The Psyches: the Cases 



that hurry to get clad? I can see none save 

 a presentiment of the future. The Psyche 

 caterpillar has the winter before him. He 

 knows nothing of a common shelter in a 

 silken purse, of cabins among close-touching 

 leaves, of underground cells, of retreats under 

 old cracked bark, of hairy roofs, of cocoons, 

 in short of the different methods employed 

 by other caterpillars to protect themselves 

 against the severity of the weather. He has 

 to spend the winter exposed to the inclemen- 

 cies of the air. This peril causes his particu- 

 lar talent. 



He builds himself a roof whose imbricated 

 and diverging stalks will allow cold dews and 

 drops of melted snow to trickle away at a 

 distance, when the case is fixed and hanging 

 vertically. Under this covering, he weaves a 

 thick silk lining, which will make a soft mat- 

 tress and a rampart against the effects of the 

 cold. Once these precautions are taken, 

 the wiinter 'may come and the north wind 

 rage: the Psyche is sleeping peacefully in his 

 hut. 



But all this is not improvised as the stormy 

 season approaches. It is a delicate work 

 which takes time to carry out. All his life- 

 231 



