In the deep forest, where the leaves of trees touched the sky, things were happening that you could hardly see with your eyes. Between two old oak trees, a little spider named Signalton had stretched the most beautiful and important web in the world. It wasn't just an ordinary net for catching flies. It was a forest radio station! Each single thread could carry sounds, messages and melodies from one end of the forest to the other. Signalton was its chief technician and was very proud of his work.
Today was the day of the Great Evening Concert. The main star was to be a cricket named Chirper, whose beautiful song was to open the entire program. All the little beetles, ladybugs and butterflies were already waiting impatiently and tuning their antennae to the right frequency.
Signalton sat in the center of his web, in the control center, checking all the lines. The thread from Mrs. Ladybug? Buzzing correctly. The line for the buzzing choir of bumblebees? Working. But... what was this? The main concert thread, which was supposed to bring the song from the cricket, was completely silent. Signalton gently plucked it with his little leg. Nothing. No vibration. No response. Just dead silence.
"That's impossible!" he whispered worriedly. "The concert starts in a moment and the main line is dead!"
Just then, his best friend, the ant postwoman Ferdy, ran up to him along the thick branch. She was always full of energy and her antennae waved cheerfully. "Signalton, what's happening?" she asked breathlessly. "The whole anthill is waiting for the cricket's song and there's only silence in our receiver! Everyone thinks the concert is being canceled."
"It's not being canceled!" Signalton replied determinedly. "But we have a problem. A big problem. Look," he pointed with his leg to the motionless thread. "This thread isn't vibrating. It's not carrying sound. I don't know why."
Ferdy put her tiny hands on her hips and thought. "Then we must take a look at it! We'll follow that silent thread and find out where the error occurred."
All of Signalton's eyes lit up. "Excellent idea, Ferdy! You'll go along the branch and I'll climb along the thread. Together we'll figure it out."
And so the pair of friends set out on a rescue mission. Signalton carefully walked along the web, feeling every single thread with his legs. When he stepped on the right one, which led to the cricket, he plucked it. "Do you hear, Ferdy? This is how a healthy thread sounds," he called to his friend. The thread vibrated and produced a gentle, buzzing tone. "Bzzzz-bzzzz."
A bit further, he climbed onto the broken one. He plucked again. Silence. "And here nothing. Not the slightest vibration," he said disappointedly.
Meanwhile, Ferdy was running along the rough bark of the tree and watching everything carefully. "It's strange. It looks exactly the same as the others." She stopped and got an idea. "I'll try something!" With her strong antennae, she gently tapped on the branch. Tap, tap! Signalton immediately felt the vibrations spreading through the entire web. All the threads trembled gently... except that one. "I feel it! Your tapping reached me from all sides, just not through this one!"
"So the error must be somewhere between us!" Ferdy exclaimed triumphantly. "Let's keep going!"
They continued their journey, climbing over leaves and going around buds, until they finally spotted the cause. In the middle of the stretched thread hung a huge, glittering drop of water. It gleamed in the setting sun like a small gem, but for the web radio it was a disaster.
"Aha! Here's the problem!" Signalton exclaimed and pointed at it. Ferdy tilted her head. "Such a beautiful drop? What could that do?"
"Sound is actually just trembling, that is, vibration," Signalton began explaining like a true expert. "The cricket plays on his wings, they vibrate quickly and make the air vibrate. The air makes my web vibrate and that carries the song further. But this drop is heavy and wet. It completely dampens that thread. It absorbs all vibrations. It's like trying to shout something into a soft pillow. The sound simply gets lost."
"I understand," Ferdy nodded. "So we must remove it. I'll push it off!" She was already preparing to blow hard on the drop.
"Stop!" Signalton shouted. "You can't do that! The thread is very delicate. If we tore it, the repair would take days and the concert would definitely be canceled."
Both friends sat down and looked helplessly at the glittering obstacle. The sun was almost setting and time was running out. What now?
"I know what dries water," Signalton muttered. "Heat and wind. But the sun is setting and there's not even the slightest breeze."
Ferdy suddenly jumped up. Her antennae fluttered joyfully. "I'm not alone! We ants always help each other! I have a plan!" And without further explanation, she ran off toward the anthill.
Signalton remained alone and nervously shifted from leg to leg. In a moment, however, he heard the stomping of dozens of tiny legs. Ferdy was returning and behind her trotted a whole team of ant helpers. Together they carried a large, dry leaf from a beech tree.
"Teamwork!" Ferdy exclaimed. "The plan is this: we'll hold the leaf exactly under the drop. And you, Signalton, must very, very gently shake the thread from the other side. The drop will roll directly onto our leaf and we'll safely carry it away."
It was a brilliant plan. The ants took their positions and held the leaf firmly. They looked like little firefighters with a rescue blanket. "Ready?" Signalton asked. "Ready!" the ants replied in unison.
Signalton took a deep breath, carefully grasped the thread with his leg and gently pulled and released it. The drop trembled on the thread. Once, twice... and then with a quiet "plop" it rolled directly into the center of the beech leaf. The mission was successful! The ants carefully carried their watery treasure away.
Signalton didn't wait even a second. He plucked the repaired thread again. "BZZZZZ-TWANG!" came a loud, clear tone that spread throughout the entire forest. The line was free!
And then it came. From the repaired thread began to spread the most beautiful melody the forest had ever heard. Cricket Chirper started his evening serenade and thanks to Signalton and his ant friends, everyone could hear it.
Signalton and Ferdy sat next to each other on the branch, listening to the wonderful music and smiling. "Today we learned that even the smallest drop can stop the greatest song," Ferdy said thoughtfully. "And also this," added Signalton, looking at her gratefully, "that even the biggest problem can be solved when friends join forces and put their heads together."
The concert was wonderful and lasted until late at night. And the little spider technician and the brave ant postwoman were its silent heroes.
And what do you think, children? Will you try sometime with your parents to stretch a rubber band between your fingers and pluck it? You'll see and maybe even feel that gentle trembling, which is called vibration and without which there would be no sound or music.