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----- Original Message -----

Sent: Friday, September 06, 2002 7:55 PM

Subject: Re: Fw: Boyd on Kurt Johnson on Mimicry K. Johnson addendum

Apropos of not much, this talk of vertebrates and invertebrates and predators reminds me of something I saw in my yard some years ago. My neighbor's cat spotted a very large Praying Mantis in the grass and approached it, obviously intending some kind of harm. At least that's what the Mantis thought, because it raised up to its full height, extended its appendages and, although I could not exactly hear anything, seemed to be making some sort of sound. The cat came nearer, then backed up and assumed the crouched predator position. The Mantis stood its gound, staring at the animal, and eventually the cat gave in and went off about its other business. This potentially violent confrontation to the death between the animal and insect world was absolutely amazing. I felt like I was seeing something out of a Japanese alien disaster movie.

By the way, to the amateur reader like me, one of the wonderful things about Pale Fire has always been that feeling that the next time, the next time, I read it, I am going to see the answer, find the key... yeah, like I'm going to square the circle. But also, I like to think that Nabokov must have had a hell of a good time writing it.