A DONKEY PARTY

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19268, 3 January 1931, Page 18 (Supplement)

A DONKEY PARTY

Don had always been fond of donkeys, though, at home, he had never known any well enough to invite them to tea. Most of them had been too busy earning their livings by pulling greengrocers’ carts, and so on.

But here, at the seaside, it was quite different, for rows and rows of donkeys stood on the sands and waited for amiable children to talk to them, and go for rides on their backs.

The very first morning of the holiday. Don and Jeremiah Donkey discovered one another. Nobody introduced them politely, but they just looked at each other, whispered a bit, and knew that they were to be friends. So that was al! right. “How much for a ride?” Don asked Jeremiah’s master. “Threepence, there and back,” said the man. A few seconds after that Don was racing along the sands on Jeremiah’s back, and the donkey was explaining that he would like to have taken him without payment at all—only it wouldn’t have been quite fair to his master. They had a most delightful gallop, and Jeremiah went so far that the sea had nearly overtaken them before they could get back. “Always up to the minute,” remarked Jeremiah in a rather jerky voice, “most ’straordinary—must have a splendid alarm clock.” That was the first of many exciting rides along the hard, golden sands, with the sea racing toward Jeremiah’s stand, and the gulls sailing sleepily on the wave crests—or swooping down with their queer laughy-croak. And when at last the sea won, and Jeremiah and his companions had to stand on the shingle, nearer to the promenade, Don would hurry into the house, slip on his red and bathing suit, and then scurry back to the sea, for he was learning to swim, and every day he had to show friend Jeremiah how he was getting on. “You do very well,” said that animal one afternoon, “very well indeed—for it must be a great disadvantage not to

MAKE A KITE. The most exciting kite to make, children, is, after all, the old-fashioned kind you see drawn here. It consists of three sticks, A, B and C—A and B being twenty-four inches long and C fifteen inches long. Tie them all together at the point E. Now space out the sticks into the position shown in the drawing and tie a piece of string at each corner, F, G, 11, K, L and M, so that you have a skeleton of your kite. Then cut out a piece of coloured paper to the shape N, with edges ready to overlap as shown. Place this upon the

“skeleton” and, having gummed the overlaps, turn them over the string and press them down. Join up the extreme top ends of the sticks O, P, Q, R with string, and, having cut out three pieces of coloured paper to the shapes S, T, V, gum these and fold them over the strings O, P; P, Q; Q, R, so that the} are free to flap about. Join M, II; F, K: and L, G with very loose string, and join these at the centre about two inches above point E. To this point tie your kite string. Join K and II with a long loop of string, and to the centre of this attach your string of “tails”. APPRECIATION. I wish to thank you ever so much for the pleasure the reading of the children’s page has brought to me during the year. It is due to your untiring efforts that the page radiates happiness to many boys and girls. “In Aunt Hilda’s universe there are stars that are big and stars that are small. As she herself controls them, she’s the brightest star of all! ” “ Edith.” THE PEBBLE ON THE BEACH. A pebble lies on the beach, and nothing could be more inert and commonplace. But why does it lie there, on that exact spot and no other? This, it will be said, was determined by the wave that flung it there. But what was behind that wave, determining its direction and energy? The pressure of the wind; and this had for its cause some unknown changes of heat and cold, stretching over unknown kingdoms of space, and determined by forces which run up to the crown of the heavens and back to the beginning of the worlds. It would have required a different history of the universe to have cast that pebble up a few inches higher! ESS®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®!®!!

have a tail to help you along ” Don laughed (wondering how he would manage a tail anyway). Then he said to the plelasant Jeremiah whose language he understood so well “Thank you very much. Now, please, I should like to bring you a present tomorrow. What would you like?” Jeremiah twitched his ears thoughtfullv. “Well, really,” he said, “it’s not at all necessary, of course, but since you’ve asked, I’m particularly partial to carrots.” So the next morning Don found the largest carrot in the place, bought it, and carried it to the sands for Jeremiah Donkev. He had some distance to walk, past ever so many donkey stands, and as he went he patted the other donkeys, and told the mothers what fine children their babies were. So it took a little while to get to Jeremiah. As he approached the particular part of the shore, Jeremiah turned his head and watched with unusual interest. Then Don noticed that several people standing by were smiling. And then he heard a shuffling sound at the back of him, and looked round. There was a long, straight line of donkeys, trailing patiently after Don and his carrot! Well, he was so amused that he laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Then he gave Jeremiah Donkey that special carrot, and whispered something to him. And Jeremiah turned to his relations and said, “You may all have a nibble at this, and to-morrow the young gentleman has promised to bring a whole carrot for each big donkey, and a half carrot for each baby donkey. Very kind of him, I call it.” So presently Don took- the donkeys back to their masters, and the next morning he brought them all carrots. In fact, after that he never went out without having his pockets stuffed with these .vegetables. And the greengrocers at the seaside said that if everyone bought as many carrots as Don they would soon be able to close their shops and live on the sands themselves.