A MASON-WASP 



mortar. This is not a serious matter, provided that the 

 flames do not lick against the nests. That would stew 

 the young Wasps to death in their clay pots. But the 

 mother Wasps seems to understand this: she only 

 places her family in chimneys that are too wide for any- 

 thing but smoke to reach their sides. 



But in spite of all her caution one danger remains. 

 It sometimes happens, while the Wasp is building, that 

 the approach to the half-built dwelling is barred to her 

 for a time, or even for the whole day, by a curtain of 

 steam or smoke. Washing-days are most risky. From 

 morning till night the housewife keeps the huge cauldron 

 boiling. The smoke from the hearth, the steam from 

 the cauldron and the wash-tub, form a dense mist in front 

 of the fireplace. 



It is told of the Water-Ouzel that, to get back to his 

 nest, he will fly through the cataract under a mill-weir. 

 This Wasp is even more daring: with her pellet of mud 

 in her teeth she crosses the cloud of smoke and disappears 

 behind it, where she becomes invisible, so thick is the 

 screen. An irregular chirring sound, the song she sings 

 at her work, alone betrays her presence. The building 

 goes on mysteriously behind the cloud. The song ceases, 

 and the Wasp flies back through the steam, quite un- 

 harmed. She will face this danger repeatedly all day, 

 until the cell is built, stored with food, and closed. 



[71] 



