Miracle Ant
I have a little brother, George,
who's not been very well.
His hair fell out at first
And he's tired all the time
George wants a puppy for Christmas
But Dad say he's too poorly
And that a dog is for life
Not just for Christmas
My brother might be in heaven
Before the dog is even one
I said I'd take care of it afterwards
But Daddy shook his head
I sat by myself in the garden
And spotted a little ant
He spotted me too
And ran onto the end of my finger
I had an idea
and took my new friend inside
I made him a tiny lead
Out of purple cotton
At the hospital that night
When Mum and Dad went for coffee
I gave George a tiny box
And told him to be careful
He opened it and saw the ant
"It's a puppy," I whispered,
“with a purple lead."
My brother grinned
I put the ant on the bed
And taught George how to walk him
Across the giant hills
Of his Batman duvet cover
"He’s the smallest puppy
in the whole wide world," I told him.
"Cool!" he said
and hid him in his box
Mum and Dad were shocked
Next time we went to see George
He was out of bed, standing up
Walking his puppy with the nurses
The doctor had a quiet word
With Mum and Dad in the corner
They stared at me
Then all three of them smiled
George got better and better
The doctor said it was a miracle
Then something really sad happened
George's puppy died
Dad told me all about ants
That they don’t live very long
"Just like George," I said.
"Not anymore," Dad smiled.
George was going to be OK
Everyone said it was the magic ant
"You mean the puppy!" I told them
"The tiniest puppy in the world!" George said
At home me and George buried him
We made his purple lead
Into a heart shape
And put it on top his grave
Then Dad called us into the house
To give us a special surprise
"A puppy!" I yelled
But George went very serious
"That's not a puppy," he said,
"it's an ant, silly.
The biggest ant in the world!"
We both burst out laughing
Our little puppy began to bark
and chased us outside
past the daffodils
and into the garden
©2010 Mark C Bird
