Mrs. Robin and the Ant

It was a sunny morning. Mrs. Robin was flying around, looking for food for her three babies. She saw an ant walking along a fence. The ant was carrying a huge green leaf.

 “Hello Ant,” said Mrs. Robin, landing on the first fence post. “I see you have a huge leaf that you are carrying.”

“Yes,” said Ant. “I am sorry. I am in a hurry. I need to get this leaf to the end of the fence before dark.”

“Do you need any help?” asked Mrs. Robin.

“No thank you,” said Ant. “I need to do this on my own.”

Mrs. Robin was about to fly away but Ant stopped her.

“I could use your protection,” said Ant. “There was a crow chasing me earlier.”

Mrs. Robin flew over to the second fence post.

“I suppose I could stay for a little while,” said Mrs. Robin, watching Ant walk up to the second fence post. “Why is a crow trying to chase you?”

Ant moved slowly along, trying to pick his words carefully.

“Look,” said Mrs. Robin, after Ant didn’t say a word. “It is now almost noon and I have babies to feed. I need to get home. If you can’t tell me why the crow is chasing you, then I have to leave.”

“Please,” said Ant, watching Mrs. Robin hop over to the third fence post. “I stole this leaf from the crow.”

“Oh dear,” said Mrs. Robin. “You are in so much trouble. Why did you do that?”

“Well,” said Ant. “The crow stole it from me.”

“I see,” said Mrs. Robin, watching Ant approach the third fence post. “Then, I will protect you, but only until you reach the end of the fence.”

“That would be wonderful,” said Ant.

Mrs. Robin hopped over to the fourth fence post and noticed it was getting very dark.

“Are you sure you don’t want help?” asked Mrs. Robin. “The day is almost over.”

“I am fine,” said Ant, just approaching the fourth fence post. “I only have two more posts to go to the end of the fence.”

“I really need to go,” said Mrs. Robin, hopping onto the fifth fence post. “My babies are going to be so hungry.”

“I guess it will be okay if you go,” said Ant. “I am almost at the fifth fence post.”

“Besides,” said Mrs. Robin. “I haven’t seen a single crow all day. Are you sure there was a crow chasing you?”

“Well,” said Ant. “To tell you the truth I made up the story about the crow.”

“Why?” asked Mrs. Robin, angrily. “You made me protect you all day for nothing!”

“Not exactly nothing,” exclaimed Ant. “See, when I first saw you this morning, I thought you would eat me, so I thought if I got you to protect me, you wouldn’t eat me.”

“I didn’t want to eat you this morning,” said Mrs. Robin. “But, I do now. You are just lucky that I have to go home to feed my babies.”

Mrs. Robin flew off the fence and went home to her hungry babies. She never did see Ant again. She believed he had decided it would be in his best interest to stay away from her.