WENDY HUT LETTERBOX.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1933, Page 10 (Supplement)

WENDY HUT LETTERBOX.

LETTERS to be Addressed: “WENDY,” Care Taranaki Daily News, Box 119, NEW PLYMOUTH.

Eileen Ashley, Ahititi: Yes, you may have “Miss Muffet” for your name, Eileen. Tinker Bell is writing it into her book. The Hut family think you must have had such fun that day you all went off into the bush. We hope the fem you brought home is still growing well. Hut gardener says it is sometimes very difficult to get them to

grow away from the bush. “Highland Laddie,” Kapuni: What a busy time that thrush will have now with five hungry young ones to feed! Have you visited the nest again lately to see how big they have grown ? There has been a family of four young sparrows in the Hut garden for the last few weeks and this morning the Twins came in and said they had all learnt to fly. “The Three Kittens,” Brixton: Hello, young Tinks ! You do seem to be having a busy time now with your exams. Good luck to all of you. Your peas must be looking nice now. Billikins has made Hut gardener almost jealous with his account of how yours must-be looking. Billikins always gets very impatient when the season for green peas draws near and he goes out and looks at the rows nearly every day. Fredrick Sayed, Te Kiri: Welcome, Fred. We are so glad you have joined our Hut for it is such a happy family. Billikins and the Twins are wondering if you ever fly a kite. The Hut gardener showed them how to make one the other day but they didn’t put a long enough tail on it and when they tried to fly it it darted about and zig-zagged in the air in a most extraordinary manner. "Gold Lily,” Inglewood: I feel very proud to think I am the first to receive a piece of your blue paper, Eileen. Yes, we have all been very busy in the Hut just lately and we think that perhaps your last .letter must have got buried somehow underneath all the competition paintings that came in. Anyway, young Billikins says he has not touched it! Olive Gudd, Puniwhakau: We hope there will be lots more letters from you, Olive, now that you have begun to write to us. We love to hear about all your pets and all the things you do. Baby Margaret wants to know if you have a garden at school, for she just loves playing amongst her flowers and she wonders if you do too.

Kathleen Green, Koru: It was a very pleasant surprise when postie brought us your letter to-day, Kathleen. You must feel very grown-up when you play in that cottage. Baby Margaret asks, Is it a real, true ‘big peoples’ house? and when we tell her it is she opens her eyes wide and says, “O-o-oh 1’ Tinker Bell has suggested that you call it “The Hut.”

Maureen Rowe, Ahititi: Yes, chickens are cheeky little fellows sometimes, aren’t they. Perhaps that one that hopped up on the step and looked at you thought you might have a crumb or two for it Baby. Margaret wonders if any of them eat out of your hand. They always seem hungry, don’t they!

Doreen Coutts, Inglewood: Welcome, little Tink. You are joining the Hut at a very happy time. The flowers are gay in the there are butterflies about, and everything is trying to tell us that summer is here at last. The Hut folk are all feeling joyful and we welcome you into our midst. “Goldie,” Mahoe: We like the snap you sent us, Tink. Thank you very much for it. Tinker Bell thinks it was taken one day just before you went off to school, for she thinks she can see a sdiool-bag just peeping round behind your brother’s back. Thank you for the poetry and the riddles you sent us, too. Lilac, Mount Messenger: What a lovely time you are going to have at the end of the year with the Christmas Tree and the fancy dress ball as well! They will be something nice to look forward to after all your exams. Thank you for the piece of poetry you sent. I’m afraid there will not be room for it this week, but we’ll see if we can manage to put it in next time.

Joyce Harrison, Te Kiri: We hope you will find a Joyce, and we hope you will have lots of fun in writing to her. Don’t forget to write to Wendy too, though, will you, for we should feel sad if a Tink forgot all about us. Baby Margaret has just rescued a poor little bee from a spider’s web and it has flown so happily away.

“Sparkling Blue Eyes,” Koru: Canterbury bells make the garden look very gay when they are all out, don’t they. I wonder if you remember what Billikins used to do with them last year. He used to catch bees in then by pinching the tops together after a bee had gone in. He seems to have forgotten about it this year, though.

“Daisy Chain,” New Plymouth: And do you look at the Mickey Mouse hook too, Joy ? Mickey is a funny little creature, isn’t he. The Hut folk never grow tired of seeing all the things he does. Billikins tried to make a model of him out of wax the other day but the rest of the Hut family were very rude about it and said it was more like a radish with legs than Mickey the Mouse! “Eastern Star,” Ohura: Postie didn’t bring your letter till this morning, Tink, but it was written a long time ago, wasn't it. We are wondering if it found a nest in “somebody’s” pocket for a day or two after it was given to the Postie People in your part of the world. Anyway, we are glad it has reached us safely at last and thank you for the riddles and jokes in it.

“Desert Gold,” Rawhitiroa: Poor little blackbirds! I wonder what the mother and father will do now without them. Perhaps they will build their nest higher up in some tree next time. How proud you must be of your lovely pink roses. The Hut ones, too, are looking nice and Baby Margaret has collected a lot of their.fallen petals to make pot-pourri to keep with her doll’s clothes. Marion Curran, Fitzroy: We think you are wise, Marion. Polish up the ones you have done until they are perfect, and then try some more if you like. Some of the most famous writers in our literature found they had to write their things over and over again before they were satisfied that they were good.

“Golden Shoes,” Mangamingi: It did not take us long to read your letter this time, little Tink. Were you very short of news? Anyway, if you do go to Wellington for your holidays you ought to have lots to tell us when you come back. Just think of all the trams you will be able to ride in!

Ronald Paul, Okato: Yes, a good book is one of the nicest things to have, isn’t it, especially on a wet day. A good adventure story will keep even Billikins quiet then—if the rain doesn’t last too long! Thank you for “Grasshopper Green.” Do you find many of those little feljows yi the grCs on summer days ?.

“Honey Bunch,” New Plymouth: Poor little “Honey Bunch I” We hope you will be quite better again very soon. We are so glad your doll has been so good. Baby Margaret had .a great big washing day for hers the other morning. Cookie put up a line for her near the Hut clothes line and all the little clothes hung there till they were dry. Baby Margaret was very proud of them. Audrey Watson, Te Kiri: We were so pleased when postie brought a letter from you to-day, Audrey. We hope you are going to write lots more to us later on. What do you think Hut gardener found in the garden the other day ?—a dear little cosy nest where a hedgehog had slept all through the winter months. Right underneath a pile of sticks it was hollowed out and snugly lined with dry grass.

Joyce Copeman, Mount Messenger. Excursions like that into the bush must be lovely fun. Did you make a picnic of it ? Yes, Hut gardener has the garden looking very nice just now and there are lots of gooseberries ready for pies and ,tarts and jam. Billikins and the Twins sometimes help Cookie “top” and “tail” them, and then Cookie gives them each a biscuit out of her tin.

“Chrysanthemum,” Tirimoana: Such a fat letter tumbled out of postie’s bag this morning, and weren’t we stupid—we couldn’t even guess whom it was from! Yes, Baby Margaret can tell you a lovely game to play. If there is any long grass near your home you could make lovely tracks through it and take your dollies along them. You could widen out the tracks in parts to make little play houses, and then your dollies could go visiting.

“Brown Eyed Susan,” Lowgarth: How are you getting on with the bunny, Tink? Is it the one that was in our knitting comer? I wonder if any of your gooseberries are ripe yet. Hut gardener never gets many ripe ones from his, because the greedy blackbirds and thrushes always get in first. We’ll have to ask Hut carpenter to build netting frames over some of the bushes. ■

“Waratah,” Tirimoana: Thank you for another pretty little story, Tink. We think there will be just enough room for it. Yes, Tinker Bell and Baby Margaret have both been wearing their_ summer dresses lately. Poor Cookie is the only one in the Hut who is not pleased that summer is here, for she has to spend such a lot of her time in the hot kitchen cooking meals for our hungry family.

“Echo,” Tahora: What a gay family you will look when you all go off to the ball in your fancy dresses. I wish we could have a peep at you as you go. Thank you for your fudge recipe this week. I think Billikins will be wanting to try it one of these days if he can persuade Cookie to ■ let him do it in the kitchen. _

John Jones, Otakeho: Yes, we expect you will be busy soon with all that ensilage to make. Hut gardener is busy to-day with his scythe, cutting down, some long grass under seme trees. Billikins tells him that if he makes a big heap of it and puts some earth on top he will be able to get ensilage. “But what on earth do I want ensilage for!” Hut gardener exclaims. “Silver Wings,” Inaha: So you. are another of our Tinks who has had to stay in bed are you, Hazel. The Hut folk are all so sorry. What a good thing it is that you have' Jean there to feed the birds for you, for they would be very sad if they thought they were forgotten, wouldn't they. Thank you for the riddles you sent us this time. “Cloud Boat,” Stratford: A nice surprise tumbled out of Postie’s bag to-day when your letter arrived, Gwen, for we were just a wee bit afraid that you had forgotten us. Still, we expect you are a busy Tink these days with a new little sister to look after. Baby Margaret has been pulling some weeds out of her little garden to-day and Billikins is very hot after chasing two white butterflies which he missed.

Betty Paul, Okato: The flowers at the Hut are nodding gaily to welcome you, Betty Tink. We hope you will enjoy belonging to our family. The Twins have been playing a game this morning collecting dead beads from the Iceland poppies. The Hut gardener is pleased that they do it for then the poppies keep flowering for such a nice long time. “Noisy,” Hawera: Oh, no; Baby Margaret is not always playing amongst the roses. She is really quite a good little worker; but play time is always so much more interesting to write about than work time, so that is why we are always telling you of the fun the Hut folk have, and not very much about the times they are working at their lessons.

“Woody,” Mangamingi: Perhaps those sparrows thought they would like to have a flower garden this time, and so built their nests among the flowers in the gum trees! They are silly to make such a noise about it, though, aren’t they, for then they call attention to themselves and show where their nests are hidden.

Frankie Ko valeski, Tuna: Yes, Billikins likes playing cricket, but he still says “footie” is his favourite. He is rather good at making “ducks” in cricket! No; the Hut Folk have not been in for a swim yet, either, but they will very soon now if the warm weather stays. Lots of our Tinks have written and said they have been in swimming lately.

“Love in the Mist,” Te Kiri: Did you realise that this letter was for you, Margaret, when you saw the pen-name there ? You have chosen the name of a very pretty little flower. We have some of them in the Hut garden, but Baby Margaret says they make her feel sad. I wonder why. Hut dressmaker wants to know if it is knitted slippers that you want the pattern for.

Just as the man arrived on the platform the train moved out of the station. He made a dash for it but as he was burdened with two suit cases he failed to get on board. He walked back to the waiting room, puffing and blowing. “Too bad,” was the comment of a bystander. “Were you going to travel by that train ?”

The other did his best in the way of a scathing look. “Oh, no. There was a man on that train from whom I borrowed some money a couple of years ago, and 1 wanted to return it before he left the town."