Prevod
V enem od mravljišč na najvišjem delu travnika se je pogovarjala kopica mladih mravelj. »Jaz,« je rekla ena, »bom vojakinja in bom odgnala vsakogar, ki bi nam prišel delat težave. Vsak dan grizem trde reči, da bi si okrepila čeljusti in tako bolje varovala naš dom.«
»Jaz,« je rekla druga, manjša mravlja, »pa bi rada postala delavka. Rada bi pomagala graditi in popravljati dom. Rada bi prinašala hrano za družino, hranila mravlje dojenčke in jih čistila, ko prilezejo iz svojih starih oblekic. Če bom vse to znala dobro opravljati, bom najsrečnejša in najbolj zaposlena mravlja na travniku.«
»Midve pa nočeva tako živeti,« sta rekli večji mravlji s krili. »Ne misliva se ves čas zadrževati okoli mravljišča in delati. Radi bi uporabljali svoja krila in potem sta lahko prepričani, da naju ne bosta več videvali doma.«
Mala delavka se je oglasila: »Doma je prijetno. Morda bosta nekoč še kako veseli, da se lahko vrneta.« Toda krilati mravlji sta ji obrnili hrbet in nista hoteli slišati niti besedice več.
Nekaj dni zatem je bilo v mravljišču zelo razburljivo. Vse krilate mravlje so se poslovile od vojakinj in delavk ter odletele po zraku, tako daleč, da jih male mravlje doma niso več mogle videti. Ves dan jih ni bilo nazaj, naslednje jutro pa je mala delavka, ki smo jo prej slišali govoriti, odšla iskat zajtrk in našla uboge krilate mravlje, kako ležijo na tleh blizu doma. Nekatere so bile mrtve, druge pa so iskale hrano.
Mravlja delavka je stekla k tisti, ki je rekla, da noče ostati doma, in jo povabila nazaj v mravljišče. »Ne, hvala,« ji je odgovorila. »Zdaj sem že pozajtrkovala in bom spet odletela.« Dvignila je krila, da bi vzletela, toda komaj je enkrat zamahnila z njimi, so ji odpadla in nikoli več ni mogla leteti.
Delavka je pohitela nazaj v mravljišče po nekaj svojih sester delavk in nekaj vojakinj. Skupaj so vzele mravljo, ki je izgubila krila, in jo odnesle na drug konec travnika. Tam so se lotile gradnje novega doma, njo pa so postavile za svojo kraljico.
Najprej so poiskale primeren peščen prostor, kamor bi ves dan sijalo sonce. Nato so mravlje delavke začele kopati v tla in v ustih prinašati na plan drobne grudice prsti. Vojakinje so jim pomagale in še pred nočjo so imele v zemlji prijeten domek z več sobicami in nekaj že spravljene hrane. Vanj so pripeljale svojo kraljico, ji nosile hrano in ji stregle, ona pa je bila srečna in zadovoljna.
Sčasoma so se iz mravljih jajčec začele izlegati ličinke in delavke so imele polne roke dela s skrbjo za kraljico in njene male mravlje dojenčke, zato so jim morale pomagati tudi vojakinje. Ko so se mravlji dojenčki izlegli iz jajčec, so bili podobni drobnim črvičkom, ličinkam; čez čas so se zvili v drobcenih ovojih, ki jim pravimo bubini ovoji, in še malo pozneje so prilezli iz njih. Tedaj so bili s svojimi šestimi nogami in vitkimi pasovi že podobni starejšim mravljam. A naj so bili jajčeca ali ličinke, naj so čepeli zviti v bubinih ovojih ali pa so že bili živahne male mravlje, delavke so jih hranile in skrbele zanje, vojakinje so se bojevale zanje, kraljica mati pa jih je imela rada. Vsi skupaj so srečno živeli, dokler niso bile mlade mravlje pripravljene oditi v širni svet in se same učiti življenjskih naukov.
Izvirnik
In one of the Ant-hills in the highest part of the meadow, were a lot of young Ants talking together. "I," said one, "am going to be a soldier, and drive away anybody who comes to make us trouble. I try biting hard things every day to make my jaws strong, so that I can guard the home better."
"I," said another and smaller Ant, "want to be a worker. I want to help build and repair the home. I want to get the food for the family, and feed the Ant babies, and clean them off when they crawl out of their old coats. If I can do those things well, I shall be the happiest, busiest Ant in the meadow."
"We don't want to live that kind of life," said a couple of larger Ants with wings. "We don't mean to stay around the Ant-hill all the time and work. We want to use our wings, and then you may be very sure that you won't see us around home any more."
The little worker spoke up: "Home is a pleasant place. You may be very glad to come back to it some day." But the Ants with the wings turned their backs and wouldn't listen to another word.
A few days after this there were exciting times in the Ant-hill. All the winged Ants said "Good-bye" to the soldiers and workers, and flew off through the air, flew so far that the little ones at home could no longer see them. All day long they were gone, but the next morning when the little worker (whom we heard talking) went out to get breakfast, she found the poor winged Ants lying on the ground near their home. Some of them were dead, and the rest were looking for food.
The worker Ant ran up to the one who had said she didn't want to stay around home, and asked her to come back to the Ant-hill. "No, I thank you," she answered. "I have had my breakfast now, and am going to fly off again." She raised her wings to go, but after she had given one flutter, they dropped off, and she could never fly again.
The worker hurried back to the Ant-hill to call some of her sister workers, and some of the soldiers, and they took the Ant who had lost her wings and carried her to another part of the meadow. There they went to work to build a new home and make her their queen.
First, they looked for a good, sandy place, on which the sun would shine all day. Then the worker Ants began to dig in the ground and bring out tiny round pieces of earth in their mouths. The soldiers helped them, and before night they had a cosy little home in the earth, with several rooms, and some food already stored. They took their queen in, and brought her food to eat, and waited on her, and she was happy and contented.
By and by the Ant eggs began to hatch, and the workers had all they could do to take care of their queen and her little Ant babies, and the soldier Ants had to help. The Ant babies were little worms or grubs when they first came out of the eggs; after a while they curled up in tiny, tiny cases, called pupa-cases, and after another while they came out of these, and then they looked like the older Ants, with their six legs, and their slender little waists. But whatever they were, whether eggs, or grubs, or curled up in the pupa-cases, or lively little Ants, the workers fed and took care of them, and the soldiers fought for them, and the queen-mother loved them, and they all lived happily together until the young Ants were ready to go out into the great world and learn the lessons of life for themselves.
