Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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THEM GREMLINS Fairies have gone out of fashion. It ' s true, fairies are no longer included in th Who ' s Who of the rising generation. The other day I was assigned tin- dreaded tasl of entertaining an eight year old girl, and being rather unacquainted with the activities of modern young children, I dared to suggest a fairy story. Pooh, that subject ' s antiquated! my young charge immediately exclaimed, to my horror and amazement. It seems that elves and gnomes are now extinct: belonging to the old days, when yon were young, I was informed. For a moment I lacked the courage to reply, but then I came to the conclusion that I had so degraded myself that there could be no harm in making myself even lower in her estimation. Have you ever heard any fairy stories? I asked. Oh sure, but anyone would know that whoever started those things belongs in an asylum, she said. I was stunned, and again I felt very greatly in need of moral support. What makes you think there are no fairies? I asked warily. She stared at me for a moment making me most uncomfortable, and then decided to ignore the question. We were both silent, she thumbing her way idly through a picture book, and I planning my next attack. Look over there, I said, cutting out a paper doll. Do you see the sun streaming through that window? Can ' t you see the litte elves and fairies sliding down those rays? And if you listen carefully you can hear them laughing and calling to each other. Can ' t you see them? Huh, she replied with disgust, nothin ' but dust! This was appalling. I didn ' t know what to do: then I asked with desperation, But what do you think hides your clothes in the morning, and pushes over the ink bottle, and creaks the stair when you ' re trying to get out of the house without anyone seeing you? Immediately her eyes lit up, and her smile showed her missing front tooth, Oh, you mean Gremlins! My mind however failed to respond, Gremlins? I asked. Who are the Gremlins? Not THE Gremlins, the young lady said horrified, THEM Gremlins! Tell me about them Gremlins, I pleaded. What do they look like? Where do they live? Are they good or bad? Oh, tbem ' re awful bad. I was told, and I was about to correct her grammar but decided that it would be more prudent to yield to my better judgment, and remained silent. They ' re only little tiny men, and you can ' t see most of them unless you ' re ' air- minded ' , and they ' re awfully ugly. They ' re a sort of green colour and have big ears that slick out, and they wear little red hats with long green feathers, and usually brown IK TRAFALGAR ECHOES 1944

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silly people. And so no doubt it is, but like anything else that is not done , flag- waving can be very pleasant once in a while, and therefore I always reserve a brief moment on Trafalgar Day for becoming very swollen-headed and self-important over the fact that I am a Canadian and thus a member of the British Empire. And so I always think of Trafalgar Day as being divided (like all Gaul) into three parts. Firstly, I wonder what the people of that day said when they heard of the victory; did they say the same sort of thing that we say to-day? I can imagine what the Herries family thought of it; it was for them a battle fought and won by Herries alone, against everything that was not English and Herries. But what did gentle Miss Matty say? And what gem of wisdom dropped from Miss Pole ' s lips upon hearing the news? I often wish that it were possible to transport one ' s self into the past for short periods at a time, to see what it was all really like, and one of the periods I should most like to inves- tigate, personally, was the time when Nelson fought and won the battle of Trafalgar. And then I think of the present — how we still celebrate the victory of observing Trafalgar Day every year; and in particular how British sea men still mourn Nelson ' s death by wearing their black scarves all the time. These thoughts generally lead up to a burst of patriotism, and a determination to this day do m y duty , and every day as well. These high resolves soon pass away, but I always feel better for having thought of them at all. And so Trafalgar Day, while fulfilling its purpose of keeping fresh in our minds the victory off Cape Trafalgar, and the memory of Nelson, who gave his life that day, also inspires us with the decision to maintain and increase the glory which he won for England. Joan Thackray, Form Vb., Ross House. WILL-O ' -THE WISP Will-o ' -the wisp Come out of the fen, And tease no more Bewildered men. Pale, shimm ' ring blue, Quivering, wan, Will-o ' -the wisp Begone, begone. Yet trees do weep, And rain-drops fall; Twilight brings Its purple pall — Yet still he hovers, And still he flies, Will-o ' -the wisp With the taunting eyes. Doreen Harvey, Form VIa., Ross House. TRAFALGAR ECHOES 1944 17

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pants and a blue jacket, and green socks; they look a bit like ' Dopey ' in ' Snow White ' , but of course they ' re much smaller. Pilots say that they ' re always grinning from ear to ear in a most insolent manner, and they make a peculiar sound rather like a chipmunk when they are up in the air. Some people say that they used to live in a cloud up in the sky, and they got very angry when the airplanes started flying through their land, so they took their revenge by bothering the R.A.F. pilots in England, but now a great many have become domesti- cated, and some have migrated to America. They live by drinking gasoline from air- planes, and they eat holes in the fusilage of ' planes that look exactly like bullet holes. They usually live in the cockpits of the airplanes, and they play all sorts of games there. One of their favourites is to play ' see-saw ' on the pointers of the instruments; and they love to pull the triggers of the guns at the wrong times; and to play ' hop-scotch ' on the bombsight; and when a pilot is trying to listen to his radio they make loud noises and laugh right in his ears. Some reports say that they used to enjoy riding down on the bombs, but they had to give it up because they lost so many hats that way that they ran out of coupons and couldn ' t get the material for new ones. Them Gremlins are supposed to fly by swimming through the air, and some people say that the feathers in their hats act as a kind of propeller, but I think they flap their big ears like birds. I ' m going to be a gremlinologist when I ' m grown up ! At this point the learned and breathless account of my young companion was rudely interrupted by the return of her mother, and I heaved a sigh of relief and made a thankful retreat towards home. Gwen Williams. Form Vb, Fairley House. FIGHTING MEN And these are the ones who are coming back, They ' re tired and worn and scarred; They have travelled over the weary track With a prayer, a gun and a heavy pack. Their shoulders are braided and barred. We ' re proud of them now with their weary grins, Their strong and capable hands; We admire their square and confident chins, We know that they ' re fighting to save our skins. And to rescue the conquered lands. They ' re fighting in heat and in heavy snow, With mortars and tanks and guns; They get to the place they ' re ordered to go Regardless of climate or land or foe. Our country is proud of her sons ! Jan Henry, Form IVa, Ross House. TRAFALGAR ECHOES 1944 )