The Life of the Grasshopper 



and sprawl along the insect's sides in the 

 opposite direction to the normal. Their free 

 end, which should be turned backwards, now 

 points towards the head of the Locust, who 

 is hanging upside down. Imagine four 

 blades of thick grass, bent and battered by 

 a rainstorm, and you will have a fair pic- 

 ture of the pitiable bunch formed by the 

 future organs of flight. 



It must be no light task to bring things to 

 the requisite stage of perfection. The 

 deeper-seated changes are already well- 

 started, solidifying liquid mucilages, bringing 

 order out of chaos; but so far nothing out- 

 side betrays what is happening in that mys- 

 terious laboratory where everything seems 

 lifeless. 



Meanwhile, the hind-legs become released. 

 The great thighs appear in view, tinted on 

 their inner surface with a pale pink, which 

 will soon turn into a streak of bright crimson. 

 The emergence is easy, the bulky haunch 

 clearing the way for the tapering knuckle. 



It is different with the shank. This, in 

 the adult insect, bristles throughout its 

 length with a double row of hard, pointed 

 spikes. Moreover, the lower extremity ends 

 in four large spurs. It is a genuine saw, but 



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