THE "GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUE FOR YOUNG READERS ONLY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 194, 2 August 1940, Page 2

THE "GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUE FOR YOUNG READERS ONLY

Aboard for the Goodwill Cruise fflE WHALER _ (jf- WHALE ISLAND XXXXSQKSOOCCOCXXXXXXX^CXXX^O^

What ho, what ho, ma hearties. We've spent a whole week at Niagara, snd now I want to take you on the south-bound train for a trip to Florida. All aboard lads, and once again we'll leave the good old ship at anchor in the Hudson River off New York. Now this time we are going ot speed through the states of Pennsylvania (which contains the big towns of Philadelphia and Baltimore) Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georg'a. Those are all very wonderful - states in themselves and well worthy of a visit but I'm afraid that if we visited all the places in America we would never get home again. No this time I have a very personal friend who has a huge house at Miami on the coast. They tell me that there is no more beautiful beach in the Avorkl than those at Miami. Perhaps thi'y have not seen Ohope yet! Well at any rate, off we go. Just notice how fast these American trains travel. The country seems to just flash past us. How comfortable they are too. Let's ring for the carriage steward and have something to eat. O'h. here he is—a big negro in spotless white coat and apron. What will we have. Ah, here is the menu. What, roast turkey and cranberry sauce. Whew! That will do us. And follow it OJp with plum pudding fruit and ice cream. Just fancy this all served on a train. Isn't it wonderful! And here it is-—cooked to a turn. Simply delicious! Now we are passing thro-' ugh a little town called Rome in Georgia. Soon we will see Albany and then the train will arrive at the coast and travel along miles and miles of beautiful open bays. Get ready for a tumble in the surf at Key West next week. Yours till then Peter the Whaler. OUR STORY THE GRUMBLING GOOSE Once there lived a prince who was always grumbling. His name was Silvercurl, and although the kind old king and queen gave him everything he asked for, he was never satisfied. One winter's day when the show was falling fast and the prince happened to be riding in the royal forest, iiis horse suddenly fell lame and he nought shelter in the hut of an old wizard. "What a small place! And how dark!" he exclaimed as soon as he entered. The wizard, who had risen to offer his guest a chair, stared hard at him through his green spectacles, and his eyebrows went up so high that they slid right over his head. But the prince did not notice anything; he said scornfully: •'T could not sit on such an old chair; it looks mouldy!' 1 " "I have heard of you!" 1 said. the wizard slowly. "You are the Grumbling Prince! Now you had better have something to grumble about! Hey presto! " r He waved a wand over the prince's head as he spoke, and the next moment Silvercurl turned into a great big goose. And not quite an ordinary goose, either—for on his head he wore a queer little green hat. He tried to say: "Why, this looks silly!" but found to his disgust he could only cackle.

"I must get home!" he sai/d to himself, and found he could waddle on his yellow webbed feet quite quickly. Next he tried to fly, and was de-« lighted to find by spreading his wings he could skim over the ground most gracefully. But try as he would, he could not lind his way back to the palace. Tired out, he sought rest at lonely farms, but when his green hat was seen, they would not let him in. "No goose of ours wears a green hat!" he was told, and, with shouts and jeers, he was driven from their doors. I At long last a beautiful goosegirl, who had just seen her flock settled for the night, found him scarcely able to move through weariness. "Why, you jioor creature!" she exclaimed. -'Are you lost? You seem a stranger here!" "Indeed I am," he cackled. "'You see, I am really a royal prince, and live in a palace. I hate being a gooSe, and I dislike wearing a green hat still more!" "You seem very discontented, who ever you are," she said. "But I'll try to take you home. Come with me!" "I don't like walking; I should be riding!" he hissed, as he waddled along by her side. "If I were you, I would be thankful I could walk," she said gently, and took him to the house of an old woman called Mother Goose. But when he saw her he cackled: "I don't like the look of her, she'.s wrinkled!" "Hush!" whispered the goosegirl, and turning to the old woman she said: "Mother Goose, this bird is lost! Is he yours?" "No, indeed!" was the sharp answer. "My goose was a very Ante gander! Not a grumbling goose like that!" and the door Avas slammed on them. Next the-goosegirl took him to a man called Dumming. "Mind your manners!" she said as she knocked, but just as the door opened Silvercurl hissed: "I don't care for his name!" The man called Dumming lieard, and when the goosegirl explained what they wanted, he shook his head. "My goose was a magic goose,'" he said. "Everyone had to follow it! J That goose is a growser!" Bang! Once more the door was shut in their faces. "We will try again," whispered the kind goosegirl. "I know yet another Mother Goose.'" 1 They found the house quite a grand place, but as usual Silvercurl grumbled. Quite loudly he hissed: "'lt's too showy!'" This Mother Goose had her door open, and she heard him, and so looked very angry when the goosegirl begged her to take him in. "No!" she replied. "My goose laid golden eggs. Tt was a most amiable bird. I would not own a discontented looking creature like that!" Hastily they went down the steps and hurried away. The snow fell fasit, and suddenly, to Silvercurl's astonishment, he saw big tears rolling down the goospgirl's cheeks. "I can go no farther," she sobbed. "I am weary." "Why, you never complained!" he cried in "You make me feel ashamed!" No sooner had he said that than the Avizard appeared and turned him back into a prince. "At last you have learnt your les-

son," said the wizard. "Now marry this charming goossgirl and grumble no more!" "Gladly, if she will have me!" cried the prince. Joyfully she consented, and the wedding was celebrated with great splendour. LAST WEEK'S COMPETITION COLOURING THE HUNTSMAN Very good indeed were the entries. Perhaps some of you could have put brighter colours into the drawing but on the whole the effect was quite pleasing. We have a Midshipmaid who is quite a budding artist. Her work was excellent. Here are the winners. May Hanham, Cecily Cottrell, Keith Linsell. SPORT OF OLD WILD BEAST SHOW In Rome the hidden depths of the Colosseum have long been searched by Professor Guiseppe Cozzo, who has just completed his task of laying bare the hypogeum, where the gladiators assembled before the show. He has found the cages of the wild beasts, lions, tigers and fierce boars, and the 32 cells for lifting thfem simultaneously to the floor of. the arena. The -hungry beasts passed from their cages along a gangway three feet wide to the elevator cells, and could not turn back. Their cells were also about three feet wide, six feet long, and six feet high. These cells were lifted 20 feet to the floor ' above by pulleys and counter-bal-ancing weights. When the animals came up into the light they w T ere all let out at the same time, as a preliminary to the savage fights among themselves and with the gladiators, or martyrs, • awaiting them. This frightful spectacle provided a Roman holiday for ; many years. It ceased more than 1500 years ago when a white-frocked ' Christian, Telemachus, stepped into : the arena in 404 A.D|. to denounce ' it, and paid Avith his life for his cour age. But his protest stopped it. ! " ' JOKE CORNER "Now, Alice, I Avill give you one more chance," said the teacher. "Whose emblem is the leek?" "The plumber's sir," cried Alice. "Can I see your father, Tommy?" announced the visitor when the lad .opened the door. "I don't think so," Tommy replied. "He is rather Avrapped up in his work at the moment." "Really?" exclaimed the visitor in astonishment. "Yes, he is trying to paper the parlour." Two negroes were appointed to pick out a candidate for an important political office.. After a while one of them came back into the meeting and asked for an extension of time. "Mr Chairman," he said very solemnly, "the committee is divided. Mr Johnson, he's for hisself, and I'm for myself, and Ave're havin hard work to get together," THIS WEEK'S COMPETITION! MORE COLOURING Here is another picture for you to work on. Try hard to make a nlice clean job of it and forward thej result into me. The three best Avill receive free picture tickets with my compliments, Peter the Whaler.