The Ant and the Grasshopper | Aesop's Fables

One fine summer day, a grasshopper was leaping in the field, chirping and singing with a full heart. A group of ants walked by the grasshopper prattling while carrying plump kernels of corn, struggling.

“Where are you headed, with those heavy things?” asked the grasshopper.

“To our anthill, this is one of the third kennels that I delivered today.” The first ant replied, without stopping.

“Instead of working so hard, why don’t you come here and sing with me?” offered the grasshopper.

“We are storing this food for winter and I think that you should do the same”, said the ant.

“The winter is yet a long way to come, and this is such a wonderful day to play” sand the grasshopper.

But the ants didn’t give any attention to him and continued their work of storing food by going ahead.

Soon enough the weather changed and there was cold everywhere. There was a thick blanket of snow covering the field and grasshopper couldn’t dig through it to have food. And grasshopper found himself dying of hunger.

He wobbled to the hill to the ant’s home and saw them handling the corn that they had gathered in the summer. He laid there and begged them for some food.

The ants cried “What? Where were you wasting all summer? Haven’t you stored food for yourself?”

“I was singing and playing the music all summer long, and before I knew it the time to store the food was gone, now I don’t have anything to eat” complained the grasshopper.

The ants looked disgusted by the grasshopper, they moved on with their work while shaking their head.

The Moral of the Story

Never forget, there is a time to play and a time to work.

Aesop for Children

On one bright autumn day, a family of ants was busting about in the hill. They were drying out the grain that they had gathered and stored on a warm sunny day of summer. They worked hard for storing the food for winter and now they were at peace.

Meanwhile, a dying grasshopper wobbled and staggered up to their hill. He was dying of hunger. He saw them handling food and begged them for some.

The ants in return asked him what he was doing all summer. “haven’t you stored any food for winter?”

The grasshopper told them that he was singing, making music and roaming around in the fields. And now he is starving to death.

The ants didn’t mind him and moved on with their work. And the grasshopper died with the regret that he should have worked hard as well to store up food.

Moral of the Story

Always, prepare for the future.

Samuel Croxall

During a sunny day of winter, a commonwealth of ants was bustling about around their home and drying out the grains and food that they had preserved. A grasshopper, who was starving to death and was out in the cold all winter reached them with great humility and begged them for a small amount of food.

One of the ants asked him what was he doing all summer. When we were all working so hard and storing up the food for our habitat. The grasshopper replied that he had wasted his summer dancing and singing. Merrily and pleasantly making up music in the fields. And it was too late for him to gather up food.

On listening to this the, ant replied that for those who spend their summer drinking, dancing and wasting time, they should starve in winter.

JBR Collection

The grasshopper had successfully wasted his summer while dancing and during winter he was starving to death.

Therefore, he went to the ants who lived nearby and asked them for some food which they had stored up for the winter. As he has seen them working hard in the summer.

“Where did you waste your whole summer, shouldn’t you be storing up food for the summer?” asked the ant.

“I was playing music all summer in the fields that I didn’t know when the summer passes,” said the grasshopper.

“well, you certainly shall dance now,” said the ants and moved on with their work.

The grasshopper regrets wasting his summer singing merrily and died due to hunger.

Eliot/Jacobs Version

On one fine summer day, the grasshopper was chirping and singing loudly while jumping around the field, without a care in the world. He saw an ant lifting a kernel of corn.

He asked the aunt “where are you going? With that heavy chunk of food.”

“I’m storing food for winter, as it will arrive soon,” said the ant without stopping.

“Well, why don’t you come here and have fun with me?” offered the grasshopper.

“I don’t want to and I recommend that you should too store up food for winter” saying this the ant went on its way to the hill.

Time passed and winter arrived. There was no food for grasshopper as he cannot dig deeper through the thick blanket of snow. With a very slow pace, he reached the hills where ants lived.

They were drying out their preserved wheat and Rey in the sun and fresh air. Grasshopper asked them to help him and give him some food to eat. But the ants said that he should rather dance now and starve in winter. And the shrugged and ignored him.