A bird would have to be very close to a walking stick to tell it from a
twig.

The female drops the eggs on the ground, and leaves them to hatch out
and make their way in the world as best they can.

[Illustration]

The young walking sticks look just like their parents, only of course
they are very small, and they are green in color, like the leaves they
eat.

Yes, little Nell, I should like to find some too; they must be cunning
little things.

They eat and grow and moult, and eat and grow and moult, until they are
grown up.

There are a good many species of walking sticks in the world,
particularly in hot countries; and to their family belong the longest of
known insects, some being nearly a foot long. Just imagine a walking
stick a foot long!

And some of them are quite prettily colored, though certain species are
not pleasant to handle, as they give forth a bad-smelling milky fluid
when disturbed.

They are gentle little folk, all of them, and move slowly about over the
leaves and twigs, not wishing to harm any living thing.