Ant Goes To School

By Deborah Layton

“I’m going to get my water bottle Mum.” She drops something on the ground, and runs into the house.

What is this? It's so pretty, like the flowers I walk by every day.

I slowly walk up onto the pretty thing. I sit and watch my friends walking around me.Our other friends flying overhead. The birds,the bees, the butterflies, and, yes, even those pesky flies.

Suddenly, I am in the air, as the girl carries the pretty thing over her shoulder. “Hurry baby, or we’ll be late.”

Baby replies. “I’m here Mum, just tying my seat belt”, as she puts the pretty thing beside her.

We are in the box.  I see so many of these boxes that move.

“There are so many cars on the road!” Mum says.

That’s what it is…..a CAR

My eyes darted all over. There is so much to see. More cars,so many people, white puffy things in the sky, and that sound coming from in the car.

What is that?

Baby is saying things that I can hear that match the sounds in the car.

“Good singing Baby. Do you like music?”

That’s what it is…..MUSIC.

I sit quietly on the pretty thing, so glad to be there.

“Bye Mum, love you.”

“Bye Baby, have a good day. Don’t forget your back pack.”

Baby grabs the pretty thing, and puts it over her shoulder.

That’s what it is ……a BACKPACK.

She climbs the stairs to the big building.I know it is a building because the birds told us that they sit on the buildings.

I hear some sounds, and children shouting….

“The bell is ringing!”

That’s what it is ….a BELL.

Baby puts her backpack down. So many babies. So many backpacks. I watch everything.

“Welcome to day four of school” A Mum says to the babies.

That’s where we are …..SCHOOL.

“Mum” asks the babies to draw a picture of something they saw on their way to school.

Baby draws me…..ANT.

A B C D E, so many of these all over the walls.

Baby copies them onto a piece of paper.

She uses colours like the flowers, to colour her picture.

  “Time for lunch children”, the “Mum” says.

That’s who they are ……CHILDREN!

Baby comes to get her back pack.  She doesn’t even notice me.

She takes out a box with bread in it. I know it’s bread, because I often eat the crumbs.

“Time to go out to play!” “Mum” says.

“Yes Teacher”.

That’s who that is…….TEACHER!

Silence!

They are all gone. I’m still here, sitting on the back pack, watching the children outside.

“Time to come back inside children”.

“Put your crayons in your back pack Hope”.

That’s who that is …….HOPE, not Baby!

The bell rings. The children shout cheers of joy.

“Goodbye Teacher!”

“Goodbye Children!”

Hope grabs her back pack, and runs to where Mum is waiting in the car.

I walk off the back pack on to Hope’s shirt, down her arm.

She tries to brush me off without looking at me.

I walk onto her pants, down her legs. I jump onto her shoe, and wait.

As Hope gets out of the car, I am able to jump from her shoe onto the ground.

I join my family and friends, who ask where I have been the whole day.

“I went to school!” I say, bursting with excitement.

I can’t wait to tell them of my adventures.

Everything I saw, everything I learned.

They won’t believe it. I’m the ant that went to school!

By Deborah Layton