'
'Except when he takes it up by mistake, and forgets that it has been
recommended to him,' said Claude.
'Take care, Redgie, with your knife; don't put out my eyes in your
ardour against that wretched wasp. Wat Greenwood may well say "there
is a terrible sight of waspses this year."'
'I killed twenty-nine yesterday,' said Reginald.
'And I will tell you what I saw,' said Phyllis; 'I was picking up
apples, and the wasps were flying all round, and there came a
hornet.'
'Vespa Crabro!' cried Maurice; 'oh, I must have one!'
'Well, what of the hornet?' said Mr. Mohun.
'I'll tell you what,' resumed Phyllis, 'he saw a wasp flying, and so
he went up in the air, and pounced on the poor wasp as the hawk did
on Jane's bantam. So then he hung himself up to the branch of a tree
by one of his legs, and held the wasp with the other five, and began
to pack it up. First he bit off the yellow tail, then the legs, and
threw them away, and then there was nothing left but the head, and so
he flew away with it to his nest.'
'Which way did he go?' said Maurice.
'To the Old Court,' answered Phyllis; 'I think the nest is in the
roof of the old cow-house, for they were flying in and out there
yesterday, and one was eating out the wood from the old rails.
Pages:
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117