CHAPTER X 



COMMON WASPS 



THEIR CLEVERNESS AND STUPIDITY 



WISHING to observe a Wasp's nest I go 

 out, one day in September, with my 

 little son Paul, who helps me with his 

 good sight and his undivided attention. We look with 

 interest at the edges of the footpaths. 



Suddenly Paul cries: "A Wasp's nest! A Wasp's 

 nest, as sure as anything!" For, twenty yards away, 

 he has seen rising from the ground, shooting up and 

 flying away, now one and then another swiftly moving 

 object, as though some tiny crater in the grass were 

 hurling them forth. 



We approach the spot with caution, fearing to attract 

 the attention of the fierce creatures. At the entrance- 

 door of their dwelling, a round opening large enough to 

 admit a man's thumb, the inmates come and go, busily 

 passing one another as they fly in opposite directions. 

 Burr! A shudder runs through me at the thought of the 

 unpleasant time we should have, did we incite these 



