214 ANTS AND CHILDREN OF THE GARDEN 



FLORENCE. You know the African Ant Lion has a 

 neck twice as long as its body. Well, yours is too slim, 

 but it's not as long as that ant lion's. 



ANT. My neck is all right. See? I can turn my head 

 sixty degrees to the right or left. You think you can turn 

 your nose around even with your shoulder, but you can't. 



FLORENCE. You just think you are smart, 



ANT. You just think you know as much as your par- 

 ents, but I've always known about as much as mine ever 

 since I began to do regular work. Why, the first time I 

 tried to work I did it about as well as I do now. 



FLORENCE. It must be great to be born wise. 



ANT. Don't you wish you were an ant? Then you 

 wouldn't have to go to school at all. 



FLORENCE. I wish you would stay out of our cup- 

 board. 



ANT. Not guilty. Our ants never bother the home of 

 man. But why do you object? Down in some parts of 

 South America the people welcome a drove of ants even 

 move out to let them clean house. Yes, they even let the 

 ants clean their clothes of vermin. 



FLORENCE. Thank you. Our house isn't in need of 

 any such visit. 



ANT. You are quite willing to visit our home, but don't 

 want the visits returned, it appears. 



FLORENCE. You try to deceive me. Sometimes you 

 pretend to sting me when you haven't any stinger at all. 

 I even doubt if you have any formic acid, and a stinger 

 without poison would be like a gun without a bullet. 



ANT. What did you paste one of our ants down with 

 cooked squash for? 



FLORENCE. When I did that a hundred ants jumped 

 and ran in every direction, as if hunting for the enemy, 



