FABLES FOR GOOD OLD BO YS AND GIRLS. izf 



had once sent Dr. Bull Frog, with a picked crew, to hunt for a north-westerly 

 passage through the swamp to the right-hand corner of the wood, and had since 

 sent out many expeditions to hunt for Dr. Bull Frog-; but they never could find 

 him, and so government finally gave him up and etinobled his mother to show 

 its gratitude for the services her son had rendered to science. And once govern- 

 ment sent Sir Grass Hopper to hunt for the sources of the rill that emptied into the 

 swamp ; and afterwards sent out many expeditions to hunt for Sir Grass, and at 

 last they were successful — they found his body, but if he had discovered the sources 

 meantime, he did not let on. So government acted handsomely by deceased, and 

 many envied his funeral. 



But these expeditions were trifles compared with th^ present one ; for this one 

 comprised among its servants the very greatest among the learned ; and besides it 

 was to go to the utterly unvisited regions believed to lie beyond the mighty forest 

 — as we have remarked before. How the members were banqueted, and glorified, 

 and talked about ! Everywhere that one of them showed himself, straightway 

 there was a crowd to gape and stare at him. 



Finally they set off, and it was a sight to see the long procession of dry-land 

 Tortoises heavily laden with savans, scientific instruments, Glow-Worms and Fire- 

 Flies for signal-service, provisions, Ants and Tumble-Bugs to fetch and carry and 

 delve. Spiders to carry the surveying chain and do other engineering duty, and sO' 

 forth and so on ; and after the Tortoises came another long train of iron-clads — 

 stately and spacious Mud Turtles for marine transportation service ; and from every 

 Tortoise and every Turtle flaunted a flaming gladiolus or other splendid banner; 

 at the head of t^e column a great band of Bumble-Bees, Mosquitoes, Katy-Dids 

 and Crickets discoursed martial music ; and the entire train was under the escort 

 and protection of twelve picked regiments of the Army Worm. 



At the end of three weeks the expedition emerged from the forest and looked 

 upon the great Unknown World. Their eyes were greeted with an impressive 

 spectacle. A vast level plain stretched before them, watered by a sinuous stream ; 

 and beyond, there towered up against the sky a long and lofty barrier of some kind, 

 they did not know what. The Tumble-Bug said he believed it was simply land 

 tilted up on its edge, because he knew he could see trees on it. But Prof. Snail 

 and the others said : 



