3 The Ant King, the Silver Dragon, and the Man with a String

There lived an Ant King. He was a wise and just ruler, and he always put the needs of his people above his own. The Ant King and his people had been in a bitter feud with the Silver Dragon for many years over the question of power. The Dragon believed that the path to power was through absolute strength, the overwhelming strength of the others by individually being the strongest. The Ant King, on the other hand, believed in the strength of the people and that victory could be assured only if the people worked together.

The last few weeks had been a nightmare for the Ant King and his people. The Silver Dragon had been mercilessly flooding the Ant hills, destroying them one by one. The Ant King had to relocate his people to a safer location, away from the Dragon’s wrath. They were on the move when the Dragon attacked again. The Ant King fought bravely, his small but mighty army fiercely battling against the larger and more powerful dragon, but in the end, he was thrown into the river.

As he clung to a broken branch of a willow tree, the Ant King felt his faith in his own beliefs begin to falter. Was the Dragon right? Was the path to power truly through individual strength and dominance? But then, as if by divine intervention, a length of string fell from the sky and landed on his stick, held by a man on a boat rowing closer to him. The man helped the Ant King up the rope and secured him on the boat, a symbol of hope and salvation in the midst of chaos and despair.

After a few moments, the man took the Ant King to a place in the nearby grass. It was the perfect place for the Ant King’s people to grow and prosper. He signaled to his people to come to his location, and they began the process of forming a new hill. The Ant King was grateful to the man and decided to personally thank him. He visited the man in a dream and offered that should the man ever be in a situation where he needed help, the Ant King would offer his aid.

Leaving to go back to his people and help with the setting up and preparing for their future, the Ant King realized that the location the man had left him in was naturally shielded from the river and protected his people from the Dragon’s rage. This allowed his people to grow, and after three years, the colony had taken over a vast swath of land, and their power had multiplied by a hundredfold.

But their success came with a price. The Silver Dragon, fearing that the ants’ power may surpass his, used his strength to send himself over to the Ant King’s territory. The Ant King had foreseen this and scattered his people so that they would never be completely eradicated. While some did die, the Ant King was alive, as were most of his people. The Silver Dragon, on the other hand, was stranded in their kingdom after failing to kill them.

The Ant King went to the Dragon and told him, “I’ll offer you a deal. If you leave our kingdom and never come back, we will let you live.” The Dragon was surprised by the Ant King’s mercy and agreed to the deal, thinking that he would be able to break his deal and attack them after amassing more power. As he was about to leave, the Ant King stopped him and said, “You may think you’re getting ahead by making deals with ill intent, but in the end, you’ll find that the cost of your actions outweighs any temporary gain you may have achieved.”

The Ant King and his people proceeded to overpower and eat the Dragon and cultivate the energy from the Dragon’s body to grow even stronger. What the Dragon King did not know was that the rate of growth of the Ant Kingdom was impressive enough to attract the attention of the emperor who, sensing this intent to betray the Ant’s kindness, told the Ant king to eat the Dragon.

Seven years later, the ants had taken over the flowing river and were now known as the “Black Dragon,” a power recognized by the emperor. The emperor gave the Ant King one request, and he would grant it. In the moment, the King had no requests, his people were thriving, and food was plentiful. He asked the emperor if he would be able to consult with his people. The emperor approved and after displaying his thanks, the King began to go back to the colony. Once he had arrived, he told his people of the emperor’s gift and asked if there was anything they would want to request. His people gave the same response as he did, grateful but satisfied with their lives.

A group of ants did have an idea of what to do with the request. They had just come back from a jail that held the man who had saved the king all that time ago. He was wrongly imprisoned and had asked for their help. The Ant King consulted with his people and they agreed that the man who saved their kingdom deserved to benefit from their fortune. The King visited the man and instructed his people to free the man and guide him to their kingdom.

The King then went to request that the emperor pardon the man. The emperor agreed but questioned why the request was not being used on his people, to which the Ant King responded, “In the great cycle of life, we all rely on each other. Just as the ants helped the little bird, who then helped the mighty elephant, so too must we remember those who have helped us and return the favor, no matter how small.” The emperor pardoned the man and the “Black Dragon” continued to be a power awed and revered for their kindness and ferocity.