It’s the end of spring, getting warmer
In the forest, campfires smolder
And it starts to rain.
In the forest, campfires smolder
And it starts to rain.
Two little ants shuffle under a rock
(To us it's a pebble, but to them it’s a boulder)
They are looking for a bit of leftover nuts and seeds
For the rest of their colony.
One whines about the rain.
“We can’t search for food now! Just look at this downpour!”
The other replies
“I agree…
But we should still look at this cheerfully.
The sparrows and robins can’t find us in this rain.”
It rains and rains, but finally
The sun peeks out behind the trees.
Puddles and streams that the shower left trickled through the ground.
Though they were only inches deep, to the little ants it was like a vast sea.
One said
“Let's keep looking for seeds.”
But the other replies
“Okay, but we should probably search up in the trees. It's a much safer way to go, you know.”
One says
“But it will be hard to climb from branch to branch. On the ground it will be easy.”
The other replies
“You go your way, and I’ll go mine
So we can both look for seeds the way we please.”
So one ant ventures through the mud
And the other starts to climb a nearby oak tree.
Both looking for a bit of leftover nuts and seeds
For the rest of their colony.
One slowly trudges through the soil.
But then with the sound of a bird’s morning chirp, it quickly picks up its pace.
For the ant is out in the open, and is worried to be prey
To a predator's hungry race.
Too worried to remember to collect those nuts and seeds
And has nothing for the rest of its colony.
The other swiftly climbs through the trees
With no worry because of the protection from the canopy.
Carrying every nut and seed it sees
All for the rest of its colony.
Both ants return to their colony.
One returns empty.
The other with plenty.
One is baffled, and asks
“How did you do it? How did you find so many nuts and seeds?”
The other replies
“Because I went through the trees!
When heard the bird’s sound from the ground
I wasn’t worried because the leaves from the branches protected me.”
The colony feasts, hand in hand
Even the one who wished that they got better
Ate right beside the other with a face filled with laughter
And two little ants lived happily ever after.
Two little ants who scavenged for food
One was grim but the other kept a good mood.
One took the easy way but the other took the better way.
One hindered but the other aided.
One gave up when trouble came but the other stayed brave.
Two little ants who live beneath our feet.
Two little ants who act just like you and me.
Which one will you decide to be?
--Amy S., 3rd-5th Grade