An Inquisitive Man was one day met by a friend who cordially hailed him. “Morning, my good fellow! And where do you come from?” So begins the eponymous 1814-fable by the great Russian storyteller, Ivan Krylov.
“From the Museum of Natural History, where I have just spent three hours. I saw everything there was to see and examined it carefully. It was all so astonishing that honestly, I am not clever enough to describe the half of it. Nature is certainly wonderful in her rich variety!” the Inquisitive Man replied.
He marveled, “There are more birds and beasts than I ever dreamed of – not to mention the butterflies, dragonflies and beetles – some green as emeralds and others as red as coral! And there were tiny little gnats too – why, really, some of them are smaller than the head of a pin!”
