1(12 ANTS AND CHILDREN OF THE GARDEN 



made it look all spick and span. Once, when I forgot to 

 put the dirt back on the glass roof, the ants did it for me 

 and, at the same time, they plastered the ceiling with dirt 

 and sticks to keep the sun out. 



FLORENCE. What do the ants keep in the parlor? 



KENNETH. Through the heat of the day they keep the 

 room full of babies and pupae, but I haven't seen any eggs. 

 They are very small, you know. 



DOROTHY. Anything funny happen? 



KENNETH. Yes. One day an ant was standing on 

 the ceiling holding a pupa up against the glass. I sur- 

 prised her and she let go and both fell through the hole 

 in the floor. 



DOROTHY. What else? 



KENNETH. At another time an ant knocked a pupa 

 off a shelf and it fell down the stairway to the depths 

 below. 



ANT. That wouldn't hurt it. Did you notice that we 

 removed the plaster from the ceiling after you replaced 

 the dirt on the glass roof? 



KENNETH. Yes. I also noticed that I made the room 

 too close when I packed wet clay around the edges of the 

 glass because the ants opened up a ventilating shaft at one 

 side and filled the hole up with clods and gravel. 



CECIL. Maybe that was for a door in case they were 

 attacked from below and had to escape with eggs and 

 babies. 



KENNETH. You see our ants are masons, for they 

 plastered their glass ceiling. They have now enlarged that 

 sun-parlor on one side and built a wall of earth pellets 

 straight up on the opposite side, and they can harden the 

 walls of a room to keep it from crumbling, as we know. 



CECIL. When do the ants use the parlor? 



