ITALIAN LOCUSTS

“Mind you’re ready, children, to-morrow morning before the sun gets too hot. We’re going Locust-hunting.” This announcement throws the household into great excitement at bed-time. What do my little helpers see in their dreams? Blue wings, red wings, suddenly flung out like fans; long saw-toothed legs, pale blue or pink, which kick out when we hold their owners in our fingers; great shanks that act like springs, and make the insect leap forward as though shot from a catapult.