delicious home-made things for which the Villa Bleue had gained
a just reputation--brown scones and honey, potato cakes, Scotch
shortbread, buttered oatmeal biscuits, iced lemon sandwich cake, and
chocolate fingers.

When tea was taken away and the basket tables were once more free, Mrs.
Clark produced dainty cards and scarlet pencils and organized a
competition. It was entitled "Nursery Rhymes," and contained twenty
questions to be answered by the competitors. These ran as follows:

NURSERY RHYMES COMPETITION

1. Who made Cock Robin's shroud?

2. Who was exhausted by family cares?

3. Who disliked insects?

4. Who showed an interest in
horticulture?

5. Who summoned an orchestra?

6. Who pursued matrimonial intentions
without the parental sanction?

7. Who showed religious intolerance?

8. Who took a joint that did not belong
to him?

9. Who deplored the loss of hand gear?

10. Whose salary was restricted owing to
slackness in work?

11. What animal pursued horological
investigations?

12. Who made the record high jump?

13. Who wore a superfluity of jewelry?

14. Whose culinary efforts were
temporarily confiscated?

15. Who pulled Pussy from the well?

16. Who slept instead of attending to
business?

17. Who exhibited sanctimonious
satisfaction over a meal?

18. Who lost a number of domestic
animals?

19. Who had an accident during the
performance of their duty?

20. Who was mutilated by a bird?

Some of the questions seemed easy and some were difficult. The girls
sat puzzling over them, and writing the answers when they got
inspiration. Irene scribbled away delightedly, but Lorna, who had almost
forgotten the nursery rhymes of her childhood, was in much
mystification, and only filled in a few of the vacant spaces. Numbers 6,
7, 13 and 14 proved the most baffling and no one was able to solve all
twenty.

After allowing a considerable laxity in respect of time Mrs. Clark rang
the bell and declared the competition closed. The girls changed cards,
and waited with interest while their hostess read out the answers.

ANSWERS TO NURSERY RHYMES COMPETITION

1. I, said the beetle