No more he makes the leaves his prey, & DIS-PLAY', show; exhibit. d SOARED, has soared; has mounted up. [LESSON LXXII. is a poetical description of the changes from the caterpillar to the butterfly state. In the first verse, the appearance and habits of the caterpillar in spring are described. In the second verse, the insect is described as spinning its cocoon, or silken case, in which it sleeps until the time comes for it to burst forth-a butterfly! In the third verse, the insect is described as having changed to the butterfly state. It has now no mouth, and can no longer injure vegetation; but, with its long tube-like tongue, it feeds upon the juices of plants and flowers.] THE HUMMING - B LESSON LXXIII. ·BIRD AND THE BUTTERFLY.-A Fable. 1. One day a humming-bird, for the first time, met a butterfly; and, being pleased with the handsome form of the stranger, and the beautiful colors of her wings, made an offer of perpetual friendship. 2. "I can not think of such a thing," was the reply; "for you once spurned me, and called me a stupid worm, fit only to be trodden upon." 3. "Surely, that is impossible," exclaimed the humming-bird, in real surprise, "for I always had the highest respect for such beautiful creatures as you are." 4. "Perhaps you do now," said the other; "but when you insulted me I was a caterpillar. So let me give you a piece of advice: never insult the humble, as they may some day become your superiors." PER-PET'-U-AL, lasting; continual. b SPURN'ED, treated with contempt. [LESSON LXXIII. The fable of the humming-bird and the butterfly is designed to illustrate a useful moral, having many applications in real life.] LESSON LXXIV. DARE AND DO. 1. Dare to think, though others frown'; 2. Dare from custom to depart`; Dare the priceless pearl possess'; 3. Dare forsake what you deem wrong'; 4. Do what conscience says is right'; [LESSON LXXIV. This is an exhortation to independence and boldness of character-to dare and do what is right on all occasions. For the falling inflection at the close of each line, see RULES IV. and VIII.] A NOBLE BOY. 1. A few years ago a steam-boat sank in the Missouri River, near St. Louis. Among the persons who were swept overboard were a woman, and a boy about twelve years of age. 2. A man on a steamer near by, seeing the boy struggling with the waves, threw him a rope, and called to him to take hold of it. The little fellow replied, "Never mind me, I can swim; save my mother." They were both saved. 1. A very curious and beautiful palace is the home of the Honey-bee. If you could look into this bee-hive, you might see a long line of dwellings, called cells, framed with the nicest care, row above row! These cells are built of white wax; they are neatly varnished with gum, and filled with provisions for the winter! 2. The home of the honey-bees is built upon a regular plan; and there are paths among the cells, just wide enough for two bees to meet and pass each other. You might think the busy workers were always bustling about in the greatest confusion; yet each knows her own business, and her own proper place. Every thing is done in the strictest order. 3. But who are the inhabitants of this palaceor rather, we might say, of this populous city? for it contains from ten thousand to thirty thousand living beings! 4. First, there is a large number of Working-bees. They are the laborers, who do all the work. They go forth early every fair morning in summer, to fill their bottles with honey,* and their baskets with pollen. They build the cells: they gather the wax and the honey; and they take care of the young. These workers are very good judges of the weather, for they are seldom caught in a shower, and they take care to stay at home when there is thunder. 5. Then there is a set of Drones in every hivelazy fellows, who gather no honey. About the middle of summer the working-bees sting the drones to death, and then drag their dead bodies out of the hive. The drones have no stings. *Bees swallow the honey which they find in flowers, carry it to the hive, and then empty it from their mouths into the cells. + Bees have, on their hind legs, little basket-like cavities, in which they gather the pollen, or dust of flowers. 6. Every swarm of bees has a Queen, who does no work, but who is treated with the greatest respect by the rest of the hive. She is larger than the other bees. She moves in a slow and majestic manner, and is attended by a guard of workers. She lays all the eggs, to the number of many thousands, and is the mother of the whole hive. 7. Two working-bees, of the same hive, may sometimes be seen fighting, when each throws herself upon the other with great fury. They fall to the ground, and wrestle together, each trying to thrust its sting between two ringlets of the body of its rival. If one is thus stung, it soon dies: but if the victor loses her sting in the contest, she, also, soon perishes. 8. Such a battle is sometimes ended in a few minutes: sometimes it continues for hours, before either can give the fatal blow. The bees of different hives often wage deadly war upon one another; and in one of their murderous battles they often "pile the ground with thousands slain," so that a whole swarm is thus sometimes destroyed. 9. There are many kinds of bees, besides the honey-bee. There are the Humble-bees-or, as they are often called, the Bumble-bees, which are very much like the honey-bees in their habits. 10. There are also the curious Carder-bees, who dig, for their home, a hole in the ground, which they cover with a domes of moss. This moss they card into small bundles, before they carry it to their dwelling. They sometimes line the ceiling of their house with wax, to keep out the rain. |