The Sacred Beetle and Others 



they take wing and at once bump against the 

 walls and are flung to the ground. Their 

 restlessness continues until a late hour of the 

 night, a very unusual thing with them. Out 

 of doors, a few free neighbours run up and 

 complete the riot in front of my house. 

 What can be happening to bring these 

 strangers here and especially to throw my 

 cages into such a state of excitement? 



After a few hot days, which are most ex- 

 ceptional at this time of the year, the south- 

 wind prevails, foretelling that rain is at hand. 

 On the evening of the fourteenth, an endless 

 procession of broken clouds passes before the 

 face of the moon. It is a magnificent sight. 

 During the night, the wind drops. There is 

 not a breath of air. The sky is a uniform 

 grey. The rain pours straight down, mono- 

 tonously, continuously, depressingly. It looks 

 as though it would never stop. And it goes 

 on, in fact, until the eighteenth of the month. 



Did the Geotrupes, who were so restless 

 on the twelfth, foresee this deluge? They 

 did. But as a rule they do not quit their bur- 

 rows at the approach of rain. Something 

 very extraordinary must have happened, 

 therefore, to upset them in this way. 



The newspapers explained the riddle. On 

 the twelfth, a storm of unprecedented vio- 

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