THE LIFE OF AIRY WINGS. 



One beautiful day last May my 

 mother laid a tiny green egg on the un- 

 der side of a leaf on a milkweed plant. 

 I know that its color was green and that 

 it was laid on the back of the leaf be- 

 cause Mother Milkweed Butterfly did 

 not want any fly or worm to eat me 

 up, so she made its green like the leaf 

 and hid it away in a safe place. There I 

 rested quietly within the egg for about 

 four days, when I burst open the shell 

 to see what was out in the world. 



I shook myself and found that T could 

 crawl. I was also very hungry. I had 

 come out a green caterpillar with a black 

 head. How strange th^t was ! Now I 

 expected to be a butterfly with wings to 

 sail through the air. Never mind, I 

 thoug-ht, if r am a caterpillar I must do 

 all that a caterpillar ought to do, and 

 not make a fuss because I am not a 

 handsome butterfly. 



The first thing a caterpillar has to do 

 is to eat his eggshell so that the ichneu- 

 mon fly — ^the fellow is an enemy to my 

 family — will not be able to find anv 

 traces of him on the leaf. Where did 

 I learn that? I think Mother B. must 

 have folded that thoueht in the eggshell, 

 for it came out with me. After doing 

 that duty I was so hungry that I ate the 

 leaf on which I found myself, all dav 

 long and far into the night. Then I 

 curled up and went to sleep feeling verv 

 quiet and comfort?)h1e. 



When I awakened the sun was up. I 

 was warm and hungry, so I began to eat 

 again. Suddenly I heard a buzzing 

 noise overhead. Oh. dear me! I was 

 frightened and kept perfectly still, for 

 I thoug:ht it was that miserable fly after 

 me, but it proved to be only a jolly bum- 

 ble-bee, and I went on eating. 



After several days of this life — eating, 

 and watching for enemies — something- 

 happened. I suppose that I had eaten 

 so much milkweed that my skin got too 

 tight to hold me, for it felt very uncom- 



fortable and then began to crack. I had 

 spun a httle silk on- the leaf to get a bet- 

 ter foot-hold and remained very quiet 

 for I did not feel like moving. I 

 stretched my head a little, after awhile,, 

 and the old head-case came ofif, falling 

 to the ground. Then I made violent 

 exertions, or movements, with the mus- 

 cles of my body, and finally the old 

 skin came off. I was very much fa- 

 tigued and was quiescent, not caring to 

 stir, for several hours. I thought of the 

 fly too, that might sting me now while 

 my new jacket was soft, and that kept 

 me still also. When it became harder 

 I had to eat up the old one, and then 

 was hungry as ever. 



Eat ! Why I did nothing for about 

 four weeks but devour milkweed, keep a. 

 watch out for enemies and grow too big 

 for my jacket. I moulted four times 

 in all, and at the end you should have 

 seen me. My body was striped yellow, 

 black and green, and was nearly two 

 inches long. My head was black-band- 

 ed ; my face yellow with two parallel 

 black bows, and I had two pairs of long- 

 slender, flexible filaments, like a hair, on 

 my body. 



I had grown so large and strong that 

 I wanted to see more of the world. I 

 crawled off my leaf, down the stalk of 

 the plant onto the ground. What a 

 queer sensation it was, to be sure, to feel 

 the grass and the ground ! There was a 

 rail-fence near my old home. I began 

 to feel very weary and sleepy. I crept 

 cautiously along until I reached the 

 fence ; crawled up to next the top rail 

 and under it to rest awhile. My, how 

 tired I was ! I did not want anything to 

 eat. I did not care to move, nor to 

 speak. I caught hold of the rail and 

 hung there for about twelve days. 



I liave learned since, that I was a 

 chrysalis and was a beautiful object of 

 emerald green, with gold and black dots. 



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