one day an opossum who had gone to sleep hanging from the highest

branch of a tree by the tail, awoke and saw a large snake wound

about the limb, between him and the trunk of the tree.

"if i hold on," he said to himself, "i shall be swallowed; if i let

go i shall break my neck."

but suddenly he bethought himself to dissemble.

"my perfected friend," he said, "my parental1 instinct recognises in

you a noble evidence and illustration of the theory of development.

you are the opossum of the future, the ultimate fittest survivor2 of

our species, the ripe result of progressive prehensility3 - all

tail!"

but the snake, proud of his ancient eminence4 in scriptural history,

was strictly5 orthodox, and did not accept the scientific view.