Night of the Little Men
The scholar awoke in the middle of the night to a stinging pain all over his body. When he tried to sit up, he found that something was holding him down against his bed. The stinging got worse each time he wriggled or tried to sit. He lifted his head and looked down at his body. The full moon shone through the small window of his room and illuminated the tiny wires wrapping his body. The little men were back. They had visited him the night before. When they proved to be rude little pests, he tried to smoke them out with a fire. Apparently, this had not wiped them out as he’d hoped. They must have restrained him while he was sleeping and now held the wires in place from each side of the bed. There were hundreds of them. The wire cut into his skin leaving red marks.
The king of the ant men screamed out, “We’ve got him now!” and raised his toothpick of a sword into the air. He proceeded to order his men to light a fire under the scholar’s bed. The scholar struggled against the wire again, thinking how ridiculous it was that he might die here by the hands of these minuscule beings. The fire started slowly, but the men kept adding bits of paper and wood chips, and it began to grow. The scholar could see the brightening glow coming from under his bed and heard the crackle of the fire. He knew it would take a while for them to build a fire big enough to harm him, but once it reached his wooden bed frame, it would be all over.
“How does it feel? A taste of your own medicine huh! Ooh it’s getting higher! Can you feel it yet? I sure hope so!” the little man yelled out in his whining high-pitched voice. He collapsed in a fit of laughter and his kingdom of tiny people joined him. A symphony of shrieking laughter. The army began to shoot arrows at the scholar. They were splinters pricking the skin of his arms, neck, and face. However, this was simply an annoyance. The fire would be a real issue soon and the scholar was beginning to sweat.
“My dear king, please stop! I apologize for my previous actions. I was simply afraid of your greatness. I wish to swear my allegiance to you,” the scholar exclaimed.
“Oh, I bet you do now!” the king said with a triumphant grin. He puffed out the chest of his two-inch-tall body.
“Truly! You’ve demonstrated that you are a powerful leader over incredible people. I wish to be one of you. Imagine what I could do with my size to help you! I could squash your enemies with ease.”
The king seemed to think for a moment. He quietly called over one of his advisors and then another. They whispered amongst themselves, glancing over at the giant human every now and then. When they finally reached a consensus, the king declared, “Fine! You shall be my servant. Swear your fealty to me immediately.” The scholar did just as he was commanded, repeating a few sentences that one of the king’s knights shouted into his ear. The king ordered his men to release him. The scholar’s first royal task would be to put out the blaze under his bed. He was all too happy to obey the order and quickly went to fetch a pail of water. When he returned, the tiny men were gone.
After that night, the king rarely called on the man’s help. Occasionally, the scholar would be asked to join in battle with them. He successfully stomped each of the enemies to bits. This was an incredible chance for him to observe and study this odd group. They continued on in peace for years later until the scholar moved to another home. Though they were annoying pests, he had a soft spot in his heart for them. He chuckled at the thought of what the next owner might face when the little men came to visit again.
Author's Note: In the original story, a scholar moves into a "haunted home" to discover that it’s infested with little men the size of ants. They appear at night and hold hunts in the house. The king of the ant men insults the scholar. This angers him and he tries to squash them with a book. When they leave, he follows them and sets a fire to smoke them out. I really liked the idea of this story, and felt like I could extend it into something even better. I was sad that the scholar tried to kill the men. I thought that he would’ve enjoyed studying them. He’s a scholar after all. So, in my story, the little men survive the fire and come back with a vengeance. I tried to keep the characters the same. I think in the original story, the men might have actually been ants, but I’m not sure. I made the king of the ants a little more childish and mouthy, but I thought it added to his character and made the story more interesting. I thought it would be fun if the two could live together in harmony. The little men would be like the scholar’s pets and he would be their greatest weapon.
Bibliography: "The King of the Ants" from The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens, link to the reading online.
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