PORTABLE PROPERTY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 148, 8 June 1935, Page 15

PORTABLE PROPERTY

A knife with one blade broken is A very useful thing. And K ’« a lump of putty, too, And bo’s a piece of string. Of eourse a toad’„ not useful, but Suppose your spirits drop, It's nice to have a toad in hand To cheer you with his hop. And if a boy got wrecked, you know, Beneath a tropic sun, Three rusty nails would make good he could fish like fun. Aud if the fishes wouldn’t bite, It is my firm belief. He’d like to find some butterscotch Wrapped in his handkerchief. One can’t be always at the zoo, And that’s the reason why I like to keep a guinea pig— Which doesn’t need a sty. A mouse trap eomes in handy when You get a rind of eheese, And as for a tin “shooter”—well, You must have one—and peas. Six foreign stamps, a cracker and Two worn-out “tips” for shoes Are atricles, it seems to me, A fellow shouldn’t lose. Whatl Nothing more! I'm sure that is Not much to eart about, Reflected Johnny when he had Turned all his pockets out. Dear Kiwis— The other day I heard some people discussing the effect of music on animals, and one told of a cow which always showed signs of the greatest bliss whenever a smell boy she knew played the month organ. I have had personal experience of doge and murie. Each of three doge which have been members of our household at separate periods (for, of course, I always count a dog as a human member of the family) and another which was a visiting friend, gave evidence of their fondness for music, and would come in to listen to the piano, a head resting either on my knee or on my foot, there remaining immovable until the music ceased, and yet one of those dogs would howl most dismally at the sounds of a violin being played. I have heard that music has an effect on wild animals, but what the effect is I know not. Perhaps if one met a lion or a tiger in the jungle and sang to him, he might become meek and sociable. On the other hand, he might become wrathful and murderous. I’ve never heard of anyone really experimenting in close proximity, have you! It may depend a good deal upon what one sang, too, or played on a mouth organ. It wouldn’t surprise me if animals, even wild ones, could discriminate between music and jaw, so perhaps their behaviour would depend upon whether the music of “Oft ia the stilly night” was floating into the air, or the harsh strains of the latest jazz craze. The first might send a wild anmial into a trance, but the last—well, I wonder! But this has given me thought for a competition, though not a wild animal one.

Most of you have pets, or a pet. Try the effect on them of singing, or of playing some instrument, and you will discover that animals really are capable of musical appreciation. There should be some interesting results of your experiments, and this competition should be one of the jolliest we have had. In order that country children may not miss this, I am going to allow a little more time than usual, and the competition “The Effect of Music on Animals” will close at 4 p.m. on Monday, 24th June. We shall all have such fun over this competition, and I want just hundreds of entries, please. Before that date, and after next week’s joke and riddle page, you will be able to tell me how you celebrated our King’s Birthday. We have a new little Kiwi to welcome—Murray Sparling, and he is only seven years old. Good-bye, dears, with love — CHIEF KIWI.