A Little World for Little People

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 780, 28 September 1929, Page 33

A Little World for Little People

FRIENDSHIP IS A STEADY LIGHT SHINING IN DARK PLACES I * . A FUGITIVE CLOUD BABY NOW, that’s funny,” said the Little Thought, with a perplexed air peeping here and there under the ferns in the shadv corner that Doctor Spring Sunshine had given him for his owli particular garden; “I’m sure I left half a fruit-drop here this morning. Someone must have taken it.” “Please don the angry,” piped a small voice. “I was hungry and I have eaten it.” ° J ’ “Oh. oh,” cried the Little Thought, as a tiny face met his gaze, what are you doing m my garden?” “Hush,” whispered the intruder, “I’m a cloud baby, and Iye escaped from the competition. Please be kind. I’m verv frightened, and I didn’t know it was your fruit-drop.” <(T . “ oh ’ don t worry about that,” laughed the Little Thought It was flavoured with orange, wasn’t it? A Sunbeam gave it to. me. “A Sunbeam!” gasped the cloud babv. “Please don’t let any of them find me. We always die when sunbeams touch us.” The bunbeams I mean are children,” explained the Little Thought, patiently "not the sort you meet in the sky. Please tell me all about it.” “Well,” said the cloud baby, with a catch in his voice. “I was in a basket with hundreds of other cloud babies We had been captured and put into stories. All my friends were talkiim about the day we were to be judged. I didn't want to be judged because I thought I might be fined or put in prison, so I elbowed rav way to the top of the basket and jumped out. First of all r ra VliV2 Ue ?~ l00kln / b ' dldi ? g ' vith ‘The-Place-of-You-Never-Can-T‘ll Rest House for Riddles and Puzzles’ written on it, and AA 01 . 1 find shelte . r there, but a stern voice called out \\ ho s making vet lootprints on my clean doorstep?’ so I hurried away. Then I saw a man bottling sunsliihe, and I knew I should not be safe there. A moment later a bird looked out of a hollow tree and said, sternly, ‘Go back. You belong to a storv ’ 1 ran back to the basket, but a lady had spread out, all the ''tones and I couldn t find the one I belonged to, so in despair I hid here. ( Yes, the fruit-drop did have an orange flavour.” “I don’t wish to alarm you,” said the Little Thought, "eutly “but you are becoming smaller and smaller,” “It’s moisture I need,” wailed the cloud babv. “Please help me. “Perhaps my little watering-can would save the situation ” mused the Little Thought, as he hurried off in search of it. and when he returned the cloud baby had vanished. “Oh / (JT\ J dear,"” sighed the little knight- M / if?) errant, “he would really have v been much safer in the competition basket.” ‘