A SHORT STORY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11730, 21 June 1916, Page 7

A SHORT STORY.

HOW THE MAN MET THE MAID. A "JUST SO" STORY. [All Rights Reserved.] (By " ROTORUA.") In the high and far-off times, 0, Best Beloved, dwelt a man who was filled with a 'satiable curiosity to see again the slushy, squashy mudholes, not on tho banks of tho great, green, greasy Limpopo River, 0 Best Beloved, but on the shores of a, lake—a lake called Rotorua. So ho said within himself, "Why should I not go and take with ma Littlo Sister vho stays at home, so good and all; he picked up tho bag and he picked i.ip his stick, and he said " Good-bye "to Little Black Dog, and he went fi'Gm his homo in tho wilds to his home near the city, and he said Littlo sister, como with me, Those wondrous sights to see. That very minute and second, O Best Beloved, sho kissed all her dear family good-bye, and sho said, "Right-oJ Come, off we go!" All night long they journeyed in a great black thing that kept on puffing and panting, and they got dirtier and dirtier, and tircder and tireder; but as tho dawn was breaking tho Black Thing stopped and tho in an and Littlo Sister alighted, hungry and weary. Then tho man said, very kind and nice, "I know a house, O, Sister, a house called Peter's, where, wo cafi wash and eat and rest ourselves." So they made their way as the dawn was breaking over the weird, strange mountains to Peter's House, that House of Moro-than-Oriental Splendour. Nov/ it befell and behappened, ■ 0 Best Beloved, that tho very night before maidens—one fair and one dark one and one middling and fair one (you must never forget that Fair One, 0 Best Beloved!) had come to Peter's, that llouso of more-than-Oriental Splendour, and when the Man and Little Sister arrived they were peacefully slumbering, each in a little white bed. Then one maid, the dark j'one, awoko very early, and she said within herself, " I will just steal out very soft and quiet, to gaze at the ' mountain." So out crept Littlo Maid, and there I to ner surprise she saw the Man and j ] Littlo but being rather shy she J ! turned the Other way and she gazed at the mountain. Then said Littlo Sister j j to Big Brother:— j At the school to which. I was sent, That maiden, lon. gyears ago, went. Soon after out came the other two ; maids (you must never forget that Fair ! One, O Best Beloved I) to talk to tho i dark one as sho gazed at tho mountain. I Then tho Man lepeated the following | sloka, • ! To thoso maidens three A Father I'll be. ! Then they all said to one another, as all proper people should, "How d'you do?" And then they set off on their journey across tho desert. The sun was scorching hot, tho road was dry and dusty, and the Three Maids and Little Sister and the Man got hotter and hotter and dustier and dustier, until, in fact, thero were many small mountains upon their faces. After many, many miles they stopped at a place to change their horses, and the Man began his fatherly function by repeating to tho maidens a very, ancient and a wcll-knowfi saying, "Havo a banana?" HELP! On again they went, Btill getting hotter and hotter and dustier and dustier—they had to! Then just as the sun was scorching-' them very, very hard right in the middle of a i desert, they came to a. house, a houso so sweetly named " The House of Rest," and they all began, frith one accord, to think of tea ! But listen and attend, O Best Beloved! Rest Woman used for that tea (with" them so hot-and-all) sour milk .condensed, and they all said " Ugh !" and they sighed for Peter's, that House of More-than-Oriental Splendour. On and on they went through the desert, never getting cooler, never getting cleaner—they had to! But at last, O.Bcst Beloved, they came to a late, and they all hurried and' scurried to get into the boat, and they sighed and they cried, "At last w"e feci a breeze!" Then they let, down into tho lake a very fishy bucket, and they drew up from tho ]ako some, very fishy water, and they drank it most voraciously, and tho man continued his fatherly function by giving all tha maidens some Christmas cake—very nice and not at all knobbly. / Aftei\ a most refreshing sail over in? shiny, simmering waters, they came io the landing-place, and Dig ''Father" jumped off so quick and light he ran to a, man and he cried:— I will hire this mofor-ca.r To take us fivo to tho Spa! Now it befel and behappened tlin.l when they got to tho '"Spa" tho " Spa " woman said : , "We're- so very full, you see, Tiiat there' 3 only room for three! But they all cried out, "We don't want to walk on our wild-lone through these wild, wondrous ways!" Thsn sho, being a woman of Infinite Resource .and Sagacity, at last said: V Little Maid and Littlo Sister can sleep in the Drying Room." Then all the' maidens cried out with ono voice: " Which way to the Hot Baths?'' And they hurriid and they scurred, and in they tumbled, and they wallowed and they swallowed, and they rubbed and they scrubbed until there wasn't a teeny, weeny bit of the dust of the Desert left upon their noses. And perhaps they would have stayfd for over in those scrumptious Bails but that thov were filled' with most excruciating hunger. In the morning they went to see the s'itishy-squshy nuidholes and the spirtysq'uirty geysers, because of the man's 'satiable curiosity, but being now the Father, he didn't walk en his wild lone ever the weird, wobbly, watery ways. That very same day they all journeyed on C ; ' 4. they came to a plac-2 wliere was a most wonderful Bath that gave, them all a clean new skin; and when they felt- tho water all triekly behind their ears, they howled with delight. And yet they journeyed'on—they had to—for Father's time was short-. So they came to a House of more—more —morn than Oriental Splendour, a House called Waiwera. on the shores of Rotorua. And there the ladies dressed in more-than-Oriental Splendour, and the Maids and Little i Sister (you must never forget that Fair ! One, O Lost Beloved!) took out from | the Hat-box a few of 1 the fourteen frocks. i Again tho Three? Mr ids and Little ; Sister and the Father got. into the Great Black Thine:, and now listen and attend! 0 Best- Beloved, for this is a very sad part, of this story, for i The mnn Fro.ii»ton Junction 4 ; Loft his /aI.M.-rly fr.nciien. iHo had to! And the Three Maids Iciss- ! cd Little Fisier good-bye. and ad felt j verv s:ul. But nsien and attend! foi ' the' Man, though far aw;.y, dic'n't lori .T o v thos.> Maidens Three (you must, I never forget- ihat Fair-One, O Best. ! Beloved !)." and he wrote thero some Ict- + 0-.- !vat especially to that- I'air Ons ! atul ihev wrote some letters back—but, I <.ud tnat- A'air One ; i After 'a i'.>ng time tho Thro? Mfl.dv j (you must- never forget, that. Fair One, ' 0 Be--i Beloved!) journeyed on past the ■ place whets rhe Mai: was working most ! 'scrr.ciating hard, but he found time j to o.> and "look at them for a minute--s and especially at that Fnir One! ; On again they went far and r ar away j —but that is not quite the end of that I story. 0 Best Beloved, for you must 1 » never forget ihat Fair A!aid !