The door is a queer thing

G. Hall, « The caddis worm and fly », Cinderella and Other Stories, Sprinflied (Mass), McLoughlin, circa 1920, pp. 37-38.

Some queer little houses I am going to tell you about. They are built at the bottom of the river. But how are they made and who makes them?

Only a worm, that was at first a tiny green egg, fastened to some stem of a weed. But no sooner is the egg hatched, small as it is, than out comes the worm and begins to build. He would be gobbled up by the fishes if he diddn’t.

Every one of the family builds droll houses and no two alike. Some are of dead leaves glued together, and very safe; some are of grass cut off and put together, like a bundle of straw; a prettier one is made of shells stuck together.

As soon as the house is ready our caddis worm moves in, and hangs himself up by his tail. When he goes for his food, he takes his house with him. When he has eaten his fill, he then makes a little silk door, and hides from everyrhing. This door is a queer thing, a curious net-work all interwoven, and fastened securely on every side.

What he does shut up in the dark nobody knows;