Ant and the Honey There once lived a little ant that was no one very special.

It was just one of those worker types that would go out from the Nest with the rest and join in the stream of ants, the Way. Like every worker it would find some choice little bits of food and then struggle with its load to carry back to the Queen. Everyday from dawn to dusk the same. Then one day the ant noticed something strange. It seemed as though while many were leaving in search of food as usual, fewer appeared to be returning as the day progressed. It shrugged this observation away immediately and went out into the Way with its fellow workers. As it scurried along with its antennae waving about, out of the corner of its eyes it saw a huge tunnel appear from out of the sky, touch the ground to its left where several other ants had been scurrying. Then it disappeared, along with the other ants. In a panic it stopped several of its mates and said: Stop! There is something wrong here. Just as the others were about to ask what exactly it referred to, several ants came marching up with golden droplets in their pincers. Wrong!? said the leader of this group. Only a fool would say there is something wrong here. Look at all this honey we have. We have hit the Mother Lode! The Queen will be so pleased. But I saw something come out of the sky and the next moment a bunch of us were gone, said the ant. However, no one stayed to listen; off went its companions to get some of that honey, while the others raced back with their sweet prize. Well, maybe I was just imagining it, the ant reasoned to itself. And off it raced to reach the honey. Yet no sooner had it began, again it saw the tunnel from the sky come down and its shadow fall over another group of ants. And then the tunnel and the ants were gone. With great panic the ant tried to stop the others racing ahead. Yet now the Way flowed with excited ants that could think of nothing else but that honey. The ant desperately tried to slow the other workers in order to explain to them what it saw. None slowed. They crashed into the ant or just ran over it, ignoring its urgent pleas. Finally, one of the soldier ants came up, twice as large as the little worker ant, with its huge mandibles.

The soldier will listen, the worker ant said to itself. What are you doing blocking the way? said the soldier ant to the worker. Out of the way, you fool, there is honey ahead. Wait! You dont understand. Something terrible is happening. Honey is not ahead. Its death! Death, I tell you! We must all go back! You are a mad ant. And madness has no place in the Nest. If you do not cease such nonsense and get back to work, it will indeed be death for you! The little worker continued along the Way, out of respect for those mandibles; yet it no longer looked straight ahead. Constantly it gazed skyward. Searching. Until the ant saw it come again. However this time it saw not only the tunnel, but to where the tunnel lead. And indeed it lead to death; for the ant knew now what it was. Go back! Go back! An anteater! Death is here! Go back! it yelled while moving out of the Way. But the Way was racing as news had reached the Nest. There was only one thought of the Nest--the honey! And the little worker watched them all disappear up the dark tunnel.

Elephant, Croc and Toad Many years ago, believe it or not, the elephant had a little pug nose. It was a large beast, of course, and it roamed the jungles of Asia and Africa, hoping to become the king of all beasts! Now it had not rained for some time, and the elephant decided to go down to the river for a drink. There, swam the long brightly green crocodile& back and forth...its eye out for a tasty bite of something! Now it so happened that a brightly green toad liked to tease the crocodile...it would often hop onto its back and let the croc take it for a spin down the river. Croc soon got tired of giving free rides and would often shake its body to rid itself of the toad pest. Unfortunately, it just could not. So, each and every day it would yell out to the toad, "Get off of my back!" Not only was the croc irritated with the toad, but it also resented that large beast of an elephant drinking the very water that it swam in each day...especially since water was getting scarce! So, as soon as the large head of elephant would reach into the water for a drink& SNAP! The croc would tug at elephants nose. Elephant would pull back to protect its little nose, but alas, each time this happened, Croc would tug a little more. It soon seemed as though elephants nose was becoming a hose! "Le go of my nothe, pleathe," shouted the elephant, nicely, of course. Oh dear, poor elephants voice was changing as well! "I thed, pleathe le go of my nothe!" And with that, the elephant pulled away with all of its might! Its nose soon drooped onto the ground. KERTHUD! Elephant glared at the croc and that pesky little toad hopping along its back with glee. Elephant then stuck its nose into the river and sucked what was left of all of its water, mud, and sediment... leaving croc and toad high and dry. With one full blow of its nose, all water, mud, and sediment sprayed all over croc and toad! To this day, this is WHY croc and toad are not bright green anymore. Instead, they are muddy looking due to their dastardly deeds. As for elephant? It is still not the king of the jungle, but it certainly does not get thirsty very often nowadays!

Feather of the Firebird Long ago in Russia, there lived a brave huntsman who had a horse that could talk. Every day, he would ride into the dark forest and bring back wonderful things for his master, the Tsar. One day, he saw something glowing in the darkness. It looked like fire. But when he drew close, he saw it was not fire, but a feather. The feather of the Zhar-ptitsa the Firebird. The huntsman knew the old tales. If a man is lucky enough to snatch a feather from the tail of the Zhar-ptitsa, he will have good luck all his days. But as he bent to pick up the feather, his horse spoke: Stop! Dont pick up the feather of the Zhar-ptitsa. You will know trouble! But the huntsman said, It is not for myself that I pick it up, but for my master. And he picked up the feather of the Zhar-ptitsa and brought it to the Tsar, who said: Well done, my huntsman! No other Tsar in all the lands in all the world possesses such a treasure as the feather of the Zhar-ptitsa! But what good is only a feather when I could have the Zhar-ptitsa herself! Go, my huntsman! Go and bring me back the Zhar-ptitsa. And if you fail, I will have your head. The huntsman was most distressed! He told the horse what the Tsar had commanded, and the horse said: What did I tell you? Dont pick up the feather of the Zhar-ptitsa, you will know trouble! But fear not, grieve not, this is not the real trouble. The real trouble lies ahead. Go ask the Tsar for a golden net, and a golden cord, and a hundred measures of grain. Then the horse took the huntsman far into the forest and out into a great meadow. The huntsman spread the hundred measures of grain over the meadow, and then he hid in the trees while the horse grazed. Suddenly the earth began to shake and the trees to tremble, and the Zhar-ptitsa flew down from the sky and began to eat the grain. The horse stepped on her wing, and the huntsman threw the golden net over her, and bound her with the golden cord. Then he put her on the back of his horse and took her to the Tsar. Well done, my huntsman! No other Tsar in all the lands in all the world possesses such a treasure as the Zhar-ptitsa! But what good is the Zhar-ptitsa, without a wife to share my glory? I should have the most beautiful woman in the world as my wife! Go, my huntsman! Go and bring me the Princess Vasilissa, who lives in the thrice ninth kingdom at the edge of the world on the blue, blue sea. And if you fail, I will have your head. The huntsman was most distressed! He told the horse what the Tsar had commanded, and the horse said: What did I tell you? Dont pick up the feather of the Zhar-ptitsa, you will know trouble! But fear not, grieve not, this is not the real trouble. The real trouble lies ahead. Go ask the Tsar for a tent with a golden roof, and all manner of fine food and drink. Then the horse took the huntsman to the thrice ninth kingdom at the edge of the world, and there he set up the tent with the golden roof on the sand beside the blue, blue sea. Out on the sea was a silver boat with a golden sail, and in the boat was the Princess Vasilissa.

She saw the golden roof shining in the sun and came to shore. She saw the huntsman and liked what she saw. He invited her into the tent and gave her much fine food to eat and fine wine to drink, and she became sleepy. As she slept, he tied her up with a golden cord, placed her on the back of his horse and took her to the Tsar. Well done, my huntsman! No other Tsar in all the lands in all the world possesses such a treasure as the Princess Vasilissa! We shall be married tomorrow! But the Princess Vasilissa took one look at the Tsar and he was terribly ugly and stamped her pretty foot. I cannot marry the Tsar. I cannot marry anyone without my wedding dress, and no one will be able to find it, for it lies at the bottom of the blue, blue sea, under a stone which no man can lift. The Tsar said to the huntsman, Fool! How could you bring me the Princess Vasilissa without her wedding dress? Go, my huntsman! Go back to the thrice ninth kingdom and bring me the wedding dress of the Princess Vasilissa, which lies at the bottom of the blue, blue sea under a stone which no man can lift. And if you fail, I will have your head. The huntsman was most distressed! He told the horse what the Tsar had commanded, and the horse said: What did I tell you? Dont pick up the feather of the Zhar-ptitsa, you will know trouble! But fear not, grieve not, this is not the real trouble. The real trouble lies ahead. The horse took the huntsman back to the thrice ninth kingdom, and there at the edge of the blue, blue sea was a crab. The horse placed his hoof above the crab and said, Crab! Crab! Go to the bottom of the blue, blue sea, you and your brother crabs and sister crabs, mother crabs and father crabs, and lift the stone which no man can lift. And bring to me the wedding dress of the Princess Vasilissa. The crab said, Master, I obey. And he went to the bottom of the blue, blue sea, and with him all the brother crabs and sister crabs, mother crabs and father crabs, and they lifted the stone which no man can lift, and they took out the wedding dress of the Princess Vasilissa and brought it to the horse. And the huntsman put it on the back of his horse and brought it to the Tsar. Well done, my huntsman! No other Tsar in all the lands in all the world possesses such a treasure as the Princess Vasilissa and her wedding dress! We shall be married tomorrow! But the Princess Vasilissa took another look at the Tsar and he was terribly, terribly ugly and stamped her pretty foot. I cannot marry the Tsar. I cannot marry anyone while the huntsman lives. For she saw how the Tsar valued the huntsman, who brought him everything he wanted, and she thought the Tsar would never kill him. But the Tsar said, Huntsman! You have offended the Princess Vasilissa, and so you must die. Tomorrow before my wedding, I will have a great cauldron of boiling water placed in the square, and you will climb in it. The huntsman was most distressed! He told the horse what the Tsar had commanded, and the horse said:

What did I tell you? Dont pick up the feather of the Zhar-ptitsa, you will know trouble! And this is trouble! But fear not, I can still save you. Search my saddle blanket until you find a single silken thread from the wedding dress of Princess Vasilissa, and a single golden hair from her head, and a tiny downy feather from the breast of the Zhar-ptitsa. Hide these things in your beard and they will keep you safe. The huntsman searched all the night, and found the three things just as the kings guards arrived. He hid them in his beard and went to the square, where a ladder was set up against a cauldron with a fire blazing beneath. He climbed up the ladder and touched the water and it did not burn him. He climbed into the cauldron and the water did not burn him. He ducked all the way down into the water. And when he stood up, all were amazed, for not only was he not dead, he was younger, and stronger, and handsomer than ever before. And Princess Vasilissa liked what she saw. The Tsar said, If a simple huntsman can step into the cauldron and come out as handsome as a Tsar, then what will happen when the Tsar steps into the cauldron? And he ran up the ladder and plunged into the boiling water and then he was in trouble! Then the people needed a new Tsar, and who better than the huntsman? And he and the Princess Vasilissa were married. Such a wedding it was! Then they took the Zhar-ptitsa back to the great meadow, and untied the golden cord and took off the golden net. The earth began to shake and the trees to tremble, and the Zhar-ptitsa flew into the sky letting fall one bright, shining feather. The huntsman looked at the feather, then turned to go. But the horse said: Stop! This time, the feather is for you. And so the huntsman had many more adventures, of which I will tell you another time.

Mouse Deer and Crocodile Once upon a time, there lived a clever mouse deer that we will call Sang Kancil. He lives in the great forest and has many animal friends. There are also other animals that are not so friendly, animals who want to harm him or even eat him. So he always has to keep a watch out for these animals. One day while walking along the river bank, he saw some delicious and yummy fruits on the other side of the river. As he was about to cross the river, his very good friend, the fish, quickly swam near Sang Kancil and warn him of the crocodile. The crocodile, Sang Buaya, is not a friendly animal. He is always trying to catch and eat Sang Kancil. Sang Kancil is aware of that, so he has to think hard, how to cross over, safely. Finally he had a brilliant idea. Sang Kancil shouted for the crocodile "Sang Buaya,Sang Buaya!' The crocodile, hearing the mouse deer, slowly swim nearer to the river bank. "Yes Kancil, what can I do for you. Eat you?" "Ha ha ha, that's funny. Sorry not today" said the mouse deer. 'The king is organizing a grand feast and he has asked me to invite all the animals in the forest. I need to know how many crocodiles will be attending this grand feast.' 'Oh...OK. I will tell the rest of my fellow crocodiles and will let you know later" said Sang Buaya. "I can't wait that long, I need to know the answer, now. Please call all of them. Ask them to line up from this side of the river to the other side, so that I can count all of you' said Sang Kancil. Sang Buaya wasn't sure if that's a good idea, but the thought of being invited by the king was too exciting. So he called all the crocodiles in the river, to line up as instructed by the mouse deer. "OK, we are all here. You can count us now" said Sang Buaya. 'But not until you promise not to eat me. Otherwise I will not be able to go back and inform the king on the number of animals, including you, the crocodiles, that will be attending the feast' said the mouse deer. "OK you have our promise' said Sang Buaya. Sang Kancil quickly jumped onto the crocodile's back, counting the number as he jumped from one crocodile to the next crocodile. He keeps jumping and counting until he reached the other side of the river. The crocodile fooled again 'Are you done?' asked the crocodile. 'Yes, and there is no feast, ha ha ha!' laughed Sang Kancil as he quickly ran into the forest, towards the fruit trees. Sang Kancil once again managed to outwit his enemy, Sang Buaya, who is by now so angry that he is even more determined to eat Sang Kancil the next time he comes to the river.