The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1902-10-08

a clumsy old black beetle"
One day as he was digging In the
earth he came on an angle worms
tunnel. Now the bug people think
that the angle worms are very wise
and useful, and SO they are, for all
their lives long they spend in work
ing the soil over and over so that It
VIII be loose for the roots Of the trees
and the flowers to move through; you
know they do move. very, very slowly,
or else they would always stay In one
spot, and not go crawling under the
ground this way and that.
Say" asked the discontented beetle
Of the angle worm, "you are wise, can
you tell me where the fire flies buy
their lamps?"
NO" the worm answered, turning
his blind, pink face toward the beetle.
"but ! have heard the grass roots talk
ing together, and, II remember
rightly, they spoke of fire somewhere
up in the sky that warmed them;
maybe the fire flies light their lamps
there"
Then the worm turned away to bite
on great mouthful OF clay. swallow
Ing 1t quite contentedly. "Why don't
you ask the fire flies themselves -
1t mumbled. seeing the beetle still
waiting there, that II what would
advice your doing"
Now the beetle was very shy and
very proud. He was not afraid of a
blind angle worm, but when IL came
to introducing himself to a fire fly,
with lovely red head and black mark
ings-to say nothing Of the lamp-that
was too much.
II will not ask any more questions.
/ will hunt the world over till find
that fire for myself, said the beetle
sullenly, so off he started. when he
stuck his head out of the earth worms
tunnel the first thing he saw was a
bright red light, gllttering behind the
leaves. He was sure 1t was far away,
because he felt no heat from it. Ger
tainly that must be the fire the roots
we're talking of. He would go there
as straight as he could crawl, so ne
scrambled off over the ground, his
nose pushing the grass and his two
little feelers showing him the way,
just as you sec any of the bug people
walk. If you watch them. Bye and
bye he looked up. thinking. undoubt-
| edly, that he had made a long jour
ney and must be near the end. Mercy!
not sign of the fire anywhere, no
| smoke even, which was not strange
when you think that what the stupid
beetle had taken for a fire was the
setting sun, which had dropped over
the edge of the world long ago and
left only big pink stain in the sky
where 1t had been.
Dear me-" fretted the beetle, how
tired I am all for nothing and no
good" and he burrowed under some
dry leaves to sulk. When he looked
up again, however. he forgot that
he had been discouraged, for there,
white and beautiful and shining, be-
tween the tree branches he saw an
other fire, and as soon as he saw 1t he
made up his mind that this was the
very one he was looking for.
Here goes!" exclaimed the beetle
cheerfully. and he began to climb the
first tree he came to. II was q slow
Journey. and many a time he would
have fallen but for the hard, hooked
claws which he dug into the bark
of the tree. He did reach the top at
last. as men and beetles always can
II they dig their claws in and work
hard enough. but when the tp-top
had been reached, dreadful to say, the
white fire had flown a million miles
away up among the stars! Can you
guess what 1t was that had fooled the
old beetle SO?
For a long time the discontentel
beetle stood on the top leaf, which
looked to his little eyes like a wide,
black floor, swinging and fitting with
the wind. There was no use, he
thought, he would give up his hunt
and go back to his cell In the ground,
where he could neither see nor hear,
for what good were eyes and ears ex-
cept to put impossible ideas in ones
head? AS he turned to go down the
tree he stopped suddenly, busted his
eyes with his feelers and looked again.
Was 1t possible-there in the street
below him, the very fire he was look
ing for? Yes, there it shone, dang
ling from an iron post and so wonder
fully white that the moon looked like
dirty silver plate beside it. A per-
feet cloud of bug people danced exclt-
edly around it--come to light their
lamps, too, the beetle told himself, and
the next moment he stretched his
wings and went slSimming through the
darkness. He forgot the other bug
people dancing there, forgot the red
sun that hid over the hill, the white
moon that ran away to the stars, the
long journey he had come on; forgot
everything except the great, blazing
diamond light that was growing nearer
with every CULVER of his wings.
where are you going? You will
burn yourself!"