The Grasshopper and the Ant
Once there was a happy grasshopper. All summer long he hopped and leaped in the grass and lay in the warm sun. He was happy to be alive and spent every day doing all the things he wanted to do. He ate the green grass and the leaves of the bushes. He sang his grasshopper songs and played in the summer rain. He slept under the roses and calmly watched all the other insects.
Living nearby was an ant. The ant was happy too, but she knew that summer would not last. The ant knew that soon the warm sun would be gone and winter would come. She dragged dead bugs into her nest. She stored little seeds to eat. She dug her home deep into the earth so she would not be cold later. She worked very hard all summer. She did not have time to sing and and play.
The warm days of summer passed quickly. Soon all the plants were dead and brown. All the leaves had fallen to the ground. The sun was hidden behind clouds and the air was cold. the grasshopper was very hungry. He looked everywhere for something to eat, but couldn't find anything.
Then he saw the ant. "Please, Ant, will you give me something to eat?"
"Why would I give you something to eat? What have you been doing all summer while I worked to get ready for the cold?"
"I did not have time to work," said the grasshopper. "I sang songs, I hopped and leaped, and sat in the sun."
"Grashopper, you played and never worked. I worked and never played. Why should I help you out when you did not help yourself?"
The grasshopper hopped slowly away and the ant went into her warm nest to nibble some seeds. "Foolish grasshopper," she said. "Now he will have to pay for the time he wasted. The winter will not be kind to the lazy one."
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So, does this teach the children to not help your idiotic neighbor who is hungry because something in their brain tells them.... they don't have to work? Or does this tell the children, you better work and earn for yourself because... it's a cold ass, cruel ass world.
Lol, in the other version i read, the ant slams the door on the grasshopper.
I have two beefs about this version. First, why the title puts the freeloader Grasshopper's name first. Hard working Ant's name should be first. Second, the grasshopper is a he and the ant is a she. Laugh my ass off.
Love this picture. I shuddered looking at it. Too a tee it depicts some of the relationships I have been in. And it reminds me of the local regulars that come in and just hang out thru-out the day.
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