1 -
Spadal Page Imp -The 198 Bmj Little :toBefMaIkeiri
Strange Animals
of the World
.
THE "STOLEN KISS
The otter seems to be near-ton-sin
to the seal, although the denti
tion is of a peculiar term. The
otter is distinguished by the breadth
and flatness of the head and the
rounded outline of the muzzle, the
lips being large and fleshy and fur
nished with whiskers, which are com
municators of feeling; the ears very
small and set close to the head, and
the eyes, of moderate size, are pro
vided with a nictitating membraiie
as a defense to their surface. ' ,
The otter's tail is an important
instrument, as it uses it in swim
ming as a rudder, enabling Jthe ani
mal to turn abruptly or to ,make
many swift maneuvers in chase of
its tinny prey. The beaver is like
the otter in this detail.
On land the otter is hampered in
its movements, as its limbs are
short and stout and the body long
and flattened; the toes on its feet
are webbed instead of spreading
open, consequently the animal is
more at home in the water. The
fur is close and woolly and glossy,
making it most desirable for gar
ments of various styles.
The otter is not confined to any
one section of the globe, but may
be found in various countries. It
dwells in caverns or hollows near
the water, and geeka its prey mainly
at night. It is sly and a recluse
among animals and lurks by day in
deeo burrows or in crevices of
rocks.
Eight or 10 moderate-sized fish
constitute a meat for the otter, but
it Is a well-known fact that it kills
a much larger number of fish than
it can eat; therefore one can form
an idea of the slaughter the animal
performs. It is said that when hsh
are scarce the otter will dare to
steal from farms. It H known that
uckling pigs, young lambs and
pbulty have been killed and carried
awav. bv the nocturnal roDoers.
It is mainly during the summer
months, when the otter has a brood
'of vounsr to feed, that she kills
manv more fish than she can use,
The track they leave in the soft
mud aa thetf trail their prey, is wit
ness to the extent of their fishing
activities.
The otter is very intelligent, and
when caught young will become
readily tamed and companionable to
humans. It is taught to drive fish
into nets, to catch .salmon and as
sist fishermen in many ways. In us
ing the otter to drive the shoals of
fish into nets the animal is tethered
by a long rope to bamboo poles
driven in the mud near the water's
edge. '
Fish are afraid of the otter, and
will not sjjawn anywhere where the
slightest signs ot an otter are io De
found. Thus an otter is a menace
N to fisheries, and one should be
N watchful that no such animal hovers
within the ken of the fish.
A No-Account Dog
Louella C. Poole
I think we'd better send away
This dog of ours," said Farmer
Gray: "
"He's really of no earthly use; '
He brings in dirt and scatters looe
t r 1aIiq anrt f ii rn i t nrp
(Dowi, Zippo. down I Down sirl
Down, sin;
tt. ,-,11-u- isn't worth hU keen:
He's certain sure no good for sheep 1
No watchdog ne, ior not a par
He gives at footsteps in the dark.
He ain't no earthly good nohow,
Though kind and gentle, I'll allow."
But wise old grandma shook her
head:
"He's very good to loveshe said.
But Farmer Gray was obdurate;
The cost of living was so great '.
It was decreed the dog should go,
And litthc did the farmer know
That he -was planning thus to send
Forth from his home the truest
friend. ' '
"Oh, where Is" Willie? Where" is he?"
Cried everyone distractedly,
And searched in vain, below, upstair,
Then out the house they rushed to
where - .
0 horrors! their sweet three-jrear-
old. ' - -His
garments clutched in Zippo's
hold,-
Hung o'er the well curb in such way
The curb bent with, his body's sway,
And had not watchful Zippo been
On guard, he would have plunged
within.
Oh, oh, the praise the good dog had,
From everyone, all were so glad
That Baby Willie had been found
Without a bruise, but safe and
sound!
"Well, Zippo," then said Farmer
Gray, -"I
calculate you'll have to stay,"
Giving the dog a kind caress,
Whose eves were raised in
gratefulness.
And grandma stroked his rough,
brown head: -"I'm
sure you're worth our love "
she said." .' .- .
1 The Wild Deer ;
Edith F. Moulton.
Over mountains I roam.
Through the forests I slip,
At the rivers I drink to my fill.
Whether sufilight, of moorilighf, 1
wander full free,
-Mine are moorland, and valley, and
hill. .
A sudden, strange echo
A sharp, stinging pain
Ahl Who is there to hear my wild
cry?-,
1 am stumbling,' I'm falling-fny
strength's ebbing fast.
There ii nothing let now but to die.
1
SWEET CONTENT STORY
Thoto by Rtnhart-Hteffena.
HARRIET AND CHARLES BEATON. ,
We might call this picture "The Stolen Kiss," don't you think? The
two little people are Harriet and Charles Beaton, and little Harriet stole
a kiss while brother -wasn't looking. Some day this dear little boy and
girl will be .writing stories for our page. . Just now they love to look at
the pictures and have their mother read the stories to them.
A VILLAGE THAT FLOATS
In the shadow of the huge Man
hattan bridge which connects New
York proper with Brooklyn, nestles
a veritable hshing village consisting
of nine two-story houseboats moored
side by side so as to form a solid
row and sheltering the fishermen
and their families, on whom New
York City is dependent for a good
part of its fish supply, says Popular
Science.
But unless you are familiar with
the vagaries of fish and the locali
ties in which they school in certain
seasons you need not go in search
of this village. Often it disappears
from a locality overnight, without
any farewells, reappearing as quiet
ly a few months latef
. NO ROOM FOR BLUES.
Open your mind to cheerful
thoughts
Till they fill each corner and nook,
And no room is left for those thai
bring
The sigh and doleful look.
The mind is the brush that paints
the hour
And bright will the colors grow
If in the chalice heM by time
Content its line doth flow;
But dark and drear the scene will
appear
If gloom fills up the cup;
Then fill your mind with" buoyant
hope
And dry each teardrop up.
A
By EDITH HIXON.
Sweet Content, our rosebud fairy,
waved her magic wand, saying:
"Wand, made of moonbeam ray,
Let me have this wish, I pray:
May I have wings gauzy and
bright
To carry me through the sky to
night." -
Instantly beautiful gauzy wings
shot out from her shoulders. She
laughed happily and waved them
gently: Her feet fluttered from the
ground and she rose up like a gor
geous butterfly, for the wings shad
ed from bright rose color to palest
lavender.
"Now I can have some fun," she
thought, as she sailed over Flower
land village into the deep dark
woods. There the sunbeams were
playing hide and seek among the
trees ands bushes, while the birds
chorused to each other with joyful
voices. -
Light-as-a-Feather, a dainty fairy
dressed in canary-colored spider
web gown, was dancing merrily on
the mossy bank which follows the
Singing Brook, when she saw our
fairy.
"Come on and dance .with me,"
said Light-as-a Feather, who knew
the many pitfalls for new fairies.
But -Sweet, Content was so delighted
with her new wings that she
flew off swiftly, leaving Light-as-a
Feather. She dashed in among the
trees and bushes until she was al
most at Sally Sly's doorway. Then
something dreadful happened. She
was flying straight as an arrow for
the house and had shut her eyes;
she was so delighted with the new
feeling, so of course she didn't see
(he cruel trap which Spiderspun had
set for a nice fly dinner, and flew
right into it. Of course, her won
drous wings caught, and as she
struggled the cruel wires wound
round and round until she was
helpless. My, how she did scream!
All Flowerland was dancing in the
fields below, and the fiddler crab
was playing so loudly that thy
never heard her. while the animal
folk in4he wood were off in the
hunting grounds, so no one was
about. Spiderspun was sunning him
self close by the blue, smiling ocean
and was not i bit hungry (he had
just dined on a big bluebottle. fly),
so there was'no" chance he would
visit his traps again .that day. Sweet
Content was in despair.
Meanwhile, Light-as-a-Feather
was already at Sally Sly's house.
Sally had promised to make the
wings, in fact she was working on
them. Light-as-a-Feather was wor
ried about our fairy. She was hur-
rving Sallv SIv. oromisine her two
golden earrings which would make
her the envv of SDiderland tf she
would finish therrt hefore she count
ed seven. My goodness I but, won
der of wonders, Sally managed it,
and Light-as-a-Feather gave her
two shining gold earrings, which
she wears to this day.
Sweet Content Couldn't get her
hand onto her wand, or she could
have escaped easily. Light-as-a-Feather
tried to get it, hut only suc
ceeded in cutting her finger.
The two fairies were just about to
give up, when along came Milly
Mouse, who lives in a grass hut in
the middle of the smooth rolling
meadow. It wasn't a jiffy before she
had our fairy out of the fearful
trap. Sweet Content and Light-as-a-Feather
hifgged her with thanks,
while, Milly insisted that she hadn't
done anything at all. When the
fairies wanted to know what they
could do to help her, she said that
the only thing that they could do
was to let her know when kittens
were about. Sweet Content and
Light-as-a-Feather , fixed an alarm
gotig on Milly's house, which rings
whenever a cat comes into a mea
dow. All the cats wonder why it
is that they never can catch Milly
sleeping, but the fairies only laugh
and never tell.
Sweet Content and Light-as-a-Feather
as soon as they fixed Mil
ly's alarm, flew to Cloudland and
spent the rest of the day sailing
through the heavens with Downy
white in her sapphire castle. But
when night came they were so tired
that Downywhite ordered Shooting
Star to take them home. They
folded up their wings and put them
away, deciding that, while it is fun
to fly, it is much nicer to dance on
their two feet and run no danger of
being tangled in wicked traps set by
Spiderspun.
I OUR PICTURE DOT PUZZLE
J? 64 v
.87 .
to fi -
" .4 . "
I2
7o , 6l
13 71 6e '""V ' .
ij. . 55 I
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1 M
Can you finish this picture?
Complete the picture by drawing a line through the dots, beginning at
No. 1 and taking them numerically.
Little Stories by Little Folks
(Prize Letter.)
Winnie's Sacrifice. "
By Ethel Cunningham, Aged 11. 122
South Fifty-first street, Oma
ha, Neb.
Winnie was a little girl 12 years
old. Her mother had died five years
ago. Her father had just gone away
on business and would not be back
for three months. Jean, and her
husband, Jack, were staying with
Winnie at the time my story opens.
"Oh, that would be funl" cried
Winnie'
"What, Winnie dear?" questioned
Jean.
"Going out camping in the moun
tains. Don't you thirfk it would be
great, Jack?" asked Winnie.
"I most certainly do!" exclaimed
Jack. "We could go out to Colo
rado. "Papa, before he went away, left
Santa Glaus in Toyland
(Copyright-ins. by Rtllly A firltton Co )
CHAPTER.II.
Taffytoe Runs Away!
Santa had told Taffytoe ,ht could
visit his old mother and fattier as
soon as he had made enough sugar
plums to last till he came back.
The morning the trouble began he
was making art extra large batch.
He had a big kettle sizzling over the
fire and was stirring away with a
spoon as large as himself. Dinah
as usual commenced scolding: "Go
'long now, you fiT frog-legged bag
o nuisance an leave me to man
Own kitchen. Ah don' see why
Massa Santa don' make you cl'ar
outen yere. Clare to goerdness, you
sho' am a heap sight mo' hinder-
ance dan help." - '
Taffytoe was feeling unusually
good, as his Christmas work was so
nearly finished and his vacation so
close at hand. He pretended not to
hear liel arid threw back his head
and sang a song of his own making:
"Oh, hte-ho for the sweet sugar
plum! .
They all laugh with glee when they
see me come.
I make them so, with a twist of my
thumb,
To fill with delight our , tummy-
tum-tunil"
As you may guess Dinah was
really very jealous of Taffytoe be
cause he could make such good
sugar plums. She had tried her
hand at making them a number of
times, but they were too soft or she
burned them. So now Taffytoe's
song and his mischievous actions
made her very angry and she could
keep her temper no longer. Just
as he was taking the kettle off the
fire, bubbling and sputtering, she
started for him with the broom.
With the kettle in his hands. Taffy
toe could do nothing to defend him
self; he stood helplessly looking
around for some means of protec
tion. V
In Despair.
Dinah had almost reached him
when his eyes fell upon his three?
legged stirring stool. In despair he
gave it a kick. In another instant
Dinah was upset: but as she felt,
her foot struck the kettle, knocked
ft from Tgffytfje's hands and sent
it flying into the air. Up flew the
kettle, down went Dinahyand away
ran Taffytoe. As he reached the
door he gave one frightened glance
behind him. What he J. saw made'
him sure that he had killed Dinah.
The-lcettle, in falling, had turned
over and had landed sauarely over
Dinah's kinky head. Already the
thick, boiling syrup was running
down all over her. The last seen
ot him Taffytoe was dashing to
ward his room, a wild light in his
eyes and his face a chalky white.
-On hearing the disturbance Santa
rushed to the kitchen. There sat
Dinah In the middleof the floor,
the . kettle" still on her head, the
sticky brown candy streaming down
all around her. Santa was too"
frightened fo laugh, but she really
was'a comical sight. Santa pulled
and grunted. The kettle stuck.
Then'.ywith a suddenness that al
most upset Santa, it came off, and
a very meek Dinah came to light.
Santa sent Dinah to her room to
scrape off the now-hardened candy
as best she could. Then he looked
around for Taffytoe. But he was
gone. All the Gnomes joined m.
the search, but not a sign of the
sugar plum maker could be found.
Santa Thinks.
Now you can see why Santa sat
in his office in such deep thought.
With Taffytoe gone,, the sugar
plums would soon be gone too. And
Santa well knew that without sugar
plums the Gnomes would soon re
fuse to work. The outlook seemed
so hopeless that even merry Santa
Claus was near to feeling blue this
morning. Poor Mrs. Santa had
begged .more piteously than usual
for an extra sugar plum. The
Gnomes had been greedier than
ever for plums at breakfast. Every
where he turned he seemed to hear
nothing but sugar plums, sugar
plums.
Already, Grumpy, his best car
penter, and president of their union,
the Allied Trades and Helpers of
S. Claus, had called at the office to
see what effect Taffytoe's leaving
would have on their getting their
regular supply of sugar plums. He
had insisted that the entire stock,
meant for good little children all
over the earth, should be turned
over to the Gnomes, to be used in
case Taffytoe didn't come back or
until someone else could be found
to ytake his place. Otherwise they
would strike. Santa didn't want
to t make trouble, so ' he asked
Grumpy to gile him a day in which
to think it' over. Grumpy finally
agreed to this, but as he left the
office, to show his importance he
puffed out his chest and said: "Un
derstand, sir, no foolishness. I am
here to see that the Allied Trades
are given their rights, and I intend
to do my duty." '.
Do you wonder now, that Santa
sat buried in his chair deeply wor
ried? He just couldn't make uo his
mind to give up the sugar plums
meant for the good little girls and
boys whom he loved so; but he
mustn't let the Gnomes go on strike
either.. All the most important work
was yet to be done such as put
ting the toys together, dressing the
dolls, packing them all up and load
ing them in the sleigh.
Santa Laughs.
'As he pondered there, all curled
up, his ciin buried in his hand ana
one foot tucked under him, he didn't
look much like the jolly "old Saint
Nick that every girl and boy loves.
But suddenly he seemed to change.
His face began to wrinkle up, his
eyes to twinkle--he commenced
shaking all over and then throwing
back his head, laughed long and
heartily. Such a funny laugh as it
was, too. Fro long experience
Santa had learned to laugh without
making a sound for fear of waking
up someone while on his rounds
filling stockings, and now he just
sat there and shook and wheezed
and held his sides, until the tears
rained down his rosy old cheeks.
At last he sobered down, and
from the businesslike manner' in
which he started in to work he
must have found some way out of
his trouble. He took off his coat,
wentdown into the cellar and soon
returned carrying a large sack. Af-
CHESTER H. LAWRENCE
I
ter he had Hmost filled his office
with these sacks, he took three of
them tht he had kept to them
selves, into -his private workroom,
This was the room in which he
made all his experiments and plan
ned out all the toys that were need
ed to keep him up with the times
and prevent people from saying that
he had become old-fashioned.
In one corner ofthe room was
funny-looking machine, new and
shiny, as if if had never been used,
111 . J. -"5
aii arouna it, on the tioor, were
tools; Santa had been working on
it before, that morning Santa
picked up his tools and began tin
kering with the bolts and rods and
screws. It was his Rtt, and he al
most forgot he had something else
to do. He certainly took great pride
in this machine, for even after he
finally managed to leave it, he
couldn't keep from turning around
to admire it from a distance. "Now,
my beauty," he chuckled, "I am go
ing to give you a chance to show
what you really can do. I'm trust
ing to you, so don't you dare dis
appoint me."
Three Sacks.
He picked up the three sacks he
had brought from the cellar and
Do you
Jnd he
Winnie's
"1 ' ' I
me $200 for mv vacation,
think that will be enough?
"Why, yes, I think so."
went on talking to Jean.
face took on an unusual thoughtful
look. Then suddenly she burst out
with "Jjxk, I'm not going to the
mountains this year!"
"Why not, Winnie?" Jean and
Jack asked together.
"I've been a selfish little girll I've
gone on vacations everv summer
and had ice cream and candy when
ever I wanted itl In France our
boys are dying just because I'm fail
ing to do my parti I'm going to the
drug store now and get some thrift
stamps."
After she had gone, Jack and Jean
nodded their heads knowingly.
When Winnie's father returned he
said it was fine. He had wished she
would do it. Winnie is now saving
every penny. She is also urging her
friends to do the same. You cannot
give your life, but you can give your
money. v
. (Honorable Mention.)
The Hike.
By Berdean Henderson, Aged 11,
Box 340, Norfolk, Neb.
Dear Busy Bees: This is my first
letter. I am going to tell you about
our Sunday school class' hike.
The first Friday before school
started we had a hike.
We started about 7 o'clock in the
morning and went a long ways to a
river.
In the morning we did not do
much because it was too cold.
In the afternoon about 4 o'clock
we went in the water. We were
having a good time. Three boys
came over to the place where we
were. We had some of our things
in the bath house. A rain coat, a
sweater and a bicycle was outside.
One boy took the bicycle down
over the bank and hid it. They
picked up a sweater and a rain coat
and put it in a sack they had. They
ran and hid the sweater and coat by
some tracks. About 9 o'clock that
night they returned the things.
We were all tired out and did not
have a very good time.
I have read the stories every Sun
day and wish to join the blue side,
f hope Mr. Wastebasket has gotf&
hunting.
A Nice Letter.
By Georgia D. Nardgren, Aged 8,
Phillips. Neb.
My Dear Busy Bees: This will
be my second letter to you, Busy
Bees.
Now I will tell Vou what I have
done to help win the war. I have
bought war 'saving stamps for $30
and baby stamps for $2. I have two
uncles in the army and I have three
cousin also. My uncles' names are
John and Dick. My letter is getting
long so goodby, Dear Busy Bees.
carried them over to where a tub
stood under a faucet at one end of
the machine. He opened the sacks.
They were full of sugar plums, but
such sad-looking ones, tie poureu
the plums into the tub, then turned
a switch just above. The wheels
began to whir and the engine to
hum. Making sure everything was
running right, he next poured sev
eral mixtures from large jars into a
funnel on top of the machine. Then
he sat back to wait for the result.
Presently a milk-white fluid began
trickling from the faucet onto the
sugar plumsV When they were well
covered he turned off the faucet.
Leaving the sugar plums to soaki
he decided to put the last finishing
touch on his invention. So, getting
some paint and a brush, he printed:
HI-COS'T-O'-LlViNG REDUCER
Patented by S. Claus.
This done to suit him, be turned
to Jook at his sugar plums. They
seemed to be done, so he turned a
valve that let off the liquid from the
tub and then left the plums to
drain.
During lunch Santa was jollier
than usual and Dinah, having
scrubbed and scraped and soaked
all the candy from her hair and
skin, and put salve on her burns,
was waiting on him. She was sur
prised at his feeling so light-hearted
and was glad that, he did not
blame her. She would not admit
it to anyone else, but she knew she
was the cause of this last trouble
of Santa's and she decided that if
Taffytoe ever was found she woula
never be harsh to him again.
After Lunch.
After his lunch, Santa walked out
through the shops, wondering how
the Gnomes were acting with no
sugar plums. It was their nooii
hour and they were gathered in lit
tle groups, eating with much grum
bling, home were waving their
arms and talking excitedly but he
could never hear what they had to
say for as s6on as he came near
enough they would stop and pre
tend to be very much interested in
their lunches.
As he passed through one build
ing, he heard someone in the tar
end, behind a large pile of boxes.
making a very heated speech. He
tiptoed up behind the boxes and lis
tened. As he had supposed, it was
Grumpy, and he was evidently just
finishing, for as Santa got within
hearing distance he heard: "And in
closing, let me say this, friends and
fellow workmen: Must we stand
idly by and let this heartless despot
walk all over us, and take from us
the one thing that makes our, lives
here worth while? Just so ht can
keep up thismiff of his and make
little children think that he alone
is interested in their happinessf
Who makes Jheir toys and candy
anyhow? Must we put up with this
injustice, I say, or demand our law
ful rights? i move we take this
tm'ng into our own hands and de
mand an answer at once."
Union Business.
He seemed to have many listen
ers, for there was loud clapping of
hands and many such remarks as,
"We're with you Grumpy!" "What's
this union business for anyway if
it won't protect our rights?"
Santa's anger was aroused and lie
waited to hear no more but stepped
out where all could see him. Every
thing quieted down at once and
ma"ny turned to go but Santa held
up his hand and told them to wait.
"You demand an immediate an
swer," he thundered. "You shall
have it now. I should tell you to
all clear out and give your union a
fair test but I'm going to be more
considerate of yon than that. In a
week you would all be back begging
me to take you in again. I'm try
ing to be fair with you and I have
no intention of asking you, to do
without jour sugar plums," and he
scowled at Grumpy, who looked
very shamefaced. "You will find
your sugar plums waiting for you
at supper tonight .and from then on
as Ion? as you behave yourselves.
Now. then, the next, time you start
grumbling, be sure you have a good
reason. He walked away, as u
he were very much ashamed of their
actions.
The Gnomes waited until he was
out of sight and then without look
ing at one another went slinking
back to their work.
(Continued Next Snunday)
' " !
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