to ally / to unite / to join / (poetry) antithetical couplet
联
=
关
+
耳
:
Li Qingzhao (li) invented a machine able to combine (联) her hair into braids, and she is trying it out for the first time in the anthill's kitchen (an2). Just as the machine starts Li Qingzhao realizes it is going to combine both of her ears (耳) into one braid she quickly hits the machine's off button (关).
knot / sturdy / bond / to tie / to bind / to check out (of a hotel)
结
=
吉
+
纟
:
The silk worm and Joan of Arc are in an awkward situation. The giant has pulled the worm so long that she's long enough to tie Joan of Arc to one of the pillars of the elevator's kitchen, and to even make a knot.