The Ant and the Grasshopper
Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow.
All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer’s field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head. She would put the grain of wheat carefully away in her larder, and then hurry back to the field for another one. All day long she would work, without stop or rest, scurrying back and forth from the field, collecting the grains of wheat and storing them carefully in her larder.
The grasshopper would look at her and laugh. ‘Why do you work so hard, dear ant?’ he would say. ‘Come, rest awhile, listen to my song. Summer is here, the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labour and toil?’
The ant would ignore him, and head bent, would just hurry to the field a little faster. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder. ‘What a silly little ant you are!’ He would call after her. ‘Come, come and dance with me! Forget about work! Enjoy the summer! Live a little!’ And the grasshopper would hop away across the meadow, singing and dancing merrily.
Summer faded into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The sun was hardly seen, and the days were short and grey, the nights long and dark. It became freezing cold, and snow began to fall.
The grasshopper didn’t feel like singing any more. He was cold and hungry. He had nowhere to shelter from the snow, and nothing to eat. The meadow and the farmer’s field were covered in snow, and there was no food to be had. ‘Oh what shall I do? Where shall I go?’ wailed the grasshopper. Suddenly he remembered the ant. ‘Ah, I shall go to the ant and ask her for food and shelter!’ declared the grasshopper, perking up. So off he went to the ant’s house and knocked at her door. ‘Hello ant!’ he cried cheerfully. ‘Here I am, to sing for you, as I warm myself by your fire, while you get me some food from that larder of yours!’
The ant looked at the grasshopper and said, ‘All summer long I worked hard while you made fun of me, and sang and danced. You should have thought of winter then! Find somewhere else to sing, grasshopper! There is no warmth or food for you here!’ And the ant shut the door in the grasshopper’s face. It is wise to worry about tomorrow today.
Hare and Tortoise
Once there was a Hare who used to laugh scornfully at a Tortoise because he plodded along so slowly. ‘You never can get anywhere with those short legs of yours. Look at my long legs! They’re so swift no one would dare race me.’
All the animals of field and forest were tired of hearing the Hare brag. At last the Tortoise said, ‘If we were to run a race, I’m sure I would beat you.’
The animals were astonished for they knew the Tortoise was the slowest of them all, and the Hare, bursting into loud laughter, cried, ‘What a joke! That slowpoke thinks he can beat me! Come on, Mr. Tortoise, you shall see what my feet are made of. Why I can beat you before you are even half-started!’
‘You’d better not be too sure,’ cautioned the Tortoise All the big and little animals gathered to watch the race. At the signal the Hare leaped forward in a great bound and soon left the plodding Tortoise far behind him on the dusty road. Looking back, the Hare could not even see the Tortoise after a little while.
‘Hum-m, I’ve as good as won this race already,’ the thought, ‘There’s really no reason to hurry.’ So, as the sun was very warm, he decided to rest a bit under a shady tree. ‘I’ll come in away ahead of that Tortoise, anyhow’, he told himself.
Soon he was sound asleep. The little rest stretched into a good long nap.
Suddenly the Hare jumped up and saw the Tortoise sliding towards him in his shell. He tried to stop the Tortoise but the shell was on ‘Turbo Power’.
When the Hare finally started, he saw the Tortoise just reaching the finish line far ahead and he could hear all the animals cheering the winner.
Boastful and careless, the Hare had lost the race. Now he would never again be able to count on his speed.
Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow.
All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer’s field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head. She would put the grain of wheat carefully away in her larder, and then hurry back to the field for another one. All day long she would work, without stop or rest, scurrying back and forth from the field, collecting the grains of wheat and storing them carefully in her larder.
The grasshopper would look at her and laugh. ‘Why do you work so hard, dear ant?’ he would say. ‘Come, rest awhile, listen to my song. Summer is here, the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labour and toil?’
The ant would ignore him, and head bent, would just hurry to the field a little faster. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder. ‘What a silly little ant you are!’ He would call after her. ‘Come, come and dance with me! Forget about work! Enjoy the summer! Live a little!’ And the grasshopper would hop away across the meadow, singing and dancing merrily.
Summer faded into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The sun was hardly seen, and the days were short and grey, the nights long and dark. It became freezing cold, and snow began to fall.
The grasshopper didn’t feel like singing any more. He was cold and hungry. He had nowhere to shelter from the snow, and nothing to eat. The meadow and the farmer’s field were covered in snow, and there was no food to be had. ‘Oh what shall I do? Where shall I go?’ wailed the grasshopper. Suddenly he remembered the ant. ‘Ah, I shall go to the ant and ask her for food and shelter!’ declared the grasshopper, perking up. So off he went to the ant’s house and knocked at her door. ‘Hello ant!’ he cried cheerfully. ‘Here I am, to sing for you, as I warm myself by your fire, while you get me some food from that larder of yours!’
The ant looked at the grasshopper and said, ‘All summer long I worked hard while you made fun of me, and sang and danced. You should have thought of winter then! Find somewhere else to sing, grasshopper! There is no warmth or food for you here!’ And the ant shut the door in the grasshopper’s face. It is wise to worry about tomorrow today.
Hare and Tortoise
Once there was a Hare who used to laugh scornfully at a Tortoise because he plodded along so slowly. ‘You never can get anywhere with those short legs of yours. Look at my long legs! They’re so swift no one would dare race me.’
All the animals of field and forest were tired of hearing the Hare brag. At last the Tortoise said, ‘If we were to run a race, I’m sure I would beat you.’
The animals were astonished for they knew the Tortoise was the slowest of them all, and the Hare, bursting into loud laughter, cried, ‘What a joke! That slowpoke thinks he can beat me! Come on, Mr. Tortoise, you shall see what my feet are made of. Why I can beat you before you are even half-started!’
‘You’d better not be too sure,’ cautioned the Tortoise All the big and little animals gathered to watch the race. At the signal the Hare leaped forward in a great bound and soon left the plodding Tortoise far behind him on the dusty road. Looking back, the Hare could not even see the Tortoise after a little while.
‘Hum-m, I’ve as good as won this race already,’ the thought, ‘There’s really no reason to hurry.’ So, as the sun was very warm, he decided to rest a bit under a shady tree. ‘I’ll come in away ahead of that Tortoise, anyhow’, he told himself.
Soon he was sound asleep. The little rest stretched into a good long nap.
Suddenly the Hare jumped up and saw the Tortoise sliding towards him in his shell. He tried to stop the Tortoise but the shell was on ‘Turbo Power’.
When the Hare finally started, he saw the Tortoise just reaching the finish line far ahead and he could hear all the animals cheering the winner.
Boastful and careless, the Hare had lost the race. Now he would never again be able to count on his speed.
No comments:
Post a Comment