OUR STORY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 06, Issue 96, 6 August 1943, Page 6

OUR STORY

MR SQUI RIIKL'S HUNT Patty looked out between the white 'curtains of her bedroom Avindow at the yellow leaves upon the horse chestnut tree. Thcv made a 6 little golden patch above the garden path. The horse chestnut tree Avas the first one in the garden to turn yellow and drop its leaves. Already they had made a bright carpet about the foot of the tree. Patty was getting read}' to rake them into a pile to help daddy clean the path. Along with falling leaves and brown horSe chestnut, time, caine school bells and meeting old friends. School was to begin the next week. Patty had been looking up her reading bodks and papers, ever since she had jumped put of bed that morning. They stood now in a neat little pile on her table beside the window. "Only one thing was missing 7 ' she told mother when they were looking over them. "The key to my pencil box." Patty had, worn the bright little key on a red ribbon about her neck all the year before. But the very last day of school 'it had slipped out of sight. "'The ribbon broke or I laid it somewhere," she had said. She tried to remember. But it was no use. "Maybe it will turn up during the, summer" mother had said. And .so they had left it. "I guess, I'll have to have a new one: made or buy a new pencil box, Patty told mother as she slipped into lier apron down in the kitchen to make, ready to go out and rake the leaves. The sun outside was warm as a stove. The garden seemed to sleep and. rest after its summer's work, i Patty hummed a little, .song to the. pull,, pull of her rake along the dirt path. A fox-squirrel hopped across the grass and jumped to run up the chestnut tree. "Chit! Chit! Chit!" he spoke to Fatty. "These are busy days for me Patty stood watching him hite at tlu; stem of a horse, chestnut. Soon he would run down and hide it some where among the bushes. As L att> looked up at him u Hash of something higner among the branches ol , the tjee caught her eye. Patty look ed again. Tnen .she .saw a surprise ; something. Above Mr Squirrel in a fork ol the tree was a bird's nest. L ' leaves had imiuen it all summer but . now it siioucu itse.il'. It sat like a little bowi 01 mild and grass in the iOik of ilu Uianehes. '•bo thai is where all those babv uvea Uiis summer!" Patty laugned. Tnen the thing that hau lirst caught her eye Hushed again

like a Liny light there among thcs branches. Patty looked again. Then she gave a little cry of surprise. "My pencil box key," she. cried. "Way up there in the tree!" Sure enough there on its red ribbon hanging from the very bottom of Airs 'Robin's nest there, in the i'ork of the. ■ horse chestnut tree was the bright little '.key that Patty lxad looked for all summer. "Mrs Robin liked the red ribbon," laughed Patty ay she. ran to te.ll mother. "It's the colour she chose Tor her own waist." That night when Patty and Daddy came out to sec the golden leaves that she had raked into a pile be-, side t.lic garden path, Daddy brought the. ladder along. He climbed up to where the nest rested in the fork and 'cut the red ribbon to let the key drop. I "If I knew Mrs Robin's nest number down in the .south-land," she said to Dad<ty. "I. would Avrite her a letter and thank her for keeping my key all summer." "And I must gather a pile of acorns for Mr Squirrel to thank him for showing, me where: it was just in time for school."