96 
PLANTS AND INSECTS 
the snug little cradle of my patient little sleeper. I knew that he would 
soon wake up and that then he would gnaw his way out of his nest and 
perhaps in time to catch) a glimpse of the early May flowers before his 
brief existence would close forever. 
One morning early in May I found his little nest burst open at one 
end. And lo! instead of the wriggling, twisting, green, and hideous- 
looking worm that shut himself up so carefully in the early fall, I beheld 
a large, gorgeously-colored, broad-winged butterfly fluttering about its 
cradle as if anxious to behold something of the beautiful outside world. 
And so I finally caught my butterfly. I carefully lifted the long- 
coveted treasure and rested it upon my hand for a while to examine its 
wondrous beauty. With its wings spread out, it measured fully six 
inches across the back. It was a perfect creature—perfect in its insect 
life, the third and last age of its existence. With thrilling interest I 
gazed upon it, so resplendent in coloring and so beautiful in form and 
appearance—a symbol of the resurrection, I thought. 
First, the creeping, crawling worm, fettered and bound by all the 
conditions of its earthly life; second, the time of resting in its narrow 
prison-house; third, its radiant blossoming forth from its long winter 
sleep into the beauty and perfection of its new creation. 
Instinctively, with my little captive still fluttering upon, the palm 
of my hand, I went to a window and held it unfettered far out toward 
the open field. For an instant it wavered and settled back in my hand; 
then] as if caught by the inspiration of the thought and by the impulse 
to fulfil its mission, it spread its wing and soared away upon the breeze. 
—Sara E. Far man. 
A PLANT THAT COUGHS 
/^\NE of the strangest plants that grows is the coughing-plant, which 
^ is found in the Sahara Desert in Africa, Travelers tell us that 
this plant makes a noise exactly like the cough of a human being. This 
peculiar noise is caused by dust choking up the pores of the plant. This 
makes a powerful gas accumulate inside the plant. When the gas. has 
gained sufficient pressure, it explodes with a peculiar cough-like noise, 
and thus it gets rid of the offending dust. —Selected. 
