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The Story Book of Science

by Jean-Henri FABRE (1823 - 1915)

31 - The Viper and the Scorpion

The famed French naturalist Fabre covers a large variety of subjects in these 70 short but fascinating essays about insects, animals and nature in general. The translator explains in her foreword, "The young in heart and the pure in heart of whatever age will find themselves drawn to this incomparable story-teller, this reverent reveler of the awe-inspiring secrets of nature. The identity of the "Uncle Paul," who in this book and others of the series plays the story-teller's part, is not hard to guess; and the young people who gather about him to listen to his true stories from wood and field, from brook and hilltop, from distant ocean and adjacent millpond, are, without doubt, the author's own children, in whose companionship he delighted and whose education he conducted with wise solicitude." (Summary by Phil Chenevert)

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Listen next episodes of The Story Book of Science:
32 - The Nettle , 33 - Processionary Caterpillars , 34 - The Storm , 35 - Electricity , 36 - The Experiment with the Cat , 37 - The Experiment with Paper , 38 - Franklin and De Romas , 39 - Thunder and the Lightning-Rod , 40 - Effects of the Thunderbolt , 41 - Clouds , 42 - The Velocity of Sound , 43 - The Experiment with the Bottle of Cold Water , 44 - Rain , 45 - Volcanoes , 46 - Catania , 47 - The Story of Pliny , 48 - The Boiling Pot , 49 - The Locomotive , 50 - Emile's Observation , 51 - A Journey to the End of the World , 52 - The Earth , 53 - The Atmosphere , 54 - The Sun , 55 - Day and Night , 56 - The Year and Its Seasons , 57 - Belladonna Berries , 58 - Poisonous Plants , 59 - The Blossom , 60 - Fruit , 61 - Pollen , 62 - The Bumble-Bee , 63 - Mushrooms , 64 - In the Woods , 65 - The Orange-Agaric , 66 - Earthquakes , 67 - Shall We Kill Them Both? , 68 - The Thermometer , 69 - The Subterranean Furnace , 70 - Shells , 71 - The Spiral Snail , 72 - Mother-of-Pearl and Pearls , 73 - The Sea , 74 - Waves Salt Seaweeds , 75 - Running Waters , 76 - The Swarm , 77 - Wax , 78 - The Cells , 79 - Honey , 80 - The Queen-Bee