Storytelling, Week 6: The Tragedy of Termites

          In the broad African veldt, thousands of creatures coexist to create the perfect balance of life. Herds of elephants and buffalos graze the plentiful foliage. Crowned cranes soar over the savanna catching each change of wind. A family of meerkats poke their heads out of their underground homes to feel the breeze lifting off the tall grass. Noble lions yawn under the sun among the pride lands. However, the veldt is also home to the most odd of animals. Under the treetops and, more specifically, under the tall grass walks massive colonies of strange legged creatures. Lets call these small bizarre creatures termites. These tiny bugs are disliked by nearly all members of the veldt and have many enemies. The termites have much more enemies than any other animal on the savanna. Each day, various animals consume colonies of termites. Birds from the sky swoop down and snatch up hundreds of termites, while snakes and meerkats attack the colonies from the ground. The fate of these termites seemed hopeless until the new queen termite had a solution.

          One day, the queen termite stood in front of her entire colony and suggested an idea. She told the termites that they shall have no predators no more and divided them into three groups. Each group went to establish their colony in a new habitat. The first group found refuge under a giant baobab tree. This colony climbed up the tree and made it their new home. They burrowed and ate the tree's bark for many weeks. As the colony grew large, the termites needed more food. Since the termites ate so much of the bark, holes began to form throughout the entire tree. Flocks of birds from the sky noticed this unusual site so they came down and consumed the colony within minutes.

          The second group of termites formed a colony within a nearby village. They entered homes and began their lives living in the walls. This colony grew even larger than the colony within the baobab tree. The colony was ecstatic that they found a permanent habitat. However, as predicted, man discovered the termites were living in their homes. These termites created such a nuisance that man decided to burn down their homes and rebuild from the ashes. So one day the homes caught fire and the entire colony perished. The queen termite was saddened when she heard the fate of both the baobab and village colonies.

          The final group of termites decided that they would not find refuge within a giant tree or a homestead. The queen informed them that they would build a massive fortress, one that cannot be destroyed by any being in the world. The colony worked days and nights collecting soil to build this magnificent fortress. Once it was finished, the fortress stood at nearly twelve feet tall. Each day, the termites left the fortress in pairs to find food and brought it back to their home. They lived in harmony for many months until one evening a creature almost as bizarre as the termites discovered their home. An aardvark burrowed under the termite mound until he dug a route directly into the fortress' core. Within hours, a majority of the colony was consumed.

          The termite queen grabbed many of the survivors and retreated into the veldt's tall grass. They were saddened that none of their colonies survived to live a long life like many of the animals around them. The queen came to the conclusion that they must constantly migrate and build mounds throughout the savanna to survive. The remaining termites separated and formed colonies of their own within giant fortresses. The life of a termite is a cursed tragedy.

African Termite Mound

Author's Note:

     I based this adaption off of the South African Folktale story, "The Lost Message." I immediately enjoyed the story after I read it. The original story shows how unfortunate the life of ants is. I thought it was interesting that a story focuses on how harsh and unrewarding it is to be an ant. Ants are described to have many predators and cannot find a solution to defend themselves against the larger creatures throughout the forest. I replaced the role of ants with colonies of termites to provide a deeper sense of the African setting.

South African Folk-Tales

"The Lost Message"

James Honey (1910)