It wriggled and turned in its narrow little home, and seemed anxious to
get out and look at the sunshine and flowers. It bumped its head up and
down until it succeeded in pushing off a little door.
When the door was off, and the bright sunlight shone in, this little
occupant of the chrysalis took a look at itself.
It saw that during its long winter's nap, it had acquired a pair of
beautiful wings, and its legs had grown longer and stronger than they
were before.
Crawling out of the chrysalis, and taking a position on a branch of the
tree, it discovered that instead of a caterpillar, it was now a
beautiful butterfly.
It was a kind that is called the swallow-tail butterfly, because each of
its wings tapered to a point, something like the tail of a swallow. We
will call the butterfly, Miss Swallow-tail, and now let us see what her
next move was.
Her wings were damp and heavy, and she stood shivering and trembling;
for although she had six legs, they were weak, having never before borne
such a weight.
But fresh air brings strength; so she soon felt like trying to walk. At
first her movements were sluggish, but she finally reached a sunny spot
where she dried and warmed herself, giving her wings a little shake now
and then, until they opened grandly above her back.
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