Trafalgar Castle School - Yearbook (Whitby, Ontario Canada)

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- 31 - FOR THE ELEMENTARIES Tommy Beaver was all by himself, hidden away in a dark corner so nobody would see the little tears that, squeezed out of his eyes and rolled down his cheeks to land on Miss Buttercup ' s golden hair. He was very sad, because all his brothers and sisters laughed at him. You see, Tommy Beaver had no tail. Now can you just imagine how he felt? He had tried everything to make one grow. He had looked up at Mr. Moon and whistled the weird chant Ma Hoot Owl had taught him; he had put one of his favourite desserts, a nice new piece of bark, in the wishing well and turned around three times with his eyes shut and whispered, Please give me a tail . Oh he had tried everything, but he still didn ' t have a tail -- not even the littlest sign of a tail. Suddenly Tommy heard a tiny tinkly voice saying, Please, Tommy, don ' t cry. You are making my hair go straight. Tommy looked down in the direction of the voice, and, sure enough, poor Miss Buttercup ' s golden curls were going all droopy and straight. What is the matter, Tommy? she asked. Slowly and tearfully Tommy told her, and much to his surprise she laughed! Can you imagine? She laughed! Tommy was a little bit peeved at this. Surely anybody so pretty wouldn ' t laugh at him. Tommy, she said, if you ' ll come to see me just as Mr. Moon winks at you over Farmer Gray ' s fence, I ' ll get you a tail. Now Tommy was a little doubtful, because, after all, he had had so many disap- pointments, he just didn ' t think he could bear to have another. But that night he winked back at Mr. Moon and silently slipped out to see Miss Buttercup. What was this? Miss Buttercup was sitting at the feet of-=of — well it looked like a fairy queen and look--Oh! Tommy was just breathless because there were hundreds of little men dressed in green velvet suits with little green hats to match. They were singing a song like this: Tommy Beaver has no tail. But we will never ever fail With our own Queen ' s good command To bring him the best tail in the land. Just then the Queen saw him and beckoned for him to come to her side. He loved her at once -- this pretty little maid in shimmering white with her gauzy wings and little wand. She touched him lightly with her wand, t wirled him lightly ' round, give him a light kiss, and, sure enough, Tommy got his tail. TRIOLET Apple trees reveal their souls In the spring The winter fires dim their coals Apple trees reveal their souls Tiny blossoms fill the bowls Their scent becomes a clinging thing Apple trees reveal their souls In the spring. Frances Swan

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- 30 - Continued Friday - Les Jeunes Francaises , under the guidance of our petite language teacher, Mrs. Grosart, bring the week to an end with the romantic and intriguing French language in their Moderns ' Club. French conversa- tion, vocabulary games and quiz games keep these French castors ardents (pardon the French slang) busy. Who knows? -- one of them may win beaucoup d ' argent doing French crossword puzzles, or win an expense-free trip to the country they are learning so much about. Just think of all the sauve, gallant, single monsieurs in Paris, France. WHY DO YOU FOLLOW ME? Why do you follow me? Have you no home? Child of the city streets. Are you alone? Ragged and dirty, A smudge on your brow. Why do you follow me? I can ' t wait now. Patricia Earle. HURRICANE All was quiet-- The sand, the sea, the sky-- All in expectation To see another day go by. But wait! A little breeze wafts by, Then becomes greater! stronger! As the minutes fly. And does not cease! Then whistles, rumbles, thunders, roars, And darkness darkens The darkness. The roar, the sand, the sea All mixed to noisy anarchy. All hurl, and thunder, break and screech. All twist and sway Till all are mixed. Then comes the calm. And all is quiet-- The sands, the sea, the sky -- All in expectation To see another day go by. Suzanne Eckel NIGHT The daylight beats a soft retreat From country lane, from city street. And lights from houses soon will peep. And lovers in the park will meet. The stars are twinkling in the sky; The lady moon goes sailing by, And birds no more this night will fly, For in their feathered nests they lie. In quiet slumber goes the night. No cats do howl, nor dogs do fight. For God looks on with all His might That we, in peace, might sleep this night. Elaine Westheuser The above poems took first, second, and third places in a Literary Contest held dur- ing the month of January. The entries were judged by six members of the Faculty and two students. Elsewhere in this selection there appear those entries which received honourable mention. M, Cole

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- 32 - HOW TO BUILD A PIT PAN Finally the day came for the poor fincera. His rice was all ready, after many hard months of work, to take to the market. But how? His oxen team had died in the terrible plague. Yes, there was one way and now Juan was grateful that he had made his little farm near the Principoca River. For this beautiful river flowed right to the town where he had planned to sell his rice. But ah! he had no boat. Yet he had one last hope, for Juan knew the dense jungle had many a tree which could be made into a good durable boat. The boat would be small, but yet big enough to carry his family and rice to town. The noon heat was terrible, but he had no time to waste. Juan went to his wife and told her of his last hope. Marie was so glad that it did not take her long to return with the axe, machette, and a lunch. As he left to follow the river in search of a suitable tree for his boat, Juan heard his wife and children wishing him good luck. Juan had not walked far when he came across a large tree. He was hungry, but Juan wasted no time in eating. He started to cut and as he worked he forgot his hunger in joy. Crack! It fell right on the river bank. It was now about three o ' clock; so, Juan slopped to eat his tortias, rice, and beans. They were cold, but good. After resting for a while, Juan started to cut the branches off the fallen tree, keeping two of the larger ones for paddles. After this was done, he chipped off the bark. He had only two tools - an axe and a ma- chette, which is a long, bladed, knife-like tool. He used the axe to make most of his boat. Juan was a good worker and it didn ' t take long till all the bark was off. There was only one thing left to do, but that was the longest and hardest job of all. Juan didn ' t mind, for he thought only of the money his rice would bring. His last job was to hollow the log. Juan started to work chipping piece by piece. He was so busy he hardly realized how late and dark it was. Finally, when he could hardly see any more, Juan stopped for the night. Building a fire with the chippings, to keep the animals away, Juan again looked in his lunch bag. This time he ate his tortia, rice and beans warm with a good hot cup of coffee. Juan was so tired, it did not take him long to fall asleep. when he woke up, the sun was just rising. He ate some more food, and started to work. Juan worked steadily, and by noon he was almost through. He stopped only a short while to eat and quench his thirst. Then, working hard and quickly, Juan chipped and hollowed the big tree piece by piece. About three o ' clock he stopped. At last his boat was finished. But not all his work was done, for he yet had to make his paddles. Taking two branches he had set aside, Juan started whittling them to shape with his machette. This was not hard nor did it take long. About five, according to Juan ' s guess by the sun, he heaved a sigh to be finished at last. Now to launch his new boat. He shoved and shoved till finally splash! It landed in the water; picking up his tools, Juan jumped in his boat and headed for home. He was tired and hungry, but didn ' t mind because he was filled with the joy of being able to sell his rice. Carol McGowan