ANOTHER “THIS AND THAT”

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 86, 5 January 1935, Page 17

ANOTHER “THIS AND THAT”

“Daddy! Daddy!!” Hazel’s voice came from her bedroom, where she was In bed. I got up and went in. “Well, what do you want?” “Tell us a story, please!” was the request. “Goodness me—! Is that all vou want? I thought you’d set the house on fire, judging by the way you veiled!” Nonie, her cousin, said, On. do” and Donald, Nonie’s brother, pm, his head in the bedroom and asked. “May I come in to listen?” . “What would you like to bear this time?” , . “Another of those funny travel stories —you know —you make them up as vou go along!” was the answer. “Here we go, then —no interruptions, remember.” “No!” chorussed the three. “How shall I begin?" I asked. “Oh! the usual once upon a time.” Once upon a time there were three bears _the Daddy, Mummy, and Baby. “Who’s been eating my porridge,’ said Hazel. “Nothing of the kind. That isn t. the story at all.' They lived ’way up in the frozen north—you see, they weren't brown bears.” „ “Polar bears —white Polar bears?’ asked Donald. “Brown bears live in the Himalayas. We’ll make them white to match the snow, then, and the Maoris were creeping up to them with their bows and arrows!” “Gracious! Maoris never had bows and arrows—the only place Maoris would see bears would be in a zoo!” added Nonie.' When all of a sudden—what a surprise ! Across the desert sands came a long string of camels, each one's tail tied to the head of the one in front.

“Ha! Ha! How could that be — you mean each one's head tied to the tail of the one in front!” remarked Donald.

“Yes, of course—a slip of the tonguethen the tiger catching sight of the howdah on the hippopotamus’ back

“A howdah is a large seat for people, carried by an elephant,” said Hazel. “You are quite correct—you see, we were shooting from an elephant’s back in Africa,” I went on. “But the African elephant is not tame enough to carry a howdah,” objected someone. “This was an Indian elephant in Africa—(l met that objection!)” But—!

“Too many, ‘buts’—you three ought to have been billy goats. There stood the goat with his great four spreading antlers ...”

“You know, I always thought deer had antlers, not goats,” remarked Hazel. “And then the deer, getting scent of us, dashed off among the ice hammocks !”

“Ice hummocks,” stated Nonie, “We're back at the Pole again with the Polar bears.” “Yes, it was a reindeer—a whole dozen of them came into sight—and there in the sledge was dear old Santa Clans.” “1 suppose the monkeys climbed the palms and threw coconuts at him, op at the North Pole?” remarked Hazel. “You took the words out of my mouth 1” I looked at my watch. “By Jove, time yOu went to sleep!” Donald got up and went to his room. As I left, I heard Hazel and Nonie talking about the ‘story 1” “Did you ever hear such a mix up? Daddy started off wltn bears, and . . . do you know, he tangled me up so, that I really don’t know what he did say.” “Just as well,” ixonie replied, “I think it was very funny. Good-night?” —By Alfred Quinnull (Wellington)