The Wizard of Ants

The story begins with a grandpa telling a story about a boy to his grand children:

Grandpa Sovaski sat in the family room, his vast bulk filling the roomy rocking chair. Tick-tock went the clock on top of the fireplace. “Krr, krr,” went the paper in his hands. The room was quiet. The windows were shut against the chill mountain air passing through the river. The curtains were drawn.

A noise filled the silent room as Grandpa Sovaski delicately moved the paper in his hands.

The clock had just struck eight when Grandpa Sovaski finished reading the last page of the newspaper.

“Grandpa, tell us a story”, the Children shouted as they all gathered around their grandfather.

The story continues:

This is a story about a 9-year-old boy, who happened to be the only son to his parents. The boy is smart but naughty. He feels like a leader and expects others to follow his orders. This is because his parents never say “NO” to him and he always gets what he wants from his parents.

The boy enjoys playing with butterflies, Dragonflies and other insects along with his friends. In one occasion, the boy splits up with his friends when they did not listen to him. One group becomes two groups. This leads to several conflicts between the two groups.

One day the boy gets hurt by his rival group that made him to stay at home. During that time, his anger on his rival group diverted towards ants in his backyard. While the boy try to dig and dismantle an anthill under the Guava tree located in his backyard, he encountered a wizard of ants. This became a turning point in his life that changed him.

The wizard explains how it is being small as an ant and shrinks him to its size and takes him to its land. That is when the adventure begins…

Senu felt like a needle was piercing through his skin. He did not feel any pain.
After a few minutes, his head started reeling. The feeling was so strange. He remembered the ride in an amusement park. He took the ride with his dad. It took them to 120 feet above the ground and dropped suddenly. That was scary but it gave him a lot of thrill. He was experiencing the same feeling. His body was floating like a feather in the air. He lost consciousness for some time. When he woke up, he heard someone calling his name.

“Seenu…Seenu”
Seenu slowly opened his eyes. He saw the ant standing before him.
“Wow! How come you are of my size?” He could not believe his own eyes.
“No. You are of my size” Ant replied with a smile.
Seenu was so confused and thrilled. He looked at his body.
Miracle! His clothes were also shrunk with his body.
He looked around. He saw a small guava fruit close to him. It now looked like a small hill. He remembered crushing the fruits with his bare feet.

Guava tree, fence, house and everything that he used to play with, were big. They all appeared to be touching the sky.
“Is it a dream or real?” Seenu tried to convince himself.
With a great feeling, Seenu stepped into the tunnel with the ant.

The boy learns about different species of ants and dangers they encounter during his adventurous journey.
The boy encounters a snake that occupies the ants pit and drives away all ants.

“Stop! We cannot win. The snake is very powerful.” The wizard stood before the snake, not allowing him to move forward.
Seenu did not listen. He approached the snake and waved the stick at the snake.

The snake had already crushed some of the soldier ants under its body. It uncoiled its long body and turned its head towards Seenu. The snake opened its hood very wide, showing sharp, front fangs and she made a high-pitched hissing sound like a growling dog. Seenu saw many snakes in the zoo but never encountered them openly. He was scared.

It started flicking its tongue towards Seenu.

Seenu did not waste any time. He quickly rolled towards his right and approached the snake from behind. The soldier ants surrounded the snake from the sides. The snake shook its body with anger. Its bone chilling hissing sound echoed the chamber. Its sudden and fast movements collapsed the chamber walls.

The adventure continues….

Seenu was in a white ants colony:

The fat ant lifted its front two legs and brushed its jaws. Seenu knew that it had some- thing to say. He tried to understand its sign. Before he realized it, the fat ant moved close to Seenu and hit him hard in his stomach, with its sharp front jaws.

Seenu screamed with a loud cry. It was like being stabbed with a knife. The soldier ants reacted to his cry. They moved one step closer to him and raised their front legs with the sticks pointing towards him.

“This might be my last day!” A strange thought shivered his body.

The adventure continues and ends with the grandpa concluding the story by telling moral to his grand children. The family values, friendship, unity and integrity are the key elements in the story.