Both pairs of wings were decorated with half-moons of white,
outlined in black and strongly flushed with terra cotta; the
front pair near the outer margin had oval markings of blue-black,
shaded with grey, outlined with half circles of white, and
secondary circles of black. When the wings were raised I could
see a face of terra cotta, with small eyes, a broad band of white
across the forehead, and an abdomen of terra cotta banded with
snowy white above, and spotted with white beneath. Its legs were
hairy, and the antennae antlered like small branching ferns.
Of course I thought it was a butterfly, and for a time was too
filled with wonder to move. Then creeping close, the next time
the wings were raised above its body, with the nerveless touch
of a robust child I captured it.
I was ten miles from home, but I had spent all my life until the
last year on that farm, and I knew and loved every foot of it. To
leave it for a city home and the confinement of school almost had
broken my heart, but it really was time for me to be having
some formal education.
Pages:
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77