THE ANT AND THE SNOW

To hear this story, close your eyes and imagine a very beautiful city. A city where animals talk and men understand.

In that city, there was a little ant that worked non-stop. She spent the whole day looking for food so that when winter came, she would not miss it. On difficult days at work, the little ant was happy with the singing of the cicada.

– How good it is to hear Mrs. Cigarra singing!

One day, knowing that winter was almost upon us, she ran to fetch a last leaflet that she had left near a tree.

On the way, suddenly, a snowflake fell right on his little foot. And the poor thing got stuck!

Desperate, not knowing how to let go of her little foot, she was afraid of dying of hunger or cold and began to scream:

- Help! Who will free me from this snowflake?

That's when she saw the sun high in the sky and asked:

– Ó! Sun, you who are so strong, please melt the snow and loosen my little foot...

The Sun replied:

– Poor Ant! I'm not that strong. Stronger than me is the wall, which prevents my bright and warm rays from passing through!

The little ant turned to the Wall and asked:

– Ó! Wall, since you are so strong, that you cover the sun, that melts the snow, please let go of my little foot!

The Wall turned to Ant and said:

– Poor Ant, I can't do anything! Stronger than me is the Rat that gnaws at me!

Discouraged, Ant saw a mouse, in a hurry, passing very close to the wall and asked:

Oh Mouse, help me! The lord who is so strong, who gnaws at the Wall, who covers the sun, who melts the snow, let go of my little foot!

The Rat, hurriedly following its path, fleeing from the cold, replied:

– Poor little Ant; stronger than me is the Cat, who eats me!

With little strength, Ant saw Cat:

– Please, Mr Cat, help me. The gentleman who is so strong, who eats the Mouse, who gnaws at the Wall, who covers the Sun, who melts the snow, let go of my little foot!

The Cat, falling asleep, replied:

– The Dog is stronger than me. He keeps chasing me.

Discouraged, not knowing how to get out of there, she saw that a dog was passing by:

– Please, Mr Dog, you who are so strong, who run after the Cat, who eat the Mouse, who gnaw at the Wall, who cover the Sun, who melt the snow, let go of my little foot!

The Dog, without paying much attention to the Ant, replied:

– Stronger than me is the Man, who beats me.

Already losing the courage to live, feeling the cold increase, she saw a man coming in the distance. When he got close, she begged:

– Please, Man, you who are so strong, who hit the Dog, who chases the Cat, who eats the Mouse, who eats the Wall, who covers the Sun, who melts the snow, let go of my little foot!

The man, sitting on a rock, concerned only with his life, replied:

– Stronger than me is Death, who kills me!

Already very weak and very scared, he saw Dona Morte approaching and begged:

– Dona Morte, the lady who is so strong, who kills the Man, who hits the Dog, who chases the Cat, who eats the Mouse, who eats the Wall, who covers the Sun, who melts the snow, loosen my little foot !

And Dona Morte, without any feeling, replied:

– Stronger than me is God, who governs me!

Realizing that she was going to die, Ant lowered her head and began to pray softly:

– My God, the Lord who is so strong, who governs Death, who kills Man, who beats the Dog, who chases the Cat, that eats the Mouse, that gnaws at the Wall, that covers the Sun, that melts the snow, loosen mine tootsy!

God, who hears everything and helps everyone, commanded that spring should come, filling the fields with flowers and the sky with light and brightness.

Seeing the Ant almost dead from the cold, he placed it between his hands and gave it a caress. Then he took him to his kingdom where there was no winter, where the sun shone every day, filling the fields with flowers, joy and peace.

And this story entered my ear and came out in my heart…

(Adaptation of the story made by the authors of the book collection “Teacher's Trunk – Stories and Pedagogical Workshops)