In the mean time the beetle, who had sailed across the ditch ona cabbage leaf, had been journeying on the other side. In themorning two persons came up to the ditch. When they saw him theytook him up and turned him over and over, looking very learned all thetime, especially one, who was a boy. "Allah sees the black beetle inthe black stone, and the black rock. Is not that written in theKoran?" he asked.
  Then he translated the beetle's name into Latin, and said agreat deal upon the creature's nature and history. The secondperson, who was older and a scholar, proposed to carry the beetlehome, as they wanted just such good specimens as this. Our beetleconsidered this speech a great insult, so he flew suddenly out ofthe speaker's hand. His wings were dry now, so they carried him to agreat distance, till at last he reached a hothouse, where a sash ofthe glass roof was partly open, so he quietly slipped in and buriedhimself in the warm earth. "It is very comfortable here," he said tohimself, and soon after fell asleep. Then he dreamed that theemperor's horse was dying, and had left him his golden shoes, and alsopromised that he should have two more. All this was very delightful,and when the beetle woke up he crept forth and looked around him. Whata splendid place the hothouse was! At the back, large palm-treeswere growing; and the sunlight made the leaves- look quite glossy; andbeneath them what a profusion of luxuriant green, and of flowers redlike flame, yellow as amber, or white as new-fallen snow! "What awonderful quantity of plants," cried the beetle; "how good they willtaste when they are decayed! This is a capital store-room. Theremust certainly be some relations of mine living here; I will justsee if I can find any one with whom I can associate. I'm proud,certainly; but I'm also proud of being so. Then he prowled about inthe earth, and thought what a pleasant dream that was about thedying horse, and the golden shoes he had inherited. Suddenly a handseized the beetle, and squeezed him, and turned him round and round.The gardener's little son and his playfellow had come into thehothouse, and, seeing the beetle, wanted to have some fun with him.First, he was wrapped, in a vine-leaf, and put into a warm trousers'pocket. He twisted and turned about with all his might, but he got agood squeeze from the boy's hand, as a hint for him to keep quiet.Then the boy went quickly towards a lake that lay at the end of thegarden. Here the beetle was put into an old broken wooden shoe, inwhich a little stick had been fastened upright for a mast, and to thismast the beetle was bound with a piece of worsted. Now he was asailor, and had to sail away. The lake was not very large, but tothe beetle it seemed an ocean, and he was so astonished at its sizethat he fell over on his back, and kicked out his legs. Then thelittle ship sailed away; sometimes the current of the water seized it,but whenever it went too far from the shore one of the boys turnedup his trousers, and went in after it, and brought it back to land.But at last, just as it went merrily out again, the two boys werecalled, and so angrily, that they hastened to obey, and ran away asfast as they could from the pond, so that the little ship was leftto its fate. It was carried away farther and farther from the shore,till it reached the open sea. This was a terrible prospect for thebeetle, for he could not escape in consequence of being bound to themast. Then a fly came and paid him a visit. "What beautifulweather," said the fly; "I shall rest here and sun myself. You musthave a pleasant time of it."
  "You speak without knowing the facts," replied the beetle;"don't you see that I am a prisoner?"