A grasshopper was a merry fellow. He loved to play in the fields and around the lush green trees. The sweet fragrance of flowers filled his heart with joy. He spent the bright sunny days singing and dancing. And when some of the butterflies and the bees and the swallows sat down to watch him, he would be very pleased. He loved to show off!
One day, he saw a little ant carrying a large chunk of corn. It seemed a heavy load for a small ant but it continued walking. “Hello, ant!” called out the grasshopper, “The weather is fine and sunny! Come and play with me!”
The ant stopped and looked around to see who was calling. She saw the merry grasshopper looking at her and smiling. “You look very tired. Come and rest beside me. I’ll sing a beautiful song for you!” “Thank you, sir,” replied the ant, “I am tired. But I have to help my family store food for winter.”
‘How silly the ant is! How can someone not take a holiday, enjoy and relax in such beautiful weather? Winter is so far away!’ thought the grasshopper. The grasshopper waved to the ant and went back to singing and dancing. The ant, meanwhile, carried on with her work.
Almost a month passed by. Every day, the grasshopper would see the little ant carrying her load of corn to her house. Sometimes there were other ants with her, all of them walking along in a line carrying the load of food. The grasshopper laughed to see them work while he was enjoying himself.
But then winter came. It was cold and the wind blew hard. The land was covered with snow. The grasshopper looked around. There were no flowers. The trees had shed their leaves and there were no fruits on them. The butterflies and the birds could not find flowers, fruits and seeds to feed upon. Therefore, they had gone elsewhere.
The poor grasshopper was alone and sat shaking with cold! His carefree days were over. He was miserable suffering not only from cold but also from hunger. He had not collected or stored any food as the ant. H saw the ants sitting inside their home, warm and comfortable. They had lots of food, for they had worked hard all summer. The grasshopper was self-conscious for his lack of precautions for winter. Nevertheless, he thought that the ants might understand his love for music and making others feel merry during summer by his music, singing and dancing.
He went to knock at the ant’s door to ask for some food until summer. He promised to work hard and prepare himself for difficult winter days. The ant at first severely criticised and blamed him for his carefree and merry-making but finally as a good neighbour and for the love of music, the ant helped the grasshopper with food and shelter on the promise of hard work as soon as the weather improved.
