For the.. Children

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17013, 11 April 1923, Page 3

For the .. Children

A CLASS FOR DOLLS. Now, dollies, please attend to me. Don’t fidget, dears, but let me see You’re trying hard", both young and old, Not like that dunce I’ve had to scold. .Tt will be fine when you can spell. And add up two and two as well, And oh, my dears,. I shall be proud When all of you can read aloud ! A AIOTOR MADE FOR TWO. Our motor care is rather small— There isn’t room for four, we find. So as it will not bold us all. Two ride, while two more, run behind. The snow was lying very thick. And blocked the road the other day • And there our motor had to stick While Jack and Alolly cleared the THE LITTLE RED BOOK. The Roaring Lion was a very bold and dashing person, awsi he used to roar with Ins mouth ana lash with his tail so much that all the other animals did not- know whatever to do. And the Roaring Lion made a rule that every animal that he met should bow down very low with his head, and he said that if they didn’t he would eat them all up until there weren’t any of them left. 8o the Great Elephant and the Tiger and the Bear, and all the other animals were very frightened. and they all used to bow down very low whenever the Roaring Lion happened to pass. But the Brown Fox was very clever, and lie told- everybody that he wasn’t going to bow down to anybody. And all the other animals looked very surprised, but the Brown Fox didn’t mind a bit. And he always carried about with him a very funny looking little red book. And one day. right out in the middle of the woods, lie met the Roaring Lion, and be put. his head far up in Hie air. and be didn’t look down at all ! Then the Roaring Lion was very surprised, and he got reaci.v very quickly to eat up the Brown Fox. But the Brown Fox was very clever, and he opened his little red book, and be read out a lot ol' funny sounding words. For the little red TTook was a lesson book on AJagic, aud the Brown Fox 1 bad veen learning very carefully how to give people very bad CAilds.. so that they would sneeze and sneeze for da vs and days. So that directly the Brown Fox had said those funny sounding words the Roaring Lion began to liave a very bad cold, and he began to sneeze so dreadfully that he went straight back to his house and put himself to bed, and be sneezed and sneezed for days, and days, and days. And presently he got out of bed, and be shook hands with the Great Elephant and the Tiger and the Brown Fox. and all the other animals, and he said that he was very sorry, and that he didn’t ever want to- try to eat any body again, because, it gave him such a dreadful cold. And he told them that they needn’t bow down to him any more. And the Brown Fox laughed to himself. and went on lemming the magic. IN SEARCH OF'JAMAICA. Alillie hated geography, and when Miss Paxton. her governess, would keep on asking her where Jamaica wa< she was ready to cry with the tired feeling in her head. Jt didn't matter how she turned and twisted the globe, she could not find Jamaica-—not even

tucked into a corner of Africa. or round by the Cape of Good Hope! So that was how Alillie was left alone in the schoolroom with the globe, and not allowed out to play till she had found Jamaica. All at once a thought a truck her. Why shouldn’t she go and search for the real Jamaica out in the big world? Three miles away v.as a great wood—so large that Alillie had never been to the other side of it. She thought -Jamaica must be just beyond it. So she stole out of the house very quietlv. aud by and by reached the wood. It took her a long time to go through it • and when she got to the other sid© there was no sign of Jamaica, only a lofc of fields. Alillie thought she would climb up a tree so a® to he out of th i way of the wild animals; and perhaps she oould see Jamiaca from the top. Soon it began to grow dark, and she grew- very frightened and so very lonely- Alillie was afraid to get down, for foar of the wild animals. Presently .she saw a man passing. And she cried out, “Please. Mr Alan, I’m lost in a tree!” And who do you tliTnk the man was? It was her father, out with his gun!

And on the wsfy home lie told hewhere Jamaica was on that horrid globe ! THE HUNTERS They were going to hunt lions, and tigers, and elephants, for they were alraid of nothing. But the first thing they found was a strange creature, which was sitting still in the middle of the common. “What is it?” asked Alary, holding Tommy tightly by the arm, to stop him from running away with the rest of the brave hunters. “ Don’t know I” replied Tommy, moving a step or two backwards, “ but some kind of beast, of course. I hope, it’s not very savage. “ If it’s a beast, where is its tail?*’ asked Alary, in a trembling voice. “ Then it must be a bird,” said Tommy, who, though lie peeved all round, could not 6ee any tail, and therefore. of course, it couldn’t be a beast. “But where are its wing*?” asked Alarry. She was fond of asking questions, but wasn’t always pleased when people couldn’t answer her. “ Ob, well, if it isn't a. bird, p’raps it’s a. snake,” said Tommy crossly, trying bo shake her hand off hi® arm and run back to the others. “ Do snakes have legs?” asked Alary. “Of course they— ” began Tommy. And then Harry, noticing that the hunters who had stayed behind were still quite- safe, ran back to see what they had found and were looking at with such interest as though they had never seen anything like it before. “ That thing!” said he, after staring at it for a. few minutes. “Tt does* not move, so it cannot be alive. Tt must be a stone which looks like something else, because Dad told me there were ali sorts of funny looking stone®.” He would have poked it with bis finger show that lie was right, but a : that- moment- a. dreadful thing happened. Out of the wide mouth of the strange creature shot something long end thin* which almost touched Harry’s finger, and then shot in again; and the creature never moved, but stayed just where it had been before. The hunters ran away at once, and never stopped until they were safely at home with the door shut. But the strange creature, which was a toad, went on sitting still in the middle of the common, and now and again shot its long, thin tongue out of its wide mouth aud a caught a fly for supper, which it seemed to enjoy very much. RORY TO THE RESCUE! Bob Travers was very proud of hi* hew pony, Rory; and he went out for his first ride upon it with great glee; but he little thought of what he would have to do on it before the ride was over. De had not gone far when he saw two little figures running over the moor towards him. He trotted to meet them, for they were waving their arms and shouting. \Y hen he got nearer ho saw that they were Joyce and Nellie Brown, whose father and mother lived in the house at the foot of the hills. When he got up to them they could hardly speak for panting. “ Oh, Bob !” Joyce said. “ mother has fallen downstairs, and we’re afraid she has broken her arm. Father has gone- shooting, and only old Bessie is at home, and she’s sent us to bring the doctor.” “ But he lives ever so far away!” Nellie broke in. “ And poor mother ; s in dreadful pain. I don’t know what wall happen if we don’t get the doctor soon!” Bob didn’t hesitate for a moment. “ I’ll ride for the doctor,” he' said “You run back and tell them he will be out directly.” And bet ore the girls had time to thank him be had turned Rory round and was off at a gallop. You should have just seen how Rory went! He galloped like the wind, just as if he knew what was expected of him. In a quarter of an hour he was at the doctor’s door, and Bob bad given the message. If he had been a minute later the doctor would have been gone out on a long round. But now be started at once, and so was in time o set the broken arm and relieve poor Airs Brown from her terrible pain.