The Ant and the Cicada

4.17. De formica et cicada
Caxton: Of the Ant and of the sygale
It is good to purueye hym self in the somer season of suche thynges / wherof he shalle myster and haue nede in wynter season / As thow mayst see by this present fable / Of the sygalle / whiche in the wynter tyme went and demaunded of the ant somme of her Corne for to ete / And thenne the Ant sayd to the sygall / what hast thow done al the somer last passed / And the sygalle ansuerd / I haue songe / And after sayd the ante to her / Of my corne shalt not thou none haue / And yf thow hast songe alle the somer / daunse now in wynter /
And therfore there is one tyme for to doo some labour and werk / And one tyme for to haue rest / For he that werketh not ne doth no good / shal haue ofte at his teeth grete cold and lacke at his nede /
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The Cricket and the Ants

130. THE CRICKET AND THE ANTS. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Ant and the Grasshopper

121. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER. In the winter season, a commonwealth of ants was busily employed in the management and preservation of their corn; which they exposed to the air, in heaps, round about the avenues of their little country habitation.
A grasshopper, who had chanced to outlive the summer, and was ready to starve with cold and hunger, approached them with great humility, and begged that they would relieve his necessity with one grain of wheat or rye.
One of the ants asked him how he had disposed of his time in summer, that he had not taken pains and laid in a stock, as they had done?
“Alas! gentlemen,” says he, “I passed away the time merrily and pleasantly, in drinking, singing, and dancing, and never once thought of winter.”
“If that be the case,” replied the ant, laughing, “all I have to say is, that they who drink, sing, and dance in the summer, must starve in the winter.” [more info]

The Ant and the Grasshopper

20. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER. As a rich purse-proud Ant was airing himself at the foot of an old oak tree, beneath the roots of which lay his vast bonded warehouses of Corn, up came a poor starveling Grasshopper to solicit a grain of barley. The selfish Ant told him he should have laboured in Summer if he would not have wanted in Winter.
"But," said the poor Chirper, "I was not idle: I sung out the whole season. I did my best to amuse you and your fellow-husbandmen while you were getting in your harvest."
"If that is the case," returned the Ant with unpardonable callousness, "you may make a merry year of it, and dance in Winter to the tune you sang in Summer."
MORAL. As the world dispenses its payments, it is decreed that the Poet who sings for his breakfast shall whistle for his dinner. [more info]

The Ant and the Grasshopper

049. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER. In the winter season, a commonwealth of ants was busily employed in the management and preservation of their corn; which they exposed to the air, in heaps, round about the avenues of their little country habitation.
A grasshopper, who had chanced to outlive the summer, and was ready to starve with cold and hunger, approached them with great humility, and begged that they would relieve his necessity with one grain of wheat or rye.
One of the ants asked him how he had disposed of his time in summer, that he had not taken pains and laid in a stock, as they had done?
“Alas! gentlemen,” says he, “I passed away the time merrily and pleasantly, in drinking, singing, and dancing, and never once thought of winter.”
“If that be the case,” replied the ant, laughing, “all I have to say is, that they who drink, sing, and dance in the summer, must starve in the winter.” [more info]

The Ants and a Grasshopper

2.28. THE ANTS AND A GRASSHOPPER. As the Ants were airing their provisions one . winter, a hungry Grasshopper begged a charity of them. They told him, that he should have wrought in summer, if he would not have wanted in winter.
"Well," says the Grasshopper, "but I was not idle neither; for I sung out the whole season."
"Nay then," said they, "you'll e'en do well to make a merry year of it, and dance in winter to the tune that you sung in summer."
MORAL. Action and industry is the business of a wise and a good man, and nothing is so much to be despised as slothfulness. Go to the Ant, thou sluggard, says the Royal Preacher, consider her ways, and be wise. [more info]

The Ants and the Grasshopper

06. THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER. On a cold frosty day in winter, the Ants were dragging out some of the corn which they had laid up in summer-time, so as to air it. The Grasshopper, half-starved with hunger, begged the ants to give him a morsel of it to save his life.
"Nay," said they, "but you should have worked in the summer, and you would not have wanted in winter."
"Well," says the Grasshopper, "but I was not idle either, for I sung out the whole season!"
"Nay, then," said the Ants, "you'll do well to make a merry year of it, and dance in winter to the tune that you sung in summer." [more info]

The Grasshopper and the Ant

01.01: THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANT.
A Grasshopper gay
Sang the summer away,
And found herself poor
By the winter's first roar.
Of meat or of bread,
Not a morsel she had!
So a begging she went,
To her neighbour the ant,
For the loan of some wheat,
Which would serve her to eat,
Till the season came round.
'I will pay you,' she saith,
'On an animal's faith,
Double weight in the pound
Ere the harvest be bound.'
The ant is a friend
(And here she might mend)
Little given to lend.
'How spent you the summer?'
Quoth she, looking shame
At the borrowing dame.
'Night and day to each comer
I sang, if you please.'
'You sang! I'm at ease;
For 'tis plain at a glance,
Now, ma'am, you must dance.'
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The Ant and the Grasshopper

03. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER.
A busy Ant one summer day
Was storing grains of wheat away
For Winter good. A Grasshopper
Paused in his song to laugh at her.
"Why do you work so hard?" said he,
"Summer's the time for jollity!"
The Ant said nothing. By and by
Came winter with the frowning sky
And frozen meadows; came also
The Grasshopper, with tale of woe.
"Help me, for pity's sake!" cried he.
"No," said the Ant, "you mocked at me
Last summer; now you ask to share
My harvest. All I have to spare
Is Good Advice: Exchange your gift
Of song and dance for honest thrift." [more info]

The Ant and the Grasshopper

36. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER. In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity. [more info]

The Grasshopper and the Ants

156. THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS. One fine day in winter some Ants were busy drying their store of corn, which had got rather damp during a long spell of rain. Presently up came a Grasshopper and begged them to spare her a few grains, "For," she said, "I'm simply starving." The Ants stopped work for a moment, though this was against their principles. "May we ask," said they, "what you were doing with yourself all last summer? Why didn't you collect a store of food for the winter?" "The fact is," replied the Grasshopper, "I was so busy singing that I hadn't the time." "If you spent the summer singing," replied the Ants, "you can't do better than spend the winter dancing." And they chuckled and went on with their work. [more info]

The Ant and the Grasshopper

28. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER. On a warm day in summer, an Ant was busy in the field gathering grains of wheat and corn, which he laid up for winter food. A Grasshopper saw him at work, and laughed at him for toiling so hard, when others were at ease.
The Ant said nothing. But afterwards, when winter came, and the ground was hard, the Grasshopper was nearly dead with hunger. He came to the Ant to beg something to eat. Then the Ant said to him:—
"If you had worked when I did, instead of laughing at me, you would not now be in need." [more info]

The Ant and the Grasshopper

20. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER. As a rich purse-proud Ant was airing himself at the foot of an old oak tree, beneath the roots of which lay his vast bonded warehouses of Corn, up came a poor starveling Grasshopper to solicit a grain of barley. The selfish Ant told him he should have laboured in Summer if he would not have wanted in Winter.
"But," said the poor Chirper, "I was not idle: I sung out the whole season. I did my best to amuse you and your fellow-husbandmen while you were getting in your harvest."
"If that is the case," returned the Ant with unpardonable callousness, "you may make a merry year of it, and dance in Winter to the tune you sang in Summer."
MORAL. As the world dispenses its payments, it is decreed that the Poet who sings for his breakfast shall whistle for his dinner. [more info]

The Ant and Grasshopper

049. THE ANT AND GRASSHOPPER. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll down to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Grasshopper and the Ant

001. THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANT.
A Grasshopper gay
Sang the summer away,
And found herself poor
By the winter's first roar.
Of meat or of bread,
Not a morsel she had!
So a begging she went,
To her neighbour the ant,
For the loan of some wheat,
Which would serve her to eat,
Till the season came round.
'I will pay you,' she saith,
'On an animal's faith,
Double weight in the pound
Ere the harvest be bound.'
The ant is a friend
(And here she might mend)
Little given to lend.
'How spent you the summer?'
Quoth she, looking shame
At the borrowing dame.
'Night and day to each comer
I sang, if you please.'
'You sang! I'm at ease;
For 'tis plain at a glance,
Now, ma'am, you must dance.'
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The Ants and the Grasshopper

02. THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER. As the Ants were airing their Provisions one Winter, up comes a hungry Grasshopper to' em, and begs a Charity. They told him that he should have wrought in Summer, if he would not have wanted in Winter. Well, says the Grasshopper, but I was not idle neither; for I sung out the Whole Season. Nay then, said they, you shall e'en do well to make a Merry Year on't, and dance in Winter to the Tune that you sung in Summer.
A Life of Sloth is the Life of a Brute; but Action and Industry is the Bus'ness of a Great, a Wife, and a Good Man. [more info]

The Ants and the Grasshopper

THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER. One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.
There's a time for work and a time for play. [more info]