THE GREEDY ELF.

Otago Witness, Issue 3969, 8 April 1930, Page 73

THE GREEDY ELF.

The greedy Elf had toothache—such dreadful toothache! He sat in his little house beside the white lilac bush and he moaned and groaned at a terrible rate, and then he tied a great big blue and red spotted handkerchief round his head, and’ he moaned and groaned again.

“ Goodness me, what’s- all the noise about? ” said old Mr Owl. “ There must be something very far wrong with the Greedy Elf. Old Mr Owl knocked at the Greedy Elf’s door and went in. There sat the Greedy Elf moaning and groaning before the fire, with the blue and red spotted handkerchief round his head.

“ Dear, dear,” said old Mr Owl, “what’s all this?”

“ Oh, my tooth,” groaned the Greedy Elf; “Oh, my tooth.” “So that’s it?” said old Mr Owl. “What have you been eating to give you toothache? Yes, I suppose that’s Where Bertie Bunny’s birthday cake went to. Well, the only thing to do is to pull’ out the tooth.” “ Oh, I couldn’t do that,” said the Greedy Elf; “it would hurt too much.”

And he started to moan and groan again at a dreadful rate.

“ I’ll pull it for you,” said old Mr Owl.

“No, no,” shouted the Greedy Elf; “it would hurt too much. I really couldn’t bear it.” And lie ' started to moan and groan again at a dreadful rate.

“ Well, I’m afraid I can’t do anything for you,” said old Mr Owl. And he went out and left the Greedy Elf alone in his little kitchen.

“ Oh, my tooth,” groaned the Greedy Elf, and he put more coal on the fire, and pulled the blue and red spotted handkerchief farther up on his head. And all the afternoon the Greedy Elf sat like that, and the next morning, and still his toothache was not any better. At last he could not bear it another moment, so, putting a shawl round his head, on top of the red and blue spotted handkerchief he set off for old Mr Owl’s cottage.

“So you want me to pull out your tooth, Greedy Elf?” said old Mr Owl. “ Y-yes,” said the greedy Elf, still terribly frightened.

“Well,” said old Mr Owl, “I’ll pull out your tooth if you will promise to do something for me.”

“ Olb yes, old Mr Owl,” said the Greedy Elf. “ I’ll do anything you want—only do take out my tooth quickly.” So old Mr Owl took up a pair of pincers, and he gave one great big tug, and out came the Greedy Elf’s tooth. “800 hoo,” sobbed the Greedy Elf; “ you did hurt me old Mr Owl, but I’m very grateful.” “ Don’t forget that you promised to do something for me, Greedy Elf,” said old Mr Owl. “ To-morrow I am having a party, and I have heard that you make the most delicious toffee. You must make some to-night and bring it to me the first thing in the morning.” The Greedy Elf loved making toffee. It was such fun dipping in the spoon and tasting to see if it was ready: and oh, it was so good to eat when it was finished!

That night the toffee smelt and tasted extra good. It was a rich brown coloni, and it was flavoured with cocoanut.

“ I’ll just eat one piece,” said the Greedy Elf when he turned it out into the mould.

“ Really I can’t resist one bit more,” he said. “I never made better toffee in all my life.” " And the Greedy Elf took another bit, and another bit, and another bit, until there wasn’t one single- piece of toffee left. “ Old Mr Owl is sure to forget all about it,” said the Greedy Elf as he crept into bed. He wasn’t in bed very long before he began to moan and groan at a dreadful rate —he had the most terrible toothache in another tooth—far worse than the toothache he had had before.

“ Oh my tooth, my tooth,” he cried; and he got up and got the blue and red handkerchief and tied it round his head.

When morning came the Greedy Elf hadn’t slept a wink, and his tooth was so bad he couldn’t get up. At 12 o’clock there came a knocking at the Greedv Elf’s door.

" Come in,” shouted the Greedy Elf from his bed. He couldn’t speak very well, for his head was all muffled up in the blue and red spotted handkerchief. And in came old Mr Owl. Well, Greedy Elf,” he said, “ where’s mv tofl’ee ? ”

“ P-p-please, old Mr Owl,” said the Greedy Elf, “ there isn’t any toffee, and I’ve got the most dreadful toothache—far, far worse than the last time.” “No toffee!” shouted old Mr Owl. “ But you promised to have it ready for my party. I suppose you ate it all yourself.

“ Yes, old Mr Owl,” said the Greedy Elf: “ I’m afraid I did, but c-c-could you possibly pull out this tooth too.” “ I certainly will not,” said old Mr Owl. “ You deserve all the toothache you have got.” And he stamped out of the house and left the greedy Elf sitting all alone in his little bed with the blue and red handkerchief round his head, and he was moaning and groaning at a dreadful rate. —Glasgow Weekly Herald.

The Wellington Acclimatisation Society is not affected by the latest ban on the importation of birds (says the Dominion). The. secretary (Mr C. I. Dasent) stated the other day that the society had given up trying to import birds, since three years ago, when it desired to bring in some quail from the United States and the Government refused to permit this on account of foot-and-mouth disease.