The Naughty Ant!

A colony of ants was marching in a line. The ants were in search of their food. The little Tippy was drifting away from the other ants.

“Hey, Tippy, walk along with others. Don’t go away from the group,” shouted the mother ant.

There came a very narrow stretch in their path. All the other ants were concentrating on how to cross that narrow stretch. In that unguarded moment, Tippy drifted further from its group and started moving towards another direction. Tippy sniffed at each and every leaf and fruit that were lying on the ground.

“What’s there?” ran Tippy. “Is this a hill? Why don’t I try climbing it?”

The naughty ant was not scared at all. He started climbing the 'hill' he saw. It was not a 'hill' at all; actually, it was a tiger. As the naughty Tippy moved on its body, the tiger shook its body slightly.

“Oh! Shaking! The hill shakes. I think… earthquake…” so thought the little Tippy.

He ran here and there over the tiger’s body. The tiger felt tickled. The disturbed tiger shook its body again and also grunted in a low voice. The little Tippy, which was crawling on the body of the tiger, suddenly started sliding down. It fell on the ground.

“The desired destination cannot be reached without crossing the hurdles that pop up on the way. Success comes only when the challenges are met bravely,” so thought the little Tippy. He decided to climb the 'hill' again.

This time the tiger growled a little more strongly. It also raised its tail in anger and shook it. The tail fell to the ground with a ‘thud’ sound. The naughty ant which was climbing the ‘hill’ rolled down again.

“Ah! Tiger! Is this the growl of a tiger?” thought Tippy.

“Who is disturbing my sleep?” roared the tiger.

Tippy was not scared. He posed a question again. “Who are you? You are the one blocking my way,” shrieked the little ant.

The tiger was surprised. “Who is this? Not scared at all even after my growl? Bold enough to stand and talk in front of me?” He looked around to find the owner of the voice. The tiger could not find any animal in the vicinity.

“Why are you blinking? Why are you aimlessly looking here and there? Will you move away without blocking my way?” shrieked the naughty Tippy again.

The tiger could spot the little ant just then. The tiger was amused to see such a small creature talk with fervour. He was happy to talk with the little creature.

“Am I disturbing you? Have I blocked your way?” asked the tiger in a humble voice.

“Yes, you are blocking my way. Move away. Otherwise, I will have to stamp you, climb on you, and carry forward my journey.” Tippy started climbing the ‘tiger hill’ again.

The tiger was tickled by the movement of the ant over its coat. He shook his body. “Don’t be scared. Be calm and silent. I will cross you in a few minutes,” said Tippy in a patronising tone.

On hearing this, the tiger chuffed and laughed. Tippy rolled down to the ground again as the tiger shook its body.

“Oh! Coward tiger,” commented Tippy.

“Hey! You call me a coward! Now watch! See what I am going to do.” The tiger pretended to catch the little Tippy. The tiger liked the mischievous and adventurous pranks of the ant.

In the meanwhile, the other ants, which were searching for the missing Tippy, arrived there.

“Ha ha, you coward, look at the huge army arriving here. You are single. How are you going to defend yourself?” chuckled the naughty ant.

Tippy’s mother rushed out to the tiger. “Oh, mighty tiger, he is just a small kid. He does not understand what he speaks. Please forgive him,” cried the mother.

The Chief of the ants came to the front and bowed before the tiger and said, “Please forgive our little kid.”

“Don’t worry, no need for any kind of panic. I will not harm this little one. I actually enjoyed his naughty little acts. I just wanted to play with him,” said the tiger.

“Please take this,” said the mother of Tippy. She fed the tiger a piece of jaggery which she had saved for Tippy.

“Oh, you naughty little one, do come tomorrow. We will play for some time,” said the tiger happily.