he saw him, and
eagerly struck him with his antennae. The motion was very rapid; the
ant returned it by shaking his antennae, but more gently, and by
opening his mandibles. "Are they going to dispute, and to bite each
other?" thought Piccolissima. Not at all. The ant who had received
the sirup upon the end of his tongue, now offered a little drop of
it to the one who was hungry, who received it upon his tongue, while
he continued to caress with his antennae, and even with his little
paws, the friend who offered it. The joy of Piccolissima was so
great at the sight of this mutual kindness, that she made one of her
old leaps, and shook the frail stalk. Immediately there was a
violent commotion among the ants, who in great crowds blackened the
end of the twig. They ran hither and thither in the greatest terror,
striking their antennae one against the other. Many of them caressed
the grubs more eagerly, in a violent and impetuous manner, as if to
urge them to some exertion. Some of the grubs submitted to be taken
gently into the jaws of the ants; others, with their trunks in the
wood, looked as if they were too lazy to consent to move.

They were however, at last, (whether they would or not,) all carried
rapidly away. Each ant, loaded with her cow, ran down the tree, and,
following a little narrow path in the ground, reached a small, deep
hole, into which the ants, one after the other, all disappeared.

"O Mimi! O Linette! O Fifine!" cried Piccolissima, running from her
brother to her sisters, "they have carried away all their cows. Each
ant has his cow between his teeth; one holds her by the belly, the
others by the wings; come see! come see!"

"Cows with wings!" cried the astonished little girls. Mimi, who knew
all this, startled his little sister by saying, "The pet is right;
she has good eyes; there are many grubs with wings; come, come, my
small sister, it appears to me that you are discovering many things
already known. My ladies, the ants, ought to choose you for their
queen."

The same day, Madam Tom Thumb, who began to feel some confidence in
the reason of Piccolissima, carried her into the garden, to the
great joy of the little creature. It was a delicious place; there
were in it long covered alleys, and even a small wood, where one
might enjoy a sweet freshness in the heat of the day. Around a great
hall, covered with foliage, were seats of soft green moss. It was
there that Madam Tom Thumb used to embroide