THE CICADA 



ceiling with a few strokes of his claws, and climbs to 

 the surface. 



It is the fluid substance carried by the Cicada-grub in 

 his swollen body that enables him to get rid of the rubbish 

 in his burrow. As he digs he sprinkles the dusty earth 

 and turns it into paste. The walls then become soft and 

 yielding. The mud squeezes into the chinks of the rough 

 soil, and the grub compresses it with his fat body. This 

 is why, when he appears at the top, he is always covered 

 with wet stains. 



For some time after the Cicada-grub's first appearance 

 above-ground he wanders about the neighbourhood, 

 looking for a suitable spot in which to cast off his skin — a 

 tiny bush, a tuft of thyme, a blade of grass, or the twig of 

 a shrub. When he finds it he climbs up, and clings to 

 it firmly with the claws of his fore-feet. His fore-legs 

 stiffen into an immovable grip. 



Then his outer skin begins to split along the middle 

 of the back, showing the pale-green Cicada within. 

 Presently the head is free ; then the sucker and front legs 

 appear, and finally the hind-legs and the rumpled wings. 

 The whole insect is free now, except the extreme tip of 

 his body. 



He next performs a wonderful gymnastic feat. High 

 in the air as he is, fixed to his old skin at one point 



[31] 



