The Halicti : the Portress 



threaten the red-eyed bandit, the dwarf whose 

 doom she could so easily have sealed. Was it 

 terror on her part? No, for she attended to 

 her duties with her usual punctiliousness; no, 

 for the strong do not allow themselves to be 

 thus paralysed by the weak. It was igno- 

 rance of the danger, it was sheer fecklessness. 



And behold, to-day, the ignoramus of three 

 months ago knows the peril, knows it well, 

 without serving any apprenticeship. Every 

 stranger who appears is kept at a distance, 

 without distinction of size or race. If the 

 threatening gesture be not enough, the keeper 

 sallies forth and flings herself upon the per- 

 sistent one. Cowardice has developed into 

 courage. 



How has this change been brought about? 

 I should like to picture the Halictus gaining 

 wisdom from the misfortunes of the spring 

 and capable thenceforth of looking out for 

 danger; I would gladly credit her with having 

 learned in the stern school of experience the 

 advantages of a patrol. I must give up the 

 idea. If, by dint of gradual little acts of 

 progress, the Bee has achieved the glorious 

 invention of a door-keeper, how comes it that 

 the fear of thieves is intermittent? It is true 



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