THE STORY OF SOME BLACK BUGS. 



We were going to visit Aunt Bessie, and 

 John and I like few things better than 

 that. To begin with, she lives in the 

 country, and there is always so much to 

 do in the way of fun that the days never 

 seem half long enough. 



Then, besides, Aunt Bessie knows 

 everything, and can tell such famous 

 stories. So when she asked us one morn- 

 ing to go to the pond with her and see 

 something interesting, you may be sure 

 we were not slow in following her. 



The rushes grew thickly along the 

 sides, but the water was clear, and we 

 could plainly see the black bugs she 

 pointed out to us crawling, slowly and 

 clumsily, over the muddy bottom. 



"Those things !" said John, not a little 

 disgusted. "I don't think they are much. 

 Are they tadpoles ?" 



"Tadpoles !" I echoed. "Why, who- 

 ever saw tadpoles with six legs and no 

 tail?" 



"The absence of a tail is very convinc- 

 ing," laughed Aunt Bessie. "They are 

 certainly not tadpoles. Now watch them 

 closely, please, and tell me all about 

 them." 



"They are abominably ugly. That is 

 one thing," broke in John. "They look 

 black, and have six legs. But how funny 

 their skin is. More like a crust, or lots 

 of crusts laid one on the other. They are 

 about the stupidest things I ever saw. 

 They seem to do nothing but crawl over 

 that mud and — Hello! they aren't so stu- 

 pid, after all. Did you see that fellow 

 snatch a poor fly and gobble him up 

 quicker than you could say Jack Robin- 

 son? And there's another taken a mos- 

 quito just as quick. I'll take back what I 

 said about the slow business. But really, 

 Auntie, do you think them very interest- 

 ing?" 



"I'll ask you that question when you 

 have learned something more about 

 them," was her answer. "Tell me now 

 what you think of that Dragon fly darting 

 over the water ?" 



"Oh, he is a beauty," we answered in a 

 breath. "But please let us hear some- 

 thing about those things down there." 



"Not to-day, boys. I wish you to see 



something for yourselves first. Watch 

 here for a few days and your patience will 

 be rewarded, I promise you. Then I will 

 have a story to tell you." 



I knew that Auntie never spoke with- 

 out reason, so John and I kept a close 

 watch on those bugs. For two days noth- 

 ing happened. The old things just crawled 

 over the mud or ate flies and mosquitoes, 

 as usual. 



But the third day one big fellow de- 

 cided to try something new. It was noth- 

 ing less than to creep up the stem of one 

 of the rushes. I suppose it was hard 

 work, for he took a long time to get to 

 the surface of the water. Here he stopped 

 a while and then seemed to make up his 

 mind to go further. Soon he was quite 

 out of the water and could breathe all the 

 air and sunshine he wished. I believe he 

 did not like it very well. He seemed so 

 restless and uneasy. I was expecting to 

 see him go back, when I heard John cry 

 out : 



"Look ! oh, do look !" 

 I did look, and could scarcely believe 

 my eyes. 



His skin (the bug's, I mean), was ac- 

 tually cracking right down the back, just 

 as though the air and sunshine-had dried 

 it too much. 



Poor fellow, he seemed in great trou- 

 ble about it. Then, to make matters 

 worse, a part of his coat broke off at the 

 top and slipped down over his eyes, so 

 that he could not see. After a moment, 

 however, it dropped further, quite under 

 the place where his chin would have been, 

 had he had a chin. 



"Oh ! he is getting a new face. A pret- 

 tier one, too, I am glad to say." 



It seemed as if John was always first to 

 notice things, for it was just as he said ; 

 as the old face slipped away a new one 

 came in its place. 



I guess that by this time that old bug 

 was as much astonished as we were. He 

 was wriggling about in a very strange 

 fashion, and at last quite wriggled himself 

 out of his old shell. Then we saw two 

 pairs of wings, which must have been 

 folded away in little cases by his side, be- 

 gin to open like fans. Next, he stretched 



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