A grasshopper and an ant lived in a meadow. The grasshopper spent her days jumping in the sun, while the ant worked hard and was always carrying something somewhere. The grasshopper was amazed, and came up to him and asked him questions:
“Please, ant, tell me, why are you working on such a beautiful sunny day? Why don’t you go and laze in the sun like me?”
“You know, grasshopper,” said the ant, “I am stocking up for winter. Summer will be over, and then what? Winter will come, there will be snow and frost everywhere, where will I get food then?”
The grasshopper just smiled lightly, “But winter is still far away. On such nice warm days we should rather enjoy ourselves and laze around.”
“Do as you please, grasshopper,” said the ant as he continued to fiddle around the anthill.
The grasshopper hopped away. She found a nice spot in the sun and warmed her feet.
So it went on day after day. The grasshopper sat in the sunshine and watched the ant work and bring in his supplies. But she didn’t want to do anything, for it was so beautiful and winter was still far away.
But one day winter came. The grasshopper couldn’t help wondering how quickly the first snow fell. She was cold, so she crawled into her home. She was hungry, but she couldn’t find anything to eat. She remembered the ant. He was only now resting in his anthill, surrounded by the food stores he had brought in over the summer and autumn.
The grasshopper cried, her tummy growling with hunger. If only instead of lounging in the sun she’d been thinking about winter too. She had no choice but to go beg the animals in the neighborhood to take pity on her and give her something. She even reached the ant.
“So you see, grasshopper. If you had thought of winter in the summer, you could have had supplies too,” said the ant.
“Now I know. And I promise that if I survive the winter, I will remember to think ahead more. I’ll carry supplies, too, and I won’t just lie around.”
The ant invited the grasshopper to visit, let her warm up with him, and shared his food. Then he gave her something to eat on the way home.
“Thank you, little ant,” said the grasshopper. “Not only will I start stocking up in summer, but I will also help you carry your food supply for being so good to me.”
Winter was gone, and spring came, followed by summer. The ant worked hard again, bringing crumbs to the anthill. And the grasshopper? No longer mocking or wondering, not even basking in the sun. Instead, she was carrying supplies to her house. And when she was finished, she helped bring food to the little ant. They would both be ready for next winter, and neither would have to starve.
