Apple Monster
In the middle of the forest, there was a lone apple tree. On that lone apple tree, grew huge, juicy apples. Every creature in the forest wanted to eat the apples from it. The only problem was, there was a mean, nasty creature who wouldn’t let anyone else have any apples. He was known as the apple monster.
Not very many people know that the apple monster existed because he never leaves the area of the apple tree. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that he needs to protect the apples on the apple tree and the second reason is that he has no reason to go anywhere else. The apple tree is the only thing he needs.
Now, we all know that ants are pests but to the apple monster, ants are his worst nightmare because they also love apples. Ants are small enough that the apple monster can’t detect them until they have eaten the apples.
“Why?” asked the apple monster to himself. “Why are the ants eating all my apples?”
The apple monster stomped his big furry feet on the forest floor in anger. When he did that, a whole bunch of apples fell to the ground. A whole army of ants stormed to the fallen apples. They ate the apples, core and all.
One thing the apple monster would not do is eat the apples that fell to the ground. There were always more than enough apples in the tree. An idea struck the apple monster. It was a solution to the problem he had been having with the ants. The apple monster went in search of the queen ant so he could tell her his idea.
“Mrs. Queen,” said the apple monster when he found her. “Do your worker ants like eating the apples that fall to the forest floor?”
“Yes,” said the queen ant. “They do indeed.”
“If I allow your workers to take the apples from the ground,” said the apple monster. “Do you promise to leave the apples on the tree alone?”
“I think we can come to an agreement,” said the queen ant. “That would make life so much easier for us. We won’t have to climb the tree to get to the apples. It will be a lot safer for the worker ants.”
“Great,” said the apple monster. “Then, it is settled. Your workers will leave the apples on the tree alone and they can have any of the apples that fall on the ground.”
“Hold on,” said the queen ant. “We will agree on one condition.”
“What condition?” asked the apple monster.
“No more stomping on the forest floor when you are angry,” said the queen ant. “You always end up hurting my workers because you always end up stomping on them.”
“It’s a deal,” said the apple monster. “I promise I won’t stomp on the forest floor. You have my word.”
The deal between the apple monster and the ants worked out very well. The apple monster found that he was a lot less stressed. He no longer had to worry about the ants taking his apples. He did however, still have to worry about the other creatures. He still had to fend them off.
“I need to find a way to keep the other creatures away,” said the apple monster to himself.
“What if the other creatures thought the apples were poisonous?” asked the queen ant, who overheard the apple monster. “That way the other creatures won’t touch them and we still get all the apples to ourselves.”
“That is a wonderful idea,” said the apple monster.
The apple monster made up a bunch of signs that stated the apples were poisonous. He put the signs up all around the apple tree. It seemed to work too, because no creature came anywhere near his apple tree that he shared with the ants.
What the apple monster and the ants didn’t know was that there were other apple trees in the forest that were bigger and juicier than his apple tree and that was the reason the creatures stopped bothering his apple tree.
Moral of this Story:
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