THE ANTS 



How many of you have ever been to a picnic and 

 seen the ants carrying off the crumbs that you spilled 

 or threw away? Did you notice how hard they 

 worked to drag away a crumb of bread that was very 

 much larger than themselves and how two or three 

 would often push or pull together? All of you have 

 seen ant-hills. Have you noticed the small hill that 

 the little red ant builds along the paths and side- 

 walks, and the large hills that the black ants build 

 in the fields and woods? Did you know that those 

 hills were cities, large cities, where thousands of 

 ants live together working in peace and harmony? 



Long, long years ago a wise man studied the ways 

 of these little insects and made a proverb about them 

 to help and encourage people to live a worthy, in- 

 dustrious life. He wrote: 



Go to the ant, thou sluggard; 



Consider her ways, and be wise: 



Which having no chief, 



Overseer, or ruler, 



Provideth her bread in the summer. 



And gathereth her food in the harvest. 



Those who have more recently observed ants and 

 studied their ways, say that he was quite right, and 

 that the ants have no ruler or overseer, — and yet 

 in the cities which they build and which contain 



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