The Life of the Caterpillar 



I leave it at that, persuaded that the me- 

 mory of the Horse's skull used once upon a 

 time is ineradicable, like all the rustic absurd- 

 ities implanted by the ages. 



We have, when all is said, but one means 

 of protection, which is to watch and inspect 

 the cabbage-leaves assiduously and crush the 

 slabs of eggs between our finger and thumb 

 and the caterpillars with our feet. Nothing 

 is so effective as this method, which makes 

 great demands on one's time and vigilance. 

 What pains to obtain an unspoilt cab- 

 bage ! And what a debt do we not owe 

 to those humble scrapers of the soil, those 

 ragged heroes who provide us with the where- 

 withal to live ! 



To eat and digest, to accumulate reserves 

 whence the Butterfly will issue : that is the 

 caterpillar's one and only business. The Cab- 

 bage-caterpillar performs it with insatiable 

 gluttony. Incessantly it browses, incessantly 

 digests: the supreme felicity of an animal 

 which is little more than an intestine. There 

 is never a distraction, unless it be certain see- 

 saw movements which are particularly curious 

 when several caterpillars are grazing side by 

 side, abreast. Then, at intervals, all the heads 



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