THE “GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 56, 21 July 1947, Page 6

THE “GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUE

, What ho. what ho, ma hearties! Well here we are again. Thank goodness the weather is a little better now. I’m sorry I have no competition this week for you but the other day I sat in the sun in front of the cave for a long time trying to think of something. It was no good though and I had to row across to Whakatane with the rest of the column. I will put on my thinking cap again and see if I cannot get a competition worked out for next week. That’s a promise! By the way I would like to see more stories, poems etc. coming in so get out those pens or pencils any time you have nothing to do and drop me a line. That seems to be all I have to say just now so cheerio until next week. P.T.W. ANIMAL PARADE THE LLAMA The natives of the Andes depend on the llama even more than the Arabs depend on the camel. The South Americans use the llama for riding, and carrying heavy loads; they eat the flesh, which is very like mutton; the wool can be woven into a coarse cloth; and the female llama supples them with milk. If the llama is treated kind he is a very willing worker. He can carry loads up the steepest mountain-side, but if over-loaded lies calmly down and refuses to move. He has his own particular method of revenge on anyone who torments him—he spits a ball of 'food and saliva at his persecutor. The llama stands about three feet high at the shoulder, but he has a long camel like neck which makes his total height from five to six feet.

THE EYE AS A CAMERA The eye is a camera and takes a photograph of the things we are lookingat. The picture is taken at the back of the eye, and a white cord, called the nerve of sight, stretches from the back of the eye to the brain and lets the brain know what the picture is like. We do not really see with the eye; seeing is an intellectual act to which the work of the eye in taking the picture is a necessary preliminary. ' ANIMAL ANTICS One day a tiny black and white kitten came to live where Alice lived. Alice named him “Mittens,” because on each foot he wore a white mitten which he never changed, but always seemed to keep clean. Mittens soon grew, and became a lovely big cat. In the paddock at the back of Mittens’ new home lived two friends Topsy, the cow, and Toby, the dog. While Topsy would feed, Toby would lie by and watch; but when the cow lay down, her puppy friend would climb up oh to her back and go to sleep.

One day Toby followed Alice when she went up the street. Topsy missed him, and she mooed and mooed until Toby heard her, and came scampering back to his big friend. The old cow welcomed him with gentle moos, and looked quite contented as she went on feeding. Toby and Mittens became good friends, also, although sometimes the pup and puss did not agree. Alice came in one day to see Toby creeping up on to the verandah steps, whining as though saying to Mittens, “Please let me come in.” “No,” growled Mittens. Because Toby continued to whimper, the pussy sprang, smacked the pup on the nose and chased Toby around the yard. Topsy, the cow, looked up from where she was feeding.

“Stop that,” she seemed to bellow, and kicking up her heels, she chased the cat. Then there was Mittens chasing Toby and Topsy chasing Mittens.

Mittens climbed the nearest post, and Topsy, standing below, shook her head at the pussy. “Don’t you do that again,” she seemed to say; then the two friends, Topsy and Toby, walked off together. Toby seemed glad that his kind friend, the cow, had come to his rescue.

Alice wondered if Mittens would take the advice of Topsy, and be always an agreeable pussy.

>R YOUNG READERS ONLY Aboard for the Goodwill Cruise - PETER THE WHALER . e/ - WHALE .ISLAND

TWO BEARS In a village there lived an old couple who often had. sharp quarrels. Everybody in town knew how much they quarrelled. Suddenly they quit quarrelling, and they were never heard to dispute after that. The town folk wondered what made the change, and at last one brave woman asked: “Two bears did it,” said the wife. “Two bears?” “Yes, two new bears which we found in the Bible. ‘Bear ye one another’s burdens and ‘Forbearing one another in love’.” THE CONCEITED FLY

'A fly that happened to alight on a horse’s back became very conceited, and cried, out: “See what a fine fellow I am to travel at such a great rate!” • Later, when the horse stopped, the fly flew on to the tread of a motor car tyre. It had just time to exclaim: “I must indeed be clever to raise such a dust as this,” when the part of the tyre where it stood touched the ground, and the foolish fly was crushed. , GREAT DOCTOR’S ANSWER The great Canadian physician, Sir. William Osier, was lecturing on' alcohol. “Is it true,” asked a student, “that alcohol makes people able to do things better?” “No,” replied Sir William. “It just makes them less ashamed of doing them badly.” SMALL AND STRONG The numerous varieties of humming birds are found only in the Americas, and the family has no close relatives in the Old World. There was once a lot of guessing about how many strokes a humming bird’s wings made each second. The answer of 200 strokes a second was obtained by matching the bird’s wings with a note on a violin. Humming birds are among the cleverest fliers. They can hover motionless before a flower, are said to be the only land bird that can fly backwards, and are one of the few birds able to rise straight up into the air. Then, if they want to hurry, they can go somewhere else at a mile a minute.

When it comes to endurance, the little hummers measure right up with their neighbours. One ; variety regularly migrates the distance between Alaska and Brazil, while the Ruby-throat at migration time crosses the 600 miles of water to Bermuda and 500 miles of the gulf of Mexico to Yucatan. WIRELESS WASP A little boy whose father was a wireless enthusiast ran into the house sucking his hand. “Daddy,” he cried, “I found a big fly with black and yellow stripes in the garden, but I don’t think his wiring was properly insulated, because when I picked him up he gave me a shock.” THE USEFUL COCONUT The Coconut Palm, which in prewar days provided us with coconuts for pies and flavouring and sweets, puddings, and cakes, has a vig variety of uses in the tropical lands and islands of which it is a native. There the nut provides food and drink and produces an oil which is used among other things for ointment. The shell is often carved (and polished) into cups, goblets, and ladles. The dried leaves are used for thatch, and are plaited for mats, screens and baskets. The midribs of the leaves make paddles for the natives.

The wood of the lower part of the trunk is very hard and takes a beautiful polish, while the fibrous tissue of the younger stems makes cord.