The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1521 
of Which you win ce here. This is good 
work. 
Going back for a moment to the Octo¬ 
ber puzzle. I am printing, as I promised, 
a drawing of the woodcock, and also a 
little note from a reader to show the 
value of these pu/./.Ies in helping us to 
know and he on the watch for many of 
the things in nature round about us. 
Margarest Gillespie, a 18-year-old New 
York reader, wrote: "One day, after I 
Drawn in Pencil by Helen Cameron (10 
Yea etc), Xew York 
had read how Helen Topping had de¬ 
scribed a woodcock. I saw one. It was 
just the way Helen had described it. and 
I hope that someone will tell Helen how 
much 1 thank her for her kindness in 
telling us.” 
What Is It? 
It is an animal about the size of a 
medium-sized dog. Its fur is gray, mixed 
with brown. It has a pointed nose and 
its eyes are set low in its head. Its feet 
are something like a person's hands. It 
can climb trees. It hides in the daytime 
and goes about at night. It has the 
peculiar habit of smelling and washing 
its food before it eats it. Its meat is 
^ood to eat. and dogs are sometimes used 
in catching it. Its tail has dark brow.i 
or black rings on it. What is it? 
Vermont, wakkkx rrown (14 years.) 
Our Year with Books 
Each month for 12 months we have 
published the titles of three good books 
and a ... for hoys and girls to read. 
You have been encouraged to keep the 
list of these, to read those that you could 
obtain, and to send in short write-ups 
about them. It Inis been a worthwhile 
plan to carry out. Lest some of you 
Draicn by Gertrude Matthews (l) Yearn) 
Rhode Inland 
may he new readers and not have all the 
copies of Our I’age for the past year, 
the full list of 4s titles is repeated on 
page 1530. It makes a fine beginning 
for a hoy’s or girl’s library. Of course, 
there are many, many other good hooks, 
too, but those are all worth knowing and 
worth owning if you can. 
As to the report mentions! last month, 
what we want is a list <>f those who have 
n ail fir, or more of these books or poems 
during the past year. All readers who 
write to your editor before .Tanmiry 0, 
giving tin* titles of those read, will have 
their names published on Dnr Page next 
month. 
Three write-ups have conn* on the titles 
given in November, as follows: 
1IANS RRiXKER 
Bv Mary Mapes Dodge 
“Hans Drinker” is a good story be¬ 
cause it gives mi interesting description 
of Htdlaud. besides being narrative. Hans 
and his sister. G ret cl. were very poor. 
Their father had fallen from a dike 10 
years before, injuring his brain, and 
making him unable to do arything. They 
had only wooden skates. Hans earned 
enough money to buy skates for Gretel, 
and later a pair for himself B,v e ha nee 
Hans met the great doctor. Doctor Boek* 
man, who premised Hans that he would 
try io help Han's father without pay. 
The operation was performed and the 
father gradually recovered. Before the 
accident all of his mount had disappeared 
The father now told them that hr had 
buried it by a tree. After much digging 
they found it. This brought them great 
comfort. Soon after there was a great 
skating race. Gretel won the prize, a 
pair of silver skates. 
Hans became a great doctor under 
Doctor Beckman's teaching. 
ELEANOR IIKNUKKSON (13 years). 
Oklahoma. 
PADDY PAWS 
By Grate Co.didge 
I’addy Paws was a little prairie dog. 
Prairie dogs sleep in Winter, hut Paddy 
Paws decided to waken at Christmas 
time. He had seen a picture of Santa 
Clans in a hook the packrat had carried 
off. 
He awoke on Christinas Eve and Avas 
surprised at rhn cold, white snow. When 
Paddy Paws reached the house where he 
wanted to look for Santa Claus. h*‘ heard 
him on the roof. Santa threw him a 
little red coat. 
One time his baby brother was sick 
and he bought some medicine with the 
t..oitey a little girl gave hit.;. 
One day he cried when he tore his coat 
lie went to the little girl who had given 
him the money. She had lost her things 
to sew with, but later she found them in 
the packrat's nest, and made Paddy Paws 
a new coat. DOROTHY kisiikr. 
New York. 
THE THREE KINGS 
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 
"The Three Kings” were wise men 
who came riding out of the East. Their 
guide was a star. They traveled during 
Draicn by Hazel Duntz (15 Years) 
New York 
the night and slept during the day. The 
star was so ’bright that they knew the 
Prince was coining soon. Sometimes they 
talked with the people. They asked about 
Jesus, but the people did not know of 
Him. Herod was king, and lie wanted 
I he three wise men to carry the news to 
him. if they found Jesus. The three wise 
men found Jesus in a manger and His 
Mother was watching Him. The men 
laid the things they had brought for 
Jesus at His feet. But they were afraid 
to go home the way they had come, so 
they went home by another way. 
New York. 
KVAXGEI IXE FAX('IIER. 
The New Book Plan 
I have a plan for our touch with books 
this coming year that 1 think will be lots 
of fun and interest us in good books at 
the same time. It is something like the 
Nature Puzzle idea, which we like so 
much. We might call it the Book Puzzle. 
Here is the way it will work: Each 
month 1 shall print the story of a book 
or poem without giving the author’s name. 
Of course, yon are to write the stories, 
too. and let me select the ones to use. 
We shall need to have some right way 
so as to begin in January. You may use 
up to 250 words for oaeh Book Puzzle. 
Make it just as interesting as you can, 
hilt he sure to he accurate. Give enough 
detail so that anyone who has read the 
book will guess it. but do not g : ve it away 
too easily. Be sure to send your editor 
the name and author for his private in¬ 
formation. Now let's take bold and see 
what we can do with this. It might to 
he as interesting as anything on Our 
Page, and we will come to look forward 
eaeli mouth to a new Book Puzzle. 
Signs of Autumn 
One reader was so interested in our 
plan of keeping the signs of Spring that 
she has kept the signs for each season, 
and has sent an interesting letter giving 
the signs of Autumn. 
I am writing this letter after my 
studies this evening t November 2X). The 
following are my signs of Autumn 1 
promised to send. 1 have sent all now 
except Winter. 1 will send send them 
also when I he list is finished : 
August 23. Pali plowing. 
September 10, golden rod ; chopping off 
corn: |5th. gentians i loth, -dogwood ber¬ 
ries; 17th. making red ink; isth. cooking 
apple butter; 20th. making sauerkraut. 
October 1st, walnuts, hiekorynuts. per¬ 
simmons; 2d. leaves falling from .trees; 
3d. leaves turning red and yellow; 4th. 
dew grane<: 0th. siptirrels gathering nuts; 
Sth, some birds leaving. 
Nvoember 1<t. husking corn; 2d. hazel¬ 
nuts; 3d. frosts; 22d. gathering pump¬ 
kins; 30th. birds have almost all left. 
I have started the sign* of Winter. 
This Summer l found 20 robins’ nests. 
11 song sparrows, nine field sparrows, six 
house wrens, four English sparrows, four 
barn swallows, three blackbird*, two ori¬ 
oles, one catbird, one goldfinch, one 
flicker, one bluebird and one meadow lark. 
Kl.sIE brosnm AX (11 years I . 
Pennsylvania. 
Feeding the Birds 
I want to remind our readers again 
this Winter about the birds. When the 
cold and snowy days come they need 
help. It is. of course, best f<> begin early, 
so that they can learn your feeding places 
before Winter sets in ; but it is never too 
late, and this holiday season is a first- 
class time to get a station ready, if you 
do not have one. I hope many of yon 
will do this, and keep it regularly suit- 
plied with food until Spring. You will 
enjoy watching the friendly birds, and 
they will repay you with cheerful twit¬ 
tering, and with many good deeds next 
Spring and Summer. 
Several readers have written of feed¬ 
ing the birds; 
I have just completed a bird-feeding 
station. I put one up two years ago at 
a window, hut it was not very successful. 
I shall place this one on a tree near the 
house. I think good material t.» make a 
station is the cover of a butter tub or 
cheese box. as it has a rim to prevent the 
food from blowing away. A small board 
should he erected on <>m side of the sta- 
(ioii. with nails driven through t<> put 
the suet on. This is a good plan to fid- 
low. as I have tripd it. 
AIARV OORCORAX (14 vears). 
New York. 
I must tell you of the birds I had last 
Winter. I enjoyed watching them. We 
put acorns, dried elderberries, seeds, corn 
and crumbs out for them. I saw six 
cardinal*, and they enjoyed the pumpkin 
seeds which were thrown out. Sparrows 
came and fought over crumbs. The blue- 
jays took two acorns at a time and 
looked for a place on the limb of a tree 
to rack them. A red-headed woodpecker 
• ante and got acorns so fast that I think 
it was storing them. The red-headed 
woodpeckers store acorns over Winter. 
We had two flower pots, and they tilled 
one half full. We looked later on and 
the acorns were gone. mkta tradki.. 
i >hio. 
I study nature all the time and watch 
the birds, too. I feed them in the Win¬ 
ter. I am going to make a feeding table 
for them this Winter. I shall take a 
round hoard and nail it to a post and 
pur cedar all around the board. The 
east side I shall leave open so the birds 
• an go in and out to eat. Do you think 
that will he all right? 
New York. della provorse. 
I am sure it will be all right. The 
cedar shelter is a good idea. The side 
left open should be" the one away from 
the prevailing storms. 
A Rhyme to Draw 
Nearly 20 readers tried their hand at 
making up a rhyme on Winter sports for 
us to draw. See the list on page 1530. 
Some of the rhymes were first-class. 
Others were too complicated to make 
simple drawings, and still others showed 
need of practice in making rhymes that 
have a good swing to them. After much 
thought I have decided on the- one given 
below, written by one of our younger boy 
readers. It ought to give a chance for 
some fine pictures. Set to work and send 
them to reach your editor by January 0. 
Here is the rhyme: 
Jack and his little sister. Jill. 
Are having a good time sliding down hill. 
They've taken with them their little dog, 
Dan ; 
Now draw them the very best you can. 
By king brittixgham (ti years). 
Maryland. 
Notes 
Edith Beeman. a 16-.vear-old Connecti¬ 
cut reader, wrote the words in the Box. 
If each and every reader will do even a 
rin.v "hit” Our Page will grow in won¬ 
derful ways. 
Send all work for th? January I’age 
to reach your editor not later than Jan¬ 
uary 0. There are a dozen things to 
choose from, something to please boys 
and girls oi any age—the Box. a head- 
Drawn in Pencil by Theresa Matthews 
(16 Years). Rhode Inland 
ing. a memory verse, a fireside talk, a 
nature puzzle, a book puzzle, a drawing, 
a rhyme, a riddle, a story, a picture or 
a good friendly letter. 
Look at page 1530 for the lists of con¬ 
tributors to this page. 
The answer to Lucy Willard’s riddle 
is a brooir. Here is another good one, 
this time from Roy Bergman 111 years). 
New York : "What lives in Winter, dies 
in Summer, and grows with its roots up¬ 
wards?” 
Ruth Stafford of New York is not very 
old yet, but she writes: "I have $33.81 
in the bank that is to help in my college 
education.” That’s the way to get ready 
for tilings; then they are more likely 
really to happen. 
Not long ago I heard of an aged man 
who has taken The R. N.-Y. for many 
years, but who has grown nearly blind, 
and has no oue in the family to read it 
to him. I thought then if only one of 
my boys and girls could drop in and read 
to this old man for an hour or so each 
week, what a kind thing it would be. 
Perhaps there are other cases like this. 
Perhaps there is one near you. 
So. then, my boys and girls, let’s face 
the New Year determined to make it the 
best year we have ever had. Start it 
right by sending a message to your editor 
and friend. Edward M. Turtle, in care 
The RritAi. New-Yorkf.r. 333 West 30th 
Drawn by Lillie Sprayue (10 Years), At w York 
