CHAPTER TIT 



ON ANIMAL LIFE — continued. 



We constantly speak of animals as free. A 

 fish, says Ruskin, " is much freer than a Man ; 

 and as to a fly, it is a black incarnation of 

 freedom." It is pleasant to think of anything 

 as free, but in this case the idea is, I fear, to 

 a great extent erroneous. Young animals may 

 frolic and play, but older ones take life very 

 seriously. About the habits of fish and flies, 

 indeed, as yet we know very little. Any one, 

 however, who will watch animals will soon 

 satisfy himself how diligently they work. 

 Even when they seem to be idling over flowers, 

 or wandering aimlessly about, they are in truth 

 diligently seeking for food, or collecting 

 materials for nests. The industry of Bees is 

 proverbial. When collecting honey or pollen 



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