The Sacred Beetle and Others 



to be avoided at all costs. If it flowed in at 

 all plentifully through a breach, with the 

 dryness which the July heat imparts to it, 

 the provisions would be dried up. Faced 

 with an uneatable biscuit, the grub would 

 become languid and anaemic and would soon 

 perish of hunger. The mother, to the best 

 of her abilities, h;as guarded her offspring 

 against death from starvation by making 

 her pear round and giving it a stout rind; 

 but, for all that, her children are not 

 released from every obligation to watch their 

 rations. If they want bread that keeps soft 

 and fresh to the last, they must in their turn 

 see to it that the provision-jar is properly 

 closed. Crevices may appear, fraught with 

 grave danger. It is important to stop them 

 up without delay. This, if I be not utterly 

 at fault, is the reason why the grub is a 

 plasterer armed with a trowel and provided 

 with a workshop that can always furnish 

 plenty of putty. The pot-mender repairs 

 his cracked jar in order to keep his bread 

 nice and soft. 



A serious objection suggests itself. The 

 slits, the breaches, the vent-holes which I 

 see so zealously cemented are the work of 

 my instruments: tweezers, pen-knife, dis- 

 secting-needles. It cannot be maintained 



130 



