The Life of the Grasshopper 



The wing-cases, which in a few days will 

 project well beyond the tip of the abdomen, 

 are in their present state two skimpy, tri- 

 angular pinions, touching back to back along 

 their upper edges and continuing the keel of 

 the corselet. Their free ends stand up like 

 a pointed gable. These two coat-tails, of 

 which the material seems to have been 

 clipped short with ridiculous meanness, just 

 cover the creature's nakedness at the small 

 of the back. They shelter two lean strips, 

 the germs of the wings, which are even more 

 exiguous. In brief, the sumptuous, slender 

 sails of the near future are at present sheer 

 rags, of such meagre dimensions as to be 

 grotesque. What will come out of these 

 miserable envelopes? A marvel of stately 

 elegance. 



Let us observe the proceedings in detail. 

 Feeling itself ripe for transformation, the 

 creature clutches the trelliswork of the cage 

 with its hinder and intermediary legs. The 

 fore-legs are folded and crossed over the 

 breast and are not employed in supporting 

 the insect, which hangs in a reversed posi- 

 tion, back downwards. The triangular pin- 

 ions, the sheaths of the wing-cases, open their 

 peaked roof and separate sideways; the two 

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