Tales of Old Lusitania/The Ant and the Snow

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Tales of Old Lusitania
by Francisco Adolfo Coelho, translated by Henriqueta Monteiro

The Ant and the Snow

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Apparently a couple pages of this tale were omitted at the printers. After several more encounters the story concludes:
"Oh, butcher! you are so strong that you kill the ox, that drinks the water, that puts out the fire, that burns the stick, that beats the dog, that bites the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the wall, that blocks the sun, that melts the snow, that clogs my feet."
The butcher replies: "I may be strong but death takes me away."

2501656Tales of Old Lusitania — The Ant and the SnowHenriqueta MonteiroFrancisco Adolfo Coelho

THE ANT AND THE SNOW.

One cold winter's day, when the ground was covered with snow, a poor little ant went out of her house to seek for food. Before she had taken many steps, her little feet became clogged in the snow, and after trying hard to extricate herself, she cried: "Oh, snow, you must be strong to clog my little feet so."

To this the snow replied: "I may be strong, but the sun can melt me."

"Oh, sun," she then said, "you must be strong to melt the snow that clogs my little feet."

The sun replied: "I may be strong, but the wall keeps me from shining on the snow."

"Oh, wall, you must be strong to keep the sun from melting the snow that clogs my little feet."

The wall replied: "I may be strong, but a rat can scratch a hole through me."

"Oh, rat, you must be strong to scratch a hole through the wall that keeps the sun from melting the snow that clogs my little feet."

The rat replied: "I may be strong, but the cat can eat me up."