Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-12
GIANT RLUEROTTLE

| u uSI DOy you are. lou Ildhe IuSS enough
about a little pain yourself but you don't
care how you hurt anything else. Suppose
you were in that poor creatures place, how
would you like to be treated in that man
ner?'
1t was Dicks mother who said this. Dick
had caught bluebottle: he had cruelty
torn Off one of its wings. and now he was
amusing himself by watching it as 1T tum-
bled and buzzed about the table in it's eff
forts to fly away
Dick did not pay much attention to what
his mother said. She often spoke to him
like that, but 1t took very little effect, for
Dick was such a cruel boy. He would tear
the wings off bluebottle, or stick a pin
through beetle, or put a fly into a spiders
web, or pelt poor cat with stones, or rob
a bird of it's nest, without the slightest
thought about the pain he was giving. Oh,
Dick was a cruel, cruel boy!
But he knew his mother would not let
him go with his cruel tricks in her
presence, so he took up the bluebottle to
go into the yard with it. Now instead of
looking where he was going Dick was look
ing at the bluebottle and the consequence
was that, in passing through the door he
stumbled over the step. and dropped the
poor thing from his finger. He looked
about for it for some time but could not
find it, so he came INDOORS again; and not
|
Sometime in the middle of the night he
awoke from his Sleep and heard buzzing
sound on the bed, close to him. 1t was
the poor MANNED bluebottle 1t had not
fallen to the ground when it dropped from
Dicks finger but had elung to his clothes;
and so without knowing it, he had carried
it to the bed room with him. From the chair
where he hung his clothes it had crawled
to the bed. and was tumbling and buZZing
about. just as it had adone on the table
when he was much amused by 1t.
Dick soon guessed what it was; and as
he thought of his cruelty a strange feel
ing of fear came over him. His mothers
words came to his mind. How would you
like to be treated as you treat that poor
creature?, and he covered his head with
his bed clothes, as though he thought the
bluebottle had come to torment him for
his cruelty. x y
Buzz-buzz buzz-a-buzD-buzzi How it wor-
ried him! How he wished 1t would leave
off, but it would not. xBuzz-a buzz; there
it was again buzzing and crawling all over
him, until he got SO frightened that he
could not go to sleep at all.
What simpleton | am, the thought
to be frightened by. a blue bottlen' but he
could not shake off his fear in this way.
AS long as the buZZing went on he crouch
ed beneath the bed clothes and dared not
even move, However. it left off at last
and he gradually fell asleep
Buzz a-buzz! Buzz-abuzz-abuzz- buzz
There 1t was again, louder than ever.
Dicks heart beat as though he had a
pair of drum sticks inside him; the bed
clothes were snatched from his head; and
10! great ugly monster rose before him.
NOW this monster was like a bluebOttle
in shape, and had one of it's wings torn
off; yet such a giant was 1t that it seemed
to have thrust part of it's body through
the roof, and to be looking down upon Dick
from somewhere among the chimney pots
DICK made dive beneath the bed clothes
again; but the giant bounced upon him
with hideous laugh, which SO terrified
him that he tainted right off at once.
:, When he came to again it was broad day
hght, and he found himself in the open air
with three of these monsters looking down
upon him. No sooner did he move than
tne one with the broken wing seized upon
MN and began pulling about so roughly
that he cried aloud with pain
oh! there's a funny noise he makes"
cried one OF the others. did you hear him.
Buzzy? Pun his leg again, here let me-"
ana with that they all set upon him and
began to pinch him and poke him and null
him about in such manner that he ex
peeted nothing less than to be crushed to
death like moth or torn limb from limb
lie struggled and he screamed; but the
more he struggled the more he was hurt.
ana the more he screamed the more they
were amused. Then his mothers words
came to his mind. How would you like to
be served as you serve the poor creatures?"
and gave himself up as lost and wished he
We're dead. But his troubles were Just
commencing.
Suddenly that one-wnged monster cried,
Look here. let's stick pin through him
and see how he'll kick"
"Ha! that'll be the sort of fun" cried the
others. and away went the monster for a
PIN When he returned with 1t Dick was
more terrified than ever. for the pin" was
a great brass spike three or four times the
size of his body and about the thickness of
his arm.
Now. then" said the giant. Tets pin
him to this rail-" and Dick was snatched
,i,ar a,,I
along it. The monster lifted the 'pin'
above him; Dick shut his eyes and shud-
dered, but the giant. instead of sticking
him, said Wait minute! Don't let's pin
and see If he'll fight"
oh. capital! capitall' shouted the others.
And DICK was caught UP again and carried
or with such buzzingCas almost deadened
and by the time they reached the tigers
den he was gaspingzfor breath.
But there was the tiger, fierce and hun
cry; and when Dick caught sight of him he
began to KICK and scream worse than ever.
But he had often amused himself by putting
fly into SPIDERS web; why should not
these giant blue-bottfes amuse themselves
by putting boy into a tigers den? 1t was
of no use to kick 1T twas of use to
scream, the monstersswere eager for fun.
In another minute it would have been all
over with poor Diek.abu just in the nick
of time another of these monsters. bigger
than all the rest, came pp and said: What
are you doing here.s children? What have
you got?' ''Oh. mothersY they cried, we've
got such funny little sthing! Buzzy found
1t in its little nest.tsgsEet me see it, s. j
the mother. why, what have you been
doing to the poor thinge It's almost dead"
I'VE haven't been hurting it. mother" they
said: I'VE are going to see If it'll fight the
tiger"
Indeed, you are not" replied the mother:
''how can you be so cruel?" And with that
she took him gently in the long grass.
There" she said slet 1t crawl away
where 1t likes. Suppose you were in that
poor things place. how would you like to
be tormented In that way?"
And with these words singing In his
ears Dick was left alone oh. what re-
lief 1t was to be hidden away there in the
long grass-so long that he was only like
some little grasshopper in it! Poor fellow!
he was thoroughly exhausted and was just
sinking on into a kind of swoon when
something tickled his ear He started
opened his eyes. and, 10! everything was
changed He was IN his own bedroom
again, and there was the poor MANNED
bluebottle buzzing about on his pillow.
He shrank from 1t in terror. Although
he saw now that he had only been dream
ing he was SO unnerved that he hardly
dared look around, But the darkness was