What strange sights those little
bead-eyes of his must have seen!
"When our ancestors were rude barbarians, living in caves and in holes
they dug in the ground, the little people dwelt in cities built with
wonderful skill and ingenuity; and while our forefathers were leading a
rude, selfish life,--herding together, it is true, but with no organized
government or fixed principles of industry and good order, living each
one for himself, the strong oppressing the weak,--the little folks were
ruled by a strict civil and military code. They lived together as
brethren, having all things in common--were temperate, cleanly,
industrious, civilized.
"Well, there are plenty of their descendants living all about us to-day,
and I want you to become better acquainted with them, for they are very
wise and cunning in their ways. Whenever you cross a meadow, or even
when you are walking on the public road, unless you take heed to your
steps, the chances are that you set your foot more than once on a little
heap of loose sand that we call an ant-hill. The next time you discover
the accident--I am sure you will not do it on purpose--wait a few
moments and see what will happen. What you have done is to block up the
main entrance to an underground city, sending a quantity of loose earth
down the avenue, which the inhabitants must at great labor remove.
Pages:
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83