Jhonny the ant
November 7, 2010
This story is a little more timid.
Ever since Johnny was a little ant, he wanted to help the other ants with whatever they were doing, but he was never able to accomplish anything. He was too small to carry food or building materials, and he couldn’t keep his mind on task. Whenever he asked to do something helpful, the other ants would say that he was too small, or weak. At school, he was bullied by his arch enemy, Fergus. He was too little to fight back, and not smart enough to avoid Fergus in the first place. To sum all of that up, he was tiny.
When Johnny was four days old, he went to school for the first time. There he met Fergus. Or, you could say that Johnny’s eye, met Fergus’s fist, multiple times. You guessed it, Fergus was a bully. But even though Johnny had all of this sadness in his life, he wasn’t alone. He had a best friend named Twinkle! Twinkle wasn’t the clumsy, bad-looking ant that you would expect to be Johnny’s friend. Instead, he got everything right in school, could do any project, and he never got beat up. Twinkle was perfect. That first day of school, Twinkle took pity on Johnny when he got beat up, and stopped Fergus from beating on Johnny. From that day forth, they were friends.
When Johnny was twenty days old, he (somehow) graduated from ant-school with Twinkle, and became a worker-ant. Or, at least that’s the title of the job. It’s debatable how much more work than destruction Johnny was doing. He knew what to do, but just couldn’t do it. His tunnels would either collapse, or they wouldn’t end where they needed to end up. Twinkle repeatedly tried to help, but Johnny never understood him.
One day, Johnny was sitting in his room, thinking about how kind his friend Twinkle was. Suddenly, a loud knock sounded through the room, shattering the quiet. Johnny looked at the door wondering vaguely who would want to see him. His voice cracked from lack of use as he said, “Who is it?”
Twinkle burst through the door with a big smile and said, “Guess what I found!?” Johnny stared back at Twinkle blankly, still stunned from the shock of the sudden entrance. When Twinkle’s words finally registered in his brain, he began to think, but before he could actually think of anything, let alone something Twinkle could have found, Twinkle blurted out, “JELLY! An abandoned jar of jelly!”
When Twinkle said this, Johnny snapped to attention faster than a slingshot. He said, “Jelly is delicious! And you’re telling me that you found a full jar of it that nobody else knows about?”
Twinkle quickly responded, “Yes! Now what are you still sitting around for? Let’s go!”
With that they ventured out of Johnny’s room, and into the vast maze of underground tunnels they called home. After five minutes of running quickly and quietly through the labyrinth, frequently checking to make sure they weren’t being followed, they found themselves at an exit. Everything was quiet. They were alone. Johnny was getting more and more excited, the nearer they got to the tasty treat.
When finally they poked their heads out of the ground, they found themselves on the side of a busy street. Being a timid ant, Johnny found himself slowly backing away from all of the noise and commotion. But Twinkle wasn’t waiting, he took a left turn and continued walking. Johnny, motivated by the thought of jelly, followed while hoping not to get hit. Or in his case, crushed.
They soon left the road behind them and entered a forest of tall grass. After about a half of an hour of walking, they came to the base of a small hill. There, they stopped to take a breath. Twinkle told the very tired Johnny that the jar of jelly was just over the hill. When finally he was ready, Johnny joined Twinkle and they started climbing the hill.
Just before they reached the top of the hill, Johnny prepared himself for the most delicious feast he had ever eaten. He could almost taste the sweet, gooey jelly in his mouth when they reached the top of the hill.
There was no jelly. Twinkle stood there frozen, sure he had seen the jelly. Johnny, on the other hand sat down and started crying out of disappointment. He cried for a good five minutes before his sobs finally subsided. He was left whimpering next to his friend.
But suddenly, Twinkle shouted in terror and quickly pointed up to the sky. Johnny looked to where he was pointing and his mouth fell open in shock. Approaching them was a giant storm. Storm + ant = dead ant. This was not good. They both knew that a storm that big would flood and destroy their home, and kill all the ants.
At that moment, they both saw exactly what they needed. It was a large tree with a hole in it about one foot up. It was the perfect place to shelter everyone from the storm. But they needed to get back home to warn the leaders about the storm. So they started to run. They ran as fast as they possibly could. But when they reached the bottom of the hill, Twinkle tripped. With all of his built up speed, he broke his leg. Johnny skidded to a stop, worried about his best and only companion. But Twinkle knew what needed to be done. He told Johnny to continue without him, and as painful as it was to leave behind his injured friend, Johnny also knew it was more important to warn the others.
Johnny ran back as fast as he was able, and got back home in a third of the time it took him to get to the hill. He went straight to the leaders and told them all about the rain, and the shelter they had found. But the leaders all knew Johnny’s bad reputation and dismissed his claims.
Johnny was so angry that he did the one thing he knew he could do to save everyone. He pulled the fire alarm. The loud horn started blaring, and the tunnels were immediately filled with hundreds of ants. It was now that he realized the one flaw in his plan. He couldn’t warn the ants to go to the tree when they got out of the tunnels because he was in the tunnels himself. It was now a race against all the other ants to get to the opening to the outside.
He made it. He burst out of the opening seconds before the other ants, and quickly turned around to tell them about the storm and give them directions to the hollow tree. He repeated this over and over and over, as more and more ants came flooding out of the opening of the tunnel. He eventually started just motivating people and telling them to follow the others. When the last ant left the tunnel, Johnny started running past them all telling them to hurry, and giving words of encouragement.
By the time the ants got to the hill, Johnny had made his way to the front of the group. He looked up and found that the entire sky had turned dark gray. When he looked back ahead, he saw a welcome sight. Sitting in front of him was Twinkle. Alive. Johnny helped his now frail friend up and supported him as they led the large group up and over the hill, to the hollow tree. Johnny and Twinkle waited until every last ant had gone in, and then they went in, last. As soon as they got in, it started to pour. But every one was safe and happy. Thanks to their savior, Johnny.
Rornce G.
Ever since Johnny was a little ant, he wanted to help the other ants with whatever they were doing, but he was never able to accomplish anything. He was too small to carry food or building materials, and he couldn’t keep his mind on task. Whenever he asked to do something helpful, the other ants would say that he was too small, or weak. At school, he was bullied by his arch enemy, Fergus. He was too little to fight back, and not smart enough to avoid Fergus in the first place. To sum all of that up, he was tiny.
When Johnny was four days old, he went to school for the first time. There he met Fergus. Or, you could say that Johnny’s eye, met Fergus’s fist, multiple times. You guessed it, Fergus was a bully. But even though Johnny had all of this sadness in his life, he wasn’t alone. He had a best friend named Twinkle! Twinkle wasn’t the clumsy, bad-looking ant that you would expect to be Johnny’s friend. Instead, he got everything right in school, could do any project, and he never got beat up. Twinkle was perfect. That first day of school, Twinkle took pity on Johnny when he got beat up, and stopped Fergus from beating on Johnny. From that day forth, they were friends.
When Johnny was twenty days old, he (somehow) graduated from ant-school with Twinkle, and became a worker-ant. Or, at least that’s the title of the job. It’s debatable how much more work than destruction Johnny was doing. He knew what to do, but just couldn’t do it. His tunnels would either collapse, or they wouldn’t end where they needed to end up. Twinkle repeatedly tried to help, but Johnny never understood him.
One day, Johnny was sitting in his room, thinking about how kind his friend Twinkle was. Suddenly, a loud knock sounded through the room, shattering the quiet. Johnny looked at the door wondering vaguely who would want to see him. His voice cracked from lack of use as he said, “Who is it?”
Twinkle burst through the door with a big smile and said, “Guess what I found!?” Johnny stared back at Twinkle blankly, still stunned from the shock of the sudden entrance. When Twinkle’s words finally registered in his brain, he began to think, but before he could actually think of anything, let alone something Twinkle could have found, Twinkle blurted out, “JELLY! An abandoned jar of jelly!”
When Twinkle said this, Johnny snapped to attention faster than a slingshot. He said, “Jelly is delicious! And you’re telling me that you found a full jar of it that nobody else knows about?”
Twinkle quickly responded, “Yes! Now what are you still sitting around for? Let’s go!”
With that they ventured out of Johnny’s room, and into the vast maze of underground tunnels they called home. After five minutes of running quickly and quietly through the labyrinth, frequently checking to make sure they weren’t being followed, they found themselves at an exit. Everything was quiet. They were alone. Johnny was getting more and more excited, the nearer they got to the tasty treat.
When finally they poked their heads out of the ground, they found themselves on the side of a busy street. Being a timid ant, Johnny found himself slowly backing away from all of the noise and commotion. But Twinkle wasn’t waiting, he took a left turn and continued walking. Johnny, motivated by the thought of jelly, followed while hoping not to get hit. Or in his case, crushed.
They soon left the road behind them and entered a forest of tall grass. After about a half of an hour of walking, they came to the base of a small hill. There, they stopped to take a breath. Twinkle told the very tired Johnny that the jar of jelly was just over the hill. When finally he was ready, Johnny joined Twinkle and they started climbing the hill.
Just before they reached the top of the hill, Johnny prepared himself for the most delicious feast he had ever eaten. He could almost taste the sweet, gooey jelly in his mouth when they reached the top of the hill.
There was no jelly. Twinkle stood there frozen, sure he had seen the jelly. Johnny, on the other hand sat down and started crying out of disappointment. He cried for a good five minutes before his sobs finally subsided. He was left whimpering next to his friend.
But suddenly, Twinkle shouted in terror and quickly pointed up to the sky. Johnny looked to where he was pointing and his mouth fell open in shock. Approaching them was a giant storm. Storm + ant = dead ant. This was not good. They both knew that a storm that big would flood and destroy their home, and kill all the ants.
At that moment, they both saw exactly what they needed. It was a large tree with a hole in it about one foot up. It was the perfect place to shelter everyone from the storm. But they needed to get back home to warn the leaders about the storm. So they started to run. They ran as fast as they possibly could. But when they reached the bottom of the hill, Twinkle tripped. With all of his built up speed, he broke his leg. Johnny skidded to a stop, worried about his best and only companion. But Twinkle knew what needed to be done. He told Johnny to continue without him, and as painful as it was to leave behind his injured friend, Johnny also knew it was more important to warn the others.
Johnny ran back as fast as he was able, and got back home in a third of the time it took him to get to the hill. He went straight to the leaders and told them all about the rain, and the shelter they had found. But the leaders all knew Johnny’s bad reputation and dismissed his claims.
Johnny was so angry that he did the one thing he knew he could do to save everyone. He pulled the fire alarm. The loud horn started blaring, and the tunnels were immediately filled with hundreds of ants. It was now that he realized the one flaw in his plan. He couldn’t warn the ants to go to the tree when they got out of the tunnels because he was in the tunnels himself. It was now a race against all the other ants to get to the opening to the outside.
He made it. He burst out of the opening seconds before the other ants, and quickly turned around to tell them about the storm and give them directions to the hollow tree. He repeated this over and over and over, as more and more ants came flooding out of the opening of the tunnel. He eventually started just motivating people and telling them to follow the others. When the last ant left the tunnel, Johnny started running past them all telling them to hurry, and giving words of encouragement.
By the time the ants got to the hill, Johnny had made his way to the front of the group. He looked up and found that the entire sky had turned dark gray. When he looked back ahead, he saw a welcome sight. Sitting in front of him was Twinkle. Alive. Johnny helped his now frail friend up and supported him as they led the large group up and over the hill, to the hollow tree. Johnny and Twinkle waited until every last ant had gone in, and then they went in, last. As soon as they got in, it started to pour. But every one was safe and happy. Thanks to their savior, Johnny.
Rornce G.
Posted by Rornce Grogoch.
