Page:The fairy tales of science.djvu/179

Rh When the butterfly had finished his story, the tiger-moth addressed his friends in the following manner:—"I fear that my history will afford you but little interest, as I have undergone a series of changes of precisely the same character as those which have just been described by our friend. In my youthful days I was quite as voracious as the butterfly, but my favourite food was the nettle. My body was covered with long hairs of a dark-brown colour. This woolly coat was of immense service to me; for besides keeping me warm, it saved me many a bruise by breaking my fall when I tumbled off a leaf or branch. Before changing into a chrysalis, I spun for myself a snug little silken hammock, in which I might repose in peace until my final metamorphosis into a moth. There, I have finished my brief narrative, and am now longing to hear the dragon-fly's story, as I suspect it will be very wonderful."

"My early days," said the dragon-fly, "were spent in the water. I was then furnished with six feet, but I did not use them for walking so much as for capturing my prey. I moved through the water by means of a wonderful hydraulic engine, which nature had given me. With this engine I was able to eject a stream of water to the distance of several inches; and this jet propelled me through the water, in consequence of its being resisted by the stationary mass of the fluid behind. I was the terror of all the inhabitants of the pond, for I was dreadfully