Children's Column.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 37, 26 November 1920, Page 12

Children's Column.

(By Ethel J. Barks).

MATER'S LETTER BOX. Mater invites children to send in storiet for this column, or correspondence which will be replied to through these columns. All matter to be clearly written in ink, and one side of the paper only. Natne, age, and address, must be always given, and correspondence directed to "Mater," care of Editor, "The Digger," Box 310, Invercargill. WHY THE CUCKOO FLEW AWAY.

One afternoon, Poo-Poo, the little Pekingese dog, went out with her mistress to see a little girl named Elsie, who was ill in bed with a bad cold. Poo-Poo was not very fond of little giiTs who were not weil enough to play with her, and when she arrived with her mistress she barked so angriiy at the little girl that her mistrc-ss . said she must stay by herself in another room until she had taken tea with Elsie and was ready to take her home again. So Poo-Poo was put into the day nursery all by herself. She barked very angriiy and scratched the door for a long time to try and maka someone come and let her out, but when at lasfc she found that no - one was going to take any notice of her barking and scratching, she jumped on to a chair and curled herself around to go to sleep. She was just settling down to a comfort. able little nap, when, suddenly, she heard someone in the room call out "Cuckoo." Poo.Poo thought someone who had mistaken her name was calling her, so she jumped off the chair and ran to the door, quite expecting it to be opened. But though she waited no one camg or opened the door, so she jumped on her chair again. Presently, however, the little voice called out again, "Cuckoo," "Cuckoo." Poo-Poo looked around, but there was cer. tainly no other person in the room. She jumped down and sniffed all around tna ■ coiuers but could find no smell of anyone even hiding in the room. So she sat in the middle of the room and waited patiently until the little voice should come again. After a "time it did. It called out "Cuckoo," "Cuckoo," "Cuckoo." / But except that there seemed to be a kind of scuffling noise by the clock hanging on the wa.ll near the bookcase, there was no sign or sound of anyone about. Poo-Poo was a very intelligent little dog, and when she found that the sound came somewhere very near the clock, she thought she would sit near it and watch there for the little voice to come again. So~ she jumped up on the bookcase and knooxed down the ink, which ran all over the pretty grey carpet, and sat there i waited until the strange invisible person should come and call her again. But it was not really as comfortable sitting on the narrow hard shelf of the bookcase as it was on the nice soft chair, and when she liad been there some time she was beginning to think the mystery was really not worth the trouble, wlien. there was a buzzing sound near the clock which niado her prick up her ears and open her big brown eyes very wide, and the next minute a little door under the clock opened, and out hopped a queerlooking little bird. "Cuckoo," he cried, and hopped back again, and the little door shut to very quickly, but opened again in a second for the little bird to hop out and call "Cuckoo ' again. Then it went back again to come out and call "Cuckoo" yet a third time. But when the little door opened a fourth time Poo-Poo jumped up very quickly and caught the queer bird in her mouth. And the clock and Poo-Poo and the little bird, together with several ornaments and things on the book-case, all fell to the floor tggether with a very loud crash. Ths noise quickly brought Poo-Poo's mistress and Elsie's mother running to the nursery to see what had liappened. "Oh, Poo-Poo, you naughty little dog," said her mistress, when she saw all the things on the floor, and she slapped her ever so gently with her hand and pretended she was giving her a very good scolding, and Poo-Poo wagged her ta.il and licked her mistress's face as she always did when she wanted to say she was sorry. And Elsie's mother said that Poo-Poo had quite broken the cuckoo clock, and that the little bird would never be ablo to hop out o f the clock and tell them the - time again. Poo-Poo wagged her tail all the time she was being scolded and talked about. It all seemed so strange to her, and she was not at all sure of the meaning of it all. She could not understand why little birds should hide in docks. She always thought they lived in the trees in the woods and gardens. "I shall never bring you out visiting

again," said her mistress picking her up in her arms. "You have been a very naughty little dog all the afternoon." But Poo-Poo only wagged her tail and did not appear to be at all unhappy for she knew her mistress would love her just as well, no matter how much ink she upset or how many cuckoo docks as she pulled on the floor. And she was very pleased to get back to her own home again, where silly birds did not come out of strange hiding places to try and tease her. She lisiened while her , mistress told the story of her adventure to the rest of the people at home, then she ran out to tell her own friends, the tabby cat and the big yard dog, herself. Some weeks after POo-Poo was playing in the garden when she heard the same little voice calling "Cuckoo" again. , "Hullo," she exclaimed, looking round. "Cuckoo," "Cuckoo," replied the little voice. "But they said I had made you fly away and that you would never come back and tell the time again," said Poo-Poo. "Cuckoo," "Cuckoo," sang the little bird. "Whatever does that mean?" said PooPoo. "I thought at first that you were calling me." "It means that spring has come. I have come to tell e very one tiiat it is springtime." And away he flew calling "Cuckoo," "Cuckoo," all over the garden. Poo-Poo watched him in great astonishment, and wondered if ever he would find : his way back into the clock again. She thought ifc must be muck nicer to go about j telling people it was beautiful spring-time j than to remind little girls about lesson time and bedtime from a clock on a nursery wall. .