Children's Corner

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 46, 24 April 1930, Page 4

Children's Corner

s>HOKT STORIES.

Pip o' The Pond.

*Yip o' tlie Pond wag a'pixy. He lived in a- dear little hoiise on an island*- in the -middle^ of^ Pond. ""'^li 'rbilnd ihfe Pond" was /the Wildest Wbldj a very lonesome .place, and every evening the Will q 'the,. Wisps, light eel their lanterns ,and placed them along the,paths, so that people who were crossing tJfe' Wold; In the''dark' should not lose their way and tumble into the Pond. », o>ne evenj^n%, .wih.ehvthe "V^ill o' the-Wisps'had" lighted' their lanterns and. trotted oft' home, Pip jiimj)ed t vinto his; little boat, and rowed across to the Wold. Hje hopped ashore, and scampered about blowing, out'all the ianterns and then he rowed back home.

"Some onev will, lose his way to-iughtI!'' .chuckteci naughty Pip 6: The Pond. Later on in the evening there came a tremendous splash. *

' l Somebody's tumbled into the Pqnd!" cried Pip.. "Ha, ha!" an^vhe ran to the --door and peered put \But tnere was nothing: to be seen. :

; --"■* I it was only a fish,'' said Pip, and he shut the door and went back to his fire.

The fire was cosy and warm. Pip snuggled down in his little aim-chair and -soon he was fast asleep.' ■■:-■■. v : /

Presently he woke with a start. His feet felt so wet and cold. He looked down' an the floor. , It was" covered with water, and water was trickling in underneath the door! : •■'-Good.:.gracious4'' cried Pip, ; "the Pond mxist be rising. But there" hasn't been any rain for days!" . *

Pip ran to the door, and looked out. The Pond was risings—ar

terribly fast. Pip shut the door with a bang. "What am Ito do?" he cried, for he had seen his little boat floating away.

He stopped up the chink underneath the door and shut all his windows tight. But still the water came in. Faster, faster, faster. On the floor "it was inches deep. Pip climbed on to the top of his chair.

Soon the water reached the fire, which hissed and spluttered and then went out. Then it reached up to the arms of the chair, and

jthen to the back. Pip jumped on tj'the dresser, and climbed to the tipmost top. Arid still the water came into the room, rising higher ?nd higher.

At last Pip scampered upstairs to his bedroom. , But soon the water rose up to that arid came pouring in. .

Higher and higher and higher it rose, 'and Pip climbed up the chimney and carite out pn the roof.

Afid still the water rose, higher, and higher, and higher lintil at last the^fo'of of the house' came off and all the furniture floated out 6c, to; the Pond

Pip jumped on to Ms bed; which went sailing acrbss the Pond like a boat. '' it must be Magic !" He cried. r"" '<■■"■ v

Then.,: ; hjß^heai}Gl fj .a Jaugh, and looking 'iip^ne'■•"■sjiw,'iby''"'the light of the moon, sitting on the top of a tree by the edge of the Pond, and shaking with -laughter, the Witch'of the Wold.

''Magic, it is!" she said. "bh, Witch!" cried Pip. "Why did you do it ? It took me such a long .time to build niy house, and now all my things are spoilt!"

"Why did you blow out the lanterns," asked the Witch, I' and l'\t me tumble into the Pond?" /

"I'm eve.r so sorry!" cried Pip. */If you'll make the water sink I promise never to.do it again." " The Witch Waved her ,broomsiick and the water began to sink, jintil it was at it proper level again, ".gopd-bvej" cried the. Witch,' and flew awly, ' "~*-TC&& '" - Then Pip set to work t6 get all his furniture out of the Pond. It tooK" him no end of a time. And it was days and days and days before it and his house were dry, and he had put his roof, on again.

Often, when the Will o' the Wisps had lighted their lanternsoil the Wildest Wold, Pip o' the Pond longed to go and blow them out again for fun: But he never .did. He thought he had better not!

The Fairy Sunshade. It was very hot in the draper's and mother was such a long time. Edna thought she would never leave off buying yards of ribbon, pieces of lace, and reels of cotton, so the little girl stole off by herself, and looked at all 4he pretty i things on the counter, After a while this began to bore her, and she went back to her mother, who was still buying. Edna looked round for something new to amuse her—and found it.

At the counter just from her on the other .side of the shop an other little girl was. with her mother, .but this little girl had a sunshade. Oh! It was such a beautiful sunshade! Big roses seemed to grow all over, it on a kind of trellis work,' and Edna felt she would be so happy if she could have one like it. She went up to the little girl.

"You ha.ye a very pretty sunshade;" she said.

"Yes, isn't it!'' said the other, little girl. "I had it' for my fourth -birthday. . My name's Hilda. What is yours, and" how old are you?'/ : ,* ■ . .

''I?m Edna, and I'm four too; Will you open your sunshade and let me see inside/?'.'.- : ■;.;-. ,

Hilda came closer and whispered in her eaT, "I.should love you to see inside, only it won't open.";

Seeing Edna's look of surprise, she ' * Yes, I mean what I say—it won't open; it never has opened, and mother says there must be a- fairy inside it who won't let it be opened. What do you say?" y

• Perhaps there is, but I'd like to try. May I?"

Hilda nodded ,and Edna took held-of the sunshade. If only it were her own! Still, Jt was something just to hold it! But to hold, it, and to open it, were two xliffercnt things.,: Try as, hard as she could; it.wouldn't open. ,

•" 1 'm ms- myu ftps '§ &. Mjy .JnTffoj" she said. "Suf I'll have on<: more try." She set her teeth together and tried 6nce again. ft gave ! Slowly the sunshade opened, and a shower of rose petals fell out.

"f wish," said a voice sleepily, "'you'd let me sleep in peace." The two little girls looked at each other. "The fairy!" Edna whispered, and Hilda nodded, "'./■'■

The sunshade was open wide now",-and curled up at the fop was a tiny fairy dressed in rose petals. She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and glanced at the two little girls.

"Did you wake me up?" she asked.

"1 'm afraid we did,'' replied Edna. "But we didn't know you were there."

"No, 1 suppose you didn't. However, I'm wide awake now. Would you like to come and have a ride1 oii my swing?"

<' We should!'' they both exclaimed. 9 ■-"■ So the fairy, giving a hand to

each *of them; pulled; -them iip to the- place whete she was. You all know ?,the spring of a ' : sunshade; the. piece that keep it open? Well, that was Where the [ fairy was. She was making it swing backwards and forwards. .Of course, you'll say it wasn 't possible, but you forget it was a fairy swing. " :" . Edna and Hilda seated themselves on either side of the fairy *' arid oi£ tliey went, swinging to and fro, here and there. They I s\vung so quickly that the shop jwa£ lost to view, and green fields and masses of ! flowers took its place. v ." 0 \ % - ' I Fairies^ 'dressexi like the suni sliade fairy, could'be seen, hurryfing here, there, and everywhere, ! some riding butterflies, others^ ; walking. Some, dressed in red, had big. brown moths for their steeds; everywhere was a buzz of . fairy life., '.. On ;they went,- fasfter, faster. New everything had become blurred, and only-the fairy noise remained, faster still, until all around them was red, then faster once more, when all things ap:peared black, and then——-' .

4 J. "I hope ypu haven't hurt yourself, inissie.'' The shopwalker picked Edna up oft' the floor. "But you had a nasty fall off that chiiir. You can't go to sleep and SAving on its back legs at the same time* JQii Know." r ~«-i-xt jßaul^ Edna did 'feel a bit stiff, and Wanted to cry Very much, but she wasn't going to. The tears were very near the surface, for hadn't 'trie shopwalker told her it was a dream? But it wasn't it wasn't! "I'm not, hurt, thank you, but I haven't been asleep.,, I've been inside a fairy sunshade!" * All the people in the shop smiled, but Edna didn't mind. /She knew it wasn't a dream, because just by the opposite counter^ was a Jittle heap of rose leaves. The Fairy Tale. Once there were four little children who were always squabbling One day they were squabbling worse than ever. "I won't play with you!" cried Molly.

' ' Don't touch my ball!'' said

Betty. -'' You shan 't have my dollies!' * screamed Nan. "Nasty horwi<i fings!" shouted Peter.

Just then Cousin Joan came into the nursery. "Oh, you siUy children/ she cried. - "Come and let me r you a fairy tale." • So Joan sat down on a stool, with Molly and Betty, Nan, and Peter in, front of her. Then she opened her book, and read: — "Once there were seven little princesses. They were not a bit happy, for they were always squabbling. At last the queen sent for their Fairy Godmother, and asked her what was to be done. ""'I can cure them, said the Fairy Godmother. Then she touched each of the little princesses with her Magic Wand,? and --what do you think? They all , stopped squabbling, aiid kissed each other; They never squabbl•ed again, for"1 the name of the Magic Wand was Kindness and Love. And so they lived happily ever after."'; "What a lively story!" cried Molly; Betty, Peter and Nan. Then lip they all jumped, -and .kissed each other.