crickets. My mother used to tell her children, "It’s good for you to learn to fly with your own wings. Children who are a burden to their parents develop selfish habits and grow up into ne’er-do-wells.”
Following these strict principles, my mother made sure her children would live on their own soon
after they were born.
My two brothers and I, for instance, lived with her for only two days. On the third day, my mother took each of us to a hole she had dug in the corner of a rice field. As the youngest of the brood, I was provided with a small reserve of food. But that was all: my mother didn’t turn back once.
Far from bewailing the situation, I rather enjoyed it. After thoroughly exploring my new premises, I stood at the door, looking at the blue sky above the tall blades of grass. Feeling elated, I rubbed my wings together and uttered a few loud and enthusiastic chirps.
From that day on, I started life on my own. My personal happiness would depend on whether I would be wise or stupid. But I didn’t think of that at the time. I merely enjoyed my independence.
All day long, I worked in my hole, enlarging and embe-llishing it into a nice bed—room. Then I dug additional short-cuts and back-doors for emergencies. When dusk fell, I would stop for a rest. Together with the whole neighbourhood, I would start a joyful concert in honour of the setting sun.
During the whole night, we would hold merry dancing and singing parties, stopping from time to time to drink dew drops or nibble at juicy blades of young grass. Only when the austere-looking sun appeared again in the East did we part to go back home. Such was the joyful routine of my life. A quite pleasant one, wasn’t it?
As I lived soberly and worked moderately, I grew up rapidly and in no time became a healthy and strong adolescent. My hind legs shone with a dark lustre. The spikes on my legs were spear-pointed. To try their effectiveness, I would sometimes raise my legs and give powerful kicks at the grass Whose blades would then fall down like at the stroke of a scythe. My wings extended to the tip of my tail. When I flapped them, they produced a powerful sound. My head grew bigger and bigger and pugnacious-looking bumps started bulging out on my forehead. My two black mandibles were
always moving crosswise, like the blades of a mowing machine. I was particularly proud of my two long and martial-looking antennae, which I continuously caressed with my forelegs. My whole body was of a glossy brown.
I adopted a stately gait. When I walked, 1 solemnly swayed on my legs, my two antennae shaking in a bellicose manner. I put on daring airs and was quick to pick quarrels with my
neighbours.
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