Birds and Nature Vol. 10 No. 5 [December 1901]Various
History
Birds and Nature Vol. 10 No. 5 [December 1901]
Various
Birds -- Periodicals; Natural history -- Periodicals
A few minutes later the Danais was taken from the box and placed on the
tablespread and Aunt Doris’ brush was doing rapid work.
Neva was fascinated as her eyes traveled from her live butterfly to the
beautiful deep orange wings trimmed with black and white which her aunt
was painting.
“Why Aunt Doris,” she said, “It’s a zact match, it’s ’most a reg’lar
twin. How large it is!”
“Yes, it is four and a half inches across the wings. It is the largest
kind of an American butterfly.”
By the time the painting was finished the butterfly commenced flitting
about the room. It soon found its way to the screen door and Neva said,
“It looks just as if it was coaxing to go out.”
“Yes, butterflies don’t like to be shut up in the house,” said Aunt
Doris, “and I think a certain little girl must want to play out too by
this time, so I’ll open the door and watch you both fly.”
A few minutes later a happy little voice called from the lawn, “Oh, just
look, auntie, Danais Archippus seems to be kissing all the flowers, he’s
so glad to see them.”
When Neva went back to the city she took the picture of the Danais which
her aunt had framed in a pretty gold frame, and also a great bunch of
milkweed pods. She looked at them very proudly as her aunt put them in
her trunk and said, “They will be such beautiful reminderments of my
precious Danais Archippus, though of course I would remember him forever
even if I didn’t have them, wouldn’t I, auntie?” and Aunt Doris looked
into the earnest little face and smiled and felt sure that she would.
Grace T. Thompson.
THE INDIGNANT TURKEY.
A TRUE STORY.
Near the pretty town of Madison, N. J., a turkey hen was at one time
sitting on her nest of eggs. She knew that she must forego many a
pleasant excursion about the poultry yard and through the meadows, where
she and her mate had often picked up a sweet wormy meal. As the days
grew into weeks Mr. Turkey Gobbler seemed to realize it, too, and
decided to put up with widowhood no longer. So he visited a neighboring
farm and enticed a good-natured lady turkey to return with him to his
home. The patient, lawful wife, hatching her eggs, could do nothing
about it. Her place was on the nest, and although doubtless her breast
was ruffled with waves of jealousy, she had no means of avenging
herself. But the day of retributive justice was surely and swiftly
approaching. Hearing a great commotion in the barnyard one morning soon
after the new turkey had been introduced to the fowls, the householder
hurried out to investigate. There he found a strange turkey cock
thrashing with all his might of claw, wing and beak the robber of his
nest and affections, after which he proudly walked off with his mate,
leaving the defeated and disloyal bird to make peace as best he could
with her of whom he was not worthy.
Fanny Skelton Bissell.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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