FOR THE CHILDREN

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14770, 8 October 1921, Page 12 (Supplement)

FOR THE CHILDREN

(BY PETER PAN.)

MY SCHOOL FRIENDS. (By Helen (Haze, aged H years, Hamilton.) A for Ada. who late is never; : B for Belly, who is exceedingly clever; C for Connie, who is very' small; D for Doris, who sits by the wall; E for Essie, who always was strong; F for Frances, who sings a sweet song; Q for Grace, who lias nice hair; H for Helen, who is very fair; I for Iris, who is nearly blind; J for Jean, whom we left behind; K for Kathleen, who is taller than me; L for Laura, whom I can see; m for Malsie, whom I adore; N for Nancy, who fell on the floor; O for Ofa, a real fairy; P for Patty, who plays with Mary’; Q is a question I can’t make out; R for Roma, who is running about; S for Sadie, a nice girl is she; T for Tom, a naughty boy; U for Understand —I wish I were it; V for Vera, who is learning to knit; W for Winnie, who has just turned nine; X for Xmas, a happy time; Y for years, a long, long time; Z for Zealand, where I Trade this rhyme. STORY. THE MAGIC STONE. (Continued from last Saturday.) In a short time the messenger returned. “His Highness the Sahib Bahadur awaits your arrival,” said the old man. “Will the young sahib deign to fallow?" After a short walk Hugh found himself before a large bouse with a handsome pillared portico. He was conducted into a magnificent room, at the end of which, on a divan, sat a strange little old man with heavy, beetling eyebrows and an enormous white moustache, that showed in startling contrast against his yellow skin.

He did not speak as Hugh approached, but glared at him with dark, piercing eyes. “Are you the magician?” asked Hugh- “ The what?" said the little old man, in a voice that was surprisingly loud for his size.

“The magician?” repeated Hugh politely. “I think you must be, because this place is enchanted.” “Who arc you?" asked the little man. “And how did you get here?" “I have a wishing-stajie, and the wall round this place fell because I wished it. I wished all the wild beasts of the jungle to be quiet, and I walked through them until I came to the village.”

"The wishing-stone must be a very powerful charm," said the old man. ‘‘May I see it?" Hugh took it from his pocket and handed it to him. The magician inspected it carefully and seemed to be much interested. A black attendant brought him a magnifying glass, and with it he examined the stone more closely. “This Is, indeed, a powerful charm," he said at last. “What do you want for it?”

Hugh silent. “Ls there anything you wish for?" asked the old man.

‘‘Oh, yes!” said Hugh, brightening, ‘i have a list of wishes here.” He. read aloud the various wishes of his father, mother, and himself. The magician listened in silence, and made no comment until Hugh read out, ‘‘A present for Jane.” “Who is Jane?” he inquired. “She is our servant,” explained Hugh- “ What would she like?" asked the magician. Hugh pondered for a moment. “Perhaps she had better have a sewing-machine,” he said. "Mother says she always spoils hers when she borrows it.” The magician’s eyes twinkled. “Very well,” he said, “we will put her down for a sewing machine. Is there nothing else?” he asked. “I can’t think of anything more.” “Very well,” said the magician again, “I will forward your wishes to the proper quarter. Rut you will never see the wishing-stonc again. Is it a bargain ?" “Will all our wishes really come true,?” asked Hugh. “There is no doubt about it,” said the magician, “if you agree to the bargain." "Oh, yes!” replied Hugh. “Good!” said the magician. “Give me your name and address, and then we will drink some sherbet to seal the compact.” A native attendant soon produced a bubbling drink, which Hugh found to bo the nicest he had ever tasted. He drank it heartily, and the next thing he knew was that lie was lying in his own bed at home, while his mother and father stood beside him.

“How are you feeling, dear" asked his mother-

"I am quite well. How did I get into bed last night, Mother?” “Jane found you sleeping in the porch, and, as we could not wake you, we carried you up to bed. Wc think the sun must have been too hot for you.” Then Hugh recounted his wonderful adventure, but he was vexed when he saw I hat his parents thought he ms suffering from some delusionAs there did not seem to be anyting else the matter with him, he was allowed to get up, and, after an excellent breakfast, he persauded hi s father to go with him to sec where the wall was broken.

To his great annoyance, however, there was no sign of any break, though there were one or two places that looked as if the wall had been repaired. Hugh returned home, sadly, wondering if it had really been a dream, and when two months passed without anything happening he gave up hope. Then one day something happened. A cart came to his house bearing .just the carpet his mother wanted, and this was shortly followed ny a van containing a glasshouse in sections, that was rapidly erected in the garden into a miniature Crystal Palace. Then came his museum cases, and a jeweller’s box, in which there was a gold watch for his father and a watch-bracelet for his mother. Next earne a suit of clothes for himself, and finally a sewing-machine for Jane.

Hugh was naturally triumphant, and that those things were (ho nutcomp of the magical virtues of the wishingslone was to him a sufficient explanation.

In the case of his father and mother it. was quite different. For days they remained in a stupefied and bewildered condition, the result of a conflict between their commonsense and Ihe actual existence of the valuable things that had suddenly descended upon them, apparently from the timid*.

As to Jane, the affair presented itself as a device of the Evil One to ensnare the souls of the family. She looked , at hpr sewing machine with aversion, and it was some, time before she could be persuaded by the family to trj' it. About a week after the gifts had arrived Mr Bowen found himself in the train with the local doctor, and, after timidly inquiring whether his companion believed in magic, related the whole story. To his surprise, he found that the doctor was in a position to furnish quite a satisfactory explanation. “The only curious thing about It, said the doctor, “was that a piece of the wall gave way as your boy was passing, and wishing to see inside. That was a coincidence such as may happen any day. Everything else that happened followed naturally- “ The name of the estate is Whinstone Manor, and the present owner is General Chester/ He went out to India when quite young to join the Indian Army. He married an Indian princess —a Begum, or Ranee, or something oij that sort. She died, leaving him immensely rich, and then, quite unexpectedly, he inherited Whinstone Manor. He was an eccentric old fellow, and so wedded to Indian ways that when he came over he brought with him quite a colony of natives —cooks,/personal attendants, and workmen of all sorts—and wit)? these he established himself here in the summer, returning to India with his train each winter.” “But what about the wild beasts?”

“They were all stuffed, my dear sir! Theyjwerc trophies of his gun, and it was his fmey to place them in more or less natural positions about his estate.”

“BUit -why should he have given us all these things?" persisted Mr Bowen. “Well, I think I can explain that, too. My theory is that the piece of green glass was probably an uncut emerald —lie is a connoisseur in old jewels, 1 and no doubt has added it to his collection. I should say that you had the best of the bargain, for he is a very’ generous man, and probably took a fancy to Hugh.” “I should like to thank him,” said Mr Bowen. “You will have to wait until next year," said the doctor, “for he went back to India a fortnight ago. "There is just one thing more," said Mr Bowen- “How did Hugh get home?’ ’ • “I take it," said the doctor, “that the old general, in a spirit of mischief, gave Hugh a sleeping draught, and sent him home in a motor. Yours is a quiet place, and it would have been quite easy for a couple of natives to have deposited the boy in the porch without being seen.” RED DRAGON ENTERS SYDNEY HARBOUR. THE OLDEST FLAG IN THE WORLD. A PRESENT FROM CARDIFF. A ship has just entered Sydney Harbour flying the oldest ensign in the world. The vessel was the ocean liner, Themistocles, and it flew the Welsh flag with the dragon of Uthcr Pendragon, the legendary father of King Arthur. Never before has a big ship flown this flag, and crowds gathered to witness the strange sight. The flag was a present from the city of Cardiff to the Welshmen of Sydney, and was a return gift for one sent to the people of Cardiff by the Welshmen of Sydney. The men of the two cities had previously agreed to exchange flags. The Themistocles took the Hag out from Cardiff, and when the ship reached the Great Australian Bight the flag was flown from the masthead. The hoisting was carried out amid much ceremony and the singing of the Welsh national anthem, and Welshmen made speeches in their native tongue. Vision in tho Sky. As the ship entered Sydney Harbour the dragon floated bravely from the mast, the-red dragon standing out boldly on a ground of green and white. Uthcr Pondragon is said to have had a vision of a flaming dragon in the sky, which his seers interpreted as a sign that he should ascend the throne. He did so. and ever afterwards carried a golden dragon in battle as bis device. Later on this was incorporated in their arms by the Anglo-Saxon kings, and in the reign of Edward VII. it was placed in the armorial bearings of the Prince of Wales. The dragon is much older than Welsh history, however, for it was the device of the Parthian kings who fought the Romans, and it was adopted as the standard of the Roman emperors of the West. Afterwards it developed into the golden dragon of Wessex and the red dragon of Wales. Now it has sailed bravely over the sens and floated in realms Pendragon and Parthian and Roman never knew. NATURAL HISTORY, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Have Plants Nerves? Yes; but the subject is too complex—and fascinating—to be explained in an answer . Whole books arc devoted to the question. What is a Quickset Hedge? Any fence or hedge composed of living shrubs is a quickset, for the word “quick” is used in the sense of “living." Generally speaking, a quickset consists of hawthorn. Does a Bird have to Learn? Certainly it does, and some interesting instances arc given of how chicknes which have been hatched in an incubator were ignorant of the most elementary principles of living till they had boon taught. IVlust Goldfish Have Running Water? . Tiio goldfish is a carp, and no carp needs running water. This, however, docs not mean that goldfish in an ! aquarium should not have the water { regularly changed. What is Tapioca? Tapioca is a starchy product obtain- j ed trom the root of the manioc, or i cassava. Carefully roasted on hot plates, the starch grains burst, and form tho nutritious tapioca of merceHow do Fish Keep Water Out of their Eyes? The structure of the eye of a fish is such that the organ is specially adapted to contact with Hie vvaler. Indeed, the 1 eye of the fish needs water, as like the whale’s, it lias no tear glands, and 1 would not of itself keep moistened. I How Long Does the Water in an Eel’s Gills Last? 1 H is a pity that, this question cannot, j ‘ be adequately answered, but the jour- I 1 neys of (he baby eels from the river 1 across country to the. ponds and ditches, and of the adults back to the ) rivers, are. so secret and unobserved ( that nobody knows. The, writer’s own : observation of the distances covered 1 and obstacles crossed enables him to say that (he time must be several days 1 4 nigh la. (