A New World 



among the worst. The Yankee took particular 

 pleasure in encouraging us to pursue them. 



Everything about us was so novel and won- 

 derful that we could hardly believe our senses 

 except when hungry or while father was thrash- 

 ing us. When we first saw Fountain Lake 

 Meadow, on a sultry evening, sprinkled with 

 millions of lightning-bugs throbbing with light, 

 the effect was so strange and beautiful that it 

 seemed far too marvelous to be real. Looking 

 from our shanty on the hill, I thought that 

 the whole wonderful fairy show must be in my 

 eyes; for only in fighting, when my eyes were 

 struck, had I ever seen anything in the least 

 like it. But when I asked my brother if he saw 

 anything strange in the meadow he said, " Yes, 

 it's all covered with shaky fire-sparks." Then 

 I guessed that it might be something outside 

 of us, and applied to our all-knowing Yankee 

 to explain it. "Oh, it's nothing but lightnin'- 

 bugs," he said, and kindly led us down the hill 

 to the edge of the fiery meadow, caught a few 

 of the wonderful bugs, dropped them into a 

 I 7i 1 



