FOR CHILDREN. 219

THE SILK-WORM.
FROM THE LATIN OF VINCENT BOURNE.

Tux beams of April, ere it goes,

A worm, scarce visible, disclose ;

All winter long content to dwell

The tenant of his native shell.

The same prolific season gives

The sustenance by which he lives,

The mulberry-leaf, a simple store, .
That serves him—till he needs no more !
For, his dimensions once complete,
Thenceforth none ever sees him eat;
Though, till his growing-time be past,
Scarce ever is he seen to fast,

That hour arrived, his work begins ;

He spins and weaves, and weaves and spins;
Till circle upon circle wound

Careless around him and around,
Conceals him with a veil, though slight,
Impervious ' to the keenest sight.

Thus self-enclosed, as in a cask,*

At length he finishes his task :

And, though a worm when he was lost,
Or caterpillar at the most,

1 Impervious—that cannot be passed through or penetrated.
3 In allusion to the cocoon or web, in which the silk-worm
envelopes himself.