96 UP AND DOWN THE BROOKS. 



stripe of yellowish-white running obliquely down 

 each side from the tail, and five other, scarcely 

 noticeable, small stripes ran parallel to this on each 

 side. His ridiculous-looking head was bordered 

 on two sides by a rim of yellow, like a picture set 

 in a brass frame, so that his head had the shape 

 of the letter A, without the cross-mark. Besides 

 this he had two white lines that ran the length of 

 his sides. Altogether I was very proud of him, 

 and was always getting scared over his supposed 

 loss, he being so much the color of the willow- 

 leaves that I was always missing him, even when 

 before my eyes. At last I learned to look for his 

 tail and then I could find him. But alas ! one 

 day I could not find his tail. Neither did I find 

 him. The sad truth was apparent. Sphinx had 

 run away. I had not thought such baseness pos- 

 sible in so solemn a creature, always standing in 

 one position, with his head in the air, deep in med- 

 itation. But I never saw him again alive. How- 

 ever, several days after his disappearance, I picked 

 up a jar of water that contained some pond-snails. 

 The inside of the jar was coated with green, and I 

 did not at first notice something of the same color 

 lying at the bottom of the water. But I soon saw 

 it. It was poor Sphinx. He had tumbled into 

 the water and drowned. I helped his corpse out 

 of the water but he never revived. 



What a disreputable set some of these flowers 

 along the fields are ! For instance, take the but- 



