Earthworms on strike!

Earthworms are invertebrates (without a backbone) and are called “Annelids” because of the little rings found on their body. These worms have bodies that are segmented- and this gives the ring-like appearance. Earthworms create tunnels in the soil by burrowing, thus allowing water and air to reach the deeper parts of the soil.

Earthworms eat the soil along with the dead and decaying matter present in it, like dead leaves. This matter is digested and excreted by the worms, which becomes “humus” or manure for the plants. These excreta are called “castings”. There is a common myth that if an earthworm is cut into two, both parts become two separate earthworms. But this is false. Only the part with the head of the earthworm survives, and it can reproduce only if it is cut behind the 18th segment.

“I won’t wear that dress!” said the little Princess, turning her nose up high in the air. “But Princess, this is a beautiful dress. Besides, it is made of the purest silk, and the most expensive one in the kingdom”, said the maid, who was in charge of the Princess. “I don’t care. It has a smudge on it, and now the entire dress is spoilt. I can’t wear it”, said the Princess unfeelingly. The “smudge” was nothing more than a speck that was tinier than the head of a pin.

“But Princess, that is not a smudge; that is a natural mark that appears when a cloth is woven. And it’s too tiny to be seen at all”, said the maid, trying to appease her. “I want everything to be perfect and beautiful! Throw this dress out and tell the dressmakers to get me another one exactly like this but without the mark”, screamed the Princess in fury, and threw aside the dress.

The maid hurried to inform the king of Princess Surya’s new tantrum. On her way, she wondered if the selfish Princess would one day bring about the doom of their rich and happy kingdom. Surya was the princess of a beautiful kingdom in the north, bordering the sea, bountiful in every way. The people in the kingdom were mainly farmers, and the rest were artisans or tradesmen, and some were scholars. Every citizen was content and suffered no want.

Nature had been especially kind to their land, blessing it with fertile soil and regular monsoons. Everyone was happy, especially as the land was ruled by a just King assisted by his wise minister. But the King had a weakness- his only daughter, Princess Surya. He loved her dearly, and pandered to every wish of hers. He ensured that everything in the palace and its surroundings were as perfect and beautiful as his lovely daughter- which made Surya intolerant of anything that did not meet her standards of beauty.

All his efforts to be strict with his daughter were in vain. And now when the maid reached him with news of Surya’s latest demands, he smiled indulgently and ordered that a new dress be made for Surya. “However, to make up for the trouble”, he added, “Pay the dressmakers double their usual fee.” He felt that was a just enough remedy for his daughter’s behaviour.

The wise Minister heard all this, and was worried. He knew that the Princess would soon be a young woman, and she would then have to take on some of the responsibilities of ruling the kingdom. If she continued her selfish, intolerant behaviour, the people would suffer! He tried counselling the king several times, but to no avail. “She’s only a kid”, he would say, “She’ll learn!” However, when exactly Surya would ‘learn’ was unclear, as she carried on the same way as before.

One day, Surya and her friends, along with some maids, set out for a picnic in the fields. After playing on the swings for a while, they sat down to rest on the grass while the maids laid out the food. Surya was looking around her, admiring the surroundings when her eyes fell on something brownish pink and long, that was wriggling in the ground.

She went closer to have a look, and she found there wasn’t just one but several of those strange creatures that were making holes in the ground and dragging themselves around in the soil. They were in fact, earthworms. But Surya had never seen an earthworm before, so she cried out to her maids, “What are these ungainly things here in the soil? They don’t have hands or feet!”

“They are earthworms, your Highness”, replied a maid, “they are usually found in the soil.” “Yuck! How ugly they look! These things don’t even have eyes”, exclaimed Surya. “Such ugly things should not be here in my beautiful kingdom!”

“Your Highness, please don’t say so!” said a horrified maid, “These earthworms are the reason for our kingdom’s prosperity.

They help the farmers by digging deep into the soil, thus aerating it and making farming easy. Our fruits, vegetables and grains are all of the best quality because these earthworms make the soil rich with their castings!” “I don’t care what they do. They’re too ugly to be here. I henceforth banish all earthworms from the kingdom!” said Surya. Another maid interrupted and said, “You are still a princess; you cannot banish anyone from the kingdom. Only the King—”

Before she could complete her sentence, there came a voice from below them. “It doesn’t matter who has spoken thus; but it is a huge insult to us hard-working creatures.” Surprised, everyone looked down to see where the voice was coming from. It was one of the earthworms! All the other earthworms had come there too, and stayed quietly behind their leader. “Even if the king does not banish us, we shall stop working this moment onwards.

We are on strike till this proud princess apologises to us!” Saying thus, all the earthworms disappeared deep into the ground. The news reached the King, who realised that this was a grave situation. He tried convincing Surya to apologise, but she refused. Despite the wise minister’s repeated entreaties, the earthworms stayed underground. Very soon, the ground became hard and difficult to till. Plants started dying and the rest looked unhealthy and hardly gave any produce.

To add to the woe, summer came upon the land, and the intense heat killed whatever was left of all crops. Before long, the granary was empty and there was no food in the royal kitchen. “I am hungry!” wailed Surya. “Give me something to eat, please!” “Nobody in the land has anything to eat, thanks to you Surya”, said the King sadly.

“It is time you realise that beauty is not everything; every creature has been made a certain way to fulfil a certain role in nature. We may think that ugly creatures are of no use, but the truth is that, beauty is no substitute for skill, talent and hard work.” Surya now understood what her father meant.

She ran outside to the fields, and called out to the earthworms, apologising for her mistake. It wasn’t long before the earthworms came up, and forgave her, and called off their strike. And the kingdom went back to being a prosperous one again, with a wiser Princess to rule!

By:Sneha Verghese