Chapter 4

The rail was trembling, and in the distance a strange wild shriek was heard, a great puff of smoke went rolling up to the sky.

"Quick! quick!" implored the worm. "Do as I do, or you will be killed. There is no time to lose."

But the only answer he got was a laugh.

The monster was getting nearer and nearer, and the worm, with one more vain petition to the butterfly to follow him, squirmed into a crevice under the rail.

On came the monster, its great iron limbs pounding back and forth. A rattle, a shriek, a puff of smoke: he had come and gone. The worm--where was he? Limp and dead in his little hole under the rail. And the butterfly--the poor beautiful butterfly?

Oh, she had simply flown away.

NEW YORK CITY.

In a short paper entitled "The Paradise of Insects," in _Young People_ No. 10, some interesting facts are told of small sand-flies, called sancudos, which abound on the Upper Amazons and other swampy localities of South and Central America. Boys will like to know the origin of their name. Stilts are called _zancos_ in Spanish, and these flies, a species of mosquito, are called sancudos--more properly spelled zancudos--on account of their very long, slender legs and disproportionately small bodies, which remind one of a very small boy on very high stilts. Flies on stilts is a funny idea, but not more funny than the appearance of these troublesome little insects.

RODRIGO.

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I am a little girl twelve years old, and live at Fort Supply, Indian Territory. My father is a captain in the Twenty-third Infantry. We live in huts made of logs, and the cracks filled with mud to keep out the cold, and the inside lined with canvas. We have frequent visits from the Indians. Not long ago a party of about fifty Indians were here, some of whom were on the war-path last fall. We have a school, and about sixteen scholars. If it were not for school I should be very lonesome, as I have only one playmate. There are plenty of children here, but they are all too small to play with. I take _Young People_, and it is a great addition to my small fund of amusements.

GRACE W. HENTON.

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PUTNAM, CONNECTICUT.

DEAR "YOUNG PEOPLE."--I thought when you made your first appearance that you were as pretty and interesting as possible, but when you arrived in your new dress, looking so fresh and bright, wishing us a "Merry Christmas," I was still more delighted with you. I hope the number of your subscribers will grow as fast as you have, you are such a dear little paper.

ANNA C. B.

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The two following letters are from very young readers, who wrote in big capitals with their own little hands:

NEW YORK CITY.

I am so glad you have published _Young People_. I am five years old. I have a little kitten, and my papa says it will soon be a cat. I wish it wouldn't.

JIMMIE B.

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STOCKPORT, NEW YORK.

I thought I would drop you a line or two about the _Young People_ and the "Wiggles," and I will. I send you what I make of the last number of the "Wiggles," and I like the new paper. So good-by. From

ROBBIE REYNOLDS (six years).

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Here are two more little folks, who employ an amanuensis:

BELMONT.

I thought I would write you a letter to let you know how I like _Young People_. Grandpa takes it for me. I am only eight and a half years old. Grandpa is going to copy this, as I can not write very well.

EDGAR. E. HYDE.

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NEW YORK CITY.

I am only five years old, and can not read or write yet, but my nurse reads me the stories in _Young People_ every week, and I like them very much, and the pictures and the letters; and papa says I ought to send you a letter, and tell you how much I like it. So does my little sister Lulu, and she is only three years old, and I have got a little brother only three weeks old, but he hasn't any name yet. I told papa I would send a letter, but I could not write it, and he said it would be fair if Nurse Belle would write, only I must tell her what to put in--I and nobody else--and so I did it.

LIZZIE F.

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LANSING, MICHIGAN.

A few days ago I was walking with a friend when we saw a rabbit in the road. We ran to catch it, but could not, for it ran too. Suddenly it stopped. My friend whistled, and then it ran right up to her, and we caught it. I suppose that rabbits like music.

LAURA B.

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NEWTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

I am going to tell you about a butterfly my brother Willie brought in from the woods this winter. It flew about the rooms for a few days, till one morning he seemed almost dead. Mamma took him to the door, and he flew away up over our barn and some great tall pine-trees. I am ten years old this winter.

L. MABEL MARSTON.

What color were the butterfly's wings, and how large was it?

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HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

I once had a pet rabbit. He was gray and white, and I named him Mac, after papa. Once I gave him a peach, and another rabbit ran away with it; then he stood up on his hind-legs and begged for another.

HARRY F.

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George D. B. and Cora B. E., both of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also write of pet rabbits, and Spitz and Newfoundland dogs.

* * * * *

NEW YORK CITY.

I have a chicken that I hatched out by putting the egg in ashes. While I am writing this letter it is sitting on my hand. When I call it, it comes to me. I have also four white mice, which are as tame as the chicken. I did have a squirrel, but it died. I wish you would tell me how to feed my mice.

JOSEPH P.

White mice will eat nuts of all kinds, canary-seed, and various other grains. They will also nibble bread and cake. They must have plenty of water, and like a little milk now and then. They should be given a soft, warm nest of dry moss or of flannel.

* * * * *

J. G. D.--In all rooms where meal is kept, the worms generally breed much faster than they are wanted. The meal-moth is very pretty. Its fore-wings are light brown, with a dark chocolate-brown spot on the base and tip of each. It is often to be seen clinging to the ceiling of kitchen or store-room, with its tail curved over its back. This moth deposits its eggs in the meal, and in a short time the worm is hatched, which soon forms itself into a cocoon, from which the moth again comes forth. You may find this worm crawling in old flour barrels or some box in which meal has been kept; and if you keep a box of meal standing open in some warm place, the moth will be very likely to find it, especially in the summer-time, and use it as a deposit for her eggs. Meanwhile you can feed your mocking-birds on meal and milk, mixed now and then with very fine chopped raw beef and with bits of fruit. You can also buy prepared food for them. Be sure to give them plenty of clean gravel in the bottom of the cage.

* * * * *

"SUBSCRIBER," Moline, Illinois.--Heph_ai_stos is the correct Greek spelling of Vulcan's name, but Heph_ae_stos is the accepted English spelling of the word. Either is correct.--The translation of _Don Quixote_ has become such a standard English work that the ordinary English pronunciation of the name is allowable. In Spanish it is pronounced Ke-ho-tay, with a slight accent on the second syllable.

* * * * *

Favors are acknowledged from Belle R., Tennessee; Willie D. V., Indiana; Robbie B. H., St. John, New Brunswick; Alpha T. E., Pennsylvania; from Illinois--Mamie Ripley, Tommy C. H., Edith Patterson, Joseph K.; from Massachusetts--Kennie Norwood, L. Tyler P., Stanley K. H., Harry B., F. U. T.; from Ohio--Lulie H., Oscar B., Willie Gordon, Ralph M. F., Hattie Mitchell; from Michigan--Nellie M. C., L. A. Waldron, Edward D. E.; from New York--Fred L. Colwell, A. M. Tucker, D. C. Gilmore; Eddie R. Derwart, Toronto, Canada.

Correct answers to puzzles received from Walter S. Dodge, Washington, D. C.; Merton L. T., Massachusetts; James A. S., Connecticut; Sallie V. B., Nebraska; L. A. W., Canada; Harry Lewis, Kentucky; C. M. J., Ohio; from Pennsylvania--R. O. Lowry, George N. Hayward, Walter Lowry, Chester B. F., Florence M.; from New Jersey--K. H. Talbot, Otto M. Rau; from California--Violet A. Francis, F. T. Swett; from New York--H. G. S., Florence, Main, Perkins S., G. A. Page, Van Rensselaer, Etta R., Etha F. Smith, "Oats," Nellie H., B. F. W., F. N. Dodd.

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HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE _and_ HARPER'S WEEKLY _will be sent to any address for one year, commencing with the first Number of_ HARPER'S WEEKLY _for January, 1880, on receipt of $5.00 for the two Periodicals_.

=PLAYS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE=, with Songs and Choruses, adapted for Private Theatricals. With the Music and necessary directions for getting them up. Sent on receipt of 30 cents, by HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, No. 5 Beekman Street, New York. Send your address for a Catalogue of Tableaux, Charades, Pantomimes, Plays, Reciters, Masks, Colored Fire, &c., &c.

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Send one, two, three, or five dollars for a sample box, by express, of the best Candies in America, put up elegantly and strictly pure. Refers to all Chicago.

Address C. F. GUNTHER, Confectioner, 78 MADISON STREET, CHICAGO.

Ladies and Gentlemen can Save Money

By ordering Goods through HENRY W. BOND, Purchasing Agent, 58 Walker St., P.O. Box 1862, N. Y. City. Send Postal Card for "Shopping Guide."

ABBOTTS' ILLUSTRATED HISTORIES.

* * * * *

HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES. By JACOB ABBOTT and JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. The Volumes of this Series are printed and bound uniformly, and contain numerous Illustrations. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00 per volume; Set in box, 32 vols., $32.00.

Cyrus the Great. Darius the Great. Xerxes. Alexander the Great. Romulus. Hannibal. Pyrrhus. Julius Caesar. Cleopatra. Nero. Alfred the Great. William the Conqueror. Richard I. Richard II. Richard III. Margaret of Anjou. Mary Queen of Scots. Queen Elizabeth. Charles I. Charles II. Hernando Cortez. Henry IV. Louis XIV. Maria Antoinette. Madame Roland. Josephine. Joseph Bonaparte. Hortense. Louis Philippe. Genghis Khan. King Philip. Peter the Great.

For the convenience of buyers, these Histories have been divided into Six Series, as follows:

I.

_Founders of Empires._

CYRUS. DARIUS. XERXES. ALEXANDER. GENGHIS KHAN. PETER THE GREAT.

II.

_Heroes of Roman History._

ROMULUS. HANNIBAL. PYRRHUS. JULIUS CAESAR. NERO.

III.

_Earlier British Kings and Queens._

ALFRED. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. RICHARD I. RICHARD II. MARGARET OF ANJOU.

IV.

_Later British Kings and Queens._

RICHARD III. MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. ELIZABETH. CHARLES I. CHARLES II.

V.

_Queens and Heroines._

CLEOPATRA. MARIA ANTOINETTE. JOSEPHINE. HORTENSE. MADAME ROLAND.

VI.

_Rulers of Later Times._

KING PHILIP. HERNANDO CORTEZ. HENRY IV. LOUIS XIV. JOSEPH BONAPARTE. LOUIS PHILIPPE.

* * * * *

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S OPINION OF ABBOTTS' HISTORIES.

In a conversation with the President just before his death, Mr. Lincoln said: "_I want to thank you and your brother for Abbotts' Series of Histories. I have not education enough to appreciate the profound works of voluminous historians; and if I had, I have no time to read them. But your Series of Histories gives me, in brief compass, just that knowledge of past men and events which I need. I have read them with the greatest interest. To them I am indebted for about all the historical knowledge I have._"

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK.

_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price._

"_A book beyond the pale of criticism._"

N. Y. DAILY GRAPHIC.

* * * * *

THE

Boy Travellers in the Far East.

* * * * *

ADVENTURES OF

TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY

TO

JAPAN AND CHINA.

Illustrated, 8vo, Cloth, $3.00.

* * * * *

A more attractive book for boys and girls can scarcely be imagined.--_N. Y. Times._

The best thing for a boy who cannot go to China and Japan is to get this book and read it.--_Philadelphia Ledger._

One of the richest and most entertaining books for young people, both in text, illustrations, and binding, which has ever come to our table.--_Providence Press._

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, N. Y.

_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price._

A BOOK FOR EVERYBODY.

* * * * *

Ninth Edition now Ready.

* * * * *

=HOW TO GET STRONG, AND HOW TO STAY SO.= By WILLIAM BLAIKIE. With Illustrations. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.

* * * * *

Your book is timely. Its large circulation cannot fail to be of great public benefit.--Rev. HENRY WARD BEECHER.

It is a book of extraordinary merit in matter and style, and does you great credit as a thinker and writer.--Hon. CALVIN E. PRATT, _of the New York Supreme Bench_.

A capital little treatise. It is the very book for ministers to study.--Rev. THEODORE L. CUYLER, D.D., _in New York Evangelist_.

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price._

Old Books for Young Readers.

* * * * *

Arabian Nights' Entertainments.

The Thousand and One Nights; or, The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. Translated and Arranged for Family Reading, with Explanatory Notes, by E. W. LANE. 600 Illustrations by Harvey. 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, $3.50.

Robinson Crusoe.

The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner. By DANIEL DEFOE. With a Biographical Account of Defoe. Illustrated by Adams. Complete Edition. 12mo, Cloth, $1.50

The Swiss Family Robinson.

The Swiss Family Robinson; or, Adventures of a Father and Mother and Four Sons on a Desert Island. Illustrated. 2 vols., 18mo, Cloth, $1.50.

The Swiss Family Robinson--Continued: being a Sequel to the Foregoing. 2 vols., 18mo, Cloth, $1.50.

Sandford and Merton.

The History of Sandford and Merton. By THOMAS DAY. 18mo, Half Bound, 75 cents.

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

HARPER & BROTHERS _will send any of the above works by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price_.

"_Learning made pleasant._"

N. Y. EVENING POST.

* * * * *

SCIENCE FOR THE YOUNG.

By JACOB ABBOTT.

_ILLUSTRATED._

4 volumes, 12mo, Cloth, $1.50 each.

I. HEAT. II. LIGHT. III. WATER AND LAND. IV. FORCE.

* * * * *

If a mass-meeting of parents and children were to be held for the purpose of erecting a monument to the author who has done most to entertain and instruct the young folks, there would certainly be a unanimous vote in favor of Mr. Jacob Abbott. Two or three generations of American youth owe some of their most pleasant hours of recreation to his story-books; and his latest productions are as fresh and youthful as those which the papas and mammas of to-day once looked forward to as the most precious gifts from the Christmas bag of old Santa Claus. The series published under the general title of "Science for the Young" might be called "Learning made Pleasant." An interesting story runs through each, and beguiles the reader into the acquisition of a vast amount of useful knowledge under the genial pretence of furnishing amusement. No intelligent child can read these volumes without obtaining a better knowledge of physical science than many students have when they leave college.--_N. Y. Evening Post._

Jacob Abbott is almost the only writer in the English language who knows how to combine real amusement with real instruction in such a manner that the eager young readers are quite as much interested in the useful knowledge he imparts as in the story which he makes so pleasant a medium of instruction--_Buffalo Commercial Advertiser._

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price._

NOSES OUT OF JOINT.

You needn't cry and look so sad; I love you, pussy dear, the same-- I truly do--as I loved you Before this cunning kitty came; But things are changed a little now, You know, and 'cause he's very small, I've got to 'tend the most to him. Your nose is out of joint, that's all. Don't you remember that cold day They left me hours and hours in bed, And when nurse came for me at last, "Your nose is out of joint," she said, "A baby's come to live with us?" Well, then, that's what's the matter now; You might have known how it would be-- Oh dear, my head! Please don't me-ow, Or I must send you out the room; Nice little _girls_ don't make a noise When their mammas give almost all Their kisses to small red-faced boys. I tell you, puss, you are too big To sit with kit upon my knee, And it's no worse for you to have Your nose put out of joint than me.

THE ELEPHANT PUZZLE.

The puzzle is, with two cuts of the scissors to make this elephant stand on all fours.

INSTRUCTIONS.--Trace or copy the accompanying figure on a piece of Bristol-board or thick writing paper, and then go to work with your scissors and see what you can do.

The solution will be given in our next.

* * * * *

=Ants that Bite.=--Foraging ants by countless thousands are met with everywhere on the banks of the Amazons. Some of them are dwarfs not more than one-fifth of an inch long, while others are giants ten times as long, with monstrous heads and jaws. When the pedestrian falls in with a train of these ants, the first signal given him is a twittering and restless movement of small flocks of plain-colored birds (ant-thrushes) in the jungle. If this be disregarded until he advances a few steps further, he is sure to fall into trouble, and find himself suddenly attacked by numbers of the ferocious little creatures. They swarm up his legs with incredible rapidity, each one driving its pincer-like jaws into his skin, and with the purchase thus obtained doubling in its tail, and stinging with all its might. There is no course left but to run for it; if he is accompanied by natives, they will be sure to give the alarm, crying, "Tanoca!" and scampering at full speed to the other end of the column of ants. The tenacious insects that have secured themselves to his legs then have to be plucked off one by one--a task which is generally not accomplished without pulling them in twain, and leaving heads and jaws sticking in the wounds.

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, January 27, 1880, by Various