Insect Adventures

Last night I was watching Tess of the D'Urbervilles on the television. My daughter was sitting on the floor at my feet and I was plaiting her hair. It was supposed to look like Tess's hair but I had done it wrong. I know what's wrong, I said. Tess has two plaits, one on each side of her head. Oh, said my daughter, so she does.

Just then a large ant emerged from under a table and meandered over the carpet towards us. It became disoriented by a cable but recovered its sense of direction and continued to approach. It probably would have passed us by without incident, but Tess of the D'Urbervilles builds up a certain amount of resentment in a person. Why does she have such rotten luck when she's so pretty? Why are all the men so horrid to her when she's so good? I therefore reached down and with the forefinger of my left hand crushed the ant to death. O mother! said my daughter. It was heading towards my bedroom, I said lamely.

This morning I was in the city with my daughter, helping her shop for clothes for her new job. We went into a ritzy-looking shop in Rundle Street called Lisa Ho. Look at this, said my daughter, pointing to an interesting decorative feature on a dress in one of the racks. How unusual it was, a little grey-brown moth embroidered on the left shoulder. Then we realised that it looked too much like a real moth. No, said my daughter, it couldn't be. But when I poked it, it fluttered to the floor and landed near the open doorway of the shop. Where is it? I asked, because I couldn't see it then. I hoped I hadn't killed by mistake. It's there by the door, said my daughter. I was glad. I bent down and shooed it into the street.