Jay was close to tears. He had been jobless for the past two months. Used to a life of comfort and credit cards, he was devastated when his company closed down. As he still had a lot of outstanding bills, the creditors pounded on his door.
x( "When will you pay up?" a fierce-looking man demanded to know.
:( "I will pay up, I promise. Give me another month to get a job," Jay pleaded.
"We have waited for 45 days and have not received a single cent from you. My question is, 'When will you pay up?'"
"Aah ... aahh," Jay stammered as he prayed that the lucky draw tickets he had would win some cash prizes.
The stern man gave him another 30 days to make his payment. Jay cried when the man left. As he was wiping his tears away, he spotted an ant carrying a biscuit crumb. The crumb was more than ten times its size. Yet the ant struggled to carry it up the leg of the dining table. After it had managed to climb a few centimetres, the load fell onto the ground. The ant crawled down the leg of the table to retrieve it. It struggled up one more time and again the load fell. This scenario repeated itself thrice.
Yet the ant did not give up hope. It tried again. This time it made it halfway up the length of the table leg before falling. For a while, Jay forgot his worries and watched the ant intently. The ant retrieved the crumb and climbed up the table leg once more. It climbed higher and higher and was very near the top of the table when it stopped. Jay wondered why.
He realised that the fan was blowing directly in its direction. He was sure the crumb and ant would fall. As the ant tried to make a dash for the table top, his load flew into the air and landed on the floor. To his amazement, the ant crawled down the table with the same speed as before and retrieved the crumb. Jay had simply given up and moped when confronted with problems but the ant just kept on struggling. The ant crawled up the table leg again. On nearing the top, it stopped again.
"I think you are going to have another fall," Jay told the ant. "Come, let me help you."
Just then the ant crawled along the underside of the table. It emerged at another corner of the table where there was no wind.
"The ant is smarter than me."
Jay had learnt a lesson. The ant had taught him that he could succeed too if he had patience and perseverance. He also noticed that with each failure, the ant became stronger and wiser. That was how he should face life challenges. They should make him stronger, wiser and more patient. He took a bath after that and prayed to God to help him through this difficult period. He wanted to be like the ant which never gave up hope despite many failures.
