"
This was all Mrs. Frazer chose to recollect about bears, for she was
unwilling to dwell long on any gloomy subject, which she knew was not good
for young minds: so she took her charge into the garden to look at the
flower-beds, and watch the birds and butterflies; and soon the child was
gaily running from flower to flower, watching with childish interest the
insects flitting to and fro. At last she stopped, and holding up her
finger to warn Mrs. Frazer not to come too near, stood gazing in wonder
and admiration on a fluttering object that was hovering over the
full-blown honey-suckles on a trellis near the greenhouse. Mrs. Frazer
approached her with due caution.
"Nurse," whispered the child, "look at that curious moth with a long bill
like a bird; see its beautiful shining colours. It has a red necklace,
like mamma's rubies. Oh, what a curious creature! It must be a moth or a
butterfly. What is it?"
"It is neither a moth nor a butterfly, my dear. It is a humming-bird."
[Illustration: CAUGHT AT LAST]
"Oh, nurse, a humming-bird--a real humming-bird!--pretty creature! But it
is gone. Oh, nurse, it darts through the air as swift as an arrow! What
was it doing--looking at the honey-suckles? I daresay it thought them very
pretty; or was it smelling them? They are very sweet.
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