Riverbend School for Girls - Vox Fluminis Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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V OX F L U M I N I S Page Twenty-two ..-.. .......... ..-.-. .... . ........ .......-......... ...... .. .... . ..... ..................-,--...-............................................-... .... ................................... - SUMMER IS A--COMING IN! Summer is a-coming in, magic words. The news is spread by birds and bees. The trees and flowers and grass are bursting into bloom. Every- body is carefree and gay, little children are skipping and playing marbles, dogs and cats are dozing lazily in the sun. Plans are being made by one and all for summer vacations. Some to the beach, some to the mountains, others to camp and all over the place. Mr. Robin has heard the message and thinks it high time to find a mate. He struts up and down the backyard fence, sounding his cheery call. Soon Miss Robin hears the call and comes to him. They become Mr. and Mrs. Robin and, as all their other friends are doing, begin to build a nest in the old apple tree. Mrs. Robin is delighted with some string she has found, and Mr. Robin has discovered some lovely bits of straw which were at some time or other in a broom. The nest is soon begun and before very long is completed with four blue eggs of which Mr. and Mrs. Robin are very proud. Mrs. Robin sits on those eggs nearly all day, keeping them warm with her soft, feathery body. However, she does not mind much as her husband sings to her of the beautiful summer coming in, and she is able to smell the sweet perfume of the apple blossoms and gaze into the blue, blue sky. In time now there will be four very young mouths to feed, and Mr. and Mrs. Robin look forward greatly to the time when they will be able to say to other bird friends, Chirrup, chirrup, see our clever babiesln -Betty Moxon, ' Grade IX. THE OTHER SIDE OF CLOSING DAY We invariably choose the hottest day of the summer for closing day. You sit for hours on one of those hard benches, your back practically broken trying to sit up straight as you have been told to do. It is all very lovely for those who win prizes, but it is all very boring for those who have nothing to do but sit and applaud. When you get up to sing, your dress positively sticks to the bench and you feel about as animated as a pricked balloon, in this condition you stagger up to the platform. C If you are a graduate, you trip over your long skirt on the top step.j Then Mrs. Dempsey does her best to make you feel peppy and smile cheerfully. When it is finally all over, you rush downstairs and into a dancing costume. You make a mess of an otherwise perfectly lovely dance and rush back into your white dress, pulling your stockings over all the grime and small twigs you have collected on the lawn. You are then ready to appear in the garden, seek out your admiring parents, smile sweetly at all Mother's friends, and if possible, procure something to eat to revive your spirits. As soon as possible, you persuade Mother that it is time you went home, and then, hurrah for the summer holidays! In three days you'll be writing final examinations. .-Janet Turnbull. ' T Grade XI.

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Page Twenty-one VOX FLUMINIS Why! It was a bunny rabbit, with a new coat, a brown coat. Something was pushing under my feet as I stood there. Thinking that perhaps I had trodden on a little animal, I stepped aside, and something with a delicate mauve shade pushed its head up. A crocusl The flrst of our Howers to come in the spring, and as I looked down, the ground about it seemed to change from its brownish grey color and was becoming a beautiful green with other little flowers peeping through. I felt happy, and strong and new! I took a deep breath of air, not cold, frosty air that nipped at me, but a soft, warm, fresh air that filled my whole being with the desire to stay in that one beautiful spot and drink in this invigorating air. Giving myself a little shake to see if I was still living. I realized that I musn't linger there too long, and so with the voices of the frogs, softly singing in my ears, I walked slowly away from the warm sunshine, loth to leave the little flowers and birds, till night fell with a light breath of wind, a sigh which kissed my cheek while the flowers nodded to me in farewell. Do all beautiful things have to come to an end? I thought so when I awoke in the morning to find that old man winter was still with me. But when once outside, I could almost believe that the air was warmer, and that perhaps the snow was a tiny bit softer than yesterday, and I comforted myself with the thought that spring would soon be here and bring all the delightful things I had dreamed of. -Ferne Cairns, Grade X. WILL SPRING EVER COME AGAIN? As I sit here and watch the snow And hear the whistling winds that blow, I wonder if spring will return again With flowers brought out by sun and rain. The wonderful hopes we had for spring VV ith budding branches and birds that sing, Are vanishing into a blanket of snow Covering the earth from top to toe. The river began to break and flow And grass and trees began to grow, Our hopes were high and our spirits gay For spring, we thought, was on its way. But now the days are dark and gray 'And our hearts are turned a different way. So I wish that spring on its way would come That we might begin our outdoor fun. -Maurine Stuart, Grade IX.

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Page Twenty-three VOX FL UMINIS .................-.................................---.......... .... ... ..... . ........ .-............. ............. ...--.. .......... .... ....... . . ...-. ...... . .... .-. .... ...... . ..........- A CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE CUP OF BEANS AND MICROSCOPE BOX Beans- At last p-eople are too occupied to bother with me and I'll have a bit of a rest. Box- You do seem relieved but what exactly do you mean P Beans- I mean that now that Grade X. is writing exams and the teachers busy too, there is no one to finger and play with me. I don't know how many times I've been upset by the Grade Xfsg once all over the floor, and another time I was used as sort of shot for the nuisances to amuse themselves with. And other times when the teachers are teaching this class, they stand by our old friend the window and play with me, sometimes even throwing some of my children into the basket. Box- Chl I say! that isn't so good is it? Well it'll be quite a little time before those pests will be touching either of us. But I'm so hurt because I haven? been touched for ages, Iim getting sick and tired of sitting here day in and day out. Once or twice the teacher has taken my inside out fthe microscopej and been trying to use it but somehow it wasn't good enough for them to see what they wished, so they would go over to the laboratory and use that classy snob, Mr. New Microscopef' Beans- Oh well, it's our turn now, it's a treat to see these girls slaving away and hear the scratch, scratch of the pens and see their deep concen- tration. We've had our day of' work, now it is theirs. Box- Quite right, we'll enjoy it while we can, you never can tell whether we'll be here to see another time of examinationsf' -Betty Mackay. Grade X. THE SAD T'ULIP Once upon a time there was a beautiful garden. In this garden 'there were hollyhocks, snapdragons, pansies, and many other flowers, besides some tulips. Now one little tulip was very sad. It was because he was the smallest, and all the rest laughed at him. When it grew cold and winter came, the sad tulip was very glad and it was soon in its home under the earth. Une day he saw a big leaf roll down through his door. Then the leaf jumped up. The sad little tulip was now very glad and asked the little leaf to stay till summer, which it did. At last spring came, and the tulip and the leaf went out of the house. The next day, though, the leaf had grown quite tall, and the little tulip looked happily up at it. -Joan I-Iarris, Grade III.