It was a great day in the colony. All the ants were scurrying about, being busy as ever, and preparing for hibernation. Everywhere, the ants were gathering food, digging more tunnels, and tending to the Queen Ant and her eggs. Hibernation was a serious matter, because a lot of the time, many ants didn’t survive through the winter.
The colony existed beneath the sidewalk of a home with two children, who enjoyed observing the ants in action. They would stand over the ant hill for hours, just watching, until their mother called them inside.
Today, the children had just received a magnifying glass from their grandfather. They were ecstatic to try it out on the ants. The boys ran outside to the sidewalk, and placed the magnifying class directly over the hill. On today of all days, the sun was beaming brightly, and the temperature was rising by the minute.
The dirt started smoking, which was the first warning sign to the colony. The ants began scattering in panic. The air kept getting hotter and hotter, until finally, the colony just busted into smoke. Ants were dropping by the dozen. Some tried to escape, but the fire had caused the boys to panic as well, and they were stomping all over.
Called by their mother, the boys went inside. There was hope for the colony. The ants who survived continued on with their day, ignoring the casualties of their lost brethren.