the precaution of assuming my magic night-cap in starting, for I did not
know what dangers might be in store. Arriving within the boundary of the
forest, I alighted upon a blade of grass to rest. The air was
delightfully fresh and pure, while the sun already slanted, in tropical
splendor, towards the western horizon. Palm trees extended about me in
every direction; the fan-leaved miriti towered to an immense height; the
graceful assai showed its feathery masses against the rounder foliage;
and the jupati threw its shaggy fronds into broad arches, while from the
branches swept ribbons of clinging plants, hanging air roots as ladders
to climb by. Here and there a long crimson blossom on spikes, or yellow
and violet trumpet-flowers, relieved the sombre green by their brighter
hues.
"Presently I saw a slender, pale-green snake, that was twined about a
tree like a vine, with only the bright eyes sparkling and fixed upon an
unsuspicious, plump tree-frog.
"'Good evening, friend,' I buzzed in the snake's ear. 'How pretty your
coat is!'
"'Who speaks?' exclaimed the snake, looking complacently upon his
beautiful, frosted armor.
"'Never mind,' was my wicked response, 'By your vanity you have lost
your supper.'
"The snake's eyes flashed angrily. Sure enough, the tree-frog had taken
alarm, and was hobbling away out of reach.
"I continued my way until I reached the brink of a broad, placid pool,
where I hoped to make the acquaintance of some of the many creatures I
saw congregated about the margin. Dark-striped herons, snowy egrets, and
storks stood gravely at the brink, or strode over the water-plants on
their long legs. Flocks of whistling ducks flew above my head, macaws
chattered in the trees, and a pretty canary chirped in the bushes. Upon
the surface of the water floated the magnificent Victoria water-lily,
the broad leaves extending for six or ten feet, and the flowers just
closing their alabaster cups in sleep. I now removed my cap; but I was
so small an object, that I attracted no notice whatever.
"'Ahem!' I began. Whereupon some of the birds turned about and stared at
me. 'My home is very far north of your country,' I said; 'but a good
fairy has kindly given me permission to visit you all.'
"'Indeed,' exclaimed an old stork. 'How extraordinary! If you was a
bird, now, it would not seem so strange.'
"'A bird brought me,--Mother Carey's chicken.'
"'Could you not find a better bearer than one of those fussy, bustling
little bodies?' said a handsome egret scornfully.
"'Do not despise the petrel because she is not so strong and beautiful
as yourself,' I replied.
"'Ha, ha!' laughed a macaw from his high perch. 'How fine it is to be a
water-fowl, and have such long legs.'
"At this all the storks, herons, and egrets ruffled their plumes, and
prepared for an angry dispute with the saucy macaw; but I hastened to
interfere.
"'I should be sorry to make any trouble among you. If you would tell me
any wonders to be seen here, or show me any of your homes, I should be
greatly obliged.'
"A black nose was poked out of the water, and a turtle, in a shrill
little voice, piped,--
"'Did you ever see us lay eggs? We shall be about it soon,' then sank
out of sight again.
"'As to that, the world is full of wonders wherever you may turn,' said
the stork, who had first spoken. 'You should visit our ants'--
"What more the stork would have said, I cannot tell; for just then a
crashing noise was heard in the thicket, and all my companions took
flight on the approach of the lord of the forest. Presently the jaguar
appeared close beside me, and stooped to quench his thirst in the pool,
so I had an opportunity of seeing what a fine creature he was, with his
soft striped fur, velvet paws, and glowing, cruel eyes. I did not dare
move even so much as to put on my cap, while my wings seemed paralyzed
with fear. Startled by some sound, for he is a very shy, cautious
animal, the jaguar retired again, and I only just escaped a severe
crushing from his powerful foot as he passed.
"I must now describe to you my first night in a tropical land. As
darkness increased I sought shelter on a spreading shrub, and the
insects began a tremendous noise. 'They will grow sleepy by and by,' I
thought drowsily.
"But not a wink of sleep did they take, or allow me, that whole long
night. The howling monkeys began the concert, the tree-frogs and
crickets trilled occasionally, and the owls hooted dismally. When I
tried to stop my ears to these sounds, the fire-flies, resembling
crystal drops of fire, flared their torches in my face with blinding
brilliancy.
"'Don't, please,' I pleaded.
"The naughty fire-flies only laughed at my misery, and danced around me
in bewildering circles of flame, until my eyes ached.
"'I wish you would be quiet,' I said crossly.
"'Quiet,' echoed the fire-flies. 'Not we. There is all to-morrow for
naps.'
"It was not long, with such an experience, before I found I could not
live in the tropics. I never had a sound night's rest while there.
"I strolled on through the cool, shady forest, which formed a delightful
contrast to the hot, sunny landscape without. What most amused me was to
see the little, striped-faced monkeys poke a cluster of inquisitive
heads out of the holes of trees where they were sleeping, if any sound
disturbed them. They paid dearly for their curiosity, as I shall
presently tell you. I had paused to admire the butterflies that
clustered in the sunlight here and there, as if desirous to display
their gorgeous coloring to the best advantage. Some were of a velvet
blackness, relieved by rose-colored and green shadings; others were of a
blue, metallic lustre; and others floated on outspread wings,
transparent as glass, spangled with lines of violet, silver, and gold.
No wonder the lovely insects were vain of their gaudy dress! When I told
them I was a stranger, they danced and pirouetted in their giddy flight,
until they resembled the wandering petals of falling flowers. Suddenly a
handsome dragon-fly, whose armor glittered with a golden refulgence,
swooped down to capture one of the butterflies, then retired to a
neighboring branch, and prepared to devour his prey.
"'Why don't you stay at home with your sober wife, instead of whisking
about where I can catch you?' said the dragon-fly, shaking his pretty
captive.
"Just then there approached a very singular-looking person indeed. He
wore a broad hat, blue spectacles, and had a great many curious tin
cases slung about his belt and over his shoulder. In his hand he carried
a dip-net, which he threw cleverly over our heads, and entangled us in
the bag. We could do nothing but stare helplessly at one another in
dismay.
"'Oh, dear!' cried a young butterfly piteously, 'We shall now have pins
driven through us, and be speared to a cardboard platter for ever. I
have heard my mother say so.'
"We all shivered,--even the dragon-fly, who had been captured also. Of
course the striped-faced monkeys came peeping out in the wrong time,
and, after a good deal of poking into the tree, one of them was caught.
Thus the naturalist gentleman returned home with his treasures, the
little monkey alone of us all being destined to live.
"The first thing, upon taking us from the net, was to politely hold a
bottle to our noses, which caused a few feeble kicks in the air, then a
fainting fit. When I again opened my eyes, I was lying upon a board,
surrounded by my companions, who were transfixed with pins upon paper,
as the young butterfly had said. I certainly thought my end had come,
and that hereafter my body was destined to adorn some cabinet. I
pretended to be still unconscious, and so lay quite motionless under
the large microscope through which the naturalist gentleman regarded me,
now poking my ribs, now turning my head to one side, and all the while
making remarks on my personal appearance.
"'I don't believe that you belong here at all,' he exclaimed. 'I must
dissect what may prove a new species.'
"Here seemed my last chance of escape; so, watching an opportunity, when
he was selecting a suitable knife to carve me up with, I drew my elf's
cap from under my wing. The naturalist gentleman was too quick for me:
he seized my night-cap with his tweezers, and began eagerly to examine
it. I was sorry enough for the loss. Still one had better part with the
fairy's gift than life itself: so I flew away. I dare say the naturalist
gentleman may have carefully preserved the cobweb cap, to puzzle science
with for a long time.
"Journeying on, I came to the bank of one of the largest rivers in the
world. I paused to view the waves dash against the shore in foam, the
vessels flit past on the strong breeze, and the distant villages on the
other side. There were several low strips of sand reaching out from near
where I rested, and I observed groups of natives making camp-fires, or
erecting a kind of watch-tower overlooking the land. I inquired what
they were doing, of a monkey who sat stroking his sandy whiskers with an
indolent air.
"'Ah! don't you know?' he returned. 'They are waiting for the turtles to
lay their eggs.'
"The next morning I beheld a curious sight. In the first gray dawn,
myriads of turtles were creeping down the sandy slope, and flapping into
the water again, their duties of depositing eggs for that season being
accomplished. No sooner had they departed, than the natives gave
signals, and from every direction crowded the boats to receive the eggs,
which would then be prepared as turtle oil, and sold in jars.
"I decided to try and find the ants next, as I had been recommended to
do so by the stork. The monkey could tell me but little of them, and
advised my searching farther inland, I next encountered the iguana, who
poked his head out from among the creeping vines of a tree as I passed.
Any thing so monstrous in a lizard I had never dreamed of. It must have
been five feet long, was very fat, and the skin changed color like that
of a chameleon. The Indians are fond of the eggs of this species, which
they eat mixed with farinha. When I asked about the ants, the iguana
answered,--
"'I do not trouble myself much about those busy fellows; still, you will
find them almost everywhere, I dare say.'
"I bid him good-by hastily, for I was half afraid of such a great
creature, and left him winking lazily on the branch as before. If the
Spider was here, I could tell him of some relatives that I met,--rough,
hairy spiders, with fierce looks; soft, plump things that melt away
almost at the touch; and others of gorgeous hues, that double themselves
into cunning shapes to resemble flowers and buds. At last I came upon an
army of Saueba ants, each one carrying a bit of green leaf daintily as a
parasol. Although on the march, the whole company treated me most
cordially.
"'We cannot stop now,' said one of the soldiers. 'Come with us.'
"So I followed in the train, curious to know what they were about.
Presently they paused; and a detachment turned aside to overrun an
orange-tree, from which they stripped the foliage with incredible
rapidity. Having performed this duty, they rejoined the main army, and
the whole moved on to their incomplete nest. Here the leaf-bearers
merely threw down their burdens, and the workers placed them in proper
order.
"'We use the bits of leaf to thatch the dome of our house, thus
preventing the loose earth from falling in,' said an ant near by,
pausing to take breath in the midst of his labors.
"He then led me through the vast subterranean galleries of their
dwelling, which extended an immense distance, as may be imagined, for
the exterior of the nest must have been at least forty feet in diameter.
The ants promised, if I would return after their day's work was done,
they would give me some interesting accounts of themselves. Leaving the
busy throng, I crept into a flower-bell to take a nap. When I returned,
the Saueba ants were actually resting themselves,--a luxury that I did
not suppose an ant ever indulged in. Some of them were strolling about
at their ease; and others were diligently scrubbing their coats after
their work, or were assisting each other in the friendly task of
brushing such portions of the body as could not be reached by the owner.
They were very chatty and agreeable, so we enjoyed ourselves very much.
"'Have you met the foraging ant?' asked one. 'They sally forth with
officers to direct the movement. They are rather hot-tempered and cross,
to be sure, attacking any one fiercely that may come in their path; yet
they do a world of good. When it is known they are approaching, people
open every closet, drawer, and box in their houses, that the ants may
search and cleanse them. What digestions they have! Scorpions,
cockroaches, lizards, rats, and snakes are devoured in a trice; while
into every crack and cranny where a stray insect may have hidden pour
the army until all is cleared: then on they go again.'
"'How wonderful!' I exclaimed.
"'I can tell you of a wiser race yet,' chimed in another. 'The
agricultural ant of Texas plants and reaps for itself. The nest is
surrounded by a mound, and then the land is cleared for several feet
beyond. A grain-bearing grass is sowed by the insect, and afterward
tended with great care, the ant cutting away all other grasses or weeds
that may spring up,--like the good farmer it is. When the small, white
seed is ripe, it is carefully harvested, and carried into the granary,
where it is cleared of the chaff, which is thrown outside as worthless.
Should the rain wet the winter stores, the ant brings the grain out into
the sun to dry, that the damp may not cause sprouting among the
provisions. What do you think of all that?' concluded the ant, with a
triumphant manner.
"'I think you are the most wonderful insects in the world.'
"At this the Saueba ants all looked highly pleased, and they richly
deserved the compliment; so there was really no harm in it. I found
myself exposed to so many dangers, without my magic cap, that I finally
concluded to fly to the seashore, and see if I could take passage
homeward again. Here I found no other a bird than the Petrel's baby, now
a handsome young fellow enough, who readily agreed to carry me
northward.
"I strapped myself to my bearer with the horse-hairs, and found myself
rather a better sailor than on my first voyage. I am now on my way to
the pansy fairy, with the petition that he will give me another cap. If
he consents, I shall next visit Europe and the East," said the ambitious
Wasp pompously, in conclusion.
The whole Club were so much entertained by this history, that the
Saucepan never once complained of her uncomfortable position, rolling on
her side. Hulda was much surprised to find her in this attitude next
morning; but the maid servant wisely concluded the rats must have
visited the shelf, and whisked the Saucepan off with their long tails.
When it came time for the disappointed Caterpillar, they were surprised
by the entrance of a welcome guest: the Spider came sidling in, looking
gay as possible. Of course they all spoke at the same time, and asked a
hundred questions before he could answer one; especially the Teapot, who
had never appeared so excited on any previous occasion.
"I am all right again, thank you," said the Spider gruffly. "I got a few
bruises by my fall from the window; but, being used to tumbles of all
sorts, I have now recovered somewhat, although I felt rather stiff the
next day."
"I am not fond of talking," said the Caterpillar, with humility, "nor
can I do so well. In my present state of caterpillarhood, I am aware
that I do not please,--that I am not, in fact, any thing but an
uninteresting glutton. There! the Spider is laughing already."
"I should be sorry to do any thing so rude," said the Spider slyly;
"only you are rather fond of leaf-salad, I have heard."
"True," replied the Caterpillar, smacking his lips at the thought. "What
could be more delicious! Still I must not dwell upon topics of food, for
fear I should never have done describing such delicacies as suit my
palate. I shall not find much in my own personal history to entertain
you this evening. Never having travelled, like my two distinguished
companions, I cannot bring to your notice the wonders of other lands, as
they have so ably done."
Here the Wasp and Spider arose, laid one foreleg upon the heart, and
made a low bow in acknowledgment of the compliment.
This ceremony over, the Caterpillar proceeded:--
THE DISAPPOINTED CATERPILLAR.
"I have had no occasion to stroll farther away than the garden of this
house. I am sadly puzzled for something to talk about. The Wasp has
anticipated me, even, in a description of butterflies,--a state I am in
hopes of attaining some time, when you will not be able to recognize me.
My world has been limited, so far; yet I have seen some wonderful
things, too. Did any of you ever see a humming-bird?"
"Yes," said the Cricket, Spider, and Wasp in a breath.
"Did any of you ever converse with one?"
"I did not suppose they ever stopped buzzing about long enough to
speak," remarked the Spider.
"I have talked with one," said the Caterpillar triumphantly. "When I was
just hatched, some week or more ago, I crawled for the first time out
of the soft, warm bed my good mother had made me in the curve of a leaf.
I stretched myself upon the leaf which had been my cradle, to enjoy the
warm sunlight, and looked about upon the various forms of life and
beauty to be seen on a summer morning. The buttercups and daisies
laughed up at me from the grass, the insects floated about on gauzy
wings, while the birds darted from branch to branch in merry sport.
"Close beside my leaf couch was a knot, or natural excrescence in the
branch; and this tiny cavity held a nest, lined with fibres from mullein
leaves and fern-down, containing two pearly eggs no larger than peas.
"Suddenly a glittering object shot up into the air until it was almost
lost to sight; then descended upon the nest I was just examining. No
wonder the eggs resembled pearls, when the parent bird could not have
been more than two inches in length. When I beheld the lovely, fragile
thing, with its diamond-bright eyes, and the plumage of the graceful
curved throat, glittering like burnished metal in changing hues of
orange and ruby, I felt ready to cry with vexation that I was such an
ugly, worm-like creature. True, I shall be handsomer sometime; but I can
never be a humming-bird. Besides, I belong to a sober species. A robin
came hopping along jauntily from twig to twig, with a morsel of cherry
in his beak.
"'Such a fright as I have had,' twittered the humming-bird. 'A great
stupid man was peering about to find my nest a long while, and to-day he
has followed me. Ah! but I gave him a long journey. I fluttered right
and left, or darted ahead; then finally rose in the air so high he could
hardly see my wee body; then dashed down here safe enough.'
"'A wise plan,' commented the robin. 'Thank fortune, I am not in such
demand.'
"Interested in the conversation, I crept too near the margin of the
leaf, lost my balance, and fell upon the nest.
"'You awkward thing,' said the bird, giving me a contemptuous poke
aside. 'How ugly you are!'
"'I know it,' I replied; 'it was my admiration of your superior beauty
that caused my fall. Excuse the clumsiness of a caterpillar just born.'
"'Go away with your nonsense and flattery I feared I was shot when you
fell.'
"'Who would hurt you?' I asked, slowly climbing back to my leaf.
"'Plenty of enemies. That man is watching below, and nothing would
delight his cruel soul so much as to carry away my family.'
"'Tell me something amusing, or I will inform him where you live.'
"'He would not believe a caterpillar,' laughed Madame Humming-bird.
'However, I will tell you any thing in my power.'
"'If it is all about your distinguished relations in the South, I have
heard enough on that subject already,' said the spiteful robin.
"At this the other grew very angry, inflating her tiny throat, and
snapping her bill. I tried to soothe her wrath, for I dislike any thing
irritating.
"'I always did despise robins. My great family, indeed! One should
learn better than to associate with plebeians.'
"'The robin was jealous of your superior beauty.'
"This made the humming-bird good-natured again; so she went on:--
"'Did you ever hear of my first cousin the Chimborazian hill-star? Ah!
there is a fine bird for you. Not afraid to expose his frail form to the
cold of higher latitudes, he dearly loves mountain air. I will tell you
a story about him sometime. The hermits are so clever at building nests,
they would laugh at this rude cradle of mine; still, as I cannot find
any suitable leaf to suspend my nest from, bound by elastic
spider-threads, I just use this knot, which answers the purpose after
all. Some of them form a felt-like substance of moss and bark woven
together; others use a fungus resembling buff-leather; while the Sappho
comet lines her nest with the long hairs of the clamas. My relatives can
boast the greatest variety of coloring. They have black diadems,
purple-shaded patches, or vivid scarlet, blue, and crimson aigrettes. I
do not know why people need invent fairies and gnomes when they can
have us for subjects, flashing about among the flowers, as gay as the
brightest of them, or bathing in some secluded nook of the brook, under
the fern-leaves that form a tiny bower.'
"We were so much interested in the subject under discussion, that we
never heeded the approach of danger. I looked up and saw a man's face
close beside me. He was climbing cautiously along, his gaze fixed upon
my pretty companion. Before I could give any warning, I was shaken to
the ground, and the humming-bird continued to talk of her great
relations, unobservant of my fall. I watched eagerly, and presently the
man came down again, with his captive and her nest uninjured.
"'Oh, my dear Caterpillar!' she sighed, looking through the meshes of
the fine net which covered her little head; 'I wish you were strong
enough to help me. However, promise to find my husband, and tell him of
my sad fate.'
"I have never found him," said the disappointed Caterpillar. "I presume
he has consoled himself with another wife by this time. I searched
faithfully, crawling over whole trees in hopes of seeing him, and
exposing myself to many dangers. I met other caterpillars in plenty.
That of the looper-moth supports itself for hours on the hinder feet,
raising the body high in air, and, by a resemblance to the twigs of the
tree, succeeds in deceiving the birds that would devour it. Some I found
to be protected from injury by tufts of hair, acrid secretions, and
stinging powers. Others so closely resembled brown, crumpled leaves, or
green, fresh ones, that I should never have known them had they not
spoken; while some of the number arm their dwellings with thorns. I have
even heard of another species, called bombardiers, who fire off little
guns when pursued, accompanied by a blue smoke and disagreeable scent.
"I liked to watch the ermine-moth community the best. They spin a
commodious tent; and, wherever they wander over the tree, they carry a
thread with them, so that they may not lose the way. Birds can do no
more than strike their wings against the elastic bridges thus formed:
they cannot penetrate the lines.
"Well, all the caterpillars laughed at my folly in searching for the
humming-bird's husband; and perhaps they were right. I now have reason
to despair of ever meeting him, for he never returned to where the nest
had been; and a slow crawling caterpillar cannot hope to pursue the
flight of a bird."
Here the Caterpillar paused abruptly: the Wasp, interested alone in
startling incident or romantic adventure, was yawning.
"Really, I beg your pardon," he had the grace to say; "I did not sleep
well last night."
But apologies or entreaties did no manner of good. The Caterpillar
steadfastly refused to continue his tale.
"Very likely I was growing tiresome," he replied in an injured tone. Yet
he made no further remark; for the Caterpillar, like other slow persons,
was apt to be obstinate. This made affairs rather stiff and
uncomfortable; so they were all glad to retire for the night.
The next evening, the Caterpillar was still sulky, and resisted all
attempts of the Teapot to coax him into better humor. The Cricket
wisely concluded to divert matters, by inviting the Spider to entertain
them.
"I believe I am something of an author," said the Spider, "although I
have never written for any of the magazines of the day. I will tell you
a story I composed last summer, if you like."
THE FOUR SILVER PEACHES.
"Beyond the Frith of Clyde, the Kyles of Bute cleaving their way among
gray cliffs, tapestried with mosses and richly clothed with lichens,
past Loch Ridan's clear waters, past the peninsula of Cantyre, on the
bosom of the Atlantic, lies a group of islets, varied in hue and
form,--the Hebrides.