|
The butterflies had flown
only a short distance when they came upon a small village, built on the
hillside. "That’s a nice wee town," Bonnie said. "It’s surrounded by
trees, has a river flowing next to it and is very quaint. I wonder what
village it is. I’m sure you know, don’t you, Mr. Walking Encyclopedia?"
"Well, as a matter of fact,
I do know its name. The village is Lasswade. The river is the River North
Esk," Bruce said, hesitatingly.
"I knew you’d have an
answer," Bonnie scoffed.
"There used to be paper and
flour mills here and even once a carpet factory. A long time ago Sir
Walter Scott stayed here for several years," Bruce continued.
"It is a nice little place.
What’s that over there?" Bonnie asked, pointing to a large greenhouse.
"I’m not sure. Why don’t we
go and find out?"
They flew towards it and
landed on the roof. "It’s called the Edinburgh Insect and Butterfly House
and it’s filled with butterflies. That’s odd. It’s a house for
butterflies?" Bonnie asked. She looked in through the roof and then looked
again. "There are waterfalls and pools with tropical fish and, oh, I see a
big lizard. It’s green and quite ugly. What do you think butterflies are
doing in there?" She was curious.
"It says it’s a butterfly
and insect house. They live here. I see them all too," he said, gazing
down through the roof. We might as well go inside," Bruce suggested.
They flew around the
greenhouse. "I don’t see a way in," Bonnie sighed. Just then some people
pulled up in a car and went inside the butterfly house. "Let’s follow
them," she said, "quickly."
They flew in the door and
it slammed shut behind them. "Whew, that was close. WOW!" Bruce cried.
"This is beautiful. Look at all the colorful butterflies. I feel like I’m
in a rainforest!"
Bonnie flew over to a pool
and looked at the fish. "How beautiful! I’ve never seen fish that looked
like this before."
"Don’t get too close.
Remember the last encounter with a fish," Bruce reminded her.
"Look at all the different
colors of green," Bonnie marveled.
Children walked around
below, pointing at the butterflies. One of them spotted the iguana.
"There’s the big lizard," Bruce said. "That boy is going to pet it.
Yikes!"
"I don’t think it’s
dangerous. They wouldn’t keep it in here with all these butterflies if it
were. It probably eats fruit and vegetables, not butterflies," Bonnie
pointed out.
"You’re right. Let’s go
down and look," Bruce said. They flew down and landed on a rock near the
iguana and the children. The boy was stroking its back. The lizards tongue
darted in and out of its mouth.
Bonnie looked around. There
were purple butterflies. There were blue, green, orange, red and yellow
butterflies. There were striped ones and ones with big colorful dots on
them. Bonnie spotted a frog. "Look over there," she said. "It’s a frog. I
wonder if its one of those poisonous ones."
"Let’s not find out. Leave
the frog alone, Bonnie," Bruce warned.
"I will. Don’t worry. Frogs
eat bugs. They eat flies and butterflies," she said. Another iguana walked
past. "This place is fun, but I think it’s time for us to leave. The sun
is starting to set and I don’t relish the thought of staying in here
during the night. Who knows what happens then," Bonnie smiled, teasing
Bruce.
"You’re right. It might be
kind of scary. We could be sleeping and one of those frogs could eat us or
something," Bruce shivered. "How do we get out of here?"
"Follow me," Bonnie said.
Some children were heading towards the exit. "Land on their shoulders or
their back and hold on tight." As the children left, Bonnie and Bruce
secured themselves to a coat and soon found themselves outside. They flew
up to a nearby tree.
"Wow! That was really
pretty and maybe we can come back again someday. Do you think we could,
Bonnie?" Bruce asked.
"Sure, but for now, let’s
find a big flower that we can curl up inside and sleep for the night. I’m
tired," she yawned and the two butterflies fluttered away up the rolling
hills.
|
