INGENUITY IN VARIATION 145 



Swinging to a leg or tail, suspended by the 

 two sharp points of its prongs, the spiny hous- 

 ing of the seed pod now comes into play. At 

 each bound or jump, the pod flops up and down 

 and its prickly points, adding to the pain of the 

 ever-pinching hooks, are sure to keep the animal 

 in motion. As the frightened beast makes haste 

 to get away from an enemy which it cannot see, 

 the seeds within the pod are shaken one by one 

 through the narrow opening, falling on the 

 ground. 



The sailor is awed by the mountains, and the 

 mountaineer is awed by the sea. 



And we, too, are more apt to wonder at the 

 jumping beans of Mexico and at the devil's-claw 

 of the tropics than at the cherry tree in our own 

 back yard — which outdoes both of these by 

 forming a double partnership. 



Just as the dianthus bids for the bees, so the 

 cherry blossom, with its delicate pink and its 

 offering of fragrance and honey, advertises for 

 butterflies and bees to bring the pollen from 

 some neighboring tree. 



And this partnership concluded, the accounts 

 balanced, and the books closed, it then seeks new 

 partners in the birds. 



That delicious meat around the seed, that shiny 

 skin of red, and that odor of the cherry as it 



