Miss Keziah Cricket, who came in with her work-bag on her arm to
ask a subscription for a poor family of Ants who had just had their
house hoed up in clearing the garden-walks.

"How stupid of them," said Katy, "not to know better than to put
their house in the garden-walk; that's just like those Ants!"

"Well, they are in great trouble; all their stores destroyed, and
their father killed,--cut in two by a hoe."

"How very shocking! I don't like to hear of such disagreeable
things,--it affects my nerves terribly. Well, I'm sure I haven't
anything to give. Mamma said yesterday she was sure she didn't know
how our bills were to be paid,--and there's my green satin with
point-lace yet to come home." And Miss Katy-did shrugged her
shoulders and affected to be very busy with Colonel Katy-did, in
just the way that young ladies sometimes do when they wish to
signify to visitors that they had better leave.

Little Miss Cricket perceived how the case stood, and so hopped
briskly off, without giving herself even time to be offended. "Poor
extravagant little thing!" said she to herself, "it was hardly
worth while to ask her."

"Pray, shall you invite the Crickets?" said Colonel Katy-did.

"Who? I? Why, Colonel, what a question! Invite the Crickets? Of
what can you be thinking?"

"And shall you not ask the Locusts, or the Grasshoppers?"