Daniel Perkins

The Ring and the Crown Daniel Perkins

What do a newly married woman named Lizzy and a queen ant called Jan have in common? Nothing until Lizzy loses the diamond to her wedding ring and Queen Jan places the jewel in her crown. How do they work this out? Will they both realize that the very thing they value the most is the very thing they should share?
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The idea for this story evolved from a walk in a park. I saw a young boy picking up something off the ground. A woman stood beside him. I assumed she was his mother. She opened a jar, and the boy dropped something inside. Then the woman quickly closed the lid. When I asked what they were collecting, the mother rolled her eyes, lifted the jar, and said, "We're collecting queen ants." In the jar I saw the saw the queen ants, and the woman's diamond ring sparkled and shown through the glass. That was when the magic of the story came to me.