The Ant And The Grasshopper
This is a tale about the ant and the grasshopper. You know the saying …
The Ant And The Grasshopper
Far away in the kingdom of the animals lived a hardworking Ant and a lazy Grasshopper. There is a saying that ants make hay while the sun still shines; it was evident in this very ant.
He worked as an errand boy in the ant kingdom. The Queen didn’t know his worth, but the young ant was determined to make the best out of himself and prove himself to be the best ant in the entire kingdom. He was an orphan who had lost his parents in a freak accident when he was little. Since that day, he has dedicated himself to working in the palace. Everyone that stayed in the palace loved him because he was quick,
and they could depend on him.
His integrity and honesty soon won him a good name in the palace, but unfortunately, he still did not catch the attention of the Queen. He knew he needed to up his game. He waited patiently, observing the times and seasons of the land. While he did this, he would still go about his daily activities.
On one fateful day, he stepped out of the palace to run errands for one of the older ants, who he admired so much. While singing and walking along the street, he sighted a grasshopper dancing.
“What is going on here? Has he lost his senses?”
He said and walked closer to the grasshopper. He was scared to approach the grasshopper and, so stood from a distance and watched with delight as the grasshopper swayed his body to a beat that he could not hear. When the grasshopper felt goosebumps on his body, he immediately knew that someone was watching him. Slowly he turned and gasped as he saw the little ant staring back at him.
“What?! What are you doing?”
“I’m just watching you dance. You are really good, but why can’t I hear the music?”
“That’s because the music is playing in my head. I want to be a DJ, so I’m creating music in my head.”
The ant was astonished. Never in his life has he seen such a wonder as the one he was staring at. A grasshopper wanting to be a DJ!
“Well, that is very ambitious of you. But where do you live?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“I just feel like we should be friends, that’s all.” The ant raised his tiny hands to show that he meant no harm to the grasshopper. Just when the grasshopper was about to answer, the skies thundered, and it started to drizzle. The ant and grasshopper ran under a tree to avoid getting soaked in the rain.
“Wow, the Heavens must be really sad. Look at the way it’s crying,” the grasshopper said.
“I know. I wonder why it’s so sad.”
“It always gets so sad during this time of the year. It’s called the rainy season, and during this season, the Heavens will be crying a lot.”
The ant, who was still very little, didn’t know about the different seasons of the earth. He just believed that the rain came at intervals as did the sun. He was amazed to be blessed with this piece of information.
“Wow! I didn’t know that. How long will this last?”
“It could be for a while,” the grasshopper responded absentmindedly. The ant’s face lit up. Finally, he knew how he was going to prove himself to his Queen.
“Mr. Grasshopper, I am so happy that I met you today. I am an orphan who has been trying to win the favour of my Queen, but she never notices me. But now, I have an idea on how to make her notice me.”
“Okay, what is it?” The grasshopper was interested to know.
“I am going to get lots of food and keep it in our palace so that when the Heavens start crying again, my people will still have food to eat!”
He exposed his brilliant idea to the grasshopper, but instead of being excited, the grasshopper shrugged his shoulders and went back to looking at the tears of Heaven.
“Mr. Grasshopper, did you not hear what I said?”
“I did.”
“So why are you not excited?”
“Because it sounds like a lot of work, and I’m not ready for such stress. The rainy seasons are not that bad. I will still be able to go out and get food to eat.”
The little ant was sad but not discouraged. Immediately the rain stopped, he walked away from the grasshopper and went around, running his errands. Along the way, he ran into an owl whose wings were broken.
“Oh, Mr. Owl, your wings are broken. Wait, let me fix it for you.”
He said and rushed to pick some sticks, and after a series of patching and tying, he finally fixed the owl’s wings.
“There you go Mr. Owl, all fixed up.”
“Wow, thank you, little ant. I can see that you are very kind. Because of your act of kindness towards me, I will tell you something. I was among the birds in the morning when I heard them talking about the recent trip to the Heavens. According to what they said, this year’s rainy season is going to be very bad, and people may not be able to go out. So keep a lot of food that will sustain you throughout this period.”
The ant took the old wise owl’s advice with so much joy and hopped to tell his friend, the grasshopper about it.
“An owl told me that we need to stock up for this year’s rainy season,” he said. The grasshopper replied that he would do so, and immediately the ant left, he continued making his music and dancing.
The ant was not dissuaded. He continued taking food into his kingdom, and after a week, the rain came heavily. The grasshopper, who had exhausted all his food, dogged his way into the ant’s kingdom to ask his friend for food.
“What happened? I thought you said you were going to stock up?”
“I was, but then I got distracted with making music, and before I knew it, the Heavens started crying again. This time the tear is quite heavy”
“Making music, were you?” The ant cried. “Now dance.” And he shut the hole, leaving the grasshopper alone, and went back to enjoying the food he stored up. The Queen was more than grateful to him for saving her kingdom and finally acknowledged him.
Moral Lesson: There is a time for everything. Be kind to people. And avoid procrastinating.
Read also:
- Why The Tortoise And The Squirrel Are Not Friends
- Don’t Argue With Donkeys (Fable)
- The Tortoise and The King’s Daughter