Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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THE W. H. S. DEBATP:R PAGE NINETEEN AN UNweLCo ne uisitor OST ! Yes, Dick Palmer was surely lost. All around him was a dreary expanse of mountainous land, and being unfamiliar with the country, he knew no landmarks. lie, with two friends, were crossing ' the Rockies and, as their stock of provisions was getting low, Dick went ahead in search of game. lie was now lost, but he kept walking in the direction he thought was the right one. The Sim hail long been down behind the moun- tains when Dick at last admitted to himself that it was useless to go on farther, at least for that night. So he gathered enough wood for the night and built a small tire, over which he cooked some bacon. After this frugal supper he wrapped himself in his blanket and was soon asleep, for his long tram]) had made hi n exceedingly tired. When Dick awoke it was still very dark, about one o ' clock he juilged by the position of the moon. The fire had burned down to a pile of glowiug embers. Dick put more wood on it, and, turning over, tried to get asleep again. But he found it impossiljle. He had a vague, uneasy feeling that something was going to happen. He was just dozing off wdien a sound from the under- brush beyond attracted his attention. Quickly getting up he saw two fiery balls, which he knew were the eyes of some wild beast, glaring at him. Eeariug to anger the animal liy shooting at it, Dick picked up a firebrand and waved it at the animal. The beast backed away, and by the light of the torch, Dick saw that it was an enormous mountain lion ! This last discovery nearly unnerved the boy, but he quickly recovered himself and, picking up his gun, waitetl for the beast to attack. He did not have long to wait, for soon the great cat came noiselessly toward him, its tail moving slowly from side to side. Dick involuntarily shuddered as he caught a glimpse of those gleaming wdiite fangs, but, summoniug up his courage, he raised his rifie and fired at the intruder. The shot hit the great cat in the shoulder, and with a roar of pain the infuriated beast sprang at Dick. Dick neatly stepped aside. As his rifle was only a single shot, Dick took a hunting knife from his belt. As the great beast charged again, he plunged it up to the hilt in the animal ' s side. But there was no side stepping now, and boy and beast went down together, the beast on top. When Dick opened his eyes he saw two faces peer- ing into his. With a feeling of thankfulness he recog- nized them as his chums. The lion ? he murmured. Oh, he is dead, answered one of the boys. We were out hunting for you when we came across you, lying under a dead mountain lion, which had your knife in its heart. The lion ' s skin now hangs in Dick ' s bedroom, and he never looks at it without a feeling of thankfulness for his narrow escape. John W. Sands Greenwood, Grade 8. THe NE6D OF IRDS I NE hot summer day my sister Betsy, and I IJjjjjV were walking along a country road. The 1 sun ' s rays were very hot, and being tired we sat under the cool shade of a tree to rest. Looking around we saw birds chirping and flying from branch to branch. Betsy gazed thoughtfully at them for a while, then turning to me asked whether I knew if the birds were of any use to men. Thereupon I be- gan telling her some things I knew concerning birds which interested her very much. ' A few years ago thousands of birds were slaugh- tered for millinery purposes and also for sport. I am happy to say that the government has since passed a few laws for the protection of some kinds of birds dur- ing a certain part of the year. Aside from their sweet songs, which brighten our lives, they are very helpful to the farmer. How ' s that, asked Betsy, growing very interested. Don ' t the birds scratch up seeds and eat our straw- berries and cherries? Listen, said I. Locusts appear and many differ- ent kinds of birds come and feed upon this destroyer of plants. ™ost of the field birds eat grasshoppers and cutworms. ™ud which contains fruit seeds cling to the bird ' s feet and when it falls plants usually grow. Crows, whom the farmer thinks his worst enemy, de- vour many insects which are dangerous to vegetation, any caterpillars eat twice their weight in leaves every day, showing still another need for birds It is said that yearly one-third of the crop of cranberries of Cape Cod is destroyed by insects. More birds would save this great loss. Think of all this and answer your question yourself. O, said Betsy: l will always try my best to help these birds. I ' m so glad we sat down to rest and I have a very different opinion of them now than I did before. This talk has taught me a great deal which I shall never forget. ISABELLB GoLniiERG, Lincoln School.

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pa(;e ei(4htken TllK V. II. S. DE15ATER THE GIRLS ' Oe ATING SOCIETy THE Girls ' Debating ' Society lias added seventeen new members, niakiufr a total number of tbirty- W six members. Since tlie last Dkbatek was issued, four regular debates and four informal debates have been held. Monday, Feb. 8. Ifesolved : That the United States should i)ass laws to jtreveut the accumulation of im- mense fortunes by individuals. Affirmative side, Velma Eaton and Mary Murray. Neg-ative side, Marjorie Preston and Grace Auburn. I ' he judges decided in favor of neg ' ative side. IMonday, Feb. l. ' i. An informal debate was held. Resolved : That the 12th of February should be a legfal holiday. Monday, March 15. Resolved : That the United States should own and maintain a merchant marine. Affirmative side, Thelma Bridg-e and Mildred Barstow. Neg-ative side, Margaret Clark and Lena Muse. The judges decided in favor of the neg-ative side. Monday, March 22. An informal debate was held. Resolved : That every hifjh school should have a g irls ' athletic association. Monday, March 29. Resolved : That Hilly Sunday should not come to Boston. Atfirmalive side, Doris Vint and Josephine Stoddard. Negative side. Pearl Jackson and JMarion Cardinal. The judg-es decided in favor of the negative siile. Monday, April 12. An informal debate was taken up. Rpsolved : That high school students, who make a grade of 90% or more in their daily woi ' k should be excused from examinations. Monday, April 26. Resolved : That all countries should have unarmed peace. Affirmative side. Hazel Barstow and Helen Ilorton. Neg-ative side, Grace Au- burn and Gertrude Butler. The judg-es decided in favor of the negative side. We are pleased witli the spirit the Freshman have shown and hope many more will join the society in the near future. Hazki, E. I5Ai;srow, Sec ' y. THe GIRLS ' GL66 CLUI3 THIS year the girls organized a (ilee Club, with Ir. Jones, instructor of music, as president S] and Miss Olive Pearson, vice i)resident. There are thirty members in the chib, all of whom show great enthusiasm in the work. The club has been asked to sing at a meeting of the Parents and Teachers ' Association in the Town Hall and has decided to do so. The club will also sing at graduation. Tuki.ma I ' iimix;!.;, ' 1: ' ). OePARTiVieNT OF GRA n VlAR SCHOOLS [Ei)rroi!iAi. Xoric— Tlie purpose of Tni-; Dkka ricu is to g-ive tlie hoys and girls of Walsefield an opportunity to see tlieir writings in print. Tiiat as many as possil)Ie niigiit liave tliis opportunity tlie eiglitli grade pupils were invited to send cou- tril)uti()Ms to the present ninnber From the contributions re- ceived Superintendent Atwell lias selected tlirce which lie con- siders the best. We print them in the order of their excellence.] TH6 ORIGIN OF THG SAHARA OESeRT ONCE ui)oii a time, as all fairy tales begin, the vast area now known as the Sahara Desert 1 was covered with fields of waving grain and grassy meadows. A king, ha iiig one Utile daughter, reigned over this vast estate. But with all his riches atid lamls, this king was very selHsh. ilis grass, which he greatly prized, was tiie fairest of the earth, and gave such sweet odors that people came from near and far to scent it. But these visitors were always surrounded by guards as not one blade- not one of these millions of blades of grass could be jiulleil. Day after day this went on and the king grew more and more selfish! One day his little daughter. Rosebud, held a jiarty in honor of her ninth birthday. Many little friends and l)laymates were i)laying about the lawn, pulling the grass and fiowers. The king from the jialace window saw these actions and raged around his room, blaming everyone whether present during the action or not. Locking llie i)rincess in a tower, he commanded her not to enter iiis presence again for ten years. The next morning on rising, the royal court could be seen in the windows of the iialace, roa.ing w illi laugh- ter. Fai out, standing in a barren field, slood the king, bare heade l with only one shoe on. lie was almost frantic, raging about and acting in sutdi a manner that all agreed to remain inside. All ai-oun l for one mile nothing could be seen but sand, sand, sand. Sand cxcry- where, o ( ' r hill and alley. Far to llic left and light nothing but bari-cn land could be seen. The next morning another mile was gone and so on until the whole of his vast estate was gone. ' I ' he king had been liunished enough. He no longer wished to live, and finally died, with his daughter, now a young lady, com- forting him. His i)eoi)le now- no longer lingered in this barren laii l and moved to a far-off country. ' I ' liis land is now of little use to aii. one and so we hmc our great Sahara. Ii A M. Low , l i-aiiklin School.

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rA(;E TWKNTV THE W. H. S. DE15ATP:K A New UeRSION OF V10TH6R GOOse OILl) IMother Goose wore a discontented look, I while her voice sounded frightened, as she spoke to Mother IIuV)bard : Good morning. Mother Hubbard , she said, I ' ve come to talk very seriously with you. Mother Hubbard noticed how discontented Mother Goose looked and invited her iuto the private office. ' Has the old world been complaining to you? ques- tioned Mother Hubbard. That is the trouble, admitted Mother Goose. Well, said Mother Hubbard, l will call in my talented servant to help us. Here, Towser, she called. In an instant a loud Bow Wow was heard and in walked Mother Hubbard ' s delight, the dog that could sing, dance, play, and write. The dog began at once to talk. I have heard, he said, that the world is not pleased with your rhymes. Mother Goose. That is the truth, and the world wants them re- vised, she answered. Nice, very nice, said the dog. l will call all the rhyme people to revise them right away. To help the cause along, said Mother Hubbard, l will begin my new rhyme now : Mother Hu))bard, my children, as you hav e heard tell, Decided one day her poor dog was ill. 80 she gave him some cake and played him a tune. And within a week he was visiting the moon. Very unsensible, but it might be worse, said Mother Goose. The little red hen was the lirst one called to change her rhyme. I ' m so tired of life, washing dishes and sweeping, she said ; if I could make a new rhyme, 1 would say : Take things easy, this is the life That will make you hapi)y without any strife. Three little kittens and their motiier came next. Mrs. Cat had a complaint to make. Must I always be scolding my kittens for losing their mittens she asked. if I had to write something that little children would always want to read, I would revise my rhyme in this fashion : I ' m a good mother cat with kittens three, I ' m as good to them as they are to me. Still many of Mother Goose ' s favorites liadn ' t spoken. These Mother Hubbard arranged in a line. Then she gave a pencil and jiajier to Mother (iloose on which to write the lines as they were recited. Little Miss Muffet quietly sat on a tuffet, at the head of the line. She smiled sweetly at Mother Goose and began to recite : Little Miss Muffet (it seems a bit queer) Says spiders and bugs are to her very dear. The old woman that lived in a shoe stood behind Miss Muffet. ' Excuse me for hurrying you, but chil- dren can ' t be left alone long, she said. l must say what I can and then go home. I decline to be called the old woman ' That always lived in a shoe, I live in a brown and green house. And act as the best people do. Little I () Peep ' s turn to talk came next. Her cheeks were wet with tears, which dropped down on her checked apron. I hate to have little girls think that I am so careless about losing sheep, she said ; I never even lost a little lamb. I think my verse should read like this : My name is little Bo Peep. In daytime I play, and at night I sleep. I like the lambs that are sick or weak. I never, never lose my sheep. Little Jack Horner came next. His face was covered with Christmas i)ie. His voice sounded better for the food, and he spoke in a lusty voice : l like ' most every one I know, Esi)ecially Simple Simon. Because he carries cakes an l pies. He ' s Mother Goose ' s pieman. These choice and selected verses will soon ajipear in book form under the name of Kevised Rhymes of Mother Goose. JosKiMiiNK E. St()1)1)Ai;i , W. H. S., ' 17. HO5IN IN SPRING As I sit at my window on Kii tor morn, I hear tlie tlutter of little winys, Anil loDkiniC out upon the lawn. I watcli the dear H()l)in wiiili ' lie sinas. To me his sweet notes seem to say : I lia -e eonie from the land of far-away, And brina: to yon with the sonx I sina The l)almy hreath of coming sprinir. iMiia AM (Kosiiv. ■ IS.