May 30. Story of the Day: The Little Ant That Went to Jerusalem

Today's story is an item in old booklet by George Alexander Kohut: Some Passover rhymes and their parallels. This is Kohut's English translation of the French nursery rhyme known as La petite fourmi qui allait à Jérusalem; for the French original, see the bottom of the page. I also found a YouTube video with the French story.

This is an example of ATU 2031. Stronger and Strongest. To get a sense of the variety of stories included in this type, see the Korean story, A Bridegroom for Miss Mole.

Want more? Click here for previous Stories-of-the-Day.

THE LITTLE ANT THAT WENT TO JERUSALEM

(book cover by Pierre Denieuil)

There was once a little ant that went to Jerusalem. She met the snow, and the snow froze off the paw of the little ant that went to Jerusalem. 

Oh! snow, how strong you are, you who freeze off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the snow answered: Much stronger is the sun that melts me. 

Oh! sun, how strong you are, you who melt the snow that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the sun answered: Much stronger is the cloud that hides me. 

Oh! cloud, how strong you are, you who hide the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the cloud answered: Much stronger is the wind that drives me away. 

Oh! wind, how strong you are, you who drive away the cloud that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the wind answered: Much stronger is the mountain that stops me. 

Oh! mountain, how strong you are, you who stop the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the mountain answered: Much stronger is the mouse that pierces me. 

Oh! mouse, how strong you are, you who pierce the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the mouse answered: Much stronger is the cat that eats me. 

Oh! cat, how strong you are, you who eat the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the cat answered: Much stronger is the dog that frightens me. 

Oh! dog, how strong you are, you who frighten the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the dog answered: Much stronger is the stick that strikes me. 

Oh! stick, how strong you are, you who strike the dog. that frightens the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the stick answered: Much stronger is the fire that burns me. 

Oh! fire, how strong you are, you who burn the stick, that strikes the dog, that frightens the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the fire answered: Much stronger is the water that quenches me. 

Oh! water, how strong you are, you who quench the fire, that burns the stick, that strikes the dog, that frightens the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the water answered: Much stronger is the cow that drinks me. 

Oh! cow, how strong you are, you who drink the water, that quenches the fire, that burns the stick, that strikes the dog, that frightens the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the cow answered: Much stronger is the man that kills me. 

Oh! man, how strong you are, you who kill the cow, that drinks the water, that quenches the fire, that burns the stick, that strikes the dog, that frightens the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem. 

And the man answered: Much stronger still is God, who created the man, that kills the cow, that drinks the water, that quenches the fire, that burns the stick, that strikes the dog, that frightens the cat, that eats the mouse, that pierces the mountain, that stops the wind, that drives away the cloud, that hides the sun, that melts the snow, that freezes off the paw of the little ant that goes to Jerusalem.

~   ~  ~

You can see a French-English interlinear version of the nursery rhyme here: Hachette's illustrated French primer.

With a video from Anna Urbani:

CHAIN: snow - sun - cloud - wind - mountain - mouse - cat - dog - stick - fire - water - cow - man - God