They carry the aphides to their nests, 

 and take good care of them." 



"You said they had pets, guests, and 

 slaves \" 



"Yes; a favorite pet of theirs is the 

 bhnd beetle, which visits them in their 

 nests, and which they carefully feed. 

 Lubbock says it is a well established fact 

 that one kind of an ant enslaves another, 

 and that the slave-keeping ants lose their 

 habits of industry, and degenerate. Of 

 all varieties of ants, perhaps none is 

 more curious than the Tarasol Ant.' " 



''Auntie, do you mean that she really 

 does carr}^ a parasol?" cried Madge, in 

 surprise. 



"Yes, the leaf-cutters carry pieces of 

 green leaves, holding them in such a 

 way that they look as if out walking with 

 parasols." 



"What do the ants do with the para- 

 sols when they reach the nest?" Edith 

 inquired. 



"It was once thought that the leaves 

 were reduced to pulp and used as cells 

 for the young; but it is now thought 

 probable, that when this mass of leaves 

 begins to decay, it forms a hot-bed on 

 which ants grow mushrooms, of which 

 they are exceedingly fond. Ants are, 

 therefore, gardeners as well as farmers. 

 There are ants who act as nurses and 

 care for the sick. Some ants are very 

 war-like, while others can not be induced 

 to fight." 



"But, Aunt Jane, you said they had 

 amusements ; now, please describe their 

 ant-ics/' demanded Howard. 



"They have a thousand facets on each 

 side of the head; the power of vision is 

 therefore very good. With many eyes 

 to spy they play 'Hide and seek' with 

 spirit, and besides this game they prac- 

 tice various gymnastic exercises." 



"But, Auntie," John inquired, "what is 

 the very nicest thing the ant does?" 



"In summer she not only lays up her 

 food for winter, but she cuts the germ 

 of every grain to prevent sprouting, 

 which would spoil tiie store of food. 

 The perseverance of the ant is remark- 

 able; you school-children should take 

 note of it as perseverance is the road to 

 success. I once saw some ants trying 

 to drag the dead body of a wasp across 

 the floor. They succeeded very well, 

 until it fell into a crack. After trying 



for some time to move it on, all the ants 

 but one gave it up and ran away. The 

 remaining one tried again and again. 



"At last she hit upon the plan of pull- 

 ing it back instead of forward. She 

 found that this could be done, as the 

 crack was lower on that side ; so she 

 ran and called the other ants back. They 

 came and pulled out the wasp, and 

 started to carry it higher up, where the 

 crack was not so deep. Unfortunately I 

 became so excited, that I drew too near 

 and frightened them away just as suc- 

 cess was about to crown their endeavor." 



As Aunt Jane paused at this end of 

 her story, Howard cried, "Do take the 

 locust next, for they say it has 'W' and 

 T' for War and Peace on its wings. I 

 mean to look and see if this is true some 

 day." 



"I hope you will," Aunt Jane replied. 

 "It is always well to test the truth of 

 superstitious sayings. The Arabs make 

 the locust say, 'We lay ninety-nine eggs ; 

 were the hundredth put forth, the world 

 would be ours.' There is a fanciful re- 

 semblance in the locust to many crea- 

 tures. It is said to have the head of a 

 horse; its body is like a scorpion; it has 

 the horns of a stag, the hip of a camel, 

 the legs of a stork, the wings of an eagle 

 and the tail of a dragon." 



"Are beetles curious in any other 

 way?" John inquired. 



"Yes indeed," responded Alice, "for 

 they were once held in great honor by 

 the Egyptians; but, Auntie, how large 

 are beetles usually?" 



"They vary in size : some varieties 

 are four and a half inches long, while 

 others are the size of a period. They 

 are provided with scales, horns, spines 

 and pointed teeth. In color they vie with 

 flowers and minerals, are often marked 

 in the most curious and diversified ways, 

 resembling mountains, rivers, clouds, as 

 well as imitations of markings on birds 

 and flowers." 



"Please tell us a story about them," 

 pleaded Alice. 



"Very well. I once read a Japanese 

 fable which said that there was formerly 

 a beetle so beautiful that all the other 

 night flies fell in love with it. The beetle 

 was disturbed by the presence of so 

 many suitors; so, in order to get rid of 

 them, and also as a trial of constancy, it 



