126 



RECREATION 



not the mercy of the executioner, is 

 the reason !" 



"But every man has a right to de- 

 fend himself," I argued. 



"Do you grant the same right to 

 other animals? Here you are, hunting 

 in the Adirondacks. Suppose you pur- 

 sue a buck, and it tries to gore you with 

 its horns — do you say, 'It is no more 

 than the poor creature's right?' Not 

 at all. You are wild with rage, and you 

 talk about the 'brute making a fero- 

 cious attack upon the hunter.' And I 

 have heard of Texas cattle escaping in 

 your cities and trying to defend them- 

 selves from the butchers. What happens 

 then? Every man and boy unites to 

 slay the poor creature. Is that fairness 

 or justice? Suppose we mosquitoes 

 should form a league of defense, and 

 agree to slay any man who raised a 

 hand to pulverize one of our race ? How 

 would you regard that?" 



"I shouldn't like it," I answered 

 frankly. "But you are not arguing fair- 

 ly. It all comes to this : Was the world 

 made for men or for other animals—- 

 mosquitoes, for instance ? Now, we men 

 believe it was made for us." 



"Very good," replied the Queen. 

 "And we mosquitoes do not agree with 

 you. We find ourselves created with 

 every facility for preying upon 

 men." 



"You don't mean to say that you 

 think mosquitoes superior to men?" I 

 asked with a smile. 



"Indeed we do," she answered very 

 seriously ; "and for excellent reasons. 

 Let us consider the matter calmly. I 

 do not deny that men have shown them- 

 selves a very clever race. But if they 

 have thrived upon the earth, it is be- 

 cause of their shrewdness, not because 

 they are well fitted for the planet. Con- 

 sider yourself, for example. You come 

 into these mountains. First, you must 

 be wrapped in layers of cloth stolen 

 from sheep. Then you shelter your- 

 selves beneath the bodies of slain 

 trees. You cast limbs of trees into the 

 fire to keep your own limbs warm. You 

 cheat the fish by a slain' worm, killing 



two creatures to support one. You 

 carry a gun and a knife, and other 

 things made from material in the crust 

 of the earth. You live by the death 

 of other animals, or by destroying parts 

 of the earth itself. Now, as a contrast, 

 consider the life of a well-bred mos- 

 quito. It can live anywhere. It needs 

 no shelter, no clothing, no fire or fuel. 

 It ranges over all the earth, from the 

 fiery tropics to the frozen north. It 

 is at home on earth, in the air, 

 and, during its infancy, in the water. 

 When necessary, it can live upon a 

 little vegetable juice. If it attacks men 

 or other animals, it comes boldly for- 

 ward singing a song of war, and asking 

 no quarter." 



"That is all very well," I said; "but 

 you do attack men." 



"Attack them? Of course we do," 

 the mosquito admitted. "That brings 

 me to the next part of my argument. 

 We claim that men are our natural food. 

 Other animals are more or less pro- 

 tected by nature ; but man is left open 

 to our attacks." 



"How about mosquito-netting?" I 

 asked, a little maliciously. 



"Nettings !" exclaimed the Queen 

 scornfully, " — did you ever pass a night 

 in summer without being bitten at least 

 once r 



"No," I admitted; "I don't think I 

 ever did." 



"You seem to think," the Queen said, 

 laughing, "that we attack mankind just 

 as it may happen. On the contrary, it 

 is all systematized. Each man is as- 

 signed to just so many mosquitoes, and 

 no well-conducted member of our race 

 will attack the victim of another." 



"But some men are not bitten," I 

 remarked. 



"True," she admitted; "but that 

 comes from a difference in taste. Some 

 of your species are not worth the risk 

 — for there is some risk, of course." 



"Yes," I said, with considerable satis- 

 faction ; "we do kill a good many of 

 you." 



"And do we kill you?" asked the 

 Queen severely. "You, at worst, suffer 



