A Tale of Ants

Sipping garri with cold water, milk and sugar in combination with groundnuts on a hot day is very refreshing.

On my way home today, I bought groundnut and some sugar. I got home and rushed to the kitchen to prepare the meal. My phone suddenly rang in the other room so I dropped the two cubes of sugar in my hands in haste and went to pick the call.

I answered the call and then began scrolling through Facebook.

15 minutes went by.

A picture of food on a friend's page reminded me that I had wanted to sip garri. I rushed back to the kitchen.

My eyes fell on the two cubes of sugar.

Ants were all over the cubes!

Bloody ants!

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I hissed in anger, the sugar cubes were now tainted.

I stared at the ants crawling on the cubes.
"Why are you looking at us like that?" A voice said to me.

I was shocked to see one fat ant standing on the cube and talking to me.

Talking ants!

"You are distracting us!" The ant said to me.

"What the hell! Where did you all come from? You have no right to feed on my sugar!" I yelled in anger and disgust.

"I know but we just can't help it. We like sugar!" The ant replied.

"Get off my sugar and get out of this place!" I ordered.

"We're your friends, please don't be mad, we are just trying to survive" The insect pleaded.

I was speechless. The ants were increasing in number. More ants were racing in to join the fray.

"We are working, we tasted this sugar and we found it sweet. So we decided to take it to our cave where our queen is waiting for us"

"Are you workers?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, have you not read that great book that admonishes you, sluggards, to go to the ants and get wisdom?"

"Yes, you are talking about the book of Proverbs in the Bible. So you are calling me a sluggard? Is that not an insult?" I fumed.

"No, I am sorry. It is just that we saw you when you dropped these cubes here. We waited for you to come and take them away but you didn't, so we figured we could help ourselves to them."

"That is stealing!"

"I call it wisdom!"

I watched as some of the ants started cutting bits of the sugar cubes and carrying them on their heads. They then raced away in a straight line while returnees came in another line. I was impressed.

"How long would it take before you guys break down and transport these cubes of sugar?"

"It won't take long. We ants are very industrious and hardworking creatures. Just give us time."

I was awed. I wasn't angry anymore.

"Why are you consuming sugar? Are you not scared of diabetics?" The ant queried me.

"Wow, you know about diabetics too?"

"We ants are very wise creatures, we know everything. Would you like to visit our queen in her palace? She would love to meet you" The ant extended an invitation to me.

"Not today, I am very hungry and tired"

"Oh sorry, we would leave the sugar for you because you are such a nice and understanding gentleman. Other human beings would have crushed us to death by now"

"No, don't leave, let's share. Take one cube and leave one cube for me" I said.

The ants began filing away from the first cube and concentrated their forces on the second cube. As they worked they began singing and chanting. I listened closely to their chants.

"...Ants at work! Hum hum!
Up and down! Dum dum!
Searching for food! Bum bum!
Biting and chewing! Tum tum!
Hands on deck! Ahu Ahu!"

I was enthralled.

Grrrrr! My phone rang out loud!

I snapped out of my trance.

Ants were milling all over the place; On the sugar, inside the plate of garri, inside the groundnut pack and all over my arms.

Bloody ants! I yelled and started smashing and crushing them to death.

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