The Hunchbacks and Mimics 
She is hiding from us, and like the 
thimble in the old game of ‘I spy,” 
she is in plain sight. 
There, I shall touch each of those 
balls, beginning at the top. Nothing 
happens till I put my finger on that 
piece of bark a little below the centre. 
It falls to the ground, and lies there, 
motionless. A quarter of an hour 
passes and then the piece of dead bark 
begins to wriggle. There! it has come 
to life, and is clambering up a thread 
toward the web, as a sailor would climb 
a mast. So‘that is the little house- 
keeper! She has been playing a joke 
on us. She is a dumpy little body, 
with short legs and small cephalo- 
thorax. Her abdomen is the largest 
part of her body, and is covered with 
tiny knobs. Her dress is dull brown, 
speckled with gray. 
When this little hunchback has 
reached the spot from which she fell, 
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