There was a colony of ants living peacefully in the backyard of an old mansion. They were all busy, building a wooden house to shelter their new queen.
Platoon Lima took dried twigs that fall off the sturdy mango tree. Platoon Romeo collected fresh leaves from a tall ipil tree. Platoon Tango dug the muddy soil mixed with compost. And platoon Charlie took care of the food and water to keep the workers strong while working under the sun. Everyone has a role to play in their housing project, each contributing to the improvements made.
But if there was someone the entire colony would have to thank, it's The Architect. He also belonged to their lineage, he claimed. However, he looked a little different in size. The Architect was bigger. And he got a pair of transparent wings which many of them envied. They also believed that he's the wisest so they depend much on him.
When the wooden house was finished, every single ant marveled at their creation. The queen's shelter looked durable and elegant. The weildy twigs supported its foundation and the fresh green leaves were woven artistically like a dome. Tomorrow, they will be offering this gift to the queen.
That night, the ants rested, relieved by their collective accomplishment. When they woke up, the entire colony was surprised by what they saw. Their wooden house–their gift for the queen–was rampaged. What remained of the leaves scattered around, bite signs obvious in all leaf edges. And the woods that supported the house were missing too. Studying a portion of the twig, the teeth marks were enough to prove that the house was eaten!
The Architect stood in the middle. He grinned before clapping his hands in positive spirit.
"Don't be upset, fellas," he said, his arms folded over his chest. "Let's rebuild the house. That's the best thing to do now."
He encouraged the colony and the ants were back to square one. One platoon gathered the materials; another started erecting the posts. Each had his/her own task to accomplish. So just before the red sun sunk in the clouds, their second shelter was done. They made it sure that it was more beautiful and stronger than the other one.
All of them were dead tired. So they took their supper and slept immediately. They were horrified by what they found out the next day–their house was gone again, and worse, not a single twig was left!
The Architect was still positive despite this mystery. He cheered the ants up and invited them to start building a bigger and stronger house for the queen. Although irritated and tired, the colony faced the challenge and begun with nothing but drying leaves and unbending twigs which made the work even laborious. However, they were successful in creating their third token for the queen.
That night, the whole ant community ate their final meal for the day. But instead of resting on their pillows, they sneak behind the tall grasses and waited for the culprit. Their antennae shook in awe when a familiar figure appeared in the distance. It approached their fully decorated wooden house, hugged it excitedly and began devouring the window frames. A pair of transparent wings wiggled and greedy munching echoed in silence.
It's The Architect!
The ant community was altogether furious. They could not believe their eyes. Driven by anger, they attacked the glutton who could no longer deny the crime and drove him off their colony. Later on, they found out that The Architect was not a true ant after all. Instead, he was a great pretending Termite.
-End
***
Any lessons learned, folks?
YOU ARE READING
Aesop's Son (On Going Collection)
Proză scurtăAesop is the Father of Fables. He created almost all fables that we learned in childhood. And he had a son. His father did not give him a name. So let us simply call him... Aesop's Son. He also wrote fables. But he died even before they were told t...
