44 ANTS AND CHILDREN OF THE GARDEN 



CHAPTER III. 



July 16 to July 24. 



The Big Ant, Carpenters, 



FLORENCE. I'd like to know why so many of these 

 large ants visit ours and why so many of their dead bodies 

 are brought home by ours. 



CECIL. We'll call that the Big ant until we find out its 

 name. When I left one of the Big ants at the door of ours 

 today, it snapped at ours, but I guess it was only a pre- 

 tense because no attention was paid to it. 



KENNETH. I threw a crushed one near the door. Why 

 did all your ants shy around it so? 



ANT. A dangerous acid was set free from her body, 

 and we smelled it. 



KENNETH. About two hundred of yours were shocked 

 or something, I hardly know what. They raised their 

 bodies as high as they could reach and trembled all at 

 once. 



ANT. Probably some ant gave the danger signal on 

 account of that acid and others repeated the message. 



DOROTHY. Sometimes yours seem very nervous when 

 a Big ant is killed near them and sometimes they don't. 

 Why is this? 



ANT. It depends on whether or not any odor has been 

 set free to warn them. 



DOROTHY. I left a Big ant at your door and it ran 

 away. I brought it back and it ran into your house, but 

 soon rushed out. I haven't found its home yet. 



