EDITH AND EVA.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 28, 24 September 1920, Page 12

EDITH AND EVA.

By "Dick."

Once in a certain village, there lived two girls named Edith Gray and Eva Lane. They were cousins but they were not alike in looks or in ways. Edith Gray was a good sensible jirl. She always dressed quietly and tidily, and didn't wear highheeled shoes. Eva Lane was the exact opposite. She was a silly thoughtless girl, and dressed herself in a very silly way, always wearing high-heeled shoes. In this village, the school-teacher was often very much annoyed by the unpunetuahty of her pupils. No amount of punishment seemed to do anything towards euring this unpleasant habit, so as a last resort, the teacher offered a prize to the one who was early every morning for : hree months.

All the children tried for a while, but at the end of two months all except Edith Gray and Eva Lane had been late tv/.ce or three times. Edith nor Eva had not been late during that tiine. At last only one day of the three months was left. . The teacher said to the two girls on the second last day, "Well, Edith and Eva, 1 am very pleased to see how punetual you, both have been this iast three months. Only one day remains. If neither of you are late you will both get a prize, but if by any chance you are both Late, then I will give the prize to which ever of you arrives first." The next morning both girls sei off in plenty of time for school. It had jfained heavily all night, but it was a clear, briglit morning. Edith and Eva lived close to each other and happened to meet, walked together. They had to cross a bridge which spanned a creek. When they reach. ed the creek, they saw a poor little lamb which had fallen into the water, struggling in vain to get out. Edith at once ran to try and rescue it, but Eva didn't stop. She thought she might be late for school if she did. Edith succeeded in rescuing the lamb and. restoring it to its mother who was * running about the bank bleating. But Edith got very wet during the process and ran quickly home to get dry clothes on, and then ran very quickly to school arriving about five minutes late. Meanwhile, Eva had run On \o school. The ground was wet and slippery and as I have said Eva always wore high-heeled shoes. When she had nearly reached school she slipped and having on her high. heeled shoes hurt one of her ankles. It wasn't hurt much, but the silly Eva imagined she was half-killed. When her ankle had got a little less painful Eva got up out of the mud and limped on to school. But she found it necessary to sit down so often, and cry over her ankle and •xamine it to see if it was swelling, that she arrived five minutes behind her cousin Edith. So Edith Gray won the prize and I think she deserved it, don't you? "