The Cricket & The Ant Story | No Pains, No Gains | English

A cricket and an ant were close friends. The cricket was lazybones but the ant was active and farsighted it was summer. The ant work day and night, and stored grains for the rainy season. The lazy cricket sang merrily all the time and basked away the summer. She often laughed at the diligent ant and primed herself upon her jolly resignation to luck. The little ant, however, cared little for the remarks of the imprudent cricket and worked away silently storing provisions. 

All good things come to an end. So did the summer of the frolicsome cricket. It passed away like a happy dream. The cold rainy season took the place of warm, merry summer, and the merry singing of the cricket ceased for she felt a severe want of food. Foolishly, she had thought that it never be regained. She looked about for food, but everything looked bleak and barren, striking despair in her heart.

One evening, it was raining heavily and the cricket had nothing to eat or warm herself with. Her resignation failed; so she thought of getting help from her friend. “After all what are the friends for, if they don’t help at the time of need,’’ she thought. So she went to the ant, “Please give me some for I am shivering with cold and hunger,’’ she, very humbly, said to the ant. “You see it is hard to go out in this weather to pick my food. Help me for I am in great distress.” “I am a tiny little creature” replied the ant from a warm corner; “I could store just enough for my use in winter. I can spare little for you. What were you doing in summer when it was time to save for these days?” The cricket reply gloomily, “I thought it would ever be summer and sunshine, so I sang merrily away my time.’’ “Go and sing away your winter,” resorted the ant. The song of the imprudent cricket was frozen. She died from cold and hunger.

Moral:      

1. No pains, no gains.
2. Make hay while the sun shines.