"
The butterfly did not reply, but ate the molasses in silence. Having
no soul it had no conscience, and having no conscience it was able
to lie to the mandarin with great readiness and a certain amount of
enjoyment.
Next morning, by the mandarin's command, the butterfly dipped its
legs in the mixture and flew away in search of children.
When it came to the edge of the town it noticed a pig in a sty, and
alighting upon the rail of the sty it looked down at the creature
and thought.
"If I could change a child into a pig by touching it with the magic
compound, what could I change a pig into, I wonder?"
Being curious to determine this fine point in sorcery the butterfly
fluttered down and touched its front feet to the pig's nose.
Instantly the animal disappeared, and in its place was a
shock-headed, dirty looking boy, which sprang from the sty and ran
down the road uttering load whoops.
"That's funny," said the butterfly to itself. "The mandarin would be
very angry with me if he knew of this, for I have liberated one more
of the creatures that bother him."
It fluttered along after the boy, who had paused to throw stones at
a cat. But pussy escaped by running up a tree, where thick branches
protected her from the stones.
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