WHAT JACK FROST SAID

Southland Times, Issue 23254, 17 July 1937, Page 5 (Supplement)

WHAT JACK FROST SAID

—PRIZE—

The Clerk of the Weather was writing in his huge note-book, and what do you think he was writing? Nothing less than the weather report for. the following day! He was feeling very amiable, and, finding that J. Frost had been out of work for some time, he called him in. “You will be pleased to know, Jack,” he said, ‘that you will be on duty tonight.” Jack was both surprised and pleased at the good news, for he liked his work very much, and he skipped off excitedly 'to prepare his paints and brushes. First he took a little book, and picked from it some enchanting patterns to use.. He took up his pot of glistening frost paint and was about to put on his sparkling white cloak, and speed away, when—it began to snow! Jack had forgotten that the Clerk was a changeable old fellow, and now it was snowing. Jack was furious! He sped off to the Clerk’s tower and gave him a piece of his mind. “You’re a nasty, disagreeable old fellow,” he finished up, and if you’re not careful I shan’t work for you!” The Clerk was so alarmed, that he promised Jack work for the next month. And as he kept his promise, that accounts for the hard frosts lately.

—Prize of 1/6 to Cousin Mary Cameron (11), Glenfalloch Station, Nokomai.

—PRIZE—

As the wind carried Jack Frost along through the sky, Jack said to himself, “I’ll freeze the puddles into ice, and paint pictures on the windows today. Tomorrow I will freeze the taps, burst the pipes and nip the little boys’ fingers and toes. Yes, and I must make the paths slippery with my paint, and ton all the green to white. Ho! Ho! What fun I will have!”

—Prize of 1/- to Cousin Norman Barlow (7), 61 Eye street.

—VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED—“Oh!” said Jack Frost, “It is time for me to get to work! Come along,” he called to his fairies, “fill your frost bags, and get the icicles ready.” When all was quiet over the fields and house tops they flew, sprinkling their frost and hanging up the icicles. The children awoke in the morning to see beautiful pictures that Jack Frost had painted on their windows. When they saw the pond all frozen hard, they jumped with glee. They put on some warm clothes and went for a skate on the ice.

Jack Frost heard their merry shouts, and he laughed to himself, and said, “Who says they don’t like Jack Frost? I knew I could make them happy.”

—3 marks to Cousin Wallace Baillie (8), 216 Nelson street.

—VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED—

The other night when I had finished my homework, I went to bed early. When I had been asleep for about two hours, someone started to knock at my bedroom window, so I got up and peeped out. There stood a tall, thin person all covered with hoar and icicles, and he seemed to be painting a pattern on my window with an ice wand. When he saw me, he asked me to put the window up, which I did. Then he said, “If you promise not to breath on my painting on the window I will tell you a story.” So when I had promised he began this strange tale:— .

I suppose you wonder who I am, and why I am here in these clothes. Well, I was once an ordinary person like yourself till the emperor of the fairies changed me into what I am now. You see I was a very naughty boy; because when the snow was on the ground I used to put handfuls of it down my little

sister’s neck, and cause her to get dreadful colds. Then one day, while I was at my usual tricks, something came over my head and I was carried away like a feather.

When I could see again, I found myself in a great green place with flowers all round, and a little green man dressed in sparkling things was saying, “You have been a naughty boy, and I .am going to punish you. As you are so fond of playing with snow, and annoying people with cold. things, you are now Jack Frost, king of the ice fairies.” . When Jack Frost had finished his story he held out his hand to say good-bye. Then just as he touched me I heard some one saying: “Wake up sleepy head; whatever are you doing with your window open on a frosty morning like this?”

So it had all been a dream, but I cannot help feeling sorry for Jack Frost, can you?

—3 marks to Cousin Dulcie M. Tuffery (11), Dacre, Section 2, In-vercargill-Otara R.D.

—VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED—

During the year I travel in many parts of the world and usually visit New Zealand from June to September. I always make mischief, and I am about to tell you of my travels in Southland.

At five o’clock I started off on my night’s adventure, feeling very mischievous. I laid a thick layer of ice on all the ponds, and in the morning the children had great fun sliding on them. I burst many pipes and as the men were doing other work, they were angry when they had to go and mend them. At night I crept into the schools, and froze all the ink. As the children could not write in the morning, the teachers let them off their work, and said that they might go outside and do what they liked until the ice melted. You can guess that they

were quite pleased that I had frozen their ink.

A few minutes later, I stole into the pantries and froze all the milk, and the mothers had a hard, job breaking it. They could not get water a s I bad made the taps stiff, and so breakfast was very late. All the year I hurry about the country laying a beautiful white mantle on all the trees and hedges. Another thing I am famous for is my painting on the windows. If you look at all your windows in the mornings, you will see lovely pictures on them. I also cover the ground with a cloth of frost. I think that my short letter to you will finish now, for I must set off this evening to do my work with the trees and plants.—Jack Frost.

—3 marks to Cousin Derek M. Pears (10), School House, Oreti Plains, Winton R.D.

—VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED—“Ah,” said Jack Frost, “I think it is time I went to visit all the girls and boys. There have been a lot of grumbles lately about Mr Rain, so I will just see what sort of a hearing I will get; Not a very good one, I suppose. Tonight I will go out, and paint all sorts of patterns on the windows of their houses, and make everything white. In the morning the ground will be hard, and the air very nippy, but if air the girls and boys run along to school, they will be warm when they get there, and think me not so bad, after all.” —3 marks to Cousin Betty Haugh (9), Pyramid.

—VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED—“Ho! Ho! Ho! Won’t I nip their toes this morning!”

This laughing voice came from Jack Frost, as he stepped into the clearing. Jack was dressed in icicles and he had two white wings. He looked round. He was in the grounds of a large house. Running to one of the windows, he peeped in. There, sleeping peacefully, was the child of the house, six-year-old Eleanor Carr. “Ha! Ha! Wait till she wakes up. I’ll nip her toes and her—.” Dong!, Dong! It was seven o'clock. So merry Jack Frost ran across the grass, and disappeared into the bracken.

—3 marks to Cousin Ngaire Gardner (11), 154 Leet street

-VERY HIGHLY COMMENDEDOne cold evening in July, as the pale new moon was setting in the west, Jack Frost stood talking to his brother, East Wind.

He said, “I would like you to go on a journey tonight, and leave me in possession of the land as I would like to test my powers! Tomorrow morning I will frost the trees and hedges, and paint pictures on the windows. Then I will ice all the puddles, so that the children can make slides. When I nip their toes they will be glad to run and skip and get warm.” So East Wind went away, and left Jack Frost to do his work.

—3 'marks to Cousin Richard Goodson (10), 64 Robertson street.