Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1879-09-01
Ilonth's Column.
THE FROLTcsOME Fly.

AAC ACW WhlOA oCCAA AASAO 6A0A w ~ u.s.
and who like better to stay with us,
than the frolicsOme fly. How lightly
and airily he whisks in at the open win
dow, or doorway. with a hum and
buzz of his wings that seems to say
"Hello Here we are glad to see you
once more" And then as he goes hum
ming all round the room to see what
changes have occurred since he was last
here. and, as he buzzes against all the
windows, taking peep into the garden
and across the street, you can almost
hear him talking to himself. If you
could hear him, you would probably find
that he was making good resolutions for
his summer life. He says to himself:
"NOw I'm going to stay with these peo-
pie all summer, for they have fallen into
shocking bad habits since the flies were
here last summer, and l will make it my
duty, with the help of the other good
flies in this house and neighborhood, to
give these people good course of train
ing in self-control. in early rising, and
in many other good and valuable traits
of character which it is desirable that
every person, old and young. should
possess. My first duty will be to fly
into the different sleeninn-rnnn,s ---~-s-
early in the morning, and, after buzzing
in the ears of the lazy slecpers to make
them have bad dreams, L will gently
wander up aud down their faces, and
give them bite, that will be pretty sure
to awaken them, and will fly and buzz
about them all day, and give them
plenty of chances of controlling their
tempers and learning not to mind little
annoyances." .t#I'I
/ certainly think the fly would say
that he bit you, but he would be wrong,
just as every one else is who says that
flies bite. For they don't bite, because
they cannot bite. They haven't any
jaws to bite with. But the tongue is
very large, and the end of it, which is
round, or oval, or heart-shaped, has lit.
tie ridges running across it, so that it
looks just like little file; and it is a
file, and very good one, too. So the
fly does not bite, but he rubs this file of
his so rapidly, and it is so hard, that
you might as we'll be bitten, as far as
the effect of waking you up is concerned.
Then the fly continues:
"But. after all, it's pretty discourage
ing trying to do anything for these peo-
pie, they are so ungrateful and cruel.
They always abuse me, call me a great
nuisance, and l verify believe that they
would not hesitate to kill me, if they
had good chance. If they do not ap-
probate the training am giving them
now, should think they might remem-
Der the work l did for them before
became fly, and be thankful for that.
Perhaps, though, they think that 1 was
always fly and nothing else, so l must
not judge them too harshly."
Well, this fly, of course, had mother
fly, and she laid lot of very small,
shiny, brOwnish-white eggs. and when
each one of these little eggs Matched,
there came out funny little yellOwish-
white magOt, not very active, but very
hungry. The appetite that these little
fellows have is something really wonder
full, and this it is that helps them to be
of such good use to man. For while
they are maggOts they live around the
barns, and eat up old decaying material
that is filling the air with poisonous
gases which might bring sickness to a
great many of us. One little maggot
could not eat very much, of course; but
there are so many of them, that what
they all eat amounts to great many
hundred wagon.loads every year. This
is the good work that the fly spoke Of
when he said that he had done a great
deal for US before he became fly; and
you see he was right. After the littl.
maggot has eaten all he can and hal
grown all he can. he is about third o.
an inch long. He then becomes shorter
and stouter, stops eating. remains quiet
and in few days changes into q small
dark.reddish. brown chrysalis. about &
quarter of an inch long. He only lives
from eight to fourteen days as chrysa
lis. and then, some bright morning, thu
skin cracks all along the back, and ou
comes Mr.. Fly. He is little stiff anG
lazy at first; he comes out drowsily
stretching his legs, and slowly waving
his wings, after his long sleep of nearly
two weeks. But the warm sunlight sooI
takes the cramps out of all his joints
and. spreading his wings. he takes hi
first fight.
He keeps frolicking on until he reaches
the woods, where he finds two flies s,
much like himself that he thinks the,
must be his brothers so he alights nea
them and introduces himself They ar
not his brothers but they belong to an
other family and are sort of cousins o
his.
They have nothing like file or rasp
as he has, but in place of it they hav