Squeezing past the projecting
ledge, the gnat finds himself in a roomy apartment whose floor -
the bottom of the pulpit - is dusted over with fine pollen; that
is, if he is among staminate flowers already mature. To get some
of that pollen, with which the gnat presently covers himself,
transferred to the minute pistillate florets waiting for it in a
distant chamber is, of course, Jack's whole aim in enticing
visitors within his polished walls; but what means are provided
for their escape? Their efforts to crawl upward over the slippery
surface only land them weak and discouraged where they started.
The projecting ledge overhead prevents them from using their
wings; the passage between the ledge and the spathe is far too
narrow to permit flight. Now, if a gnat be persevering, he will
presently discover a gap in the flap where the spathe folds
together in front, and through this tiny opening he makes his
escape, only to enter another pulpit, like the trusted, but too
trusting, messenger he is, and leave some of the vitalizing
pollen on the fertile florets awaiting his coming.
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