156 UP AND DOWN THE BROOKS. 



ping girl in the distance, as she once saw me turn 

 aside from the beaten path to look at some weeds 

 by the road where I thought caterpillars might 

 possibly be hiding. 



She meant it in fun, just to amuse her compan- 

 ions, for the weeds were not hers, by any means. 

 And the children really had kindly hearts toward 

 the bug-catcher, for it was either the claimer of the 

 weeds or one of her companions who ran across 

 the road, a few days later, as she saw me going 

 . by, and cried, " Missis, if I get tins of the red 

 snakes, do you like them ? " 



On inquiry I thought from her description of 

 " these red snakes that come out of the ground " 

 that they were simply earth - worms, so I was 

 doubtful about accepting the offer ; but she went 

 on, " I had two tins of bugs saved up for you a 

 while ago, but you never came by, and so I threw 

 them away." 



And this was the little girl that I thought 

 sneered at bug-catching ! Bless her kindly little 

 heart ! 



Most children's talk about bugs comes from 

 curiosity or a love of fun, while some remarks 

 made by older people seem to me to arise from 

 stupidity. 



I remember once having visited a brook. It 

 was neither the " other brook " nor this one, but 

 a third, a number of miles from here. I had 

 never before been there collecting, and I found 



