"Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3
One bright afternoon, Herbert and his little sister went out to gather some of the delicate spring posies that had just bloomed. For many months there had not been a flower in all the woods, and from the dead appearance of everything, one might have thought there would never be anymore flowers. But at last the time had come when, according to the laws of nature, the flowers had sprung up where all looked dead only a few weeks before.
How the children enjoyed plucking and arranging the violets, anemones, and hepaticas! Their little hearts beat with delight as they anticipated their mother's pleasure on receiving a bouquet of wild flowers. To be sure, crocus and daffodils were blooming in the flower garden, but they were not nearly so much prized by the children as the dainty-faced flowers of the woods.
Annie, musing as she looked into their sweet faces, was busily engaged in gathering some fine violets. Suddenly she heard Herbert exclaim, "O Sis, see what I have found!" as he held up a stick which had a peculiar, ball-like something fastened to it.
"What can it be?" cried Annie.
"Come on," said Herbert, "Let's ask Mother."
Soon the two children were standing by their mother's side asking her to explain the mysterious ball, which was not really a ball, for it was not exactly round.
"Children," said Mother, "this is a cocoon. It has a pupa inside. It will take sometime to give you its history, but if you wish to hear it, sit here.
"Do you remember those large, pretty-colored moths that we saw last summer?"
"Are moths like butterflies?" asked Herbert.
"Yes, very much, yet there is quite a difference. Moths fly mostly at night, while butterflies fly in the daytime. When butterflies are resting they hold their wings upright, but moths spread their wings horizontally. The antenne, or "feelers" which project from the front of the head of the butterfly are smooth, usually having little knobs on the ends; but the antenne of a moth are more like feathers. Butterflies suck nectar from flowers; but moths never eat anything, therefore they do not live long.
"Last summer while the days were long and the sun shone warm and bright; while the trees were clothed in their green robes, and everything seemed full of life, a moth deposited a large number of eggs
on a leaf. By and by the eggs hatched into caterpillars. They were very small at first, but they immediately began eating on the leaf, and - eating made them grow. They grew and grew until their coats became too small. What do you suppose they did then? Do you think they stopped eating? No; they continued eating and growing until their coats split along the back, and then they crawled out with a new, soft, green coat on. They ate and ate, and grew and grew, until the same thing happened again. Their coats became too small and they cast them off as before. This happened several times, until the caterpillars were two or three inches long.
"Not all that family of caterpillars reached this age, perhaps only a very few. Many of them were eaten by birds and toads. But one escaped all such enemies and lived until full-grown, or mature. Then he selected this stick and began to spin this little house for himself. He worked faithfully and at last had it finished and the door closed so securely that we can not tell now where it is. What was once the caterpillar is inside, but we call it a pupa now, for it is very different. If you could see it you would think the caterpillar spun this cocoon to conceal his dead form.
"Now we shall be patient and wait to see what will happen to the cocoon. I shall finish the story another day. Meanwhile let us place the cocoon in the library, and we shall see what will come of it." Grace Graham.
How the children enjoyed plucking and arranging the violets, anemones, and hepaticas! Their little hearts beat with delight as they anticipated their mother's pleasure on receiving a bouquet of wild flowers. To be sure, crocus and daffodils were blooming in the flower garden, but they were not nearly so much prized by the children as the dainty-faced flowers of the woods.
Annie, musing as she looked into their sweet faces, was busily engaged in gathering some fine violets. Suddenly she heard Herbert exclaim, "O Sis, see what I have found!" as he held up a stick which had a peculiar, ball-like something fastened to it.
"What can it be?" cried Annie.
"Come on," said Herbert, "Let's ask Mother."
Soon the two children were standing by their mother's side asking her to explain the mysterious ball, which was not really a ball, for it was not exactly round.
"Children," said Mother, "this is a cocoon. It has a pupa inside. It will take sometime to give you its history, but if you wish to hear it, sit here.
"Do you remember those large, pretty-colored moths that we saw last summer?"
"Are moths like butterflies?" asked Herbert.
"Yes, very much, yet there is quite a difference. Moths fly mostly at night, while butterflies fly in the daytime. When butterflies are resting they hold their wings upright, but moths spread their wings horizontally. The antenne, or "feelers" which project from the front of the head of the butterfly are smooth, usually having little knobs on the ends; but the antenne of a moth are more like feathers. Butterflies suck nectar from flowers; but moths never eat anything, therefore they do not live long.
"Last summer while the days were long and the sun shone warm and bright; while the trees were clothed in their green robes, and everything seemed full of life, a moth deposited a large number of eggs
on a leaf. By and by the eggs hatched into caterpillars. They were very small at first, but they immediately began eating on the leaf, and - eating made them grow. They grew and grew until their coats became too small. What do you suppose they did then? Do you think they stopped eating? No; they continued eating and growing until their coats split along the back, and then they crawled out with a new, soft, green coat on. They ate and ate, and grew and grew, until the same thing happened again. Their coats became too small and they cast them off as before. This happened several times, until the caterpillars were two or three inches long.
"Not all that family of caterpillars reached this age, perhaps only a very few. Many of them were eaten by birds and toads. But one escaped all such enemies and lived until full-grown, or mature. Then he selected this stick and began to spin this little house for himself. He worked faithfully and at last had it finished and the door closed so securely that we can not tell now where it is. What was once the caterpillar is inside, but we call it a pupa now, for it is very different. If you could see it you would think the caterpillar spun this cocoon to conceal his dead form.
"Now we shall be patient and wait to see what will happen to the cocoon. I shall finish the story another day. Meanwhile let us place the cocoon in the library, and we shall see what will come of it." Grace Graham.
Watch the luna moth build it's cocoon.
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