iss Gnat was quite killing. This was an odd thing to
say, but Mr Blue-bottle meant by it, that she was very beautiful.
Indeed, it was said that he fell in love with Miss Gnat, for he danced
with nobody else during the whole afternoon.

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And there came the Moth, with her plumage of down,
And the Hornet, with jacket of yellow and brown,
Who with him the Wasp, his companion, did bring--
They promised that evening to lay by their sting.

The Moth was sound asleep when the Gadfly blew his trumpet. She had sat
up too late the night before, and, owing to having indulged this bad
habit, had overslept herself the following morning.

However, she tried by her activity to make up for lost time; she saw the
other insects hurrying past her house in crowds, so she threw on her
clothes as fast as possible. The Moth was prettily dressed in a soft
garment of down, and as she was a modest creature, every one loved her.
On leaving home, she observed the Wasp and the Hornet passing. They
were dressed in rich suits of brown and yellow. At sight of them she
was a little frightened, and endeavoured to run back to her house until
they should pass by; but they caught sight of her, and immediately gave
chase, screaming out loudly, "Oh! dear Mrs Moth, pray don't be alarmed.
We have laid by our stings for to-day, and won't hurt you." They soon
caught her, although she ran as fast as she could. So the Wasp and the
Hornet each offered her an arm, and obliged her to walk between them
while they danced along, shouting, and singing, and winking waggishly to
the friends they passed on the road. The poor Moth blushed very much at
being seen by all her friends in the company of two such wild creatures.
A Caterpillar and a Long-legged Beetle, besides one or two other
insects that chanced to be near, laughed very heartily on seeing what
had happened. But the Moth soon recovered her spirits; and when they
arrived at the oak-tree, she was walking along with a sprightly step,
first talking to the Hornet and then chatting to the Wasp, as if they
were her dearest friends.

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Then the sly little Dormouse peeped out of his hole,
and led to the feast his blind cousin the Mole;
And the Snail, with her horns peeping out from her shell,
Came fatigued with the distance, the length of an ell.

"