IN the evening Uncle Paul resumed the story of the ants. At that hour Jacques was in the habit of going the round of the stables to see if the oxen were eating their fodder1 and if the well-fed lambs were sleeping peacefully beside their mothers. Under the pretense2 of giving the finishing touches to his wicker basket, Jacques stayed where he was. The real reason was that the ants’ cows were on his mind. Uncle Paul related in detail what they had seen in the morning on the elder: how the plant-lice let the sugary drops ooze3 from their tubes, how the ants drank this delicious liquid and knew how, if necessary, to obtain it by caresses4.
“What you are telling us, Master,” said Jacques, “puts warmth into my old veins5. I see once more how God takes care of His creatures, He who gives the plant-louse to the ant as He gives the cow to man.”
“Yes, my good Jacques,” returned Uncle Paul, “these things are done to increase our faith in Providence6, whose all-seeing eye nothing can escape. To a thoughtful person, the beetle7 that drinks from the depths of a flower, the tuft of moss8 that receives the rain-drop on the burning tile, bear witness to the divine goodness.
“To return to my story. If our cows wandered at will in the country, if we were obliged to take troublesome journeys to go and milk them in distant pastures, uncertain whether we should find them or not, it would be hard work for us, and very often impossible. How do we manage then? We keep them close at hand, in inclosures and in stables. This also is sometimes done by the ants with the plant-lice. To avoid tiresome9 journeys, sometimes useless, they put their herds10 in a park. Not all have this admirable foresight12, however. Besides, if they had, it would be impossible to construct a park large enough for such innumerable cattle and their pasturage. How, for example, could they inclose in walls the willow13 that we saw this morning with its population of black lice? It is necessary to have conditions that are not beyond the forces available. Given a tuft of grass whose base is covered with a few plant-lice, the park is practicable.
“Ants that have found a little herd11 plan how to build a sheepfold, a summer chalet, where the plant-lice can be inclosed, sheltered from the too bright rays of the sun. They too will stay at the chalet for some time, so as to have the cows within reach and to milk them at leisure. To this end, they begin by removing a little of the earth at the base of the tuft so as to uncover the upper part of the root. This exposed part forms a sort of natural frame on which the building can rest. Now grains of damp earth are piled up one by one and shaped into a large vault14, which rests on the frame of the roots and surrounds the stem above the point occupied by the plant-lice. Openings are made for the service of the sheepfold. The chalet is finished. Its inmates15 enjoy cool and quiet, with an assured supply of provisions. What more is needed for happiness? The cows are there, very peaceful, at their rack, that is to say, fixed16 by their suckers to the bark. Without leaving home the ants can drink to satiety17 that sweet milk from the tubes.
“Let us say, then, that the sheepfold made of clay is a building of not much importance, raised with little expense and hastily. One could overturn it by blowing hard. Why lavish18 such pains on so temporary a shelter? Does the shepherd in the high mountains take more care of his hut of pine branches, which must serve him for one or two months?
“It is said that ants are not satisfied with inclosing small herds of plant-lice found at the base of a tuft of grass, but that they also bring into the sheepfold plant-lice encountered at a distance. They thus make a herd for themselves when they do not find one already made. This mark of great foresight would not surprise me; but I dare not certify19 it, never having had the chance to prove it myself. What I have seen with my own eyes is the sheepfold of the plant-lice. If Jules looks carefully he will find some this summer, when the days are warmest, at the base of various potted plants.”
“You may be sure, Uncle,” said Jules, “I shall look for them. I want to see those strange ants’ chalets. You have not yet told us why ants gorge20 themselves so, when they have the good luck to find a herd of plant-lice. You said those descending22 the elder with their big stomachs were going to distribute the food in the ant-hill.”
“A foraging23 ant does not fail to regale24 itself on its own account if the occasion offers; and it is only fair. Before working for others must one not take care of one’s own strength? But as soon as it has fed itself, it thinks of the other hungry ones. Among men, my child, it does not always happen so. There are people who, well fed themselves, think everybody else has dined. They are called egoists. God forbid your ever bearing that sorry name, of which the ant, paltry25 little creature, would be ashamed! As soon as it is satisfied, then, the ant remembers the hungry ones, and consequently fills the only vessel26 it has for carrying liquid food home; that is to say, its paunch.
“Now see it returning, with its swollen27 stomach. Oh! how it has stuffed so that others may eat! Miners, carpenters, and all the workers occupied in building the city await it so as to resume their work heartily28, for pressing occupations do not permit them to go and seek the plant-lice themselves. It meets a carpenter, who for an instant drops his straw. The two ants meet mouth to mouth, as if to kiss. The milk-carrying ant disgorges a tiny little bit of the contents of its paunch, and the other one drinks the drop with avidity. Delicious! Oh! now how courageously29 it will work! The carpenter goes back to his straw again, the milk-carrier continues his delivery route. Another hungry one is met. Another kiss, another drop disgorged and passed from mouth to mouth. And so on with all the ants that present themselves, until the paunch is emptied. The milk-ant then departs to fill up its can again.
“Now, you can imagine that, to feed by the beakful a crowd of workers who cannot go themselves for victuals30, one milk-ant is not enough; there must be a host of them. And then, under the ground, in the warm dormitories, there is another population of hungry ones. They are the young ants, the family, the hope of the city. I must tell you that ants, as well as other insects, hatch from an egg, like birds.”
“One day,” interposed Emile, “I lifted up a stone and saw a lot of little white grains that the ants hastened to carry away under the ground.”
“Those white grains were eggs,” said Uncle Paul, “which the ants had brought up from the bottom of their dwelling31 to expose them under the stone to the heat of the sun and facilitate their hatching. They hurried to descend21 again, when the stone was raised, so as to put them in a safe place, sheltered from danger.
“On coming out from the egg, the ant has not the form that you know. It is a little white worm, without feet, and quite powerless, not even able to move. There are in an ant-hill thousands of those little worms. Without stop or rest, the ants go from one to another, distributing a beakful, so that they begin to grow and change in one day into ants. I leave you to think how much they must work and how many plant-lice must be milked, merely to nurse the little ones that fill the dormitories.”
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1
fodder
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| n.草料；炮灰 | |
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pretense
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| n.矫饰，做作，借口 | |
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3
ooze
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| n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露 | |
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4
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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6
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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7
beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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8
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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9
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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10
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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11
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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12
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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13
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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14
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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16
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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satiety
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| n.饱和；(市场的)充分供应 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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19
certify
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| vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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21
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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foraging
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| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
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regale
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| v.取悦，款待 | |
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paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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26
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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28
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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29
courageously
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| ad.勇敢地，无畏地 | |
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30
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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31
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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