THE CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

Thames Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 17761, 7 December 1929, Page 7

THE CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

A WEKKLY FEATURE.

It lias taken me quite a long time to come, aiul I shouldn’t Ike them to to tell you utu.ut even the Leginning know what I said of ’em.”

of our holiday, and we are home again now, h.,v.ng aim sc forgotten it. I cannot begin co let you think of Christmas, however, unt 1 I have told you the end of our trouoles—if there ever was an end, or ever will be, which I douct! —with the .Bodgers Bear family.

“1 won t tell! ’ tried the parr t. “A knowing bird, that,” said Set i ; and lie gave him a p:e:e of bread*. To comfort himself lib thereupon took down from behind the chimney an old stocking, and began to count his gold. j “Give me half!” (r'ed tlis parrot.

You remember, when wo p rted last week, Rosemary had asked me if I couldn’t manage a t.nt for them that “didn’t shut up sudden.” Now you know that for V.o.i e extraordinary reason the farmer’s wife hud taken a kind of “fancy” to Mrs. Bodgers Bear (I think, really, it must have been because—between ourselves—the f. ra er’s wife hj.d a Sunday bonnet that was not - unlike the one.. Mummie wore !) and so we talked to her about the

“By all that’s just,” said the old man, “I will, then you’ll l.e ; s rich as 1 am and we shall 1 e equals. You can already talk as well as mo >t human beings, your appearance- is pleasing, yo.ir proportions are perfect, your.c:«:it of feathers has been well cared for, and your digestion is marvellous. You need nothing but the dignity which a private fortune wi.l give you.” The old man thereupon nyade over half his fortune to the parrot, and re-

problem of the tent. “Why certainly there’s a tent for the poor old creature, Ma’am!” said the farmer's wife when I consulted

tired to bed well cion tent :d with his lob

her, “We crn’t have her and her little ones out in the wet!” She sad

A. MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE

“Boom! Boom! Bom!” The nursery clo k was striking the hours of twelve, and Greyfoot, the toy elephant, ran swiftly out of the door and down the stairs, far away into the land of good toy animals.

On arriving there, everyone made a tremendous fuss over him, because ha had pot been to see them for a long time.

In the middle of a large park stood the bandstand, full of animals playing different instruments. The lion had a cornet, m, iking a terrible, noise, while the camel p-layed a silver trumpet. A wicked looking tiger had the cymbals and next to him sat the llama playing a flute, the first item on the. programme being the “Animals’ Anthem.”

When it was over, there was loud applause, and they all "tre oped into a restaurant to have supper. All went well, until the waiter who was so excited, spilt a large bowl of hot whisker soup on the bear, who was doing a slip-and-slide dance in the middle of the floor.

it sq indignantly that I felt I ought to explain that we had not brought the mein Bodigers Bear family along without providing for it, bijt that it attached- itself to the back of a motorcoach and followed us, and that if they had been asked for their tickets before they fell off the buck, probably we should have hud to. find the money for those too!

Crash! Down fell poor Bobbv Bear, with the waiter on top of him, and everyone begin to roar with laughter, until Greyfoot stood up to give a speech. “Animals and birds of this town, I wish to thank you very, very much for your entertainment—especially the band, and Mr. Bear for his performance in the slip-and-slide dance, and also for the excellent whisker soup.” “Three he Tty toy! and cheers!” cried the lion, and began to dance the tovland hornpipe, when, out of the din came the silvery notes of a clock striking three. “Goodness gracious!’’ cried Greyfoot, the time does flv. Goodbye, everyone,. I must be returning now.”

“Oh, well,” said the farmer’s wife, “that’s all right, now. Here they HR, and here they’ll stop, Ma’am!” And then she turned to Rosemary and said: “Don’t you worry about your pets, Missie!” Pets! Anyhow, the farmer was drawn intq the business, and lie found quite a large tent which he put up for them in his field. Then some chairs and ia table and warm blankets were d scovered, and between these comforts and the large pieces of pudding which the farmer’s wife used to give them, the Bodgers Bears were very happy; ,so b iplpy that Mummy Bear said' to me, casually: “We may not return when you do, my dear!”—•l'hank goodness fer that! .

Off he sped, ardi was soon running up the stairs and into the nursery, not stopping until he wa s safe in-his little box. Out of the darkness came a loud wailing, and the nurse name huiTvinig into the nursery and picked up Grey foot and tucked him in beside baby. “G’e-foo’! G’eyfco’!” murmured babv, as he went to sleep. “What would have hap"ened...had I not been here,” thought Greyfoot, as he dozed off.

THE S OOTTON : FLOWER EAIRY. j

A - long, long time ago, when the fu'iries were busier on e.a'th than they j are now, there was one fairy who, spent her time in weaving dainty fab-j rics and making beautiful girments 1 for her companions. Day and night she spun and weaved, and never seem- 1 ed to grow tired, ,and for a spindle she used the sting of a bee. j All the creatures .of the wood j praised the fairy’s work, and said I there never was such a weaver as she, I but this made the spider jea.oas. The j spider considered herself the cleverest of spinners, and she determined to kill the fairy. j Accordingly she set out for the > fairy’s home. But the fairy saw her j coining, and fled, taking her spindle, with lier. Over grass and hank they went, and gradually the cruel spider gained upon the fairy, until it lojked : as though she', would pounce upon her.

ROAD RULES. 1. Don’t run across the road without looking lioth wavs. 2. Doin’t pass a standing vehicle without looking both ways. 3. Don’t pliy at Last Across. 4. Don’t follow a rolling hall into the road when there is traffic about. 5. Don’t hang on to a vehicle. " 6. Don’t forget tc walk' on the footpath.

7. Don’t run into the road to take the numbers of oars.

Then the faiiy jumped into a flower ‘which, opened to receive her, and though the spider followed, she was just too late, for the flower closed round Jbhe fairy, and held her fast. The spider waited and waited for her to come out, but she did not appear, and the cruel creature thought she must be dead. But this' was far from being the case, for the little fairy was working away a.t her spinning insitie the flower, and later on, when the flower faded and the petals fell, there, in the form of a beautiful white, silky tuft, looking like a- large flake of snow. Vny the work of the fairy. And ever since, the flower has produced the tassel of snowy-white cotton, and men have gathered it,.and woven it into garments for themselve> and their children. All round the world it has gone, and all mankind has reason to bless the little-fairy of the cotton plant.

THE PARROT’S FORTUNE. An old man h d a very old parrot; the two lived together in the same house and shared the same meals. The old man, whose name was Seth, preferred the society of the parrot to that of his neighbours—perhaps because the bird always had a reply, whereas the neighbours, being "country people, were always slow in speech and seldom ready with a retort. Certainly the parrot’s remarks were often the same as those he had made yesterday. As a matter of fact, the parrot had only three remarks, hut he knew when to use them, which is letter than a thousand in the wrong place.

They were these: “Shut vour eyes!” “I won’t tell!” and “Give me half!” One evening visitors presented themselves and stayed for a chat with Seth, hut they did not give him any pleasure. After they had gore he walked about his little room puttings things to rights and muttering. “They are a set of ugly old cronies! Ephraim’s beard and Elias’s nose! Well, I never saw anything, like them! I don’t like looking at them!” “Shut your eyes! Shut your eyes!” croaked the parrot.

“A good bird that,” said Seth; and he gave him an extra, bit of seed. “If only my neighbours were half as intelligent ! Still, it was good of them