The Haricot- Weevil 



I question my peasant neighbours on this 

 point. They are men who keep a sharp look 

 out where their crops are concerned. To 

 touch their property is a heinous crime, 

 quickly discovered. Besides, there is the 

 housewife, who would not fail to find the 

 malefactor as she shells the haricots intended 

 for the pot, conscientiously fingering them 

 one by one before dropping them into a 

 plate. 



Well, one and all reply to my question 

 with a smile in which I read their disbelief 

 in my knowledge of the smaller creatures: 



"Sir," they say, "learn that there are never 

 any worms in the haricot. It is a blessed 

 bean and respected by the Weevil. The 

 pea, the broad bean, the lentil, the ever- 

 lasting pea, the chick-pea, all have their 

 vermin; this one, lou gounflo-gus, never. 

 What should we poor people do if the 

 Courcoussoun tried to rob us of it?" 



The Curculio in fact despises it, displaying 

 a very strange contempt when we consider 

 the fervour with which the other legumina 

 are attacked. All, down to the meagre 

 lentil, are eagerly despoiled; and the haricot, 

 so tempting both in size and in flavour, 

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