Towritethestoryofafly！Thegreatertheheat，thebettermychanceofsuccess。Whatcausesmetosuffertorturefillstheinsectwithdelight;whatprostratesmebracesthefly。Comealong！
Theroadshimmerslikeasheetofmoltensteel。Fromthedustyandmelancholyolivetreesrisesamighty，throbbinghum，agreatandantewhoseexecutantshavethewholesweepofwoodsfortheirorchestra。’TistheconcertoftheCicada，whosebelliesswayandrustlewithincreasingfrenzyasthetemperaturerises。ThestridentscrapingsoftheCicadaoftheAsh，theCarcanofthedistrict，lendtheirrhythmtotheonenotesymphonyofthecommoncicada。Thisisthemoment:comealong！And，forfiveorsixweeks，oftenestinthemorning，sometimesintheafternoon，Isetmyselftoexploretheflintyplateau。
TheChalicodoma’snestsabound，butIcannotseeasingleAnthraxmakeablackspeckupontheirsurface。Notone，busywithherlaying，settlesinfrontofme。Atmost，fromtimetotime，Icanjustseeonepassingfaraway，withanimpetuousrush。Iloseherinthedistance;andthatisall。Itisimpossibletobepresentatthelayingoftheegg。IknowthelittlethatIlearntfromthecliffsintheLegueandnothingmore。
AssoonasIrecognizethedifficulty，Ihastentoenlistassistants。Shepherds——meresmallboys——keepthesheepinthesestonymeadows，wheretheflocksgraze，tothegreatergloryofourlocalmutton，onthecamphorsaturatedbadafo，thatistosay，spikelavender。IexplainaswellasIcantheobjectofmysearch;ItalktothemofabigblackFlyandthenestsonwhichsheoughttosettle，theclaynestssowellknowntothosewhohavelearnthowtoextractthehoneywithastrawinspringtimeandspreaditonacrustofbread。Theyaretowatchthatflyandtakegoodnoteofthenestsonwhichtheymayseeheralight;and，onthesameevening，whentheybringtheirflocksbacktothevillage，theyaretotellmetheresultoftheirday’swork。Onreceivingtheirfavorablereport，Iwillgowiththem，nextday，tocontinuetheobservations。Theyshallbepaidfortheirtrouble，ofcourse。
TheselatterdayCorydonshavenotthemannersofantiquity:theyrecklittleofthesevenholedflutecementedwithwax，orofthebeechenbowl，preferringthecoppersthatwilltakethemtothevillageinnonSunday。Arewardinreadymoneyispromisedforeachnestthatfulfilsthedesiredconditions;andthebargainisenthusiasticallyaccepted。