The Life of the Grasshopper 



welcome and with a reply which has re- 

 mained proverbial and is the chief cause 

 of the little creature's fame. Those two 

 short lines, 



Vous chantiez! Ten suis bien en aise. 

 Eh bien, dansez maintenant, 1 



with their petty malice, have done more for 

 the Cicada's celebrity than all her talent as 

 a musician. They enter the child's mind like 

 a wedge and never leave it. 



To most of us, the Cicada's song is un- 

 known, for she dwells in the land of the 

 olive-trees; but we all, big and little, have 

 heard of the snub which she received from 

 the Ant. See how reputations are made ! A 

 story of very doubtful value, offending as 

 much against morality as against natural 

 history; a nursery-tale whose only merit lies 

 in its brevity: there we have the origin of 

 a renown which will tower over the ruins of 

 the centuries like Hop-o'-my-Thumb's boots 

 and Little Red-Riding-Hood's basket. 



1 You used to sing! I'm glad to know it. 

 Well, try dancing for a change! 

 2 



