The Elephant Weevil 
them all. She confided her eggs to the 
acorns while these were still green. They 
are now lying on the ground, brown before 
their time and pierced with a round hole 
through which the larva has escaped after 
consuming the contents. It would be easy 
under a single oak to fill a basket with these 
empty ruins. The Weevil has done more 
than the Jay and more than the Field-mouse 
to get rid of the superfluity. 
Soon man arrives, thinking of his Pigs. 
In my village it is a great event when the 
public crier announces the opening day for 
gathering acorns in the common woods. 
The more zealous inspect the ground on the 
eve, in order to select a good place. Next 
morning, at peep of day, the whole family 
is there. The father beats the higher 
branches with a pole; the mother, wearing 
a large canvas apron which allows her to 
force her way through the thickets, gathers 
from the tree all that her hand can reach; 
the children pick up what lies on the ground. 
And the baskets are filled, followed by the 
hampers and the sacks. 
After the glee of the Field-mouse, the 
Jay, the Weevil and so many others, here 
109 
