Part 28

There was a curious circumstance which happened in respect to Rollo's hemlock-seed. It has already been said that this supposed hemlock-seed was really a chrysalis. Now, a chrysalis is that form which all caterpillars assume, before they change into butterflies; and the animal remains within, generally for some time, in a dormant state;--all the time, however, making a slow progress towards its development. Now, Rollo's great chrysalis remained in a conspicuous position, upon the middle shelf in the cabinet, for some weeks. Rollo always insisted, when he showed it to visitors, that it was a hemlock-seed. Jonas said he knew it was not; and he did not believe it was any kind of seed. But then he confessed that he did not know what it was, and Rollo considered that he had his father's authority for believing it to be a hemlock-seed, because his father had said he thought it might be so, judging however only by Rollo's description, without having seen it at all. Rollo always asserted very confidently that it was a hemlock-seed, and that he was going to plant it the next spring.

In the mean time, the humble caterpillar within, unconscious of the conspicuous position to which he had been elevated, and the distinguished marks of attention he received from many visitors, went slowly on in his progress towards a new stage of being. When the time was fully come, he very coolly gnawed a hole in one end of his glossy shell, and laboriously pushed himself through, his broad and beautiful wings folded up compactly by his side. When he was fairly liberated, he stood for two hours perfectly silent and motionless upon the shelf, while his wings gradually expanded, and assumed their proper form and dimensions. It was rather dark, for the doors were closed; and yet sufficient light came through the crevices of Jonas's cabinet, to enable him to see the various objects around him, though he took very little notice of them. It was a strange thing for him to be shut up in such a place, with no green trees, or grass, or flowers around; but having never turned into a butterfly before, he did not know that there was any thing unusual in his situation.

He began, however, in the course of six hours, to feel decidedly hungry; so he thought he would creep along in search of something to eat. He tried his proboscis upon one curiosity after another, in vain. The magnet, the sucker, pebbles, shells, books, every thing was hard, dry and tasteless; and at length, discouraged and in despair, he clambered up upon Jonas's specimen of maple, poised his broad, black, leopard-like wings over his back, and hung his head in mute despair. He would have given all his newborn glories for one single supper from the leaf which he used to feed upon when he was a worm.

It was just about this time, that Rollo, Lucy, and Jonas happened to come together to the cabinet, to put in some new curiosity which they had found. As soon as Rollo opened the doors, he perceived the hole in the end of the chrysalis, which lay directly before him. He seized it hastily.

"There now," said he, in a tone of sad disappointment, "somebody has been boring a hole in my hemlock-seed!"

He took up the empty shell, and looked at the hole.

"Why, Jonas," said he, "how light it is!"

Jonas took the chrysalis, weighed it in his hand, looked into the hole, and then said, quickly,

"It is a chrysalis, I verily believe; and that is where the butterfly came out."

"What!" said Rollo, in a tone of utter amazement.

"That hole is where a butterfly came out," said Jonas, "I have no doubt;--and if we look about here a little, we shall find him."

They immediately began to look about; and the butterfly, as if he understood their conversation, and perceived the necessity of a movement on his part, just at that instant, expanded his wings, and floated off through the air into the middle of the room, towards the bright sunshine which came in at the door. He alighted upon the edge of a barrel, which stood there. Rollo was after him in a moment, with his cap in the air. The butterfly, however, was too hungry to wait. He was again upon the wing. He soared away across the yard, towards the garden, and disappeared over the tops of the trees. Rollo and Lucy looked for him for some time among the plants and flowers, but in vain.

"Never mind," said Jonas, when they returned. "The butterfly had rather be free; but he has left you the chrysalis shell, and that, notwithstanding the hole, is a greater curiosity now, than it was before."

THE SEA-SHORE.

Rollo's father and mother were very much pleased with the children's plan of collecting a cabinet. They often went out, at Rollo's request, to look at the curiosities.

One evening, about sunset, when they were walking in the garden, Rollo proposed that, before they went into the house, they should go out and look at the museum. They accordingly walked along, Rollo and Mary taking hold of hands before, and their father and mother walking arm in arm after them. Nathan was behind, riding a stick for a horse, and blowing a trumpet which Rollo had made for him out of the stem of a pumpkin vine.

"I am a trooper," said Nathan to himself, "blowing a bugle." Then he would whip his horse, sound his trumpet, and gallop along.

When they reached the door of the barn which led into the place where their museum was kept, Rollo turned round and said sharply,

"Thanny, be quiet! Don't make such a noise."

"Speak pleasantly, Rollo," said Mary.

"Well, Thanny," said Rollo, taking hold of his arm, and gently turning him away from the door, "go and blow your bugle somewhere else, because we want to see our curiosities."

Thanny made no reply; but, being spoken to pleasantly, he turned around and went galloping off, and seeing the cat upon the fence, he ran up and began trumpeting at her to frighten her away.

In the mean time, Rollo's father and mother looked over the curiosities, as they had done many a time before. Rollo explained the wonders, and his parents looked and listened with great satisfaction, though they had been called upon to admire the same things for the same reasons, twenty times before.

"But, Rollo," said his father, at length, "it appears to me that your cabinet has not increased much, lately."

"Why, father, we can't find any more curiosities. I wish we could go to some new place."

"What new place can we go to?" said he.

"I don't know," said Rollo; "some place where there are some curiosities."

"We might go to the sea-shore, and get some shells," said Mary.