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"Leiningen Versus the Ants" by Carl Stephenson is a classic short story published in the December 1938 edition of ''Esquire''. It is a translation, probably by Stephenson himself, of "Leiningens Kampf mit den Ameisen" which was originally published in German in 1937.〔''The Greatest Survival Stories Ever Told'' edited by Lamar Underwood, (Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 2001) pp. 1 - 19.〕 The story centers on a scrappy, no-nonsense plantation owner called Leiningen (his first name is never mentioned in the story), and his stubborn refusal to abandon his plantation in the face of a seemingly unstoppable mass of army ants, described as "an elemental—an act of God!"〔 ==Plot summary== Leiningen, the owner of a plantation in the Brazilian rainforest, is warned by the district commissioner that a swarm of ferocious and organised soldier ants are approaching and that he must flee. Unlike his neighbours, Leiningen is not about to give up years of hard work and planning to "an act of God" as he believes in the superiority of the human brain. He convinces his workers to stay and fight with him. When the ants reach his estate, Leiningen seals it by filling a moat that surrounds it on three sides, the fourth being a river. The ants attempt to cross over by covering the waters with tree leaves, but he thwarts them repeatedly by emptying then flooding the moats. Eventually, the ants breach that line of defence and the men retreat behind a second series of moats, this time filled with gasoline. Leiningen is able to incinerate several waves of attack, but runs out of gasoline when the pumps malfunction. After days of hard fighting, the ants breach the last defenses, and all seems lost. However, Leiningen realizes that his original principle of canals and damming can be put to use: if he dams the main river itself, the whole plantation will flood, drowning all the ants. He and his men can take refuge in the heights of the manor house on a hill. However, this plan requires reaching the dam, long overrun by the ants. Leiningen puts on a makeshift protective suit, douses himself with gasoline, picks up two spray cans of gas, and runs for the dam — through the ants. He reaches the dam controls and floods the plantation; this means the death of his year's crop, but it will save his men, preserve the contents of his granaries, and destroy the menace of the ants for everyone else. The climax of the story occurs on the return journey when he is knocked down by the ants and almost eaten. Thinking about a stag he had seen the ants devour to the bones, he forces himself to get up. Despite suffering horrible injuries, including ant bites to the inside of his nose and directly below his eyes, Leiningen continues running, reaches the concrete ditch with the blazing petrol, and survives. At the story's end, Leiningen awakes while recovering from his injuries; his first words are: "I told you I would come back, even if I am a bit streamlined." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Leiningen Versus the Ants」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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