LETTERS FROM LITTLE FOLKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2231, 3 December 1896, Page 51

LETTERS FROM LITTLE FOLKS.

Dear Dot, — I have a very bad toothache just now, and my cheek is all swelled. I go to school, and am in the Fourth Standard. As my cheek is swelled and I am stajing at home, I will write to you while I have time. There are four boys in my clans and seven girls. Our school was examined by Mr Braik ou September 3, and I passed. I have a little flower garden, and there are many flowers in ib. I have four sisters and three brothers. My youngest brother has a pet lamb ; please give him a name for it. Dear Dot, I have three miles to walk to school. In the winter time the roads are very muddy and dirty. There were nine failures in the school this year. Our teacher is Mr Shepard. I like reading the Little Folks' letter*. I Was busy working in the garden tonight before I wrote to you. lam beginning to get sleepy now, so I will draw to a close. — Yours truly, Joseph T. Hazlett (aged 10£ years). South Hillend, November 23. [I *ru sorry you have the toothache, Joseph, but of courae it; stopped aching when the cheek swelled, as bhe air was not abla to get ab the nerve, and that is what causes tbe aching. You have not told me what flowers you have in your garden or what your favourite flower-is. I hope you will do sa next time you write. Gall tho lamb Daisy — for I am sure you think ifc a daisy, don't you ?— Dot.J Dear Dot,— lb has been raining eince dinner- to-day. I have a nice pansy in my garden, and I send you a flower from it. I go to the South Hilleud School, and am in the Sixth Standard. Our school was examined, and I passed out of the Fifth Standard. I have passed a standard every year as yet, bub I don't think I will pass this year. lam the only one in my class, and I think ib is better to be by yourself, because you have no one to copy off and there is no one to copy off you. Our school was examined on September 3 by Mr Braik. Dear Dob, I have a little kitten. It is black and white ; ib i» also very fat. Will you please give me a name for ib. I have forir brothers and three sisters. I had fiva brothers, but I am very sorry to say that the youngest of bhem died when be was eight months old. I have been to the bush and got a lot of flowers. I have two gardens. One is for the flowers and the other is for seeds. Our teacher, Mr Sbepard, is very kind bo us, and does not use the cane to us too often. A concert was to be held in the school, bub ib was pub off. I have been going to get some wild daisies and make daisy chairs with them. I have made a picture frame of daisies. To-night as I was going round bhe sheep I found a rabbit's hole with six young rabbis in it." I think as lam sleepy I will draw to a close. — Yours traly, Pbecilla A Hazlett (aged 12£ years.) • [Thank you for sending the pansy, Precilla; it is very pretty. Although ib is not the colour of your kitten, I think Pansy would be a very nice name for her. You know fchere is the resemblance to a oat's face in a pansy. — Dor.] Dear Dot, — We are tw« schoolmates, and we live at South Hillend. We have a house at school, and we h&ve a lot of flowers and shrubs. Some of them are columbines, roses, and violets, besides many other different flowers. We are both in tbe Fourth Standard. Wo have a kitten each ; please give us names for them. We have a little garden eaoh, and we have aiany different kinds of flowers iv them, and we shall mention some of them. There are wallflowers, pansies, roses, and forgeb-me-nobs. Dob, do you like flowers ? We are sending two stamps each for the Kindergarten Fuad. We must stop now, beoause ifc is getting late.— Youre truly, Two Schoolmates. [Your gardens must be very pretty, and I hope yon keep the weeds in check. Call the kittens Frisk and Skip. Thank you for the stampß. — Dot.] Dear Dot,— We get the Witness, and I read the letters, so I thought I would write aad tell you something' about the place I live at. It is called Riverside farm, Thornbury. We have a new master. 1 go to Thornbury School, and have some nice schoolmates to play with. I am iv the Fifth Standard. , We ljve by the Aparima River, and we geb fish out of it sometimes. We have a pet lamb, and we call her Daisy. I have one sister and two brothers. Their, names are Sarah, Freddy, and Albert. We have three cows, named. Daisy, Violet, and Rjse. Rose has a heifer calf; please will you give meuatne for her.— Yours truly, November 23. Louisa Wohxers. [Rose's calf should be named Primrose. Fancy-your having both a lamb »ud : a cow called Daisy ! . Isn'b ib confusing ? And then I have told Joseph Hazletb to call his lamb Daisy too. Tqo daisy is in favour this .week, isn't ib ?— Dot.] Dear Dot,— l am a little cab, and a very happy one. My name h Einnie. I once belonged to a lady who went up the country. She intended to take me with her, but when she was packing up to go away I could not be found, bo I was left behind. I was away in search of , rabbits, and when I came back I could not find my kind mistress anywhere. I was very lonely and tad and did not know what to do. At last I thought of a farm nob far away that my mistress used to visit before she went away, so I made up my mind to go down there and see if tho people would bake a poor pussie in. ' All ab once I remembered that they had a lot of dogs, and I was afraid that they might worry me ; so I watched my chance, and got down to the houee at lasb. When the people of the house saw me they called me and gave me some milk. I was so thankful, and made up my mind to atop and work for them. The first thing I did was to look around and see if I could find any rats. I found some, and soon made short work of them. My mistress thinks a lob of me. She thinks no one can take care of her young ducks and chickens like me. I used to sleep in the fowlhouso at night to keep the rats away from them, and everything went on well until one night the door was closed and I could not get in, I wont down to the sfc&ok and found a family of dear little kitbeng, »nd I was there a week before the little boys found me, and daring that time Master R*t found bhab I had left my charge, so he thoughb he would hive a grand feasb of young ducks. My mistress said that would never do ; they musb bring me and my kittens to watch him. So the let m\\ keep two j dear little beauties. The first nighb we were : there a big rab came down the wall. I did nob 1 move until he wa» near the duoka. and thon i

made a rush And oanghfc him and laid him down beside the kittens, but of oourse they were too, young to understand. I will teaoh them when' they get older. We have a nice little nest to lie in, and pur mistress gives ub new milk both morning and night. If any of the duohliogs get' wet or cold they are given to us to warm, and we take every care of them. One day Willie brought ub two larks to eat, but we thought they were for as to take oare of, and we tried to do so, bat they lay too close to us at night, and when morning came we were in terrible trouble, for we had laid on them and they were dead. When our mistress came in we tried to tell her how sorry we were. She tald us not to trouble oursolves an we had done no harm. Now, dear Dot, don't you think lam a good cat. I have nob named my kittens; what do you think would be pretty names for them P— Yours truly, November" 23. •J*'-s5j > '• •' Mrs Puss. [I don't think anyone ever heard of suoh a useful and knowing oat as Mrs Puss. No wonder tbe good people in the farmhouse took to her bo kindly, and that the mistress thinks so much of her; " Puss in Boots " wai not half so sensible. Jast think of the big rats the kills, and then, by way of contrast, of the gentleness she displays in nursing sick ducklings and halffledged larki ! She is indeed a model cat. I think" she had better call her kittens Beauty and Ducky. — Dot.] Dear Dot, — The steamer was up here for grain and posts last week. An she was going down she struck a rock and broke ber rudder. Our examination was held on November 4, and there was only one failurs. I am in the Fifth Standard. We had a fortnight's holidays after the examination. I went up to the falls with some people last week, and we enjoyed ourselves very much. There are prizes to be given to the beßt in each class at the broaking-up of the 1 year. There is a punt down at Tuapeka Mouth now. A picnic parby is coming down to the mill on Monday. I send six penny stamps for the Kindergarten Fund.— Yours truly,' James Tyson (.aged 13£ years). Rongahere, November 26. [Are the falls far, James, and does much water come down them ? It is a pity the steamer struck the rock, but I suppose accidents are expected occasionally in navigating suoh a dangerous ri*er a* the Clutha. Thank you for the stamps. — Dot.] Dear Dot, — I live in Rongahere, not far from the Clutha River. The sawmill is about four miles up the river from here. The logs are , carted (o the mill in a truck which runs along a ' tramway that extends two miles into the bush j T,ho bush is full of pretty ferns and trees, some ' of which are covered with mistletoe and clematis. There is a punt on the river halfway between the mill and Rongahere, and I have beeu over it several times. The steamer Matau comes here for grain, and sometimes goes up the river for posts. Our examination is past, and we had « week's holiday, which began on the Priuoe of Wales's Birthday. Wo have not far to go to school, bub some have a good distance to walk. The oats are all up green, for we have ! had such web weather. lam sending you three penny stamps for the Kindergarten Fund. — Yours truly. Easter Dawson (aged 12 years). Rongahere, November 25. [I hope we shall have a dry spell now, Easter, | and the oats will then come, away rapidly, as I they have got such a' good start. Thank .you for the stamps. — Dot.] Dear Dot, — I am an old brown cat, and my name is Jack. I have a mate, aad her name is Topsy. We go rabbiting together. One day I was out to see if I could catch a rabbit, and I got caught in a trap instead, and my leg j was 'so sore fchab I could hardly move for a week. I was caught in » trap before, but my leg was not so sore that time. Don't you : think the owner was cruel to set the trap for j me? Dear Dot, my master goes to school every day, and I like him very much because he feeds me when he comes home. I am sitting by the fire, and I am writing on a box. My mate is sleeping, and I with I was sleeping too, and as my paw is tired I must stop now. — Yours truly, „ An Old Beowk Cat. Hyde, November 18. [The trap was probably teb for more profitable game than the Old Brown Cat, and if he hadn't got into it through his own want of caution probably a rabbit would have done so. No doubt he will be more cautious in future, for an old brown cat should certainly be very knowing. — Dot.] Dear Dot,— l live in Rongahere. It is a very small place, ao the people can't get as many amusements as they would in a town, bub there are sometimes concerts, which are held in the schoolroom. A picnic is generally got up about "New Year time, and it is very pleasant and interesting. There is a sawmill in the district, and a tram line runs through the bush for the purpose of conveying wood to the mill. The scenery up the 'line is very beautiful. There were very large trees all around, and ferns of all descriptions, among which the most beautiful were the tree ferns. I am sending six stamps for the Kindergarten Fund. — Yours truly, Bella Young (aged 11 years). Rongahere, November 26. * [I hope the tree ferns have not been destroyed, Bella. It is such a pity to see this beautiful fern cat down in the free manner in which most people deal with it. Thank you for the stamps.— Dot.]