The Sacred Beetle: the Pear 



the learned authorities. My old hunting- 

 expeditions on the Plateau des Angles led to 

 no result; my attempts at home rearing 

 failed pitifully; and yet I was anxious to give 

 my young readers some idea of the nest 

 built by the Sacred Beetle. I therefore 

 adopted the traditional theory of the round 

 shape; and then, taking analogy for my 

 guide, I made use of the little that I had 

 learnt from other dung-rollers to attempt an 

 approximate sketch of the Sacred Beetle's 

 work. It was an unlucky shot. Analogy 

 no doubt is a valuable servant, but oh, how 

 poor compared with direct observation! 

 Deceived by this guide, so often untrust- 

 worthy amid the Inexhaustible variety of life, 

 I helped to perpetuate the blunder; and so 

 I hasten to apologize, begging the reader 

 to dismiss from his mind the little that I 

 have said heretofore on the probable nest- 

 building methods of the Sacred Beetle. 



And now let us unfold the authentic story, 

 admitting as evidence only facts actually 

 observed again and again. The Sacred 

 Beetle's nest Is betrayed on the outside by a 

 little heap of earth, by a tiny mound formed 

 of the superfluous soil which the mother, 

 w^hen closing up the abode, has been unable 

 to replace, part of the excavation having to 



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