Page:Insect Literature by Lafcadio Hearn.djvu/68

Rh the tender green leaves of beautiful cherry-trees you and your fellows assembled, and there made ugliness extraordinary; and the expectant eyes of the people, who came from far away to admire the beauty of those cherry-trees, were hurt by the sight of you. And of things even more hateful than this you were guilty. You knew that poor, poor men and women have been cultivating daikon in their fields,—toiling and toiling under the hot sun till their hearts were filled with bitterness by reason of having to care for that daikon; and you persuaded your companions to go with you, and to gather upon the leaves of that daikon, and on the leaves of other vegetables planted by those poor people. Out of your greediness you ravaged those leaves, and gnawed them into all shapes of ugliness,— caring nothing for the trouble of those poor folk………Yes, such a creature you were, and such were your doings.

“And now that you have a comely form, you despise your old comrades, the insects; and, whenever you happen to meet any of them, you pretend not to know them. Now you want to have none but wealthy and exalted people for friends Ah! you have forgotten the old times, have you?

“It is true that many people have forgotten 註