THE LAZY CUT-WORMS
Now that spring had come and all the green things were growing, theCut-Worms crawled out of their winter sleeping-places in the ground, andbegan to eat the tenderest and best things that they could find. Theyfelt rested and hungry after their quiet winter, for they had sleptwithout awakening ever since the first really cold days of fall.
There were many different kinds of Cut-Worms, brothers and sisters,cousins and second cousins, so, of course, they did not all look alike.They had hatched the summer before from eggs laid by the Owlet Moths,their mothers, and had spent the time from then until cold weather ineating and sleeping and eating some more. Of course they grew a greatdeal, but then, you know, one can grow without taking time especiallyfor it. It is well that this is so. If people had to say, "I can donothing else now. I must sit down and grow awhile," there would not beso many large people in the world as there are. They would become sointerested in doing other things that they would not take the time togrow as they should.
Now the Cut-Worms were fine and fat and just as heedless as Cut-Wormshave been since the world began. They had never seen their parents, andhad hatched without any one to look after them. They did not look liketheir parents, for they were only worms as yet, but they had the samehabit of sleeping all day and going out at night, and never thought ofeating breakfast until the sun had gone down. They were quite popular inunderground society, and were much liked by the Earthworms and MayBeetle larvae, who enjoyed hearing stories of what the Cut-Worms sawabove ground. The May Beetle larvae did not go out at all, because theywere too young, and the Earthworms never knew what was going on outsideunless somebody told them. They often put their heads up into the air,but they had no eyes and could not see for themselves.
The Cut-Worms were bold, saucy, selfish, and wasteful. They were notgood children, although when they tried they could be very entertaining,and one always hoped that they would improve before they became Moths.Sometimes they even told the Earthworms and May Beetle larvae storiesthat were not so, and that shows what sort of children they were. It wasdreadful to tell such things to people who could never find out thedifference. One Spotted Cut-Worm heard a couple of Earthworms talkingabout Ground Moles, and told them that Ground Moles were large birdswith four wings apiece and legs like a Caterpillar's. They did not takepains to be entertaining because they wanted to make the undergroundpeople happy, but because they enjoyed hearing them say: "What brightfellows those Cut-Worms are! Really exceedingly clever!" And doing itfor that reason took all the goodness out of it.
One bright moonlight night the Cut-Worms awakened and crawled out on topof the ground to feed. They lived in the farmer's vegetable garden, sothere were many things to choose from: young beets just showing theirred-veined leaves above their shining red stems; turnips; clean-lookingonions holding their slender leaves very stiff and straight; radisheswith just a bit of their rosy roots peeping out of the earth; and crisp,pale green lettuce, crinkled and shaking in every passing breeze. Itwas a lovely growing time, and all the vegetables were making the mostof the fine nights, for, you know, that is the time when everythinggrows best. Sunshiny days are the best for coloring leaves and blossoms,but the time for sinking roots deeper and sending shoots higher andunfolding new leaves is at night in the beautiful stillness.
Some Cut-Worms chose beets and some chose radishes. Two or three likedlettuce best, and a couple crawled off to nibble at the sweet peas whichthe farmer's wife had planted. They never ate all of a plant. Ah, no!And that was one way in which they were wasteful. They nibbled throughthe stalk where it came out of the ground, and then the plant tumbleddown and withered, while the Cut-Worm went on to treat another in thesame way.
"Well!" exclaimed one Spotted Cut-Worm, as he crawled out from hishole. "I must have overslept! Guess I stayed up too late this morning."
"You'd better look out," said one of his friends, "or the Ground Molewill get you. He likes to find nice fat little Cut-Worms who sleep toolate in the evening."
"Needn't tell me," answered the Spotted Cut-Worm. "It's the early Molethat catches the Cut-Worm. I don't know when I have overslept myself so.Have you fellows been up ever since sunset?"
"Yes," they answered; and one saucy fellow added: "I got up too early. Iawakened and felt hungry, and thought I'd just come out for a lunch. Isupposed the birds had finished their supper, but the first thing I sawwas a Robin out hunting. She was not more than the length of a bean-polefrom me, and when I saw her cock her head on one side and look towardme, I was sure she saw me. But she didn't, after all. Lucky for me thatI am green and came up beside the lettuce. I kept still and she took mefor a leaf."
"St!" said somebody else. "There comes the Ground Mole." They all keptstill while the Mole scampered to and fro on the dewy grass near them,going faster than one would think he could with such very, very shortlegs. His pink digging hands flashed in the moonlight, and his pinksnout showed also, but the dark, soft fur of the rest of his body couldhardly be seen against the brown earth of the garden. It may have beenbecause he was not hungry, or it may have been because his fur coveredover his eyes so, but he went back to his underground run-way withouthaving caught a single Cut-Worm.
Then the Cut-Worms felt very much set up. They crawled toward the holeinto his run-way and made faces at it, as though he were standing inthe doorway. They called mean things after him and pretended to say themvery loudly, yet really spoke quite softly.
Then they began to boast that they were not afraid of anybody, and whilethey were boasting they ate and ate and ate and ate. Here and there theyoung plants drooped and fell over, and as soon as one did that, theCut-Worm who had eaten on it crawled off to another.
"Guess the farmer will know that we've been here," said they. "We don'tcare. He doesn't need all these vegetables. What if he did plant them?Let him plant some more if he wants to. What business has he to have somany, anyhow, if he won't share with other people?" You would havethought, to hear them, that they were exceedingly kind to leave anyvegetables for the farmer.
In among the sweet peas were many little tufts of purslane, andpurslane is very good to eat, as anybody knows who has tried it. But doyou think the Cut-Worms ate that? Not a bit of it. "We can have purslaneany day," they said, "and now we will eat sweet peas."
One little fellow added: "You won't catch me eating purslane. It's aweed." Now, Cut-Worms do eat weeds, but they always seem to like bestthose things which have been carefully planted and tended. If thepurslane had been set in straight rows, and the sweet peas had just comeup of themselves everywhere, it is quite likely that this young Cut-Wormwould have said: "You won't catch me eating sweet peas. They are weeds."
As the moon rose higher and higher in the sky, the Cut-Worms boastedmore and more. They said there were no Robins clever enough to findthem, and that the Ground Mole dared not touch them when they weretogether, and that it was only when he found one alone underground thathe was brave enough to do so. They talked very loudly now and braggeddreadfully, until they noticed that the moon was setting and a faintyellow light showed over the tree-tops in the east.
"Time to go to bed for the day," called the Spotted Cut-Worm. "Where areyou going to crawl in?" They had no regular homes, you know, but crawledinto the earth wherever they wanted to and slept until the next night.
"Here are some fine holes already made," said a Green Cut-Worm, "and bigenough for a Garter Snake. They are smooth and deep, and a lot of us cancuddle down into each. I'm going into one of them."
"Who made those holes?" asked the Spotted Cut-Worm; "and why are theyhere?"
"Oh, who cares who made them?" answered the Green Cut-Worm. "Guessthey're ours if we want to use them."
"Perhaps the farmer made them," said the Spotted Cut-Worm, "and if hedid I don't want to go into them."
"Oh, who's afraid of him?" cried the other Cut-Worms. "Come along!"
"No," answered the Spotted Cut-Worm. "I won't. I don't want to and Iwon't do it. The hole I make to sleep in will not
be so large, nor willit have such smooth sides, but I'll know all about it and feel safe.Good-morning." Then he crawled into the earth and went to sleep. Theothers went into the smooth, deep holes made by the farmer with his hoehandle.
The next night there was only one Cut-Worm in the garden, and that wasthe Spotted Cut-Worm. Nobody has ever seen the lazy ones who chose touse the smooth, deep holes which were ready made. The Spotted Cut-Wormlived quite alone until he was full-grown, then he made a little ovalroom for himself in the ground and slept in it while he changed into aBlack Owlet Moth.
After that he flew away to find a wife and live among her people. It issaid that whenever he saw a Cut-Worm working at night, he would flutterdown beside him and whisper,--"The Cut-Worm who is too lazy to bore hisown sleeping-place will never live to become an Owlet Moth."