39 The Ant and the Dove

39. THE ANT AND THE

DOVE

By Kate Stonham

It was another hot, dry day in the

forest…

Ant had been wandering over crin

kly, dry leaves for days in search of

a nice, cool drink…

‘All I need is a drop of rain falling

from a leaf – or a tiny pool of dew

on a flower petal – or even a mud

dy puddle…’ he thought. But it

was so hot all the dew and puddles

in the forest had dried up.

‘I’m so thirsty, that I have no

choice,’ Ant sighed at last. ‘I shall

have to go in search of the Roaring

River.’

Ant had been warned about the

Roaring River. ‘It roars and it swirls

and if you go too close, it will

sweep you away,’ a wise owl had

told him.

But Ant was desperate. ‘The river

has more drops of water than all

the rain clouds in the world,’ he

thought. ‘It’s my only hope of

staying alive.’

So Ant headed off. He plodded

on and on through the trees, until

finally, he heard rushing water

ahead…

Before him lay the Roaring River –

as vast as a sea, or so it seemed to

tiny Ant. The fast flowing waters

looked frightening – but Ant was

too thirsty to feel fear…

He clambered down the river bank

and bent his weary head into the

water to drink it up.

The cool, sparkling water was so

refreshing that Ant didn’t hear

a roaring wave coming towards

him…

Suddenly, he was flat on his back -

his little legs in the air, being swept

away by the water! ‘Help!’ he

cried. ‘Someone save me, please!’

All of a sudden, a green leaf

dropped onto the water by his side

with a plop. ‘Quick, climb on!’ cried

a gentle cooing voice.

1Ant didn’t have time to see who

the voice belonged to. He just did

what it told him…then he opened

his eyes and looked up.

Perching on the branch of a tree

above was a pure white Dove.

‘Stay calm, little Ant - and wait for

the gentle breeze to blow the leaf

to the river bank,’ she cooed.

Sure enough, the leaf carried Ant

to safety. He looked up – but the

Dove had disappeared. ‘I can’t

leave without thanking her,’ he

thought. ‘So I shall wait until she

returns.’

Ant waited and waited. Then, just

as he was about to fall asleep, he

heard strange noises. They were

coming closer and closer…

Two men emerged from the forest

and stopped under the Dove’s tree.

One was carrying a bucket – the

other a large, golden cage. ‘This

is the tree – the home of the most

beautiful dove in the land,’ said

the man with the cage. ‘I hope

that glue in your bucket is sticky

enough…’

‘Indeed it is,’ said the second as he

covered the branch with a thick,

green paste. ‘When the Dove lands,

its feet will stick to the branch –

then we can put it in the cage and

take it to the King. All we have to

do is hide and wait…’

Ant was horrified. ‘I can’t let this

happen!’ he thought. ‘But what

can a tiny creature like me do

against two such giants of men?’

Ant looked up as he heard the flap

ping of wings. The Dove had re

turned and was about to land on

the sticky branch…! ‘If I’m going

to act, I must use the only weapon

I have…’ thought Ant. ‘And I must

do it RIGHT NOW!’

So he jumped onto the men’s feet

– and bit as hard as he could…time

and time again…

‘Yow!!!’ they cried out in pain and

took to their heels through the for

est.

‘Thank you for saving me from a

life in a cage,’ cooed the Dove to

Ant.

‘And thank you for saving me from

the giant wave,’ replied Ant.

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