No gardener can prepare fine mould for plants so well as the worms can do it, and no farmer can so carefully make ready his fields.
There are some creatures which are commonly disliked and avoided because they are not attractive to look at. Often this is a mere prejudice against them, and careful study reveals a beauty not noticed before. There is a very general and absurd feeling against snakes which is the cause of much unnecessary suffering. This fear is so common that for many children and grown people a walk in the woods and fields loses half its pleasure.
Most of our common snakes are harmless and are useful in destroying insects. Instead of shuddering with horror at the little green snake, watch him as carefully as you can. Soon you will begin to wonder how he can go so fast, what he eats, and where he makes his home. You will find that he is not at all like the earthworm. He belongs to a very different class of animals, but he is as innocent as the worm of any wish to do you harm. He prefers to be left to himself in the long grass, but you may be sure if he should glide over your feet, or across your hand, he would not hurt you at all.
HUMANITY.
Turn, turn thy hasty foot aside,
Nor crush that helpless worm!
The frame thy wayward looks deride
Required a God to form.
The common Lord of all that move,
From whom thy being flowed,
A portion of his boundless love
On that poor worm bestowed.
Let them enjoy their little day,
Their humble bliss receive;
Oh! do not lightly take away
The life thou canst not give!
T. GISBORNE.
ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS.
Ants, bees, and wasps belong to the same family of insects. The ant, to begin with the smallest, is a good proof that size has little to do with intelligence.
These little people, as King Solomon said of them long ago, "are exceeding wise." A long chapter might be filled with an account of the wonderful things they do. In this country there are ants who are farmers. They plant their fields, keep them carefully weeded, and gather each year the seed for the new crops. They make roads, build bridges, and fashion wonderful houses with underground storerooms and galleries. If their harvest gets wet, it is brought out to dry on the first sunny day, and then carried back again with the greatest pains.