LETTERS FROM LITTLE FOLKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1865, 19 August 1887, Page 34

LETTERS FROM LITTLE FOLKS.

Dear Dot,— l am 10 years old, but I am not going to school. My sister goes, however. I have a doll with fair hair and blue eyes. Ido not know what to call it, and I wish you would give me a nice name for it. — Yours truly, Kate Graham (aged 10 years). Otama, July 25. Dear Dot, — I am going to tell you about my pet birds. I have got a great lot of them — two goldfinches and three canaries. They sing beautifully, and I feed them every second day. I am not going to school just now because we have moved from our old place (Otama) over to the Mataura river, and there is uo school over here. — Yours truly, Isabella (aged 10 years). Weudon, July 26. Dear Dot, — I have got a little terrier dog whose name is Snider. I have great fun with him when Igo out hunting. I have also a paroquet, which we have had seven years. When he is huugry he calls out for his breakfast. I go to school every day, and am in the Fifth Standard. Our examination , will be in two months, and I hope I shall pass. — Yours truly, Allan (aged 11 years). Tumai, July 29. Dear Dot,— My sister has a picture-book called in French " Bebe sait lire." It gives pictures of French girls and Frenchmen. Last winter, when the snow came, we made a snow house, and put our kitten in ifc. She tried hard to get out, and at last she pushed a hole in the side of it. and jumped out and ran under the house. We held a saucer by the side of the house to get her out, because she was very fond of milk, but there was none in it. — Yours truly, Eva. Moeraki, July 29. Dear Dot, — I have a nice horse named Tommy. He is very quiet, and I often go for a ride on him. Dear Dot, there are many frostfish found here — sometimes 20 in a day. I have not found any, but I hope to do so yet. I live about one mile and a-balf from the beach. I go down there nearly every Sunday, and get very pretty shells. Nearly five miles from our house are two peaks right back in the mountain. Pebbles are found mixed with the rock, which shows the sea must have been there once. My sister has a nice cat named Topsy. It jumps on her shoulder, and puts its forelegs ronnd her neck and rubs its face against hers. — Yours truly, Blanche (aged 9h years), Moeraki, July 29. Dear Dot, — I am going to tell you abont my pets. I have a cow whose name is Strawberry. I had also a little kitcen. but one night it was very cold and it came inside, but my mother turned it out and it died. I was sorry for it. — Yours truly, Katie Honner. Dear Dot,-«-I am going to tell you about our dogs and cats. The dogs' names are Tweed, . Bess, Cuttie, and Tobbie. Tweed is black, Cuttie and Tobbie are brown, and Bess is yellow. We have four cats. The trap was set for rabbits one night, and one of the cats got

caught in it, and was in it all night. When my brother went to look at the traps he found the cat and one rabbit. We have three miles to go to school, and as the roads are very muddy and we can't get along very well, we have to wear leggings. lam in the Second Standard. — Yours truly; Peter M'Lay (aged 8J years). Dear Dot, — We have a cat and a paroquet. I call the cat Muffy, and the paroquet Dicky. I have a doll which I call Victoria. Our examination will come off in three weeks.— Yours truly, Violet (aged 9 years). Kakanui, August 1. Dear Dot, — I have a pup. Will you give me a nice name for him ? I have been six months at school, and am in the Primer. — Yours truly, Mary M'Wiggar (aged 6 years and 10 months). Croydon Bush, near Gore. Dear Dot, — We live in a very lonely place called Windsor. There are hills all rouud us, and there are only two orchards here. This is where the Livingstone line begins, but it is not finished yet. I have only three pets— a kitten, a pony, and a pigeon. — Yours truly, James Taylor (aged 10 years and 7 months). Dear Dot, — I live near the sea. We have picnics on the beach, at which we boil the billy for tea. I saw four ships this morning. I can see the lighthouse at night. There is no school here, but mother teaches me at home. I have a little pony whose name is Tommy, but it is not so small as Napper. Mother rides it sometimes. I have a little pup called Lassie. I had one called Toss. It used to draw my cart, and when it was tired it used to jump in for a ride. We have two cows but only one is in milk ; she has a little ealr and mother gives it milk. It eats grass too. I like the little folks' letters. I wrote a letter to you in May, but I have not seen it in the paper, I sent you some ferns too. I think Ada Neal's letter is the best. — Yours truly, John George Watson (aged 8 years). Cabbage-tree Flat, Happy Valley. Dear Dot, — I am always very much interested in the Little Folks' page in the Otago Witness and in the description of the different places in the letters. And now lam going to write about tbe place where we live. It is called after a mountain near here, Blue Glen. The weather is very cold in winter, which you , will easily believe when I tell you we are 1500 ft above sea level. We Save not many neighbours, the nearest on one side being tbe telegraph station, which is seven miles away, and an accommodation house on the other side, eight miles off. The nearest railway station ia Belgrove, 20 miles from here, so that we have a good bit to go before we get the train I to town ; but if the Midland railway comes the way it has been surveyed we will not have so far to go, because it will pass about a mile from I the house. There are not many places of j interest about here except two lakes. Rotoiti, which is the nearest, is about 12 miles away. I have not ' been to see it, but my brothers and sisters have. Sometimes they and some friends go and have a picnic on its shores, and as we I have a boat there they generally have a sail on it — sometimes all the way up it, and sometimes only up part of it. About two-thirds of the way up there is a beautiful waterfall. The water is of a pretty dark blue colour, and there is bush on two sides of it. As it is 2000 ft above sea level, you can fancy there is plenty of snow on the hills just now. There is plenty of fish, ducks, swans, and other birds in the lake. I have known the boys to go and catch 200 eels in a few hours. I saw some grebe and a black swan that were shot at the lake, and they looked very pretty after they were stuffed and set up. j There is not anyone living near it except one old man who has a farm at the top. — Yours truly, Amy Kerr (aged 12 years and 8 months). Blue Glen, Nelson, July 29. Dear Dot, — I have two little brothers. Their j names are Edward and Henry. Edward has got a very curly head, but Henry has not. I go to school every day, and am in the Third Standard. —Yours truly, Kate Mee. Alexandra street, Dunedin. Dear Dot,— l am going to tell you about the games we play at school. They are : Egg-cup, King Senia.puss in the corner, blind man's buff, Chevy Chase, and fool, fool, go to school.— Yours truly, Robert Kidd (aged 10 years). Pembroke. Dear Dot, — I go to school every day. I have passed the first three standards and have begun •to learn lessons for the fourth. My two sisters and myself learn oui lessons together. It would be too far to go bo school with other children, so we are given tbe same lessons to learn and are sent to a public school to pass the examination. Tbe school we are examined in is at Foxhill, which is 20 miles away. I will tell you about the last time we went down. We started ab about 7 o'clock, and got down about dinner time. On the way down one of the wheels came off the trap, and we had to go the last four mites of our journey with the wheel fixed on with a crowbar. We all passed, for which we were very glad. The only holiday we get away from home is at Foxhill. We see a lot of our friends down there, and have the chance of spending any money we have at the store.— Yours truly, Alan Kehr (aged 10 years 3 months). Blue Glen, July 29. { Dear Dot,— l live at Taiaroa Heads, and go J to the school here. I am in the Third Standard. My father is coxswain of the pilot boat. The ' crew consists of four men, and sometimes they have to launch the boat when tbe sea is ' very rough. It is very frosty down here at present, and a good few frostfish have come ashore lately. Uncle got two large ones last Wednesday on the Kaik beach. I have five brothers and one sister. My eldest brother is in the artillery at Auckland. A lady friend of ours has got a little baby girl, and I often go over and nurse it. The baby's name is Mary Ellen. —Yours truly, Mary Anx M'Donald (aged 10 years and 10 months). Taiaroa Heads, July 30.

Deab Dot, — I live at Ashwick, in Cantorbury. It is such a nice place, and there are so many pretty trees around the homestead. Igo to school at Silverstream — a quiet, nice country township with about 40 or 50 inhabitants, situated very close to the hills. I think it is so nice living near the hills, although mamma says it is much colder than living near the sea. But thenyouknow we areall so healthy in out country township, which perhaps would not be the case if we were living away from our dear h\lla. We sometimes have a little trouble in getting to school. There is a river running between us and the school, and after very heavy rains , it gets flooded and sweeps our little bridge away. Then papa takes us across on my brother's little pony, which does not mind us climbing or. to his back in the least. — Yours truly, Jane Macinttre (aged 11 years). Ashwick, July 30.

Dear Dot,— l attend the Akaroa school regularly, and am in the Second Standard. I like 'going to school very much. I want to tell you about our cats. We have four. Their names ar© Tommy Dodd, Tommy Pratt, Lady Pratt,

and Kity Pratt. Kitty is striped like a tiger. Lady Pratt and Kitty are such comical cats ; they are always playing together, pretending to j worry each other. Kitty comes into my bedroom to wish me good morning. My birthday { will be in September. — Yours truly, Bessie Sims (aged 7 years and 10 months). Akaroa, July 31. Dear Dot,— The only things I have are a cat and a garden. The cat is very old, and my garden is not very nice. I have only silver feather, pansy, wallflower, gooseberry bushes, and a white lily in ifc. — Yours truly, Minnie Taylor (aged 7 years and 1 month). Windsor. Deae Dot, — I live at Waipori. There is a big bush 10 miles from Waipori. One day I went to the bush with a friend, and going away by myself I got lost. The men were looking for me a long time, and cooeeing with all their might, but they could not find me. I could hear them, but they could not hear me. At last they gave up the search, for they thought I must be dead. But by that time I had climbed up to the top of a big hill, where there was a bare place, and who did I see but my friend on the top of another hill on the other side of the bush. He saw me just as quickly, and yelled to me to stay where I was till he came over to me. As I was tired I waited till be came, and he then took me , back to the horses. He said he would never take me to the bush again unless I was tied to him, and that I had turned his hair grey with the fright he had got. I don't know about that, but guess some of his hair dropped out, for he hasn't got much on the top of his head now. Dear Dot, I wish you would send me something to make his hair come on again, for he looks funny without it. — Yours truly, Dickie Cotton. Waipori, August 1. Dear Dot, — I have a pet lamb, and its name is Nannie. It is a very playful little lamb, and will not bunt. Nannie has grown up now, and we are going to turn her out with the rest of the sheep. She was only a week old when we got her. Nannie would not drink at first, but now she is a nice strong lamb. We gave her a big box to sleep in. She feeds about all day, and then goes to her box and lies there till morning, and when we go up to it she goes ump ! jump ! jump ! — Yours truly, Olive Campbell (aged 10 years). Brunswick, August 1. Dear Dot, — I have .a little filly foal ; it will be just one year old next spring. Will you please give me a nice name for it?— Yours truly, Joseph Deegan (aged 6£ years). Waterdale Farm, Winton, August 1. Dear Dot, —We have had a lecture on China, given in the schoolhouse, illustrated by views. The Great Wall of China was nhown to us, and the lecturer said it was 1250 miles long. Some oi the other views were the Five Horse Heads, the Harvest Moon, the Pussy Market, tho Opium Smoker, and some others, including Hongkong. The lectursr said people sometimes say " Go to Hongkong," but he said they might go to a worse place. At the close of the lecture, the lecturer showed other views, such as Naples and Pompeii, and propounded a variety of conundrums, some being very good. — Yours truly, Mary (aged 10 years). Awamoko, August 2. Dear Dot,— l live at the Crescent. Tt is a pretty place in the summer time. We have a nice bush behind the house, and the Clutha flows past, our place. We have a nice garden, with all kinds of fruit trees. We milk 30 cows in the summer, and send the milk to the Stirling Dairy Factory. I have two brothers and three sisters, and we got another little baby boy on jubilee morning. What do you think his name should be ? My birthday will be here soon. Father took my two sisters and brother and myself to a soiree at Kaitangata church, and we saw the school children presented with a Bible each. My two sisters and Igo to Stiring school. We have two miles and a-half to walk, I am in the Second Standard, and I like going to school. — Yours truly, Mary (aged 10J years). Stirling, August 2. [I should think Victor (from Victoria) would be a very appropriate name, but perhaps your mamma would not like it. — Dot.] Dear Dot, — I have a pet goldfinch. It sings best in the summer time. I have a very bad road to go to school in the winter months. I am in the Third Standard. There are about 30 children in the school, and I have one brother and two sisters going to it. — Yours truly, Peter M'Lay (aged 10 years). Glenomaru, August 2. Dear Dot, — There are lots of rabbits here, and I catch some of them. I have four dogs — Wag, Toby, Rover, and Yorke, and three cats named Topsie, Winnie, and Sam. When my mother goes to milk the cows Winnie will stand up on her hind legs and open her mouth to catch some of the milk. I have a pet lamb and his name is Billy. He is a funny little fellow, and will bunt the cats and dogs over with his horns. I have a tricycle, which I ride to school when the road is dry. We live about one mile from the school. I am in the Fourth Standard. There have been hard frosts lately, and we have had plenty of skating, but we have not had much snow for snowballing. — Yours truly, John M. Griffin (aged lOf years). ' Macraes, August 1. Dear Dot, — I have a cat whose name is Mosgiel. We call her that because we got her from Mo.«giel. She is a very good cat and a good hunter too. She once had a piece of her ear bitten out by a rat. One morning she had a big rat in her mouth, and one of her. kittens took it from her. She was not pleased about this, but the kitten ran away and hid itself with, the rat and she never got it again. When lam learning my lessons she comes up on my knee and I have to stroke her or else she is not pleased and goes away. If lam at dinner she j will rub her nose against my face and coax me to give her some. But we all know coaxing is j better than scratching. — Yours truly, Christina Loudon (aged 9 years). Walton School, August 4.

Dear Dot, — I was down at Dunedin for about a fortnight. I went to see the gardens. There is a pond in them in which there were two swans. One was black and the other white. I was down on the Peninsula for four days. I was out in a boat; and I enjoyed myself very much. The farmers here have got nearly all their corn sown. There is a cheese factory here at which very good cheese is made. We get ours there. There are stone quarries here from which the beautiful Oamaru white stone is got. Most houses in this township are built of ic — Yours truly, William Genge.

Weston,'August 4.

[Two other black swans have been put into the gardens since you were dqwn, so that there are now three' black swans and one white one. There were originally two white ones, but a dog killed one.— Dot.] '

Dear Dot, — I have not been to Sunday school to-day because it is so wet, I am 11

years old, and am in the Fourth Standard at school. I have a married sister who has two such nice little children, and I go" up on Saturdays to play with them.' — Yours truly, Bertha. The Glen, -August 7.

Dear Dot, — We are going to play a piece called "Ked Riding Hood." We practice it every week, and I enjoy it very much. I hope when we play it we shall have a large attendance, as it will be more satisfactory to us than if the attendance is poor. — Yours truly, Ettie Mortimer (aged 10J years). Wyndham, August 9. Dear Dot, — I was at the Ocean Beach on Sunday, and was nearly drowned. I caught a cold, and did not do my lessons that night. Next day I got a caning for not knowing them. lam seven years old. When I go to the bush next time I will fetch you some pretty ferns. — Yours truly, ' Jack. Dunedin, August 9. Dear Dot, — I- am going to tell you about our pets. I did not know t'll lately that you gave prizes to little girls and boys. We do not get the Otago Witness often, so I have not read many^ of your stories. I have five brothers and five sisters. We had a nice little guinea pig' a while ago, but our dog. Charlie killed it. We were all very sorry, for it was such a nice pet. We have two tame rabbits — one white and the other gray and white. A morning or two ago j we found that the white rabbit had young ones, but we do not know how many there are, for the old rabbit would eat them if we touched them. My brother Frank has a green paroquet ; it can say " Pretty Dick " and " Pretty Cocky." It begins to talk whenever we get up in the morning. It got away once ©r twice, but we caught it again. Our dog Charlie is pretty old | now ; he is seven years of age. He keeps away all the hawks from the fowls ami guards the house at night. About a year ago we had a good old mare called Polly. She would eat bread out of our hands, but she was gored by our bull and died. There is to be a poultry show here soon, and a great number of pots I are to be shown ; but we are not going to show any. We have two very pretty little kittens, called Tommy and Maria. Tommy is yellow and white, and Maria is black and white. Their mother is • tortoiseshell. Her name is i Kate. She used to bring in mice and sparrows alive to teach the kittens to catch them. Once she brought in a lizard. They can hunt for themselves now. I have told you enough about our pets, and as I never have written such a long letter before, I hope you will like it. I go to a school not far from our place. I like the master very well. He tells us stories sometimes. I am in the Fourth Standard, and will write to you some other time. — Yours truly, Daisy (aged 10 years), Invercargill, August 8. Dear Dot, — I am going to tell you about the planting bee at our bchoolmaster's new garden. It was held on the 3rd August. Our teacher asked the scholars to bring him a flower. Before we marched up to the garden we had au object lesson on flowers for an hour, and then we marched up. There were a great many flowers — such as violets, pansies, primroses, cowslips, marigolds, jasmine, crocuses, daffodils, tulips, jonquils, and sweet William. There were some fruit trees— such as strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and currant trees. Afterwards we planted a jubilee tree, and sang " Here beneath an old tree's shade." The garden looked very nice, and I would like you to come and see it. There were about 300 flowers planted by the school children. I am in the Thiid Standard. — Yours truly, Ada Nelson (aged 9 years). Lovell's Flat, August 8. Dear Dot, — A planting bee was held last week at our teacher's new residence. Most of the school children brought something. Some had shrubs, some flowers, some raspberry canes, some gooseberry bushes, and some currant bushes. There were about 250 plants altogether. There were a good many little shrubs and two or three big ones. I planted a few flowers and bulbs. Before we went up to plant them we had an object lesson on flowers for an hour. We then marched up to the house and began to plant. The boys planted nearly all the shrubs, and the girls the bulbs and flowers. I think the garden will look nice by and bye. It wae fine fun planting flowers. When we had finished planting we sang a song, and then we marched down to school. I go to school, and am in the Third Class. — Yours truly, Jane Bowie (aged 9 years). Lovell's Flat, August 8.

Dear Dot, — Have you ever been at Arrowtown ? I daresay you have not, so I will try to give you a description of the place. It is rather a small town, situated on the banks of the Arrow river, and surrounded by high hills, some of which are capped with snow, even in the hottest days in summer. There are not many very large buildings ; the principal are : The Bank of New Zealand, the post office, two schools, and three churches. We live in the country, about a mile from the township. Not far from our house is a little lake, which looks very pretty, being generally quite calm ; and one can see the rocky peaks of the Remarkables reflected in it.' This is a great place in summer for tourists, and they all admire the scenery very much. I attend a private school at Arrow, and am in the Fourth Standard. Miss Murphy is our teacher's name, and I like her very much. I have no, pets of my own to write about, excepting my dollie. I have had her for a long time now ; her name is Lady Alicia do Grey, but I call her Alice. My brother Jack is two years younger than I. He has a doll, too (but he does not like anyone to know it, because he is a boy) and two dogs — Spot, a black and tan terrier, and Jet, a black retriever. We had a large yellow cat called Sandy, but one morning when Jack and I went out to the stable to feed her we found poor Sandy lying dead. Papa said she must have eaten poisoned rabbits, as there are plenty of them to be found about the hills. We were very sorry for her, as she was such a good cat. — Yours, truly, Nora M'Entyre (aged 10 years). Arrowtown, August 8.