Little Folk

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 16, 19 January 1924, Page 15

Little Folk

(All Rights Reserved.]

OUT IN THE NIGHT

(By Edith Howes.)

lI.—TAWNY.

Tawny the moth stood poised on a twig, undecided. Round him through tlie darkness were wafted the honeyed scerits o{ the bush, calling him to feast and play where thousands of gold-pow-dered wings fluttered above the.flowered shrubs; but _ through the trees there shone a point of light that fascinated him. It had caught his eyes as he,turned, ready for flight, and now he couid not bear to look away. It was a lovely light. He must, he would, go nearer, see it more closely. < It was a new thing, and he was a little afraid. Life in the bush bred fear in- one, for day and night one was surrounded by enemies ;-, enemies who hunted hungrily and with keen eyes and nostrils. The birds were the, worst, those terrible slaughterers. There were the bats, too. , ' • Yet he had always escaped, helpless though he had been at times. There were periods of his life, forgotten now in his strength, when he had lain utterly defenceless; but he had been lucky, and no bird^br bat had found him. If he had remembered, he might have trusted that his lifelong good fortune would still protect him in this new adventure; but he Was not conscious of all that had gone before. He stood there hesitating, aware of dangers all about,.yet drawn by the beautiful light. As an egg,. he had been dropped just anywhere by a somewhat stupid and careless mother. She had dropped hundreds, of eggs about the place, never troubling, to'gum them neatly and safely on the underside of a leaf or down a stem or under a bit'of bark, as highclass mothers did: But that was just her way, poor soul, and she knew no better. And if she had no gum, and not enough brains to hide her eggs, perhaps she is riot to be blamed. , Anyway, as soon as her eggs were all gone she closed her wings and died, so- we must forgive her. She was" not clever, but she .had done what she could; she had' given her life to carry on the race. ' ■ The eggs, lying' uncovered on the ground, or on leaves and sticks, were quickly eaten by birds. Only a few rolled under cover and so.escaped, and of these Tawny was one. .He hatched into a caterpillar, with an aipetite fit to devour the forest. Indeed, it might almost be" said that he did devour a forestU for among the leaves and sticks anu mosses that covered the ground, there sprang thousands of tiny baby seedlings, and these he ate, leaf and .stem, to the very last, nibble. -Never, now would they, fulfil their promise of becoming giant trees. Well was it for the forest that only, a few such as he should live, out of the hundreds of eggadropped by one* moth-mother. The birds, his<enemies, weie the trees-best friends. .<; . ■'".,,'. Many a narrow escape he himself had ; especi.illy from Hardpeck the weka, and Longbill the kiwi, who were both ivery fond of fat caterpillars. 'But he was quick and full -of tricks, and so came safely through his caterpillar days; And ; w.hen. the .time ...came, that he must lie; , helpless 'again,:, w.ith .no power-;1. to save" Tiimself if, found by those determined fossickersA he burrowed into the ground and there J lay all^through the chrysalis stage. Even there r many of his fellows were unearthed by probing beaks, but he stayed undiscovered and came out iim hurt; came out a great, tawny motli, feathered and gold-powdered and widewinged. Even now, though he could fly, he was not secure, from danger. Birds still pursued him. During the day he hid in shadowy corners, but at night he flew in -the friendly covering darkness.« There were only the owls to fear then, and >the bats..- ■ ■ • ■• .' Owls, had lights in their eyes;' but this 'light gleaming through the trees was not that kind of light. It was not fierce, but gentle and alluring. -. He would not be afraid, he would hesitate no longer. He must follow the light. He swung out with his heavy headlong flight, through the trees, up and out.and down again, always towards that lovely shining. > At. last, he came to where he could see .it .plainly. It was" in a strange scrub-walled shelter such as he had never seen before, and it flamed in a pointed cone that wavered and changed its shape with every, breath of wind that .slipped'in- through the doorway. He alighted, on the ridge-pole and walked in, stepping slowly and staring' down at' the glowing cone. How wonderful it was/ The more one looked at it the more glorious it appeared. It was drawing him, drawing him to itself. He must go. . He knew there- were enormous t .itures in the shelter; he sensed them, chough he had no eyes for. anything except the light. But he had Idet all caution, all remembrance of danger; he swung down, circled the light, circled it again, swerved away only to return, staring spellbound into its Bery brightness. His eyes glowed red as rubies; he was all a-flutter with excitement. Roundand round the light he went, closer and closer. At last be actually touched the wonderful thing. Ah, but that was terrible; it bit him, though it had no beak. It was not gentle after all; its bite hurt sorely. Startled and afraid, he flew up to the ridge-pole again. But the brightness still fascinated him. He could not keep his eyes from it, and down he had to come. Round and round he went again, nearer and nearer, and at-last, unable to resist, he dashed into the very heart of the light, through the light, and out again on the further side. He had killed the light! It had bitten1 him, but it shone no longer. All was soft darkness again. ■• The great creatures in the shelter were making a disturbance, but he cared nothing for that. He was set free from the spell of the light, set free by the weight and'force of his big body, and out he sailed into the cool night, singed and hurt, but triumphant. There were scores of moths about to ■enter the shelter when- the sudden dark-t ness changed their plans. Into their midst flew the Tawny One. "I killed the light!" he boasted. "It bit me, but I killed it;" , "Aha!" came a terrible voice from the darkness before him. It : was Sly the bsjt. He opened his beak sharply and shut'it again, and that was the end of Tawny. His good luck had deserted him; or rather, coming blinded and dazed and stupid from the glare and heat of the light, he had flown straight into the open jaws of his enemy. "He killed the light and I killed him," chuckled -,Sly the bat, and he turned his attention to those'moths who had not fled in time. . |

(To be Continued.)

The English are coming into their own in the realm of dress design, which for so many years has been ruled by Paris. The -appointment of a young English girl, Miss Dolly Tree, who only a few years ago was an unknown fashion artist, as designer of models for a wellknown West End house i« acknowledgment of the fact, that Englishwomen can successfully compete with the most famous Paris experts. Captain Molyneux. an Englishman,-is famous in .Paris' and London for his dress creations. ■