fables folktales · Ages 6-8

The Grasshopper Who Borrowed Winter From the Ant

A singing grasshopper asks for help when winter comes, and the ant helps him learn how summer choices affect cold days.

The whole story

1. At midsummer morning, a small green grasshopper sang on a warm stone. He sang while the clover swayed and the daisies nodded.

2. A brown ant hurried past with a seed on her back. “Come help me gather food,” she called. The grasshopper tapped his berry drum. “There is plenty of time.”

3. The ant filled her storehouse, seed by seed. The grasshopper filled the afternoon with songs, song by song.

4. “You may sing and gather too,” said the ant. “A little work now can make a cold day easier.” The grasshopper bowed. Then he sang one more song.

5. By early autumn, the meadow had fewer berries. The grasshopper searched beneath the leaves, but his pantry was empty.

6. Then winter arrived with a silver coat of frost. The grasshopper knocked on the ant’s door. “May I borrow some food and warmth?”

7. The ant shared a seed and a warm place to sit. “You may borrow winter from me,” she said, “but let us talk about summer.”

8. The ant showed him the storehouse. “One seed is small,” she said. “Many small seeds can feed us when the meadow sleeps.”

9. The grasshopper lifted one seed. Then he lifted another. “I thought summer would last forever,” he said. “I was listening only to today.”

10. When spring softened the ground, the grasshopper returned the borrowed food with seeds he had saved. He kept one seed for himself and planted the rest.

11. That summer, the grasshopper still sang. He also gathered before the shadows grew long.

12. He sang while he worked, and worked before the cold. The ant smiled. This time, the grasshopper had borrowed winter—and learned how to prepare for it.

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