Monday, November 17, 2008 | |

Short Story - The War between the Two Ant Kings

short storyIn a land vast and rich, lived two ant kings. They ruled over their own kingdoms, which were divided by a river. On one side of the river lay the kingdom of the white ants while on the other lay the kingdom of the black ants.

One day in the palace of the white king was confusion and chaos. Soldiers and servants, ministers and all the other king’s men ran from here to there inside the palace. All were shivering – no, not from cold but from fear. The king of the white ant had lost his golden comb that day. He was furious about his lost comb. They searched and searched but still the comb was nowhere to be found in the palace.

Drums were beaten and the news spread throughout the kingdom. A reward was announced for anyone who might get news about the comb or its whereabouts.

And the sword makers in the kingdom heard about the news. They held a meeting in secret and talked for long.

In the evening, they went to the palace of the king. The sentry at the palace gate stopped them but when they told him that they had come with the news of the lost comb, he ran to his officer and told him about them.

The officer of the palace guard informed the king about the sword makers. The king immediately granted them in.

And the sword makers emptied their words into the ears of the king. They told him that the black ant king stole the golden comb.

The king became mad with rage. He dismissed the sword makers after paying them their reward. Then he called his General and ordered him to prepare his army.

And the sword makers were very happy. Their swords were selling like sweets. All their old stocks vanished within a few hours.

Meanwhile, the news of the white ant king’s preparation reached the black ant king through a letter his spy sent him with the help of a trained pigeon. He also prepared himself for war after receiving the news.

And the sword makers of his kingdom were very happy. Their business also was extremely good.

And as the sun rose the next morning and its thorn livened up the earth, the white ant king marched against the black ant kingdom.

After marching for two days the two kings met each other on an open field. Swords clashed, pilums were hurled, lances pierced through chests, arrows ripped through the throats and the battle continued.

After a few hours, the whole battlefield was littered with the dead bodies of thousand and thousand of ants.

The war continued until the eventide when, none except the two kings were on the battlefield. Deep into the night they fought each other. Wounds, a hundred were on their bodies, and still they kept on fighting.

At last, when it was the time for the cocks to crow, not a single drop of blood remained in the bodies of both the kings. All had oozed out through their numerous wounds. They both fell down and were dead.

After the awful news reached both the kingdoms that nobody lived that war, people became as like mad. The womenfolk and children and relatives of the dead ants cried and cried, till at last, there were even no tears to complement their cries.

The sword makers, they were now rich and were with their wives.

Short story written by Parvez Ahmed on November 17, 2008.

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