The Ant and the Grasshopper
About 1 min read aloud
The whole story, told short. Ages 4-9.
0% · About 2 min left
A grasshopper spent the summer singing from the top of a dry stalk. Below him the ants went past in a line all day, every day, each one carrying something heavier than itself. He invited the ant up to see the view. She said she had seen the field, and went on.
Then the field ended. The grass went grey, the seed heads vanished, and the mornings came with frost on them. The grasshopper had never been cold before. It took him a while to understand that it was not going to stop.
On the ninth day he walked, because he could no longer jump, to the small round door in the bank, and knocked. The ant opened it a few inches. Warm air came out, and the smell of dry seed.
He said he was starving. He said he would pay her back.
She asked what he had been doing all summer. He told her the truth.
"Then dance," she said, and shut the door.
Inside, a younger ant was still holding a grain, and did not put it down for some time.