Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-01
The Yellow Butterfly
BIZ CLARA AUSTIN w1NsIow.

he saw O. large yellow one nying very lase
indeed. Dick followed, and 1t led him on.
and on. and on. Soon 1t turned right about
and sang forth: "who goes there? I am
| bound for the land where the elephants
play" And 1t went flying away again
with Dick still following on. and on, and
on
Then It was that something happened to
| Dicks eyes so that he began to see things
| which he had never seen before. All over
| the fields and in all the trees sat tiny peo-
| pie with thimbles on all their fingers and all
| their thumbs sewing as fast as he could
run. Dick saw out of the corners OF his
eyes that they were sewing flowers to their
\ stems, stems to their roots, and overcastlng
| the edges of leaves and grasses to keep
them from travelling.
Where am I?' thought Dick.
| You are nowhere in particular" sang the
| yellow butterfly.
How do you know what I'm thinking7"
| timidly asked Dick.
| Its a wise father knows his own son,
| came back on the breeze as the butterfly
went sailing on.
| Il wonder If that was a joke" thought
Dick. but he was so out of breath from
| running that he could not laugh, SO smil-
| ing as best he could, he
| Suddenly came sounds like the distant roll
| ing of thunder. The ground shook SO that
Dick had hard work to run straight.
Look out or you'll lose It," said the yell
| low butterfly.
Lose what?' inquired Dick.
Your balance. Of course. We are near
ing the land where the elephants play"
"Why-do elephants-play? painted Dick.
why shouldn't they?" returned the but
teriy.
This butterfly must be very smart" said
Dick to himself. He answers things so
very quickly, and very learnedly. 1 can't
quite understand him. either"
Just as Dick had become accustomed to
the shaking of the ground, the motion sud
| denly ceased, upsetting his equilibrium and
throwing him over wall right into the
| middle Of the elephants play ground. They
| were sitting about little tables playing It'd
dledy- winks.
why do elephants" Dick began, and
looking around for the butterfly, caught
| sight OF his yellow wings disappearing
| through window. Dick jumped in after
him.
Right this way for your education"
| roared an old lion. who was sitting on the
platform.
Dick walked right up
"Begin!' roared the lion, looking over his
| glasses.
Where shall begin?" stammered Dick.
The butterfly touched Dicks ear with the
tip of his wing and whispered. Begin where
you left Off"
But never left off," said Dick in
despair.
Next" roared the lion. and Dick hur-
| ried on to the place where a swarm of bees
were busy at their lessons.
What class is this?" asked Dick.
The drawing class" answered the but
teiuy- 1Hey are DuSy learning to make
Declines"
AS Dick approached. the master bee
| buzzed excitedly. 'Companys coming; sit
up straight; answer in concert; name the
Honey bees humble bees, husking bees,
quilting bees. apple bees. spelling bees, pres
| idential bees"
ITO be or not to be, that Is the question"
quoted the butterfly solemnly
IT'S no question with me-" holding an
swered Dick. hurrying on to where long
tailed. bushy-maned horses were sitting
| about practicing on pianos. and an old wolf
was making biting remarks in regard to
their touch. Dick did not stop, but as he
passed by he heard an old horse making
some retort about keeping the wolf from
the door, and the wolf replying that all
their musical endeavors were nothing but
horse-play, after all.
Dick saw, just ahead. a line of solemn
piack crows sitting in front of a rickety
old scarecrow upon whose anatomy the
master crow was lecturing
NOW In this vicinity Is located the solar
pfexus. asserted the wise old crow to the
line OF crows who were scribbling away In
their notebooks. "And this petrified SUBJ
stance Is the conscience You will observe
that the cavity containing it is very large
due to excessive wabbling about of this
organ before it became petrified In your
dissections you will rarely find a normal
conscience, the diseases to which it is sub
1ect are SO numerous, as palpitation, en-
largement, curvature and paralysis"
Il dldnt follow you to come to school"
DICK said Indignantly, turning toward the
butterfly, who sitting listening intent
ly to the old crows demonstrate Dick
attracted his attention by pinchng the tin
of his wing. Thereupon the butterfly start
ed off again, leading Dick up very high
hill.
I'VE are on our way" said he. ito mass
meeting of high society to settle a long
standing dispute, namely, Shall asparagus
be eaten with the fingers or with a nut
pick? You and l will sit on the fence and
Itch the fight
The fence was not comfortable seat but
the butterfly put his wing around Dick in
friendly way and pointed out the worthless
on each side.
sentative side. and looking haughtiiy
| through her lorgnette at the liberals, said:
| I'VE are here today to decide a question
upon which L feel deeply. and the con-
temptation OF which has been a great strain
| upon my delicate nerves. 1t is my patriot
| ism that calls me here today. 1 am lust
nervous enough to be intensely patriotic"
Inc feathers on her hat quivered nervously
| as she continued. There would have been
| no dispute to settle today If you the ub-
erals. had not disagreed with our time
honored custom"
sudden commotion on the liberal side
made Dick turn quickly just In time to see
an old bald eagle arise. With much clear
| Ing of his throat and gesticulation of his
wings, he began to speak
Spread-eagle oratory," whispered the
yellow butterfly, and winked one eye at
Dick.
Another joke" thought Dick. and smiled
bravely in the direction of the butterfly.
Il am liberal" screamed the eagle. "A
liberal of the deepest dye. I believe every
one has right to his own opinions to
think, fly and eat as suits him best. If
any one thinks different from that he is a
narrow scalawag, a dog in the manager, a
black sheep Jail bird, "a
great disturbance on the conservative
side brought an abrupt end to his speech
Several ostriches were carried out limp in
a dead faint.
You see that old quack sitting on the
PLATFORM" asked the butterfly, pointing to
Misunderstanding old duck
rs he going to make speech?" asked
| Dick.
"Oh, no; he made brilliant remark once
| and all he has to do now is to sit still and
| look wise. A knowing duck, he.'
The assembly was growing more and
more noisy and excited. 1t looked fair to be
| claw-to-claw fight between the two
| parties. The blackbirds got up in a body
and whistling loudly, walked away, their
| hands in their pockets.
Question, question; ready for the ques-
| tion," shouted the English sparrows
Dick was so bewildered by the confusion
| that he could neither recall the question