One day, an ant scurried around in desperation, looking for some water. It was dying of thirst when a drop of water landed near its mouth, which saved it from dying. It was a tear actually, containing all the virtues that flow out of suffering, and the ant realized that it was now able to understand and speak the human language!

Visiting a grain store one day, the ant found a little girl, sitting on the floor and crying. When the ant asked her why she was crying, the little girl said that she had been imprisoned by an ogre. He had told her to make three heaps of grain, rye, and barley out of huge mounds of seeds all mixed together. The ant said: ‘But that will take at least one month.’ In between tears, the girl said: ‘If I do not finish by tomorrow, the ogre will make mincemeat of me and eat me for supper!’

The ant cheered her up. He fetched all his friends. They set to work. By the next morning, the ogre found the three mounds he had wanted! So, it was actually a tear that came to the rescue of a little girl!