AN Ant, walking by the river one day, said
to himself, "How nice and cool this water
looks! I must drink some of it." But
as he
began to drink, his foot slipped, and he
fell
in.
"O, somebody please help
me, or I shall
drown!" cried he.
A Dove sitting in a tree that overhung
the
river heard him, and threw him a leaf. "Climb
up on that leaf," said she, "and you will float
ashore."
The Ant climbed upon
the leaf, and the
wind blew it to the shore, and he stepped upon
dry land again.
"Good by, kind Dove," said he,
as he ran
home. "You have saved my life, and I
wish
I could do something for you."
"Good by," said the Dove; "be careful
not
to fall in again."
A few days after this, when the Dove
was
busy building her nest, the Ant saw a
man
just raising his gun to shoot her.
He ran quickly, and bit the man's
leg so
hard, that the cried "Oh! oh!"
and dropped
his gun.
This startled the Dove, and she flew away.
The man picked up his gun, and walked on.
When he was gone, the Dove came back to
her nest.
"Thank you, my little friend,"
she said.
"You have saved my life."
And the little Ant jumped for joy, to think
he had been able to help the king Dove.
|
