An ant goes down to the river for a drink, and the current carries it off. The water tumbles it over and over while a dove watches from a branch above the stream.
Once upon a time an ant went down to the bank of a river to get a drink. As it leaned over the edge, the current caught it and swept it away. The water tumbled it over and over, and the ant was close to drowning.
A dove was sitting in a tree whose branches hung out over the river. She saw the ant struggling in the stream below. Quickly she plucked a leaf with her beak and let it fall into the water, right beside the ant.
The ant climbed onto the leaf and held on tight. Slowly the leaf drifted toward the shore until it carried the ant safely to dry land.
Not long afterward, a birdcatcher came along and stood under that very same tree. He had brought his lime-twigs with him. These were thin sticks smeared with birdlime, a glue so sticky that any bird landing on one was caught fast. Quietly he began to set them up among the branches to catch the dove.
Up on her branch, the dove sat still. She had no idea that anyone was there.
But the ant had seen the man, and it understood what he meant to do. It hurried over to his foot and stung him as hard as it could.
The birdcatcher cried out in pain and threw down his twigs. They clattered to the ground, and at the noise the dove spread her wings and flew away, far out of his reach.
Retold by Talerie from Three Hundred Aesop’s Fables (opens in a new window) Public domain Copy this text, adapt it, use it however you like. A link back to Talerie is appreciated but never required. CC0 1.0 (opens in a new window)