There once lived a boy named Ernani. He was so small that other boys did not want to play with him. Even his family members did not want to play with Ernani because he was an odd boy. He was quiet and kept to himself. Ernani preferred being alone.
One activity his siblings liked doing was crushing ants. Ernani watched in disdain at this. One black ant passed him and he stroked its back instead. “I will not harm you! How can others be so careless and take so many lives as they play?”
The black ant didn’t scuttle away. Ernani looked at it, “On you go, I didn’t kill you.”
“I’m very grateful you didn’t, Ernani.”
Ernani jumped, “You spoke!”
“You can hear me because you have a gift. Everyone thinks you’re weird, but I know you’re a good child.”
Ernani and the ant became playmates. Even if his family made fun of him, Ernani went out to play with his black ant every day. One day, Ernani’s father fell ill. A doctor came to their house, who told their mother that the father would die.
Ernani wept in the garden and the ant asked him what’s wrong. Ernani explained that his father would die.
The ant pondered for a moment then asked, “Bring me a spoon, Ernani.” The child did so, and the ant sat on its tip. “On the tip of this spoon, I’ve left liquid that will help your father. Go to him.”
Ernani went into his father’s room. His mother told him to leave, but Ernani did not listen. He put the spoon into his father’s mouth, and his father sat up as if he woke from a dream. He was back to his health, and no longer bed-ridden. His family asked what he had done, but because Ernani was strange, he did not speak.
In the future, the queen became very sick. Ernani and the ant adventured to her realm and cured her. His family was rewarded a place as workers in their palace, and him and his siblings were sent to school. His life was made better by the kindness of the little black ant.