During a golden summer’s day, a little girl named Ella was playing in the meadow. The sun was hot, but that didn’t matter; there was a warm wind blowing, and everything was growing and blossoming under its gentle touch.
Ella noticed a great many black, shining ants running in all directions; but they were particularly busy in a path that led straight across the place where she was playing. They were carrying bits of food and all sorts of things along the narrow way, which was worn away from the footmarks of both men and beasts who had passed along in days gone by.
Ella stopped and watched the little creatures, and she could not help noticing how frequently they met one another on their way, and how they bowed with their antennas when they did so. A great many people saw, too; but then it was a soft and very whiny afternoon.
“Oh dear! I shall never carry it all,” said one.
“No,” answered another; “and mine is so heavy, besides. We shall be like Fools’ Hill and the Liegemen (the legend says you can see them today), if we don’t all help each other with our bits a little.”
“You are right,” said a third; and then they all hurried on.
Ella had not heard this talk of the ants, but she saw that it was no use for them to speak to each other and go backwards and forwards all day just as if everybody had nobody to care for but themselves. So she took up all the little things the ants wanted to carry, put them in a leaf, and lifted them in her hand.
The ants had a great deal of work to move their bits of food and to speak to each other. If Ella had not come, they would have had no supper that evening; and as soon as she lifted her hand all the ants who had not been looking up came falling down.
“Our bits are lost now,” said several voices.
And then all stood still and looked up at Ella.
“If you help us a little, and don’t step on us, we shall soon make the whole way quite clean and nice,” said the one who had spoken before. So Ella carried the little heap of food gently forward, and out the way of the ants, and stood as still as a rock all the while.
Then the little ants hurried home to get others to help them fetch their supper; and the path to Mr. Green’s house, down which the ants were running, was clean and tidy every day for several weeks after, from the many large crumbs that had been picked up.
When evening came, and Ella went home, the first woman she met bowed to her and said “Good night,” and the child asked the cause of this civil behaviour to her on the way home.
“Only that,” was answered.
“Uh, was that all?”
Yes, thought she. “If everybody knew it, perhaps they would all come and say goodnight to me, like the ants did.”
Then Ella told the story of the ants to her mother that night.