THE STOLEN DAYS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 80, 25 June 1927, Page 27

THE STOLEN DAYS

The fairy queen popped her pretty little head out of her boudoir, which was made of crocuses. “Oh, bother it!” she exclaimed. You see it was the morning of a rather special party and the rain was coming down just like a shower bath. There were puddles everywhere, and the lawns were soaked like a sponge so that nobody could walk on them. “Bother it!” said the Fairy Queen again. “Just look at the weather. None of the guests will come to the partv in this, and even if they do ii won't be any good. I shall have t.> send to the Clerk of the Weather and have it made fine, that’s all.” So the Queen called in her third secretary. who always looked after the parties and sent him ofT to the Weather Clerk. Presently he returned. “Your Majesty.” he said. “I am sorry to say the Clerk of the Weather has gone out for the day and his house is shut up.” “Oh dear, oh dear!” cried the Que*-n. “Now we are in a fix. Why ever uid he go Out and leave it raining? Most thoughtless of him.” She stamped her foot and went back into her crocus boudoir. Now at the Fairy Court there was a young Pixie who was very anxious to gain the Queen’s favour. When he heard of the trouble he set oft at one* for the house on the hill where theWeather Clerk lived. “I'm ging to try to break in amt see if I can find out how to make it fine again.” he said to himself. “That ought to please the Queen.” Soon he was at the door, which, of course, was locked: so he climbed up the drain pipe and slid down inside the chimney. They made him very black and sooty of course, but he didn’t care.

“Now to find out how to make it fine,” he said, when he was safely inside the house, and he began to look round. Presently he found a box labelled “Whirlwinds. Directions for use: Open one packet and shake out into the air.” Inside the box were a lot of red paper packets. “Well, that's something.” he said: “but whirlwinds are no use, I wai t sunny days.” He hunted high and low. but all ho! could find was a tin of thunderstorms.

and of course they weren’t any good either. Just as he was beginning to think he must give up, his eye caught a little bundle of yellow packets tied' up with string, resting on the mantlepiece. Quickly he took them down. Yes, here were the sunny days, all tied up ready for next summer. “Better have three to make sure.” said the Pixie, and taking three yellow packets he climbed on to the roof anil emptied the contents into the air. What a wonderful change. Instantly the rain stopped. Then the sun came out and, with the help of a gentle breeze, soon dried up the puddles. The flowers preened themselves, the damp amd mist vanished as if by magic. In a few minutes it was a lovely, sunny summer day. The Pixie was so surprised that he nearly fell off the roof, and he -was rather afraid the Clerk of the Wcataer might notice the change and come back and catch him. But evidently he was too far off. When the Fairy Queen saw the sun she was delighted. “How can I reward you?” she said. “Make me your Chief Councillor,” asked the Pixie. “Certainly,” said the Queen, and she gave him a gold chain of office to wear round his neck. Soon the party was in full swing. The sun shone and shone. It grew hotter and hotter. The guests began to faint with the heat. The flowers shrivelled, the grass went yellow. Boon there were not enough drinks to go round, for everyone was thirsty. “Pixie,” said the Queen, “you have made, it too fine. Go back and make it a little cooler.” “Yes, Your Majesty,” said he, and off he went. It didn’t take him long to get into the Weather Clerk’s house again, and he soon found a box of rainy days and frosty days, done up in green paper. “It’s so hot I’d better take six of each,” said the Pixie, and soon the six wet days and the six frosty days were thrown from the housetop. Down came a beautiful refreshing shower and at once the heat became less. Presently it was Lovely and cool and the Queen was ever so pleased with the Pixie. But alas! the Pixie didn’t know how to mix his'days like the Weather Clerk did, and in his anxiety to put things right he made them worse. In less than ten minutes it was pouring with rain again, and horribly cold and damp —just like it was when the Fairy Queen had first popped her head out. “You foolish Pixie,” she cried angrily. “Look what you’ve done. It’s worse now than if it had never been fine, for all my guests will have their dresses spoiled and they’ll all catch cold.” And sure enough the guests did catch cold, and there was such a sneezing and a coughing that the Queen rushed back to her boudoir to get away from the noise. Suddenly she came out again. “Pixie,” she called, and as the Pixie came up, she snatched the chain of pflice from his neck. “Don’t you ever try to deceive me again,” she cried angrily. “Chief Councillor, indeed! Be off with you!” And she hit him a resounding whack on the head with the chain which raised a little pointed bump. If you look at the picture of a real Pixie you’ll always see the little bump, which every Pixie has to remind him that the Queen won’t have an y more interference \vit% the Weather Clerk. As for the Clerk himself, he knew all about it, for he found when he reached home that some of his days had been stolen. “Ha, ha, ha!” he laughed. “Now they'll have rain for a month before there will be any sun to spare.” THE KING OF SPAIN The King of Spain, the King of Spain. What do you know of the King of Spain | He goes to drive in a coach and four With three black footmen to open the |door! The King of Spain, the King of Spain, ■ What does , he do when he’s home again ? He sits on the throne and smiles all j day At the beautiful things his courtier* | say. j King of Seville and Spanish Main, I What are the dreams of the King of Spain? He dreams of fishes, brocade and cheese j And the Lord High Chancellor’s twisted knees! J Whatever we give to the wretched, we lend to Fortune.