The Miracle of the Ant

Once upon a time, there was a sparrow and a crow. One day, both of them flew together in search of food. While flying, they reached the shore of the ocean. There, the sparrow found a pearl, and the crow found a ruby.

The sparrow said, My pearl is more valuable. The crow argued, My ruby is more expensive. To settle their dispute, they went to a jeweler for verification. The jeweler first examined the ruby and then the pearl. He declared that the ruby was worth one lakh rupees, while the pearl was valued at one lakh and twentyfive thousand rupees.

Greed took over the crows heart. He said, Sparrow sister, let me have a closer look at your pearl The innocent sparrow, unaware of the crows intentions, placed the pearl in front of him. The crow quickly grabbed it in his beak and flew away.

The crow sat on a peepal tree with the pearl in his beak. The sparrow followed him and pleaded, Crow brother, please return my pearl. The crow rudely replied, Get lost When did I take your pearl

The sparrow begged and pleaded, folding her wings in request, but the crow refused to return it. Heartbroken, the sparrow turned to the peepal tree and said, Peepal tree, why do you allow such a wicked crow to sit on you Shake him off

The peepal tree rustled its leaves and replied, Why should I make him fly away He hasnt harmed me in any way.

Disappointed, the sparrow flew to a carpenter and said, Mister Carpenter, the peepal tree wont listen to me. Please cut it down.

The carpenter replied, Why should I cut down the peepal tree It has done me no harm. I have other work to do.

The sparrow then went to the kings palace and said, Maharaj, the carpenter refuses to help me. Please punish him.

The king replied, I have no complaints against the carpenter. How can I punish him just based on your words Stop wasting my time.

The sparrow then approached the queen. Your Majesty, the king doesnt listen to me. Please get upset with him.

The queen said, Why should I be upset The king hasnt done anything wrong.

Next, the sparrow went to the mice and requested, Dear mice, please chew up the queens clothes.

The mice said, Why should we do that The queen has not harmed us.

Disheartened, the sparrow flew to the cat and said, Aunt Cat Do me a favor and eat the mice.

The cat replied, Why should I harm the mice Theyve done nothing to me.

The sparrow then went to the dogs and said, Brothers Please attack the cat.

The dogs replied, Why should we attack the cat We have no enmity with her.

Next, the sparrow went to the sticks and said, Sticks Please beat up the dogs.

The sticks replied, Why should we beat the dogs We have no reason to.

Then, the sparrow went to the fire and pleaded, Oh Fire The sticks wont listen to me. Please burn them down.

The fire said, Why should I burn the sticks They have not wronged me.

The sparrow then flew to the pond and requested, Brother Pond Please put out the fire.

The pond replied, Why should I put out the fire I have no quarrel with it.

Next, the sparrow went to the elephants and pleaded, Elephants Please step into the pond and make the water dirty.

The elephants replied, Why should we make the water dirty We have no reason to.

After so much effort, the sparrow was exhausted. Finally, she approached an ant and told her the whole story, crying, If you crawl into the elephants ear and bite it, maybe hell listen to me. Otherwise, no one is helping me.

The ant agreed. Of course When else would I be of use to a suffering soul Helping the helpless is my duty. I wont miss this opportunity.

The sparrow urged, Then why delay Lets act quickly.

Before starting, the ant took a dip in the water, cleaned herself, tied her hair, applied a bindi, and adorned herself beautifully. Then, gracefully, she crawled into the elephants ear, ready to bite.

Seeing the ant approach, the elephant trembled with fear and pleaded, No, dear ant Please dont come near my ear. Tell me, how can I serve you

The ant replied, Why did you refuse to dirty the pond water when the sparrow asked you to

The elephant folded his trunk and said, I made a mistake. Ill go right away and do it.

The elephant then went to the pond and requested, Brother Pond Please dont make me dirty you. I will ensure that the fire is put out instead.

The fire said, Alright, bring the sticks. I will burn them right now.

The sticks said, Show us the dogs, and we will beat them.

The dogs started barking, Are cats our relatives Bring them here, and well attack them.

The cats agreed to eat the mice.

The mice agreed to chew up the queens clothes.

The queen said, Whats the use of ruining my clothes I will sulk at the king a thousand times instead

The king said, Ive had complaints about the carpenter before. Now he must be punished.

The carpenter said, I need wood anyway. Show me that arrogant peepal tree.

The peepal tree declared, Why should I shelter the crow I wont let him sit on me anymore.

The crow, realizing he was in trouble, cawed loudly, Where will I make my nest now Call the sparrow. I still have her pearl. Ill return it.

The sparrow arrived, and in anger, she said, Give me back my pearl

The crow, folding his wings in surrender, handed over the pearl.

With the valuable pearl worth one lakh and twentyfive thousand rupees, the sparrow happily returned to her nest and her children. Her chicks were delighted to see the pearl.

She sold the pearl to the queen and used the money to build a golden palace on the peepal tree. From then on, the sparrow and her family lived happily in their golden home.

Meanwhile, in all the commotion, the crows ruby was lost. He had been so focused on the pearl that he had forgotten about his own ruby.

Crying, the crow searched everywhere, asking, Has anyone seen my ruby Has anyone seen my ruby

But no one paid him any attention.

And so, the greedy crow, mourning his loss, eventually died.