Ah, the scorpion as rendered by my talented sister Cynthia Dillon. Poor creature, it does not enjoy good fame. It has always been maligned, but, as the story goes, he can’t help himself. It stung the frog because it was his nature. The Smithsonian has a charming tango between 2 scorpions engaging in a mating ritual. Fun to watch.
However, some female scorpions will give the macho tango dancer a final coup de grâce, so to speak. Which brings to mind a few not-so-nice references to the arachnid:
Macbeth’s “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife…” and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Falsehood is a scorpion that will sting itself to death.”
THE SCORPION, by Hilaire Belloc
The Scorpion is as black as soot,
He dearly loves to bite;
He is a most unpleasant brute
To find in bed at night.
THE SCORPION, by Roald Dahl
...The scorpion's name is Stingaling,
A most repulsive ugly thing,
And I would never recommend
That you should treat him as a friend...
Dum Spiro Spero 