Inquisitive Jack
Inquisitive Jack
Jack’s habit of roaming about—His singular way of satisfying his curiosity—The story of the whortleberry bush—Frogs, tadpoles, and lizards—How to see and investigate—The ant hill—Great days—Dinner.
Herethe little fellow sits with his book, for he has now learnt to read. It is evening, and his mother has gone to see one of the neighbors, while he sits by the bed of his little sister, to take care of her, in case she wakes up. How intent he seems in reading his book!
But I must tell you about Jack, when he was quite young, and before he could read. All children have a deal of curiosity, and they ask a great many questions of their parents and others. As for instance: What makes the fire burn? Why does the sun shine? Who made the moon? Why do cats have ears? &c.
Now, Jack had his share of curiosity too; but he took a way to gratify it not common among children. He lived in the country, and his father had several acres of land around the house. Here were high rocks, and some woods, and a little valley where there was a small pond. There was also a ploughed field and a garden.
Now, Jack had a fancy for roaming about his father’s grounds, when he was quite a child, and if I must say it—when he wore petticoats! By the way, if any of my little friends meet with him, I beg they won’t say anything about the petticoats, for he is now a man, and might be ashamed to be reminded of what he once was.
Well, his greatest pleasure was to go alone over the rocks, and through the woods, and to the little valley. He delighted, particularly, to go to the pond, and see the frogs, and fishes, and tadpoles, and leeches, and insects, that made it their home there. He would stand for hours upon the rocks, quite absorbed in noticing the manners and customs of these inhabitants of the pond.
Now, Jack was so much in the habit of living out of doors, and walking about, that the objects he met with became, as it were, companions to him. He never seemed to feel alone, if only some flowers, or bushes, or trees were around him. He was never impatient—never restless—never in a hurry, while sauntering among the objects which nature had created and thrown in his way.
I will tell you an instance, to show his great satisfaction when he was among the bushes.
Just after he had learned to talk, a young lady who was staying at his father’s house, happened to go into the woods, where she found Jack. He was sitting by the side of a whortleberry bush, which was covered with green whortleberries. “What are you doing here?” said she to Jack. “Jack’s waiting for the whortleberries to get ripe!” was his reply.
Now, perchance, some of my sharp little friends will think Jack a silly boy; but wait, lads and lasses, and hear his story, before you decide. I have said that he had a way peculiar to himself, to gratify his curiosity. Instead of asking a bushel of questions, one after another, without waiting for a single answer, he was in the habit ofobservingthings, andinvestigatingthings. In this way he gained a vast deal of knowledge.
Perhaps, you may wish to know what I mean byobservingandinvestigating. I will try to make you understand it.
One day in spring, Jack was in the garden, digging up a place to sow some pepper-grass seed. By-and-by he happened to see an ant running along with a piece of a leaf in his mouth. So he stopped his work, and looked at the ant. The little insect paddled along with his six legs very fast, and pretty soon came to a little hillock of earth, about as large round as a small flap-jack, and twice as high.
It seemed to consist of a heap of particles of sand. Now Jack, instead of running away to tell his mother about what he had found, remained toobserveand look into the matter, orinvestigateit. On looking at the little mound, he saw there were a number of holes in it; and into one of them, the little ant with the leaf, plunged head first. “I wonder where he’s gone to?” said Jack. In a minute or two, several ants cameout of these holes, and some of them had small white things that looked like eggs. These they laid down in the sun, and went into their holes to fetch more.
Every ant seemed to be busy about something. Jack saw several ants go away from the hill. He determined to observe them, and find out what was going on. He watched one fellow particularly, and he went to the distance of as much as three yards. There was a large dead fly. The ant went to work, gnawed off his head, took it in his teeth, and scrabbled back to the hill. Down he went into one of the holes.
In a few seconds he came back, made another journey to the dead fly, sawed off a thigh, and transported it to the hill. In this way he kept going out and in, and in the course of an hour, the ant had carried the whole carcass of the fly into the hill! “Well,” said Jack to himself, “I guess that fellow’s the butcher, and supplies the ant-folks with meat.” And no doubt Jack was right.
While all this was going on, Jack had time to observe and investigate other things. He saw one ant go as much as a dozen times to a dandelion, and load himself with the yellow powder which he gathered from the blossoms. “I guess that is the baker,” said Jack. He saw several climb up the stalks of tall plants, to get the juice or honey from the blossoms. “I guess these fellows are the grocers!” said the boy.
By-and-by, Jack saw an ant going along, when he chanced to come across another hill. Immediately he began to smell about this way and that—but an ant upon the strange hill saw him. In he went, at a hole, and in two seconds he sallied forth, with five or six other fellows in his rear. They darted forward, heels over head, toward the intruder, the strange ant. He had become apprized of the danger, and was galloping back toward his hill, as fast as his legs could carry him. It was a glorious sight, and Jack looked on, with as much interest as if it had been a fox-chase.
The little red ant that had stirred up this affray, went straight ahead, and pretty soon came to a ball of earth as big as a walnut. Deeming it better to climb over than to go round it, he began to mount, when the leader among the pursuers, a large black fellow, stuck his teeth into his rump! Red turned round, and grappled; both fell backward, and rolled upon the earth! Such a scratching and biting!
At last little Red escaped—having given Black a severe wound. The others now came up, and the chase was resumed. By-and-by the party approached Red’s home. Here he met some of his friends. They carried the alarm to the hill. In a few seconds, at least fifty fellows, all red, sallied forth. “I guess these are the soldiers,” says Jack—and so they were, sure enough.
They took the direction toward the party that had chased our little hero, Red. Black had now recovered, and was at their head. He mounted a small stone to reconnoitre and see the force of the enemy. He perceived that the force was too great, and giving the alarm to his party, they all scampered back, jumping, galloping and tumbling, one after another.
The army of the Reds pursued, and finally approached the city of the Blacks, close upon the heels of the ants that had insulted and abused their fellow-citizen. The blacks were soon made aware of the danger that threatened them. The fellows that had been out on the scout, thumped on the hill, and forty or fifty stout fellows rushed forth. They marched toward the regiment of Reds, and now a fierce battle ensued.
It was claw to claw—teeth to teeth. They pulled and hauled—bit and scratched; and after a few minutes, thebattle was over. One large, black ant was killed. He was cut into four pieces, and the Reds carried him home, no doubt for a feast.
While Jack was busy in observing and investigating these things, he heard his mother’s call. Though he had been engaged at least four hours in studying into these things, he was not weary, and would gladly have staid longer; but being an obedient and good boy, he forthwith went to his mother, and found his dinner ready. It was one advantage of his morning exercise, that the fresh air had given him a good appetite. We shall pursue the story in ournext.