And then the fine sand, soft to the touch, easily tunnelled, easily excavated or built into tiny huts which we thatch with moss and surmount with the end of a reed for a chimney; and the delicious meal of apples, and the sound of the aeolian harps which softly whisper among the boughs of the pines! For the children it is a real paradise, where they can receive the reward of well-learned lessons.

The grown-ups also can share in the enjoyment.

As for myself, for long years I have watched two insects which are found there without getting to the bottom of their domestic secrets.

One is the _Minotaurus typhaeus_, whose male carries on his corselet three spines which point forward.

The old writers called him the Phalangist, on account of his armour, which is comparable to the three ranks of lances of the Macedonian phalanx.
This is a robust creature, heedless of the winter.