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The result of my bargain with the caterpillars is that I soon have some thirty nests within a few steps of my door. With such treasures daily before my eyes, I cannot help seeing the pine caterpillar’s story unfolded at full length. These caterpillars are also called the processionaries, because they always go out in a procession.
我和毛毛虫讨价还价的结果是，我很快就能在离家几步之遥的地方找到大约30个巢穴。每天都有这么多宝藏在眼前，我无从选择地看到松毛虫的故事徐徐展开了。这些毛毛虫也被称为“行军者”，因为它们总是列队前进。
First of all, there is the egg. During the first half of August, if we look at the lower branches of the pine trees, we shall discover, here and there on the foliage, certain little whitish cylinders spotting the green. These are the pine moth’s eggs; each cylinder is the cluster laid by one mother. The cylinder is like a tiny muff about an inch long and a fifth or sixth of an inch wide, wrapped around the base of the pine needles, which are grouped in twos. This muff has a silky appearance and is white, slightly tinted with reddish brown. It is covered with scales that overlap like the shingles on a roof.
第一步，是卵。在八月的上半月，如果我们观察一下松树较低的枝干，就会发现在树叶上到处都有一些发白的小圆筒，点缀着绿色。这些都是松蛾的卵；每个圆柱体是由一个母亲放置的集群。圆柱体就像一个大约一英寸长，五分之一或六分之一英寸宽的小筒，包裹在松树针的底部，松针被分成两组。圆筒外观柔滑，白色，略带红棕色。它覆盖着鳞片，像屋顶上的瓦片一样相互重叠。
