Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-01-03
LIGHTNING BUGS

Herman is no. lad hoy. In fact
II he is not Hettlcd he is quite a good
little fellow. but like many other it,.
tie boys he Is sometimes little
thoughtess as To pain. That doesn't
mean his own PAIN He thinks enough
OF that. II means the pain Of olhec
persons or of animals. He some.
times whacks ms brother Henry,
who is two wears older than he. over
the arm or The leg with stick ard
then wonders that Henry begins to
cry. If Henry should hit him like
that, ~ would cry too. and would not
wonder either.
The other day il was warm. and the
two boys were allowed TO stay up III
after dark. They thought it ever 81
nice TO sit on the porch steps and see
The twinklins little Stars come ont, at
first one by one. then in patches OF
six, ten, or twelve. and at last by thu
hundred. What interested them still
more was the number OF irefies or
lightning bugs that were playing hide
and seek in the air and would somc-
times come ON the porch and crawl
up and down the pillars.
Herman watched the little insects
closely and after Il while he caught
enc and let il crawl on his hand.
This gave him much pleasure, but
II tlckled him and ne put the bug on
his dress. Suddenly an idea struck
Linn. He ran into the house as fast
as his little legs would carry him.
opened the desk he had received fer
Christmas, and took out a small bot
tie in which he kept water that h.
called bay rum. This he poured out
aad hurried back TO the porch. Father
and mother had gone for short
stroll with Henry. and so Herman
was quite by himself. for LINDA, his
ba sister, wa. bed.
What do you think he did now? He
caught Il great many of the lishtnin,
bugs and put them into the bottle,
and when this was about ha!f.full he
put the stopper on and placed the
bottle on his desk.
The sparkling OF the little bugs
looked pretty in the dark rooms, but
think OF the poor insects with little
air TO breathe and no room at all 10
ny about. You must know that hyin
about is to lightning bug TIE same
as playing is to : little boy or girl.
After while Herman got tired
looking at his bugs and ran outdoors
TO play with his wheelbarrow. While
he was doing this Henry came in ant.
when he saw the bottle with the cur
i0us little lights in it, which kept
coming and going, he took up the bot
tie and pulled out the stopper 10
smell what was in there
The bugs were just waiting for that /,
Quickly they crawled out and flew
about Henry's nose. Henry became
frightened, put down the bottle, and
ran out of the room. In the hall h
met Herman, who was going to have
another look at his treasure.
Come here. Henry" he cried. "and
see my lightning bugs. | have a
whole lot in a bottle"
Were they lightning bugs" Heni1
asked, aslonished. Il didn't know
what they were, and | opened the bot
tie. and they all flew OUT
Herman wept bitterly when HI
heard that his treasure was gone, bu
Henry told him that it was cruel K
Zen the poor insects up like that
Herman, however, could not see tn,
cruelty and went to bed disconsolate
That night, when everybody wa
asleep, there was a great gathering o
lightning bugs on the front porch
The bugs that had been in the bottl,
had told their story to everybody, an,
all were angry with little Herman
Every one said that he deserve. t,
be punished, and several proposition
were made as to how to punish him
one proposed ,hey all should fly +
his bed and crawl all over him a.
night long and thus tickle him f
death, but most thought this too ha.
On the little fellow. Another Pre-
POSED to open his desk and eat up al
his picture books, and still anothe
proposed to burn up his wheelbarroW
This last they finally decided to dc
and they all flew to the wheelbarroN
which Herman had left on the Gro
Guet ground, and began holding thei