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Ant Andy had finally grown big enough to become a worker ant and was ready to go hunting for food.
Autumn came. The ant colonies went out in search of food to prepare for the winter.
Ant Andy was part of the team responsible for foraging today. He was a young ant who had recently signed up for the worker ant team on this mission. Andy was super excited. He couldn’t wait to contribute to the ant colony.
The ants began marching out on their quest, with Andy tagging along, curious about the world. As he followed the other ants along the trail, he caught a scent that piqued his interest.
“I can’t wait to find out what that sweet smell is! Maybe I can bring it back to the colony!” he thought to himself. He was so caught up in the scent that he didn’t even realize how far he had wandered from the others.
He followed the scent all the way to a large elderflower bush. The flowers on the elderflower bush smelled so wonderful, and Andy was so fascinated by the big, fragrant bush that he spent the whole day buzzing around, smelling the many flowers.
After some time, Andy grew hungry. He realized it was getting late, so he decided to head home.
As he approached the ant colony, he cheerfully greeted the ant guards: “I’m back!”
But the guards didn’t greet Andy. Instead, they seemed displeased and stared at him suspiciously.
Andy continued into the nest, but suddenly the two guards ran after him, followed by a swarm of other ants.
Andy was terrified and shouted, “I’m Andy, the little ant!”
But they didn’t care.
He had no choice but to flee from the ant colony. Andy stood by the riverbank, sobbing. “Is everyone mad at me because I didn’t help hunt for food today?” he wondered.
Suddenly, the kind butterfly Molly flew by and noticed Andy crying by the river. She flew over to check on him and asked if he needed help.
“I was playing outside today, and when I came back, my friends were angry and chased me away. I can’t go home again,” cried Andy.
Butterfly Molly quickly comforted him: “Andy, don’t worry. Can you tell me where you were earlier, before you came back?”
After realizing that Andy had been by the bush all day, she understood what had gone wrong.
“Andy, the ant colony is huge. Every ant has the same special scent that allows the colony to recognize them. If you lose that scent or smell different, they can’t recognize you as part of their family,” Molly explained.
“I’m covered in the scent of elderflowers and no longer smell like the colony. Now no one knows who I am,” Andy realized.
He lowered his head. “How do I get home?”
“Come down into the river and take a bath!” said a fish who had overheard the whole conversation.
“That’ll wash away the elderflower scent,” the fish continued.
Andy thought it was a great idea and jumped into the river to take a quick bath. When he came out, the elderflower scent had completely disappeared.
He went home again, and this time, he was welcomed by the ant guards and the colony.
From that day on, Andy carefully followed all the other ants and worked hard to collect food.
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