There was a boy who loved stories. Not just any kind of stories, but those he made himself. He could get inspired by anything and nothing in particular. But most of all he loved making up stories about animals, birds, small buzzing insects.

At this very moment he was obsessed with insects. Ants, to be precise. He loved sitting outside his house and looking as those little workers going on their ants’ errands. He imagined how their days went on, what they were doing, how they were communicating with each other.

He was not a stupid little boy, no! He was six! And he could read and write! So he knew that ants can carry 20 times their own body weight. That’s like lifting a car! He knew that they bring leaves, crumbs and dead insects back to the colony to eat. He knew that an ant colony has several tunnels and many rooms. And it really fascinated him how such a construction can be a home where no one gets lost and knows their way around.

But once a terrible thing happened. Our boy got caught in the rain and the next morning he was lying in his bed very feverish and sick. He was not eating well or sleeping normally. Everyone was worried.

One night was particularly bad. He had a nightmare! Our boy was dreaming that he got captured by an ant colony! Oh boy! He was so scared! He thought that his stories came true and he was living in one of them. Can you imagine that?

He dreamed that he was taken to the Queen herself! Even though he was a boy, she put him in a team of female ants or workers as they are called. He had to work hard, really really hard. His main responsibilities became taking out the colony’s trash, foraging for food and supplies, and sometimes even defending the nest. And don’t forget, he was still a boy. A very small boy, a shrank one, but still a boy. He had no idea how much time was spent there. But as the time was passing, he was getting better at his job, he learned many new and interesting facts. He even became an honorary citizen of the colony! And that was fantastic!