II ON ANIMAL LIFE 63 
astonished to find their comrades in such a 
disgraceful condition, and as much at a loss 
to know what to do with their drunkards as 
we are. After a while, however, to cut my 
story short, they carried them all away: the 
strangers they took to the edge of the moat 
and dropped into the water, while they bore 
their friends home into the nest, where by 
degrees they slept off the effects of the spirit. 
Thus it is evident that they know their friends 
even when incapable of giving any sign or 
password. 
This little experiment also shows that they 
help comrades in distress. If a Wolf or a Rook 
be ill or injured, we are told that it is driven 
away or even killed by its comrades. Not so 
with Ants. For instance, in one of my nests 
an unfortunate Ant, in emerging from the 
chrysalis skin, injured her legs so much that 
she lay on her back quite helpless. For three 
months, however, she was carefully fed and 
tended by the other Ants. In another case 
an Ant in the same manner had injured her 
antennee. I watched her also carefully to see 
what would happen. For some days she did 
