it is no longer young, and there is very
little of that to be found among the dahlias and dry chrysanthemums,
therefore the Butterfly turned to the mint on the ground.

You see this plant has no blossom; but indeed it is blossom all over,
full of fragrance from head to foot, with flower scent in every leaf.

"I shall take her," said the Butterfly.

And he made an offer for her.

But the mint stood silent and stiff, listening to him. At last she
said,

"Friendship, if you please; but nothing more. I am old, and you are
old, but we may very well live for one another; but as to
marrying--no--don't let us appear ridiculous at our age."

And thus it happened that the Butterfly had no wife at all. He had
been too long choosing, and that is a bad plan. So the Butterfly
became what we call an old bachelor.

It was late in autumn, with rain and cloudy weather. The wind blew
cold over the backs of the old willow trees, so that they creaked
again. It was no weather to be flying about in summer clothes, nor,
indeed, was the Butterfly in the open air. He had got under shelter by
chance, where there was fire in the stove and the heat of summer. He
could live well enough, but he said,

"It's not enough merely to live. One must have freedom, sunshine, and
a little flower."

And he flew against the window-frame, and was seen and admired, and
then stuck upon a pin and placed in the box of curiosities; they could
not do more for him.

"Now I am perched on a stalk, like the flowers," said the Butterfly.
"It certainly is not very pleasant. It must be something like being
married, for one is stuck fast."

And he consoled himself in some measure with the thought.

"That's very poor comfort," said the potted Plants in the room.

"But," thought the Butterfly, "one cannot well trust these potted
Plants. They've had too much to do with mankind."

IN THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE SEA.

Great ships had been sent up towards the North Pole, to explore the
most distant coasts, and to try how far men might penetrate up yonder.
For more than a year they had already been pushing their way among
ice, and snow, and mist, and their crews had endured many hardships;
and now the winter was come, and the sun had entirely disappeared from
those regions. For many many weeks there would now be a long night.
All around, as far as the eye could reach, was a single field of ice;
the ships had been made fast to it, and the snow had piled itse