Lazy Susan the Ant
MINI MINI STORIES
No one had ever heard of a lazy ant.
Ants were supposed to be busy.
Very busy.
They carried things. They dug tunnels. They gathered food. They worked together.
But Lazy Susan Ant was different.
Susan liked to lie in the sunshine.
She liked watching the clouds.
She liked taking very long naps.
And she especially liked watching the other ants work.
“Susan!” called one of the ants. “We need help carrying these crumbs!”
“I’m very busy,” Susan said.
“Doing what?”
Susan thought about this.
“Nothing.”
The other ants did not think this was funny.
One day, an old ant named Berta found Susan sitting beside a pile of seeds.
“Why aren’t you helping?” she asked.
“Because carrying seeds is boring.”
Berta picked up a seed.
“Boring?”
She turned it over.
“Have you ever really looked at a seed?”
Susan frowned.
“No.”
“Look at this one.”
Susan looked.
It had a tiny crack running down one side.
“It’s shaped like a little potato!”
Berta laughed.
“It is!”
They carried the seed together.
On the way, Berta sang a funny marching song.
By the time they reached the nest, Susan was laughing.
They placed the seed and danced to another tune as they fetched another seed.
And another. And another.
Until all the work was done.
Then they sat beneath a flower and sipped nectar.
What a great day, Susan thought.
The next morning, Susan was the first ant out.
“Where are you going?” asked Berta.
“To work!”
Berta nearly dropped her crumb.
Susan grinned.
“I figured something out.”
“What?”
“Work isn’t so boring when you look for the fun in it!”
And from then on, was no longer known as Lazy Susan.
They called her Happy Sue.
