rubbish to hide in, and you made a hiding-nest, and hung it to a branch,--
and then everybody cried out to you, 'Raincoat Insect!' (Mino-mushi.) [14]
And during that period of your life, your sins were grievous. Among 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
had been cultivating daikon (2) in their fields,-- 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 [literally, 'You make an I-don't-know face']. 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 your past, and are charmed by
the sight of your present graceful shape and white wings, and write Chinese
verses and Japanese verses about you. The high-born damsel, who could not
bear even to look at you in your former shape, now gazes at you with
delight, and wants you to perch upon her hairpin, and holds out her dainty