LETTERS FROM LITTLE FOLKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1957, 27 August 1891, Page 37

LETTERS FROM LITTLE FOLKS.

Dear Dot,— We have a oat named Tom White. His eyee are as blue ats the sky, and bis coat as white as snow. Ha can jump aa high as my head over our hands. Last week we thought he was going mad. He crept about and kept! jumping back as though he saw a ghost, bat he is getting batter now. We have another oat, a tabby one, named Bunch ; Bhe is very cross. Sbe scratches me, and growls and spits at Tommy ; but he is deaf, so he does not mind muoh. Bunch likes best to eat biscuits, cheese, oakes, and custard, and sometimeß she won't eat anything. I have two sisters and one brother ; their names are Louise, Lynnie, and Harry. Lynnie is a baby, and b»H just learned to walk. I don tgo to school yet, but I learn my lessons at home. I expect to go when the weather is warmer. Dear Dot, this is the first time I have written with pen and ink. I hope to do it batter next time.' Sometimes I write little stories. Please may I send you one?— Yours truly, 'Rebib E. Rowlandson (aged 6 years).

Dunedin, August 16.

LFor a little girl of six your letter is wonder fully well written. Tom White must indeed be a beauty. It is a pity that he is deaf, but white cats with pink or blue eyes usually are deaf, Yss, send the stories by all means. —Dot.]

Deab Dot,— l am 10 years old. A Band of Hope has been started here, and my four brothers and myaelf have joined it. Meetings are held here every month, and the children say readings and some recite dialogues. " My brother ia &eoretary, and my uncle is president. Don't you think it h a very good thing if people wauld join it? Dear Dot, I have a big doll, it is 3ft long, and has such pretty light hair and blue eyes. It is not dressed yet. Would you please give me a name for it, Igo to sohooJ, and am in the Third Standard, I

have not far to go, My brother goes with me. He is in the First Standard. My brother is working down at my uncle's farm. He ib harrowing his ground. May I write to you again, Dot ? If you like this letter I will write again. There are about 45 or 46 ohildren m the sohool Igo to. Miss Flamank is pur teacher. I was down at the Dunedin -Exhibition, and it was a very pretty one too. There is no water here anywhere, and the miners are not doing anything. — Yours truly, Amob Mabei Gbaob Kinsman.

Hamilton, August 17. [Suppose you call the doll Lady Hamilton. That would be nice, wouldn't it? Yes, write again, but next time write on one side of tne paper only.— Dot.] Deab Dot,— l have got a little brother since I last : wrote to you. We do not knowwhat to call him yet. Be is seven weeks old, We have only a few flowers now— daisies, violets, and a jonquil; and I have some lovely white stocks in full bloom. We have very few lambs yet. We have had fine weather lately. The nights ar<s cold and frosty, but the days are sunny and glorious. Our last attempt to get a school proved unsuccessful. We are trying again, but we will not know for some months whether we shall get it. I hope we do. My sister and I get the cows every night. Two of my Bisterß found a kind of wild white heath to-day. The flowers are very Bmall, and the bush is like a low scrub. I have never seen it before. The clamatia is in bud now and will be out Boon. The fruit trees are budding too. There, are some lovely ferns and moss here. Papa got all the bush cleared off our place last year, and this year he is bush-felling from home. We did not get a good burn (indeed, scarcely any) last year. It was so wet that a lot of bush around was spoilt, and we got very little grass seed sown. And now, dear Dot, I shall Bay good night.— Yours truly, Maby Neilson.

Long Acre Valley, Wanganui, Augußt 14.

[It was a pity you had suoh a wet season. Many places down South, where there iB no burning to be done, would have been very glad to have bad half the rain that fell in the North. It would have suited both muoh better.— Dot.]

Deab Dot,— l live near Gore, and often go ont on my pony Tim. Tim is Buoh a little fellow, not muoh bigger than a large dog. He ia very quiet and old-fashioned. He will lie down, or Bhake hands whsn told. We feed him on braised oats and chaff, and also turnips. In the daytime he is put into a grasß paddock. You would think he ought to be content with all these things; but Tim is of a different opinion, and if he can get at the skim milk or boiled potatoes intended for the fowls ha will not scruple to help himßelf . If he sees any of the children with a piece of bread in their bands he will come up to them, and aeema to quite ezpeot a 3hare. We require to lay poisoned oats to destroy the rabbits,- which are sometimes very numerous, A man we call tbe "Old Rabbiter " has been trapping here for months.

He gave me a white rabbit with pink eyes, but it got out of its cage, and we found' poor bunny's remains in the garden .i-our dog Darky, no doubt, thought, he had done hia duty. Another little rabbit was stolen by a cat. Didn't I run after it 1 But I never saw my pet again, We are about to leave this place, and are going to live in Gore.— Youra truly, ■ Isabel Maud. August 19. Dsar Dot,— l live in tbe Mackenzie Country, and the nearest house we can go to is seven miles from us. We had very bard frosts in the winter. Even the eggs were frozen, and you could break off the sheila and take out a little frozen ball. I think I shall ba able to cross tbe Tekapo river this year and go to Simon's Pass. I have a doll's house with nine or ten little dolls in it. We had some snow, and we made three snow houses. We mada a big ball, then shaped 1&& a QOUBa witu a spade and hollowed it out, and then we put tables and chairs in it. May I write again, Dot ?-Yours truly, J. O. G. August 16, [Yes, certainly, write again. What a fortunate little girl you are to have suoh a houseful of dolls !— Dot.] Deab Dot,— There are 15 in my olass at school— the Second Standard. I have a little blaok-and-white kitten. Please give me a name for it. I have a nice black dog, and his I name is Don. He and I have great fun sometimes. We have a red-and-white calf, and its name is Rosy, Its mother died when it was I two days old, and my mother fed it on gruel. ! It iB a nice calf now. — Yours truly, | Thos. E. Favel (aged 9£ years). Otama, August 19. [Aa tbe dog is called Don I think you might call the kitten Donna. — Dot.] Dear Dot,— We are having very fine weather just now, and the roads are getting dry again. I go to school, and am in the Sacond Standard. Miss Bryden is my teacher. 1 I know a good few riddles, but I have no time to send them. lam writing this in school. We will soon be getting home. The games at Bohool are very common. There are npt many to tell you about ; so I must stop writing just now. — Yours truly, G. N. A. Orepuki, August 14. * Deab Dot, — I am going to tell you about a hen and chiokens we had . It was my work to feed her and her chickens every night. We had a little kitten, and it ptvent under the hen every night, and sbe reared it with her chickens. I think she was a very funny hen to rear a oat along with her chickens, do you not, Dot ? -Yours truly, Janb Andebson (aged 7 years). [Very funny indeed, but I read the othsr day about a cat rearing three chickens. The hen bsd died, and the poor little things were perished with cold when the lady of the house found them. She brought them in to ,the fire to get a little life into them, and put them near pussy, who was lying on the hearth. Pussy looked at them douotfully at first, but

seeing they were bo helpless she began licking them, and presently they revived and snuggled into her, and after that she looked on them as her own, keeping them warm till they needed her services no longer. Wasn't Bhe a funny cat?-DOT.]

Dbab Dot,— l have a long way to walk to Bohool. I have three sisters and three brothers. There are three of them going to sohool with me. This is a very pretty place in the summer, but it is very cold in winter. We are getting rid of the whooping cough. — Youra truly, Bell (aged 11 years). Deab Dot,— l go to Bohool, and am in the Third Standard. Our teacher is very good to us. The roads are yery dirty just now. I have a oat ; please give me a name for it. My siater is writing to you. Her name is Bell.— Yours truly, , Robina. tOall the oat Spring.— Dot.] Deab Dot, — I go to school, and have a long way to walk ; I have three sisters going with me. My little Bister has a pup. Will yon please give her a name for it. The weather is getting a little better, but it is still very muddy about here.— Youre truly. Ellen (aged 11& years). [As Robioa's oat ia to be called Spring, suppose you call the pup Skip ?— Dot.] Dbab Dot,— We have been having bad weather up here lately, but now as spring is coming on it is getting better. I am going to sohool, and am in the Third Standard. Miss King ia our teacher, and I like her very much. I read the little^folka' letters every week, and some of them are very interesting. I have five aisters and one brother. My sisters' names are Maria, Catherine, Olara, Margaret, and Johanna. My brother's name is Archibald.— Yours truly, Abthue Ashwobt (aged 9 years), Miller's Flat, August 17. Dbab Dot, — I have four cats. One of them ia called Topsy, She j'b bo fat, and she catches each a lot of rats. Another ib a tortoiseshell. Her name is Judy. One kitten is called Darkie, the other Tiddie. I have to feed the hens and ducks night and morning. One of my little pullets I fonnd dead this morning. Was it not a pity 1 What a lot of letters you have to read. lam only a little girl, so I cannot write by myself with ink,— Yours truly, Ivt TOOKEB. Sawyers' Bay, August 17. Dbab Dot,— l would like to tell you about the pleasant ;day I and my. two sisters spent with my father on the big dredge. It was his watch on board, so we went to keep him company. We had suoh fun racing about. Then we got some meat and threw it overboard to the seagulls to watch them dive, but it sank, and we thought our fun was done. Then we got some bread. That Boated, so next time we put mustard on the bread. You would have laughed, Dot, bad you seen them dive, and heard them scream when they tasted the mustard. At -last they got too wideawake to eat it, so we gave it up. I milk three

cows night and morning in the summer. We hava a good garden and some hives of bees. Do you Tike honey, Dot ? I. do. I attend the Mount Oargill Sohool, and am in the Fourth Standard. Our examination takes place in a few dayß. I hope I shall pass. Many thanks for your kind attention to us little folks in your column.— Yours truly, Ernest Tooker (aged 11 years). [Poor Beagulls! You certainly "made it hot " for them, and they will be suspicions of .bread floating on the water in future.— Dot.]

Deab Dot,— l have about two miles to walk to sohool. Mr Matheson is our teaober, and I like him very well. I have five brothers and two Bisters. Their names are Archibald, William, Thomas, Walter, Christopher, Jessie, and Annie. My little sister has a grey-and-white kitten. Ple&Be give her a name for it. 1 send the little folks a riddle—" Why is a little dog's tail like tbe heart of a tree ?"— Yours truly, Ellen Glendinning. Mokoreta, August 19. [You should have sent the answer with tbe riddle. Call the kitten Frisk.— Dot.]

Deab Dot,— l am at a private school, and am in the Second Standard. Miss Alportis our teacher, and I like her very much. In the afternoon when we ate sewing she reads nice stories to us, and reads the Bible to us every Thursday morning. There are about 20 scholars, I have four brothers and one sister. Three brothers go to sohool. We have a little dog. It is spotted black and white and yellow. Please give ma a name for it, — Yours truly, LizaiE Maodonald (aged 9 years). Oamaru, August 21. [Spot would, I think, be t, very good name for such a little dog. — Dot ]

Deab Dot,— l am at a private school, and am in the First Standard. We have a little dog, and it eats the egga. What wDuld ba a cure to stop it ? — Youra truly, Davie Maodonald (aged 7 years). Oimaru, August 22 [Blow an egg, and fill it with mustard, and leave it in the nest where the dog gets the eggs from.— Dot.]

Dear Dot,— l live at Tuapeka West. The Olutha river is about seven miles from here. There is a saw mill on the other side of the rivnr, and a steamer ia shortly coming up ths river to bring up coal and other goods for the settlers and take down grain to the Olutha. Some time ago we had a letter from the South of England from grandpa telling as of the stormy winter they had and their experience of it. They were snowed in until some ono came to rescue them. The enow was up to the eaves, lam in the Fourth Standard. Mv birthday waa on the 19th of August, and I was 12 years old. — Youra truly. W

Hannah

illiams.

Tuapeka West, August 20.

Dear Dot, -I go to the Middle Sohool, and am in the Second Standard. Miss Greddes is our teacher, and I lika her very much. I have three brothers and two sisters Their names are Willie, Davie, L ; zzie, Simon, and Flora. A live seal was caught here the .other day, and

I will tell you how they caught it. Johnston b oowb would not go to the hay, and Mrs Johnston went to Bee what was the matter. When she got there she saw a seal Bleeping on the hay and it ohased her. Then she oalled to her two eldest sons, and they chased it with ropeß and lasoed it and took it to a stable, where I saw it. We have a little blaok-and-white dog. Her name is Flo. My brother was at the exhibition. Our examination will soon be, and I hope I shall paßa. There w a flute band at our school, and nay brother is in it. The roads are very muddy here now, and it haa been raining for two days.— Youra truly, OUELT, Oamaru, August 22. Deab Dot,— l am in the Second Standard, I hava a Bister living in Dunedin. Now, I shall tell you about Dinah, the kicking cow. She got into the stack and enticed three others with her, aud behaved very badly. Do you like talking through the telephone. We have the telephone in our house ; we often speak through it. Our examination is in five weeks or more.— Yours ttuly, Elfih Williams. Tuapeka West, August 20. Deab Dot,— l thank you for giving me a name for my kitten. We have two foals and their names are Muldoon and Dick. Ruby died. I have no more pets to tell you about. I am in the Firet Standard. Good night.— Yours truly, Ethel Williams. Tuapeka West, August 20. Deab Dot,— l have a little puppy, and his name is Masher, and he catches a lot of rabbits. I have 10 sisters and two brothers. I am in the Infant Reader. lam seven yeais old, and this is my first letter.— Youre truly, Gobdon Williams. Tuapeka West, August 20. That Bell.— Please send the finish, when the tale will be oommenced. Tales cannot be inserted till the whole has been received. You should only write on one aide of the paper,— Dot. LITTLE FOLKS' KIDDLES. ANSWBBS TO LABT WBBK'S BIDDIiBS. 629. By Beatrice Henderson, SeaoUff -.— (1) Submission, (2) When they are aigheri (sires). CHUCKLES THE CHICKEN. A STOBY IN VERSE FOR VBBY SMALL OHILDBEN. Miss Chuckles the Chicken was puffed up with pride. With pride and with van-i-tee ; [ Because of three feathers that grew on her side As green as the grass-green sea They oalled her their prlnoess, the other young ohioks, And they all gave her grains of corn ; And she perched herself up on a couple of brioks And looked down on her kin with scorn. One day old Puss-pusiy strolled into the yard 1 As she stood like an idol aloft ; And .old Puss-puss looked at Mist Chuckles right hard. But he very respectfully coughed.

And he said, "Pray shake hands, O fair foreignerbird With thy three feathers green, so green." And poor Ghuckleß the Chicken drank in every word, And she thought herself nearly a queen. With her bill in the air and her tail-feather* curled, And her gaze on the blue, blue iky, She thought, " lam the finest young fowl in the world, And that nobody can deny ! " " She's a sort of a parrot," said Puss-pussy then ; " Of course, chickens I muifc nob -eat, But whoever saw green - feathered Children of Hen?I am ture she would taste moit sweet 1 One spring 1 —And old Puss-puss had her— but nay I A gallant young drake sprang between. So Chuckles lived on till her feathers wore grey— Her three feathers so green, so green, — M. H. F., in the Queenslander.