Once upon a time, in a lively meadow, there was an ant colony full of clever, energetic, and hardworking black ants. One year, autumn was passing by. Winter was just around the corner. Therefore, the ants were getting ready for winter. Because ants always know the importance of preparation to survive the cold months to come.
Every ant in the colony played an important role. And they all worked hard. Each ant thought that the survival of the colony was entirely on his or her shoulders. However, there was this one ant, Ziggy.
Ziggy was a lazy ant. Not only that, he was a person who constantly claimed to work and gave advice to others. But he did not make any genuine contributions. While the other ants worked, Ziggy looked for ways to escape work, often slipping into storage rooms to steal food.
The hardworking ants, even though they were aware of Ziggy’s laziness and tricks, did not take any action against Ziggy. They were just fully determined to finish their tasks, not poking at others. That was what they thought. Their main goal was to expand the colony underground, and they worked like a well-oiled machine, removing tiny grains of sand and clay with their jaws. The expansion project came to an end with success.
With the underground expansion complete, the ants turned their attention to collecting food for the winter. They formed several teams, each with a leader. These teams traveled far away from the colony to find various food resources. Some teams came with dead worms, some with wheat seed fragments, some with cooked rice grains, and some with a dead bug. Some teams came up with hurt ants. This way, all of the teams brought whatever they could find out there, risking their lives. Once they brought food into the colony, the storekeeper ants divided the food into three categories: long-term, medium-term, and short-term usage.
Despite the collective efforts, Ziggy’s stealing habits became a concern. The hardworking ants complained to the queen, who, in turn, summoned Ziggy. When presented with the option of contributing or leaving the colony, Ziggy willingly agreed to work with the others.
As winter approached, the colony sped up its preparations. The ants, busy with their duties, gave little focus to Ziggy’s poor dedication. The critical day arrived. The colony has to seal off its entrances to keep the cold wind out of the colony. They seal off the entrances with special clay. It may seem like a little task but it wasn’t. Because the seal had to be made out of clay that was soaked with saliva. If the clay was soaked with water, without the gummy nature of the saliva, the clay would not hold together. Therefore, the ants teamed up and worked on the much-needed task.
Ziggy was also a member of one team. Though he made a promise to the queen to contribute well, his laziness was still there, deep inside him, looking for an opportunity to come out. And it came out.
Making the clay was laborious work. First, the ant had to dig the earth for tiny, dry clay parts. Then, moisten them with saliva. Making a clay ball like that was hard work. So, Ziggy was too lazy to complete the task the proper way. Ziggy looked for easy solutions.
He got an idea. He went beneath a fallen tree leaf. Then, instead of making a real clay ball by finding and gathering fine clay tiny bit by bit and then soaking them with saliva to make the ball, Ziggy painted a small and well-rounded grain of sand with a thin layer of clay. Then he joined his team, carrying his fake clay ball. No one noticed a difference in Ziggy’s clay ball. Ziggy was happy and proud. He thought he was so clever.
Then the final step came. The ants carefully placed each of their clay balls. They started with the edges. Then they moved around the entrance of the colony. What is left is to put the final piece in the middle. Ziggy placed his false clay ball there. The work was done. The colony was ready for the winter. They had food, they had enough rooms, and they had sealed off the entrances. All the ants went to their homes at the end of the day, waiting for the winter.
Winter approached, and several days passed. The ant colony was happily living in their warm and cozy home. One night, tragedy struck. The false clay ball crafted by Ziggy didn’t stick well with other clay balls. With all the moisture gone, the thin layer around the sand grain fractured and flaked off. Then the sand grain slipped down. With the center piece gone, the seal weakened. And it scattered down. The cold winds of winter penetrated the colony, freezing everything in their path. In a matter of seconds, almost half of the lively ant colony was frozen to death. Only the ants at the colony’s far end survived.
It was all because of the dishonesty and laziness of Ziggy. The remaining ants mourned for the loss of their comrades. And they all together promised to keep the values of hard work, unity, and honesty. Since then, the ants have carried the story of Ziggy as a moral story for their younger generations, teaching them that what someone does as an individual matters to everyone else in the community.