Pointy the Ant
By Sam Maurer
Up above the green canopies, the bluebirds chirped a happy song. There were only 8 days until the heavy rains, and all the mommy birds were getting ready to lay their eggs! The bluebirds had a lot of work to do to get the nests ready in time, and a constant banter of chirps, whistles, and squawks washed over the lush jungle.
But down below the canopies, the ants were marching to a different tune. To them, the bluebird chirps were not happy, the whistles were not merry, and the squawks were not cheerful. The ants heard them as shouts and screams. Orders, commands, threats.
“You guys over there, by the ant mound!” shouted Long Beak the bluebird, the leader of the flock, “Go get us some twigs and dry grass immediately. Nests don’t build themselves! If we don’t have 1 nest completed by sunset, I will personally eat 3 of you for dessert!”
To this the ants scurried into the jungle, not in a line, but in a frightened frenzy. They loaded their backs with as many sticks, twigs, and blades of grass as possible, and rushed back to the nesting grounds.
Pointy was the first ant back, followed by his best friend Zeb. Pointy and Zeb timidly approached the nest Long Beak was weaving, and placed everything they had gathered in front of him. Without even looking at them, Long Beak ordered, “Go get more!”, and resumed his weaving. Pointy promptly scuttled towards the jungle, but Zeb remained where he was. When Long Beak noticed Zeb, he squawked, “Why are you still here? Now go, follow your friend with the pointed rump back into the jungle, and gather more material!”, but Zeb had something he wanted to say, and though his voice was tiny, he spoke with the confidence of a cougar. “Long Beak, all you do is order us ants around. With us gathering twigs and grass all day for your nests, it leaves us no time to build up our ant mound, and without a tall ant mound, the first rains will flood our tunnels and drown our colony!”
Squawks and shrieks erupted from all around. This was the first time an ant had spoken to a bluebird, and every bird in the flock stopped what they were doing to watch and see how Long Beak would react. Pointy stopped scuttling towards the jungle, and watched the events unfold…
Long Beak’s beady eyes focused in on Zeb, as if he were hunting worms in the mud. He puffed out his chest and extended his wings, threatening Zeb with his size. He snarled, “And what do you want me to do about it, puny ant?”.
But Zeb’s confidence didn’t waver. He stood as strong and as tall as his little ant legs would let him, and looked Long Beak right back into his beady eyes. “We would like it if your flock gathered their own nesting materials, and let us get back to building our ant mound.”
For a short instant there was total silence. No chirps, no whistles, no squawks. Pointy’s antennae stuck out on end, and then shuddered under the cackling shrieks of Long Beak the bluebird. “Ha ha ha, you are a brave ant, but now, let me ask you this- why should I listen to you? What do I care about your ant mound? Why would I care if your entire colony drowned!?” And with that Long Beak bent over and snapped Zeb into his massive beak, swallowing him whole. He squawked, “Now you, ant with the pointed rump, take that as a message back to the rest of your colony. Make sure all of you know that you are under my rule, and if anyone tries anything funny like your friend here, I will eat them!”
Pointy darted into the jungle. Behind him he could hear the cackles and calls of Long Beak the bluebird, and his screeching flock.
Emotions of fear, loss, and despair consumed Pointy. He had just witnessed his best friend get eaten for standing up for the ants, and there were little signs of hope for his colony, but Pointy did not lose all hope. The event, instead, ignited a flame in Pointy, and as he was running back to tell the news to the rest of the ants, he decided that from then on he would live in the spirit of Zeb, and work towards a better future.
And yet, his message did little. When the news reached the ants, all they heard was that they would be eaten if they didn’t do what the bluebirds told them to. None of them dared speak to the bluebirds, and all the while the bluebirds became stricter and stricter. They demanded more from the ants, and if the ants didn’t deliver, they suffered the consequences. For the next couple of days Pointy watched as more and more of his comrades were eaten. The bluebirds made the ants work all day and night, and the ants had no time at all to work on their ant mound. It sat as nothing but a deep black hole, waiting like a shower drain to suck up the rain. The situation was dire, and if a change didn’t come soon, the ants were doomed.
Pointy knew that if he wasn’t going to do something, no one would, but his voice alone couldn’t accomplish anything. He needed the support and force of his entire colony. So during the wee hours of the morning on the 4th day, when all the early birds were out getting worms, Pointy gathered every ant he could, and told them to assemble under the pointed plant that stood a few feet away from the ant hole. To spread the word around more quickly, Pointy asked his dragonfly friend, Zipper, to help. Zipper zipped around the jungle telling every ant he saw, “Meet under zee pointed plant to hear zee pointed ant!”, and by the time Pointy climbed up the stem and reached the top, there was a sea of ants below him, eagerly awaiting his words. Pointy marched out to the farthest point of the pointed plant, and addressed the colony.
“Ants of the Satyagraha colony, we must stand strong and tall, or else the bluebirds will eat us all! There are only 4 days until the rains will come and flood our tunnels, and if our mound is not built up in time we are sure to drown!”
The ants let out whimpers and sighs upon hearing the news of what they already knew. One small ant named Pip piped out, “Pointy, what can we do to stand up to the bluebirds? They are big and we are small, how could we do anything without being eaten?”
To this, Pointy replied, “Pip, what we lack in size and strength, we gain in unity and love. With these two factors, we have the power to change the world. Satyagraha colony, we need to gather together and see a goal. Let us focus on what‘s worth fighting for!”
Some ants cheered, others were discontent. Syther yelled out, “Come on everyone, there are thousands of us, and only a flock of them. We could swarm them all and take them down!”. Hollers of approval followed, but Pointy’s voice cut them all short.
“No Syther, we will not use force, we won’t harm a soul, remember, it’s peace that we’re working towards. Violence only leads to more violence. It should be our goal to live in harmony with the bluebirds, not to live without them”
Syther was not swayed. “But the bluebirds boss us around and threaten our lives with impossible commands. Why would we ever want to live with them? I say we make them pay for all they have done!”
Pointy thought for a moment, and then spoke to Syther and all the ants of the Satyagraha colony. “Brother ants, sister ants, we must to learn to hate the deed, not the bird who commits the deed. The bluebirds are just trying to survive like us, so let’s make it so they survive with us, and not through us! Who’s with me!?”
A cheer of epic proportion erupted from under the pointed plant. A shockwave of unity and togetherness reverberated through the jungle, and quivered the ground for meters. The ants’ cheering was so loud, in fact, that it reached the ears of Long Beak the bluebird, who was in the mud grounds hunting for worms…
“But everyone!“, Pointy preached, “Peace is not passive, peace takes work, so here’s what we must do. Tomorrow, at sunrise, when the birds are out hunting for worms, we will gather in their nesting grounds, and march. We will not march into the jungle to gather twigs and grass like we usually do though- we will do nothing of the sort! Instead, we will march in an infinity sign, all together, and sing a song about peace and harmony. The bluebirds will squawk and shriek, and maybe even eat some of us, but whatever you do, do not do what they tell us to. Going into tomorrow’s Infinity March, we must understand this: peace does not come without sacrifice. Remember to look towards the future and focus on our goal. We will achieve peace and harmony!“
As Pointy looked down to see a sea of nods and approval, Pip looked up to see a storm of horror and evil. He cried, “Pointy, the bluebirds are coming!”, and then all chaos broke loose.
Bluebirds darted into the crowd, scooping ants up in their beaks. The ants panicked and ran every which way. Above all the chaos, cries, and calls Pointy yelled, “Everyone, our action starts now! Remember what we have discussed, hate the deed, not the doer. The Infinity March is tomorrow!”
Long Beak’s screeches could be heard over all the rest. “What is the meaning of this!? Who is your leader!?”, and as his beady black eyes spotted the pointed plant, all he saw was Pointy’s pointed rump disappear.
For the rest of the day the ants secretly spread the word about the Infinity March. Today was their last day of following bluebird orders, and they were ready to march for peace.
As the first glints of light beamed down on the 5th day, Pointy and the Satyagraha colony gathered in the bluebird nesting grounds. The bluebirds were out hunting worms, and the day glowed with tranquility. The ants made their formation, and began their march…
Long Beak had a juicy worm in his mouth when he heard the hum. All the bluebirds perked up at the sound, and ascended from the mud grounds. They flew like lightening to the nesting grounds, but when they got there they stopped right in their flights, and hovered above a most miraculous sight. 1000 ants were marching in an infinity sign, all chanting the same song, all marching perfectly in line. They sang:
“Help another, listen to your brother
The chirps are ringing, continue singing
Help your sister, love and assist her
The squawks aren’t slowing, keep the rhythm flowing”
And the squawks didn’t slow, in fact, they intensified. The bluebirds reacted just how the ants had anticipated, and swooped into the march, eating ant, after ant, after ant. But as the chirps rang, the ants sang.
“Help another, listen to your brother
The chirps are ringing, continue singing
Help your sister, love and assist her
The squawks aren’t slowing, keep the rhythm flowing”
By now, many more ants had joined the march, and after some time there were more ants than even an ant eater could handle! Eventually the bluebirds stopped attacking, and just hovered above the infinity sign, baffled and confused.
The march continued through the day and through the night, and on the crack of dawn on the 6th day, Long Beak flew to the infinity sign, and hovered directly over cross section. He bellowed, “Where is the ant with the pointed rump? I demand to speak with him. I will not eat him, nor will any of the other bluebirds. That is my word.”
Pointy separated from the rest, and led Long Beak to the pointed plant. He climbed to the very top, and stood on the farthest out point. Standing eye level with Long Beak the bluebird he said, “You have called me out, what is it you want to talk about?”. Long Beak leaned in really close, so that none of the other bluebirds would hear what he had to say. He whispered, “You have organized an impressive march, but even if we let you go now, your colony still won’t have enough time to build up the ant mound. The rains will be here in 3 days. Was it really worth all the effort?”
Pointy replied, “Maybe it isn’t just freedom that we are marching for. Maybe we’re marching for peace- for harmony between the bluebirds and the ants.”
Long Beak twittered with laughter. “Ha! The ants and bluebirds living in harmony! What makes you think that could ever happen?”
“Well, if you look past all of our differences, we both just want the same three things: family, shelter, and food. Maybe we could help each other out, instead of being enemies. I’ll leave you with that- get back to me when you have your answer.”
With that Pointy climbed down from the pointed plant, and dashed right back into the Infinity March. He left Long Beak with his claws in the dirt, and a proposal in the air.
The ants marched and chanted all through the 6th day. The rain clouds loomed overhead, sending a chilling message to the colony. Just before the last glints of light vanished into night, Long Beak the bluebird flew overhead. His beady eyes focused in on Pointy, as if he were a cricket in a meadow, and he shot down straight at him. Pointy’s antennae stood on end. Long Beak opened his jaw wide, and just and instant before he struck, he swerved to the side, and dug his beak into the soft dirt. In one fluid motion he scooped it up and flew to the ant hole, dropping the pile at its side. For the second time, Pointy and everyone around him was completely silent. There were no chirps, no whistles, no squawks, and no chants. Pip broke the silence with a shrill, “Weeeeeee!!”, and all the ants followed. Long Beak’s action spoke louder than any words could have, and Satyagraha cheered like they never had before. The last glint of light disappeared into the heavens, the day’s tranquility translated into night, and Pointy and the ants slept content.
On the 7th day the bluebirds got up early and got to work. They collected dirt in their beaks and dropped it beside the ant hole, where Long Beak was patting it in, using his beak like a hammer. The ants marched out of a modest ant mound, which Long Beak confirmed was a work in progress. The ants and the bluebirds spent the rest of the day working together on their shelters. The bluebirds continued working on the mound, and the ants went out and gathered materials for the bluebird nests, except this time they did it on their own choosing. As the rain clouds gathered up above in the sky, the ants and bluebirds gathered down below on the ground. When the thunder sounded, the birds and ants started singing. This time the words were slightly different though. Together, they sang:
“Help another, listen to your brother
The chorus is ringing, continue singing
Help your sister, love and assist her
The voices are growing, keep the rhythm flowing”
The chant went on into the night, and when it was time to retreat to their shelters and await the rains, the ants and bluebirds thanked each other for all the help.
On the morning of the 8th day, a mommy birds laid the first egg, and with it came the first drop of rain. The ants were safe in their mound, and the bluebirds were cozy in their nests. Both from above and below the green canopies, the bluebirds and ants chirped a happy song. They lived in harmony from that day on.
The end.
