NAME the smallest insect you have seen, and the wisest. Is

it the fly? No, it isn’t. Is it the mosquito? No, not the

mosquito. Then it must be the worm. No, none of these. It

is the ant—the commonest, the smallest but the wisest

insect. The story of an ant’s life sounds almost untrue. But

people have kept ants as pets, and have watched their daily

behaviour closely. So we know a number of facts about

this tiny, hard-working and intelligent creature.

An ant uses its feelers or antennae to ‘talk’ to other

ants by passing messages through them. Watch a row of

ants moving up or down the wall. Each ant greets all the

others coming from the opposite direction by touching thier feelers .

There are many kinds of ants. The commonest among

them are the black or red ones. We have seen them since

we were children, but haven’t paid enough attention to

them. Where do they live? In their

comfortable homes called ‘nests’ or

‘anthills’. Each has hundreds of little

rooms and passages. In some of these

rooms the queen ant lays eggs. Others

are nurseries for the young ones

(called ‘grubs’). Workers have their

reserved quarters. They spend most of their time searching

for food. Some rooms serve as storehouses for this food.

Soldiers have separate barracks. No worker has ever tried

to live in a soldier’s house; no soldier has ever gone out

searching for food. No worker or soldier or cleaner has ever

harmed a grub. So you see, an ant’s life is very peaceful.

Each does its share of work intelligently and bravely, and

never fights with other members of the group.

The queen is the mother of the entire population of the

colony. It lives for about fifteen years. It has a pair of wings,

but bites them off after its ‘wedding’ flight. This flight takes

place on a hot summer day. The queen leaves the nest and

goes out to meet a male ant, or drone, high up in the air.

On its return to earth, it gets rid of its wings and then does

nothing but lay eggs.

Eggs hatch and grubs come out. Soldiers guard them.

Workers feed and clean them, and also carry them about

daily for airing, exercise and sunshine. Two or three weeks

later, grubs become cocoons and lie without food or activity

for three weeks more. Then the cocoons break and perfect

ants appear. Now it’s time for teaching and training. New

ants learn their duties from old ants as workers, soldiers,

builders, cleaners, etc. After a few weeks’ training, the small

ants are ready to go out into the

big world of work.

An anthill is a home not only

for ants but also for some other

creatures—beetles, lesser breeds

of ants and the greenfly. Why do

ants want these alien creatures

to live in their nests? For several

reasons: some give off smell

pleasant to the ants’ senses;

others give sweet juices; and some are just pets or

playthings like cats and dogs to human beings. The greenfly

is the ants’ cow. The ants train it to give honeydew (like

milk) with a touch of their antennae. They milk it just as

we milk the cow.

Have humans learned as much as ants have? Perhaps

they have, but they haven’t put their learning to good use.

They may still learn a few things from this tiny teacher—

hard work, sense of duty and discipline, cleanliness, care

for the young ones, and, above all, a firm loyalty to the land

where they live.

he thought came to a certain king that

he would never fail if he knew three

things. These three things were: What is the right

time to begin something? Which people should

he listen to? What is the most important thing for

him to do?

The king, therefore, sent messengers

throughout his kingdom, promising a large sum

of money to anyone who would answer these

three questions.

Many wise men came to the king, but they all

answered his questions differently.

In reply to the first question, some said the

king must prepare a timetable, and then follow it

strictly. Only in this way, they said, could he do

everything at its proper time. Others said that it

was impossible to decide in advance the right time

for doing something. The king should notice all

that was going on, avoid foolish pleasures, and

always do whatever seemed necessary at that

time. Yet others said that the king needed a

council of wise men who would help him act at

the proper time. This was because one man

would find it impossible to decide correctly,

without help from others, the right time for

every action.

But then others said that there were some

things which could be urgent. These things could

not wait for the decision of the council. In order

to decide the right time for doing something, it is

necessary to look into the future. And only

magicians could do that. The king, therefore,

would have to go to magicians.

In their answers to the second question, some

said that the people most necessary to the king

were his councillors; others said, the priests. A

few others chose the doctors. And yet others said

that his soldiers were the most necessary.

To the third question, some said science.

Others chose fighting, and yet others religious

worship.

As the answers to his questions were so different,

the king was not satisfied and gave no reward.

Instead, he decided to seek the advice of a certain

hermit, who was widely known for his wisdom.

The hermit lived in a wood which he never

left. He saw no one but simple people, and so the

king put on ordinary clothes. Before he reached

the hermit’s hut the king left his horse with his

bodyguard, and went on alone.

As the king came near the hermit’s hut, he

saw the hermit digging the ground in front of his

hut. He greeted the king and continued digging.

The hermit was old and weak, and as he worked,

he breathed heavily.

The king went up to the hermit and said, “I

have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to

answer three questions: How can I learn to do

the right thing at the right time? Who are the

people I need most? And what affairs are the

most important?”

The hermit listened to the king, but did not

speak. He went on digging. “You are tired,” said

the king. “Let me take the spade and work in your

place.”

“Thanks,” said the hermit, giving the king his

spade. Then he sat down on the ground.

When the king had dug two beds, he stopped

and repeated his questions. The hermit gave no

answer, but stood up, stretching out his hand for

the spade, and said, “Now you rest, and let me work.”

But the king did not give him the spade and

continued to dig.

One hour passed, then another. The sun went

down behind the trees, and at last the king stuck

the spade into the ground and said, “I came to

you, wise man, for an answer to my questions. If

you can give me no answer, tell me so and I will

return home.”

“Here comes someone running,” said the hermit.

The king turned round and saw a bearded man

running towards them. His hands were pressed

against his stomach, from which blood was

flowing. When he reached the king he fainted and

fell to the ground. The king and the hermit

removed the man’s clothing and found a large

wound in his stomach. The king washed and

covered it with his handkerchief, but the blood

would not stop flowing. The king re-dressed the

wound until at last the bleeding stopped.

The man felt better and asked for something

to drink. The king brought fresh water and gave

it to him. By this time the sun had set and the

air was cool. The king with the hermit’s help

carried the wounded man into the hut and laid

him on the bed. The man closed his eyes and

lay quiet. The king, tired by his walk and the

work he had done, lay down on the floor and

slept through the night. When he awoke, it was

several minutes before he could remember

re-dressed:

dressed

again

where he was or who the strange bearded man

lying on the bed was.

“Forgive me!” said the bearded man in a weak

voice, when he saw that the king was awake.

“I do not know you and have nothing to forgive

you for,” said the king.

“You do not know me, but 1 know you. 1 am

that enemy of yours who swore revenge on you,

because you put my brother to death and seized

my property. I knew you had gone alone to see that

hermit, and I made up my mind to kill you on your

way home. But the day passed and you did not

return. So I left my hiding-place, and I came upon

your bodyguard, who recognised me and wounded

me. I escaped from him but I should have died if

you had not dressed my wounds. I wished to kill

you, and you have saved my life. Now, if I live, I will

serve you as your most faithful servant and will order

my sons to do the same. Forgive me!”

The king was very happy to have made peace

with his enemy so easily, and to have won him

over as a friend. He not only forgave him but said

he would send his servants and his own doctor

to look after him, and he promised to give back

the man his property.

Leaving the wounded man, the king went out

of the hut and looked round for the hermit. Before

going away he wished once more to get answers

to his questions. The hermit was on his knees

sowing seeds in the beds that had been dug the

day before. The king went up to the hermit and

said, “For the last time I beg you to answer my

questions wise man

“You have already been answered!” said the

hermit still bending down to the ground and

looking up at the king as he stood before him.

“How have I been answered? What do

you mean?”

“Do you not see?” replied the hermit. “If you

had not pitied my weakness yesterday and had

not dug these beds for me, you would have gone

away. Then that man would have attacked you

and you would have wished you had stayed with

me. So the most important time was when you

were digging the beds. And I was the most

important man, and to do me good was your most

important business. Afterwards, when the man

ran to us, the most important time was when you

were caring for him, because if you had not

dressed his wounds he would have died without

having made peace with you. So he was the most

important man, and what you did for him was

your most important business.

“Remember then, there is only one time that is

important and that time is ‘Now’. It is the most

important time because it is the only time we have

any power to act.

“The most necessary person is the person you

are with at a particular moment, for no one knows

what will happen in the future and whether we

will meet anyone else. The most important

business is to do that person good, because we

were sent into this world for that purpose alone.”