124 
THE TRANSFORMATION. 
allowed to pass through the trap. But her 
wings were quite useless, and she was too feeble 
ever to fly. 
All this time, the sun is 'drying the moisture 
from the butterfly’s wing, and the two membranes 
that were before apart, are drawn together, and 
become one. The butterfly helps on the work 
of circulating the fluid, by constantly fluttering. 
At first, while the nervures were empty, she could 
not move her wings; but now the nervures are 
getting full, and she can raise them with some 
degree of vigour. The colours begin to shew 
themselves; bars and spots of gold and purple 
flash into sight, and become deeper and brighter 
every minute. 
At length, the wings expand in all their 
beauty; and the butterfly rises triumphantly 
above the case that has been her prison. 
The wonderful transformation has taken place. 
She has attained her last and perfect state of 
existence, and will neither grow nor change 
any more. She has passed safely through her 
caterpillar, and her chrysalis, life; and will no 
longer grovel on the earth, but rise into the air 
a creature of enjoyment, and one of the most 
beautiful of Nature’s productions. 
The resurrection of the butterfly is so familiar 
and so well understood, that it excites no surprise. 
But if we heard of it for the first time, we should 
