Scarecrow and Other Fairy Tales. By Leonard Hill. (Actinic (Reviewed
by Crystal Herbert, aged eleven.) Tins book, called The Scarecrow and other Fairy Tales, by Leonard Hill, is very nice. The stories are mostly about goblins or peculiar animals, the goblins are called bogues. In one story, which is especially nice, you are told of a family of boys who used to play hide-and-seek round an old box in
the attic. One day one of the boys asked their mother what, was in the box, and their mother said, "Oh, rubbish, boys,
only rubbish." But the boys bothered her so much that she at last went down and got her keys ; but not a single key would lit. So one boy volunteered to goand fetch the blacksmith, and he came and opened it. Then the boys were very sur- prised because they saw coming out of the box a little bogue, with a yellow hat, and little pink ears, and little green eyes. But their, mother told them not to be so stupid, and the little bogue flew away over roofs atidliOtrael, until he" thmrtti the %ea, where he perched on top of the mast of a boat.' Now, :there was a sailor who was keeping watch, and he saw the bogue ark! -i5alleillhe "captilleto come and See, ba the 'captain could see no bogue, and was very cross with the sailor for having wakened him. Then the bogrie-ftew'Oia &Me to France, where he stopped in a field where two men were plough. ing, one was leading the horses, the other guiding the plough; then the bogue perched on one of the horses, and the mail who'was -guiding the plough looked up and cried, " . there is a little bogue." Then the other 'replied "What nonsense, of course there is not,' and just to show him he flicked his whip across the horse.; " " -
So the poor bogue was cut right in tWo, and his yellow hat became a yellow leaf, his pink ears beesine two 'little berries, his green eyes became blades of grass, and his body blew aw4 into the mist and the bogue was gone.
hike that story very much, hike the way ita put, especially the end bit where the bogue is cut in two it becomes quite tragic.
A good many others"are alSo very good; one Which is about an old wile and a young husband, and a young wife and an old husband. One day when the husbands are Working in the fields, the young wife asks the old wife to look after her child, while she goes and gives her husband her dinner, and the old, wife said she would. Now the old wife was very jealous of the young wife, because she had a child and the old wife had not ; so she laid a trap for the little girl and called to her, and then the child fell into it, down the well. It was quite shallow, and there was a hole in the wall which she crept into.
When the young husband went down he could not see her anywhere. Then the old husband went down and discovered the hole in the wall. When he saw the little girl he was very happy and brought her up to the top. When they heard the trick of the old wife they threw her down the well instead That is a nice story, though I think I like the first one best Some of the pictures which are pen and ink drawings are very amusing. I am sure most children will like the stories and pictures.
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