For the CHILDREN

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17570, 22 June 1925, Page 11

For the CHILDREN

A TABLE GAME. Cut out twenty-five small squares of paper arid cardboard and number, them from otic to twenty-five. Each' of the players is blindfolded in turn, and allowed three slabs with a blunt' pencil at the papers. Tho numbers' cf the papers that lie succeds in striking should be put down, and at the end of the game these numbers added up. Tho winner is the one who nets the largest total. NOT SO EASY AS IT LOOKS, Put a coin on a. table’s edge with half the coin’s edge overlapping. Mov© tiireo yards away and close one eye. Now advance and try to knock it off with one finger, keeping the one eye shut all the time. THE BALLOON KID. Dome spent all her pennies on balloons, and the other children called her the Balloon Kid. Well, they are pretty things, but they don't last very long. Even if you take care of them, and Dorrie was ever so silly. When she had played a bit with her balloons, .she would crack them. On purpose. So her Mummy was vexed, and said it was naughty, and a waste, and she should not have any pennies until she knew better. But Dorries did not care; she kept on smashing her balloons when she was given any. Then one day something happened. She had a balloon given her in the street by a funny little old lady, with a long silver stick in her hand. She was a fairy really, but Dorrie did not know that. She did not believe in “Don’t spoil this balloon, child,” said the fairy. “Keep it until you see me again.” And Dorrie said she would, if she could. For a week she kept the balloon; it. was very strong and nothing hurt it, and if she had been a good kid it would have lasted for ages. But at the end of a week she. got tired of waiting to sec the old fairy again, and she took a knife, and was going to make a hole in tlie balloon; it would not burst when she hit it. But, suddenly, the balloon snatched away its string from her hands, and a funny face grew on it., which grinned at her. and a voice said: “No, you DON’T!” And away soared the balloon into the sky. Dorrie never saw it or the old fairy again. She was very sorrv, for she was sure the fairy would have been nice to her if she had taken care of her magic balloon. She might have let her fly up into the sky with it, vou know. Dorrie lias never broken another balloon, but'she docs not care to buy balloons now very much, .and so tlie children have stopped calling her the “Balloon Kid ” any more. LOW TO MAKE A GOLLIWOG. If your mother will give you a black stocking which is too old to wear cut oit a piece for the head, and round it, and cut another piece for the arms. Get a larger piece of stocking and split it up as far as you think l'ur the legs, and wiiat is left will form the body. When all the cutting out is done, till arms, legs, body and head with sawdust, and sew up with black cotton. Remaps your mother has a bit of old fur she can give you; if not, unravel it will'make nice curly hair. Sew the two arms to the body as neatly as posit ome wool and sew it on the head, and siblc, and put the eyes, nose and mouth on. do make the eyes you put one boot button on toil of one’linen button and then stitch firmly. Stitch the nose and mouth in red wool. A WILD WEST SHOW. “ Conic on, boys, let's have a Wild M est Show with bucking bronks and steers and Jassooing things,” explained Leslie, earnestly. 1 i“ Well, but how?” Laddie wanted to Mc II play in our garden,” Leslie arranged. “ Nobody’s in ’cos thev’re gone to town, and the clothes-line'll make a topping lassoo.” “ And we’ll be bronks and trv and get you off our backs!” agreed 'the bows eagerly. Half an hour later the game was in lull swing. The audience consisted of eight small girls and three babies, while the six bucking bronks kicked up their , heels and wriggled their bodies and jumped sideways, the six “cowboys” tried to keep on the bronks’ backs, but so far nobody had stayed on longer than a second. T m a bronk.” yelled Leslie suddenlv, j and he galloped wildly round. “ Lasso him, somebody,” the. others shouted cxcitedy, and Bobby Sommers grabbed the clothes-line anrl threw it. Somehow he didn’t seem good at lassooing. for all he did was to knock over three geranium pots and nearly strangle his pet dog. Beffkins. Then W allie Thomas wanted the rope, and said he’d fight Billy for it. and, well, things were getting rather too wild! And at that moment Leslie's father came in. lie didn't seem to like Wild West shows- -he said he'd use the rope for something very different if everybody wasn't off. quick! But when he told Mummy afterwards, Leslie saw they v. ere both laughing. Still, 1 don t think anv of you had l etter try a Wild West Show! ILL IN BED. 1 get so lonely when I’m in l, e ,| Like I am now, -with a cold in mv head. I re been in bad for two whole dav S But at. night, my daddy comes and plays. M e play that we’re in blanket town, Hen£ the sea- that's my green eidern wc walk through the twisty street? streets Along the creases in the sheets. The cord from my blue dressing-gown Is n, river running through the town. It starts- a tiny, bubbling rill Where my feet, up and make a, hill. j 'nd it empties into th© heaving he a. ! (W© make it. heave, my daddy 'nd rne). i We walk along the pebbly beach That, stretches as far as I «*an reach. W© find big caves beneath the pillow, Where tho waves come in ’an froth s an billow. T put to sea; in a match, boat craft s nd daddy sails a tobacco pouch raft. *ml then wo come back to tlie town for ten. 'nd v© have it on trovs my darJ.Jv 'nd me. A 1 ARJORI F, PR TO PL

TIIE MAGIC BIRD. Once upon a time, in a far-off castle there lived two princesses and their mother. The eldest princess was ugly and vain, while her sister was so pretty that everyone who saw her fell in love with her at once. The king of the adjoining country wished to marry pretty Princess Myrtle, but her mother was so jealous, because she wanted him to marry Princess Amelia, that she behaved unkindly to Princess Myrtle and made her very unhappy. One day Princess Myrtle felt she could stand it no longer, so she told the king, and together they arranged that at night they would meet and go away together to a far country. Hut Princess Amelia's maid overheard what they said, and she told her mistress, and so that night Princess Amelia got herself ready, and, covering her face with a thick veil, she went to the castie gate at the appointed hour. The king was there, and quickly he placed Princess Amelia on his horse, thinking it was the beautiful Princess Myrtle. “Why have you covered your beautiful face to-night?” he asked. “Because. I was afraid someone might notice me as I came through the castle,” she answerer. So the king was satisfied, and together they rode on through the forest to a cottage belonging to the king's old nurse. Now the king's nurse was also a magician, and she had promised the king that whenever he wanted anything she would try and help him. That night the king and Princess Amelia stayed at the little cottage in the wood, on their way back to the king's palace. As lie passed outside the princess’s room he heard her maid, who had followed her mistress on another horse, call out her name, and tell her to hide her face as the king was coming, and he would see who it. was. “Ah! ” said the king, “now I know who it is, and why she hides her face.” lie then told his nurse what had befallen him, and she promised to help by using her magic powers and turn him into a blue bird. The next day the king told Princess Amelia that just after sunset that evening he would, appear before her as a large blue bird, big enough to carry her, and that liis old nurse had turned lii minto a bird because, as they had such a long way to go, it would be easier to fly. Just after sunset, therefore, Princess Amelia mounted the bird, and after bidding good-bye to the old nurse they flew away. On and on they flew over hill and dale, only stopping for a little while in the forest to get rest and food. When it was nearly dark Princess Amelia asked how much further they had to So. “We arc nearly there,” chirruped the king. “That is the castle over there.” But it was a good way off, and bcrlark. fore they got there it was quite “I will take you to your room,” said the king, “because it is late and dark to-night, but to-morrow I will show you all over my wonderful palace.” So saying he alighted on the -window-sill of a room high up in a tower., “I shall be ready early in the morning.” said Princess Amelia, a sshe hopped in through the open window. Quickly the king flew round to a room on the other side of the tower and gently tapped three times with his bill on the window. Presently the window opened, and a voice asked, “Who is there?” The king ata once knew it was the voice of Princess Myrtle. ‘lt is the king,” he answered, “who has come to fetch you to take you away to his wonderful country and make vou hisqu ecu, where you may live happily cvera fter.” “Ah!” answered Princess Myrtle, “I shall never be happy - because the king took my sister, th’cr Princess Amelia, away, and she will be queen.” “Vou must listen to me and be quick." said the king, “because wc have not much time.” Then he told her how he had found out that it was Princess Amelia he had taken away, and who had changed him into a bird, they had flown back over the country, and because i awtds the country, and because it was dark she had thought it was the king s palace. Now that Princess Amelia was safe back at her home the king persuaded Princess Myrtle, whom he loved very dearly, to mount on his back and to fly away to his old nurse, who would use her magic to turn him into it liausome king once more. Just as the sun was rising the blue bird, with Princess Myrtle on his back, arrived at the cottage in the wood. It was not long before the king, happy once again, with Princess My trie beside him, set out on their last journey to the palace, while far away Princess Amelia was just finding out what had befallen her.