The Ant and the Grasshopper

Target Language or Knowledge:

On a warm summer day, a grasshopper leaped about a field, merrily singing. nearby, an ant toiled hard under the hot sun. One by one, he hoisted heavy kernels of corn onto his shoulders and carried them back to his nest. "Come join me," said the grasshopper. "We'll sing and dance and make beautiful music!" "I have no time to make music," said the ant. "I'm gathering food for the long winter ahead. I suggest you do the same, if you know what's good for you." The grasshopper merely laughed. "I have plenty to eat today. Winter is a long time off. Why worry on such a lovely day?" Summer turned to autumn, autumn to winter. Now the field was covered in snow. The ant was burrowed deep in his nest, warm and content. He had enough food to last the whole winter. But the grasshopper was no longer singing a happy song. "It's freezing," he shivered. "I'm starving. If only I had listened to the ant's advice!" MORAL There is a time for work and a time for play.

merrily toiled hoisted gathering merely burrowed content advice time play