Aesop fable

The Ant and the Dove

A short fable about how the Dove helped the Ant, and the Ant later helped the Dove.

An Ant went down to a stream because he wanted to drink. A wave washed over him and almost drowned him.

An ant is carried by a wave in a stream

A Dove was carrying a twig. She saw that the Ant was drowning and dropped the twig into the stream.

A dove drops a twig to a drowning ant

The Ant climbed onto the twig and was saved.

Later, a hunter set a net for the Dove and was about to pull it shut.

A hunter sets a net for a dove

The Ant crawled up to the hunter and bit him on the foot.

The ant bites the hunter on the foot

The hunter cried out and dropped the net. The Dove flew up and escaped.

The dove flies away from the fallen net