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New Zealand Tablet, 2 May 1912, Page 61

THE THREE WISE MONKEYS

Did you ever hear the little tale Of the wise little monkeys three ?

They sat on the ground With their arms around

Each other as nice as could be,

The first, no evil could he say; The second none could see; The third was as free

As a monkey could be

From gossip and scandal was he.

One had his hand upon his mouth, The other covered up his eyes; And the other his ears, And it really appears That they were wondrous wise.

So now, my children, give good heed To this tale of the monkeys three ; Guard ears, mouth, and eyes, And be just as wise And happy as you can be.

THE LESSON

The snow was falling thick and fast, covering the well-swept sidewalk in front of , Mr. Jamieson’s beautiful suburban home, and bringing into greater relief the warm red glow from the windows, whose thick curtains had not yet been drawn. Pressed close against the panes is the pale, fretful face of the petted son and heir—-Ronald. ‘ I wish this hateful snow would stop, mother ; here I am with this beastly cold, and cannot put my nose out of doors unless the sun is shining, the wind is not too rough, and all sorts of weather conditions,’ and another frown settled on the boy's face. His mother walked quietly over to the window and patted the boy’s curly head, looking into his eyes, as only a mother can look, with a glance of love, admiration, pity, and reproach so skilfully blended that, as Ronald always said, ‘ It tasted like a tonic, not a dose of soothing syrup.’ . Look, .Ronald,’ exclaimed Mrs. Jamieson, breaking ; the momentary silence; who, or what is that coming up the street ? It looks like a bundle, but those are surely two little feet and legs propelling-it along.’ I©© Ronald’s keen eyes peered into the gathering gloom. b Why, mother, it must be our paper boy, poor little chap. He must be cold ! Let’s call him in and warm him up ! ’ Mrs. Jamieson, delighted that her boy’s interest was aroused in something that might divert him from his own grievances, sent the maid to call him. in. , It was a pathetic little figure that confronted them m the warm, well-lighted hall. The pinched little” face and hollow eyes spoke eloquently of hunger and fft"’ ™en the maid and Mrs. Jamieson literally untied the bundle,’ for the big old coat, three or four sizes larger than the boy was tied round and round to help keep out the cold. r Now, laddie,’ said. Ronald in his bright, cheery wa y \ where’s Tom Williams, our regular paper boy.’ , . kl® 8 sick,’ piped up a \thin little voice, ‘an’ I’m his brother, sellin’ his papers for him, but I ain’t sold em all yet, and I’m tired an—an— ’ here the tears back Cme ’ ° f k is manly efforts to keep them i j But Ronald was equal to the occasion. ‘ See here, old chap! I didn’t take my supper a little while ago just.- waiting for company, so here you . are, and we’ll take it together, won’t we, mother mine?’ A * Afc . Rona ld’s first word, Mary had slipped out to the dining-room and supplemented the dainty tray, at which Ronald had turned up his nose in disgust a

few minutes before, with a substantial plate of bread and butter, cakes, and : hot coffee. f ' . On examining his . bundle of papers they found ten copies left, and it was surprising how many people wanted . that particular paper, so in five minutes they were disposed of. . „ Mrs. Jamieson .found out all about the little fellow s famiiyrom Mary. A shiftless; father, - delicate mother, and five children, which Tom, the eldest,- had tried to keep together in their miserable little 'home. After being fed and warmed and re-clothed - in a long-forsaken suit of Ronald’s; Maryland Patrick, amed with. t Uge baskets of g° od things, accompanied little Roger home, ..and, needless to say, the ’Williams family never needed for necessaries again. . When they had gone, Mrs. Jamieson turned to Ronald, who was gazing earnestly into the fire- Well my boy; a penny for your thoughts!'' crtri I was just thinking, mother, what an ungrateful son you have. There was I, railing against a fate which kept me indoors before a warm, bright fire,, a beautiful home and such a mother ! while that little kiddie braved position” ’ JUSt ~ aS he 80 quaintly said ‘ to keep Tom’s c Mrs. Jamieson softly stroked her boy’s hand, which somehow, had slipped int ° hers, and smiling, said. Yes, dear, this has been a lesson for both of us. But o you know, that little fellow has walked off with something more than we gave him!’ And in answer to Ronald s look _of alarm, Mrs. Jamieson, with' a awTvXo kGm u er eye ) C ? ntinued : ‘He has taken away two pale cheeks, a dull, listless boy, and two very ugly, discontented frowns.' . twinkle’**' n lllcV Mf id Ronald > with a corresponding iS k G ’ W be n ° reward offered /—Boston

A CHILD’S MOTIVES

The more a parent or teacher believes in a child’s purrty of motive, the purer that child’s motive will be Nothing is more disheartening to a child than to be charged with an unworthy motive that- never occurred to him. If a boy is scolded for quarrelling, when he has simpiy interfered to to P a quarrel,- he is less likely to be a peacemaker at the next opportunity. If he is taken to task for being late at school before the teacher finds out why he is late, his sense of justice may be outraged if his lateness is of a kind thlt the The^ lld , a P prove ’ with knowledge of the cause. nhiH l gh t heaifced ’ serous, forgiving spirit of the hild makes many a teacher or parent careless, about givmg offence. But if we would set up pure motives m abiding power in the life of the child, we must check our blundering suspicions, believe in the child’s purity of motive, and keep that belief plainly to-the fore, in every issue. J 111

THE KITTEN’S STRANGE FRIEND

erateM 6 summer afternoon Rover lay ’ dozing in the denlvfh h *? e ° f a s P readm g a PP e tree, when sudThe y dop e i P 160I 60 ' 13 Wai l ° f a kitt6n broke the stillness. he dog slowly opened one eye and listened dreamily Again the cry was repeated. Now wide awake with ears alert, he seemed to conclude that something was wrong, and, as the kitten gave another w started oft around the house on a lively trot, followed by his master, whose curiosity was also aroused. ' A little : black kitten lay sprawling in the grass while, at a short distance, his lordship, Ji m Crow the pet and pesterer of the family, eyed it narrowly. V Ihe kitten made a feeble : effort to regain its feet and crawl away, when the crow made a sudden dive and grabbed 'its tail in its beak. Bracing his feet ho held fast, while his poor victim tugged and wailed helplessly. As soon as the kitten sank exhausted the mischievous crow > sidled off, : and perking his' head on one side, he gazed at his victim with a mocking grin—--1 am qmte sure it was a seeming to consider it all a huge joke, really the best of the season. r ' . Again the kitten made a frantic effort to escane * again the wicked crow grabbed his tail and ’ victim to a sudden halt. . brought its

" By this time the dog had grasped the situation, and, with one mighty bound, he dashed at the villain, who, however, managed to elude the avenger and flew to a convenient treetop, where his mocking ‘ caw, caw,’ challenged the dog to catch him if he could. The crow out of reach, Rover turned his attention to the frightened kitten. He.licked it soothingly, and tried his best to comfort the poor, quivering thing, occasionally stopping to bark at the»crow, which continued to hover near. ' :

Finally, appearing to conclude that the crow had the field, he carefully picked up the kitten and carried it around the house to an old apple tree, where he deposited his burden, and, stretching himself on the grass, resumed his nap, so unceremoniously interrupted.

THE RAIN

Once upon a time a merchant was riding home from the fair, and carried a knapsack with a large sum of money behind him. II rained heavily the good man was wet through and through. He was annoyed at this, and complained very much that God should give him such bad weather for his journey. His way led him through a thick wood. Here, to his horror, he saw standing a robber, who presented a gun, and actually * snapped it at him. He would inevitably have been killed, but the powder had been damaged by the rain, and the gttn missed fire. The merchant put spurs to his horse, and happily escaped the danger. Oh,’ said he to himself, when he was in safety, ‘what a fool I was, to have cursed the bad weather, and not rather, borne it patiently as a dispensation of God! Had the sky been bright, and the air clear and dry, I should now be lying weltering in my blood, and my children would have waited in vain for my return home. The rain at which I murmured has saved both my property and my life. Never again, for the future, will I forget what the proverb says: “The ways of God are ways of mercy still; Full many a blessing springs from seeming ill.” ’

KNEW HIS STRONG POINT

Dr. Smith decided to have a day with the birds, and started out early one morning, fully armed, ‘ game ’ writ large on his features. About four in the afternoon he returned, tired out and empty-handed. ‘Not a feather, John,’ he told his coachman. ‘I didn’t seem to be in form somehow.’

John scrutinised his master’s features for a while before replying. Then he said: 4 1 alus ses, sir, every man to his trade, I does. Look at me, sur. I couldn’t shoot if I tried; but I can groom a boss, sur, as well as anybody. There’s you, sur, one of the best doctors in the town, sur. You ain’t much good with the gun, 4beggin’ your pardon for the liberty—but I’ll defy any man to beat yer with the med ’ sin-bottle!’

SCHOOLBOY HOWLERS

Galileo is the man who made the world go round. A lawyer is a man who- keeps himself without work. , ...; » The moon does not shine by day, because the sun dazzles it. ‘Hon. Sec.’ or ‘Hon. Treas.’ means they are supposed to be honest. . - ' Kites are light frames of wood sent into the sky by boys with tails on them. _ V Pearls found in the Mediterranean are formed by the fishes making their nests. / A hypothesis is a machine for raising water; it happens to a man after death. The peasant is the chief beast of burden in Egypt India, South Africa, and America. b ’ The seven great powers of Europe are gravity, electricity, steam, gas, horse-power, fly-wheels, and* motors. -... . . v

Single misfortunes never come alone; the greates possible misfortune is often followed by something 's great deal worse.-' j "- ■ , , ,

THE REFORMERS’ IDEAL

The sober-visaged man addressed the meeting o: reformers in impassioned tones. ‘ Well, brothers,’ hi cried, ‘ this is my first attendance, but I think I car understand, from what' I have heard of you, exactly what you want. In the first place, you want a realn where everybody has to be good by .law V We do We do!’) ‘Where food and clothing give no troubb and money does not exist?’ (‘That’s it! That’s it IT ‘ Where all worship on Sunday, and where regulai hours are kept.’ (‘Quite so! Quite so!’) ‘Well, ■■] myself have just come from such a place—— ’ (‘ Where What is it called ?’) ‘lt is a place,’ he answered, taking up his hat, ‘ called “prison”!’ r

A STORY OF A MISPRINT

A printer’s error of an extraordinary character is thus referred to in the Western Daily Mercury (Plymouth) : • ' ' We deeply regret that in a portion of our issue of yesterday there appeared a most' unhappy printer’s error in a report of a speech by Sir Arthur QuillerCouch at Fowey. Sir Arthur, speaking of an ‘ efflux of words ’ on the part of Sir ‘ Reginald Pole-Carew, said that it was sometimes traceable to last Sunday’! Observer, oftener traceable ‘no whither.’ This was set up. by the compositor as ‘ to whiskey,’ but, unfortunately, the reader’s correction of this error was not made until a portion of our issue had been printed. Immediately it was discovered the correction was effected, and the accurate version of the speech appeared, in later editions. , ■ .; •.. We need hardly say,’ goes on the Western Daily Mercury, that we deplore this fatality most profoundly, and offer at once to Sir Reginald Pole-Carew and to Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch our fullest and sincerest apologies.’ \ . Sir Arthur, in writing to the paper denying that he had used the words attributed to him by the printer, says:

I write at once to say that I did not use the words, that I would rather have lost a hand than have used any such words, and that I most deeply regret any pain the misprint may have given to Sir Reginald Pole-Carew or his supporters. The accident has caused me much distress of mind, and I beg you to help in correcting it.’ ; : - -

FAMILY FUN

POSERS AND CATCHES. Set your friends this little poser: ' * A farmer sent his boy to a well, with instructions that-he was to bring back four pints of water—no more and no less. He gave the boy a five-pint pitcher and a three-pint one. How did the boy measure exactly four pints? . - - ; ..r, . he answer is simple. The boy first filled the threepint jug, and then emptied it into the five; then he filled the three-pint jug again and poured as much as he could into the five, thus leaving one pint in . the smaller jug. Next he emptied the five and poured the pint out of the three into it. Then he filled the three again,’ and then had the necessary four pints. ■ 1 - ,

• How long will it take to divide a piece of cloth 50 yards in length if one yard be cut each day ? Fifty days. Certainly not; only forty-nine, because the last cut makes two one-yard pieces . - .