The Ant and the Grasshopper
A Summer Full of Song and Play
Oh, the sunshine! The breeze! Mmm, and the grass! How can anyone not enjoy such things? Summer has arrived, with grass and fruit and more grass! Mmm!
This is Ragu. Ragu is a grasshopper who loves to sing and play and do nothing but laze about. He loves summer and green grass. Ragu is a happy grasshopper.
— Oh, how I love summer! The fresh smell of grass, the fruit, the wandering fruit. Wait! Excuse me? Why is the fruit moving?
Ragu was startled. He looked carefully at the wandering fruit.
— F-f-fruit? Tell me, who are you? A g-g-ghost? M-m-magic?
The fruit kept moving toward Ragu, gently sliding across the green ground. Then, suddenly!
— Help! Help! The fruit is running toward me! Help! The fruit is attacking me!
Meeting the Hardworking Ants
— Wait. What's that sound?
Ragu listened carefully and heard some voices giggling. And there they were: a dozen ants, right under the fruit.
— Ha ha ha! Oh! Help! Help! The fruit is attacking me! Oh!
— Are you afraid of a fruit, Ragu? — Oh! I wasn't afraid. Don't you know? I'm a grasshopper. I have to run and hop. — Oh, yes indeed, Mr. Ragu. Are you sure the fruit didn't scare you? — Ho ho ho, please! Hopping is my job, silly ants. Just as your job is to gather a dozen ants just to carry one fruit. I'm big and strong. I don't need anyone's help to carry a fruit. You little ones, do you need help finishing the fruit? — Very funny, Ragu! But we're not carrying this fruit to eat it. We're collecting. Look over there!
And indeed they were collecting. Just as the ant said, Ragu saw more than a dozen ants marching in rows toward a big hole in the ground. They were carrying tomatoes, fruit, corn, and baby carrots. Each ant tossed the food into the hole and went back to help the others. The rows of food were endless. Ragu became curious.
— What are you all doing? Why are you throwing food into the ground? Has the fruit gone bad? — Oh, no, not at all! We're storing food. Soon summer will be over and winter will come. The fruit and leaves will disappear. We need to prepare for that, or we'll starve. Ragu, you need to store food too. All this fruit and green grass will be gone soon. — Oh, you're all so tiny! That's exactly why you need a whole season to collect and store food. I'll do it in a few days. Until then, I'll enjoy the breeze and laze about in the river.
Ignored Warnings and Unexpected Consequences
The ants knew Ragu was making a mistake. But they also knew Ragu wouldn't listen to them. They wished him well and went about their work.
— What silly creatures! They're missing the whole season. Winter won't be the end of the world, will it? We certainly won't die. There'll surely be something to eat. Why worry about tomorrow?
Ragu didn't listen to the ants' advice. He jumped and hopped all day and tossed about in the fresh grass. He lazed by the river and whistled without a care. The weeks went by and Ragu kept getting fatter. One day, while resting on a thick bed of grass, he spotted a long line of ants carrying twigs and leaves.
— What's this? Where are you taking these leaves and twigs? — We're taking them with us to be comfortable during winter. You should gather too, Ragu! Winter will be very cold. — Winters are always cold, silly! There are many of you, that's exactly why you have to work so hard. I'm on my own. I'll surely find something.
The ant knew Ragu wouldn't listen. She turned to leave, when...
— Ouch! Ouch! My leg! — Oh! What happened? Are you alright? — Oh, my leg hurts! I can't walk now. — Oh, come! We'll take you home. — No! Home is far away. And you all have twigs to carry. — It's alright. You can sit on my back and I'll fly you home. — Oh, really? You'd do that? — Oh, why not! Come on now!
Ragu flew with the ant on his back. The ant had never been happier. She saw the green fields, the waterfalls and rivers. She felt the breeze on her face. As they arrived home, Ragu saw at least a hundred ants bringing leaves and tossing them into a big hole. Ragu was surprised. He landed and the little ant slid off his back.
— Thank you, Mr. Ragu! — Alright, little ant. I hope you enjoyed the ride. Run along now, take care of your leg. — Hello, Ragu! Have you started collecting food and leaves? Where will you live in winter? — Oh, I'm big and strong. I'll find something when winter comes. Why worry about tomorrow?
The Harsh Winter and the Lesson Learned
The days passed and summer was coming to an end. The trees began losing their leaves and the grass started changing color. Ragu was getting fatter by the day. He lazed by the water, on a dried leaf, gazing at the clear sky and eating the few leaves that remained.
— I don't see any ants anymore. Maybe they finally listened to my advice and decided to enjoy the season. What's left of it, at least. They missed so much.
And then, winter arrived. Snow covered all the land. The green grass and ripe fruit had vanished. Ragu searched and searched for a single green leaf, but couldn't find one. He looked for a warm spot, but the snow had piled in layers over the warm earth. The weeks went by and Ragu grew weaker and thinner each day. He had no shelter and no food. Then, he remembered that the ants had stored plenty of food and twigs underground. He found the spot and knocked on the door.
— Can anyone hear me? — Who is it? Oh, Ragu! What happened to you? — It's very cold outside. I'm hungry. Do you have shelter and food for me? — Oh, but winters are always cold, silly! Aren't you the one who laughed at me and said that? You're the one who said: "Why worry about tomorrow?" What happened now? — I understand my mistake. I should have prepared for winter. Please, give me some food.
Hearing this commotion, the queen and other ants came out of the hole.
— We all have our share of food. Even if we give you some food, you can't come down here and live. This place isn't big enough. — But I... — Oh, what happened to you?
Ragu collapsed to the ground with a thud.
— Oh no! We have to save him! He'll starve to death! Actually, he was the one who helped me when I hurt my leg.
The ant told the queen about the incident. She explained how Ragu had helped her when she was a little ant.
— Hmm. Bring some leaves and wrap him up. Let's quickly build a small house for him out of twigs. They'll keep him warm. We have enough food. We can share it with him.
The ants wrapped Ragu in several leaves to keep him warm. They ingeniously built a house out of twigs and carried Ragu inside. They fed him warm soup and some fruit. Soon, Ragu recovered.
— Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you for saving me! I owe you my life. — You are a kind insect, Ragu. You helped a member of my group. We will help you through this winter, but take note: always be prepared for the future. — I know that now, Your Majesty! You don't need to worry. But always be prepared for tomorrow! Never be lazy!
Moral: Always be prepared for the future and don't put off work, for laziness can lead to suffering. Help given in time of need always comes back around.
