A FAMILY OF ROPE DANCERS 47 
laid aside the book he could no longer see to read, 
and came to sit beside the boy on the steps. 
“ I’ve just been reading about the ‘ sheep ’ of the 
insect world,” he said,—“ a curious band of pine 
caterpillars, which feed upon the true pines of the 
Old World. Fabre calls them a family of rope- 
dancers, because they walk a tight rope all their 
lives. Indeed, they can get about only on this 
rope, which is a sort of silken rail placed in posi¬ 
tion as the caterpillar goes. Their sheep-like 
propensities are shown by the fact that they al¬ 
ways march in single file, each one touching with 
its head the rear of the one just in front of it, and 
all following the wavy turns set by their leader 
with scrupulous care. Pine processionaries is 
another name given to these orderly little rope- 
walkers. Would you know their life story? ’Tis 
more interesting than many a fairy tale. 
“ It begins with the eggs laid by the pine moth. 
These are hidden away in a curious little golden- 
russet muff wrapped about the base of a whorl of 
pine needles. At first glance this muff has a 
silken appearance, but closer inspection shows 
that it is really covered with little scales, soft as 
velvet to the touch, which overlap one another to 
make a perfectly water-proof case. Clip away 
the scales, and lo! there is revealed a pearly little 
spike for all the world like a tiny cob of pop-corn. 
Each pearl is an egg, and the marvel is that an 
