Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, December 28, 1916, Page 9

/; THE WIDE AWAKE CIRCLE BGYS AND GIRLS DEPARTMENT Rules for ‘Xgmm w.n--. }t{‘l only, unmfi:n :’n _pnses. Use pen no o ¥ % Short am um" will given preference. not use over ™ o Original stories or letters only Wil be ulq{l‘. 1 6. Write'-your mame, Ol‘ ad- "ru plainly at the b - of the O s all oommnnimtlom to Uncle _.04. Bulloth Office. H "Wun r you are—Be that! H ver you . ny—Bo ! Slrll(ht!orwu.rdly ut, honest—in fact, Bn nobody else h\n you.” oETAY. ;.xma Dawe / Cramp with her little hair m Dne m&mf was. l'nupinx her little b oom When casting: her little grey eves on the und n a sly little corner a penny she found. & J)dde bobbs! cried the” Dame while she stared with surprise, flov lucky 1 am! bless my heart what io mu'ket TH go and a Pig I will ?’"’ Hiohe Jonn gubbins snan make him a sty. lo she washed her face clean and put on her gown, en locked up her house and set off & for the Town. Fhere to market ain she made, For a little white Pig the penny she paid. she went and a When she purchased the pig she was puzzled to know ; they both should get Home if 'finw S the pig would not go. 8o fearing that piggy might play her : a trick Bhe drove him along with a little crab stick. H Pigsy ran till he came to the foot of I here a little bridge stood o'er a £ stream of a Mill, When he grunted and squeak'd and £hno turther would go. © fle little pig to serve the Dame so! Nuw she Went to' the Mill where she borrow'd a sack, Whlch she popp'd the pig in and took on her back. Plggy cried to get out, but the little Dame said, It you won't go by fair means you then must be made. Bhe soon to the end of her journey was come, And was mightily pleased when she 3 got piggy home. 8o she carried the pig to his nice little sty And made him a bed of clean straw - snug and dry. )Wlt‘h a handful of peas little pig she then fed, ‘l‘hen she put on her nightcap and ~ went into bed. Having first said her prayers then she put out her light, And being quite tired we'll bid her H good-night. vNcLE JED'S TALK TO WIDE- AWAKES. H St * Do you know that young folks knew good ministers as readily as do older people? ‘The children go to church and come home without saying anything about the minister because the minister has not said anything for or about them. ; The best minister is the one who al- s recognizes the value of little and acts as if any were worth saving and might sometime make use- ful and influential citizens. ! This is what Johnny had to say one fiay hen he came home: . “Oh, wasn't that a good minister we Had today?” sald Johnny. ‘Yes, very good. Which sermon did you like the best?” said the mother. f“Oh, I don't know. It wasn't the sermon altogether that I mean.” 1“What then?” i “Why he prayed for Sunday schools ahd boys so good: I never heard any ohe pray so much for boys. Most of them do not. That is why I liked m.” 1“Do you like to be prayed for?” {“Why, ves, of course I do." {“The minister prayed today that all i L Write pixinly on one side of the| | veople the boys might be Christ’s boys. . Did, vou like that?” . “Yes, and I payed as haf could fllit 1 mlflzt be. When we hear for us it makes us think it~ is about time to be praying for ourselves. If children don't like to say much about good things, I guess they all like to have the minister re- member ‘them. I always watch and see if they pray for young folks: if they don’'t I think they won't' have much in the sermon, ¢ither. Then, of course, I don’t listen as.well as -1 should if there was something for me.” Little heads often reason well and little hearts often get:hungry for rec- ognition in good works, and little folks have been used to inspire the great and mighty to find power in simplic- l”}t would be better if. the children found a larger place in the minds of those who preach and avere included in sermons of the chunch. LETTERS OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT Marion Brown, of ‘Moosu I re- ceived the prize book you sent me all right and thank you very much. Delsie Ames, of Willimantic: I re- the prize book, Automobile at Washington. I thank you very much for it. I have read it and like it very much. Harry Sweet of Danielson: I thank you for my nice prize book, The Boy Allies in the Balkan Campaign. I was surprised to get it. I have read it and like it very much. Alvin LaChapelle, of Canterbury: I thank you very much for the prize book I received for the picture draw- ing contest. I have read it throusgh and found it very interesting. John Shea of Norwich: I thank you for the pretty prize book which you sent me. As far as I have read It is very interesting, and I thgak you very much for it. THE WINNERS OF PRIZE BOOKS. 1—Fred Schultz of North Stonington, The Boy Inventor's Electro-Hydro- plane. 2—Margaret Welsh Deary Dot and the Dog. 3—Adah Lamberton of Lowell, Mass., A Regular Tomboy. 4—Harold Kinder of Pawtucket, R. I, The Three Gays. 5—Fred Haddad of Chestnut Hill, of Norwich, The Boy Aviators With the Air Raiders. 6—Alice Donahue of Stonington, Dreamland. 7—Frederick Cushman of Stonington, Helen's Babies. 8 — Mary Zelulowesz of Fitchville, Do Something. 9—Margaret Brown of Baltic, Proud and Lazy. 10—Cecile Bessette of Moosup, Owlet Library “Books. The winners of prize books living in the city may call at The Bulletin busi- ness office for them at any hour after 10 a. m. Thursday. STORIES WR.ITTEN BY WIDE- AWAKES. The Spirit of Christmas. The big* arch-lights flickered and sent their penetrating rays through the falling snowflakes. People laden down with boxes and bundles hurried to and fro. Housewives with shopping bags full of provisions for the next day’s dinner, men, their arms full of toys and ornaments for the tree which was to delight their kiddies on the morrow, visitors hastening to the homes of friends for the holidays, all mingled together. Some stopped to gazé with admira- tion at the numerous pretty things displayed in the windows, others ex- changed a few words with friends whom they chanced to meet, while more, anxious to get home, jumped aboard crowded street cars or stepped into waiting autos. On the street corners stood venders loaded down with holly and evergreen wreaths, “hollering” in loud voice the prices of their ‘wares, stopping occa- sionally to walt on a customer. The stores were crowded, people pushing and jostling one another in their excitement. As the clock tolled the passing hours the crowd gradually disappearéd, the stores were closed and tired shopgirls, who had borne with patience the Christmas rush has- tened to catch the car home. Far, far above the highest building in the city stood the Spirit of Christ- mas, her long, flowing robe decorated with sprigs of holly, with her golden hair hanging over her shoulders. She looked below; the great city which had been the centre of excitement a moment before was shrouded in dark- Annie and Miilie were the daughters of a busy farmer. On that great farm not only the farmer but everyone else was busy as a bee, everyone but the two small daughters. Busiest of all ‘was_the mother, with her housework. Robbie always tugging at her skirts, and the six months old baby. “Why don’t you put those children to work?” the father would sometimes rather impatiently ask. the sweet, indulgent mather would reply that they did help her - sometimes, and that it was easier to do the work than to show them. One brighty June morning the hired man drove up with a load of empty barrels for use in the fall, when the, pota- toes that were then quietly growing, out of sight, under the ground would be placed in them and sent to market. Putth the barrels ‘in front of the h‘u.. le went to his work 1in the ufind Millie paid little atten- because they were having " ul party on the porch with their dolls. .Along with their own' little ta- ble and tiny set of dishes, they had straw! les and sponge cake to eal. The dollies were behaving so well, and they were having a most delight- ful time, when their father appeared. at _the barrels. “That stuptd John ! said he. “He have taken thcm to the barn Then geeing the tea party, he said, “Here, children, roll these barrels up to the barn. I will go ahead-and fast- en the doors for you.” hat a change came over the pleas- 1 little hm Beforé they had ogked ugh to eat, much ter than the strawberries. Now the looksd ue -m,-:unr even than the put on them. loona l-':uilll., .‘Id lflllle look- 't papa 00 mean?” asked:Annie. mummmr"w “He never wants us to have the least bit of fun!” Millie was walking slowly around, placing her hand on barrel, counting. ‘Sixteen times,” corrected Annie, “for there’s back again, and up that hill. It'll most kill us, I know. I have a notion not to do it. It isnt girl's work, anyway. Papa ought to make John do it.” ‘11 tell you what we might do,” said little Millie, a smile creeping a.round the corner of her rosy mouth. “We might pretend it was just play. You see,” giving a barrel a push with her foot, “an empty barrel isn’t really 80 very heavy, unless you get to think- ing so, and we can play we are rolling hoops, only it will be more fun be- cause the barrels will make such a nice noise. A smile began to creep around An- 's mouth, too. I don’'t mind doinx i'. for fun,” she said, s’pose we try i Roll, roll. roll, under the cherry trees back of the house, up the incline, into the wide, sweect-scented barn. Back and forth flew the little maidens, rosy, laughing, full of fun. Almost ore they knew it, those H barrels weu in the barn and_papa was saying: “What good ]Ittle sirls 1 have to- day. They deserve a kiss and a hug “We'd like. them, papa, but I'm afraid we don't deserve them,” said Annie, honestly, “because at first, we hated toWo it. but then Millie thought of doing it for fun.” “That's right, little daughters, take things by the smooth handle when you can. If you have something hard to do, make the- best of it and it will seem easies And with the hug kiss to each, his hay field, the busy farmer went while the. children were soon seated | at their mm again, mpx-r uu.n over. i ness. The great city clock chimed out the. loud, ponderous hm ud, [{ te d the sweet chimes of | Dy harot Whiars eldniaht Soes Mmmmh«uxmb the emperor. She rode on the back of a donkey, for her husband could afford _comes to \air out 1 ese priests | ome aoma\z ':rnt n.edld‘a'nlh:; thered d sold the greens to the;rcom chairs. a while - Beobie whe bollsven | they " carriea nu‘smn and made the beds. nothing i vice was . walked her side sorts of good luck. When I came ‘was almost The u;etl ld'x.-cba‘#:: mantle around '::;'H - b e There is an old Superstition that [ time for dinner, m‘y“ 1 sat bwn ua’ul her a sort the ry grew very tired of waiting for holding a sprig of mistletoe one may | dinner was .Youph to find a plm for her in thp see and speak with ghosts; another, washed the After dinner my sist kissed beneath the |dishes.and I wiped them. My mother was going down city and she upstdirs to get ready. My sister wanted: to go along, but my mother was going to the dentist and s i Pretaised to got her o mother o ge d:uzu-lnuwwmwulflflt sat among the people! 'l‘hey ‘won red who she was. * At last Joseph feturned and told her that there was no room for her in the inn. He told her that she might sleep In a stable on some hay. W‘h.n carkness had fallen on the earth the Christ Child came; the child whose birth had been foretold. Some angels came down to look at him. His only bed was a manger. That same night a bright u:ht shorte In the sky. The shepherds on the hill- sides had happy dreams. dream- that a maid not mistletoe will go unwed another year. Phe burning of the yule log comes from the old Eeandinavian custom of Kkindling large fires in honor of their God Thor. "The yule log is taken from an oak tree filled at midnight, brought Into the house with great ceremony and lighted at the midnlzbt hour The feasting was no small part of the day’s | celebration. A typical dinner in those days consisted of Boar's head, plum pudding, pies and all kinds of drinks. In Sweden where cleanliness is nev- er godliness than any athere else great preparations are made for the holiday. A universal and pleasing custom is the tying of a sheaf of corn to a high le, which is placed in the yard for he birds’ Christmas dinner. So the people of the far north show their love ?rt;fl gouchmnnen for their feathered iends. The Itallans have great feasts and fish, prepared in various ways is an important dish. Every one attends church, and then goes home for the fun-making. They have what is call- the “urn of fate,” which takes the place of our Christmas tree and each one in turn takes e gift from the urn. In many parts of France the Christ- mas log is still burned. The children are sent to bed with the promise that they will receive their presents during the night and when they awaken they find their tree laden with gifts. In Germany the Christmas tree was first brought into use, indeed nothing seems more pleasant to a rman heart than the dear old “Weihnachts- baum,” it is found in every home from the richest to the poorest. All the family join in the singing of hymns, including many of the melodies we have in America today. It is from the Germans that we have learned to celebrate Christmas with more reference to the children and their own aim seems to be to make the little ones happy. In Holland and Belgium Kris Kringle, or Santa Claus, fills the lit- tle folks’ stockings with the very things they have been wishing for. He often brings a rod to the parents; ‘This probably accounts for the good be- haviour of the little Hollanders. In our own great land of America, although we have no yule-log or carol singers, Christmas is celebrated far ‘We have our greeting, "Merry Christmas,” from Ens'and, rds of a hymn in ild reechoing o ““Z‘é‘i'k ¢ place to light. At las rkness gave place i The Spirit C!fl'hfli" sped d toward Eanh and reaching the city. patsed on_ the corner of one ef the streets. TFer persons -were astir—a couple of stragglers and one or two milkmen. To these the Spirit went, and touching them with her soft, slen- der hand filled them with love m their fellow-beings, by her su s. They ural power. The gruff mmmu Gortea ed that the child was born and the his cap and offered greetings of the i “ God day ‘1o tho kitchon @irl at the next] s S Suging Glory to o Bbtke: and by way of! good fesling the highest. Peace on earth, good will to_men.” gave her a gill too much of milk. ‘When they awuke there was a bright The angel “puréusdher star which they followed until it led ing fi.lllshe met, all around t rangi ds of Ehel'lll mllget:hm vfhet;:hs child lay. t also led the three wise men. ‘were now humlng to church, and in out among them avalked the an- | 4. thoush this happened many years i o ago, we do not forget to honor the Bcl ofusing into thelr hearts “the true | ohijq ‘who hecams the Great Teacher f young folks. Merry Christmas was wished to ev- | °* YOUrE | eryome in a4 voico which fold the| mARY ZEZULAWESZ, Age 12. speaker meant what he said - Forietml god-fathers who had long A Peaceful Scene. The view from my window is peace- 'orgotten their wards, dived in- to their pockets and drew forth shin- ing cqins to the joy of little boys and | ful and calm as one looks upon, the girls, 'and the admiration of proud |open meadows into the solitude® of ‘mammas. evening. The cattle have gone to rest tnder the shady maples in the distant: pasture, where the bubbling brook year after year flows undisturbed. It -is here that the cattle get their water, always cool and refreshing. Through the further barway can be seen a small but well worn footpath leading to the nearby woods, where many a small boy has been for nuts. Beyond the wall one might notice the tiny rustic bridge crossing the stream. Hanging from one of the large oaks in the glade on the further side are swings where the children enjoy many vacation days by the brookside. Above all, the sparkling stars and the moon, shining in the peaceful blue sky, which succeeds the golden glow of sunset, search the meadows in vain, for the outdoor world is deso- late and still, save for the crickets’ monotonous song in the rustling bush- es. FLORENCE CARPENTER, Age 12. Norwich. wm she was gone we played house until she came home. When she came she ht my eister her new. dress, and many other ANNA A BN, Age 11. Norwich. Marguerite’s Indoor Flower Garden. Dear Uncle Jed: I would love to tell windows and a glass door. Two sides are filled with shelves. On these shelves are flowers, such as beautiful begonias of varicus kinds, cactus, fuchsias, geraniums; near the eunterd!(nhmmm:‘;hmmu Soant” ¢ “The t.hin: that pe- the farthest, Toward making life worth whil That oon.s the Iu-t ana does the most, Is just a friendly smile. ‘There is no room for sadness When we see a cherry smile; It always has -the same good look,— It's never out of style.” And so the Spirit of Christmas went, touching the rich, the poor, the grouch, and the pessimist, inspiring them all With the wonderful gift of Love. The day passed and nightfall carmdl, then the Spirit of Christmas flew to her heavenly home, fully satisfied with her work to wait patiently until the wonderful day should come again. ALTBR V. GAVIGA: care of. Scattered about the room are stands urns which also are filled with be- gonias and vines creeping down tow- ards the floor. We also_have a very large century slant ‘which I hope w see bloom some If T 4o not, I hope my grand- children will. ‘When the snow and winds are blow- ing outside, to enter this room reminds one of fairyland or some tropical re- gion, making one forget the dreary \vmdu outside. “ RGUERITE BROWN, Age 14. ' Baluc bed and they were afraid to go to bed without lanterns. To add ¥ their discomfort the mosquitoes started to bit them when they got in bed. One boy started to talk abeut inventing a little cage to put over their heads to keep the mos- quitoes from biting them. Camp went on about the same as usual, the campers going to bed with sunburned backs and the dogs to keep them awake by barking. On Fourth of July night we had a battle. Everything handy was used as weapons and I imagine the boys’ provision boxes were empty the next morning. Camping is good for any person, sick or healthy, and any person who has had the chance to camp out will say the same. FREDERICK CUSHMAN. Origin of the Sandwich. Have you ever wondered where or why sandwiches were made? It seems in England many years ago that a certain man by the name of the Earl of SandWwich was such a busy business man that he could not al- ways have the time to go home for his dinner, so he wéuld bring in a lunch box slices of bread and meat. He placed the meat between the bread and thus invented a new lunch which he relished greatly. Gradually, other men who heard of it would try it also, when too busy to go home to eat at noon. So this My Little Brother Lulu, Dear Uncle Jed: I must tell you about my little brother Lulu. He is three years old and is very cute. Every morning when I ge to school, or Sun- day when I go to church, he wants to follow me. So one day I did want to take him to church and he did not feel like Mr Starfish Takes a Summer Vaca- tion. and near. kind of a lunch soon came to be| Once there was a starfish who had|2Utobiography of an Old Gingham|“Santa Claus” from Holland, Christ. |€0ing I guess so he said: known as a sandwich lunch just be- Apron. mas tree from Germany. ‘Ah, beans! The Lord don’t want no cause the Earl of Sandwich was the | ove fingers and five eyes, an eye at P kids up there!” Don’t you mlnk that is cute? CECILE BESS! ,» Age 8. A feeling of good will is general at this seagon and shown not only to the members of one’s own family, but the poor and needy are mever forgot- ten. This is the one holiday in the year when we can mingle fun and joy with our religion and by doing so he message of the angels eace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.” HAROLD KINDER, Age 12. Pawtucket, R. L the end of each finger. He had thousands of feet but without legs. Mr. Starfish decided to take a sum- mer journey to the South and visit the mountains. The mountains are not like ours, because they do not have any large trees or any snow. Of course the mountains are under water. We would not know the mountains of the water. If Mr. Starfish was to use his feet it would take more than 500 years. He had no intention of using his feet. He was to take a train; not a train like ours on land, but a water train. This train is near the bottom of the ocetn and is propelled Wy an invisible force. The train does not need any fuel be- cause of the invisible force. Mr. Starfish gets in the train off the coast of Cape Cod. -He meets some n¥ his friends who are traveling South, also. There are many icebergs that come from the North and are going South with the Lakbrador Current. I am not of much use in the world new, but I was once. history to you. When I was woven into cloth I was placed in a store in Belfast, Ireland, to be sold. One day an old Irish woman came in and purchased me. She carried me home and as she was quite an indus- trious old lady she cut me out from a pattern she had borrowed from a neighbor. She finished me that after- noon, and the following afternoon she went out to call on a neighbor. As usual, they had tea, and the first thing I knew something hot was spilled all over the front of me. ‘Well, she took me home, washed and ironed me, and put me into a drawer until I was needed again. Every week I was washed and iron- ed for quite a while until one night she forgot to take me in. An old tramp came along and took me off the line, but when he found out what I first man to think of putting bread and meat togethér in this way. NANCY TETREAULT. U . I will relate my Moosup. Versailles. A Christmas Entertainment. Dear Uncle Jed: Last Friday night we had a Christmas entertainmene at the schoolhouse. The room was orated with Christmas colors. In the back of the room on the bookcases stood two very small Christmas trees. They had popcorn put on the branches to represent snow. Several Christmas belis were hanging around the room. Dark red and green curtains were hanging in the front of the room. A iarge Christmas tree stood by the piano. The tree was trimmed very prettily. The program was quite long, hav- ing at least thirty different things on it. All the children spoke pieces. One girl sang a solo. One song by all the A Helping Hand. A few nights ago a man and his wife came along the road, looking for work, without anything to eat or a place to sleep. My father met them as he was com- ing home from work. They asked him if he had a shed they could sleep in. He said, “No, I have no shed, but you can come into my house.” We gave them a good supper, a night’s lodging and breakfast in the morning. That morni\g they were go- ing to White Rock to get work. They had no money and had to walk all the way, so I took thirty cents our of my bank and gave it to them for carfare. They were so glad they didn't know how. much to thank me for it. Am willing to help anyone that's How | Raised My Onions. This year I raised onions in my garden. 1 selected a plece of rich ground about thirty-four feet long and twenty-four feet wide. Then 1 bought some good yellow onion seeds to be ready for planting. Next I prepared my seed very care- fully. T did not use a horse to plow the land because it was a small plece. I took a shovel and spaded up the ground with it. I then took an iron They go|Was he threw me one side on the|rake and smoothed the sround until|children was “Christmas Time is o meB e R S South to get exercise. —The leebergs |€round. fowas leveliall iover. | “Fhen I tookss | DTEWISE N7 e whollh, SCrcel Ty TZ, Age 4. |and starfieh are not the only creatures| The next day the old lady picked me | piece of twine and placed it N 2 very straight and as long as I wanted the rows to be. Then I made the rows fourteen inches apart and about one- fourth of an inch deep. Then I planted the seeds in eves row. I had to use about two and on half ounces. I covered the seeds with about one-fourth of an inch of fine soii. When this was done I waited until the onions had grown about two and one-half inches high. Then it was time to weed them. I dia this very carefull But when the weeds grew too fast I had to hire my brothers to help ine. I paid them by the hour. Sometimes I had trouble with my calf. He would go under or over the bars and walk all over the onions, but I was always lucky enough to dis- cover him before he had done much damage. T had many den. My up, washed me again, and so it went on this way'for quite a while until I was quite worn out. She then sold me to a rag peddler whose wife made me into a blouse for ber little boy, who wore me until he possibly couldn’t wear me any longer, and now all T am is an old rish rag! MARGARET WELSH, Age 12. Norwich. traveling, there are many thousands of other animals so small that they can hardly be seen. After a few weeks Mr. Starfish is dropped in Southern waters. He uses his five eyes looking at the sights while he keeps a look out for sharks and other foes with the eye in the middle of his body. He must take his vacation in these waters until he meets the return train, the Gulf Stream Current. JOHN KRIZANEK, Age 14. Stonington. Christmas Welcome.” The older chil- dren sang “Christmas Bells.” Then there were five or six dialogues, ‘The Christmas Tree,” ‘“The Four airies,” “The Twelve Candles,” and 'Santa Claus” and “Mother Goose's Reception.” After the program we lit the candles on the Christmas tree. Then Santa Claus gave out the presents. There were bags of candy and popcorn; also apples on the tree, and the tree was full of presents. - I received a string of gold beads, a btag, a sachet, a pincushion and a book, The Camp Fire Girls on Sunrise Hill. 1 also got five or six postcards and & bag of candy. ‘We came home at eleven o'tlock im- a snowstorm and awoke the next morning to find three t of snow on the ground, and the drifts would come over my head, being the worst storm in Christmas Day. All the children are glad when Christmas day comes. We wish that every day could be Christmas. The night before Christmas we hang our stockings. They say Santa Claus comes to fill the stockings. One Christmas eve I tried to see him. The big round moon was shin- ing and the snow was cold and white. I waited, and waited, and waited, but I did not see Snn!a. Claus. I think that I fell asleep. When I awoke it was morning. Our stockings were full of toys. Oh. but we had a great time. I wish Santa Claus came every day, don’t you? JOHN WISNESKE. The Woodcuttér. A woodcutter was busily engaged in grinding his axe when a neighbor came along and said: “Why do you grind your axe now? You can’t go to the forest nad cut wood in this storm.” “When the weather is fair I shall not be grinding my axe. I shall be using it,” answered the woodcutter. ALICE BUGBEE, Age 12. Montville. Christmas in Different Countries. Every country has its own way of celebrating Christmas. In Holland the children hang up their little wooden shoes behind the fireplace and in the morning when they get up they find the things they al- ways want. Yantic. sitors to see my gar- = agriculture supervisor, Mr. The Stclen Goose. % " E eight years. I knew a little girl who came fro Storrs, and some others came to see N 5 John Karl was a lazy fellow, but|Hollang ad whe o Wy same from Spunk. it, and said it was growing well. e T ERCI s AR 18 l;’eh x]liekedoz.:; ;i; fi:ogetnhtu:gsh:]nce in ajClaus likes little Dutch girls better | The frincial of our school has a lgut atter‘;vn_x;ds bad_weathg{h cafl;; [ R ) . p a man 5 ht him | an 2 its growing. e on be knew whe Hved on & large Tatrs than American girls, becauee she got|dog named Spunk. He brought him gtoppe E2 what she wanted from Santa in Hol- land, but she never got what she want- ed in America. In Alaska and other northern coun- tries where the snow falls so high that you can only see the chimney, it Is very different from that of Hol- land. The women have to start their pre- parations for Christmas in the sum- mer, because they cannot get out in winter. It is very hard to cook things in Alaska because generally the chim- nevs get full of snow and the people there have to do with very little wood. Most of the things they have for their Christmas dinner is preserved. You would think it would be very easy to get Christmas trees in Alaska, but,it is hot so The men have to g0 many miles with their sleds for Christmas trees. Most of the dolls and toys, and. oth- er ti#ngs that we have Christmas are imported from different countries. Many of these dolls are imported from the Black Forest of Germany. Thous- ands of these dolls and toys are sent here every vear so the little children can enjoy the Christmas. ALICE DONAHUE Age 13. Stonington. up in our room. He showed us some of his tridss. The principal got a chair. He told him to get up in the chair and the dog got up in the chair. Then he told him to say his prayers. The dog said his prayers. Then he gave him a doughnut. Then he told him to sneeze. The dog kept bark- ing. then he sneezed. The principal told him to walk on his hind feet. He walked on his hind feet. The prin- cipal put his collar on the desk and told him to go and get his dress. The dog went and got his dress. The prin- cipal put the collar on the dog and the dog was happy ADAH LAMBERTON. Age 10. Lowell. thing™ that spoiled my crop was the heavy rains that flooded the ground and beat down the onion tops. ‘When it was time to harvest the onions, I pulled them and dried them on a flat board near the house. When they were dried I shortened the stems. Then I took a bushel basket and meas- ured them. They came to two and one-half bushels. 1 saved the small ones for home use, and sold one and one-half bushei of the large-sized ones for three dollars. I selected five that were quite uni- form in size, shape and color to take to our school fair. Afterwards they were taken to tie fair at Springfield, Massachusetts. Next year if I live on the farm I will try to plant more; and if the weather is good I expect to have a much larg- er crop. FRED HADDAD, Age 12. Chestnut Hill. Something About Switzerland. Dear Uncle Jed: I will write to tell You something about Switzerland. 1 was born in Switzerland and had nice times playing with my friends. My father took me to a lot of places. ‘When I was eight years old we took n trip to America. There were five of us, my mother, my two brothers, my sister and L We went to many places before we got to the place where the ship was. Then we heard a lot of music, 86 we went into the ship, where we had to look for our room. I did not like to go because I went to school about two years where we could go home for dinner, and I liked it. We lived in a nice house where we had electric lights and a gas oven. On the ship I was sick five days. We met a ship burning: and the same day we saw another ship which took the people off and saved them. . We had a long trip and all were glad to reach America. MARY STEINMEYER, Age 11. Eagleville. and as he was coming home he saw a nice flock of geese. John said: “I will steal one for my Christmas dinner.” A few days before Christmas John slyly stole up to the place where the geese were kept, watched his chance and he finally stole one and took it home to his wife Jane. He told her how he got it. d Jane did not like that. She was poor but honest, and she said he should not have done such a thing as to steal a goose. On Christmas morning she put the goose on to cook. John went down to the village store and Jane went to call on a neighbor. It was most dinner time when she thought of the goose and said, “I must go home now,” and as she entered the house she smelled something burning. She thought it must be the goose and sure enough it was burned to a erisp. John came in and saw this and said “Why did you not stay at home and watch it?” e Hl! wife said “Why did you steal Anything stolen will never Dring any profit. ALVIN LACHAPELLE, Age 12. Canterbury. Christmas Customs tions. Christmas celebrates the Nativity ot the Saviour. In the early ages of the church there was much debate as to the exact date or season of the Sa- viour's birth, but Pope Julius I fixed the day as the 25th of December and Christmas is now celebrated by all Christian nations at this time. In taking up the different customs we must remember that it is a Chris- tian festival mingled with many old pagan ideas. Many of the customs can be traced bgck to the time when they formed part of the Pagan cere- monies in the worship of their idols. Although it has been through many trying places, Christmas festivity was never entirely abolished. In spite of the changes of church and state the Christmas spirit has ruled in every ‘and to the rank of the peole. From the Mystery and Miracle plays and Mummers of the Middle Ages we have in different parts of England to- day the carol singers. The decorating of homes with ivy, Different Na- LETTERS TO UNCLE JED. My Thanksgiving. Dear Uncle Jed: It was very rainy Thanksgiving and I was very sorty, because I had expected to have a fine time out of doors. But in the morning I played with a friend of mine and had some fun. Then I had dinner, which was very good. I played with my friend again after dinner. After supper I went to the moving pictures. They were fine. This ended my Thanksgiving. ON RIDGEWAY, Age 8. Stamford.—Stamford is to be ‘*he My First Day in Camp. Last April a group of boys decided to camp across the harbor from Ston- ington. My brother and I were in the group. There was a colony of about five tents. On the first night the dogs started to bark and our dog joined in the mix- up. T had to get up out of a warm bed and bring him back to our tent. I imagine the other boys were sur- prised when they found their provi- sion boxes empty the next morning. After breakfast we had some fun in the water. ‘We had to go to Ston- ington for provisions and we had a drawing match to see who was going to row over to Stonington. We got back about half past eleven and start- ed cook dinner. The potatoes were not“fried just right to suit me, so I peeled some potatoes and fried them. Then I started to say that I was the best cook in the camp. All of a sud- Dinner Time at a Zoo. ‘While visiting my aunt in New York I took a walk to the Central Park Zoo, where I arrived just in time to see the men feed the animals. The men carried the meat in a wheelbarrow and lifted it piece by piece to the hungry, howling lions, the spotted leopards and the fat. small cubs. The lions grabbed the juicy red meat in their ;paws and swallowed it as one would swallow a piece of candy. After this I went into the monkey’s 200 and saw them sitting on posts or swings, eating peanuts. It would make one laugh to see them hold a peanut in their tiny, dirty paws, crack it and get the meat part out, anfl I aid laugh. Then I walked up to see the moth bear and the polar bears. The moth bear was eating a loaf of bread as he Strawberry Hill avenue and the build- ings now on the land will de remodel- ed at considerable cost. STRICKEN IN THE Dear Uncle Jed: I like to read the letters from the Wide-Awakes. I look for The Builetin every Thursday morn- ing as soon as I get up to see if there are any names of the girls I know. It is hard work for me to get ready Tor school, for I want to read all I can 1 before I go to school. 1 go to the Riverside grammar .{school and I like the school very much. THE BOOK-WINNING PICTURES. All the teachers I have had are very nice. I get along pretty well with my reading and spelling, but I can't get my arithmetic very good. I read what you wrote to the Wide- 882 Sr. Vauzz Sr., MoxTREAL. “In 1912, T was taken suddenly il y s with Acute Stomack le aad 4 lay resting by the side of the iron bars |ren I smelled somethi; i a Awakes about Christmas and I think with his dirty back toward me, while|] ran to the ;tov: ar::f xb‘;;?::dg &lg it is very nice and hope every one | dropped in the street. I was treated thi€ poldr bears lay down looking at |the potatoes were burned. I would wiil read it. me with their keen, hunery ey by several physicians for nearly two t eat thi Tad I have another little nepliew. His 24 OCHELEAU, Tany. 00 Sat fhewn B0 oo o P name is Paul Poor. Little James got | YE&rs, and my weight dropped from 225 1 North Fra.nkl n. ing the dishes, wehhui another draw- h!sl :gse t;n;;k(eh o ‘pounds to 160 pounds.. Them several 3 S ing tch since tl pe e little : g | The Christ Child. el b ey fhe wal nopody in had a good time Christmas and got °f¥“yff‘°‘“’"“"“d"?'-°"y Fruit- . & Several centuries ago a promise was| That night we .m initiated, as they lots of presents. a-tives”. . began fo improve almost 2 en to the world that some time a alled it. Thgy lacked us up with DORIS .I CARPE"‘!TER, Age 9. Jovntt City. with llu Jirst dose, and by using them, I recovered from the distressing Stomach Trouble—and all pain and Constipation were cured. Now Iweigh 208 pounds. I eannot praise “Fruit- a-tives” enough”. H. WHITMAN. 50c. a box, 6 for $2.50, trial size, 25¢. At all dealers or sent postpaid by Fruit. a-tives Limited, Ogdensburg, N.¥, Enby boy would be born who, when he grew to be a man, would be brave and true and help the people to be brave end true. ‘The people grew very weary of watching and waiting, but a shepherd boy, David, sang songs and helped the people to be brave and patient, \Byu.ndhytheba.bywubnrnh Bethlehem. Mary, his mother, did not ive thl:: em. ived in the grease on the frying pans and then marched to the dock and threw us ov- ‘erboard. After the initiation- was over we sat on the bed and told stories. One boy, who is colored, told a story about a rich man who was followed by a rob- ber into a hotel and when they got in the room the robber shouted: | “Back in the corner.” Just then as a climax to his story our light —Drawn by Roger B. Miner, mtammmwwumnmnnm One Saturday. Dear Uncle Jed: I am going to tell you about one Saturday when I stayed home all day. n the morning when I get up nbout past seven I had my and then my sister nnd I wuhlfl up the breakfast dishes. Whanthedllhe.mfl!dmulwm and opened the bedroom win- .\,‘\_,J..*.L——‘ s ,av-qu_.m._ g