Topic > The Once and Future King: "The Ants" Summary

Despite protests, Wart is confined to his room for three days straight as treatment for his broken collarbone. The only company Wart would ever have was at night, when Kay came to visit him. Merlin would teach Wart some lessons by shouting at her through the keyhole. The only entertainment Wart could have in the room was watching the ants in the anthills between the panes of glass in Merlin's old cottage in the forest. The Wart asks Merlin if he can turn him into something through the keyhole, but Merlin announces that he is unable to do so. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Wart then asks Merlyn if he can turn him into an ant, to which he replies that it would be dangerous at this point. Merlin tells him that ants are dangerous and warlike. He says that this lesson is too early to occur in Wart's education, but decides that it will since Wart will have to learn it at some point. Merlin then tells Wart to take part of the floor and make a bridge by placing the part between the two ant nests. Then you notice yourself in a place seemingly full of boulders, just like a fortress. There were two tunnels that had a sign that said "EVERYTHING NOT PROHIBITED IS MANDATORY". The Wart reads this warning and doesn't like it, so it begins to shrink to the size of an ant. He starts waving his antennas and can hear something similar to a wireless transmission. The broadcast seems to repeat a rhythm over and over, mostly with the sounds June, Mammy, Ever, Blue and Love. At first the Wart likes these repeated sounds, but after an hour the sounds start to make him feel sick inside. The Wart then hears the higher-ranking ants announcing directions as to where the age-numbered ants should go. He then walks along some paths and finds two dead ants in a cavity. Dead ants do not appear to show happiness or sadness over their deaths. A live ant then walks along the path with the corpse of another ant and says "Hail!" to the wart. The Wart observes the confused wandering and unusual movement patterns of the ants. He also realizes that he cannot ask as many questions of the ants as in the human world; can only define something as Done or Not Done. The living ant then says "Hail!" back to the Wart and asks him what he's doing, to which he honestly replies that he's not doing anything. Surprised by his response, the ant speaks to his antennae and announces that Wart is crazy. The broadcast tells the ant to ask for Wart's number and her personal account, but she loses comfort in answering these questions. Instead, Wart used sarcasm in his response by saying he fell on his head and is unable to remember any of his personal information. The ant and the transmission accept this response and tell him to leave. The Wart heads in the opposite direction and remembers its number like an ant. He joins the team of ants and begins eating the harvest with them. He realizes, however, that the food he is eating does not go directly to the stomach but rather to the private parts and upper part of the stomach, where the food could be removed. The Wart then hears the team of ants conversing with each other and likes the sound. Two ants discuss the monotonous rhythm coming from the antennas and enjoy the sound. They also discuss the size of their ant leader, a female. They mention his brave actions in the previous war and the prize he won. They then realize how fortunate they are to live in nest "A" rather than nest "B". One of the ants.