1 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Hello friends, and welcome to sleep Tight Stories. A short 2 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: message for grown ups. We are committed to making sleep 3 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: time easier and to bring joy and calm to your children. 4 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: If you would like a library full of bedtime stories 5 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: at your fingertips, along with sleep sounds, guided meditations and 6 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: music for sleep, all ad free, consider subscribing to sleep 7 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: Tight Premium. Visit sleep Tightpremium dot com to start your 8 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: free trial today. A link can be found in our 9 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: show notes. Thank you. I'd like to say hello to 10 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:08,119 Speaker 1: some friends. Hello to Theo and Charlie in Ontario, Hello 11 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: to Archie, Hello to George and Reno Nevada, and hello 12 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: to Everley Johnson. Thank you so much for supporting us. 13 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: This episode is about silkworms. Have you ever seen a 14 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: silkworm egg? They are very tiny and are easy to 15 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: miss if you don't know what you are looking for. 16 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: We are going to hear in this story about how 17 00:01:44,400 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: to raise silkworms. The silkworm. I had some old mulberry 18 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: trees in my garden. My grandfather had planted them in 19 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:12,679 Speaker 1: the fall. I was given a small amount of silkworm 20 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: eggs and was advised to hatch them and raise silkworms. 21 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: These eggs are dark gray and so small that in 22 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: the amount I received, I counted five thousand, eight hundred 23 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: and thirty five of them. They are smaller than the 24 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: tiniest pin head. They are quite still, and only when 25 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: you crush them do they crack. The eggs had been 26 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: lying around on my table, and I had almost forgotten 27 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: all about them. One day in the spring, I went 28 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: into the orchard and noticed the buds swelling on the 29 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: mulberry trees, and where the sun beat down the leaves 30 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: were out. I thought of the silkworm eggs and took 31 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: them apart at home and gave them more room. The 32 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: majority of the eggs were no longer dark gray as before, 33 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: but some were light gray, while others were lighter still 34 00:03:51,920 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: with a milky shade. The next morning I looked at 35 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: the eggs and saw that some of the worms had 36 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: hatched out, while other eggs were quite swollen. Evidently they 37 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: felt in their shells that their food was ripening. The 38 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: worms were black and shaggy, and so small that it 39 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: was hard to see them. I looked at them through 40 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: a magnifying glass and saw that in the eggs they 41 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: lay curled up in rings, and when they came out, 42 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: they straightened themselves out. I went to the garden for 43 00:04:55,320 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: some mulberry leaves. I got about three handfuls of leaves, 44 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,279 Speaker 1: which I put on my table and began to fix 45 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: a place for the worms, as I had been taught 46 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:20,720 Speaker 1: to do. While I was fixing the paper, the worms 47 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: smelled their food and started to crawl toward it. I 48 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: pushed it away and began to entice the worms to 49 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: a leaf, and they made for it as dogs make 50 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: for a piece of meat, crawling over the leaf, over 51 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:46,480 Speaker 1: the cloth of the table, and across pencils, scissors, and papers. 52 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: Then I cut off a piece of paper, stuck holes 53 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: through it with a pen knife, placed the leaf on 54 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: top of it, and with the leaf, put it down 55 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: on the worms. The worms crawled through the holes, climbed 56 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:21,919 Speaker 1: onto the leaf, and started to eat. When the other 57 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: worms hatched out, I again put a piece of paper 58 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: with a leaf on them, and all crawled through the 59 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: holes and began to eat. The worms gathered on each 60 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: leaf and nibbled at it from its edges. Then when 61 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: they had eaten everything, they crawled on the paper and 62 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:59,679 Speaker 1: looked for more food. Then I put on them. Knew 63 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: she of perforated paper with mulberry leaves upon them, and 64 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: they crawled over to the new food. They were lying 65 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: on my shelf, and when there was no leaf, they 66 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 1: climbed about the shelf and came to its very edge. 67 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: But they never fell down, even though they are blind. 68 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: The moment a worm comes to an edge, it lets 69 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: out a web from its mouth before descending, and then 70 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: it attaches itself to it and lets itself down. It 71 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: hangs a while in the air and watches, and if 72 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: it wants to get down farther, it does so, and 73 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: if not, it pulls itself up by its web. For 74 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 1: days at a time, the worms did nothing but eat. 75 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: I had to give them more and more leaves. When 76 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: a new leaf was brought and they transferred themselves to it, 77 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: they made a noise as though a rain were falling 78 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 1: on leaves. That was when they began to eat the 79 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: new leaf. Thus the older worms lived for five days. 80 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: They had grown very large and began to eat ten 81 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 1: times as much as ever. On the fifth day, I 82 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: knew they would fall all asleep and waited for that 83 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: to happen. Toward evening on the fifth day, one of 84 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: the older worms stuck to the paper and stopped eating 85 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: and stirring the whole. Next day, I watched it for 86 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 1: a long time. I knew that worms molted several times 87 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: because they grew up and found it too close in 88 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: their old skin, and so they put on a new one. 89 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: My friend and I watched it in turns. In the evening, 90 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: my friend called out, it has begun to undress itself. Come. 91 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: I went up to him and saw that the worm 92 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: had stuck with its old skin to the paper, had 93 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: torn a hole at the mouth and pushed forth its head, 94 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: and was wiggling and working to get out, but the 95 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: old skin held it fast. I watched it for a 96 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 1: long time as it wiggled and could not get out, 97 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: and I wanted to help it. I barely touched it 98 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: with my nail, but soon saw that I had done 99 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: something very foolish. Under my nail there was something liquid 100 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: and the worm didn't make it. At first I thought 101 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: that it was blood, but later I learned that the 102 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: worm has a liquid mass under its skin so that 103 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: the skin may come off easier. With my nail, I 104 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: had disturbed the new skin. For though the the worm 105 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: crawled out, it soon died. The other worms I did 106 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: not touch. All of them came out of their skins 107 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: in the same manner. Only a few didn't make it, 108 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,960 Speaker 1: and nearly all came out safely, though they struggled hard 109 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: for a long time. After shedding their skins, the worms 110 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: began to eat more voraciously, and more leaves were devoured. 111 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: Four days later they again fell asleep and again crawled 112 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: out of their skins. A still larger quantity of leaves 113 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: was now consumed by them, and they were now a 114 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: quarter of an inch in length. Six days later they 115 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:14,720 Speaker 1: fell asleep once more, and once more came out in 116 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: new skins. And now we're very large and fact and 117 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: we barely had time to get leaves ready for them. 118 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: On the ninth day, the oldest worms quit eating entirely 119 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:41,079 Speaker 1: and climbed up the shelves and rods. I gathered them 120 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: in and gave them fresh leaves, but they turned their 121 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:52,439 Speaker 1: heads away from them and continued climbing. Then I remembered 122 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 1: that when the worms get ready to roll up into larvae, 123 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: they stop eating and climb upward. I left them alone 124 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:13,079 Speaker 1: and began to watch what they would do. The eldest 125 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: worms climbed to the ceiling, scattered about crawled in all directions, 126 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: and began to draw out single threads in various directions. 127 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: I watched one of them. It went into a corner, 128 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: put forth about six threads, each two inches long, hung 129 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: down from them, bent over in a horseshoe, and began 130 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: to turn its head and let out a silk web, 131 00:13:52,080 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 1: which began to cover it all over. Toward eve, it 132 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: was covered by it, as though in a mist. The 133 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: worm could scarcely be seen. On the following morning, the 134 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: worm could no longer be seen. It was all wrapped 135 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: in silk, and still it spun out more. Three days 136 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: later it finished spinning and quieted down. Later I learned 137 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: how much web it had spun in those three days. 138 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: If the whole web were to be unraveled, it would 139 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: be more than half a mile in length. Seldom lasts. 140 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 1: And if we figure out how many times the worm 141 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: has to toss its head in these three days in 142 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: order to let out all the web, it will appear 143 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: that in these three days the worm tosses its head 144 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: three hundred thousand times. Consequently, it makes one turn a 145 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 1: second without stopping. But after the work, when we took 146 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: down a cocoon and broke them, open. We found inside 147 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: the worms, all dried up in white, looking like pieces 148 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 1: of wax. I knew that from these larvae, with their 149 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: white wax and bodies, would come butterflies, but as I 150 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: looked at them, I could not believe it. Nonetheless, I 151 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: went to look at them on the twentieth day to 152 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: see what had become of them. On the twentieth day, 153 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: I knew there was to be a change. Nothing was 154 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 1: to be seen, and I was beginning to think that 155 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: something was wrong, when suddenly I noticed at the end 156 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: of one of the cocoons grew dark and moist. I 157 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: thought that it had probably spoiled, and wanted to throw 158 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: it away, But then I thought that perhaps it began 159 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: that way, and so I watched to see what would happen. 160 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: And indeed, something began to move at the wet end. 161 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: For a long time I could not make out what 162 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: it was. Later there appeared something like a head with whiskers. 163 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 1: The whiskers moved. Then I noticed a leg sticking out 164 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:21,639 Speaker 1: through the hole, then another, and the legs scrambled to 165 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 1: get out of the cocoon. It came out more and more, 166 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: and I saw a wet butterfly. When all six legs 167 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 1: scrambled out. The back jumped out too, and the butterfly 168 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 1: crawled out and stopped. When it dried, it was white. 169 00:17:53,040 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 1: It straightened its wings, flew away, circled around, and alighted 170 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:10,479 Speaker 1: on the window. Two days later, the butterfly on the 171 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: window sill laid eggs in a row and stuck them fast. 172 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: The eggs were yellow. Twenty five butterflies laid eggs. I 173 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 1: collected five thousand eggs. The following year, I raised more 174 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: worms and had more silk spun. That is the end 175 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: of this episode. Good Night, Sleep Tight.