THE LITTLE ANT AND THE GRAIN OF RICE
Once upon a time, in a quiet meadow, there lived a little ant named Anju. Anju was part of a busy colony that worked tirelessly all day long, gathering food and preparing for the winter months. The colony was small, but its ants were diligent and efficient. They carried tiny crumbs of food from all around, always working together in harmony.
One sunny afternoon, while Anju was exploring the meadow, she stumbled upon something extraordinary—an entire grain of rice lying on the ground. To an ant, a grain of rice was enormous! It was far bigger than anything Anju had ever encountered before, and she knew it would be a great prize for her colony.
But there was one problem: the grain of rice was far too heavy for her to carry all at once. Anju stood there, staring at the rice, wondering how she could move it back to her nest. She tried lifting it with all her might, but it was simply too much. For a moment, Anju felt discouraged. “This is impossible,” she thought. “How can one little ant move such a large grain?”
But then, a thought crossed her mind. “I may not be able to carry it all at once,” she mused, “but if I break it down into smaller pieces, maybe I can move it a little bit at a time.”
With renewed determination, Anju decided to try. She began by breaking off a small corner of the rice grain. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to carry. Slowly and steadily, Anju made her way back to the nest, where the other ants were working. They all noticed the tiny piece of rice in her mandibles and watched in wonder as she deposited it into the storage pile.
The next day, Anju returned to the grain of rice. This time, she broke off a slightly bigger piece. Again, she carefully made her way back to the nest, carrying the second piece. The other ants marvelled at her persistence, but some of them also questioned her. “Why not just give up? The grain is so large, and you are so small,” one ant asked. “Why waste your time carrying such a tiny piece each day?”
But Anju didn’t listen to the doubts. She simply smiled and replied, “It may take a little longer, but every small piece brings me closer to my goal. I’ll keep going, one step at a time.”
So, day after day, Anju continued her task. Every time she visited the grain of rice, she broke off a little more, carrying it piece by piece, always steady and unwavering in her purpose. Slowly but surely, the grain of rice grew smaller and smaller. Eventually, after several days of hard work, Anju had successfully transported the entire grain to the nest, one tiny piece at a time.
The other ants, who had watched Anju’s persistence, were amazed. They had expected her to give up long before she had moved the whole grain. But Anju’s perseverance had paid off. In the end, her colony had an entire grain of rice stored for the winter, thanks to the little ant who refused to quit.
As the ants gathered around to admire the rice, the colony’s leader approached Anju and praised her for her hard work. “You’ve taught us all an important lesson,” the leader said. “Sometimes, the tasks that seem impossible can be accomplished when you break them down and tackle them bit by bit. Even the largest challenges can be overcome with patience and persistence.”
Anju smiled humbly, proud of what she had accomplished. “It wasn’t about how big the task was,” she said. “It was about taking it one small step at a time.”
Moral :
No task is too big if you break it down and work on it bit by bit, day by day.
சின்ன எறும்பும் அரிசி தானியமும்
ஒரு காலத்தில், ஒரு அமைதியான புல்வெளியில் அஞ்சு என்ற ஒரு சிறிய எறும்பு வாழ்ந்தது. அஞ்சு தினமும் உழைத்து உணவு சேகரித்து, குளிர்காலத்திற்கு தயாராக இருந்தது. ஒரு நாள், அஞ்சு புல்வெளியை சுற்றி பார்வையிடும் போது, ஒரு அரிசி கண்ணுக்கு பட்டது. அது மிக பெரியதாக இருந்தது!
ஆனால் அந்த அரிசி மிகவும் கனமானது, அஞ்சுவுக்கு அதை ஏற்றுவது கடினம். அவள் ஒரு சில நொடிகள் சிந்தித்து, “நான் அதை முழுவதும் எடுத்து செல்ல முடியாது, ஆனால் சிறிய துண்டுகளாக பிரித்து எடுத்துப் போகலாமா?” என்ற நினைவு மண்டலத்தில் வந்தது.
அஞ்சு ஒவ்வொரு நாளும் அந்த அரிசி எடுத்து செல்ல முயற்சித்தாள், கடினமான பணியிலும், அவள் பொறுமை மற்றும் உறுதியுடன் சிறிய சிறிய துண்டுகளாக அதை எடுத்துச் சென்றாள். எறும்புகள் அவளது பணிவையும் உழைப்பையும் பாராட்டின.
கடைசியில், அஞ்சு அரிசி முழுவதையும் தனது தோட்டத்திற்கு எடுத்துச் சென்று, அந்த எறும்புகள் எல்லாம் அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்தனர். அந்த நாளில், குரு அஞ்சுவை பாராட்டி, “சிறிய செயல்களாக எடுக்கும் வேலைகள் பல நாட்களில் பெரிய வெற்றிக்கு வழிவகுக்கும்,” என்றார்.
அஞ்சு மகிழ்ச்சியுடன், “பணியில் முக்கியமானது அதன் அளவு அல்ல, ஒவ்வொரு சிறிய படியாகச் செய்யுவது தான்,” என்று கூறினாள்.
நீதி: கடினமான வேலைகளைச் சரியான முறையில் செய்தால் அவற்றை எளிதாக்கலாம்.
