A NEW IDEA FOR THE BASSINETTE.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 December 1932, Page 15

A NEW IDEA FOR THE BASSINETTE.

, AMONG THE; FLOWERS.

“Soon I shall send my best children to earth, because it will be Christmas, and those who go will make the whole world beautiful, and will play with the jolly children and see their Christmas trees and toys.” “We all want to go,” shouted the snowflakes, and their voices sounded below like a hurricane blowing. ' “No! No!” said Snow Mother, “you are too many. Nobody wants you all.” Well, the night before Christmas, all the Tommys and Joans and Biltys and Betty’s looked out of their windows and sighed: “Oh! I wish it would snow, but it won’t.” You see, the weather prophets had said, “No Snow for Christmas!”

But that night the snowflakes were more unruly than ever. They rushed here and there, putting out the lights of the stars and covering the moon with? a thick, . woolly cloud. Then they kicked the other clouds to pieces and all tumbled helter skelter over the earth! On Christmas morning, when the Tommys and Joans and Billys and Bettys looked-out of -their , windows they., shouted ‘>Hurrah!” and laughed to see so much snow. Even Snow Mother smiled at her unruly children, and went;out? and pulled the woolly clouds from the face of the sun, so that he could shine on. such a- lovely' Christmas' ; Day.;'- :• '■ ?

\ THE CHRISTMAS TREE.

Millie had never had a Christmas tree, because daddy and mummy never had enough pennies at Christmas time to spend on trees and toys and. things like that. '■ i

Then one bright day Millie found a fir cone and she said to. -herself: . “If I plant it in the garden and wateriit every day, by Christmas I shall have a lovely little tree of my own.” . i . So she planted the cone and watered it, but when mother heard of it she only shook her head sadly. “I am -afraid it will never grow -into a tree by Christmas, dearie,” she said. Now, that night, when Millie was hi bed, she suddenly opened her eyes and saw a tiny fairy standing on the mantelpiece, and she heard a silvery voice sing: “The fir cone will become a tree . '• >!' By Christmas time for you, ' If it is watered carefully Each morn with fairy dew.” Then the fairy disappeared. Next morning Millie ran into the garden very early. She found she had left a little bowl out all night by mistake. The bowl was filled with water. “Fairy dew,” cried the little girl, and she watered the place where the fir cone lay buried. Every night after that Millie left the little bowl out and every morning she found it filled with fairy dew. Bye and bye a little fir tree sprang up where she had planted the cone. And every day Millie watered it with fairy dew.

Then one day, just before Christmas, a lady passing by admired the little tree, and Millie’s mother told her how Millie had planted a cone and watered it with fairy dew. “Oh! but I should love to dress the tree for your little girl,”, said the lady, “may I?” Of course, mother said “Yes.” And'so, on-Christmas morning Millie found the loveliest fairy Christmas tree, all sparkling with tinsel and coloured balls, "and laden with toys and sweet and dear little candied . • ■ ’ And Millie, the happiest little girl in the world, ran next door to fetch her friends, Sandy and Dot, to come and share the Christmas tree with her.

they were living in this cottaga .Aat Richard Barrett died and his daughters, 'i?.; Sarah and Caroline, were sent to them < to bring up. ’ \ v - Two well-known, characters were Mfc , Medland, the only constable, and Mr. v John Newland,-• a singer of some note, who presided at the gaol, then commonly known Alongside were the stocks and ajpund was a fairly stout--<1 fence.- One day,, about noon, Mr. New*’.';o land .took prisoner’s dinner, and a ' moment', afterwards .two men appeared at the ,door,’’climbed the low fence, and riishedl '-qfE -'-along . the beach towards > j Moturoa; ’ "y- - ; . Hardly had they disappeared around the comer of the gaol than from within : arose a terrific • shouting and stamping. The. gaoler had been locked in by the . prisoners, who ’ had slipped past and slammed the door, while he was stooping ■ ’ in a dark corner of the' cell. He had ; left the key in the . door and so-was an easy victim to the scheming of his . charges. The door had to be broken in \ before he could be -released, as the key had. been thrown .away as. the es- . capees left; they were eventually found some distance away. •. - The chronicler of this incident believed > that these two men had been apprehended -for a daring: robbery- at Mr.,F.;W» i. ; < Glendbill’s newly-erected cottage near th« ;'• Heiiui: River. They had tied. Mrs. ’Gledhiil'to-the* bedpost and helped-fSema . > selves to the valuables. - - : However, this-sort of thing was happily the exception, the"rule’' being that,"all the study band of J settlers' were.. friends , .- living in amity and peace, Mr. Newland, -who, it was said,- had been commanded -to-sing- before the -King- before- he--left for the colony, was the conductor : choir in, St. Mary’s Church, Sir, Richard i®|i Rowe was a maltster who for-many years malted locally grown barley, and’brewed for Mr. William George’s tavern near-by. f. The following verse and chorus from a ’. song of the day epitomises the comaradle •<; of the period:— • ■ > '*s And other things we have besides, , We’ve Gledhiil here, to ten our hides. J: ; To strike the whale with harpoon true, | We’ve Barrett and his hardy crew. . Our flagging spirits soon we’ll chew J/u; With George’s. stout,. or Seccomhe'at... j beer;. ■ • JJor fetdi tobacco from. afar, , », • If While Nairn . can twist the -mild cigar, ;. , ■ Chorus. .-• , ? ■’ Then banish .care and don’t-despair, ■- «'t ’ A-; fortune,: inthis place so-.rare, ... ■ But in a bumper, pledge the toast-* New Plymouth fair! New Zealand# ; best: i ■ .■ - ' -7 . ,