The Life of the Grasshopper 



A serious problem Is that of the home. 

 It has been solved by the Cricket, by the 

 Rabbit and, lastly, by man. In my neigh- 

 bourhood, the Fox and the Badger have 

 holes the best part of which is supplied by 

 the Irregularities of the rock. A few re- 

 pairs; and the dug-out is completed. 

 Cleverer than they, the Rabbit builds his 

 house by burrowing wheresoever he pleases, 

 when there is no natural passage that allows 

 him to settle down free of any trouble. 



The Cricket surpasses all of them. Scorn- 

 ing chance refuges, he always chooses the 

 site of his abode, in well-drained ground, 

 with a pleasant sunny aspect. He refuses to 

 make use of fortuitous cavities, which are 

 Incommodious and rough; he digs every bit 

 of his villa, from the entrance-hall to the 

 back-room. 



I see no one above him, in the art of 

 house-building, except man; and even man, 

 before mixing mortar to hold stones to- 

 gether, before kneading clay to coat his hut 

 of branches, fought with wild beasts for the 

 possession of a refuge in the rocks or an 

 underground cavern. 



Then how are the privileges of instinct 

 distributed? Here is one of the humblest, 



308 



