The Psyches: the Cases 



lars, numbering nearly a thousand. They 

 wander restlessly in large glass receptacles, 

 closed with a sheet of glass. What do you 

 seek, little ones, swinging your pretty, snow- 

 white cloaks as you go? Food, of course. 

 After all that fatigue, you need refresh- 

 ment. Despite your numbers, you will not 

 be too heavy a burden on my resources : you 

 can manage with so little ! But what do you 

 ask for? You certainly do not count on me 

 for your supplies. In the open fields you 

 would have found victuals to your liking 

 much more easily than I can hope to find them 

 for you. Since my wish to know all about 

 you places you in my charge, I have a duty 

 which I must observe: that of feeding you. 

 What do you want? 



The part of Providence is a very difficult 

 one to play. The purveyor of foodstuffs, 

 thinking of the morrow, taking his precau- 

 tions so that the home may be always more or 

 less supplied, performs the most deserving but 

 also the most laborious of functions. The 

 little ones wait trustingly, persuaded that 

 things happen of themselves, while he an- 

 xiously resorts to every kind of ingenuity and 

 trouble, wondering whether the right thing 



233 



