💾 Archived View for spam.works › mirrors › textfiles › humor › spider.hum captured on 2023-11-14 at 10:18:42.
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-06-14)
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I make a Tarantula bite the leg of a young, well-fledged Sparrow, ready to leave the nest. A drop of blood flows; the wounded spot is surrounded by a reddish circle, changing to purple. The bird almost immediately loses the use of its leg, which drags, with the toes doubled in; it hops upon the other. apart from this, the patient does not seem to trouble much about his hurt; his appetite is good. My daughters feed him on Flies, bread-crumb, apricot-pulp. He is sure to get well, he will recover his strength; the poor victim of the curiosity of science will be restored to liberty. This is the wish, the intention of us all. Twelve hours later, the hope of a cure increases; the invalid takes nourishment readily; he clamours for it, if we keep him waiting. But the leg still drags. I set this down to a temporary paralysis which will soon disappear. Two days after, he refused his food. Wrapping himself in his stoicism and rumpled feathers, the Sparrow hunches into a ball, now motionless, now twitching, My girls take him in the hollow of their hand and warm him with their breath. The spasms become more frequent. A gasp proclaims that all is over. The bird is dead. There was a certain coolness among us at the evening-meal. I read mute reproaches, because of my experiments, in the eyes of my home-circle; I read an unspoken accusation of cruelty all around me. The death of the unfortunate Sparrow had saddened the whole family. I myself was not without some remorse of conscience: the poor results achieved seemed too dearly bought. I am not made of the stuff of those who, without turning a hair, rip uo Live dogs to find out nothing in particular, J. Henri Fabre. The Life of the Spider. ca. 1875. The Tarantula referred to is an European spider not related in size or other way to the large hairy Mygalomorphs found in the southwestern US, Central/South America and Southern Africa. Another WiZ upload. 1iii87.