There are many kinds of ants in the world， but black ants are the most common. They always live in their nests together. They are the most hard-working creatures and most of them make their homes underground.

The small black ants are busy every day. They run here and there all the time. Sometimes they are in the grasses. Sometimes they are in the trees. They even come to our picnic.

They are not trying to be harmful， but are only doing the house-keeping job. They know how to keep their house clean when they were born. They are the cleaning workers of the earth.

One of these ants， looking around in the grass， finds an injured beetle. In a strange way， the news will be learned by other ants. Soon there are two， then a few more. Then a lot of more ants are running around the beetle. Enough ants will come to put an end to it.

When the beetle is dead， the ants carry it away to their underground nests. An ant can carry things many times heavier than his body. Sometimes they will eat the beetle and leave nothing in the grass but the empty shell.

世界上有各種各樣的螞蟻，但黑螞蟻是最普通的一種。它們總是群居在自己的巢穴里。它們是最勤奮的生物，而且它們的家大部分都建在地下。

這些小黑螞蟻每天非常忙碌，整日東奔西跑。它們有時在草叢中，有時在樹上，有時甚至來參加我們的野餐。

它們并無公害，它們只是在打理自己的家務。它們生來就知道怎樣打理家務。它們還是地球的清潔工。

一只螞蟻在草叢中四處張望，找到了一只受傷的甲蟲。它用一種奇怪的方法，很快就把這個消息傳達給它的同伴。不一會兒，兩只，接著，幾只，最后有很多只螞蟻都跑過來圍在甲蟲身邊。這些螞蟻足夠可以把甲蟲置于死地。

當甲蟲死了之后，螞蟻們就把它搬走，放到它們地下的巢穴里。一只螞蟻能搬動數(shù)倍于自己身體重量的東西。有時，它們會殺死并吃掉一只甲蟲，只在草叢中留下一個空殼。