Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, heard that the people had no food so he followed a trail of ants to the Mountain of Sustenance. There, he encountered giant red ants guarding a store of colorful corn. Quetzalcoatl convinced the ants to give him kernels of each color by turning himself into an immense black ant. He then returned to the people as a feathered serpent with the corn and planted it, helping the people by sharing in their harvest.