- Socrates now asks Strepsiades what he's up to/what he's thinking about, and Streppy is still thinking about the bugs that are eating him. Socrates gets annoyed.
- They banter a little bit, and Strepsiades decides he's found a scheme for evading the collectors. He tells Socrates about it. It involves making sure the moon doesn't rise, so the month can't end, which would mean the bills never come due. That sounds, uh, totally practical, yeah.
- Socrates poses some more problems for him to solve, which Strepsiades "does." Socrates eventually gets fed up with Strepsiades (and particularly his memory) and resigns as his teacher.
- Streppy is distraught, so the Chorus Leader recommends that he go get his son and make him enroll in he Thinkery. Strepsiades is doubtful that his son will agree, but he says he will try. He goes off to get him.