The Life of the Caterpillar 



His collection of logs, all fixed in front and 

 all free at the back, forms a boat-shaped 

 sledge which slips and glides through ob- 

 stacles without difficulty. But, though pro- 

 gress be easy, retreat is impracticable, for each 

 piece of the framework causes the thing to 

 stop, owing to its free end. 



Well, the sack of my victim is covered with 

 laths pointing this way and that, just in the 

 position in which they happened to be caught 

 by the spinneret, as it fastened its threads 

 here and there, indiscriminately. The bits in 

 front are so many spurs which dig into the 

 sand and neutralize all efforts to advance; the 

 bits at the side are rakes whose resistance can- 

 not be overcome. In such conditions, the in- 

 sect is bound to be stranded and to perish on 

 the spot. 



If I were advising the caterpillar, I should 

 say: 



"Go back to the art in which you excel; ar- 

 range your bundle neatly; point the cumbrous 

 pieces lengthwise, in an orderly fashion; do 

 something to your sack, which hangs too 

 loosely; give it the necessary stiffness with a 

 few props to act as a busk; do now, in your 

 distress, what you knew so well how to do be- 

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