THE PRA YING MANTIS. 207 



always burning in his glass-case, and of course 

 this led to some little teasing about my ever- 

 lighted lamp at the shrine of my patron saint ! 



The second day after Simeon's arrival no flies 

 could be had, so in despair I tried whether a 

 meal-worm would be accepted instead. I was 

 humbly presenting my newly-killed offering to 

 what appeared a very meek and innocent creature, 

 with its arms folded and its head on one side when, 

 to my great astonishment, the deceitful thing 

 suddenly sprang up and made such a vicious snap 

 at my fingers that I dropped the meal-worm and 

 retreated. That was my first lesson in the habits 

 and manners of this holy hypocrite ! for the future 

 I learned to treat him with respectful caution, and 

 handed his prey to him at the end of a pair of 

 forceps. 



It was a comical sight to see Simeon discussing 

 a meal-worm. He found out that it was a tooth- 

 some dainty, and accepted it very readily. Hold- 

 ing it in one of his spiked fore-legs, and biting 

 it piece by piece as if it were a banana, he 

 munched away until he was satisfied, and then 

 he generally tilted up the last portion as if he 



