Yes, little Minnie and her cousin Bertie have quite made up their minds
to have a splendid collection of butterflies. They have been reading all
about it in a book which their uncle, who is a professor at the Museum,
has sent them. In this beautiful book they have learnt all about it—how
to chase the butterflies, and how to catch them, and how to arrange them
in glass cases when they are caught. Everything they want is ready for
them. Their uncle has sent with the book two butterfly-nets; a pretty
case filled with crooked scissors, tweezers, pincers, and all sorts of
sharp steel instruments; a pretty box, at the bottom of which are little
round pieces of cork, glued in rows, with long large-headed pins to run
through the butterflies; and another little box, with a lot of small
squares of glass, which are to be put over their wings to keep them
open, and prevent them from fluttering and beating about.
In the beautiful book there are pretty coloured pictures of the fine
butterflies that they may meet with in their chases, with the names of
each kind printed underneath, so that they will know them all when they
catch them.
How very interesting butterflies are!
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[Illustration: Minnie's mamma seated in a chair, looking at the children
with nets in their hands.]