Page:The fairy tales of science.djvu/183

Rh, and the danger is instantly over." When the gnat has extricated all but the tail, it stretches out its two fore-legs, and then the middle pair, bending them down to feel for the water, upon which it is able to walk as upon dry land, the only aquatic faculty which it retains after having winged its way above the element where it spent the first stages of its existence. The larger of the two flies came forward as soon as the gnat had done speaking, and gracefully waving his antennae, addressed the assembled insects as follows:—"I am a water-fly, and, like the last two speakers, I spent my youth at the bottom of a pond. Having a very soft body, which required some protection from the rapacity of fishes and carnivorous insects, I enclosed myself in a case formed of bits of straw and wood, pebbles, and tiny shells bound together by silken threads, which I spun from my mouth. While I remained in the grub state, this case afforded me sufficient protection; but as soon as I felt a change approaching which I knew would render me helpless and inactive, I thought it advisable to contrive additional security. I therefore wove a silken grating at the entrance of my little gallery. This grating was marvellously strong, for I crossed and recrossed the threads until a thickish circular plate of brown silk was formed, which became as hard as gum. Of course I left a number of openings in this plate, for the purpose of breathing. In this case I reposed in peace until just before