The Dawson journal., 1883-09-20
The Wicked lily.

The weary man would fain take
nap IN the hotsummer afternoon
He surveys his comfortable sleep
lng-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: "It is
good"
But from the ceiling aloft the
wicked house-hy has been an in
terested and amused spectator of
all these proceedings. He has
been a motionless, silent black
speck on that ceiling for the last
three hours. Now he bestirs him
self. He has work to do. He is
to have his days fun. He is to
show the would-be sleeper the
power Of single fly.
lie rubs together first his fore
legs and next his middle legs, and
at last twisteth out from behind
his last pair Of hindlegs, and then
works hIs wings to see if they be
IN good condition. Then he makes
a dlveupon the would-be sleeper.
He encircles his head two or
three times with preliminary
buzz. Then he strikes him upon
the nose. He softly crawls upon
that nose. He crawls with MANY
feet, and he tickles with each par
tcular little foot. And the man
launches out at him a blow hard
enough to burst bandbox and
hits his own nose. The fly is afar
of ere the nose is hit.
He waits that little more
slumber may settle down upon his
victim. He hummeth to himself
a little tune. Then alights he On
the mans cheek. He crawls there
on. He tickleth with his many
little pedal ticklers. And the
weary man launcheth out another
blow and hits himself again. THIN
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 mans feet project
ing from the sheet? But this fly
has not time to tickle the toes. He
sends another fly, his private sec
retary, to do that. There is much
more surface to be operated upon.
1t is an adventurous and inves-
tigating fly. He loves dark, dan
gerous and mysterious places
Be there the smallest rent in any
portion OF the mans raiment and
he viii find it. Be it but half an
inch Of ripped seam, and his tiny
eye ferrets it out. He drives into
it and crawls within. Crawls up
and down and around the mans
leg, though it be as much as his
life is worth.
The busy fly watches for new
places whereon to tickle. He
waits FOR the weary man to roll
and throw the sheet from his per
son. On which he alights and
tickleth as before. With desper-
ale effort the man wraps himself
from top to toe in his sheet, leav-
ing only exposed the tip OF his
nose for air. He fatter himself
that the wicked fly will not find
his nose. or if he does find it he
will not care to waste his tickling
power on such an insignificant bit
Of surface. But the tip Of nose is
just what the 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 a buzz-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 a tremulous up
raising, a chock, a commotion of
the bed-clothes, a kicking oat OF
enraged legs and the man ariseth
straightway and delivers himself
Of one and sometime more wicked
words not here to be mentioned,
and every fly in the room shaketh
with lerisiYa lanrhtnr