An Open Air Page For Big Girls and Boys

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 243, 4 January 1928, Page 7

An Open Air Page For Big Girls and Boys

ADVENTUROUS DAYS HAS tlie Totem Pole room for the name ot' Sunlit Glade. Redfeatlier?” "The Totem Pole reaches into the clouds, Sunlit Glade. Never yet was their built a taller one. And when we carve a name thereon, the spirit of that Chief or Brave enters into the •'rainy wood and its owner becomes for all time a Child of the Wigwam. I have but to glance over these closely-inscribed names to realise what a strong bond of peace and goodfellowship unites us all.” “And I am one. White Beaver, Redfeather. I. too, would become a member of the tribes.” "And what news do you bring of the outer world, my good White Beaver?” “The flaps of the tepees were closed, Redfeather, but I met many Chiefs and Braves by the shore and in the forest. They were all holiday-making. Some of them were hunting, some were fishing, and the spirit of the open air had entered into the hearts of them all. ‘Whither, friend?’ they asked as I passed. And 1 answered them ‘To the Wigwam?’ ‘Then tell Redfeather that our thoughts still wander down the green trail, even though our tents are pitched far from the Wigwam. Soon we shall return with our trophies and gather again where youth and friendship hold sway? The trail called and a bluebird, fluttering from branch to branch, led the way. And so I left them. . . . Many days have I journeyed and now I would rest in the kindly shade of the Wigwam until such time as my fellows return.” “You bring me welcome news, White Beaver. Let ns turn our faces to the sunrise and wish all the Children of the Wigwam good camping and good hunting.” REDFEATHER.

FOR CAMP A wuterbag is not often used in cities where ice is procurable, but in . imp it is a wonderful asset. It is 4-heap, handy, and, when filled with water and hung up in the shade, will always yield a cool drink. Every summer camp should have one. A LEGEND OF BENARES Near the city of Benares, there was once a great forest which trembled one noon to the steps of a god. Indra of the Thousand Eyes came walking through the earthly groves. Even in Heaven he had hardly seen fresher leaves or more beautiful cascades of blossom. Then, in the midst of this luxuriant life, he came on h. great tree which was withered and crumbling. Indra approached the dying tree, and was amazed to see a parrot sitting on its boughs, looking lean and sickly. What are you doing there, foolish bird?’ he cried. “Are there not fair and fruitful trees enough? Why do you sit in the shadows of decay?” The parrot bowed its beak till it its claws, and replied: “Glorious king! Once this tree was peerless in its beauty and strength. I was born under its leaves; I learned to fly from one of its branches; here, since my earliest days, I have found shelter and friendship. But the other day a hunger’s poisoned arrow glanced aside into its bark, and its sap has turned to tire, and it is dying. O king, how could I leave the tree in its misfortunes?” Indra was moved. 'Lowly bird!” he cried, “I would that *wn also were as true and compassionate to their friends! I will reward your devotion by granting you any boon you may ask.” The parrot did not hesitate. “Restore the tree, great king,” it said, “and I will sing your praises for ever.” Indra laid his hand on the bark. Instantly the fungus and mildew dropped away: The withered leaves fell to the ground; fresh sap darted through its Doughs, impetuous as a spring river, find buds of green and crimson burst out on every twig. Wise is he who chooses a friend like the trees; blessed is he who has a heart, compassionate and grateful, like the parrot’s. RADIUM field is costly, far more so than sil'vr. but they are both very costly compared with such things as tin and lead Jnetals. and speak of a thing being v °rth its weight in gold. But in 1898 there was discovered another element far more expensive than gold, and if we Xft nt to say as strongly as possible that j thing is very precious we ought t--describe it as being worth its weight in radium. There are many reasons why radium the most expensive stuff in ‘the world. It is not that there is no radium ° found except in a few places, for, i r n contrary, the more we look for . *‘ le more do we find traces of it 'ei-y where. But they are always only rJ!c es ’ anc * we never come across aaium in nuggets. It is always found an i U ?d ny Proportion of something else. “2 * he Process of getting it is long Tha* jffichlt. and extremely expensive. VjJJ* 18 why the cost of radium is so of it « an< * though there is so much t i 1 ln the world, only a few grains of P re cious substance have yet been separated. radium is expensive because is »w IS a gl 'eat demand for it. There nra k a doctor in the world who would that u to Possess all the radium i as yet keen separated, and there farti London a Radium Institute where can be lent to doctors who P° ss *bly afford to buy the mity they need for their patients.

IN A ROW-BOAT \ The moon is in the water. Come, leave the sultry shore;! The moon is in the water, We’ll smash it with an oar And scatter silver lightning where blackness was before The camp is hot and stifling And what there was of breeze Hangs tattered on the brambles, Lies strangled in the trees; : But on the open river The breath of night is cool. The shadows slake their thirst there And willows bend to dip Their hair into the water. Come, let the moonlight drip From off the oar, and slowly Allow the boat to slip Into the foaming current, Where vanishes the heat. With the cool night all about us And the river at our feet. A BRAVE GUIDE The Guides of Chamonix are famous for their courage, but the deed of Alphonse Couttet surpasses all the rest, and will be talked of for generations. Mot long ago a party of visitors to Chamonix wished to ascend one of the famous peaks, and their hired Couttet. Although he has only been a guide for 10 years, he has already a great reputation. A man who earns his tread by guiding climbers in the Alps must be weather-wise as a sailor, brave as a hero, and prudent as a statesman, for the lives of, other men are in his hands, and the ice-capped mountains show no mercy on the man who makes a blunder. All went well till one of the visitors, M. Weiss, of the Paris Municipal Council, lost his footing. To slip is fatal on the mountains, and in a moment he was rolling down a snowcovered slope to the edge of a precipice. Quick as lightning Couttet saw the only thing to do. He took a great jump over the falling man in an attempt to stop him. But he was knocked down himself, and the other climbers were horrified to see the two bodies tumbling together toward the ed'*e Even then Couttet did not lose his head, and within a few yards of the precipice he managed to dig m his feet, stop himself, and save M. The President of the French Republic lias presented Couttet with a silver medal for gallantry, and his story is to be inscribed in the golden book of the French Alpine Club. Moreover, so long as there are guides in Chamonix they will talk of Couttet’s wonderful leap down the perilous slope, and will be proud to think they belong to the same calling as he did. EARTH TIDES When Sir Isaac Newton saw the apple fall in his father’s garden and "uessed the law of gravitation, he saw that everything pulls and is pulled—not only water —and that therefore there must he a tide, or a bulging, passing over the whole surface of the earth. There must be solid tides as well as liquid tides. The cliffs, as well as the waters, must be heaving up and down tinder the pull of the moon. And that is exactly what happens. As the earth spins under the moon and the sun. every part of it —whether sea or land matters not a bit—comes just under the moon in turn, and is lifted for a little while and then falls again. We notice the water because water flows easily, but if we make special Instruments and fix them in a certain way in a cellar, or in some such place, we can see that the moon lifts the land just as easily as it lifts the sea. PROVERBS ABOUT THE TONGUE The tongue is the rudder of our ship. Better the feet slip than the tongue. Let not your tongue run away with your brains. ' A good tongue is a good weapon. Confine your tongue, lest it coniine you. A bridle for the tongue is a necessarv piece of furniture. The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts. \