Myrmidone the Caterpillar 1

The Kingdom of the Green Caterpillars was under constant threat from the gray locusts. War followed war and the casualties were big on both sides. The green caterpillars owned vast land with apple orchards, while the gray locusts ruled over the neighbouring quince and pear orchards.

There were more and more locusts year after year and their quince orchards were already too small to feed them all. Often they would invade close-by territories, devouring the trees to their last leaves.

The caterpillars, on the other hand, when feeding were leaving the flower buds untouched, even sparing a few leaves, so their orchards were always leafy and the locusts were interested in them.
Bud, the caterpillars' fortress, was standing up high, right in the middle of the orchard. Each family had shelter within its walls, while the grubs were raised together in a big hall, to be as protected as possible. There, the caterpillar nurses were bringing them green leaves and wrapping them up in green blankets to keep them warm.

The caterpillars' princess, Myrmidone, was young and inexperienced in leading the kingdom. Her parents, the old King and Queen have died during the last war against the gray locusts. Their long spears felled not only them, but also the great General Seventy-Legs-on-the-Footpath.

 Of course, the general did not have seventy legs. The caterpillars' strength laid in their legs, that made them unbeatable compared to the locusts, that although could hop, they were getting tired rapidly since hopping required more effort.

 The caterpillars that were acting as generals had their names changed to pompously sounding names suitable to their rank. 
   
   
     The name-change pattern was to use an even number, of at least twenty, followed by 'legs' and linked to another word that would be a nice descriptor, and the numbers would grow by two legs or stripes, according to their acts of heroism and battles won, each leg symbolizing an additional stripe. So far, the late general was the only one to have reached the seventy legs level.

   After the death of her parents, Princess Myrmidone was spending her time in council with the three generals in the military reserves and twelve counselors, considering how to go about saving the kingdom from the gray locusts.
However, for the last three hours, the debates were focused on the names of the generals. The names of the three generals were Twenty-Two-Light-Legs, Twenty-Two-Running-Legs, and Twenty-Four-Omniscient-Legs.

They all claimed that in the last battle they have accumulated a lot of legs; however the tree beetles that served as observers fell from the trees and did not take notes of the events.
"Let it be absolutely clear," said Myrmidone, "That your names will remain unchanged until the next battle."

     This statement caused a wave of murmurs between the three generals and the counselors and they became very impertinent following the events of the last battle. The Princess looked at them in disbelief, her lips dried and she wanted to get up and adjust her skirt, but General Twenty-Four-Omniscient-Legs was holding one of his legs on her lap.

She pushed him away and he mockingly curtsied. She then asked for green tea, but the chamberlain grinned and said that he had run out of water and she would have to wait until he boiled some more.

    Myrmidone was a lovely, slender caterpillar. Her face was white, with pink freckles and big green eyes. She was always chewing gum made of tree wax. Two long antennae, largely bent over her face, were shaking on her head. She was tired and could hardly stand on her small feet. (The caterpillars were mostly walking vertically on their last four pairs of legs, and they would use all eight pairs only if tired). She got up and said: "Before I retire for the day, gentlemen, I wish to remind you that I am your Queen now and you have to respect me."
    The crowd bowed, but after the princess went out the door, some bursts of laughter could be heard. Myrmidone was heading towards her room, but changed her mind and rushed back into the council meeting hall, banging the door as hard as she could.

Then, she spat her gum in the insolent general's face, sticking a gelatinous mask on him. She was so angry, that she could bite somebody and when she talked, the big candelabrum's crystal tassels were shaking.

"You hairy, shameless caterpillars! The Kingdom is at an impasse, but all you can think about are your ranks. I have the right of life and death over you, don't you forget that!  If you do not present me with a new defense strategy within eleven minutes, you have my word as Queen that you will swing in the apple tree." (That means 'in a noose' in caterpillars' language). She looked at them with a ferocious look, eyeing and weighing each and every one of them, and left as she came in.

The candelabrum swung a bit more, and then it fell on the council's table making a terrible noise.

    "Oh, My God!" exclaimed an emaciated and bent counselor who was wearing a huge robe, heavy with apple-shaped gold ornaments. He intended to trigger the mocking of the princess again, but the generals were not in that mood any longer.

   The chamberlain immediately brought them strong peppered tea with cinnamon and they proceeded to move to a smaller hall, where they started to draw maps of the area.
Meanwhile, an endless swarm of ants carrying tiny jars of colourless glue came into the hall and started to rebuild the candelabrum, bit by bit and crystal bead by crystal bead.

   As soon as she got up, Myrmidone rushed to examine the general's plans. It was lunch minute, but she did not allow them to eat. She also did not take a seat among them, but sat herself at the top of the table on a rosewood armchair, while they lined up on each side of the table at a distance of three chairs.

She unfolded the plans and maps while munching apples. The counselors were talking in low voices and from time to time there was a deadly silence, where one could hear Myrmidone crunching the fruit with her teeth, followed by the sounds of the counselor's empty stomachs, since they only had tea.

Suddenly, a spying firefly arrived, demanded to see the Princess immediately, and announced that the locusts were going to attack within an hour, having formed four armies lead by four commanders, with the famous General Tar amongst them.

Twenty-Four-Omniscient-Legs quickly noted: "We need yet another general, Your Majesty.

 I recommend Captain Thick-Fluffy."
Myrmidone rose and started walking along the windows. She was ready to accept the General's suggestion, when she noticed a young caterpillar fellow who threw his spear directly to the head of a poppy flower through the crowns of a few apple trees. Myrmidone was so stunned, that her eyes popped out. With difficulty, she uttered: "Bring that fellow over. What's his name?"
"That's the spear-thrower Hop-on-Flower," she was told.
Hop-on-Flower entered the hall and bowed respectfully, his face showing goodwill and readiness. Myrmidone looked at him, and then said decisively: "He will be the forth general".

"What will be his name?" the generals inquired, worried.
Hop-on-Flower sat on the third vacant chair by the Queen and said:
"Please don't bother with my name.  What we have to do now is to divide the army into four units, and each of us will lead one."
This was the moment the three generals were waiting for. They could c’ear their ranks and select the weakest and most stupid soldier-caterpillars as the troops of the new general."Hmmm", said Hop-on-Flower looking at the soldiers that were smiling from ear to ear. "Stand in formation!"
The soldiers gathered around him, stepping on each other's feet.
  According to the new plan, each of the four units was to build a fortress made of mounds of soil in four strategic points that were also approved by Myrmidone.

The generals could not make their caterpillars listen to them. Each soldier thought he was smarter and more inventive than the other, and they were fighting with each other to impose their own ideas. Their fortresses turned out to be huge, but strangely shaped and without tunnels.
Hop-on-Flower's caterpillars, on the other hand, were following every instruction blindly, gathering earth and stumping on it with their many legs. They built a smaller fortress that was raised a few feet above ground, had labyrinths and was covered in bark.

When the locusts' attack started, the four units took shelter in the fortresses and started to shoot arrows and load their guns with rotten apples.
The fortresses the tree generals have built had walls without crenellations, so the soldier-caterpillars had to expose themselves while aiming their arrows. Two of the fortresses fell, taking down the invaders as well as the soldiers. However, Hop-on-Flower and his troops saved the battle. From his position he was able to shoot his arrows against the invaders of the other three fortresses, killing and wounding many.

Myrmidone watched over Hop-on-Flowerls troops, his building of the fortresses and the battle. She was considering how to punish the three generals as they deserved, and gave orders to build the scaffold. Seeing the princess coming down from her strategic observation post in the tree and hearing her heavy wooden steps, the generals started shaking with fear.But the scaffold was not yet finished, and the caterpillars already had to defend a new attack. Myrmidone thought that a great leader, the like of Seventy-Legs-on-the Footpath, who could stimulate the soldiers was needed. But who could it be?
Myrmidone wore her armour and helmet, and took her spear. She showed up unexpectedly in front of her soldiers, took aim and threw her arrow at General Tar, smashing his armour and gravely wounding him.

The caterpillars could not believe their eyes. They were watching Myrmidone, who was obeying Hop-on-Flower's orders. It was a glorious victory.
Myrmidone was triumphantly led under a roof of apple flowers, and was crowned; and Hop-on-Flower got to be named Thirty-Legs-on-Flower.
Shortly after, within the same hour, they celebrated the engagement of Myrmidone and Thirty-Legs-on-Flower. There was a big party in the fortress.  The caterpillars drank pink wine and danced until they got dizzy. While taking a walk with her fiancé under the blooming apple trees, the locusts attacked them and even though Hop-on-Flower had his spear with him and fought bravely, the Queen was kidnapped and taken to the Gray Fortress.