Benjamin lay flat on his belly in the grass with his hands propping up his head and looked and looked and looked. There in front of him was an ant hill! Long lines of ants streamed in and out. They never stopped. Several ants were carrying things almost larger than they were. “How can they do that?” wondered Benjamin. “Why are they all coming and going? What’s inside the ant hill? What do they eat? Why are there so many of them? Do they eat grass?” Benjamin had many questions.
Just then his mother called. “Benjamin! Benjamin! Come on in. It’s time to eat.”
Benjamin slowly got up from the grass, and then he started to run to the house.
“Mother! Mother!” he shouted as he ran. “Mother! Mother!”
His mother came to the door. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no, Mother. You should see the ants. Come see the ants!”
“No, Benjamin. I haven’t time right now. Lunch is ready and then you have to get back to school. If you don’t move along, you’re going to be late.”
“But, Mother,” said Benjamin.
“No buts about it,” said Benjamin’s mother. “Now move!”
“Aw, mom,” said Benjamin, “you don’t know what you’re missing.”
That afternoon in school Benjamin looked out the window at the tree that brushed up against it. The tree had funny little seed pods hanging from it. They looked like polliwogs. He had seen them before. “They fly in the wind,” he thought to himself, “when they fall from the tree. They sort of whirl around. I wonder why they do that? Why are there so many of them? If they all grow up to be trees, there’ll be so many trees we won’t be able to walk in the yard. There’ll be a big wall of trees all around the school, and we won’t be able to get in or out. They’ll have to close the school, and then what will we do?”
“Benjamin! Benjamin!” said his teacher. “There you go again! Daydreaming! Now please pay attention.”
The next day was Saturday. Benjamin’s grandfather took him to the zoo.
“Ooh,” said Benjamin, “aah. Look at that bird!”
“Ooh,” said Grandfather, “aah. I like that! Isn’t it pretty!”
“Ooh,” said Benjamin, “aah. Look at the rhinoceros!”
“Ooh,” said Grandfather, “aah. I wonder why it has just one horn?”
“And why,” said Benjamin, “is it so heavy?”
“And why,” said Grandfather, “is it black? Why isn’t it green?”
“Or blue or red?” said Benjamin.
“Or polka dotted or striped? Or with wings or a helicopter’s whirling blades?” said Grandfather.
“Or with blond hair or big red ears or a long pointed nose?” said Benjamin.
“What fun!” said Grandfather. “Didn’t God make a wonderful world!”
“Yes, he did, Grandfather. Yes, he did. But why don’t grownups notice, Grandfather? Why are they always telling me to do something else? I like just to look.”
“Grownups are in a hurry, Benjamin. Only grandparents and children have time for the important things in life. Grownups are busy doing things they think are important, but they miss the most important thing of all. They miss seeing God!”
“Oh, Grampa, will I be that way when I grow up? Will I stop seeing all the wonderful things of God?”
“I don’t know, Benjamin. You will probably get in a hurry like other grownups. You will probably have lots to do and lots of worries. But I hope you’ll remember all the wonderful things you are seeing now, and will remember to stop once in a while and look at them.”
“I hope so too, Grampa. I hope so too.”
Warner White