Once upon a time, there was a grasshopper who lived in the forest.
He enjoyed lying in the grass and singing songs.
"La-la-la! Ah! What a beautiful day!"
One fine day, some ants marched by the grasshopper.
The ants stopped to rest nearby.
"Hey, you guys! What's up?"
"We are gathering food.
Whew! What a hot day!"
"A hot day, indeed!
You ants are foolish!
It is too hot to work.
Come and enjoy the cool grass with me."
"But we have to prepare for winter."
"Winter? Winter is months away.
We have plenty of time to relax and have fun!
Prepare for the winter another day."
"But we need to prepare now.
Winter will come sooner than you think."
"Yes, we don't have much time."
"You are so foolish!
Prepare for winter when it comes."
Then, the ants left carrying their food.
The grasshopper was not worried.
He had picked enough leaves to last him all day.
"I have enough food for tonight.
Why should I worry about tomorrow?
I can pick some more leaves then."
So every day, the grasshopper sang songs and rested in the cool grass.
Then, fall arrived.
The ants were busier than before.
"Hey, you guys!
Why don't you come and play with me?"
"We do not have time to play."
"Sure you do."
"No, winter will come soon!"
"Silly Ant! Winter is still far away!"
The grasshopper just sang and sang.
When he became hungry, he picked some leaves and ate them.
But one day the grasshopper came out of his house and found, to his surprise, the earth was covered in cold, white snow.
"Brrr! It is very cold outside.
Now, it is time to gather some food for the winter."
The grasshopper looked and looked for food.
But the snow covered the grass, and there were no more leaves on the trees.
The grasshopper did not find anything to eat.
And now he was very, very cold.
He began to shiver.
So he went home.
"I will find some food tomorrow.
I will work hard from then on.
Tomorrow, I can find food for the winter."
So he went to sleep without any supper that night.
The next morning, the grasshopper saw an ant pass by his house.
"Ah, an ant. Maybe he knows where the grass and the leaves went.
Hello, dear Ant.
Where are the leaves and the grass?
I am hungry!"
"You are too late, Grasshopper.
Don't you know it is already winter?
You should have stored some food.
You cannot find leaves or grass now."
"Oh, yes I can.
I can prepare for the winter. Just watch!"
"No, I'm afraid it is too late to prepare for winter when winter has already come."
The grasshopper knew that the ant was right.
The grasshopper felt very ashamed of his laziness.
Lying cold and hungry in his home, the grasshopper began to cry.
"I have been so foolish and lazy.
Now, I have no food."
The next day, the foolish grasshopper looked for food.
But he found none.
Now he was certain that he would find no food.
"There is no food anywhere.
There are no leaves on the trees.
There is no grass on the ground.
Surely, I will starve this winter."
The grasshopper began to cry loudly.
The ants heard the grasshopper.
The ants were very kind and took pity on the grasshopper.
"Look at the grasshopper.
He will die if we do not help him."
"Yes, we must share our food with him."
So the ants shared their food with the grasshopper.
From that day on, the grasshopper was no longer lazy.
In fact, he became the hardest working insect in the forest.