After this, some of the Tent-Caterpillars went on to the larger crotchand some stayed behind. More went than stayed, and when they saw this,those by the smaller crotch gave up and joined their brothers andsisters, as they should have done. It was right to do that which pleasedmost of them.
It took a great deal of work to make the tent. All helped, spinninghundreds and thousands of white silken threads, laying them side byside, criss-crossing them, fastening the ends to branches and twigs, notforgetting to leave places through which one could crawl in and out.They never worked all day at this, because unless they stopped to eatthey would soon have been weak and unable to spin. There were nearlyalways a few Caterpillars in the tent, but only in the early morning orlate afternoon or during the night were they all at home. The rest ofthe time they were scattered around the tree feeding. Of course therewere some cold days when they stayed in. When the weather was chillythey moved slowly and cared very little for food.
There was one young Tent-Caterpillar who happened to be the firsthatched, and who seemed to think that because he was a minute older thanany of the other children he had the right to his own way. Sometimes hegot it, because the others didn't want to have any trouble. Sometimes hedidn't get it, and then he was very sulky and disagreeable, evenrefusing to answer when he was spoken to.
One cold day, when all the Caterpillars stayed in the tent, this oldestbrother wanted the warmest place, that in the very middle. It shouldhave belonged to the younger brothers and sisters, for they were not sostrong, but he pushed and wriggled his hairy black and brown and yellowbody into the very place he wanted, and then scolded everybody aroundbecause he had to push to get there. It happened as it always does whena Caterpillar begins to say mean things, and he went on until he wassaying some which were really untrue. Nobody answered back, so hescolded and fussed and was exceedingly disagreeable.
All day long he thought how wretched he was, and how badly they treatedhim, and how he guessed they'd be sorry enough if he went away. The nextmorning he went. As long as the warm sunshine lasted he did very well.When it began to grow cool, his brothers and sisters crawled past him ontheir way to the tent. "Come on!" they cried. "It's time to go home."
"Uh-uh!" said the eldest brother (and that meant "No"), "I'm not going."
"Why not?" they asked.
"Oh, because," said he.
When the rest were all together in the tent they talked about him. "Doyou suppose he's angry?" said one.
"What should he be angry about?" said another.
"I just believe he is," said a third. "Did you notice the way his hairsbristled?"
"Don't you think we ought to go to get him?" asked two or three of theyoungest Caterpillars.
"No," said the older ones. "We haven't done anything. Let him get overit."
So the oldest brother, who had thought that every other Caterpillar inthe tent would crawl right out and beg and coax him to come back, waitedand waited and waited, but nobody came. The tent was there and the doorwas open. All he had to do was to crawl in and be at home. He waited solong that at last he had to leave the tree and spin his cocoon withoutever having gone back to his brothers and sisters in the tent. He spunhis cocoon and mixed the silk with a yellowish-white powder, then helay down in it to sleep twenty-one days and grow his wings. The lastthought he had before going to sleep was an unhappy and selfish one.Probably he awakened an unhappy and selfish Moth.
His brothers and sisters were sad whenever they thought of him. But,they said, "what could we do? It wasn't fair for him to have the best ofeverything, and we never answered when he said mean things. He mighthave come back at any time and we would have been kind to him."
And they were right. What could they have done? It was very sad, butwhen a Caterpillar is so selfish and sulky that he cannot live happilywith other people, it is much better that he should live quite alone.
THE LAZY SNAIL
In the lower part of the meadow, where the grass grew tall and tender,there lived a fine and sturdy young Snail; that is to say, afine-looking Snail. His shell was a beautiful soft gray, and its curveswere regular and perfect. His body was soft and moist, and just what aSnail's body should be. Of course, when it came to travelling, he couldnot go fast, for none of his family are rapid travellers, still, if hehad been plucky and patient, he might have seen much of the meadow, andperhaps some of the world outside. His friends and neighbors often toldhim that he ought to start out on a little journey to see the sights,but he would always answer, "Oh, it is too hard work!"
There was nobody who liked stories of meadow life better than this sameSnail, and he would often stop some friendly Cricket or Snake to ask forthe news. After they had told him, they would say, "Why, don't you everget out to see these things for yourself?" and he would give a littlesigh and answer, "It is too far to go."
"But you needn't go the whole distance in one day," his visitor wouldsay, "only a little at a time."
"Yes, and then I would have to keep starting on again every littlewhile," the Snail would reply. "What of that?" said the visitor; "youwould have plenty of resting spells, when you could lie in the shade ofa tall weed and enjoy yourself."
"Well, what is the use?" the Snail would say. "I can't enjoy resting ifI know I've got to go to work again," and he would sigh once more.
So there he lived, eating and sleeping, and wishing he could see theworld, and meet the people in the upper part of the meadow, but just solazy that he wouldn't start out to find them.
He never thought that the Butterflies and Beetles might not like it tohave him keep calling them to him and making them tell him the news. Oh,no indeed! If he wanted them to do anything for him, he asked themquickly enough, and they, being happy, good-natured people, would alwaysdo as he asked them to.
There came a day, though, when he asked too much. The Grasshoppers hadbeen telling him about some very delicious new plants that grew a littledistance away, and the Snail wanted some very badly. "Can't you bring mesome?" he said. "There are so many of you, and you have such good,strong legs. I should think you might each bring me a small piece inyour mouths, and then I should have a fine dinner of it."
The Grasshoppers didn't say anything then, but when they were so faraway that he could not hear them, they said to each other, "If the Snailwants the food so much, he might better go for it. We have other thingsto do," and they hopped off on their own business.
The Snail sat there, and wondered and wondered that they did not come.He kept thinking how he would like some of the new food for dinner, butthere it ended. He didn't want it enough to get it for himself.
The Grasshoppers told all their friends about the Snail's request, andeverybody thought, "Such a lazy, good-for-nothing fellow deserves to beleft quite alone." So it happened that for a very long time nobody wentnear the Snail.
The weather grew hotter and hotter. The clouds, which blew across thesky, kept their rain until they were well past the meadow, and so ithappened that the river grew shallower and shallower, and the sunshinedried the tiny pools and rivulets which kept the lower meadow damp. Thegrass began to turn brown and dry, and, all in all, it was tryingweather for Snails.
One day, a Butterfly called some of her friends together, and told themthat she had seen the Snail lying in his old place, looking thin andhungry. "The grass is all dried around him," she said; "I believe he isstarving, and too lazy to go nearer the river, where there is still goodfood for him."
They all talked it over together, and some of them said it was of no useto help a Snail who was too lazy to do anything for himself. Otherssaid, "Well, he is too weak to help himself now, at all events, and wemight help him this once." And that is exactly what they did. TheButterflies and the Mosquitoes flew ahead to find the best place to putthe Snail, and all the Grasshoppers, and Beetles, and other strongcrawling creatures took turns in rolling the Snail down toward theriver.
They left him where the green things were fresh and tender, and he grewstrong and plump once more. It is even said that he was
not so lazyafterward, but one cannot tell whether to believe it or not, foreverybody knows that when people let themselves grow up lazy, as he did,it is almost impossible for them to get over it when they want to. Onething is sure: the meadow people who helped him were happier and betterfor doing a kind thing, no matter what became of the Snail.
THE ANT THE WORE WINGS
In one of the Ant-hills in the highest part of the meadow, were a lot ofyoung Ants talking together. "I," said one, "am going to be a soldier,and drive away anybody who comes to make us trouble. I try biting hardthings every day to make my jaws strong, so that I can guard the homebetter."
"I," said another and smaller Ant, "want to be a worker. I want to helpbuild and repair the home. I want to get the food for the family, andfeed the Ant babies, and clean them off when they crawl out of theirold coats. If I can do those things well, I shall be the happiest,busiest Ant in the meadow."
"We don't want to live that kind of life," said a couple of larger Antswith wings. "We don't mean to stay around the Ant-hill all the time andwork. We want to use our wings, and then you may be very sure that youwon't see us around home any more."
The little worker spoke up: "Home is a pleasant place. You may be veryglad to come back to it some day." But the Ants with the wings turnedtheir backs and wouldn't listen to another word.
A few days after this there were exciting times in the Ant-hill. All thewinged Ants said "Good-bye" to the soldiers and workers, and flew offthrough the air, flew so far that the little ones at home could nolonger see them. All day long they were gone, but the next morning whenthe little worker (whom we heard talking) went out to get breakfast, shefound the poor winged Ants lying on the ground near their home. Some ofthem were dead, and the rest were looking for food.
The worker Ant ran up to the one who had said she didn't want to stayaround home, and asked her to come back to the Ant-hill. "No, I thankyou," she answered. "I have had my breakfast now, and am going to flyoff again." She raised her wings to go, but after she had given oneflutter, they dropped off, and she could never fly again.
The worker hurried back to the Ant-hill to call some of her sisterworkers, and some of the soldiers, and they took the Ant who had losther wings and carried her to another part of the meadow. There they wentto work to build a new home and make her their queen.
First, they looked for a good, sandy place, on which the sun would shineall day. Then the worker Ants began to dig in the ground and bring outtiny round pieces of earth in their mouths. The soldiers helped them,and before night they had a cosy little home in the earth, with severalrooms, and some food already stored. They took their queen in, andbrought her food to eat, and waited on her, and she was happy andcontented.
By and by the Ant eggs began to hatch, and the workers had all theycould do to take care of their queen and her little Ant babies, and thesoldier Ants had to help. The Ant babies were little worms or grubs whenthey first came out of the eggs; after a while they curled up in tiny,tiny cases, called pupa-cases, and after another while they came out ofthese, and then they looked like the older Ants, with their six legs,and their slender little waists. But whatever they were, whether eggs,or grubs, or curled up in the pupa-cases, or lively little Ants, theworkers fed and took care of them, and the soldiers fought for them,and the queen-mother loved them, and they all lived happily togetheruntil the young Ants were ready to go out into the great world and learnthe lessons of life for themselves.
THE CHEERFUL HARVESTMEN.
Some of the meadow people are gay and careless, and some are alwaysworrying. Some work hard every day, and some are exceedingly lazy.There, as everywhere else, each has his own way of thinking aboutthings. It is too bad that they cannot all learn to think brave andcheerful thoughts, for these make life happy. One may have a comfortablehome, kind neighbors, and plenty to eat, yet if he is in the habit ofthinking disagreeable thoughts, not even all these good things can makehim happy. Now there was the young Frog who thought herself sick--butthat is another story.
Perhaps the Harvestmen were the most cheerful of all the meadow people.The old Tree Frog used to say that it made him feel better just to seetheir knees coming toward him. Of course, when he saw their knees, heknew that the whole insect was also coming. He spoke in that way becausethe Harvestmen always walked or ran with their knees so much above therest of their bodies that one could see those first.
The Harvestmen were not particularly fine-looking, not nearly sohandsome as some of their Spider cousins. One never thought of that,however. They had such an easy way of moving around on their eight legs,each of which had a great many joints. It is the joints, orbending-places, you know, which make legs useful. Besides beinggraceful, they had very pleasant manners. When a Harvestman said"Good-morning" to you on a rainy day, you always had a feeling that thesun was shining. It might be that the drops were even then falling intoyour face, but for a moment you were sure to feel that everything wasbright and warm and comfortable.
Sometimes the careless young Grasshoppers and Crickets called theHarvestmen by their nicknames, "Daddy Long-Legs" or "GrandfatherGraybeard." Even then the Harvestmen were good-natured, and only saidwith a smile that the young people had not yet learned the names oftheir neighbors. The Grasshoppers never seemed to think how queer it wasto call a young Harvestman daughter "Grandfather Graybeard." When theysaw how good-natured they were, the Grasshoppers soon stopped trying totease the Harvestmen. People who are really good-natured are neverteased very long, you know.
The Walking-Sticks were exceedingly polite to the Harvestmen. Theythought them very slender and genteel-looking. Once the Five-LeggedWalking-Stick said to the largest Harvestman, "Why do you talk so muchwith the common people in the meadow?"
The Harvestman knew exactly what the Walking-Stick meant, but he was notgoing to let anybody make fun of his kind and friendly neighbors, so hesaid: "I think we Harvestmen are rather common ourselves. There are agreat, great many of us here. It must be very lonely to be uncommon."
After that the Walking-Stick had nothing more to say. He never feltquite sure whether the Harvestman was too stupid to understand or toowise to gossip. Once he thought he saw the Harvestman's eyes twinkle.The Harvestman didn't care if people thought him stupid. He knew that hewas not stupid, and he would rather seem dull than to listen whileunkind things were said about his neighbors.
Some people would have thought it very hard luck to be Harvestmen. TheGarter Snake said that if he were one, he should be worried all the timeabout his legs. "I'm thankful I haven't any," he said, "for if I had Ishould be forever thinking I should lose some of them. A Harvestmanwithout legs would be badly off. He could never in the world crawlaround on his belly as I do."
How the Harvestmen did laugh when they heard this! The biggest one said,"Well, if that isn't just like some people! Never want to have anythingfor fear they'll lose it. I wonder if he worries about his head? Hemight lose that, you know, and then what would he do?"
It was only the next day that the largest Harvestman came home on sevenlegs. His friends all cried out, "Oh, how did it ever happen?"
"Cows," said he.
"Did they step on you?" asked the Five-Legged Walking-Stick. He had notlived long enough in the meadow to understand all that the Harvestmanmeant. He was sorry for him, though, for he knew what it was to lose aleg.
"Huh!" said a Grasshopper, interrupting in a very rude way, "aren't anyCows in this meadow now!"
Then the other Harvestmen told the Walking-Stick all about it, howsometimes a boy would come to the meadow, catch a Harvestman, hold himup by one leg, and say to him, "Grandfather Graybeard, tell me where theCows are, or I'll kill you." Then the only thing a Harvestman could dowas to struggle and wriggle himself free, and he often broke off a legin doing so.
"How terrible!" said the three Walking-Sticks all together. "But whydon't you tell them?"
"We do," answered the Harvestmen. "We point with our seven other legs,and we point every way there is. Sometimes we don't kn
ow where theyare, so we point everywhere, to be sure. But it doesn't make anydifference. Our legs drop off just the same."
"Isn't a boy clever enough to find Cows alone?" asked theWalking-Sticks.
"Oh, it isn't that," cried all the meadow people together. "Even afteryou tell, and sometimes when the Cows are right there, they walk offhome without them."
"I'd sting them," said a Wasp, waving his feelers fiercely and raisingand lowering his wings. "I'd sting them as hard as I could."
"You wouldn't if you had no sting," said the Tree Frog.
"N-no," stammered the Wasp, "I suppose I wouldn't."
"You poor creature!" said the biggest Katydid to the biggest Harvestman."What will you do? Only seven legs!"
"Do?" answered the biggest Harvestman, and it was then one could seehow truly brave and cheerful he was. "Do? I'll walk on those seven. IfI lose one of them I'll walk on six, and if I lose one of them I'll walkon five. Haven't I my mouth and my stomach and my eyes and my twofeelers, and my two food-pincers? I may not be so good-looking, but I ama Harvestman, and I shall enjoy the grass and the sunshine and my kindneighbors as long as I live. I must leave you now. Good-day."
He walked off rather awkwardly, for he had not yet learned to managehimself since his accident. The meadow people looked after him verythoughtfully. They were not noticing his awkwardness, or thinking of hishigh knees or of his little low body. Perhaps they thought what theCicada said, "Ah, that is the way to live!"
THE LITTLE SPIDER'S FIRST WEB
Among the Meadow People Page 2
