The Grasshopper and the Ant

The moral is “There’s a time for work and a time for play.” The Grasshopper spent all summer making music while the Ants stored up food. When winter came, the Grasshopper was starving and the Ants refused to help. The fable teaches that failing to prepare during times of plenty leads to suffering when hard times arrive. It is one of Aesop’s most famous lessons about personal responsibility and planning ahead.

They are the same Aesop fable (Perry Index 373) under two different titles. Our site features both versions: this shorter retelling from the classic “Aesop for Children” tradition, and a longer version titled The Ant and the Grasshopper. The core moral is identical, though different retellings vary in tone — some are harsher toward the grasshopper, while others, like La Fontaine’s famous French version, cast the ant as cold and uncharitable.

The Ants refused because the Grasshopper had the same opportunity to prepare but chose not to. While they spent the summer working hard to store grain, the Grasshopper spent it playing his fiddle. The Ants saw his hunger as the predictable result of his own choices. Their response — “Making music, were you? Very well; now dance!” — is deliberately cruel, implying that if music was good enough for summer, it should be good enough for winter too.

The original Greek fable featured a cicada, not a grasshopper. The cicada was associated with music and song in Greek culture, making it a natural symbol for the improvident artist. When the fable was translated into northern European languages, the cicada — unfamiliar in colder climates — was replaced by a grasshopper, and later by a cricket in some English versions. Jean de La Fontaine’s famous French retelling kept the cicada (la cigale).

The fable teaches children that you need to balance fun and responsibility. It’s fine to play and enjoy yourself, but not at the expense of preparing for the future. The Grasshopper’s mistake wasn’t playing music — it was playing music instead of doing the work he needed to survive. The story encourages children to do their homework before playing, save some allowance for later, and understand that today’s choices have tomorrow’s consequences.

That depends on your reading. The traditional interpretation sees the Ants as wise and the Grasshopper as foolish. But many readers — starting with La Fontaine in 1668 — have argued that the Ants are needlessly cruel. They have plenty of food and could easily share, yet they choose to mock the starving Grasshopper instead. This counter-reading has made the fable a touchstone for debates about charity, social responsibility, and whether a prosperous society should let its most vulnerable members suffer.

It is one of the most retold fables in Western literature. Jean de La Fontaine chose it as the very first fable in his celebrated 1668 collection. It has been adapted into ballets, operas, animated films (including a classic Disney short), and countless children’s books. Its enduring fame comes from the fact that it asks a question every generation must answer: what do the hardworking owe the carefree, and what does a community owe its weakest members?

If you enjoyed The Grasshopper and the Ant, try these related fables: The Frogs and the Well — another warning about failing to think ahead before it’s too late. The Trees and the Axe — a lesson about how poor choices can destroy the very thing that sustains you. The Tortoise And The Ducks — a tale about vanity and foolishness leading to ruin. The Dog And His Reflection — the classic story of losing what you have by grasping for what you don’t.