If, then, we decide to disbelieve in the story of scorpions committing suicide when unable to escape from fire, we must explain away these two accounts, which we can do by supposing the narrators to be either dishonest or stupid. There is no other way that I can see, so if neither of these do, we ought to believe the story. However, there is plenty of evidence which points in the opposite direction, and the advantage of this is that we can take our choice. Scorpions are interesting animals to keep in captivity, and their habits under these conditions have been carefully studied by Mr. Pocock.[154] When supplied with sand they dig pits in it, in which they lie during the greater part of the day. The second and third pairs of legs are used for this purpose, the scorpion raising itself upon the other two pairs, as well as, to a certain extent, upon the claws and the end of the tail. In this position it kicks the sand backwards from under it, and then when the excavation is sufficiently deep, sweeps away the accumulated heap, with its tail, so that the edge of its lurking-place is on a level with the surrounding surface. It can thus, as it lies there, obtain an uninterrupted view, which the better enables it to receive with proper attention any creature of the requisite size and quality that approaches its portals. Such creatures are principally insects, spiders, centipedes, wood-lice, and the like—but here we may remember one little spider that imitates a scorpion, and may therefore approach with impunity, at least if the disparity in size be not too great, for whilst some scorpions are quite small, others attain a length of eight or nine inches, with a bulk more than in proportion to their length.