The Ant and the Grasshopper

"I heard this story from a friend and loved it, publishing the same, since i feel it will be a good read."

One fine autumn evening n the hills an ant was busy finding food and carrying it in her mouth to her ant hole slowly and steadily. While she was walking towards the ant hole, a grasshopper who was hopping, dancing and chirping and having a gala time saw her tiered and doing all that hard work.

He asked the ant, why are you struggling that much dear ant, come sing, dance and play with me, it will be fun.

The ant nodded and said no dear grasshopper, this work is important for me and I need to complete it, you please carry on... and the ant moved towards her destination.

Days passed and the chilling winters came in. All the land was covered with snow and there was no sign of grass anywhere. The grasshopper started becoming sick since he could not find food for himself due to the weather conditions. He went to the ant and told her, I did not realize that the winter will be here soon and did not work towards arranging my food for winters and today i am very sick can you help me.

The ant shook her head and shut the door on the grasshopper.

My dear friends, this story teaches us a lesson that hard work and savings pay in the end. But the story does not end here.... Out of several grasshoppers that died in the winters, one grasshopper survived and he reproduced an offspring who was not just another grasshopper believe me, he was no less than a 21st century human being. He was a king of good times. had all interests of a 21st century teenager and loved partying to continue with the family lineage. He was the charm of the surroundings and lived as if there was no tomorrow. He met high society people and had connections with the media giants. On the other hand the successors of the ant family still lived their life almost similarly, by collecting food for the bad times.

Chilling winters came in again and covered the hills with snow and made the grasshopper, dehydrated, mal nourished and sick. Bu this time my dear fellow toastmasters history did not repeat itself. Instead poverty made the grasshopper a celebrity. The huge media giants surrounded the grasshopper from all side and presented an ultimate showcase of his conditions. Suddenly the Breaking news popped up on all channels comparing the poverty struck grasshopper with the ant. On one side was the picture of the grasshopper sick, weary and malnutritioned and on the other hand the ant in a silk gown. Live footage was shown for this ant in a silk gown looking down from her balcony. The footage also covered the ants daily lifestyle where she had a king size breakfast with Spanish omelets and French toast and sandwiches accompanied with juices and fruits. Her lunch was Mexican and Thai cuisine.   

The impact became so much that the entire country got involved in the rights of rich and the poor. Social networking sites were all jammed with likes for the grasshopper and dislikes for the ant. Opinion polls started on the news channels and sms’s were exchanged. Finally the finance minister came out with a proposal for the ant and a grasshopper.

With all this going on the ant was really taken aback and suffered a setback. Even in the hospital she was not able to relax due to the agitations and fight for the rights of rich and poor going outside the hospital. With all this going on and being a calm and thoughtful person the ant declared to give half of her wealth to the grasshopper.

This story is a true reflection of our times..... Hard work and savings do not pay but smart play and networking pays off. Pulling the string will make you grow ahead off your peers. Leave the ant and leave the grasshopper, and analyze yourselves. Think and act.