iQ WET and dreary was ft out' of
oors that Rosalie' and Roberta
betook' themselves, upstairs In-
bopes , of finding something .with'
which to paaa the time In the (arret
Roberta drafted forth from a dusty
corner the etereacopo, the two curious
glasses of which you looked through
at a picture faatened on the other aide, ,
and. lo! the view seemed to be real.
Then, too, a little wooden hood covered
your eyes a hood that smelt delightful
ly fragrant and reminded you of the '
sweet-smelling eaaketa of sandalwood -and
cedar your fairy - talea told so"
much about. So you were quite ehut
off from the outside world, and It
didn't take much Imagination to make
youraelf believe you were a part of
the scene you were looking at ,
"Oh, wouldn't I Just love to b In
front of thia pretty fountain!" alghed
Roaalle. with the hood slued to her
forehead
"My dear," . laughed Roberta, "you
ahould try that fairy rhyme our lateit
atory boolc glvea: .
"Buttercup, daisy and little bluebell,
Take ir4. pUate take me to coot Bbady .
And the very funny part ot It aU
J
T. , . . . I v I 3
r;i (,
it" ' i ' ?.
THEY SAT BT UlIE FOUNTAIN
waa that before they could say Jack
Robinson, or John Roblnaon, or any
other Roblnaon, the twlna found
themselves before the very fountain
of which Rosalie had spoken.
"Why. Rosalie." twhispered Roberta,
as soon aa her surprise would per
mit her to speak, "this mutt. Indeed,
have been Shady Dell, so that the
rhyme came out all right"
"Since we're here, we may aa well
make the best of It," echoed Roberta.
So together they tripped about the
fairy grounds. Nor can you imagine
all the delightful nooka they found.
In one place they came upon two nice
swings, and, as they were maglo
swings, all you bad to do waa to sit
In them and they awayed back and
forth of their own accord.
"But how a no we going to get home
ON THE MAGIC SWINGS
a gain 7" asked Rosalie, when many
pleasant hours had awlftly sped.
"Oh," replied Roberta, "don't you re
member the other rhyme, which goes
llke this:
"Now. little
dv '
flowers. I must say 'Oood-
'TIs lime I wore flltUu' away, far sway."
And before you could say even Rob
inson the twins were back in the gar- -ret
The rain had stopped, the clouds
bad cleared away and the sun was
shining. And the birds were singing
almost as cheerily as did the little
feathered songsters in Shady Dell.
In Point pf. Politeness.
It was bedtime for Herbert and
Grace. The two ventured timidly
along the unllghted hallway. When the
bottom of the stairs was reached, Her
bert stopped. After vainly trying to
pierce the darkness which lay before
him, he loudly called:
"On. I sav, motner; n isn't pome ror
men to go first, Is It?".
"No, dear,-
came the response from
the distance.
"Then go ahead, Grace," commanded
the much-relieved Herbert, courageously
pushing his sister to the for.e.
and
;5jr
y iELTT). THERE!" cried Gray
LJ Cat to Little Bird, who was
I 1 perched on the maple tree
Just the length of the bough
from his dear, warm nest-home. .
"HelloJ" answered Little Bird, eas
ing down, with a friendly little chirp.
t, : :t A
"Me-ow, me-ow, you seem to be &
nice little creature," continued Gray
Cat "1 tlUnk I'll Invite you to come
down and play with me.-1 know a great
many much handsomer and richer little
birda who would feel honored by my In
vitation but I like you really I've
taken quite a fancy to you-" .
"Have your answered .Little Bird,
chirping In a pleased way and holding
himself a bit stralghter, the better to
show off hla fine form and the stylish .
color of his feathered coat
"Xea, 1 have, and 1 want you very
much for a ymate. The day is a line
one and we'll have no end of fun, Come,
Little Bird, Til- give you the time of
your llfel"
"Thank you, thank you." answered
Little Bird. "1. will come aa aoon aa 1 1
ask Mother Bird. It won't take but
moment"
"Nol nor screamed Gray Cat,' "you
can't come It you do that your mother
won't mind but It la to be- a secret be
tween ua two. Xou can tell her after
you come - Home; , that will be time .
Annua n. -
annua' h.'
0indman's Suff
f
iO GROWN PEOPLE there was
nothing unusual about the ap
pearance ot the mirror. Farther
delighted in buying from the
Antique Shop, you know; and thla waa
his very latest purchase.
But to Carl and Ella one glance
Into the quaint old mirror auggested
great possibilities. Somehow you
seemed to look further than the mir
ror. Into a atrange country beyond.
Perhaps thla waa what prompted Blla
to observe to Carl one morning:
"Carl, doean't that look like the
VERY looking-glass through whloh
Alice pasaed on her way to Wonder
land r
Carl believed In alwaya making
aure he was right before making a
reply, therefore he promptly thrust
one foot toward the glass. To his as
tonishment he stepped right through
the mirror. Ella, ready for any ad
venture, cloaely followed him. The
next Instant they were standing on a
flight of white marble steps. Behind
them waa a great wooden wall, some
where In which waa the back of their
mirror. Before them stretched a won
derful country, with pretty winding
lanes bordered by trim hedgerows.
Choosing one of these lanes, tfcey
went happily forward on an eager
Journey of discovery. Nor had they
gone but a short mile when there
seemed to rise suddenly before them
a great walled city. Directing their
steps up a narrow gravel path, they
caaie to a little wicket gate, above
which appeared In huge letters: "EN
TRANCE TO THE GAME FACTORY." .
There was a fat. queer little man at
the gate, who asked them for their
passport
"We Just came through the Look-Ing-Glass,
and have no passports," re
plied Carl.
The gatekeeper grinned hospitably.
"Oh, If you came through the Looklng
Glass It's all right." said he. "Ever
since Alice came through the Look-lng-Glass,
and failed to pay us a visit
we've been watching for some one
else to come from there. Walk right
over to that little house yonder, rap
at the door, and the Game Fairy
himself will be sure to greet you
kindly."
Following the direction ot the keep
er's finger, Ella and Carl saw quite
near them a tiny house somewhat re-
mKlinir & Oi In aha nasTOda.
In reeponse to their flinld knock the
Game Fairy appeared almost Imme
diately. He waa -a wizened old man.
but lie had a very kindly face. Carl
and Ella liked him right away.
"So you've come to see the place
where games are invented, have you,
ehlldrenr aald he. "I make them all
myself, you know," he explained
proudly; "try them myself, too, with
the aid of magic .manikins, and then
whisper them into the ears of boy and
girl mortals. This I've been doing for
centuries. But I don't invent so very
many games now, and you will And
that children of today are playing
much the same sort of games as those
played by the boys and girls of thou
sands of years ago."
Soon thoy approached a large plot
of ground, completely fenced in.
Above two gateposts they read the In
scription. "GAMES OF ANCIENT
ROME."
And sure enough, they found within
m
Vltbvt
"But" answered Little Bird, "mother
told me I 'must never fly off without
first asking leave but maybe this once
won't hurt"
"Of course not," cried Gray Cat, "I'll
take care of you. Come on and hurry
up, you can tell her afterward."
Little Bird hesitated a minute, his
head cocked thoughtfully on one side.
He was listening to a tiny voice within
him, that kept whispering, "Don't,
don't" Suddenly Little Bird cried out
Go 'way. Gray Cat! I don't, want to
play with you! I could not enjoy my
self If I was disobeying my mother!"
With that. Little Bird hopped back to
the nest-home. .
"Where have you beenT" asked Moth
er Bird. - - ,
"I was talking to Gray Cat" an
swered Little Bird; "she wanted me to
y down and, . play with her. She
wouldn't let me ask leave; she aald I
could tell you afterward."
"Little-. Bird, Uttle Bird." sobbed
Mother Bird, "Gray Cat is a witch.
She only wanted to kill you and eat
you for her dinner." -
"I'm ao glad I minded," sobbed back
Little Bird. .. ,
"You are a very good child and shall
have the fattest worm In the pantry,"
answered Mother Bird, aa she held Aim
very close under her wing.-
ELStfi PABJUSH.
Snap-dragvn
"EXPLAINED THE PICTURES ON THE CANVASES"
a great number of manikins (or, rath
er, boylklns and girlikins), all dressed
in tlw graceful, flowing costumes of
ancient Rome, and rushing hither and
thither In their games. Of course,
these little figures weren't exactly
real, but through the maglo of the
Game Fairy they appeared so. All
the surroundings were exactly like
those to whlcli the little Romans of
centuries ago had been accustomed.
Here were a number of boys and
girls playing "Hide-and-seek" in Jut
the same way that Ella and Carl had
often played It Close at hand were
other little boys playing "Court"
There was the "Judge" and the "prls
oner,"'and everything complete. Right
around the corner. In a little paved
court with a fountain, they came
across two girls playing "Jacks." Not
far away a game of "marbles" was
In progress, where nuts wure used in
stead of marbles and a triangle was
drawn In Dlace of the circle wlttt
which Carl waa mostly acquainted.
. Little boys dashed here and there
astride of sticks with horses' heads;
others trundled hoops hung with tiny
bells that tinkled musically the while.
One boy they saw whipping a little
boxwood top.
Then they came to a toy shop. Polla
there were everywhere In the shop.
Some were lying down, some slumx
up, white others were hung up by
their hair. They were of every slzo
and description. For the comfort of
dollies there were also for sole beds
and couches and tables. Gay-colored
balls, stuffed with feathers, there wero
in boxes near by; Jumplng-Jacks; rat
tles and drums; wooden soldiers (mostly
little Roman centurions): whistles in
the shape of heads of wolves, pigs and
horses and cocks; swings; toy chariots.
"As you say. Mr. Fairy,'' remarked
Ella, ,!thelr garnet are really not bo
VERY different from thoso we often
played ourselves."
"No, and you'll find that the games
of the little Greeks of ancient times
are very similar to yours," responded
the Game Fairy, leading them out of
the enclosure and on to another
-where the sign above the posts read:
"GAMES OF ANCIENT GREECE."
First of all they came to a Greek
toyshop. Carl was much Interested
ii a wooden dove, which, when
wound up, flew around in the air.
And in a copper vase, over the mouth,
of which rested, a little Ivory ball.
WJien the water contained in thu
vase was brought to tho boiling
point the little ball danced merrily
up and down. Heaped about the shop
were toy hatchets, clay pigs and
horses and birds, painted serpents
and all manner of masks, some hideous
and some very comical.
'-Very often." observed the Game
Fairy, "a Greek father would have
all the toys of his little girl or boy
duplicated in silver or ivory (In min
iature, of course), and hung on a
chain of precious metal. This was
suspended around the neck of the
child, so that, if he should be lost, he
might be recognized by a description
of the chain of toys."
Unfortunately, time did not permit
a longer stay, so all they saw pf the
' 5tfv L"R
N " '-' I "
Ji . - J J JL
R- Mai - - uiUmtifUiJ -:: - T'MaHBaaVKHBI BM-tJal
aaitriEnmjjniiiiiiiimjrotHi ifesTAg?aS33SS"ry-gE -TCi
games was a company of sturdy Gre
cian boys in a tug-of-war. It was so
exciting that Carl was with difficulty
prevented from Joining the gume.
The Fairy now hastened Carl and
Ella toward what he called the Ex
hibit Building. Here were rowa and
rowa of ahelves, upon which were books
describing all the games that were ever
played.
The boy snd girl were looking In won
der at a series of screens at one end
of the room, when the Game Fairy
pressed several buttons. Immediately
all lights went out and there appeared
"moving pictures" upon each of the
white canvases. Watching all five
sheets at once was worse than trying
to see all that was going on in three
circus rings at the same time.
"On the first canvas," explained the
Fairy, "you se a game of bllndman's
buff played by barbarian children of
southern Germany. The cruel fathers
of these same children sometimes put
out the eyes of a man, and this man
was used to provide them sport. Just aa
the ono who is ttye 'blind man' does
in the game itself.
"On the second canvas you see littlo
Roman boys and girls playing at snap
dragon. The next sheet shows a gHma
of football. I suppos you will turn up
vour nose. Carl, when you see that the
"Spartan boys permitted their sisters to
LONELY
PtiitlliiM
m&r? j$te!wvv.c -1 1 1 Is i I s I it ft i
m -y,' 'j? ,.iJ.,4 :V VI 41' if -if it 1 .
f ... yH wmw4
S'POSE It's nlco to b outside, ,
Romping gay and free;
Dashing here and rushing1 there.
All ao merrily. 1 .
Join them In thla game, night in front
of us a company of Greek girls are
playing puss-ln-the-corner, while at
the extreme right you see a wee Egyp
tian girl surrounded by her toys. You
notice the Ivory alphabet, the Jumplng
Jack in the form of a fisherman, the
rattle with its Ix-aJ of -spus lazuli, the.
ivory rings, metal mirror, balk and a
funny wooden nut-cracker whose Jaws
open and shut as they crack nuts placed
between them."
At this point suddenly all the pictures
disappeared from the canvases.
"Dear me:" exclaimed the Fairy,
"there's something '.he matter with
those wires. I'll have to fix them
again. "
Conducting his guests toward the pa
goda, the Game Fairy paused at the
door to say good-bye to thetn. He bade
Cavl and Ella come and see him again
some time, then shjuk hands with them
very cordially.
Passing through the wicket gate,
they waved a parting salute to the
smiling keeper, retraced their steps
along the winding lane, and shortly
WlNNEfe
T
HE spirits of the boy population
of Homevllle never suffered
from prolonged rainfall. In
deed, spring Bhowers were especially
welcomed, and the swifter the tor
rents rushed alonr roadbeds and
attoet gutters the merrier every lad be
, came. For all this meant splendid wad
ing and opportunities to sail newly con
structed boats, whittled in anticipation
of such periods of wetness.
Nor must we forget the tub races!
But ev n if we should grow absent
minded, the "Bloody Robbers" and
"Hlojdy Plraits" eouh, never be accus
ed of this kind cf forgetfulness. Rarely
did It happen t lit? t the two bands met In
i rivalry that was at all friendly. But
the tub races were friendly that is; al
most so and less bitterness waa dis
played at this time than at any other.
And odtty was to lit ne'd the first race
of the season. Yesterday evening Bill
Mutn'ord, captain of tin "Bloody Rob
bers," had ventured cautiously Into the
land of the enemy, and, after hoisting
the flag of tr.irc. met the rival leader
with th's chatarteritlc declaration:
"See hre, Mike Flnnnlgan, I dare you
Still, I'm not so very aure
But that much depends
On the company you have
And I want my frlendsl
1 sw:
Egyptian fP
came to the flight At marble atepa.
"Aa we came through, we certainly,
should be able to go back." said Carl,
placing hla foot on the spot where ha
Imagined the back of the mirror ought to
be. And. as he thought the wall yield
ed. He snd Ella stepped right through
Into the little room from which the
Journey had begun.
Certainly their first experience In
"Wonderland bad been very pleasant In
deed. You may le sure that Carl and
Ella promised themselves a similar
treat the next day. Perhapa you may
hear of the further adventures of Carl
and Ella as Polly Evana bears about
them.
Utilised its Tunefulness.
The daughter of the village rector bad
been painstakingly rehearsing the choir
boys. On Sunday she Inquired of one
of them:
"Jerry, I hope you haven't forgotten
the new hymn I taught you last Sun
day. "No'm," waa the answer: "I've been
skeerln' the crows away from the field
with It all week."
. Overheated.
A little boy seated himself at the
breakfast table the other mornlmr. Cur
ing a slight pause In his attacks upon
the victuals, he found, time to look about
him. Attracting the attention of hla
mother, he asked:
"Mother, oughtn't the butter be taken
sway? See how It's perspiring!"
Or THE-MULLYGfeUDS
and your crowd to race us in tubs to
morrow. Bikes' field la flooded dandy
an'a Just right We'll chip in for a
canful of 'mulllcs' an' the winner o' the
race can have the bunch."
Mike's reply waa equally characteris
tic. "Sure' said he, "we'll be all-fired
glad to come over and lick you fellera
In the race."
So we do not express wonderment thla
morning at the strange spectacle of a
score of boya dodging along the less
frequented byway of the town, each
burdened with a tub. "borrowed" for
tne occasion. It Is unnecessary to add
that the common destination waa Bikes'
meadow.
The meadow Included two fields. All
the way round the border of the mead
ow ruse a high embankment From this
the ground sloped from all sides toward
the center, forming a sort of natural
basin. Every time thia part of the coun
try as visited with hoavy rains the
water conveniently collected here In a
large pond to contribute to the enjoy
ment of Homevllle ooys.
When each clan had summoned Its
full strength of members, the tubs were
deposited on the embankment, and, by
mutual agreement, "Robbers" and "PI
' rates" delved side by side In the mud
and In the marshy places for "mul
lygrubs " Such progress was made In
the capture of these little wrigglers
that within half an hour a general
council was held. Equal shares of
"mullygrubs" collected by the rival
companies were carefully counted and
placed In a large can half filled with
water. This was consigned to little
Tommy Bowes, the one member of
the "Robbers" who today was a spec
tator, with the Injunction to let not
one "mully" escape, under penalty of
having "'Is head punched good'n
hard." Tommy had been rather down
in spirits heretofore, mourning the
fact that his feeble strength would
not permit his bringing a tub all the
way to the meadow that Is. suppos
ing first of all he got away from home
with it But now he was In his ele
ment And no wonder! Wasn't he
royal custodian of the prize? With
solemn pride he crawled out upon the
fence which divided the meadow and
took his post at the point where was
to be the finish of the race.
After a final testing of the stout
cudgels which were to serve as
"poles," the contestants crawled down
the embankment and Into their tubs,
but not without difficulty, for any
one who knows will tell you It is
quite a feat to safely enter a tub that
always Insists upon spinning' round
like a whirligig. No one minded a
ducking, however, so that within a
minute or so the competitors were
Mned up (the "Robbers" to the right
and . the "Pirates" to the left), in
preparation for the start. Fifteen
minutes were consumed in false starts,
during which there arose consider
able argument of a decidedly heated
nature. , ...
But a general fight was avoided,
and the next instant they wero off.
A wonderful race It was, too! Such a
splashing! Four of the tubs were
overturned at the very outset Ac
cording to the established rules, these
unskilful ones were obliged to retire
from the race. Invariably their anger
and mortification was so great that
they accused some of their enemies
of upsetting them. Thereupon deadly
combat followed. Thus half of those
who entered the race were out of It
within the first five minutes.
All Interest began to center upon
BUI Mumford and Mike Flannigan. A
few others were still afloat in their
unwieldy craft. It is true, but these
two were far beyond reach of the
trailers behind them. The efforts of
the captalna were encouraged by tre
mendous hurrahs from their support
era Excitement grew apace as the
two tubs floundered along, aide by
side. Occasionally a pole would slip
from Its position on the bottom or'
one of the tube would atrlke a snag.
Than the "Robbers" would hold their
breaths, while the "Pirates'! would
cheer vociferously; or. the "Plratea" '
would be plunged' Into gloom and the 1
"Robbers" into rejoicing, aa the case
might be. But alwaya , the plucky
captain righted !-- his - vessel without
falling overboard and continued on
his strenuous - voyage. Nearer and
nearer they came te the coal at the
fence. , -
HAROLD'S very last words to his ,
olater, aa be was leaving n i .
' long visit to grandpa, werer
"Don't forget to take good care of '
Rocky,' Marian." -,' '
You must - become . acquainted , with '"
"Rocky" before wv go any further.', lie , '
was a splendid big rocking bursa, of
a beautiful dappled gray, and titled '
with bridle and stlrrupa Just like a real .
horse. And gallop! Why, you could ,
gallop at breakneck speed with mm all -around
the yard. Xou can see why
Harold took euch pride In the posses .
alon of "Rocky," can't you, and, Why.
h wished Marian to take good care of
horsey? , ,
Before thla time Marian wa not
much better acquainted with "Rocky"
than you were. Hut now abe waa often.
to be found upon the spirited mount. 4
She became quite aa fond of lilm.,ear
was Harold. f
Marian didn't notice It at first, but "'
aftrr awhile ahe told herself ffhat aha "
rSL " ; . -3
' VeJr i - "n
MARIAN AND
never found "Rocky" In the came place. ,
In which she left him.
"Mother," aald she, gleefully, "I Just,
know that 'Rocky' has a nice gallop .
all by himself, whenever 1 leave him..
Or maybe the fairiea ride hlml" ,
Mother laughed and aald that perhaps
her little daughter was right
Marian would have liked ever so much -'
to keep right on believing this, but, aad
to aay, she waa soon forced to acknowl
edge that ahe was mistaken.
One afternoon she came home from
school earlier than usual. She went lm .
mediately to the yard. What anouhf
ane see but Jocko, the pet monkey,
riding poor "Rocky" for dear life. The
little bundle of mischief scampered -away
aa fast aa he could when he waa
discovered. But Marian had to admit
ruefully .that all her aplendid dreams
about fairy riders had been completely
spoiled. However, she got a great deal
of tun out of the story she wrote to
Harold about Jocko as a horseman or
rather, a "horsemonkey."
SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAP- 1
PENED - i
Suddenly, amid rousing cheers from
the "Robbers." Bill made a powerful
thrust with his pole. Hla tub spun
forward with great speed and plunged
into the fence goal. Then It waa thao
something unexpected happened! - Poor .
Tommy Bowes, who waa stationed at
this particular point on the fence, was
hurled several feet into the ali ,
the shock and plunged headfirst Into
water ueiow. nor mil ) ,
that he clunsr heroically k
clous can lessen the bitterness that
his dastardly action caused for avtrv
"mully" had escaped! , , ? rr
..Ti!',e wlnilng of the tub -race. i thA
Itching of different rivals to settlt
personal disputes-!! was forgotten
In the general desire to punish the
unfortunate Tommyf But tommy had '
already acrambled from the wate? '
and was fleeing torhlmlUHnSa''
nerarPbvte ht&111! Unt ved ','
nearny. Horrible fear spurred him
onward, so that he reached thla haven
of refuge before hla pursuers eouid
come up with him. " "; ?
Then and not until then .war
personal grievances between!-
"What's the use of wlnntn
you don't get your Winnies, we? the
last doeful comment of Billy
was commonly considered- to ' hll
been the chief sufferer' Strait.!,!
say, poor Tommy wasn't nmkSn'S Vl
all in this connection.' K'?!1
nt "sufferer"; he was a yiullD
The Pumping Trick
THIS is another trick by which yOU
may piuck coin from the bottom
of a saucer filled with water, with
out wetting your fingers.
Fasten two or three matches on the
top of a cork, placing them In an iul
right Position. Light the matche"? aTl
float the cork on the surface of the wa-
'"t sv-glass over the cork, making
sure that the cola does not come with
in the rim. : .j.1:.
As the matches burn ' they create a
"PUT A GLASS OVER TilK CORK."
vacuum within ithe glass. Very soon '
the water rushes Inside the $nm to l i
this vacuum. Your coin Is left vn f
dry surface without the -glass, !
which It may be taken luut r '
gers after a few moments ..,(- , i
tie air has thoroughly dri'-d u,
Thia la really an experiim-tit i-, '
lag the action of tte pump.
"ROCKY- ; ,.j r