1. this vexed me, i must say, so i went and buzzed against the window panes for a little while, to see if that would do me any good.

2. at the end of that time i heard rose say, "granny, i do not want this bread[pg 82] and honey now. may i keep it for my lunch?"

3. "yes, dear," said her granny. it seemed a wonder to me that rose should wish to leave her bread and honey till some hours later, when she might have had it at once.

4. mr. sutton got up and went away to his study. his wife rose too, and she told rose to put the plate of bread and honey on the sideboard, that thomas might take it away till lunch time.

5. but rose forgot to tell thomas, and he did not seem to see the plate, so there the tempting dish was left all the morning. the sun began to shine upon it, and i sniffed and sniffed many times.

6. at last i left the white cap where i was sitting, and went towards it. i settled upon something far nicer now than either sugar or cream. i sipped and sucked away for some time.

7. at last i thought that i had eaten enough and had better tear myself away before i had taken more than was good for me. but, to my horror, i found that[pg 83] when i tried to lift up my legs i could not stir them!

8. in my other troubles i had at least been able to move a little. i could climb up and down the mountains of sugar, and i could swim about in the ocean of cream.

9. but now i was fixed fast, either to be eaten by rose without her knowing it, or to die a wretched death in the kitchen if she did not choose to finish me off.

10. i had never thought very much of my out-door cousins, the bees. it seemed to me that they made a great fuss and took a lot of trouble for nothing, in making honey for men and women to take away.

11. how much better to eat it straight from the flowers! and now i thought worse of the bees than ever, because i was sticking fast in their stuff.

12. i tried in vain to drag out one front leg after the other, and next my middle and back legs. it was just as a man would feel if he were stuck in a bog.

13. the sound of the lunch bell went to my heart. the sight of the nice bread and honey, which rose had left at breakfast,[pg 84] would be sure to make her feel hungry. she very soon saw me!

write: the fly stood on a plate of bread and honey. he stuck fast and felt as a man might do in a bog. rose took him out and set him free.

questions: 1. what did rose do with her bread and honey? 2. what did the fly do when he smelt it? 3. what happened to him when he settled on the honey? 4. what did he try to do in vain? 5. what did he soon hear? 6. what did rose very soon see when she came to lunch?