Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion by Suzy Kline Page A

discoveries in a lab.”
    Harry and I pointed at each other. We were planning to be great scientists. Someday.
    Just as Miss Mackle finished pouring the sleeping ants into the hole, the ants at the bottom of the vial started to wake up.
    â€œGoodness!” Miss Mackle exclaimed.
    Sidney screamed when three ants crawled out of the vial onto the science table.
    Miss Mackle stood up. “No one move or touch anything. I will get the ants.”
    â€œOne is on the floor!” Mary called.

    Miss Mackle crawled after it. She put a pencil in front of the runaway ant. It crawled up the eraser. Miss Mackle popped the ant into the opening of the ant house, then put the roof back on.
    â€œTwo ants are missing,” she said. Her hair was in her eyes and one of her high heels was off.
    â€œTHEY’RE GOING TO GET US!” Sidney shouted.
    â€œSidney,” Miss Mackle said with her teeth clenched, “we must remain calm.”
    Harry stood in front of the teacher. “As your ant monitor, I will find the missing ants.” And then he gave her a salute.
    â€œJust don’t touch the ants!” Miss Mackle insisted.
    Harry took out his lunch box. He unwrapped his sandwich and scraped some peanut butter onto his finger.
    Then he put his finger under the science table and waited.
    Miss Mackle put her shoe back on, and pushed her hair out of her face. “I think everyone should return to their desks now.”
    â€œI found them!” Harry shouted from under the table.
    Everyone bent down and looked.
    Including Miss Mackle.

    There were the two runaway ants on Harry’s finger.
    Miss Mackle grabbed her pencil and quickly scraped them off and then dropped them into the opening of the ant city.
    Harry flashed a big smile. “I told you I’d find them.”
    Miss Mackle frowned. “I told you not to touch the ants. Look at your finger.”
    Everyone did. There were two red marks.
    â€œHe got bit!” Mary exclaimed.
    â€œI think you should go to the nurse,” Miss Mackle said. “And when you come back you’ll see another name on the Monitor Chart next to Ant Monitor.”
    Harry put his head down as he walked to the nurse’s office.
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    The next morning, Harry was really quiet. He didn’t join our conversation about ants at the science table.
    â€œThey bury their own dead,” I said.
    â€œThey bury their own food,” Mary said.
    â€œEeyew,” Sidney replied. “Look, those ants are kissing!”
    Miss Mackle walked over to our table. “Ants pass food by kissing. Sometimes they send messages that way.”
    Sidney fell off his chair and rolled over on the floor laughing.
    â€œYou may return to your seat, Sidney. Ida is about to feed the ants, and I want only serious scientists to watch.”
    Sidney frowned as he walked back to his chair.
    Harry frowned as he watched Ida doing his job.
    Ida filled an eye dropper from a bowl of sugar water. Then, when the teacher removed the roof, Ida squeezed the eye dropper three times into the ant house.

    â€œI’ll get it back,” Harry whispered to me.
    â€œGet what back?”
    â€œMy ant monitor job.”
    I looked at Harry. I could tell he was making plans.
    â€œHow?”
    â€œAll I have to do is get on the teacher’s good side. Then I can ask her for another chance.”
    Just then Harry tipped back on his chair and his baseball cards came tumbling out of his pocket.
    Miss Mackle put her hands on her hips. “Harry, put those things away. Baseball is a distraction in the classroom.”
    Harry got down on his knees and picked up his baseball cards.
    â€œI don’t want any more antics from you today, Harry,” Miss Mackle said.
    â€œAntics?” Harry repeated. “That’s an ant word.”
    Miss Mackle smiled. “Yes, it is. We have lots of ant words in our language. Maybe we should think of some.”
    Harry clapped his hands.
    Mmmmmm, I thought.