Introduction:
The poem, ‘The Ant and the Cricket’ is about a careless cricket and a hardworking ant. We all know that ants are hardworking creatures. The cricket, on the other hand, was a lazy being which sang day and night and made no efforts to plan for the future.
Irresponsible Cricket:
There was a cricket who loved singing. The poet says the cricket is young and silly because he sang all through summer and spring with no worries in the world. But when winter arrived, he began to complain. He found that his cupboard was empty and not a piece of bread was there to eat. He neither found a leaf, nor a flower. Everything was covered with snow. Therefore, the cricket cried as he perceived his bad future.
Cricket asks for help from the ant:
Finally, deprived of hunger and starvation, being all wet and cold, the cricket journeyed to the house of a stingy ant. He wanted to know if the ant would lend him a shelter from the rain and a mouthful of grain. He promised that he would repay the ant as soon as he could. He was sure to die of hunger and pain if he didn’t do it.
Cricket’s careless reply to ant’s questions:
The ant said to the cricket that he is his servant and friend. However, ants never borrow nor lend. He asked the cricket why he did not store even a single grain of food when the weather was warm. To such a stimulating question, the cricket carelessly replied that he sang day and night as his heart was light and happy and hence never thought of storing food. The ant disapproved the cricket’s reply and told him to go and dance the winter away.
The Ant’s final reply and the state of Cricket:
Thus, completing the conversation, the ant quickly closed the door and turned the poor little cricket out of the house. People call this a legend, but, the poet says that he assures it is true that some crickets have four legs and some crickets have two.
Conclusion:
The poet endorsed the idea of hard work. Hard work fetches fortune. The lazy nature of the Cricket was the reason behind his misfortune. Therefore one has to think ahead and work for safety and comfort. Dependence may not help every time.
