The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1950 THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE PAGE THIRTEEN \ Mokey and the Snow By BRUCE BLUNT Mokey woke up. The room was dark. "How strange!" he thought. "I must have woke up earlier than usual." It was very strange, because Mokey was a lazy little donkey, and nearly always woke up later than usual. He lit the candle which stood by his bedside, apd looked at his clock. The hands pointed to eight o'clock. This was not so strange, because they always did. Mokey had found the clock on a rubbish heap, months ago, and he was very proud of it. Not only the clock but an empty feeling inside told Mokey that it was breakfast-time. This made the darkness seem even more queer. He glanced towards the window. It was light after all. Through the half- * drawn curtains he could see light. But something very queer indeed had happened. The fir tree had gone in the night. From where he lay in bed Mokey | could always see the first thing which he looked for in the daylight. And now it had gone, Mokey jumped out of bed and pulled the curtains wide apart. Everything had gonet There was nothing to be seen except the win- dow-panes glittering in the candle- light. "Hoar frost," said Mokey to him- self. He pulled down the window in order to see out. A shower of snow fell on top of his head. For a moment he was to surprised to do anything. Then he closed the window with a bang. He took the key from the door and peeped through the keyhcle. He could see nothing. Very gently he wurned the handle and opened the door just a tiny bit. He was not going to be caught again. Mokey shut the door quickly. He had seen enough through the crack. There wes snow right up to the top of the door. The very, very worst had happened. He was snowed in. Mokey went back to bed and be- gap to think of all the awful things which were going to happen to him. He was going to be hungry. He was going to be lonely. He was going to miss Penelope's party. Since Penelope was a witch, her parties were most exciting. Mokey began | to feel very lonely indeed. He was just beginning to think about having a good cry, when he heard a faint "tap-tap. . .tap. . . tap." It seemed to come from the bottom of the door. He jumped out of bed, put his ear to the door, and called. "Who is there?" "Open the door," squeaked a voice. "It's me . . Mouldy." Mokey opened the door, and was instantly buried in a mound of snow. He had forgotten to be care- ful that time. He had hardly got to his feet when Mouldy the mole popped out of the snow-mound, "That's a nice welcome to give any one, I must say," squeaked Mouldy. "But still, it's the sort of welcome I get wherever I go. Only not quite so much of it, as a rule." "It wasn't really my fault," said Mokey. "In fact, I've never been | so pleased to see anyone in my life." "I should hope not," answered Mouldy. "I've been digging for you for two hours. I've made a tunnel big enough for you to crawl along. There is only a huge great snow- drift round your house. My tunnel comes into the open by the field-|: path. Come along. You had better bring your lantern. You creatures are so clumsy in the dark." When they had gone some little distance, Mokey noticed in-the glim- mer of his lantern a turning which went to the right. "What is that turning?" he asked. "It's not a turning, really," ans- wered Mouldy. "It's one of Rab- bit's old bwrrows. My tunnel just happened to cut across it. When Mokey came to the turning, a most beautiful smell came to his nostrils. He put down his lantern and sniffed. It was the smell of dried grass. This was too much for a donkey who had had no break- fast. Mokey thrust his head into the turning, and his mouth closed on a bunch of grass. But not for long. In another second, he shot back in the tunnel, and his cries echoed along it. "Ooh , . . ow! ooh , . ow!" he yelled. "Something has pricked my nose all over." "It serves you right," came a cross voice from the turning, "for trying to eat my bed." It was Hod, the Hedgehog, in the middle of his winter's sleep. "Fancy trying to eat a person's bea," he went on. "Not only that, but you've woken me up six weeks tuo soon. Please go away, and take that light with you, It is keeping me awake." Mokey picked up his lantern and went on. He had not gone far be- forc he heard the most tremendous snoring. Hod was settling down to sleep again, Mokey's nose still smarted. Mouldy, who had gone on ahead, was waiting for his- companion at the mouth of the tunnel. As he came out into the daylight, Mokey took a deep breath. How lovely it was to be in the fresh air again! He was trying to think of some Jvay in which he could repay Mouldy for his kindness in rescuing him when he suddenly thought of Pene- lope's party. "I say, Mouldy, are you going, to Penelope's party," he began, "be- cause if . . "Party!" sald Mouldy, "Nobody ever invites me to a party. That is what comes of living underground. One gets out of touch with things." "Well, come. along to Penelope's, then," said Mokey. "I'll come,' said Moulcy sadly, "but I shan't know what to do, or eat, or drink, or say. I shall be very unhappy." So the two set off agross the snow for Badger's Wood, "where Pene- ope's cottage was, When they got there the door was open, and they could see Penelope inside the room, looking very cross. "What are you doing here?" she screeched at them. "Please, we've come to the party", Mokey answered. "What party?" cried Penelope. /N \ poo * ACCORDY WISE MBN 5 N Gratitude... A HANGIN BEGUN FEW THEIR PEACE OF HFART THEY THEIR CHILDRENY SHOES. LATER, MAS OF PA GIVEN 157 Rds 0 wn Tar WHICH GOSPEL , LED TH ew or "THECANDLE WERE bia SYMBOLS OF ios € ji STOCKINGS 16 A CUSTOM DUTCH SETILERS WHO MUCH GRATITUDE FOR PLACED TOYS ANP SWEETS IN STOCKINGS WERE USED "Oh! that party! It's over. It was the day before: yesterday." "Just my luck," sighed Mouldy. "When I am invited to a party, it would be an old one." He vanished irto the ground. As for Mokey, he was so hungry that he could have cried. "Oh, I am so hungry", he sald, half aloud. "I think I can find you a very small carrot," said a voice from somewhere inside the room. And the next moment a kitten came through the doorway. It was Ugly's Ginger Baby. "Hello! What are you doing here," asked Mokey. "I'm living here now," sald the Giner Baby. "Ever since the black MECCANO CHRISTMAS A "tops 102 V1 Remember, Dad, when you got your first Meccano outfit,-- how proud you felt when you started that power crane actually hon SEE geht pi Bp Give your son the fascinating fun--a initiative--give him have it? to have Meccano, know means so many years of ou i that will develop his mind, WORKING MODELS When a \ a Pr tnio model is fished ii works! Meccano models look like Cranes lift; swivel; cars run. ges the real thing--work like the real thing. EDUCATIONAL--There are hundreds-of build things a boy can from the easy-to-follow instruction book in each outfit. His creative imagination is aroused--his interest ever high--his h enjoyment never ending. UNBREAKABLE PARTS very, piece of Meccano is made from sturdy of gléamihg 'brass. gears and pulleys sted); 8 Ee after year--Meccano parts Boy strong and'workable. Meccano prices are lower this- ygar -- the smallest outfit MECCANO LIMITED 59 Wellington St. W., Toronto Also makers of the famous Hornby Trains and Dinky Toys. Be sure to see IT'S REAL oR IT WORKS IT'S Sold Exclusively in Oshawa by MECCANO WALMGLES & MAGILL 9 KING ST. EAST PHONE 5204 cat left her because he could not put up with her singing, I've been ~enelope's cat." "And my magic has gone to pieces ever since you came," snapped Pene- lcpe. "What magic?" asked Mokey. "Ginger magic, of course," yelled the witch. "Always do the magic which matches the cat. Black cat-- black magic. White cat, white magic. I'd even have a try at tabby magic, if T had a tabby cat. But ginger magic is different enough. The books say very little about it. I cannot seem to get it right. Look at my hair." Mokey looked and saw with a shock that half of it was grey and the other half bright red. / "That is what comes of trying to do my hair ginger," said Pene- lope. "Only half the spell worked.' By this time the Ginger Baby had brought along a very small carrot, "Ask Penelope to make it larger," sald the kitten. Mokey immediately asked her to make it into the larg- est carrot ever known, The witch made some passes and mumbled some words. The carrot shrank, and tarned into a knob' of solid ginger. Mokey could not eat ginger, and wished that he had been content with the carrot, however small it was. He began to think that his only chance of getting a good meal was from the store of food in his own garden-shed. "Please, Penelope, can you make the snow disappear from round my house?" he asked. "Oh, that is quite easy," said the witch, She picked up a handful of snow, made it into a ball, and melt- ed it in a cauldron. "The snow. round your house has gone already," she sald. Mokey started to turn round for home, "Have a cup of tea before you go?" the witch asked him, As he was very cold Mokey was glad to accept it. But when it was poured out he took on gulp of it and ran, It had turned into'ginger beer. Before he got out of the weed he heard frightful yells and shrieks be- hind him. He turned round to see Penelope and the Ginger Baby danc- ing about it what seemed to be a yellow lake. The house had gone. Penelope had made another slight mistake. She had turned her house into ginger marmalade. Letters to Santa Claus Show Varied Requests Every year, the Danish Tourist Association has to deal with a flood of 8,000 letters to Father Christmas, addressed to the Danish colony of Greenland, They do a good job of it, the Danes being a jolly, cosy lot obviously destined to deputise for Santa. When one reads the letters, Santa's girth is no longer a mystery. At least fifty per cent of Santa's fans tempt him with edibles: sugar for the reindeer, lemonade, apples, whisky, "a glass of wine and a biscuit" (the so- phisticated touch), "supper on a tray in the dining room" and "mince pies and a drink.' "If yoy bring your wife please tell me then I can put two lots hot chocolatea." The letters themselves vary great- ly but they do give a clear, almost frightening insight into the British younger generation, There are a great many routine notes demand- ing walkie-talkie dolls, rocking horses and football boots, but mix- ed up with the rest are some path- etic requests. "Could you bring Mummie a pair of shoes because she does not have many?" 'Dear Santa Claus, my father has broken his leg and my mother cannot afford to give us all a present, there are seven of us" "Dear Santa, I will get toys but I want my big brother home for Christmas, he is nineteen and in the RAF', Please would you send my brother Peter a strong heart so that he can be home next Christmas." The moppets keep up with the times. Though the youngést still ask for "a napple and a norng and sum seets," their elders want every- thing from radar to earth-moving equipment, The most popular item seems to be the Meccano set. Also appreciated are lorries, police sets, cowboy sets, light houses, traffic lights, toy airports and a mysterious something called a walking choco- late pot. Requests for literature seem in a minority, and literary criticism seems governed by bulk or weight rather than content: "Dear Santa, Will you please bring me two big books and three small ones." Some letters, on the other hand, are faintly sinister, like the modest request of one seven-year-old for 'a bull-dozer, a cement mixer and some Egyptian mummy books." And s 0 m e requests are distinctly threatening, Dear Santa Claus: Would yqu went to bed; and the Ginger Baby curled up by the fireplace. "I suppose it was because I was only a kitten that the spells only came half right. She ought to have thought of that," mused the Ginger Baby, as it fell asleep. please send me a Diana air gun for Christmas I am eight years of age but my mummy said she thought you would send me one as you are good to little boys who behave. I have been a very good boy and have went to church eavery Sun- ay. Lots of love, You are my good Santa A Merry Christmas. PS. I will leave a lump of sugar for your Reindeer. If I don't get my air gun then I will know there is no Santa. The letters are usually written by four to nine year olds, though not always: "I am writing on behalf of my five little brothers and sisters, as I am the eldest at twelve and a half. I would have wrote sooner only I have been looking after the house as mummy has not been well with rheumatic fever, . ." A note of doubt sometimes creeps in when the correspondent reaches ten: Dear Santa: Send me a letter ana a little story. The ones at school say there is no Santa so send me a letter and I will show it to them .. ." The letters are addressed to "deear Santa, Toyland, Iceland, Fairy Land" . . . "Santa Claus, Reindeerland, Iceland' . . . "Father Christmas, Ice Lane, Snowy White Ice Forest," and "The Old Man, c/o Post Office, Greenland." And the Danish Tourist Association, which receives them, has in its em- ploy a gnome (she is disguised as a most human, warm-hearted Dan- ish lady) cdlled "Marta Stjerns- ward" who has composed a cheerful reply to all the children who write. It is printed in a wobbly blue hand and runs: Dear Little Friend, I was delighted to have your letter which reached me in my country Denmark, of which Greenland is a colony. If you are veary good I believe you will have your Christmas wishes fulfilled. . . The letter goes on to enclose a particularly lugubrious Hans Chris- tian Andersen fairy tale about the starving Little Match Girl who was frozen to death on New Year's Eve. At any rate she is highly popular with pudding-stuffed junior Brit- ons who continue nevertheless to concentrate on Santa himself. Letters contain a variety of in- structions: "I hope you will wear your fur coat and fur hat as it is very cold." "Do not forget the baby bunting she did not be here at the last time" "Our chimney is very small, do please be careful not to get stuck when you come down." "Please don't make too much soot coming down the chim- ney." Letters to Santa may be written on cheap ruled paper with old sums on the back, or formal note paper ornamented with Mr. Punch, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It may be decorated with scratchy, surrealist reindeer, with clouds and chimneys in bright crayon, but with few exceptions the messages are surprisingly polite: "Dear Santa, I shall be very glad to see you when you come next Thursday, Love Christine, "Dear Santa, Will you give me something if you have it, I am seven. Thank you notes to Santa are surprisingly common: "Dear Father Christmas, thangk you fora that eroplan set and the plaing krads and the trails and bloons. I hove pontep a fas on them Moth Bi 3 bi fora Now From Michael. ' But best of all we liked the following: Dear Father Xmas: What would you like for a present? Love, Petra. Where Christmas Is Greeted By Firing Cannon A cannon fired from the historic Castle of San Angelo at sunset on Christmas Eve proclaims the be- ginning of the Holy Season in Rome. By nine o'clock everyone is in church to witness the colorful and solemn processions of eccleslastic dignitaries which precede the elab- orate midnight Mass. Since everyone has "fasted for twenty-four hours, festive banquets are in order after the religious sol- emnities, It is a gala after-midnight in Rome; hotels and restaurants remain open, families and friends gather around sumptuous tables in gally decorated homes; and in anti- cipation of the festivities, many people attend church dressed in formal attire. Between Christmas and Epiphany, the Calabrian shepherds -- Pifferani --revisit the homes where they were most cordially welcomed during Advent when they came down the hills to play their Italian bagpipes before the shrines of the Virgin, The Pifferani play for their Advent hosts during the post-Christmas holidays and receive gifts of wine, dried figs and small sums of money from their hosts. London--(CP) -- Kenneth Nash, 13, who comes from a tough east end district, sings at Covent Gar- den, He has the off-stage shepherd boy's part in "Tosca", usually sung by a woman, * The Spirit Of Santa Claus SANTA CLAUS is one of the most precious wonders of childhood. Canadian mothers overwhelmingly agree that he should be portrayed as the spirit of generosity, kindli- ness and gift-giving. Although the modern conception of Santa Claus is Canadian, the Spirit of Santa Claus is neither modern nor Canadian. The real Saint Nicholas lived in Asia Minor and ever since his death in 343, stories concerning him have been repeated around the firesides of Europe. The children of Lapland and northern climates naturally pilc- tured Santa dressed in fur and dashing through the snow in a reindeer-drawn sleigh. But in cen- tral Europe, St. Nicholas first ap- peared on his liturgical feast day, December 6, and he was a thin, austere churchman who rode a mule and carried gifts for good children and a bundle of birch rods with which to switch the naughty. Under Dutch influence St. Nicho- las lost his solemnity. Thé Dutch colonists who took him with them to America were very practical people and they decided against two gift- giving days in the same month: Thus, Sinter Klass started coming around only at Christmas time. Eventually, ancient legends were woven into American Christmas traditions. Washington Irving sent St. Nicholas flying through Christ mas skies in a reindeer-drawn sleigh in 1809; Dr. Clement Moore's poem "The Night Before Christmas," writ- ten in 1822, gave Santa ", , . a little round belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly"; and a series of drawings in 1868 by Thomas Nast added much to the traditional pictures and appearance of the Santa we see today. In every youngster's life there comes the time when he begins to suspect that the various bewhisk- ered gentlemen, so numerous during this season, are not exactly the real Santa Claus. Wise parents advance the "helper" theory as soon as they are asked questions and teach their children to make the Christmas dreams of less fortunate tots and their families come true. Thus, the real Santa Claus isn't just myth or legend. He is the Spirit of Christmas who lives in the sparkling eyes of children and in the hearts of all grown-ups who strive for peace and goodwill among men. CAMPAIGN FOR COLLEGE Edmonton (CP).--A campaign to raise $175,000 for alterations and additions to St. Stephen's College at the University of Alberta is well under way. The amount is allo- cated on the basis of $4.50 per member of each United Church in the province. When he came within sight of | his own house Mokey found that the snow had not gone at all. It had simply changed to a dark-colour, In fact, it had changed into ginger- bread. When he came sadly to the edge of it he saw a mouse nibbling at a corner. Good evening, Mouse," said Mokey. "How long will it take you to eat all this?" "Years," said the mouse. "Then please go and, tell your friends about it," said Mokey, Bo the mouse went off and fetch- ed every mouse in Elfland. The gingerbread was gone in no time, But they had eaten so much, and were so fat, that as soon as they had finished the last piece the mice just fell asleep where they were, Ther was an enormous pile of them, So, instead of being blocked by | gingerbread, Mokey's house was blocked by mice. - Suddenly Mokey heard a "Miaou . . . miaou," behind him. So did tire mice, They were awake and gone in no time, It was Ugly's Ginger Baby. "Penelope has turned me out," said the kitten in a very hurt tone of voice. "Then come and live with me," | said Mokey, "so long as nothing: is | likely to "turn into ginger in my | house." "Of course not," answered the kit- ten. So Mokey got the kitten some wilk, and fetched a basketball of carrots from his store, Whep he had eaten them all he ||] LEATHER GLOVES 2.75 2.95 395 495 SHOP AND SIBERRY'S MEN'S WEAR SAVE THRT FIT THE MAN AND THE OCCASION ROBES 10.95 1295 14.95 The choice of robes for any 4, colors and sizes. FORSYTH AND ARROW 1 or silk finished in SHIRTS 3.95 and 4.95 Famous makes--fine tailored broadcloth -- plain shades -- whites or striped patterns. SOCKS 1.00 1.25 10 : A great selection of secks including all 'wool. We have the eolors and patterns you prefer. TIES 1.50 and Ties! He'll love 'em all. novelty designs and stripes. 2.00 Gorgeous new winter patterns--solids,, PYJAMAS 3.95 4.95 5.95 Yas, it's possible to pick the ones he'll like from our big selection-- plain and stripes. SWEATERS 3.95 595 8.95 Here's big news in sweaters , , . all the latest colors and patterns in pullover or eardigan style, No. 1 favourite gift for this Christmas GLOVES ai wed 1.29 1.49 1.79 Comfortable and warm, all colors and fancy knits, GLOVE and MUFFLER SETS The answer to a new gift this year. colors. 3.95 and 4.95 Fancy knit all wool. Assorted him Take the cold out of the air. MEN'S STATION WAGON COATS Dress up in one of these fine coats at a money-saving price. Mouton (pro- § MUFFLERS 150 175 2.95 Your choice of all-wool, fancy silk and white silk mufflers. It costs very little to give him A Huts. A good selection of Lined and Unlined Gloves. «ii. SIBERRY'S MEN'S WEA cessed lamb) collar. SPECIAL PRICE 29.95 SPECIAL PRICES ON MEN'S OVERCOATS AND SUITS . . . LATEST STYLES PHONE 1110