The Cabbage Tree Moth
Maoriland Worker, Rōrahi 12, Putanga 253, 7 Hakihea 1921, Page 10
Mō tēnei niupepa
The Cabbage Tree Moth
Little Sunbeams,— I told you in my last letter something about the Cabbage Tree Moth.. I hop e you liked it, and thought about the reason why it took on the colour and the lines on its wings? But the ,moth has been able to do far more than this. It was once a, tiny pearly-white egg, which could not do very much of itself; still it could do a little, and it hatched into a caterpillar. with a lot of little legs. Then it walked about and flte green leaf. It got tired of doing this after a time, when it had grown muck bigger and stronger than it was when it cam e out of the egg, and then again a wonderful change took place, and it became just like a little doll.
Perhaps it had eaten too much v/hen it was a caterpillar, at any rate it could not eat at all now, and could only wriggle one end of itself when it was touched. It rested quite a long time in this funny state, when last of all one warm evening, a still more astonishing thing happened to it. The outside shell or skin cracked open, ami out popped the lovely moth! She soon found out that she could fly, and sip honey out of the flowers, which is ever so much bette.r than crawling about and eating leaves, and she could do plenty of other things which she could not do when she was a caterpillar; and it made her very happy.
Now, if a poor little moth with hardly any brains and muscles could manage to do all this; you think dear little Sunbeams might try to do much more? I am quite sure they could if they tried, because I have met some Sunbeams who have done it in. the past. The great thing is to try —TRY. Ot course I do not mean to grow wings, or drink honey like the moth; but to do something much better In every way. To try to make others happier and the world better than it has ever been before i- That is a pretty big thing, Sunbeams, but it is quite possible, my dears. Uncle Ted is always advising you to think kind thoughts, because he knows thoughts are very strong and can do anything; and if all the Sunbeams try very hard to think kind thoughts for all the world, the world will soon b e a wonderful place to live in. Do not suppose for one moment that the moth did all I have been telling you about her, by herself. She did not. Thousands upon thousands of moths who lived before the one we have been talking about, tried to walk and fly and do these things which our moth does, but they could not. They were very brave however. They did not sit down and say "Oh, its no use trying"; they went on trying, because their little ones would live after them, and it would be so nice if they could have a good, time and be happy. That -was thinking of others, was it not? Yet the moths did not know how to think, so some one else must have done their thinking for them! Do you know what centipedes are? Here is a funny verse written About them. "A centipeae was happy quite Until a toad in fun Said, £i Pray which leg moves atter which?" This raised her doubts to such a pitch, She fell exhausted in the ditch, Not knowing how to run." Love to all Sunbeams. —GRANDPA.
