The Elephant Weevil 



a dainty mouthful that lends fat to his rump 

 and music to his throat." 



Let us leave the Blackbird to sing and 

 hark back to the Weevil's egg. We know 

 where it is: at the base of the acorn, in the 

 tenderest and juiciest part of the fruit. 

 How did it get there, so far from the en- 

 trance, which is situated above the edge of 

 the cup. A very small question, it is true, 

 even puerile, if you will. Let us not despise 

 it: science is built up of puerilities. 



The first man to rub a piece of amber on 

 his sleeve and thereupon to discover that the 

 piece aforesaid attracted bits of straw 

 certainly did not suspect the electric wonders 

 of our day. He was amusing himself in his 

 artless fashion. When repeated and tested 

 in every conceivable manner, this child's play- 

 thing became one of the forces of the world. 



The observer must neglect nothing: he 

 never knows what the humblest fact may 

 bring forth. I therefore repeat the ques- 

 tion : by what means was the Weevil's egg 

 placed so far from the entrance? 



To any one who was not yet aware of the 

 position of the egg, but who knew that the 

 III 



