Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-05-21


who made you, and the beauty he gives us
is not for us to feel proud of, you know.
And in fact-as to boasting-when I
come to tell you my story, you'll find that
| haven't much to brag Of, in my own con-
duct.
| came to life-nOt beautiful Golden
Eye-but an ugly-looking worm. [ was
fully as ugly as | looked, and all [ cared
for was to eat Eat, eat, all day. 1t did
seem to me that never could get enough.
So hungry and fierce [ was, that when [
could not find any smaller insect, [ would
fight with my own family and eat them
But my favorite food was aphides-I
suppose you know they are tiny atoms of
insects-and when [ had eaten their juices
[ used to cover myself with their skins
till was entirely hidden by them. This
droll covering protected me from my en-
emies, you know. Well, in this greedy
way, doing nothing but eat and grow |
lived a long time, what to you is about
two weeks. All of a sudden my hunger
left me, and [ began to feel very odd I
felt that something strange was going to
happen to me, though | knew no more
than you what wonderful change was
coming. But felt that [ must have a
home at once, so [ went to work to make
one. No, / can't build, you know, [ can
only spin, SO [ made a house of silk, as
big as small pin, and packed myself all
snug and tight into it.
Then went to sleep, at least [ don't
remember anything till / found myself
very uneasy and wild to get out I burst
open my snug house and came out. And
behold, | had changed into a beautiful fly
[ stood on a leaf and looked around me,
unfolding my wings and gradually getting
used to being fly, for you know it was
great change from being a worm.
[ found that my new body was deli
cate green just the color Of leaves in June,
I've heard my admirers say. Then / had
four'eXquisite wings, much longer than
my body, changeable green and pink, and
SO gauzy and thin that [ am sometimes
called Lacewing Fly.
But my eyes are my greatest beauty, and
when am put into one of those droll
things that men call microscopes, you can
see them very well, though to your eye
alone they look like specs of gold as I
said before Through the microscope you
can see that they are round and full, like
half marble, and they look as if covered
with emeralds and rubies, the colors
sparkling and changing all the time.
There's another thing want to tell you,
and that is how my family provide for
their children. You know we small
mothers never have the pleasure Of seeing
our own babies. In fact, we generally
die before they live. But we are as fond
of them as other mothers of theirs, and we
are careful to arrange nice, comfortable
cradles for the little ones None take
more pains than we Golden Eyes We
never stick our eggs into some crack, or
leave them ON the ground, or throw them
into the water-by no means Each tiny
atom Of an egg has its own white column
to stand on, and so is lifted above any
dusty leaf or stem.
This is how we fix them First we hunt
up quiet place for our nursery, where
the eggs will not be likely to be dis
turbed Then the mother drops tiny bit
of sort of white gum, which she has
packed away in her body, and at once
draws it out into little white stem half
an inch long. On the top Of this she lays
a snow-white egg, sticks it with another
dab of the gum, and there it is, safe and
sound till the baby breaks out
We always put a good many of these
dainty cradles near together, and men,
who think they're so very wise, have often
taken home the whole family, examined
them, and called them-what do you
think ?-The seed cups of mosses! Unjust
admit they do look something like MOSES,
and nobody would suspect a live worm
baby was curled up in the tiny white egg.
have little to complain of in the treat
ment have received from men, though
the prying Naturalists do SO delight in
putting us into the microscope, and turn
ing a strong light on us. But there's one
thing [ do feel hurt about, and that is the
name these musty bookmen have given
us. [ can't pronounce Though tor that
matter can't pronounce anything-but
I've seen it in the big dry books, and here
it is.
Chrysopa Vulgaris
Now do you think such delicate,
beautiful creature as [ am ought to be
loaded down with an ugly name, five times
as long as [ am myself?
1t don't help matters that these words
mean something, for if the first one means
Golden Eye, almost k1aoao the last one
means Vulgar.
What would you do aboutit?-Cn1staa,a
U71GOn. ~