The Life of the Fly 



pink poodle made of barley-sugar, or a round 

 jar of aniseed sweets, or, much oftener, no- 

 thing at all. On a piece of canvas on the ground, 

 rolls of printed calico with red flowers, were 

 displayed to tempt the girls. Close by rose a 

 pile of beech-wood clogs, tops and box-wood 

 flutes. Here the shepherds chose their instru- 

 ments, trying them by blowing a note or two. 

 How new it all was to me ! What a lot of 

 things there were to see in this world ! Alas, 

 that wonderful time was of but short duration ! 

 At night, after a little brawling at the inn, it 

 was all over; and the village returned to si- 

 lence for a year. 



But I must not linger over these memories 

 of the dawn of life. We were speaking of the 

 memorable picture brought from town. Where 

 shall I keep it, to make the best use of it? 

 Why, of course, it must be pasted on the em- 

 brasure of my window. The recess, with its 

 seat, shall be my study-cell ; here I can feast my 

 eyes by turns on the big lime-tree and the ani- 

 mals of my alphabet. And this was what 1 

 did. 



And now, my precious picture, it is our turn, 



yours and mine. You began with the sacred 



beast, the ass, whose name, with a big initial, 



taught me the letter A. The ba;uf, the ox, 



148 



