The Collaborators 



to exploit. " There is every sort of taste 

 in this world, so that nothing shall be 

 wasted! " 



And not once or twice, but every moment 

 almost, little Paul,^ Marie Pauline,- and 

 Anna enliven the narrative by their delight- 

 ful appearances and their inventive activity. 

 Little Paul above all is an auxiliary of the 

 highest value, who deserves to be introduced 

 to the reader as an acknowledged collabo- 

 rator: 



I speak of my son Paul, a little chap of seven. 

 My assiduous companion on my hunting expedi- 

 tions, he knows better than any one of his age the 

 secrets of the Cicada, the Locust, the Cricket, and 

 especially the Dung-beetle, his great delight. 

 Twent}' paces away, his sharp eyes will distinguish 

 the real mound that marks a burrow from casual 

 heaps of earth; his delicate ears catch the Grass- 

 hopper's faint stridulation, which to me remains 

 silent. He lends me his sight and hearing; and 



I, in exchange, present him with ideas, which he 

 receives attentively, raising wide, blue, questioning 

 eyes to mine. 



Little Paul's exploits are innumerable, and 

 nothing deters him. " He will gather hand- 



'^ Souvenirs, i., p. 246; vi., p. 249; viii., p. 3; x., p. 



II, etc. 



■^ Ibid., VII., p. 29; VIII., pp. 5, 272; X., pp. Ill, 254, etc. 

 For Lucie, his grand-daughter, aged six, see 11., p. 149- 



259 



