A Little World for Little People

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1016, 5 July 1930, Page 31

A Little World for Little People

friendship is a steady light shining in dark places

THE FIRST BUTTERCUPS

WHERE did you get that buttercup, Little Thought?” asked the smallest Pixie Postman, gazing enviously at the splash of gold the Little Thought was carrying. “From the Pawn Lady,” answered the Little Thought. “It's for my pressed flower garden, and it has travelled all the way from Sussex. The English Sunbeam who sent it enclosed a pansy, too, but the Dawn Lady is keeping that. She says that pansies are for thoughts, though not necessarily for Little Thoughts, but I am more tlian content with this golden buttercup. ° I shall plant it in a very special place with a notice to say where it has come from.” “I made up a story, called ‘The First Buttercups,’ a few days ago,” remarked the smallest Pixie Postman. “Isn’t that a coincidencelf y ou don’t mind waiting a moment I shall get it. Here it is. There’s room for ns both on my doorstep, and now I shall begin: ‘Long ago the stars were not in the same positions as they are now, and the sky was much more crowded. Every evening the Sky Woman had to go out with an apronful of stars and pin them on to the big piece of blue silk that was the sky. Across her bodice there were rows and rows of safety-pins, because she never would trust the ordinary kind. At dawn she Trent out again and brought in the stars because they had to bo polished ready for the next night. Yes, .she had to work hard, that poor Sky "Woman. Well, she just pinned them anywhere she could find space for them because there were far too many, until one evening, when she was setting forth on her rounds, the North Wind played a terrible trick on her. Swirling round her and making her very flurried, he tweaked a corner of her apron loose and spilt nearly half the stars. In a golden shower they fell to earth, scattering in all directions, and the North Wind laughed at the mischief he had done. ‘“Here’s a nice thing! exclaimed the Earth Woman. A shower of stars from the Sky Woman's apron anti no wag of sending them had;. I shall have to turn them into flowers, and then they will l-ecp in place without safety j>ins. Dear, dear. “‘So she turned them into flowers and called them buttercups because of their golden colour, and the spy woman felt rather glad when the first shock was over, for it made her work much easier, and she was able to keep special places for the remaining stars. If there are any over she puts them into the Milky Way and hopes that nobody will notice. And that is how the first buttercups happened.’ ” “Bravo!” said the Little Thought, clapping his hands. (U\ f , “And I wonder what star this JL. CCW-w buttercup of mine used to " 1 1