The Crocodile And The Ant

Names • Talking To Myself

Mark Starlin

Jan 2

Thoughts While Walking

Names

Are people named Shoemaker allowed to marry people named Cobbler?

If so, should they even bother changing their name?

And if people named Cobbler eat fruit pie with a rich crust on top, are they considered cannibals?

Two Old Guys On A Park Bench

Talking To Myself

I was around 50 when I noticed I was saying my thoughts out loud to myself. I try to avoid it around others. 🤣

Jude The Animal Expert Dude

The Crocodile And The Ant

You’ve probably heard the tale of the lion and the mouse. The lion captures a mouse but then lets the mouse go. Later the mouse rescues the lion from a net by gnawing through the ropes. Well, real life is sometimes stranger than fables.

It hardly seems likely that an ant and a crocodile would become friends. But many strange things happen in the wild that humans never see. Unless you are an animal expert and a master of camouflage like I am. This is one of those stories.

There was an ant who found himself alone and homeless. He wandered the Savana in search of other ants and a new home. He walked and walked and walked for hours. One hundred feet later, he still hadn’t found any other ants. But he found himself at the edge of a river.

As he pondered what to do, a snout and pair of eyes popped up from the river — a crocodile. The crocodile noticed the ant and swam over to him. The ant was not afraid. He was much too small for the crocodile to consider eating.

The crocodile asked the ant, “You appear to be in some sort of quandary. Is there anything I can do to help?”

This was unusual. Most crocodiles are anti-social when it comes to other species.

The ant answered, “I am alone and homeless. I am looking for another colony to join. I was wondering if there might be one on the other side of this river.”

“Only one way to find out. Climb on,” the crocodile said.

“That is very kind of you,” the ant said and climbed onto the crocodile’s back. Then the ant started walking toward the crocodile’s head.

“That tickles,” the crocodile said. “But I like it.”

As the crocodile swam across the river with the ant on his back, he asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Indeed, I am,” the ant replied.

“Let’s stop at my place. I have some sugar cubes I found in a human camp that suddenly emptied out when I showed up.”

“That sounds tasty.”

So the pair rested by the shore and ate some sugar cubes.

“I’m not an ant, and you are not a crocodile, but you are welcome to stay here with me as long as you like. I could use some different conversation. All the other crocodiles ever talk about is what they ate that day. How dull. I would be delighted to hear about an ant’s life. Plus, I enjoy the tickling sensation of you walking on my back.”

“As I have no other place to go at the moment, and would enjoy hearing about a crocodile’s life experiences, I will accept your offer. And I do enjoy a good sugar cube.”

So it was settled. The unlikely duo became fast friends.

Several weeks later, as they were swimming down the river, the ant hollered — he pretty much had to, ants voices are really quiet, “That’s him!”

“Who?” The crocodile asked.

“The aardvark who tore open my anthill and ate all my friends. I was the sole survivor of the attack.”

“Hold on,” the crocodile said.

The crocodile swam quickly toward shore, leaped out of the water, and in a single motion, opened his mouth and swallowed the aardvark.

After gulping the aardvark down, the crocodile said, “Not bad. A little dry.”

“Wow,” the ant said. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Revenge is sweet. But not as sweet as sugar cubes. There’s another human camp up ahead. Let’s go get some more cubes.”

“Good idea. I could go for some dessert.”

Such is the way of the wild.

— Jude The Animal Expert Dude

Happy Monday. Thanks for reading and responding. You make it fun.

Mark

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