St. Landry democrat., 1884-05-24
The Wicked Fly.
New Yoras Granhic.


The weary man would fain take nap
in the hot summer afternoon. He sur
veys his comfortable sleeping chamber,
all rearranged 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 cit is good"
But from the ceiling aloft the wicked
house-fly has been an interested and
amused spectator of all these proceed
ings. He has beena 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
days fun. He is to show the would be
sleeper the power of q single fly.
He rubs together first his fore legs
and then his middle legs, and at last
twisteth out from behind his last pair
of hind legs, and then works his wings
to see If they be in good working order.
Then he makes dive upon the would
be sleeper. He enCirrles his head two or
three times with a preliminary buzz.
Then le strikes him upon the nose. He
softly craWls upon that nose. He crawls
with many feet and he tici1les with each
particular little foot, And the man
launches out at him a blow hard enough
to bust bandbOx, and hits his own
nose. The fly is afar off ere the nose is
hit.
He waits thata little more sInmber
may settle down upon his victim. He
hummetb to himself a little tune. Then
alights he on the mans cheek. He
crawls thereon. He tickleth with his
many little pedal tickles. Aud 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 mans feet project
ing from the sheet But this fly has
not time to tickle the toes. Hesends an
other fly his private secretary to do that
There is much more surface to be oper-
ted 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 raj
ment and he will find it. Be it but half
an inch of ripped seam, and his tiny eye
ferrets it out. He dives into it and
craWls within. Crawis 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 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, 4eaving
only exposed the tip of his nose for air.
! He hatters 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 insignificant 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 sur
yeys it from the ceiling. Hit eye is full
of delight. He laughs buzz-z-z-zty
laugh to himself aud 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 tremulOns uprising, a
shock and cOmmotion of the bedclothes
kicking out of enraged legs, and the
man ariseth stlaightway and delivers
himself of one and sometimes more
wicked words not here to be mentioned
and every fly in the house shakes with
derisive laughter.
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