Imprisoned in the anthill

The ants were very glad when those people left but Viorica felt that something strange was happening to her: the girl could not stop thinking of the bold young man. She could not fall asleep anymore and day by day she had to imagine various excuses just to find something to do outside the palace: repair something that was damaged by the humans or go deep in the forest to pick up mushrooms or various plants… deep inside Viorica hoped the handsome young man would come back.

When she could not resist any more she told her subjects she had to go visit her mother’s tomb. They agreed but took the secret decision to follow their queen and see where she would actually go because they feared not to lose her. Viorica didn't have a clue of this and went back to her village and then to the burial ground where her mother had been buried years ago. She hoped to find there peace and answers to her disquiet. She could not find the tomb any longer – it had been covered in weeds – but she came across somebody unexpected: the handsome man she could not forget. He grasped Viorica strongly and spoke about his great love for her. She told him she had to go – she did not forget she was a queen and had some duties – but promised to meet him in the forest the next day.

At night, back in the palace Viorica again could not fall asleep. She tossed and twisted all night long and from time to time she could hear some strange noises coming from all over the building. In the morning she could not believe her eyes: the ants had sealed all the entrances in the castle. She screamed she wanted to go out but the ants replied they would not let her go out again because they knew they would lose her. The little bugs kept raising their palace higher and higher, making it look like a huge labyrinth so Viorica could never run away.

This is the story of Furnica peak and that was how the mountain was raised – it is even higher than Varful cu Dor because the ants kept working at it for years and years… and maybe they are still working today.

Author: Irina Petre

Photo: Aleksander Dragnes

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

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