The Australian Grasshopper

A distinguished naturalist was traveling in Australia when he saw a kangaroo in motion and threw a stone at it. The kangaroo immediately bounded away, tracing a parabolic curve against the sunset sky that spanned seven provinces before vanishing below the horizon.

The distinguished naturalist appeared intrigued but said nothing for an hour. Finally, he turned to his native guide and asked, "You have pretty wide meadows here, I suppose?"

"No, not very wide," the guide replied. "They're about the same as in England and America."

After another long silence, the distinguished naturalist said, "The hay that we shall purchase for our horses this evening—I expect to find the stalks about fifty feet long. Am I right?"

"Why, no," said the guide. "A foot or two is about the usual length of our hay. What can you be thinking of?"

The distinguished naturalist made no immediate reply, but later, as they journeyed through the desolate vastness of the Great Lone Land in the fading light of night, he broke the silence. "I was thinking," he said, "of the uncommon magnitude of that grasshopper."