FOR THE CHILDREN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19999, 15 July 1920, Page 9

FOR THE CHILDREN.

MISS SMITE TEE WITCH. There once lived a hare, and h's name mas Algy. His brains were very' f-illy, and he liked mushrooms better than anything else in the world. Also at-the same time there Mved a witch, and her name was Miss Smith. And she was very clever, and stie l;l?ed eating jugged hare with onions bolter than anything else in the world. One evening Algy the Earn wont out to look for mushrooms; and that same night Miss Smith the Witch, accompanied by her cat, set out to look for hares. And they met. VV hen Algy the Haro saw Miss Smith tho Witch with her cat he was afraid, and ho sat down on the grass and, pretended that ho was an anthill. But Miss Smith the Mutch was very clever, and 'she knew that once Algy the Hare started to run sho would hare no chance of catching him. For Algy the Hare happened to bo able to run very fast. _ So she looked *cr> kind and 1 sillily with hor l«ice pud fhe said: Mhat, a. pity that we- den t meet that sweet, pretty creature Algy the Hare, because I know that, ho'loves mushrooms, and wo passed snen a lot just now!' 1 Then was Algy the Hare very interested. _ and he popped up and asked Miss Smith the Witch whereabouts the mushrooms wore. And Miss Smith the Witch said that [f lie came with her she would tako linn to flic place where the mushrooms were. And so. because Algy the Hare was awfully silly in his head. I,e went. And Miss Smith the M iteh led him by the hand all the' way until she came j [o hoi* witch’s cavtv Then did she leave off looking kind and smily, and she lied Algy the Haro with siring while she, put the cauldron on to the lire to boil. And Algy wished very Irantically that ho could escape. b<ow Miss Smith only possessed chi cauldron, which sho had to use for everything. And all that afternoon she had been making magic spells at d things in her cauldron. "And it happened that after she had made Ui.e last magic medicine a small amount of the liquid still remained in the cauldron. So in the cauldron, mixed with the missing, bubbling water, was quite a Aoaspounful of a, very magic medicine. Ami tho magic medicine happened to be for turning people into elephant?! When the contents of the cauldron were quite boiling, Miss Smith the V\ itcli untied all the strings from Algy the Hare, and dropped him into the boiling cauldron. And directly the magic medi'ine touched Algy the Hare it turned him into a. huge elephant! And ho upcct the cauldron and ran awav very quickly^back to tho forest. "Ami lie soon liked being an elephant muqh bettor than a. hare.