Ellen Visits the Exhibition:

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23507, 18 November 1939, Page 9 (Supplement)

Ellen Visits the Exhibition:

OUTt old friend Alladin, giving the ancient lamp another rub (and the wretched thing was always grubby and dull, however much he cleaned it), said to the Genie, "This place is very bare and bleak . . . just a lot of sandhills by the sea. Build me a palace here." "Certainly," answered the Genie. "What sort of a palace? Ancient or modern?" "Oh! modern, of course," replied Alladin. "But I want a tower, and a lake, .and ... er ... a waterfall as well." "What colour would you like the palace to be?" "Bed . . . or . . . yellow, or blue or .. ... . ohl I tell you what you can

do. You can build me two palaces; in fact, three or four" (for, alas, I'm afraid Alladin was greedy), "and at dusk one must shine like gold and another gleam like an emerald, and the next glow like a sapphire; in fact, the lake must be full of jewels, too. And inside my palaces must be wonderful treasures, all the best and loveliest things men and women can make. I want a magic carpet so that I can travel all over the land and see how people live ... to see the coal mines working, to see the timber sawn, _to see the sheep going into the shearing sheds and the dog working the mob, to see the ships moving to their berths at the wharves; and I also want to see the mountains and the waterfalls, the caves and ... in fact, old man, I want to see Now Zealand. . And, presto! it was done!

Ellen rubbed her eyes. Yes, it was really-truly magic . . . was this Centennial Exhibition., Why, it -would take more than a week to see all this. Which "palace" should she enter first? Going into the Dominion Court, Ellen travelled all over Neiv Zealand, ending in the Waitomo Oaves. Down, down, into the realm of the gnomes, among the stalactites, lit up with coloured lights, she passed, glimpsing fairy castles in the grottos at each side. Down, clown, in a delicious coolness, until the winding path disappeared into a dark tunnel. Groping along by the guarding rail, Avhile water gurgled and slashed beneath, she stared amazed at the myriad points of light in the roof, for this was the Glow-worm Cave. Next she came to a beautiful fernery, and, ascending a few steps, she found herself back in the Dominion Court. "Well, that was a wonderful sight," murmured Ellen to herself. "A regular fairyland, although, of course, there 000000000000000000000000000 l

aren't any fairies nowadays . . • ouch! Ajid an invisible hand tweaked the hat from her head and threw it far along the path toward the lake. "No fairies," shrilled a voice in her ear. "We'll show her." And invisible fingers tore at her coat and tried to take it from her. "Oh, dear, oh, dear," gasped Ellen, running after her flying headgear, which just eluded her. "Ha, ha . . . ho, ho, ho," peals of laughter broke over her head. "I'm sorry. Please let me have my hat back," said Ellen contritely, mak-

—Copied by Peggy Wallace (15). M.B.G. ing another wild dash, and, as if the mischievous wind sprites relented, the hat came straight back to her feet! It was in the next court that Ellen found the witch's house. Why, it looked good enough to eat; and it could be eaten, for the walls were built of biscuits, while the roof was tiled with ice cream wafers. Gazing longingly at the windows, which were framed in chocolate fingers, Ellen began to feel a pang of hunger, which was easily satisfied at tho nearby stall. Crossing the grounds again, Ellen was suddenly startled with a warning hoot . . . and behind her came the kiwi train. Kindly ho stopped and took Ellen for a ride. All round tho exhibition puffed the little train, until it halted in the Playground Park. "I am so thirsty," remarked Ellen. "There's plenty of water over there, enough to swim in, if you like the company," said the "Kiwi" with an impish grin. "Ha, ha. Ho, ho; ho," came peals of laughter again. Ignoring the mocking laughter, Ellen went over to look into the huge tank, and there she saw the "company." Sinister fins cut the surface as the sharks swam up and down, *their patterned backs showing up like an Oriental carpet in tho illuminated water. "What a big mouth you've got," said Ellen with a shudder. "All the better to eat you up with," answered the largest shark, waving his tapering tail with lazy grace. "Would you like to come in for a swim?" "Oh, no, thank you. It is teatime," answered Ellen. "Just what I was thinking," said the shark. "Ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho," pealed the laughter overhead. But it was not the fairies, nor the wind sprites, after all. It was the man who presided over the 000000000000000000000000000

By D. E. Tyson

Crazy Houso. Wlien hats iveut flying, when the octopus whirled its victims in its revolving arms, when the cyclone coasters shrieked with fear at the precipitous depth into which their car was dropping, when the dodgers crashed and Jack and Jill shot their mat-tobog-ganers into a heap, the "Crazy Man" still laughed ... and he is still laughing, for he is iinable to stop ... a mechanical laughing man. Suddenly came a voice: "Oh, here you are. We've been looking everywhere for you." And a small group of people came up to the middle-aged woman standing by London's famous tower.

"Let's go and see the sharks," said a small boy, detaching himself from the group. "Ellen has just been in there," answered the woman, as if to herself. "Ellen? Who is she?" asked one.

"Oh, she is a little girl I once knew," answered the woman, with a reminiscent smile. "She has gone now." "Where?" asked the boy, with a suspicious look round. "A long way, back into the years."

"I am sure Ellen would have loved to go on to that cyclone railway," he said. "Better'n anything." "Would she?" answered the other, with a doubtful look at the steep grades of the track. "Look, hero comes your grandmother." "Grandma, grandma, wait a moment . . . Great-aunt Ellen is going to take me on the cyclone coaster." "Ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho," laughed the Crazy Man.