THE ANTS' TOWN

THE ANTS' TOWN.

LITTLE TOM GOES INTO THE CITY OF THE ANTS.

MIRMEX TELLS HIM ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF THE ANTS.

THE WELCOMING. THE WALK THROUGH THE CITY.

THE WORMS AND THE CHRYSALISES.

MIRMEX TELLS ABOUT THE REDHEADS AND THEIR

SLAVES.

THE DESERTED CITY.

THE STORE-HOUSES, THE STABLES, THE HOT-BEDS.

The procession went on through the silent wood and the morning mists. Thousands of dew drops sparkled like diamonds in the moss. Overhead hung branches of billberry heavily laden with dark fruit, while, on either side, bright red berries peered from the leaves. After they had passed the moss plain, they came upon gigantic rocks strewn along the pathway of the ants in the dry spines. They crossed by these stones over little valleys and passing across tree roots, came to a clearing on the border of the Ants kingdom.

There was a great crowd of ants waiting to welcome them. An old ant greeted Tom in the name of the whole community and, thanking him for the honor of his visit, placed himself in front of the procession, which at once began to move along the broad path.

Tom noticed how the surroundings immediately changed. On all sides, were gangs of diligent workers, crossing or walking along the path, pulling beams, stones and dead flies, hurrying in their work and paying no heed to the procession. The nearer they came to the town, the greater became the crowds, while the path broadened and was hard, level and free from all obstructions. Presently, it opened into a broader clearing, from which moss, grass and sticks had been cleared away. In the background, appeared a great mound known as Black Town.

On the way, Mirmex sat with Little Tom on the rose-bug and explained to him how the town was founded. First, a sheltered location was chosen under a tall pine tree, in the clear sun, but with the branches serving as a protection in case of rain. Then, paths were laid out in various directions where there was plenty of building materials, while messengers were sent out to explore the broader country beyond where one could find precious grains of grass or hunt green bugs. To such places they at once laid out the shortest paths, stamped hard and made perfectly smooth, tore out all the roots and built bridges over the marsh and other inaccessible places.

While Mirmex talked, he became very affable. Tom listened to him most attentively and while he did not understand everything that was told him, nevertheless, he recognized that there was a great difference between the realm of the ants and that of the ladybirds. The latter were living a carefree life, dancing and making merry the whole day long, while the ants had a very strict discipline, divided their work carefully among themselves and made provision for the welfare of their descendants and for the protection of the town.

Tom decided that, on this visit, he would merely look over their arrangements, and, later, would return to them with Chrysomela, in order to study their methods of administration, so that he could apply them in his ladybird kingdom.

Finally, they arrived at the level plain before the town, where the noise of the working ants did not cease. The entire surface of the town was covered by workers, running and building, while there was a constant crowd carrying burdens through the gates of the town. Tom noticed a strong perfume that seemed to come from the town itself. After he had dismounted from the rose-bug, he was led through a broad corridor within the ants mound, where in a low, but solidly constructed hall, refreshments had been prepared, consisting of grass grains, delicious, palatable bulbs that seemed to melt on the tongue, and sweet juices of which Tom had never seen the like, but which tasted very good to him.

According to their habit the ants ate so rapidly, that Little Tom could hardly keep up with them. After they had finished, Mirmex asked what he would like to see first: The building, the division and character of the daily work, or the storehouses. Tom replied politely that everything was of interest to him and that he would leave the selection to Mirmex's judgment.

They took leave of the others, who were becoming anxious to return to their work and then Mirmex said, »First, I will show you what is most precious and dear to us and our future generation«.

They walked through a long corridor, deep in the town. In the darkness, Mirmex ran along confidently, only here and there touching the walls, while Little Tom was obliged to grope his way. He was hot and the strong fragrance was almost overpowering, while every now and then he bumped into workmen hurrying and quickly passing around them. Finally, they came into a series of dry, warm halls, and when Tom became accustomed to the darkness, he perceived thousands of little, light worms that were stretching their necks and turning their little black heads.

Workmen were running among them, pushing into their little mouths a sweet porridge and thus feeding them. Mirmex silently watched the careful attention of the workers for a moment and then said, »These are our youth, our pride and hope. They were born from eggs and when they grow up, will enclose themselves in chrysalises from which they will come out as ants, our descendants. Our chief concern is that they have a good living place, neither wet nor cool and that they have enough porridge, so that they will develop properly.«

Tom was greatly touched by the ants' care of their little ones, and was surprised that they had such experienced and skilful nurses who seemed to love their wards so tenderly.

They went up one story higher and found, lying on the floor, thousands of white chrysalises all wrapped up in silken coverings. A number of the ants were taking these chrysalises in their strong jaws and carrying them out through a broad corridor at the end of which daylight was shining. Following them, Tom and Mirmex came out under a thick arch of pine needles, through which circles had been bitten, to allow the rays of the sun to strike the ant hill. On these dry places where the sun was shining, the ants placed the chrysalises side by side, so that they should be warmed in its rays.

The entire top of the town was covered by stones over which were placed pine needles to shed the water when it rained. Mirmex and Tom stepped up on one of these stones and looked about them. They saw roads like white threads, that lost themselves in the high grass and moss. All over the town were the thickly crowded workmen, while other groups were hurrying along the paths.

Mirmex explained to Tom the troubles they had with the chrysalises. In the mound were corridors of different temperatures so that, according to the weather, the chrysalises could be taken where the conditions were favorable, while, on clear, dry days, they were brought out in the sun.

Returning inside into a different hall, Little Tom was given a surprise. On the floor were lying many chrysalises and on them were ants biting and tearing their silk coverings. Tom thought that the ants wanted to eat their young, but soon saw that from the white coverings, little black heads with shining black bodies were trying to get out and with what pleasure the nurses were welcoming them, cleaning them, stretching their cramped legs and their bent-up feelers, bringing them food and teaching them how to eat.

It was touching to see the little fellows, looking around in surprise, falling clumsily about and throwing themselves eagerly on the sweet porridge. From the hall led two other corridors, sloping downward, and, as Tom was looking into them, Mirmex came to him and said: »These are safety exits. When danger threatens, through one of these the workers carry the chrysalises outside, where they crawl on the flowers and the grass, as our enemies cannot reach these heights. Through the second, they can go into the depths of the town and there hide the chrysalises in the secret chambers.«

As Mirmex led him through the first exit which opened at the opposite end of the town, directly into the highgrowing grass, which the ants had spared, Tom wondered what sort of enemies threatened the ants. As they walked along Mirmex enlightened him.

»Since unremembered time, the ants have had a great enemy, the Redheads. They are larger than we, ugly, red fellows and cruel, rough fighters. From early childhood they do nothing but perfect themselves in fighting and robbing. They do not understand work and do not even know how to eat by themselves. The have long jaws sharp as a lance, with which, at one stroke, they can pierce an enemy's head. Their slaves do all their work, build their town, care for their children, gather their stock and also feed them. The slaves are in greater numbers than their masters and could let them die from hunger, yet they never revolt, having no idea of the freedom and liberty of the ants in their independent realm. That is because they have never lived in freedom. The Redheads are not interested in their grown-up enemies, whom they slay, but they steal the chrysalises, which they give into the care of the slaves. These the slaves care for, bringing up the little ants and teaching them how to work for their masters. The youths know nothing of the life of the nation from which they came, only knowing how to work for their masters and their descendants.«

»You see how efficiently one works here with us. Everyone knows exactly his task and does it unceasingly until his last breath, and all work for the good of the community. The workman gladly performs his task. He is modest and knows neither pleasure nor idleness. His only consolation is the proper result of his labors, but he feels himself free, knowing that he is creating strong and healthy descendants and is insuring the freedom and liberty of the whole nation.«

»Our descendants would prefer to die rather than serve foreign masters. This the Redheads well know and, therefore, they take the ungrown children, who know nothing of the world, and train them as their slaves. Many, many thousands of our people are serving them truly and devotedly, but are forever lost to us.«

»But why do you not instruct them,« asked Tom excitedly? »Why do you not explain how degrading it is to deny one's own people and serve strangers, altogether abandoning one's own nation?«

»That is all in vain,« replied Mirmex. »Who grows up a slave will remain a slave. They are quite satisfied with their fate and do not understand why they would be better off with us. If they should leave their masters, they would not feel happy with us.«

»Then why do you not prepare yourselves and not let them capture the chrysalises? Why do you not perfect yourselves in fighting and kill them when they come against you?« Little Tom was almost beside himself with anger and longed to lead an expedition against the Redheads and destroy them, but Mirmex remained cool and undisturbed.

»They are stronger in body and more skilled in fighting,« he answered. »If we wanted to ruin them, we should have to give up our manner of living; we should have to devote ourselves to fighting, warring and gaining skill in arms. Who among us would then attend to the agricultural work? Then we should be like them, murderers and robbers, living only on the work of others, and that we do not wish to be. We try to defend ourselves and at the same time not change our mode of life. We build our towns far from the Redheads and, if necessary, would rather move away from them. We station guards over our entire territory and, if we are attacked, meet the enemy bravely. We also know how to fight. Our workmen are skilful and when the worst comes, they become very good fighters. We have often defeated the Redheads and driven them away from our town; but we do not attack their towns or rob them. The Redheads avoid our large towns and attack those that are young and newly established. Only when they lack slaves, do they attack our principal communities. As for us, we are satisfied to stand up for our rights, defend our liberty and our young ones, and live according to our destiny.«

Little Tom looked admiringly at Mirmex, who was talking quietly and earnestly, but Tom felt his genuine loyalty to his native town and his passionate love for freedom.

In the meantime, they came to a lonely part at the back of the town, where the corridors were ruined and the surface covered with dust. Tom asked in surprise, why such a large part of the town was left in ruins. Mirmex explained that this was the oldest portion which had been well founded, but, overhead in the pine tree, something had happened. A branch had been torn off by the wind, so that the town was not properly protected from the rain and the chrysalises were threatened by the dampness. Therefore, they started to build new halls a little farther along, where it was drier and better sheltered, until the town was higher and larger, into which they would then move their stores and the chrysalises.

Then Mirmex asked Tom to go with him and look at the storehouses; so they went back to the town and passed through winding corridors to great rooms, where they met many ants carrying heavy burdens. Tom saw the rooms piled clear to the top with little grains dried and cleaned. In one room many ants were sitting, some cleaning the grains, others blowing away the chaff and still others stacking up the finished product. Others gathered up the refuse and carried it outside the ant hill.

»These,« said Mirmex, »are our granaries and our stores for bad seasons. There are enough supplies here to support the town for a long while.«

Then they went to a hall higher up, where the porridge for the chrysalises was being prepared, and there Tom saw workers hurrying out of the nests with empty coverings of the chrysalises. He thought how this soft silk used to be brought by the gnome merchants to his father and how, at home, they were woven into precious silken garments.

From the granaries and kitchens, they came to the stalls, where Tom saw green bugs, fat and lazy, crawling under a low arch. From the back of each bug extended two little tubes, through which the ants were sucking as they tickled the bugs with their feelers. Tom was surprised again, when Mirmex explained that, through these tubes, the bugs let out a sweet juice, of which the ants are very fond. »We keep many of them here,« continued Mirmex, »for the workers engaged in the town. Those who are working outside, have their large stalls on the flowers.«

Tom asked why the bugs on the flowers did not run away and Mirmex told him, that where there were enough bugs on a flower, the ants surrounded it with trenches and ramparts, so that the bugs were in captivity and could not escape. »There they stay in their captivity and do not have to be fed and the workmen do not have to return to the town to drink,« he added.

Little Tom sincerely admired the whole arrangement of the ants town. This pleased Mirmex. »Let us go a little further,« he continued. »I will next show you our hot-beds.« They went along a narrow corridor, and Tom, touching the walls, found them damp. They passed through rooms that were very hot, until they reached a low chamber which was filled with damp, round leaves, while the walls were covered with mildew. Tom did not care to go into this damp hot bed, but Mirmex laughed.

»Do you remember,« he inquired, »how you helped us build a crossing over the strip of glue on the rose-bush in the garden? At that time you were curious to know why we were biting out little circles from the rose leaves and were carrying them away. Here you see the leaves piled up in heaps. In this part of the mound grows a mushroom. Here it is damp. The water comes from a near-by mossfield and the dampness is good for the mushroom mildew. It puts out little thin stalks that grow up from the rose leaves.«

Tom noticed that the heaps were covered with long stalks which surrounded them like grass. While he was looking at them, many ants came into the room. One examined the stalks to see if they were sufficiently grown and then they started to work. One after the other, they bit the shoots on the end. Mirmex conducted Tom into the second room, so as not to be in the way of the workers. There were no longer stalks on the leaves but, in their place, stunted, round bulbs as if the heap were covered with pin heads.

»If we should allow the shoots to grow«, remarked Mirmex, »they would fill the whole room and be of no use; therefore, we must bite them on the end, and so the shoots are stunted and grow into the broad, juicy bulbs which are our best food.«

Tom tasted one or two of the bulbs and found them very good. They were slightly sweet and full of juice. He envied the ants their clever mode of living. He doubted if he would be able to bring the Ladybirds to such a degree of perfection; but when they were leaving the halls, he thought that, after all, the life of the Ladybirds was better, more beautiful, fresher, and more joyous, being spent in pleasure under the great, bright sky, without troubles, without heavy labor, and full of happiness and merriment.

He thought that he would speak to Mirmex about it and ask him why the ants have no pleasure and merriment, if life is so serious that all the time it is necessary to worry and work and be on guard and not to have one moment of relief or time for one's own pleasure.

CHAPTER NINE.