THE CAPRICORN 



III 



THE grub's foresight 



And this half-alive object, this nothing-at-all, is cap- 

 able of marvellous foresight. It knows hardly anything 

 of the present, but it sees very clearly into the future. 



For three years on end the larva wanders about in the 

 heart of the trunk. It goes up, goes down, turns to this 

 side and that; it leaves one vein for another of better 

 flavour, but without ever going too far from the inner 

 depths, where the temperature is milder than near the 

 surface, and greater safety reigns. But a day is at hand 

 when the hermit must leave its safe retreat and face the 

 perils of the outer world. Eating is not everything, 

 after all; we have to get out of this. 



But how? For the grub, before leaving the trunk, 

 must turn into a long-horned Beetle. And though the 

 grub, being well equipped with tools and muscular 

 strength, finds no difficulty in boring through the wood 

 and going where it pleases, it by no means follows that 

 the coming Capricorn has the same powers. The 

 Beetle's short spell of life must be spent in the open air. 

 Will it be able to clear itself a way of escape? 



It is quite plain, at all events, that the Capricorn will 

 be absolutely unable to make use of the tunnel bored 

 by the grub. This tunnel is a very long and very irregu- 



[217] 



