XIII.
Bertie never laughed so much in his life. Minnie, who certainly was not expecting anything of the kind, is so taken by surprise that she jumps up on her feet; and the butterfly, quite as much astonished at what he has done, flies off again as quickly as before. Minnie cannot leave off rubbing her nose; the butterfly’s little feet did tickle her so.
‘He is a very rude butterfly,’ said Minnie.
‘Oh! he must have mistaken your little nose for a flower,’ said Bertie. ‘He did not mean to offend you. He meant to be very polite.’
XIV.
But there is no time for laughing; the butterfly has settled on a great tuft of meadow-sweet all in flower. The two hunters, seeing this, forget all their plans, and run both together after him with all their might. But the butterfly is not so silly as to wait for them; every time he sees his two enemies come near, off he starts again. A dozen times Minnie thought she had him, and a dozen times Bertie said he had got him; but a dozen times he got away.
‘What troublesome things to catch butterflies are!’ said the two hunters. ‘What is to be done? We have tried every possible way.’