8 CATERPILLARS CHANGE THEIR SKINS. 
Mother, That caterpillar was once 
so little, that it was contained in a small 
round egg, scarcely as large as the head 
of a pin. From the time it first came 
out of the e^^ it increased gradually to 
its full size, having, in the mean time, 
changed its skin several times. 
Lucy. How did it change its skin ? 
Mother, As the little animal grows 
larger the skin becomes too tight to con- 
tain it, and at last bursts : the caterpillar 
then crawls out. In about a fortnight 
after it has changed its skin for the last 
time, the caterpillar becomes dull, and 
ceases to eat; and having passed some 
days in this state, it then throws off its 
last skin, and takes a new shape. 
Lucy, What sort of shape ? what is 
it like? 
Mother, Look into this little box, 
and you will see that it is smooth and 
shining, as if varnished over. 
Lucy, It does not look in the least 
like a caterpillar: it is not so long; it 
is smooth and shining, and round. Of 
what a dark red brown it is ; and how 
