THE UNFORTUNATE FIREFLIES
Several very large families of Fireflies lived in the marsh and weremuch admired by their friends who were awake at night. Once in a whilesome young Firefly who happened to awaken during the day would go outand hover over the heads of the daylight people. He never had anyattention paid to him then, however, for during the day he seemed like avery commonplace little beetle and nobody even cared to look at him asecond time. The only remarkable thing about him was the soft light thatshone from his body, and that could only be seen at night.
The older Fireflies told the younger ones that they should get all thesleep they could during the daytime if they were to flutter and friskall night. Most of them did this, but two young Fireflies, who caredmore about seeing the world than they did about minding their elders,used to run away while the rest were dreaming. Each thought herself veryimportant, and was sure that if the others missed her they wouldn'tsleep a wink all day.
One night they planned to go by daylight to the farthest corner of themarsh. They had heard a couple of young Muskrats talking about it, andthought it might be different from anything they had seen. They went tobed when the rest did and pretended to fall asleep. When she was surethat the older Fireflies were dreaming, one of them reached over withher right hind leg and touched the other just below the edge of her leftwing-cover. "Are you ready?" she whispered.
"Yes," answered the friend, who happened to be the smaller of the two.
"Come on, then," said the larger one, picking her way along on her sixtiptoes. It was already growing light, and they could see where theystepped, but, you know, it is hard to walk over rough places on twotiptoes, so you can imagine what it must be on six. There are somepleasant things about having many legs. There are also some hard things.It is a great responsibility.
When well away from their sleeping relatives, they lifted theirwing-covers, spread their wings, and flew to the farthest corner of themarsh. They were not afraid of being punished if caught, for they wereorphans and had nobody to bring them up. They were afraid that if theother Fireflies awakened they would be called "silly" or "foolish youngbugs." They thought that they were old enough to take care ofthemselves, and did not want advice.
"Oh, wouldn't they make a fuss if they knew!" exclaimed the LargerFirefly.
"They think we need to be told every single thing," said the SmallerFirefly.
"Guess we're old enough now to go off by ourselves," said the LargerFirefly.
"I guess so," answered the Smaller Firefly. "I'm not afraid if it islight, and I can see pretty near as well as I can at night."
Just then a Flycatcher darted toward them and they had to hide. He hadcome so near that they could look down his throat as he flew along withhis beak open. The Fireflies were so scared that their feelers shook.
"I wish that bird would mind his own business," grumbled the LargerFirefly.
"That's just what he was doing," said a voice beside them, as a GarterSnake drew himself through the grass. Then their feelers shook again,for they knew that snakes do not breakfast on grass and berries.
"Did you ever see such luck?" said the Smaller Firefly. "If it isn'tbirds it is snakes."
"Perfectly dreadful!" answered the other. "I never knew the marsh to beso full of horrid people. Besides, my eyes are bothering me and I can'tsee plainly."
"So are mine," said the Smaller Firefly. "Are you going to tell theother Fireflies all about things to-night?"
"I don't know that I will," said the Larger Firefly. "I'll make them askme first."
Then they reached the farther corner of the marsh and crawled around tosee what they could find. Their eyes bothered them so that they couldnot see unless they were close to things, so it was useless to fly. Theypeeped into the cool dark corners under the skunk cabbage leaves, andlay down to rest on a bed of soft moss. A few stalks of last year'steazles stood, stiff and brown, in the corner of the fence. The SmallerFirefly alighted on one and let go in such a hurry that she fell to theground. "Ouch!" she cried. "It has sharp hooks all over it."
While they were lying on the moss and resting, they noticed a queerplant growing near. It had a flower of green and dark red which wasunlike any other blossom they had ever seen. The leaves were evenqueerer. Each was stiff and hollow and grew right out of the groundinstead of coming from a stalk.
"I'm going to crawl into one of them," said the Larger Firefly. "Thereis something sweet inside. I believe it will be lots better than theskunk cabbage." She balanced herself on the top of a fresh green leaf.
"I'm going into this one," said the other Firefly, as she alighted onthe edge of a brown-tipped leaf. "It looks nice and dark inside. We musttell about this at the party to-night, even if they don't ask us."
Then they repeated together the little verse that some of the pondpeople use when they want to start together:
"Tussock, mud, water, and log, Muskrat, Snake, Turtle, and Frog, Here we go into the bog!"
When they said "bog" each dropped quickly into her own leaf.
For a minute nobody made a sound. Then there was a queer sputtering,choking voice in the fresh green leaf and exactly the same in thebrown-tipped one. After that a weak little voice in the green leaf said,"Abuschougerh! I fell into water."
Another weak voice from the brown-tipped one replied, "Gtschagust! Sodid I."
On the inside of each leaf were many stiff hairs, all pointing downward.When the Fireflies dropped in, they had brushed easily past these hairsand thought it rather pleasant. Now that they were sputtering andchoking inside, and wanted to get out, these same hairs stuck into theireyes and pushed against their legs and made them exceedinglyuncomfortable. The water, too, had stood for some time in the leaves anddid not smell good.
Perhaps it would be just as well not to tell all the things which thosetwo Fireflies said, for they were tired and out of patience. After awhile they gave up trying to get out until they should be rested. It wasafter sunset when they tried the last time, and the light that shonefrom their bellies brightened the little green rooms where they were.They rested and went at it carefully, instead of in the angry, jerky waywhich they had tried before. Slowly, one foot at a time, they managed toclimb out of the doorway at the top. As they came out, they heard thesqueaky voice of a young Mouse say, "Oh, where did those bright thingscome from?"
They also heard his mother answer, "Those are only a couple of foolishFireflies who have been in the leaves of the pitcher-plant all day."
After they had eaten something they flew toward home. They knew that itwould be late for the party, and they expected to surprise and delighteverybody when they reached there. On the way they spoke of this. "I'mdreadfully tired," said one, "but I suppose we shall have to dance inthe air with the rest or they will make a fuss."
"Yes," said the other. "It spoils everything if we are not there. Andwe'll have to tell where we've been and what we've done and whom we haveseen, when we would rather go to sleep and make up what we lost duringthe daytime."
TWINKLING WITH HUNDREDS OF TINY LIGHTS. _Page 157_]
As they came near the middle of the marsh they were surprised to see themild summer air twinkling with hundreds of tiny lights as their friendsand relatives flew to and fro in the dusk. "Well," said the LargerFirefly, "I think they might have waited for us."
"Humph!" said the Smaller Firefly. "If they can't be more polite thanthat, I won't play."
"After we've had such a dreadfully hard time, too," said the LargerFirefly. "Got most eaten by a Flycatcher and scared by a Garter Snakeand shut up all day in the pitcher-plant. I won't move a wing to help ontheir old party."
So two very tired and cross young Fireflies sat on a last year'scat-tail and sulked. People didn't notice them because they were sittingand their bright bellies didn't show. After a long time an elderlyFirefly came to rest on the cat-tail and found them. "Good evening,"said he. "Have you danced until you are tired?"
They looked at each other, but before either could speak one of
theiryoung friends alighted beside them and said the same thing. Then theSmaller Firefly answered. "We have been away," said she, "and we are notdancing to-night."
"Going away, did you say?" asked the elderly Firefly, who was ratherdeaf. "I hope you will have a delightful time." Then he bowed and flewoff.
"Don't stay long," added their young friend. "We shall be so lonelywithout you."
After he also was gone, the two runaways looked into each other's eyes."We were not even missed!" they cried. "We had a bad time and nobodymakes any fuss. They were dancing without us." Poor little Fireflies!
They were much wiser after that, for they had learned that two youngFireflies were not so wonderfully important after all. And that if theychose to do things which it was never meant young Fireflies should do,they would be likely to have a very disagreeable time, but that otherFireflies would go on eating and dancing and living their own lives. Tobe happy, they must keep the Firefly laws.