The Psyches: the Cases 



We now know all about it. On leaving 

 the maternal hut, without searching, without 

 distant expeditions which would be so danger- 

 ous at that age, the little Psyche finds in the 

 tender beams of the roof the wherewithal to 

 clothe himself. He is spared the perils of 

 roaming in a state of nudity. When he leaves 

 the house, he will be quite warm, thanks to 

 the mother, who takes care to instal her 

 family in the old case and gives it choice ma- 

 terials to work with. 



If the grub-worm were to drop out of the 

 hovel, if some gust of wind swept him to a 

 distance, most often the poor mite would be 

 lost. Ligneous straws, rich in pith, dry and 

 retted to a turn, are not to be found every- 

 where. It would mean the impossibility of 

 any clothing and, in that dire poverty, an 

 early death. But, if suitable materials are 

 encountered, equal in quality to those be- 

 queathed by the mother, how is it that the 

 exile is unable to make use of them? Let us 

 look into this. 



I segregate a few new-born grubs in a glass 



tube and give them for their materials some 



split pieces of straw, picked from among the 



old stalks of a sort of dandelion, Pterotheca 



223 



