he May fly, like a winged
fairy from a prison cell.

They do not come out slowly and wait for their wings to dry like the
dragon fly.

[Illustration]

They spring out all of a sudden and fly away, leaving their cast-off
skin in the pond.

Unless their motions were quick they might be snapped up by the fish
that are so fond of them.

But though they seem to emerge thus quickly into perfect winged May
flies, they are not quite done with infancy. They are still wrapped
about by a very delicate skin that they have to get rid of. So they fly
to a bush near the water and stay a little while until this skin splits
and comes off, and they are free.

In spite of their quick motions when they spring from the water, many of
the May flies fall back into it and are caught by the fish.

[Illustration here, as the text is broken]

It is said that the trout become fat and good-flavored when the May
flies emerge, they eat so many of them. And what the fish do not catch
the birds try to. Swallows and other insect-loving birds have a glorious
feast when the May flies come out. For a season they live in the midst
of more delicacies than they can possibly use.

Fish like the May fly larvae, too, which is probably the reason the larvae
have learned to live in the mud, out of reach.

Fishermen dig up the larvae for bait, so you see the May flies have a
hard time to get safely through the world.

But in spite of difficulties a great many of them live, and some summer
day out they come trooping.

They spring all at once from the surface of the water as by magic,
hundreds and thousands, yes, millions of them. They fill the air, they
cover everything.

The great naturalist Swammerdam, who was the first to make a thorough
study of the May flies, thus tells us how they appeared in France one
year:--

"I then saw a sight beyond all expectation. The ephemerae filled the air
like the snowflakes in a dense snowstorm.

"The steps were covered to a depth of two, three, or even four inches. A
tract of water five or six feet across was completely hidden, and as the
floating insects slowly drifted away, others took their places. Several
times I was obliged to retreat to the top of the stairs from the
annoyance caused by the ephemerae, which dashed in my face, and got into
my eyes, mouth, and nose."

These swarms of May flies appear only from three to five days at a
time.

Wherever there are streams there are May flies, and the canals