The Life of the Grasshopper 



a twenty-fifth of an inch. We will leave it 

 alone : things will now go of themselves. 



They go as well as one could wish, in 

 fact. Continuing to spread, the left wing- 

 case ends by entirely covering the other. At 

 three o'clock in the afternoon, the Cricket 

 has changed from a reddish hue to black, but 

 the wing-cases are still white. Two hours 

 more and they also will possess the normal 

 colouring. 



It is over. The wing-cases have come to 

 maturity under the artificial arrangement; 

 they have opened out and moulded them- 

 selves according to my plans; they have 

 taken breadth and consistency and have been 

 born, so to speak, in an inverted position. 

 As things now are, the Cricket is left-handed. 

 Will he definitely remain so? It seems to 

 me that he will; and my hopes rise higher 

 on the morrow and the day after, for the 

 wing-cases continue, without any trouble, in 

 their unusual arrangement. I expect soon to 

 see the artist wield that particular fiddle- 

 stick which the members of his family never 

 employ. I redouble my watchfulness, so as 

 to witness his first attempt at playing the 

 violin. 



On the third day, the novice makes a 



334 



