Page:The fairy tales of science.djvu/181

Rh from the splendid blue monster, for whom he had hitherto entertained so little fear. "Do not run away!" exclaimed the dragon-fly, in a very jocular tone. "I shall not eat you until I have heard your story, provided you sit still; but if you attempt to leave this tree, I shall be very much offended, and will not answer for the consequences." "O, sir!" exclaimed the gnat, "how could you suppose that I should run away from you, the handsomest, the best, and the most magnanimous insect that ever breathed? I moved from the leaf upon which you are sitting, because I felt my own unworthiness so keenly, and feared that my presence might cause you some uneasiness. If you would like to hear the story of my life, I shall be most proud to relate it to you, and to the other illustrious insects that are here assembled. "I was originally produced from a tiny egg, shaped like a bottle. My mother knew that her offspring would pass the greater portion of their time in water, and she therefore deposited her eggs upon the surface of a pond. Now, as each egg was heavy enough to sink if dropped into water, she glued some three hundred of them together into the form of a boat, which floated so safely that the most violent agitation of the water could not sink it; and, what was still more extraordinary, it never became filled with water, even though exposed to the heavy rains. When hatched, I took the form of a minute, whitish, semi-transparent grub. I