Balmoral Hall School - Optima Anni Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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22gg gg gg gg g g 2 7s 3- A ft ll .. R 6 ,fi wa The King's Magic Brew The fairy queen was lost! Gone with the snow and the sunset, all the fairies said. The wisest man in fairyland could not even think himself why Titania had left or rather disappeared on the day before her birthday. Maugli himself, Titania's hus- band, was desperately working up a brew that was supposed to bring any fairy back, from wherever they had disappeared to, in at least seven days. Soon he had finished and the whole castle was aglow with happy little fairies who expected to see their queen in at least seven days. The king was talking to the wiseman and thc wiseman was talking to the fairy grown-ups and the fairy grown-ups were talking to the fairy chil- dren who sat on the floor of the fairy houses tel- ling their fairy dolls and their fairy dolls, thank goodness, remained quiet. The wise man decided that each clan of fairies should spend one day looking for the fairy queen in case the fairy brew did not work. The first day was given to the Spring fairies who consisted of Rain Fairies, Dew Fairies and Bird Fairies. The second day was for the Summer Fairiesg of Flower qxct-ig QA. Fairies, Fruit Fairies and Tree Fairies. The third day for the Autumn Fairiesg or Leaf Fairies, Grass Fairies and Dust Fairies. Then the fourth day was given to the Winter Fairies who were Snow Fairies, Frost Fairies and Ice Fairies. The last three days were left for just a general search. The days were all well spent and the whole of fairyland was searched but no Queen Titania was found. On the seventh day at sunset there was a loud bang and suddenly everything was very dark and still. Then it was light again and everybody seemed to be normal, all the fairy workers were out in their fields, mothers were at home with babies, and back in the palace the queen was hav ing her favourite lunch: chicken a la king with peas and carrots and vanilla ice-cream with marsh- mallow and chocolate sauce! To this day no one knows, not one fairy, how the funny brew worked. But one thing they do know is that seven is their lucky number! Nora Baker, Grade V.

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The Conversation in the Shoe Bag In Mary Janes bedroom hung a pretty blue shoe bag. There were many pairs of shoes inside it which were either her sister's or her own. One day as Mary jane was about to enter her room, she heard low voices coming from within. She paused, put her ear to the keyhole, and listened. My, I am absolutely exhausted! said a rather old pair of saddle shoes. All morning I was walked through the village by some human. People certainly do not have any consideration for me! I can understand your point of view, said a brand new pair of party slippers, but I am feeling blue because I haven't been worn once, and all I do is sit here day after day alone while the rest of you are being worn and praised by other people. It's a sad life I lead but maybe I'll get my chance some day. My life is a happy one, chimed in the bed- room slippers. I am treated very nicely and I lead a comfortable life. One night the girl who uses me had some friends here to stay over night with her. I met many new friends. Iwould not trade places with any of you. Yes, I agree, replied a pretty pair of flat slippers. You must lead a comfortable life but I believe I have much more fun and excitement. I have visited some very interesting places and also I have been in some embarrassing situations. One day I had to get up in front of a huge group while some person gave a lecture on a subject of which I knew nothing. It can be very embarrassing in front of strangers. Some of your stories are sad, others are not, said a pair of loafing shoes, but I cannot under- stand why all of you worry about such little things. I just take life easy and do whatever comes my way. It is much easier to just loaf than to worry about things all the time, as some of the rest of you do. You might think you lead a very relaxed life, said a fancy pair of pumps, but I prefer to get out into the world and learn something. I have visited many places. One particular place I visited the people talked so differently that I couldn't even understand them. Silly, you were probably in China Town, the bedroom slippers said in a saucy voice. just at this point Mary jane's sister came storm- ing into the house and started arguing with Mary jane. The bedroom door opened but before Mary jane could quiet her sister the shoes had stopped talking. To this day she is not sure who had been talking in the bedroom. Jari-Lynn Cernohlavek, Grade VIII. M gg gg gg, 21 Summer Summer is a dear young girl Who, tripping through the daisies Watches as the buds unfurl And wonders at their beau-ty. She walks alone at still of morn And sings with all the birds, Creates anew small drops of dew And crowns a lowly thorn. This carefree child is the youth of life Who wonders and questions all. Yet there's no trouble or pain or strife, To furrow the smooth young brow- Would years could pass for the gentle lass Like the carefree summertime! Lyn Stephen, Grade XI. Canada Vincent Massey once said that all Canadians should be able to say: I believe in Canada with pride in her past, belief in her present, and faith in her future. What is Canada, that we believe in her, and have faith and pride in her? Canada is the lifeblood of ancient pioneers pouring into great-grand children a heritage in rusty phrases . . . hot-headed young men urging rebellion in tense meetings to change history . . . a lone airplane dropping supplies to an isolated habitant . . . long shafts of light that turn and swing around gloomy prehistoric forest trunks . . . warmth stealing into frostbitten hands over a pot- bellied stove . . . a knot of men repairing boats at a tundra outpost . . . the Union jack waving over a memorial plaque . . . The noise of small musclemen playing cow- boys and Indians with spaceguns . . . a wild hoc- key game with a cold, enthusiastic crowd . . . im- migrants struggling with th and w . . . re- splendent Mounties posing for tourists in the bril- liant mountain country . . . pastel stucco houses with family washings flapping in the back-yards . . . a dominant thunderbird on a Vancouver totem pole gazing moodily out to sea . . . awestruck Eskimos lining a tiny northern hospital for vaccin- ations . . . open cars gracing the lakeshores of Erie and Ontario , . . Ocean liners on the Great Lakes, dwarfing the waterfronts . . . a grubby-faced child and a white- haired gentleman looking at a museum buffalo with equal sadness . . . boom towns springing up in Quebec iron ore country . . . the air of freedom about a bareheaded, contented man standing in a sunlit church . . . cheerful coffee break for hopeful diplomats . . . So many little things go together to make a life a Canadian loves. Each generation instills in the next, the pride, faith, and strength in their nation which marks a Canadian. Brenda Dougall, Grade XI.

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- - - .23 TRAVEL AND EDUCATION AS SEEN BY GRADE IV- The Editor regrets that there was too little space for all your carefully written articles but we acknowledge the following: Eskimo Friends by Lily jewel Swaffield Tour of Scotland by Margaret Chant A Visit to France by Dell Wilson A Trip to the Laurentians by Kathleen Curry My Trip to Cuba by Judy Rothwell Susan in India When I was in India I lived in a large town called Madras. I went to St. Ursula's Convent School. I left home early in the morning and we had Prayers in the open air. They call grades stand- ards and I was in the fourth standard. After say- ing Good-morning to our teacher we started our lessons in reading, spelling, arithmetic and nature-study. This is what we had on a Tuesday. Other days were different. In the afternoon our lessons were English and Art. School stopped at three-thirty o'clock. We had no fans in the school and it was sometimes very hot. I had to change my clothes very often. When it was too hot the school was closed. In April everything ripens. The coconuts ripen, bougainvillea are in flower and these are in beau- tiful shades of reds and pinks. The Neem trees are in flower. A Neem tree has small very green leaves and little yellow flowers. The natives of Madras clean their teeth with Neem twigs. They take off the outside bark and rub their teeth with the stick and this makes them very white. When an Indian gets married he asks every- one he knows to the reception. This is often hun- dreds of people. Sara and I often went. We loved to watch the dancing displays which are given at many receptions. Receptions are usually held in big tents. The entrance is always decorated with a whole 'banana tree cut off at the roots, also coco- nuts and other fruits. This is a sign of good-will. When the guests leave they are usually given a coconut and paan. This is a green leaf that In- dians like to eat. Weddings cost a great deal of money. In India most people go by rickshaw or bi- cycle. Some people think it is faster to go by a bicycle-rickshaw. A bicycle-rickshaw is a chair pulled by a bicycle. Every week the bread-man comes to our house and lets us ride in his bicycle- rickshaw. We ride round our driveway six times each. Sometimes these coolies who do the hard work do not usually wear shoes but when the roads are very hot they cover their feet with a piece of sacking. These are some of the interesting things I re- member about my home in India. Susan Stewart-Smith, Grade IV. Rose Hall in Jamaica I visited Rose Hall when I was in jamaica. Rose hall is the ruin of a Great House two hun- dred and fifty years old. Once it was one of the most beautiful mansions in Jamaica. It was built on a hill overlooking the Carribbean Sea. It had beautiful gardens. A very lovely and good woman lived there and she was kind to everybody. Her name was Rosa Palmer and the house was named after her. After she died her husband married again. The second Mrs. Palmer was beautiful but cruel. She beat her slaves nearly every night. There used to be many wonderful parties given there but there weren't any more because she was so mean. They think she murdered each of her four husbands. One night her maid tried to kill her by putting poison in her hot milk before she went to bed. Somehow Mrs. Palmer found out and had the woman hung. Then she made them cut off her head and Mrs. Palmer herself hung it on a stake in the garden as a warning. In the end the cruel woman was poisoned but the poisoner went unpunished. Everyone made the slaves bury her because she was so evil. The natives believe that her ghost stands beckoning you into Rose Hall every night. jane Moody, Grade IV. Spring Down by the sea where the Seagulls fly, Down by the water clear and blue, Down by the beach and up on the hills Spring is here, it's oh, so true. Up in the tree the big owl hoots, Up in the tree the birds now sing, Up in the tree the nests are builtg Throughout the forest it is Spring. Karen Zoltok, Grade VI.