STAG-BEETLE AND SNAILS 17 



tenaciously. Eric, full of excitement, soon 

 bundled him up in his handkerchief and carried 

 him home triumphantly. I wanted to let him 

 off on the score of cruelty, but Eric wouldn't 

 listen to the suggestion for an instant. " I'll put 

 him into the box with my garden snails, give 

 him some fresh leaves, and you'll see he'll be 

 quite happy." So he was shut up in the box 

 with some fresh leaves and half a score of big 

 shell-snails. 



These snails, instead of being thrown over 

 into the next garden, as is the usual practice, I 

 fancy, had been placed by Eric in this " durance 

 vile " for some days, as a punishment for their 

 sins in devouring the young green shoots of his 

 Michaelmas daisies. They fed greedily upon the 

 leaves, slimed about the sides of the box, de- 

 posited a large number of round white eggs the 

 size of small pills, and Eric said they were as 

 happy as could be. It was quite clear to us that 

 snails don't eat stag-beetles, but not quite so 

 clear that our stag-beetle wouldn't eat them; 

 none of us knew exactly what was the favourite 

 food of stag-beetles, or what sort of companion 

 this one would prove to the snails : whether he 

 would quarrel and fight, or whether he would be 

 friendly and sociable. Next morning we went 

 into the garden to see how they were getting on. 

 We found the snails all huddled up in one corner, 

 closely shut up in their houses, and the stag at 

 c 



