FOR THE CHILDREN

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14601, 26 February 1921, Page 12 (Supplement)

FOR THE CHILDREN

THE ROCK-A-BY LADY. The Rock-a-by Lady from Hush-a-by Street, Comes steal in,?, .comes creeping; The poppies they hang from her head tn her feet, \nd eacli hath a dream that is tiny and licet: She bringoth her poppies to you, my sweet, When she flntfeth you sleeping!

There is one little dream of the beautiful drum — "Rub-a-dub 1" ft goeth; There is one little dream of a big sugar-plum. And lo! thick and fa,st the other dreams come,

Of pop-guns that bang and tin tops that hum, And the trumpet that blowcth!

And dollies peep out of those wee little dreams With laughter and singing; And boats go a-tloating on silvery streams, And the stars peck-a-boo with their own misty gleams, And up. up, ami up, where the Mother Moon beams The fairies go winging!

Would you dream all these dreams that are tiny and fleet? They'll come to you sleeping; So shut the two eyes that are weary, my sweet, For the Rock-a-by Lady from Hush-a-by Street, With poppies that hang from her head to her feet, Comes stealing, comes creeping. —Eugene Field.

THISTLE-MOTHER. (From "The Sun's Rabies," by Edith Howes.) Thistle-Mother looked up and saw that the winter was over, for the sun was creeping higher and higher in the sky. ami the birds were practising their spring songs. So. unfolding her arms, she spread them over the ground, and began to push herself up into the warm air.

ner home was on the roadside, where grasses and weeds grew so closely together that it was hard to fiend " room. As she grew, they began to complain. "Don't push so," they cried. "And oh! how horribly prickly you are! You arc scratching us dreadfully."

"I am very sorry," she said, "but I really cannot help it. I seem to grow like this without knowing it."

"Well, you might at least go somewhere else to live, where you will not disturb so many people," they grumbled. Rut this was just what she could not do. She went on growing; as the others shrank hack from her prickl.v arms she could look over their heads.

One day she saw a cow eating the grasses near her. She shuddered as its long tongue twisted itself round their poor helpless stems, and forced them into its great mouth. When it passed ber by untouched she felt thankful that she had so many thorns on her arms. "At last I know why I grow like this," she thought. "The prickles are very useful, after all." When the summer came she began to make tier children's cols. She wove the overlapping sides of brightest cot-green, strong and tine. Then, remembering the cow, she put a sharp prickle at each point, and closed the points together. She made warm Huffy beds, and in them she placed her children.

They were tiny, helpless things, white 'and soft. They looked up at the shining walls as she gently put them in their cots, and asked: "Mother, must we always stay \p here?"

"No, my dear ones," said the mother, "when you are strong and brown you shall fly out over the world. But rest now while I make your wings."

Nothing daintier or more beautiful than their wings had ever been seen* They were snow-white and glistening, and long and fine, and softer than the softest silk. She tied them firmly to the little shoulders, and in the middle of each wing she placed a long lilaocoloured plume. Then she gently opened the cots a little, and the plume-ends floated out into the sunshine. The children sang for joy. "We have the most beautiful wings in the world," they sang. "Now we can fly away." "Not yet," said Thistle-Mother. "Wait a little longer. You must grow brown and strong first." The lilac plumes glowed in the sunshine, and the cots swung in the summer winds. "Now your time is comins, for your plumes arc turning brown," said Thistle-Mother; (lie children looked at one anotber, and saw that they themselves had turned from white to lilac.

"Shall we be brown next?" they asked. '

"Yes," she answered, "when your plumes are curled and twisted, nest again."

Soon the plumes were curled and twisted, and Thistle-Mother opened the cots widely at the top. Now the children were brown and strong. When they saw the blue sky they sprang'to meet it: hut, instead of Hying up, they tumbled in a heap on their mother's arms.

Thistle-Mother laughed tenderly at them. "You wre in too great a hurry," she said. "Lie here (ill the wind comes. lie will lilt your wings and give you a start, ami then you can fly away. And, children, when you have seen the world, and feel ready'to settle down, be sure to choose a good growing place. Then in time you too will become Thistle-Mothers- Ah! here ies the wind. Hood-bye, my little ones." "Good-bye, mother dear." they called gaily, for the wind was lifting them ami spreading their win?-. They Moated up into the air, and (lew off. their beautiful while feathers glistening like silver in the sunlight. "What a glorious place Ihe world i-:" they railed 1.0 one another us Nov Hew over Ihe land. They wen I everywhere and saw everything. Those who remembered Thistle-Mother's word- chose a good growing-place and became Thlslle Mothers themselves: bill the careless

ones, who forged—well, nobody knows what became of Iheill. Left alone. Thislle-MothCf folded her tired arms and sank into the ground, to sleep till summer ami cotmaking time should come again, POLAR CAP PUZZLE. DRINKING I.T THE OCEAN. MYSTERY OF TDK FALLING SEA LEVEL. Bv a Geographical Correspondent.] Are the oceans of (he world shrinking, so Ihal more and more dry land is becoming uncovered-.' Thai is Ihe ipieslion scientists are now asking and answering.

(BY PETER PAN.) J

Of course we known that in some Darts the land is slowly rising, while In other areas it is sinking. But apart from this up-and-down movement or the land, is the sea Itself shrinking. Does the water in the ocean beds get ICS9 ? The surface of the earth is slowly drving up. Just as Mars is doing and the moon lias already done. A certain amount of water is always trickling through the crust of the earth to he interior, and is permanently lost to the surface. Then, again, some of the water that evaporates into the air and. rises into the upper atmosphere flies off into space, never to return. J lie larger a planet is, the more securely it holds its atmosphere and vapour by the power of gravitation, but nevertheless some must be lost. Rise and Fall of Shore Lines. Such losses of water, nowevcr, are comparatively trifling, and vet, accord-

ing to Professor Daly of Harvard University, the general sea level is falling appreciably. It is now abou twenty feet lower than il once'was, and this lowering is taking place quite independently of the local rise and fall of shore lines due to the warping of the earth's crust. What is causing the shrinkage". I rofessor Daly has an ingenious theory. He believes it is caused by the gradual withdrawal of water from the seas into the South Polar ice cap. Seven hundred feet more of ice piled on the mass covering the Antarctic regions would make enough water from the ocean to lower its level throughout the globe by 20ft-

Old Beaches Now High and Dry. Professor Daly's theory is based on careful observations in different parts of the world, and his views are confirmed by another famous scientist. Professor A. G. Maye of the Marine Laboratory. Washington. Both scholars found all'over the world a steady uniformity in the old shore terraces which the seas used to lap, but which are now big and dry, and they declare that the only explanation of this uniformity is that there has been a general sinking of the sea-level everywhere, and not merely a series of local up-and-down movements of the land. Many geologists hold that when those old beaches were washed by the ocean the temperature of the sea was slightly higher, and that confirms Dr Daly's theory that the South Polar ice cap' was then less In volume and extent than now. If the World Were Warmer.

If the whole earth were a little warmer than it Is now less water would have been taken from the ocean- to form the ice caps, and so the level of the sea generally would he higher. With the periodical swing of the climate, at some future time there may be a rise in temperature in the Antarctic regions, and the icefield may be reduced" the wafer thus released once more finding its way Into t-Ii ocean and raising the general sea-level.

In the sea we must always remember how vast the ocean beds arc. If all the land in the world that is visible above the water were to be shovelled into the Atlantic Ocean alone, it would fill up only a third of that ocean bed; and in the Pacific it would be lost-

NATURAL HISTORY. QUESTIONS AND AN^VERS. Can a Lizard be Kept In Captivity? Thousands of lizards are kept as pets. They require warmth and a diet of meal-worms, cockroaches, and other insect food. They soon know a kind owner and will feed from the hand. Why do Onions Make the Eyes Smart? A pungent vapour is Riven off by a peeled onion, and this, affecting delicate nerves in the eyes, sets up a burning sensation, causing tears to (low as a protection against the intrusive vapour. Has an Insect Feeling In Its Wings? Nerves, by which sensation is carried to the brain, enter the wings, and insects do feel pain if their wings are hurt. How much that pain is we. do not know; we had better assume it to be acute. Is a Bat a Bird or an Animal? Strictly speaking, both birds and bats are animals. But a bat is what is commonly called an animal. It is warm-blooded, furred and suckles its young as a cat suckles its kittens. It belongs to the order of mammalsOf What Use Is a Wire-Worm? The harmful ones may serve a purpose In the wilds in checking excessive growth of vegetation, but in cultivated land they arcT with the greenfly, probably the farmer's most formidable enemy. Some species are useful in devouring rotting wood and other waste substances. Does a Dog Like Music? Nobody knows whether the howls uttered by dops in the presence of music are signs of joy or misery, as a dog will squat and listen to music, and then howl, but not .run away. The suspicion is that the cry is one of pleasure, hut, if so, pleasure never had so mournful a voice.