Attack of the Ants!

Yesterday, I read a story from my World Literature book. The story was Leiningen Versus the Ants, by Carl Stephenson. This story was a very interesting one about a plantation owner in Brazil, who stood up against an army of ants by using his intelligence. Even though he was pretty intelligent, he and his four hundred peons barely survived the millions of ants seeking to destroy everything in their path. In Leiningen’s first attempt to defeat the ants, he built a sort of “moat” around his plantation and filled it with water from a river nearby. Then he built an “inner moat” which was a smaller ditch lined with concrete, and he emptied into this the inflow pipes from three petrol tanks. Leiningen was sure that even if somehow the ants managed to cross the first ditch, they couldn’t get through the second. They did however, but before they reached the plantation house and barn, Leiningen made a final attempt to obliterate the ants by flooding the entire plantation with the river. Since the house and barn were on high ground, they would be saved. So Leiningen made the dash to the dam, being bitten by ants as he ran. By the time he reached the dam and had fulfilled his mission, the ants covered his body head to toe. As he stumbled his way back to his men, he lost his footing and fell, not having any strength to get up again. His peons reached him and “tore off the ants from a body that seemed almost an open wound”. The men carried their master into the house and informed him that his plan had worked, that the ants were defeated. Leiningen smiled as the nurse applied the medicines, and murmured, “I told you I’d come back, even if I am a bit streamlined”. He then slept peacefully.

This story was quite interesting and I must say I was captivated to the end. I can’t imagine what I’d feel like to know that millions of ants were coming my way, with the single intent to annihilate. Especially being covered in ants! Ick…