as the mother did, though it never saw that
Mother or had a lesson from any one in the many strange things it must
do to live.

I went into my boat-house to-day, November 20, 1919, to get a mud nest
for this drawing. There were 86 on the roof; some of them with 20 or 30
cells, and besides there was a lot of paper nests by other Wasps. The
nest I took had two cells, one open and empty, and the other with a mud
lid on tight. This held a long, shiny brown transparent case, in which
was a white grub much too small for the big coat he was wearing. The
grub was sound asleep, and would have come out next spring, as a big
steel-blue Mud-wasp had I let him alone. But there are plenty of
Mud-wasps so I fed him to the Chicadees, which likely is what Mother
Carey would have done.

[Illustration: The Cicada and the Katydid (life size)]

TALE 46

The Cicada and the Katydid

Once upon a time, long, long ago, the birds whose job it was to make the
woods merry with their songs, decided to go on strike. They said, "We
have sung all day, all springtime, and half way through the summer, but
now we are moulting, the weather is frightfully hot; we need a rest, and
we are going to stop singing, to take a holiday."

Then Dame Nature, who is sometimes called the All-mother, or Mother
Carey, said: "Dear me, this will never do! No songbirds, woods silent
all through the dog-days. Now who will be strike-breakers and volunteer
to supply the music till the birds get once more in a good humour?"

Then up at that question got a long-winged insect like a big fly, and a
long-legged insect like a green grasshopper, and both said at once, "I
will." Amid low murmurs of "Scab! Scab!" from many of the Wood-birds.

"You. I forgot that you two had any voices at all!" said Mother Carey.

Then the long-winged creature, whose name is Cicada, began, "True, my
voice isn't much, but I have invented a most successful musical
Castanet. Listen!"

Then he began an extraordinary racket like an alarm clock, a threshing
machine, and a buzz-saw all going together. He filled the grove with his
noise, and set all the woodfolk laughing with his funny performance.
Though, of course, he didn't mean to be funny; he thought it was fine.

Then as the Cicada ceased, Mother Carey said to the Green Hopper, whose
name was Katy, "Now, Katy, what can you do?"

"I do not brag of my voice, dear Mother," said she, "but I am a
thrilling performer on the violin."

Then she h