Willard Middle School - Target Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

Page 21 text:

Nancy had no sooner left the room than David heard a tapping on the window pane. He looked up. The window opened and there stood a little man dressed from head to toe in a suit of bright blue. He held in his hand a large key that glistened in the sunlight. Who are you? asked David. Ah! said the little man, I am the Blue Elf of Happiness. Well, what do you want? David asked. I want to make you happy, answered the Blue Elf. You can ' t do it, said David. ' You ' d be surprised at some of the things I can do, answered the elf. Now the first thing to do is to take this key and unlock your treasure cove of happiness. How can you do that? asked David. I ' ll show you, answered the elf. He took the large key, held it up to David, and then turned it. Now your happiness is unlocked, he said. How silly, said David, laughing. But you see the key had unlocked his happiness already or else he wouldn ' t have laughed. Now the secret of happiness, said the elf, is this: When any- one asks you if you want to play a game as Nancy did this morning, say, ' Yes, thank you, that would be fine ' . But what if I don ' t want to, asked David, and how did you know I didn ' t want to do anything this morning? Oh! but now that your happiness is unlocked, you will want to, answered the elf. And as to me, why, David, I know everything you do. Well now, David, would you like to read a book? Yes, please, that would be fine, he answered. The elf brought him the book that Nancy had brought in the morning. That book does look interesting after all, said David, very interesting. And this game must be full of fun ! Will you play it with me ? No, David, I must go. Ask someone else to play it with you, but don ' t make a bother of yourself. You can be happy alone with your books and puzzles. Good-bye, David. When the king entered Prince David ' s room, he found his son wore a beaming face. He caught him in his arms saying, Ah, my little son looks better. I am, father, cried David, for I have found that the secret of happiness is to be kind and pleasant. — ELIZABETH PENNELL.

Page 20 text:

Prince David RINCE DAVID lay back in the bed, his face white and drawn. He was in a spacious, comfortable bed in a large airy room of his father ' s beautiful castle. The door opened and his physician entered. Well, my little prince, said the physician, how are you feeling this morning? Not a bit well, answered the prince. Can ' t you make me better? The best cure for you, answered the doctor, is happiness. Why, when you ' re well, you ' re the happiest little boy I know. Can ' t you be happy and bear your troubles while you ' re ill? But how can I be happy, asked David, when I can ' t get up and play? There ' s nothing to do when you ' re in bed. Nothing to do? said the doctor. He looked around the room. It was filled with all kinds of things to amuse a little sick boy. There were books, games, puzzles, everything. The doctor laughed. Nothing to do! Well, good-bye, David. I hope you feel better the next time I call. In an adjoining room the physician met the king. How is he? asked the king. Not very well, answered the physician. He ' s too unhappy. I ' ve tried everything, said the king despairingly. It might have been different if he ' d had his mother ' s care, although I know Nancy takes fine care of him. But. . . it is different. The king sighed. I ' ll try as hard as I can, but if something doesn ' t happen before long I don ' t know what I shall do. Would you like me to read to you? asked Nancy, entering David ' s room. When David had been smaller she had been called Nurse Nancy, but now that he was eleven, she was called just Nancy. She took care of David as tenderly as any mother could. David loved her very dearly only he did not realize how impolite and cross he had been to her during his illness. Well, my boy, she asked, is there anything I can do for you? No, answered David. Do you want to read a book? Let ' s see that one, over there, he answered. Take it away, it ' s the most uninteresting book I ever looked at. No, I don ' t want to. play any games or to work puzzles. I wish you ' d leave me alone.

Page 22 text:

The Storm Ring t v. WAS traveling in Mexico when I took a small sailing boat from Guaymas to La Pass, Lower California. Ordinarily I wouldn ' t have gone in a small boat at that time of the year, because one can ' t depend on them. I naturally had many forebodings. The captain was an American who couldn ' t speak Spanish. Supposing the crew, which was composed of four Mexicans, mutinied . The crew couldn ' t speak English so the captain didn ' t know their characteristics. I wouldn ' t have taken this boat if there had been a steamer coming, but there wasn ' t. It was a glorious day in March that the boat left with a favorable wind. The next day about ten o ' clock in the morning there was an ab- solute calm, not even breeze enough to stir a handkerchief when held up. There was very little current, if any, and the boat did not have any kind of a power engine. In the distant sky we could see a storm ring, which put us all on edge. Late that night the storm descended in all its fury. The captain gave me the orders and I translated them. Reef the storm sail, and so forth. For a few minutes the boat whirled around crazily, then sud- denly it shot ahead like a flood coming down a mountain stream. It was then that 1 truly knew the significance of the vessel ' s name, The Hellwinder. All sails were pulled down, but the boat still shot ahead like mad. The captain bade me take the wheel while he fixed sundry things. No one had any idea of the direction in which we were going. Soon we came to a rocky and barren coast. As I remember it now it seemed as if we were going over twenty-five miles an hour. I was so sick that I could hardly do as bidden. I hadn ' t received any orders for some time, so I looked around, but to my dismay couldn ' t find the captain. I turned out to the leeward suddenly to avoid a precipice. The boa nearly capsized as it sheered off rapidly hitting a huge wave sideways. I soon lost the coast as it was night, but determined to do my best. All night the vessel went madly along. As the first sign of morn- ing appeared, I determined to keep going in one direction. I remem- bered the storm had come from the east so I went with the wind. Directly ahead of me was a fog-bank. I shuddered as the small vessel went through what was seemingly space. In about fifteen minutes, I saw a light ahead, so I ordered the men to stop the boat. The vessel lay at anchor for nearly two hours when the fog rose and wonder of wonders, we were in the harbor of La Pass! We found the captain in the hold of the ship with a broken leg and very excited at our luck. JACK MARCHANT.