The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-08-31
The Wicked Fly.


The weary man would fain take nap
IN the hot summer afternoon. He sur
veys his comfortable sleeping-chamber,
all re-arranged fresh and tidy from the
hands of the chambermaid. He pulls
down the blinds and converts the day
glare into twilight, and when he has
disrobed he lays himself upon the cool,
clean sheet and pulls the other over him
and says: ut is good
But from the ceiling aloft the wicked
house-f1y has been an interested and
amused spectator of all these proceed
ings. He has been motionless, silent
black speck on that ceiling for the last
three hours. Now he bestirs himself.
He has work to do. He is to have his
day fun. He is to show the would-be
sleeper the power of a single fly.
He rubs together first his forelegs and
next his middle legs, and at last twist
eth out from behind his last pair of
hindlegs, and then works his wings
to see if they be in good working or
der. Then he makes dive upon the
would-be sleeper. He encircles his
head two or three times with a pre-
liminary buzz. Then he strikes him
upon the nose. He softly crawls upon
that nose. He crawls with many feet
and he tickles with each particular lit
tie foot. And the man launches out at
him blow hard enough to burst a
bandbox and hits his own nose. The
fly is afar off ere the nose is hit.
He waits that little more slumber
may settle down upon his victim. He
hummeth to himself little tune. Then
alights he on the mans cheek. He
crawls thereon. He tickleth with his
many little pedal tickles And the
weary man launcheth out another blow
and hits himself again. Then the fly
visits his ear. He crawls about in it
and tickleth. He knows the exact time
for every slap and is afar long ere it
hits. Are the weary man S feet project
ing from the sheetP But this fly has not
time to tickle the toes. He sends an
other fly, his private secretary, to do
that. There is much more surface to
be operated on.
1t is an adventurous and investigat-
ing fly. He loves dark, dangerous and
mysterious places. Be there the small
est rent in any portion Of the mans
raiment and he win find it. Be it but
half an ir.ch of ripped seam, and his
tiny eye terrets it out. He dives into
it and crawls within. Crawls UP and
down and around the mans leo though
it be as much as his life is worth.
The busy fly watches for new places
wherein to tickle. He waits for the
weary man to roll over and throw the
sheet from his person. On which he
alights and tickleth as before With
desperate effort the man wraps himself
from top to toe in his sheet, leaving
only exposed the tip of his nose for
air. He fatters himself that the
wicked fly will not find his nose, or if
he do find it he will not care to waste
his tickling power on such an insignifi-
cant bit of surface. But this tip of
nose is just what that fly has been
waiting for. This is the acme of his
fun. This is the very situation he has
been trying to work up. Not find that
nose? He surveys it from the ceiling.
His eye is full of delight. He laughs
buzz-z-z-zty laugh to himself and z-z-zts
down on the poor mans olfactory.
He lights with all his six feet upon it
and delivers a tickle with each foot.
Then there is tremulous uprising,
a shock, a commotion of the bed
clothes, a kicking out of enraged legs,
and the man ariseth straightway and
delivers himself of one and sometimes
more wicked words not here to be men
toned, and every fly in the room
shakes with derisive laughter.-N. Y.
Graphic.