of paper was a page out of a fashion book, and there were
pictures on it of horrid little smug-faced boys in sky-blue suits
bowling hoops in a way no real little boy ever bowled a hoop in his
life, and simpering little girls in lace frocks holding dolls or
sun-shades in un-natural attitudes.

But the Piccaninnies were delighted. To be sure they were looking at the
pictures upside down, but that made no real difference.

They decided they must have clothes too.

Of course the boys said pooh they wouldn't! It's much easier to slide
down a fern-leaf, or jump off the end of a branch if you haven't any
clothes--everyone knows that.

But when the girls, after being absent for hours, came back all in
darling little crimson kilts made out of blossoms from the Christmas
tree, the boys simply couldn't bear to think the girls had something
they hadn't got. You know what boys are!

After laughing at the girls in the hopes they'd throw away their pretty
little frocks, the boys went off together. They simply had to think of
something, and it would never do to copy the girls. They came back later
with the quaintest little breeches, made out of broad flax leaves,
stitched together with the points downwards. It was clever of the boys!
They had also stuck some of the red-brown flowers in their hair. The
girls were vexed that they hadn't thought of that, but they went one
better. They made strings of the scarlet nikau berries and hung them
round their necks. (Trust the girls!)

And that was how Fashions came to be started in the Bush.

[Illustration]

CLEMATIS.

Of course fashions change, and no one need be surprised
to find that crimson kilts were soon "out," while the Piccaninny girls
were to be seen walking about in pretty little white, frilly petticoats
made out of clematis blossoms, and sun hats of the same flowers.

The hats were rather silly, because the Piccaninnies lived so deep in
the Bush that the sun couldn't hurt them, but then fashions are absurd.
(Look at the ladies who wear fur coats in hot climates!)

The boys made no change because their kind of fashion doesn't change,
except sometimes you take great pains to iron the crease out of them,
and other times you iron it _in_ most carefull-_ee_.

For some reason the boys didn't like the girls' change of frocks. Of
course, they said, the girls would never play with them now, but the
girls said oh yes, they would. The boys said:

"You'd be scared to play