It was a rainy day. Poor Betty flattened her little nose against the
window-panes of Turtle Lodge a dozen times. But outside all she could
see were just the long, straight lines of the down-coming rain and an
empty road leading downhill to the edge of the pond; all she could hear
was the drum of the water upon the roof. Inside, Jimmie was developing
films in his laboratory, and was not in the least interested in what
Betty might be doing.
"Oh, mother," called Betty, "I am so tired; there isn't anything to do!"
"Why don't you sew on a dress for Belinda?" asked Mrs. Reece.
"Belinda has too many clothes; she has more than I have, mother, and
she's a naughty dolly to-day."
"Well, let me see--get Lizzie to let you make cake."
"Lizzie's cross, and I'm afraid to. I wish the guide were here. He's
never cross, and never too busy to tell you something that's
interesting." Betty looked out of the window. "He's coming now! Goody!
Goody!"
When old Ben Gile reached the steps there was a little girl dancing
inside the door and still shouting "Goody!"
"What's this?"
"You'll tell me a story, won't you?"
"Tell you a story! Dear, dear, I never knew such a little greedy for
stories. I've brought you something."
Betty's face was shining now. She had forgotten the rain, the dreary
day, cross Lizzie, and everything. Ben Gile took a box out of his
pocket. "What is it?" she asked.
"I have a box full of little elves for you."
"Elves!" exclaimed Betty.
"Yes, little elves, little brownies."
"Come into the study, where there is a fire." Mrs. Reece led the way.
"Then you can tell us all about these elves." They sat down around the
fire, and Mrs. Reece continued, "Don't you think it would be fun to pop
corn while we're hearing about the brownies?"
Betty was delighted, and ran for a corn-popper, and soon there was the
merry sound of crackling wood, popping corn, and happy voices--all
sounds that proved so tempting that before long Jimmie joined the
others.
"My little elf is a bug," began the hermit.
"A _bug_ an elf?"
"Yes, a bug; and when he doesn't look like an elf, he looks like a king
with a high crown on his head or a naughty boy with a dunce cap."
"Let's see him, please," said Betty.
The old man opened his box. Inside lay a lot of little creatures with
backs like beechnuts. "See, look through the lens!"
Betty laughed. "Oh, aren't they funny! The eyes are so big and so far
apart."
"And the lines on their heads make them look as if they were gazing
through heavy-bowed spectacles," said Mrs. Reece.
"There is a very wise man, and his name is Mr. Comstock, who says that
Nature must have been in a joking mood when she made these little tree
and leaf hoppers, they are so impish and knowing-looking. Ah, they are
the naughty brownies of the insect world!"
"Betty, Betty," called Mrs. Reece, "your popcorn is burning!"
[Illustration: Tree and Leaf Hoppers]
"Mother, I don't care to pop any more; let me just listen now. What
makes them bad?"
"Well, they are born with a naughty desire to suck everything they can
get their tiny sucking beaks upon. They hop around in great numbers on
the fruit trees and pierce the leaves with their sharp beaks. Then, with
a tubelike lower lip, they suck up the sap. They also make slits in the
twigs in which to lay their eggs. In the following spring the eggs
hatch, and there is a fresh supply of tree-hoppers ready to begin the
mischief their parents left off only when they died."
"And what is the difference between the leaf-hoppers and the
tree-hoppers?" asked Mr. Reece.
"Not much. They are cousins--cousins in naughtiness. The leaf-hoppers
are a great nuisance. Every year they destroy from one-fourth to
one-fifth of the grass that springs up. They also suck the sap of the
rose, the grape-vine, and of many grains. These sturdy fellows live
during the winter by hiding under the rubbish in the fields and
vineyards, ready when the warm spring does come to begin their naughty
work."
"What makes a little fellow like this able to do so much damage?" asked
Jimmie, who had come in, his hands all stained with chemicals.
"Well, it is well covered by this horny substance called chitin, and
then it is very active. You see, the chitin acts both as armor-plate for
the soft parts and also as a firm support to the many muscles. As many
as two thousand separate, tiny muscles have been counted in a certain
caterpillar. That shows how very active insects are."
"And they all have such big eyes they can see everything," said Betty.
"So they have--bigger eyes than the old wolf of the story had."
"You remember, I told you about the thousands of facets in the big eyes
of the darning-needle? Not contented with these large eyes, most insects
have three small eyes arranged in the form of a triangle on the front of
the head."
"This bug has feelers, too," said Jimmie.
"So it has. Insects use these feelers, or antennæ, for all sorts of
purposes--some for touch, some for smell, some for hearing. Ants
exchange greetings by touching antennæ, and recognize a friend or an
enemy by the odor. The antennæ of a male mosquito are covered with fine
hairs. When Mrs. Mosquito sings, all the tiny hairs on Mr. Mosquito's
feelers are set in motion, and he becomes aware of Mrs. Mosquito."