most wicked; many children of men and cows have I slain. I am myself without offspring. Therefore it was enjoined upon me to practise almsgiving and other duties, and thus I am now accustomed to perform ablution, and to give. I am old, my claws and teeth are fallen. Is not this a reason for trusting me? It is plain at least that I am free from covetousness, since I desire to give to any one this golden bracelet, which is upon my own paw. It is said indeed that tigers eat men, and world-wide sayings are hard to overcome."

W. Well, I think the traveller was rather excusable, if he did trust him, after all that.

P. The tiger added much more, giving a list of the chief virtues, and some rules for behaviour to others, in order to prove how well he knew what was right. But still it would have been safer to keep out of a tiger's way, and it seems that the traveller would have done so, but for the temptation of the golden bracelet. The tiger concluded his speech by saying, 'Therefore, having bathed in the lake, come and take the bracelet!' Then the traveller, trusting his word, drawn by covetousness, went into the lake to bathe, and sinking into the deep mire, was unable to escape. The tiger seeing him fallen into the mire, said, 'Ah, ha! thou art fallen into the mire, now I will lift thee up.' Having thus spoken, the tiger went softly, softly up, and seized the traveller, who thus reflected.

I think, William, I need not read you all the reflections the traveller made when it was too late. However, he said enough to fill almost a page, though the tiger had hold of him And

then the pigeon-king goes on: "Having thus reflected, he was killed and eaten by the tiger. Therefore I say that thus it happened through the covetous desire for a bracelet. So at all times, nothing inconsidered should be done."

W. Thank you, Papa, I think that is very amusing, but what did the pigeons do?

P. They did not take the advice of their king. One very proud conceited pigeon, persuaded the others not to mind him, so they flew down to eat the rice, and soon found themselves caught in a net. Then the king instructed them to fly away with the net, and follow him to a place where a good mouse lived, who was a great friend of his; and by the help of the mouse, who gnawed the net, the pigeons were set free. Then the mouse tells his own history, and this has several other stories within it, so that at last one hardly remembers how the whole story at first began. But it is all meant chiefly to shew the value of good friends, and the danger of bad ones.

W. I wish you could read some more of the stories.

P. I am afraid I have not time at present to read any more, as I am going out. I will tell you one pretty little sentence which comes in farther on. "The virtuous-minded delight in the virtuous. He who is without virtue, takes no pleasure in the good. The bee goes to the lotus in the forest; it inhabits not one house with the frog."

W. What is a lotus?

P. A beautiful flower, a sort of water-lily, which in India is considered sacred. The lotus

is continually mentioned in poetry, and beautiful things of different kinds are compared to it.

W. Yes, that is very pretty. The bee makes its house in a beautiful flower, not in a dirty pond such as a frog would live in.

P. I think this sentence may remind us of some things that are said in the Bible. Try if you can think of any such texts, and write them down to show me when I come in.

W. Oh, yes, I shall like to do that, and then I will write down the words about the lotus and the bee.

CHAPTERS ON INSECTS.

CHAPTER IV.

MULBERRY TREES AND SILK-WORMS.

THE Mulberry tree! Do you know its dark rich coloured fruit which has such a sweet taste, and leaves such a stain on the little fingers that have been picking it up from the ground, or pulling it from among the clusters of green leaves? Those leaves are far more valuable than the fruit, for it is upon them that silk-worms feed. Those who have kept silk-worms must often have watched the tiny black worm which is hatched from the yellow egg, grow day-by-day, feeding greedily all the while, till at last it reaches its full size, makes a yellow silk cocoon, and comes out in process of time, in the shape of a plain grey moth, for this insect, though we owe to it all our silks, satins and velvets, has not one gay colour in its own dress. If it were not for their

disagreeable smell, silkworms would be very nice pets, and perhaps you may like to hear how to manage them. You must get somebody to give you some eggs or caterpillars, put them in a paper tray, covered with gauze or net to keep the spiders out and the caterpillars in, and give them plenty of mulberry leaves, and now and then if you like, a little lettuce, but not often, for the worms are apt to die if too much fed upon it, and the silk is pale yellow instead of being a bright golden colour. No insect but the silkworm will feed on the mulberry, and it very much prefers the leaves of the white kind, which like itself, was brought from China, to those of the red and black sorts. When the caterpillar is eight days old, it changes its skin, and this seems to make it ill and give it pain, for it ceases eating, grows thin, and does not move for about three days before it moults. The skin breaks just above its head, and it gradually comes out, having not only a new skin, but new feet and teeth, and then it begins eating again with all its might.

All caterpillars moult, and some, but not the hairy ones; eat their cast skin! The silk-worm goes through four moultings, and after the last, becomes so hungry, that you will have enough to do in finding leaves for it, unless there happens to be a mulberry tree close at hand. Now it must be put in a cone-shaped piece of paper, round the inside of which it will spin its cocoon, first of loose soft threads, which are what we call floss silk; within that comes a firm yellow ball, smeared with a kind of gum to keep out damp, and so thoroughly does it do this, that even if you throw the ball into water, it

floats at the top, without a drop getting through. If you leave this ball alone, in less than a month out comes a grey moth, with two black horns, but as in getting free, it spoils the silk, you must wind it carefully up while the moth is still a chrysalis. This requires clever fingers, and a piece of card, or a cotton reel. You must first take away the floss silk, and then hunt till you find an end to the yellow ball, which is often placed in hot water, to loosen the threads. Generally, this does not hurt the chrysalis at all, but if you wish to save some moths to lay eggs, it will be safest only to wind up the silk till you have come to the shining brown bean-for the chrysalis is more like a polished bean than anything else and lay it in bran. As soon as the moth comes out, it ought to be put in one of the paper trays, where it will lay its eggs, and almost immediately die. After all, your silk will not be much use to you, unless you can get it spun, and it requires some patience to wind it, for the thread in one cocoon, is sometimes nearly á quarter of a mile long! Is it not wonderful to think all the silk in the world is spun by little insects? Nearly half a million of persons are employed in the silk trade in England alone.

It is only of late years that silk has been commonly worn in England-three hundred years ago, silk stockings were thought a present worthy of a Queen, for we read of Queen Elizabeth having a pair given her, and being so pleased with them that she never wore cloth ones again; as for King James VI. of Scotland, he had not a pair in the world, and when a messenger came to him from England, he borrowed a pair from the Earl