OUR LITTLE FOLKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1970, 22 August 1889, Page 35

OUR LITTLE FOLKS.

By Dot.

Dot will be pleaoed to receive short letters from juvenile corre spondeuts on any matters of interest to themselves— short storief of pet animals, descriptions of their fmourue toys, their parties, amu«eim;uta, &o. The letter* to be writti'ii by the children themselves and addreised " Dot, care of the Editor," and to bo pub lithed ia tie page deroted to " Our Little Folks." NANNIE, TODDLEKINS, AND THE FIRE. By Gbaoe H. Goodaix, Toddlekinß was a mite of a black-and-white kitten, with a pink nose and eyes the colour of skim-milk, and he belonged to Nannie. Nannie was a mita of a girl, with "corncoloured hair " and violet eyes that looked a great deal too big for her little faca — and ehe belonged to the minister, Toddlekina and Nannie were inseparable companions. Wherever you Baw Nannie's yellow topknot (her hair had been cut short for convenience and curled up from her forehead in a funny little way), there also you saw Toddlekins' pink nose and pointed ears, one white and one black. When Nannie curled up in a corner to read or , draw, Toddlekins purred in her lap ; when Nannie went out on the ' street Toddlekins perched on her shoulder, and when Nannie went to bed at night, an old tin boiler with a piece of worn quilt folded in the bottom was brought out from the closet, and there Toddlekins slept soundly, close to the foot of her mistress' bed. But there came a night which Nannie will long remember, a night when her father woke her by 'snatching her out of bed and carrying her down stairs in her nightgown through clouds of smoke, while a strange crackling and roaring came from the back of the house. The moments that followed were very bewildering ones to poor Nannie, who was left in the care of a neighbour's daughter while her parents went back to save as many of their household goods as possible. There were many willing hands to aid them, and it was not until everything of value had been carried out and further entrance fnto the house was unsafe that they were able to return to their little daughter. She met them with the eager question : -, " Where is Toddlekins ? " Sure enough 1 where was Toddlekins ? Mr' and Mrs Donald looked at each other in consternation, for they knew how dear to their pet was her dumb friend, , .Nannie watched their faces intently, and then, as she. realised the truth, burst into tears. It had, never occurred to her that Toddlekins could be forgotten. Her mother hastened to quiet her, saying that perhaps someone else had, brought the kitten out, and she would ask those who had helped them. But no one had seen Toddlekins, and it became evident that th 9, kitten had been left behind J in' the' burning house. Then Nannie's grief .broke out afresh. She ran about as if frantic, looking up at the burning house and calling wildly foi her .kitty to come out to her. At last her mother got her away, into the house of a friendly neighbour, where she sobbed herself to Bleep,, only to sigh and moan and start up now and then with the piteous cry : "My kitty, O mylittle kitty ; he's all burned up." Her father and mother did not sleep. They were busy caring for such of their household goods as. had escaped the fire, some of which were in a very queer shape. Among the odd specimens of packing which Mrs Donald found was an old wash-boiler filled with some of Nannie's clothes. As she was taking them out she thought, she felt a 'slight movement. ' Hastily snatching the clothes Bhe held the lamp, down into the boiler, and there at the bottom was Toddlekins, safe and sound. She caught up the kitten, and, running to tb9 bed whore her "little daughter Blept, gently wakened her. •■•Nannie opened her eyes full upon her pet. With a glad cry she caught him to her breast, and Toddlekins came almost as near being smothered in his mistress' arms as he was in the boiler. The explanation waß Bimple, and was given by one of the young men who had assisted ia removing the property from the burning house. In one of his visits to the second storey he had been at a loss as to how to bring down a quantity of clothing which had bsen taken from a closet, and seeing the boiler there, apparenlty empty, he seized upon it without once suspecting that be was carrying a passenger. The minister found another home for hia family while the parsonage was being rebuilt, and Toddlekins seemed none the worse for his adventure, but it was a long time before Nannie quite recovered from the shock of that night.