THE CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 43, 14 January 1921, Page 12

THE CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

MATER'S LETTER BOX. Mater invites childr*n to send in •toriea for this column, or correspondence which will be replied to through these columns. All matter to be clearly written in ink, on one side of the paper only. Name, age, and address, must be always given, and correspondence directed to "Mater," care of Editor, "The Digger," Box 310, Invercargill. THE TWIN PRINCES. Once npon a tlme there were two Princes, named Jonina and Jonana, who hated each other v,ery much. They -were twins, and as like each other as two peas. From earliest infancy they fought and scratched. "What a terrible affliation!" the King's mother, who was therefor,e the Queen's mother-in-law, would say. And the Queen wanted to put out her tongue at her mother-in-Jaw when she said this; for no mother, however her children quarrel mid fight, likes them U) be called afflicwons. The GxiandmaQueen only made matters worse by embroidering little mottoes in wool, with "Let brotherly lov,e continue" in crimson and green, and "Let dogs delight to barlc and bite, for 'tis their nature to," in yellow and blne. And she gave them to the princes on their birthday. This, as you can well imagine, only made things worse. For whoever heard of quarrellers being made friends by annoying advice in green and crimson wool — So i am bound to admit, although I don't like to, that the palace grown-ups managed the twin Princes very badly. Well, in due time the Princes grew up, then the question arose : Which Prince should govern the kingdom? At last the King hit on a happy idea. "They shall go forth into the wrorld," he said, "and do mighty deeds, and, on returning, the one who has done the noblest things shall ' b,e King." This suited the Princes very well, for each longed to outdo the other. And, saying good-bye to everybody in the palace, they went off. I shall not have time to tell you of the adventure which befell Jonina and Jonana. They soon had & fiight and parted. And, in order that I may not bore you and become dull, I will say here — years passed away. That, I assure you, is how all the best storytellers get on with the tale. However, it did happen that Jonina embarked upon a ship — -not very seaworthy, unfortunately — for the other side of the world. After many day's tossing on the- waters, the ship was wrecked. And the long and short of it is that Jonina was stranded, alone and without food or clothes, upon a desert isLand of the most famous and cocoanutty kihd. Forunately, he had read "Robinson Crusoe," "The Swiss Family Robinson," and "The Schonberg-Cotta Family" — the last being a present from Grandma. These gave him a few useful ideas, and life began to be interesting. He built himself a hut, discovered a cocoanut grove, and all the other exciting and necessary things came quite natuplly to him. He also saw footprints of another man, and he went in fear. For he knew there were fierce beasts in the junglous part; but, somehow, a man seemed more terrifying. Then one day, as he fished from a coracle (made by himself solely through reading in early youth the "History of Ancient Britons") he saw a creature on the shore. Fear held him; but he seized his rude implement of defen-ce with one hand (I don't know what it was) and made for the shore with the other. He leapt ashore, a queer enough figure himself with his tangled hair and bushy beard, only to be confronteu by another ngure, ruder and wilder than himself. The creature spoke, and Jonina leapt with joy. He knew the language. And under the de,ep blue sky of the island these two queer figures embraced. From that hour they worked, fought beasts, shelter,ed together, and very, very dearly they loved each other. They discovered that one could invent and the other work the inventions. They just filled up each other. What one couldn't do, the other could. And yet never a word did they whisper of their past lives. Jonina was ashamed, and the other man seemed to have a hidden fear and was silent. Then the tragie thing happened. Jonina was caught in a storm and swept out to sea in his coracle; and only by a strange chance was he picked up by a passing ship and "taken home ito his father's palace. Cleaned and shaved and properly clothed, he remembered that he had been sent forth on an adventure. He wondered what had happened to Jonana. He didn't care very much. His one idea was to go forth again in search of his friend of the island. "For," said he, "without my friend I ca&not live." The

King, forgetting past troubles, forgave Jonina his early indiscretions, and a ship was prepared to sail to the desert island. For many days the ship, with the King and Jonina aboard, sailed the seas, and at last, amid fearful excitement, it anchored close to the old blue island. Over the island ran Jonina, straight into the arms of his friend, who was wasted with grief and looking very thin and ill. He was presented to the King, who fell back a pace at the sigkt of the wild figure ; and then perfect breeding, as performed in the highest circles, came to his rescue. He bowed gravely, and, after a few pieasant words, left the two friends together. Soon the friend became uncomfortably conscious of his untidy appearance, for he had scarcely known Jonina all trim and shaved. So he went to the ship's barber, and Jonina went with him. In a few minutes a great cry rang through the ship. The King -hastened below. There in the barber's cabin, all soapy, stood no longer a wild stranger, but the King's own son — the lost Jonana! The men of the island had been brothers and never knew it. And in common work against -common foes and in forgetfulness of the past, they had grown to love each other dearly. There were great commotions, rejoicings, and banquets, I can tell you, when the- ship came home with the two brothers. And they ruled together in perfect happiness, sharing the kingdom. The Queen had the palace cleaned and the wool mottoes burned. And over the palace door was painted this notice: '-'Prince and Prince, Bros. This palace is under democrati-c management. All troubles will receive our best and prompt consideration. Any dispute settled amicably. No fixed hours. Open to receive friends and enemies at any hour. Night bell on the left. Ple.ase ring and walk in."