86 



love our work. We have a good home and plenty 

 to eat and drink, and our mistresses are always 

 kind to us. What more could we want ? " 



But Nipper made no answer. Her heart was 

 heavy at what she had heard, and to have a good 

 home and food seemed not enough for her. She 

 wished for freedom, too. 



Note. The facts of this account of the life and battles of the 

 Polyergus rufescens, or slave-making ants and their captives are 

 taken from " The Natural History of Ants" by Pierre Huber^ 

 and " Ants, Bees, and Wasps,'' by Sir John Lubbock. 



Lubbock also speaks of the black ants carrying the red ones on 

 their backs from place to place, a point used in Part LL. 



PART II. 



It did not take long for Nipper to get used to 

 the life of the ant hill where she lived, and a very 

 busy life she found it. 



First of all there was the house to be kept neat 

 and in order, and this was a great labor. It was a 

 large house with many halls and rooms. 



Then there were the eggs to be cared for, and the 

 grubs to be fed and tended. Sometimes, if it was 

 very hot, all the grubs and cocoons had to be carried 

 to a cooler room. Then it would turn cold and 

 rainy and they were all carried back again. 



