210 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



ments for their winter home, he went out 

 to dine in state at the house of a friend. 

 He was no sooner seated at the table than 

 the wasps, yielding to the genial warmth 

 of their new surroundings, waked up. 

 One by one they began to avenge the 

 wrong done them, and with perspiration 

 on his brow and anger in his heart, the 

 gentleman was compelled to make a pre- 

 cipitate exit, leaving explanations for a 

 future and more auspicious occasion. 



The mud-daubers in the little shed had 

 a good deal of difficulty in finding spiders 

 with which to stock their nests. They pre- 

 ferred a certain plump yellow-and-brown 

 variety which builds a circular web, and 

 upon which they pounced as it sat in 

 the middle of its nest, hoping itself to 

 pounce upon some hapless insect en- 

 tangled by its silken threads. 



The wasp swoops upon the spider like a 

 hawk upon a bird, snatches Arachne away, 

 and plunges a poisoned sting into her 



