tho space between him and the stable door and flinging it wide, gazed in. For an instant he stood on the threshold and then, grasping a stout batten he dived inside. From within came scuffling, shouting, stamping, the sound of a batten descending with force, and then a cow emerged, tail on end. After it came Jack, looking oh! so savage* and he slung the batten with? all his force after the retreating quadruped. " Whatj" I gasped, "is the matter?"

" That, that, brute," Jack choked with wrath, " she—she must have been in there all day, and she's rained the whole six bags cfi spuds! "