THE CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

Thames Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 17973, 23 August 1930, Page 7

THE CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

You will rememliei that last week I had ordered a little dog from the shop where Floppy was purchased, so that he should have a "brother," a nd when 1 left off the story, we were waiting for him. Well. I might as well tell you the whole thing at once, so that we talk about Floppy's brother, you will be able to imagine him. When he came from the shop he was just the least little bit bigger than Floppy. (He had to be bigger or the same size, because I don't think any real dog could have been smaller than the one which came to us in. an Easter eyg!) We called Floppy in and told him that we had found his brother for him. "Your little brother. Floppy, darling," said Rosemary, who always wants to call things "little" when she means nice, or something like that. The only point in which Floppy's "brother" resembled him was that he was white, too; but not having been washed daily by our animals, he was not quite white. 1 felt that this would soon be remedied, however! Floppy terribly excited about his '■'little brother," and called him that immediately. I am pleased to say that

the "little brother could notJtallc (or sides "Floppy's little h™*"' ,£" Billy had the great idea ot cnumfe eTed b Wtie *£#> ft* about 15 times J -s being, Floppy just stayed as he va , ne '&, as the man who sold him said, 'little Kr his size." , Nevertheless Floppy saying the same thing, much to our amusement! A MAORI AT OXFORD. MRS. STAPLES BROWN. A lady who has done a very valuable piece of work has just died at Oxford. , She was Mrs. Staples Browne and was a Maori. Besides all the lore ot her own race, she possessed Western culture, and 'so was able to interpret the customs and ideas of the Maori people to Western minds. Mrs. Browne took the regular anthropological course at .Oxford and then settled down to write the history of her own people. She had just finished and revised her life-work when death came to her at Oxford. She was 55. It must have made her oassing easier to reflect that her hook" was finished and that she had done something for her race. . RIDDLES. y.—Why is a bubble like a bruise ? A.—Because it comes from a blow. • • • * Q. —Why are darned socks like dead men? , A.—Because they are mende(a)d. • * * * Q. —When is a cricketer like a dentist ? A.—When he pulling out stumps. « * • • Q. —Why is a sick Hebrew like a diamond ? A.—He is a jew-ill. • • • • Q. —When is a man not a man? A.—When he falls in a pond and comes out dripping. » • • • Q. —Where did the executioner of Charles I dine, and what did he take? , A.—He took a chop 'at the King s Head. • * • • Q_How Avould you pronounce bac-kac-he ? A.—Back-ache. » » * • Q. —if you wear a silk dress, why do you have to stand? A!—Because it is not satin. • » » * Q. —What tree can you lift with one hand? A.—A palm. • • • * Q. What is it you see twice in a moment, once in a month, and never in a thousand years? : A.—The letter "M." TRY THIS GAME. i CONVERSATION. Two players secretly choose between them a word that has two meanings, such a s "ball," a thing to play with, and "ball," a dance. Then they begin talking aloud to one another, referring to the word without using it.

A WEEKLY FEATURE

One will say. "1 played with it in the garden this morning." "Yes," says the other, "and a friend of mine went to one las't night." Those listeners who think that they have guessed what the word is join in the conversation, but must pay forfeit if mistaken. AN OLD EPITAPH. Here lie the bones of Robert Lowe; Where's he gone to I don't know, [f to the realms of peace and love, Farewell to happiness above. If he's gone to a lower level I can't congratulate the devil! TONGUE TWTSTERS. A swan swam over the sea; swim, swan, swim. The swan swam back again; well swum, swan. • » • • Repeat six times fast: Mixed biscuits and gig whip. • • • • She shells seashells by the seashore, and if she sells seashells, should Sister Susie sew shirts for soldiers when she sells seashells by the seashore ? A CHEAP RIDE. A motorist was giving a friend a lift in his car. "What, is the idea of the taximeter?" asked the friend. "Ah!" was the reply. "Tt cheers me no end when I see how much my ride might be costing me."