Foto English: Lesson 9

Spaghetti Ant: Part 2!

[Continued from Lesson 8…]

Joe the Ant and Sarah the Ant agree that they would like to throw away the stinky
human socks so they wouldn’t have to smell them every time they traveled on the
clothesline. The smell makes Joe feel woozy: he feels like he could pass out.

“I need to leave before this sock stink makes me lose my balance,” says Joe.

As Joe starts to leave, Sarah gives him a warning, “Be careful Joe, there are many
ants that are hostile to your love of spaghetti- they will turn you in to ant
authorities if they catch you trying to make human food. You don’t want to wind
up with an ant fine or ant jail-time!”

Joe says goodbye to Sarah by touching his ant antennae to her ant antennae.
Sarah asks Joe to come by her ant hill after he gets back from his trip to the
garden. She says she will serve ant wine if Joe will make some of his delicious illegal
spaghetti…

Joe continues down the road. He uses his six ant legs and six ant feet to get
around the last clothespin and walk to the end of the clothesline. He then walks
down the tree trunk to find the garden hose.

With regard to the hose, Joe the Ant knows that the humans use the hose to water
the garden. He plans to find the hose and follow it to the garden where he can find
the vegetables he needs to make his spaghetti sauce.

He hopes the human by the name of Farmer Clem has a good, ripe crop of
vegetables this week.

Joe walks over two wild mushrooms, a twig, 3 fallen oak leaves, and a small patch
of moss to get to the faded orange garden hose.

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Foto English: Lesson 9

All along his walk he thinks about the tangy sweet red tomato and savory basil
leaves he will find and pick in the garden. He can’t wait to dice the juicy tomato and
chop the green basil with his small but keen ant knife!

Joe runs into Floyd the Ant on the garden hose. Floyd the Ant is an old grump.

Floyd the Old Grump Ant dislikes the younger generation. He disapproves of their
music. He disapproves of their books and movies. He can’t cope with their ant yoga,
healthy eating, and environmental awareness.

Floyd shouts, “You can’t get away with your healthy eating you dirty young
whipper-snapper. You should stick to eating rotten grapes and moldy beetle
carcasses like me! I’ll teach you a lesson!” says Floyd.

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Foto English: Lesson 9

Floyd tries to push Joe off the garden hose but he is too tired and sick to bully him.

Floyd is in bad shape. Floyd is on the verge of having an ant heart attack.

“Give me a break,” says Joe as he continues on his way south along the hose and
to the garden. Floyd tries to chase after Joe but he can’t keep up.

Joe the Ant makes it to the end of the garden hose and drops off into the middle of
the lush and sunlit garden. Joe climbs up onto a basil plant and looks down at a
shiny and aromatic leaf. Joe looks to the left and sees a saucy, juicy, plump, ripe,
red tomato!

“You can’t go wrong with Farmer Clem’s garden-fresh vegetables,” says Joe to
himself. Joe picks 7 mature basil leaves and pulls out two head of garlic. He pulls on
the perfect tomato until it comes off in his three strong ant arms.

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Foto English: Lesson 9

It takes Joe the Ant 3 hours and 2 minutes to carry all his ingredients back across
the yard. He goes to Sarah’s ant hill and prepares delicious spaghetti with fresh
tomato sauce in her ant kitchen. Sarah the Ant serves a big bottle of ant wine.

They enjoy the wine and the meal in private…

Vocabulary:

throw away: dispose of, discard

woozy: dizzy, light-headed

pass out: become unconscious

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Foto English: Lesson 9

turn you in: tell the police or officials (turn somebody in)

authorities: police, people in charge

catch: discover, see

wind up with: receive, get

fine: penalty fee

jail-time: time spent in jail

antennae: thin sensory organ

come by: visit

down the road: to go along a path, move towards a goal

get around: to move past an obstacle

With regard to: in reference to something

by the name of: named (indicates a name)

small patch: small area

All along: for the duration of something

dice: cut into small pieces

keen: sharp

runs into: accidentally or coincidentally meet

old grump: irritable and unhappy older person

younger generation: people from a younger demographic

cope with: tolerate, accept

whipper-snapper: young energetic person

get away with: go unpunished

stick to: follow, keep doing something

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Foto English: Lesson 9

carcasses: dead bodies

bully: intimidate, mistreat

in bad shape: unhealthy, not fit

on the verge: near, close to

Give me a break: means “stop bothering me” (an exclamation that is dismissive)

chase after: follow, pursue

keep up: continue or sustain a speed

drops off: jumps off

go wrong: make a mistake

garden-fresh: fresh, grown in a garden

comes off: detaches, breaks off

in private: privately, confidentially

Notes:

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