ANT AND FLORENCE. EYESIGHT 215 



but not one helped the captive to escape. Finally it got 

 loose itself. 



ANT. Don't you think we always play fair? 



FLORENCE. I don't know about that. One of your 

 ants bit the feet of another, took a seed away from her, 

 and carried it home maybe to get the credit. 



ANT. I can't make out whether it is a case of nerve or 

 nerves with you. 



FLORENCE. Your claws are no good for you often slip 

 off that smooth stone by your door. Why not take a course 

 of ten lessons from the fly? 



ANT. Of course, mining wears out our claws and the 

 oil and wax on our feet don't stick very well to dusty 

 walls. But I can walk up clean glass, as I've told you 

 before. You've seen me walk up the inside of bottles. 



CECIL. Judging from your fine looking eyes and the 

 splendid wings of your kings and queens, ants must have 

 lived outdoors some time in the dim past, and all had 

 wings. But with touch and odor, maybe you can now get 

 as good an image of an object as you once could when your 

 eyes could see. 



ANT. Keep on talking, if it will make Florence stop. 



CECIL. How do we know but ants have flashlights or 

 lanterns in their feelers? We don't use the same part of 

 our eyes in a darkened room that we use In strong light. 

 I went to the movies today, and was blind to objects in the 

 room for a time. Then I could see everything. The images 

 had to be shifted to new curtains in my eyes before I could 

 see, and it took time. There's a lot that man doesn't know 

 yet, even about himself. 



