The Bluebottle : The Grub 



bellies I have first opened, but I do not succeed 

 If the morsel be left intact: the worms are un- 

 able to perforate the succulent paunch; they 

 are stopped by the cuticle, on which their re- 

 agent refuses to act. Or else I give them 

 Frogs' hind-legs, stripped of their skin. The 

 flesh turns to broth and disappears to the bone. 

 If I do not peel the legs, they remain intact 

 in the midst of the vermin. Their thin skin 

 Is sufficient to protect them. 



This failure to act upon the epidermis ex- 

 plains why the Bluebottle at work on the ani- 

 mal declines to lay her eggs on the first part 

 that comes handy. She needs the delicate 

 membrane of the nostrils, eyes or throat, or 

 else some wound in which the flesh Is laid bare. 

 No other place suits her, however excellent 

 for flavour and darkness. At most, finding 

 nothing better when my stratagems interfere, 

 she persuades herself to dab a few eggs under 

 the axilla of a plucked bird or in the groin, 

 two points at which the skin is thinner than 

 elsewhere. 



With her maternal foresight, the Bluebottle 

 knows to perfection the choice surfaces, the 

 only ones liable to soften and run under the 

 influence of the reagent dribbled by the new- 

 born grubs. The chemistry of the future Is 



347 



