ANThology 3 Quest for a Queen

About the Book

Leap of Faith It was late morning, the birds were singing and all but a few were still asleep. The colony had worked as hard as they played and the late night fun had taken its toll on everyone. The events of the day before were a huge success, with games and pageantry, along a few surprises thrown in. Digger, Luna and Cocoa had slept outside near the ponds and were joined by Amy, Austin, Ricky and Chord, who were the first of early risers. The cricket was very impressed by the ants. They were everything the rabbit had said they were. He was intrigued by their creative nature and fascinated with their determination. “I’d never been to a party like yours, until last night. I played so hard, and had so much fun, my legs are a little sore this morning,” Chord admitted. “We’ve never had a party like that before, but I know what you mean. With all the running and dancing, my legs are tired too,” Ricky replied. “I may be the only one who’s not exhausted. I guess it’s because I didn’t have a dance partner, but my throat is a little dry from all my whistling,” the rabbit shared. “Digger told me you guys are looking for your queen,” Chord said. “We were, but we’ve got one now,” Amy teased. “What do you need a queen for? You’ve already got everything you could possibly want.” “This might sound strange to you, but it’s the queen who needs us,” Austin answered. “Nothing is strange to me anymore, not after yesterday. I hadn’t considered the queen needing you, but I see your point.” “We have a lot of knowledge to share, which would improve her colonies quality of life and possibly insure their survival. Every colony should have a queen and it’s the one thing we don’t have,” Austin explained. “I’ve seen ants along the creek and near the woods, several times, but I don’t know where they come from,” Chord admitted. “They’ve crossed the meadow through my mushroom patch, too. I think the colony is somewhere along the fence line,” Digger added. “I appreciate all the information. We haven’t decided when we’ll resume our search, but I’m sure it will be in the very near future,” Austin shared. The friends departed for home a short time later, before everyone else woke up. Life in the colony had changed forever. The city was as complete as it could be and the timetable of future projects was virtually nonexistent. They were proud of all they had accomplished in such a short time but now the challenge was missing for some of the educated ants. It wasn’t that they were unhappy, for life had been good, but their desire had always been to find their queen. Having time on their hands gave them more thoughts about reaching that goal. They knew they had to resume their quest for a queen. They could feel the desire in their heart and soon, it would be time to leave again. The original nine ants met with Adam and James, in a private meeting away from the colony. It was their quest and they couldn’t expect the rest of the colony to participate, since they hadn’t missed having a queen and done quite well. This was personal and dear to their hearts. James would have to run the colony in their absence. Agnes was adamant about staying behind. She had experienced enough excitement for a lifetime just in reaching the barn and had no desire for the drama of a quest. She had everything she needed and wanted nothing more. Louise was still fulfilling her dream as a seamstress and there was definitely a need for her services. She wanted to go, but her heart was in her work. Christian wanted to stay where the food was. He didn’t want to worry about his next meal. Besides, he couldn’t think when he was hungry. Adam, on the other hand, wanted to go. He’d never been on a real adventure before and wanted to live it for himself, rather than hear the stories told through someone else. He begged his dad to let him go and James agreed, knowing

About the Author

James, a retired Pacific Northwest fiction author, lives with his wife Shellie on Harstine Island along the shores of Puget Sound. He had always fascinated about the busy life of ants as a child and began his storytelling with family and friends in the seventies, after a tour of duty in Viet Nam in 1968. The first book wasn’t written until the mid nineties and grew to an ANThology of eight books. This delightful story is an enjoyable tale of survival and conquest appreciated by young and old alike.