Page:Insect Literature by Lafcadio Hearn.djvu/294

Rh Korea, art not ashamed to flee from the Queen of the East?” In Tōkyō to-day the little dragon-fly hunters usually sing the following:—

Children also find amusement in catching the larva of the dragon-fly. This larva has many popular names; but is usually called in Tōkyō taiko-mushi, or "drum-insect," because it moves its forelegs in the water somewhat as a man moves his arms while playing upon a drum.

A most extraordinary device for catching dragon-flies is used by the children of the province of Kii. They get a long hair,—a woman’s hair,—and attach a very small pebble to each end of it, so as to form a miniature "bolas "; and this they sling high into the air. A dragon-fly pounces upon the passing object; but the moment that he seizes it, the hair 註