beautiful fruits. The belly of the insect, which showed itself
between and through the transparent wings, was of a beautiful
shining black set off by six white crescents, symmetrically placed
on the right and left. The legs appeared to Piccolissima brown, and
very delicate. As she examined them, she remembered that the young
boaster had vaunted itself of having forty-two of them; and she was
upon the point of venturing to inquire what had become of the
superfluous ones, when the lively fly, finding itself dry and
strengthened, raised two of its legs and examined them very closely,
and crossing them with great dexterity rubbed the soles of his feet
one against the other. Piccolissima was tempted so to call the two
balls of flesh covered with hair, and armed with two nails which
terminated the foot bones. The fly, having cleaned his brushes or
sponges,--for they were as much like one as the other,--employing
his trunk very skilfully, began to rub them over and under his
wings, and over his little face, his eyes, and his antennae. He
combed, brushed, sponged, and cleaned himself all over. Hardly had
he finished one side before he began upon the other, using those of
his six feet which were the most convenient. At last, he seemed
weary of being watched by Piccolissima; and, shaking himself, he
just grazed the eyelids of the little girl with his wings, and all
of a sudden flew away, and alighted on the window pane, where he
marched backward and forward with his head now up, and now down,
quite indifferent to the laws of gravity.

Piccolissima followed him with her eyes with less surprise than
curiosity; not being able to contain herself any longer, she
determined to speak to the old fly.

"How does your companion contrive to walk with his head down in that