For the .. Children

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16780, 8 July 1922, Page 17

For the .. Children

MR MONKEY TO THE RESCUE. The owner of the animal fancier’s shop had gone with liis family to> spend Sunday in the country. Before lie set oft. however, he had given strict orders to Sam, the shop boy, to he *ure to feed the animals at. noontime. But Sam was invited out with a friend for the day. and not. until he sat down to eat his own dinner did ho think of the poor animals he had left behind, dinnerless. For a moment his conscience smote him. hut only for a moment. He turned the thought off with a careless. ‘‘lt won’t harm them to go without a meal for once. I'll give them double rations for their > upper.” and dismissed, the subject from his mind. But the hungry little animals in tlm fancier's shop- were not inclined to treat- the matter so lightly. The white mice raced impatiently up and down their ladders, every now and then poking out their inquisitive mites of noses to see if their daily ration of fo d was not in sight. The red squirrels chattered and scolded their displeasure while the grey squirrel whizzed indignantly around and around in his wheel, faster and faster, until he. seemed to consist of sea rely mom than a great bushy tail and two black beads of eyes. The guinea, pigs grumbled and corapLa.’.oed among themselves, and the < omical little puppies, not knowing how else to express their dissatisfaction. rolled over and&over each other, all barking at the same time. The birds stopped their pretty songs, and bopped uneasily about on their perches, every now and then giving out an extra ‘'cheep,*’ to say. • ‘why don’t they bring tny dinner?” "While the poll parrot kept up an unceasing repetition of ‘‘Polly wants a cracker. Polly wants a cracker.” But the time went on, dimer hour was long over, and no food had come for the hungry animals in tbe fancier's shop. Finally their patience became exhausted, and their anxious watching gave place to downright anger. The puppies yelped, the mice squealed the pigs grumbled, the squirrels scolded, and the birds chirped lou.iiy, while poll parrot kept up his incessant cry of Polly wants a cracker. Polly wants a cracker.” ''Pear me, what a racket!” came in a. peevish little voice from a cage in the farther part of the room 1 declare, you animals are a nuisance, with your chatter. You woke rue out of a sound sleep,” and Mr Monkey rubbed his sleepv eyes, and stretching himself. poked his head through the bars nt his cage, and gazed around at his noisy neighbour®. ‘What is the matter?” he asked, after a moment. “What aro you all mu king such a time abount?” “What is the matter?” repeated the red squirrel, crossly. “Why, the matter i that wo have bad r.o dinner. It is long past the hour and we are nearU starving ” Mr Monkey took another stretch hefore h replied. “Why, sure enough. Ir. l>o dinner-time^.

wonder why somebody docs not come.” As the animals had been wondering this same thing for some time, they disdained to reply to such a stupid question, and maintained an injured silence, which on the whole was a decided relief. Now Mr Monkey was considered the “star boarder*’ in the fancier’s shop. He had travelled a great deal, having once been on tlic road in the show Vu.sines®. Furthermore, he was “trained.*’ That is to say, lie could do all sorts of tricks, and was often called upon to exhibit himself and his accomplishment's for the benefit of admiring customers. So now he slipped the latch of the door of his cage very adroitly, and sallied forth. Seating himself on the floor, he rubbed his nose contemplatively with the end of his tail. Finallj*, he said: “ It’s a shame. There is no doubt of that. But do not despair. T think I can help you out. Now be quiet,” as a shout ot approval went up, “or T won’t do a thing. My nerves arc extremely sensitive, and 1 cannot bear all this noise. Nov listen. 1 happen to know where Saiii keeps the food. I’ll sec what I can find. So just keep quiet, all of yon. until T come hack.” So saving. Mr Monkey arose, and after another stretch, that threatened to crack every hone in his body, ho went to the door of an inner room, and very cleverly turning the knob with bis paw, disappeared within. After some little time, he returned dragging with him a large basket, and drew out some crisp cabbage leaves. “ Now whose aro these?” asked the monkey, holding them out in lull) view. For answer, the white rabbits nearly knocked over their hutch in their eagerness to reach the tempting morsels, bumping their soft noses against the bars and laying hack their ears until they seemed glued to their heads. Mr Monkey threw the leaves into the cage, and turned again to the basket. This time he held out a wooden bowl filled with bread soaked in milk. “1 found this already prepared,” he began, but before lie could speak further the- puppies set up such a chorus of shrill yelps that Mr Monkey was almost deafened. “Quit inai , will you?” he shouted angrily. “or not one mouthful will you get At this direful threat, the puppies contented themselves with whining pitifully, the quivering bodies and waving stumps of kiailsi expressing the eagerness they felt. Opening the door Nlr Monkey thrust in the bowl. “I hope this will stop your noise for a chile,” said he adding n handful of finely"* shredded meat, "for never did I hear such an infernal racket. And with my nerves, too.” Ho went back to the basket, and putting in both paws, brought them out full of nuts. l< Who’s for these.” cried he, regardless of grammar, throwing lip half a dozen and catching them again. Then the squirrels jumped wildlv about flinging themselves jMHHfist the bars of their cages, in the to

dinner. Mr Monkey threw the nuts in to theip j, one by one, occasionally hitting a luckless squirrel on the nose, a feat that seemed to cause Mr Monkey much amusement. In went the paw once mote into the basket. “ How in thunder,” >aid Mr Monkey, bringing to light a jar of bird seed. “ am T to get this stuff to you creatures up there?” gazing up at the numerous bird cages suspended from the ceiling. “ T shall have to try some ot my sleight-of-hand performances,” and lie began to fling handfuls of the seed at the cages, with such skill that much of the food entered the bars, plenty, how eve:. falling back again to the floor. “ What a mess Sam will have to clean up when he comes hack.” chuckled Mr Monkey. Next, from the never-failing basket came portions ler the guinea pigs ami white mice. Then there alone remained the pol! parrot. “ Here’s your cracker, old man,” said Nlr Monkey, throwing a wad of soaked bread and cracker-crumbs at the bird. “ And now T am going to get something to eat myself,” lie said, and seizing the empty basket, lie disappeared once more into the other room, where he remained for some time. Finally he emerged, licking his chops, and seeming very well satisfied with himself. Looking about him he saw that the animals were taking their afterdinner nap. “ Good.” said he to himself. “ they are all asleep, and I think I will take a snooze myself.” Entering the cage, lie fastened the door and curling up in one corner, was soon in the Land of Nod. When Sam came home. the first thing he did was to feed the animals. He doled, out to each one a double supply of food. He was surprised that they were not more ravenous. “Why even the rabbits don't seem a. hit hungry,” said Sam to himself. “ What is alj this?” he went on. as his foot scraped on the seed scattered on the floor. He picked sonic up “ i t’s birdseed,” Raid he, aloud. “ I must have spilled it. How careless of me.” At that moment a queer little sound, very much like a snicker, was • heard in the direction ot the monkeycage. Sam looked up suspiciously. “ Ho, ho. Mr Monkey,” quoth lie. “ What mischief have you been up to now?” for answer. Mr Monkey curled himself up in a corner of his cage, winked one eye knowingly, and flicked his nose gently with the tip of his tail. “Oh, so you know, but won’t tell, eh?” said 3am. “Very well, sir, we will see about that.” But Mr Monkey never told nor did the other animals.

ME AND THE FIRST MATE. “And so,” Barnie said, “we got to the end of the world, and a very good job, too! ’cos the ship went down, slosh! An’ me an’ the first mate were the only two that weren’t drowned. We swam to shore like anything. An’ the mate he’d have been drownded, too, only 1 cried, ‘ Yo-lieave~lio!’ a.n’ got him on my back an' J carried him ashore.” “ He must have been a very little mate!” Margaret said. “No, he wasn’t!” Barnie replied crossly. Ho was the biggest man on board. If you don’t believe me, 1 won’t tell you any more!” *• Oh, please!” Jane .said. “ Do, do go on ! Every bit of me believes you , an’ I’m sure parts of Margaret does!” “ Oh, yes,” Margaret said. “Great big parts of me. J>o go on 1 "What was tlic end of the world like?” Barnie was so obliging as to go on in his grandest manner. It’s a very big place, full of lions and tigers and pirates and things. You’ve got to be very careful where you go. Nle and the first mate found a cave belonging to a pirate who had died. The other pirates didn't know K was* dead, so they kept off. But one night. 1 saw them creeping up through the bushes. f pulled the first mate's leg and told him. It was dark. It was like the night nursery when the fire's nearly gone out." • At this point Jane shivered, and sidled along the sofa, to get a. little closer to Margaret. Matilda Carruthers. the spotted cat. who sat between them listening hard, was worked up to such a. pitch of excitement that she heeled right over and lay in a dead faint. Barnie clasped ’ his knees very tightly and went on wildly. There must lie a hundred of ’em coming! tho first mate whispered to , ‘ Hadn’t we. better cut and run ?’ No. 1 said, "Mo'll fight 'em to the finish ! Have you got your port-cutlass ready.-* ‘Ay, ay!’ he said. ‘This’ll hack ’em into odds and ends!’ I had libiio all ready in my starboard pocket. So 1 whipped it out. An* then a hunched myself up small behind the big roc-k that was at the mouth of the cave, an’ waited. An’ we couid hear tho rustling of the bushes as the pirates crept nearer and nearer. An’ then they crept out into the open space in front of the cave, an’ we could see them quite plain in the moonlight that had sprung up all of a sudden.” Then Barnie stopped to get his breath, and the two little girls on the sofa caught hold of each other, and looked at him with eyes as big as saucei'6, for wonder and fear at the dreadful tale he told. Barnie. leaped to his feet with a great cry. and ‘began to stab the sofa cushions with the paper-knife he had hidden up liis sleeve. Both tlie little girls screamed with excitement. That's what we did to those pirates! he roared. We rushed at them with our port-cutlasses and killed them by dozens and dozens—me and the first mate !” Just at that moment a litle mouse ran across the room “Oh—oh! Look out—look out!” screamed Barnie, jumping on to the sofa. “ What about you and the first mate?” laughed Margaret as the mouse disappeared down a hole. “ And we’d soon ha.vc made an end of it,” said Barnie coining down from the sofa, me and the first mate.’’