The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-05-06

acted as scullions IN the royal Kitchen.
There he found he had to work harder
than ever, and every day he became
more discontented with his lot
Every night the sight of the twenty.
four silver Hours grew more hateful,
until at last he made up his mind that
one golden Hour should be his at any
rate. So one night as the little blue
cloud containing the golden key OF
the Time Cupboard was floating back
toward the sky, he caught it in q net
hanging from a kite which he had
made for the purpose. And when all
the fairies were asleep he had stolen
to the Time Cupboard and taken out
the golden Hour, believing that not
even the Fairy-Queen herself could
discover the thief He had forgotten
the silver Hour which he had had to
return to the Queen, and its magic
powers, which prevented an untruth
from remaining inscribed upon it.
All the afternoon and evening were
spent by the queen and prime minis
ter in the Hour cellar, the queen way
ing her wand as each pile of silver
Hours was approached.
At last they stood before the pile
which bore the signature of Curly
pate and as soon as the queen waved
her wand the pile swayed forward and
fell in scattered heap to the ground
Another wave of the wand and one OF
the silver Hours leaped out from the
heap and fell at the queens feet. The
prime minister picked it UP and ex-
amined it. 1t was blank, except for
the date and time and signature. The
culprit was found, but where was the
golden Hour.
Immediately Curlypate was sum.
moned to the presence OF the queen
and the prime minister. Curlypate
stood before them weeping bitterly
Forgive me. oh, forgive me-" he
cried. "and l will give you back your
golden Hour. took it because was
so tired of the silver ones, with their
work, work. work.
IF you can bring me back my lost
golden Hour, | will forgive YOU" said
the queen, solemnly.
Then Curlypate ran away toward
the palace garden. smiling through his
tears. 1t would be so easy to give
back the golden Hour.
He knew where he had lain with the
precious thing in his hands. But
when he reached the spot, though he
searched the long grass through, and
peered underneath the rose trees, he
could find nothing. The golden Hour
had vanished! ......
Sadly he returned to the qeeen.
Alas, knew IT," said the queen,
for a golden Hour once spent can
never be recovered for ever and ever.
They drop the golden dust as the min.
utes pass and the seconds fly, and
nothing except a memory remains
Only the silver hours Of work remain
visible through the work inwrought
upon them. Alas. my precious golden
Hour can never, never, be regained!
For awhile she sat with bowed
head. Then she passed sentence upon
the culprit.
Because you have stolen a golden
Hour and turned 1t to the base use of
bitter idleness, you are banished from
fairyland. To your own land you re.
turn. and for year and a day you
shall be sloth. crawling painfully
upon the trees. Then you shall re.
turn to your former state, but il ever
you play truant from school again you
shall come back to fairyland. but to its
prison instead of to its palace. Neither
In fairy land nor elsewhere is there
room for idlers."
So Curlypate became sloth for a
year and day. And then he became
boy again, and went back to school.
And, strange TO say, nobody seemed
to have missed him except his
mother.