The Fable of the Cicada and the Ant 



trayed by the sap that oozes from the 

 margin. They hasten up, at first with some 

 discretion, confining themselves to licking the 

 fluid as it exudes. I see gathering around 

 the meUifluous puncture Wasps, Flies, Ear- 

 wigs, Sphex-wasps,^ Pomplli,^ Rose-chafers ^ 

 and, above all, Ants. 



The smallest, In order to reach the well, 

 slip under the abdomen of the Cicada, who 

 good-naturedly raises himself on his legs 

 and leaves a free passage for the intruders; 

 the larger ones, unable to stand still for im- 

 patience, quickly snatch a sip, retreat, take a 

 walk on the neighbouring branches and then 

 return and show greater enterprise. The 

 coveting becomes more eager; the discreet 

 ones of a moment ago develop Into turbulent 

 aggressors, ready to chase away from the 

 spring the well-sinker who caused it to gush 

 forth. 



In this brigandage, the worst offenders 



* Cf. The Hunting Wasps, by J. Henri Fabre, trans- 

 lated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chaps, iv. to x. 

 — Translator's Note. 



^ For the Pompilus-wasp, or Ringed Calicurgus, cf. 

 The Life and Lo've of the Insect, by J. Henri Fabre, 

 translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chap. xii. 

 — Translator's Note. 



^ For the grub of the Rose-chafer, or Cetonia, cf. The 

 Life and Love of the Insect: chap. xi. — Translator's 

 Note. 



II 



