THE ANT WHO LOST HIS WAY

There was once an ant who was happy and busy, following his friends in a line and collecting food to take back to his anthill.

But one day there was a big wind and a branch of a tree fell in front of him, and by the time he struggled and crawled over, his friends had disappeared.

He panicked and ran around calling out for them. Without his line he felt terribly alone. The line was his purpose and without it he was worthless.

As he was running around and calling out for his friends, a ladybug swooped down and stood in front of him.

“You lost little ant?” asked the ladybug. “It’s a terrible part of the forest for an ant to be alone, come on let me take you some place safe.”

The ant, grateful for a friend, followed as fast as he could, as the ladybug led him through some grass. Then suddenly there was a big sound and looking above them a big black spider seemed to swoop down from a reed, trying to catch them.

“Run little ant run!” shouted the ladybug. And the ant ran as fast as he could, and as far as he could before he stopped and looked over his shoulder. The ladybug was nowhere to be seen, and he felt sad. He had found a good friend and lost him at the same time. He decided that the next friend he would meet, he would follow.

Before long he found two dung beetles, rolling a big piece of dung along the grass.

“Can I help you?” the ant asked.

“Yes we need all the help we could get,” one of them answered.

The ant tried his best to climb onto the big ball of dung and roll it like the beetles were doing, but his legs were too short and his body too small. So bidding them goodbye he left.

“What will I do now? How will I manage on my own?” he thought to himself.

Soon he came upon a long legged looking insect by a pond. The creature jumped onto the water and began skimming the surface with ease.

“Who are you?” asked the ant amazed.

“I’m a water strider, I walk along the water to catch things to eat,” the strider explained.

‘Maybe I could join you too,” said the ant eagerly and tried to step into the water. He felt himself sinking and struggled to get back to the surface, when a pair of long legs swooped down and pulled him out of the water.

“Ants can’t swim!” chided the water strider.

“I got lost, and now I’m just trying to find where I belong,” he said sadly.

“Well, then you should find some place dry and safe and gather some food for yourself; then maybe you could find your way back to your friends,” the strider answered.

The ant realised he had to take some time to make a plan and followed what the strider said. He found himself a small space between two trees and began to look around for little things to eat. He stored whatever he could and continued his day to day life.

A few weeks later, much to his luck he bumped into an ant on the way to find some food. “Oh we have been wondering where you have been,” he said joyfully. The ant realised that it was one of his friends. The line was gathering food just a few steps ahead, and the ant joined them again happy to have found his place in the world. Keeping calm and taking time had helped him find his friends again.