There once was an ant named Anty. One day, she was sitting outside her house. Two of her friends were resting under a tree and chatting.
One friend said, “The elephant is the strongest animal of all.”
The other replied, “No, it’s the lion!”
The first one insisted, “I don’t agree.”
The second said, “Even an ordinary ant can bring down a powerful elephant.”
Hearing this, Anty, whose name was mentioned, perked up her ears and started listening closely.
The first friend laughed and said, “What nonsense! How can a tiny ant bring down such a mighty elephant?”
The other said, “You may laugh, but you should know that ants can crawl into the elephant’s ears and cause pain so bad, even big, strong animals lose their minds. It’s true—I’ve heard it from my elders.”
Anty felt proud after hearing this. She thought, “Wow! I’m even stronger than an elephant!”
She remembered how just two days ago, an elephant had run away just by seeing her. “Now I understand—he was scared of me!” she thought.
From that day on, Anty began saying to everyone, “I’m the strongest. No one can defeat me!”
One day, she again met the same elephant on the path.
She boldly walked up to him and said, “Hello, Mr. Elephant! Ram Ram!”
The elephant kept walking joyfully. Anty tried to get his attention again, “Mr. Elephant, Ram Ram!”
The elephant turned and looked at her. Since he had no one to talk to, he said, “Who are you?”
Anty puffed up her chest and said, “I’m Anty! The same Anty… remember… on the hilltop.”
The elephant stared at her, blinked a few times, and finally recognized her. “Oh, you’re that Anty! What do you want?”
Anty said, “Nothing much. I just wanted to say hi.”
The elephant smiled, “That’s nice. From today, we are friends then. Right?”
Anty was overjoyed. She thought, “Wow, he accepted me as a friend! Even a minute ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of this!”
Then she asked him, “Mr. Elephant, where are you going?”
He said, “I’m headed deep into the jungle. Want to come along?”
Anty replied, “Yes, I’ll come with you!”
So, both of them walked together into the forest. Soon, they saw the lion approaching from the opposite direction.
The elephant immediately stopped.
Anty asked, “Why are you stopping, Mr. Elephant?”
He replied, “The lion is coming from the other side.”
Anty said, “So what? I’m with you! If the lion charges at you, I’ll hide behind you. He won’t see me.”
The elephant laughed heartily. From then on, Anty would tell everyone stories of their conversation and her friendship with the elephant.
One day, Anty was going to a tailor to get her clothes stitched. On the way, she met the elephant. He looked at her and asked, “Where are you going, Anty?”
She replied, “Can’t you see? I’m going to get a dress stitched. My brother is getting married.”
The elephant said, “Wow, that’s lovely!”
Anty added, “I have extra fabric, so my dress will be ready too. And don’t worry, I’ve even brought fabric for you so you can get a dress stitched too. Isn’t that great?”
The elephant burst into laughter at her excited talk.
A few days later, Anty heard news that the elephant had fallen into a pit and got hurt. He had been admitted to the hospital.
Anty said, “I must visit my friend! I must go see him.”
She ran towards the hospital. On the way, she met Mr. Beetle.
Mr. Beetle asked, “Anty, where are you going in such a rush?”
She replied, “Mr. Beetle, I don’t have time right now. I’ll talk to you later!”
Mr. Beetle smiled.
When Anty reached the hospital, she found many rooms. After searching, she finally met the elephant. She asked how he was doing and sat on the edge of his bed.
At that moment, a man also came to sit there. To clean off the dust, he blew air with his mouth.
The gust of wind was so strong that Anty got blown away!
Anty now understood and said, “Oh! If one puff of air can toss me like this, how strong can I be really? I should stop showing off and challenging elephants!”
From that day, Anty became humble.
